God’s People Go to War: What I Noticed When I Read Joshua 神的子民上戰場：我讀約書亞記所注意到的事情
Translated & Edited by Joyce Yang
Many people struggle to understand the story of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan. They understandably wonder, “Is Jesus of Nazareth, who told His followers to love their enemies and turn the other cheek, really the exact representation of the God who ordered warfare in the book of Joshua?” As I’ve done with previous Bible books, I sat down and read the book of Joshua in one sitting. Here are a few things I noticed.
許多人努力去理解約書亞和征服迦南的故事。他們不禁要問, 「拿撒勒的耶穌,祂告訴祂的追隨者要愛他們的敵人, 並轉過另一邊臉頰去（挨打）, 在約書亞書裡下令作戰的神，這真的確實是祂的表現嗎?」正如我之前讀其他聖經書卷一樣,我坐下來一口氣讀著約書亞記。以下是我注意到的一些事情。
Must Be Understood in Light of the Torah
務必要配合摩西五書（律法書）理解
【JY：Torah為摩西五書或律法書，即聖經中頭五本：創世紀、出埃及記、利未記、民數記、申命記。】
The book of Joshua is “Part 6” in the story of God and His covenant people. Over the last few weeks, as I’ve read each of these books in close succession, it has really helped me keep the major themes at the forefront of my mind.
約書亞記，乃是神和祂立約子民故事中的「第6集」。在過去幾周裡, 因我連續密集地閱讀每本書, 這確實幫助了我，先思考重要的主題。
As I’ve said in previous posts, the earth is a major character in the Bible. The Canaanites had polluted and defiled the land through idolatry and violence. The book of Leviticus says the land was vomiting out the Canaanites. The voice of a multitude’s blood was crying out to the Lord from the ground. God’s good creation was groaning for deliverance.
正如我在之前的貼文中所說，「土地」是聖經中一個重要的角色。透過偶像崇拜和暴力，迦南人污染和褻瀆了這片土地。《利未記》一書說著，這塊土地正要把迦南人吐出來。眾血的聲音從地下向主呼喊著。神美好的創造（人類），在呻吟著尋求拯救。
The conquest was much like the Flood. The wickedness of the Canaanites had reached epic proportions; the land had to be wiped clean. But this time, when God wiped the land clean, He would take up residence in the land. He would make it “holy ground” and populate the land with a holy people – a kingdom of priests – and they would bless all the nations of the world.
征服很像洪水。迦南人的邪惡已達巨大的程度; 土地必須被洗淨。但這一次, 當神洗淨地土之時, 祂將在其上居住。祂將使其成為「聖地」, 使這片土地充滿一個神聖的民族：一個祭司的王國—這個王國會賜福給世上所有的國家。
The Canaanites Had Been Warned
迦南人曾被警告
From the very beginning of the book, it is obvious the Lord’s reputation preceded Him. The Canaanites knew the power of the Lord and knew they had been condemned by Him. They were terrified. Some even threw themselves on God’s mercy.
從本書的開頭，「主」（耶和華／神）的名便明顯地多於「祂」。迦南人知道主的力量，並知道他們已被祂定罪。他們嚇壞了。有些人甚至祈求神的憐憫。
God didn’t just suddenly surprise the Canaanite people with swift and terrible justice. For over four hundred years, God delayed punishing the Canaanites. For forty years, His people marched around the land in the wilderness; giving the Canaanites more time to repent. And for seven days, Israel marched around the walls of Jericho.
神並沒有突然以迅速而可怕的審判驚嚇迦南人。四百多年來, 神推遲了對迦南人的懲罰。四十年來, 祂的人民在荒野中四處遊蕩; 這給予迦南人更多時間悔改。連續七天, 以色列繞著耶利哥的城牆遊行。
Proving that the Lord is patient toward people, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
這證明主對人有耐心, 「不願任何人滅亡，願意人人悔改。」(彼得後書23:9) 。
When the Day of the Lord finally came, it came like a thief in the night and the world of the Canaanites was destroyed by fire and sword.
當主的日子終於到來時, 它將如同夜賊一樣出現, 如同迦南人的世界被火與劍毀滅。
Put to the Sword vs. Drive Out
殺戮 或 驅逐
There are a few verses in Joshua that, if taken all by themselves, make the reader believe the idea of the conquest was to kill every man, woman, and child in the land. This is why reading whole books, rather than taking passages out of context, is so important. There is certainly a lot of warfare in this book, but the phrase “drive out” is repeated even more than any language about killing.
約書亞有幾節經文, 如果只看這些, 讀者會相信，「征服」為要殺死土地上的每一個男人、女人和小孩。這就是為何閱讀整本書，而非斷章取義, 是如此重要。這本書中確實有很多戰爭, 但「驅逐」這個詞，重複地甚至比任何有關殺戮的言語都多。
Taken as a whole, it sounds like many of the Canaanites recognized the impending judgment of God and fled from their cities. The ones who died were the hard-hearted ones who decided to fight against God. The fact that they were “driven out” of the land should probably remind us of Adam and Eve (and later, Cain) who were themselves “driven out” by God. The Canaanites, like Adam and Eve, were driven out of paradise.
整體來說, 好像許多迦南人意識到，神的審判即將來臨, 於是逃離了他們的城市，所以（被殺）死的是那些決定與神為敵剛硬心腸的人。事實上, 他們從那片土地上被「驅逐」, 這應該也提醒了我們亞當和夏娃(和後來的該隱)也是被神「驅逐」的。迦南人, 猶如亞當和夏娃, 被逐出了樂園。
Every Canaanite man, woman, and child was cursed and condemned by their sin. As God said to Adam and Eve, “You will surely die.” For some Canaanites, their condemnation was carried out literally. For others, it was carried out by being driven out to die in exile. Of course, there were others whose condemnation was not carried out because of Israel’s later disobedience.
每個迦南的男女和孩子，都因他們的罪，受到詛咒和譴責。正如神對亞當和夏娃說的：「你們一定會死。」對一些迦南人來說, 他們的刑罰就是立刻死亡。對另一些人來說, 則是被驅逐，然後死於流放。當然, 由於以色列後來的不順服，有些人的定罪並未立時實現。
The Lord is the Warrior of His People
主是其子民的戰士
Many people think the book of Joshua proves that God is somehow “pro-war.” But when taken as a whole, the first six books of the Bible make it very clear that the thing God most hates is people shedding one another’s blood. After the conquest of Canaan, Israel was to have the world’s most unusual defense system and war policy.
許多人認為，約書亞記證明神在某種程度上是「支持戰爭的」。然而, 整體來看, 《聖經》的前六本書非常清楚地表明：神最討厭的事情，就是人們流彼此的血。征服迦南之後, 以色列擁有了世上最獨特的防禦系統和戰爭策略。
They were not supposed to accumulate weapons of war either for offensive or defensive campaigns. In fact, even during the conquest, when they captured chariots, they were supposed to destroy them and hamstring the horses. Isn’t that bizarre? God’s people were not allowed to own the best military equipment of the day. They were told over and over again not to put any confidence in military strength. God was the warrior of Israel. It was not Israel’s sword or bow which conquered the land, it was their God.
無論是為了侵略或防禦行動，他們都不該積聚戰爭武器 。事實上, 即使在征服期間, 當他們奪得戰車, 也應要摧毀它們, 並切斷馬匹的後腿腱。這難道不奇怪嗎? 神的子民不被允許擁有當時最好的軍事裝備。他們一再被告知不要信賴任何軍事的力量。神是以色列的戰士。征服土地的不是以色列的劍或弓, 而是他們的神。
God wanted to continue to be their protector and their peace. As such, He would not tolerate them accumulating or putting their trust in weapons of war. That was the sort of idolatry the Gentile nations practiced. Sadly, it would be the sort of idolatry Israel would soon practice as well.
神希望繼續成為他們的保護者與秩序。因此, 祂不會容忍他們累積，或把他們的信任放置於武器之上。那就像是外邦人所施行的偶像崇拜。可悲的是, 以色列亦將迅速實施那樣的偶像崇拜。
Pointing to Jesus
指向耶穌
When Jesus came into the world, the wickedness of the world had once again reached epic proportions. The cup of wickedness and defilement had reached the brim. The earth was groaning for deliverance. Jerusalem had become a crossroads of both Jewish and Gentile rebellion.
當耶穌來到這個世界時, 世界的邪惡再次上升到巨大的規模。邪惡和污穢之杯，已滿溢到邊緣。大地在嗚咽著尋求救贖。耶路撒冷，成為猶太人和外邦人背離神的十字路口。
Jesus became the perfect one-man version of Israel. Perfect in obedience to God’s will. Perfect in His trust of God. Perfect in His compassion and mercy. He played the role Israel had never been able to play. And finally, He lifted the curse of the exile. But He did it by becoming accursed in the people’s place. He let the consequences of the world’s rebellion fall on Him. He drank the cup!
耶穌成為了以色列完美的一人代表。完美於服從神的旨意、信任神，和祂的同情和憐憫。祂扮演了以色列從未能夠扮演的角色。最後, 祂解除了流亡的詛咒。只不過祂是藉由成為被厭棄之人而完成這項工作。祂使這世界背叛神的後果，降臨在祂身上。祂喝了那（罪惡滿溢的苦）杯！
In so doing, He delivered – and is delivering – people from exile. God is moving into the hearts of His people. The earth is being populated with a kingdom of priests. Meek and gentle peace-makers. People who overcome evil with good, even if they – like their King – must suffer unjustly. One day our Deliverer will return to finish what He has started. The children of God and the earth itself wait longingly for that day when we will be delivered from corruption (see Romans 8:18-25). Until then, we put our trust in the Lord.
如此, 祂拯救—並仍在拯救—人類免於流亡。神正進入祂子民的心中。這世上正居住著一個祭司的王國、溫柔謙卑的和平使者、以善戰邪的族類, 即使他們—像他們的王一樣—必承受不義的痛苦。有一天, 我們的拯救者會回來完成祂已開啟的工作。神的兒女和這個世界，都渴望且等待著那天, 我們將從墮落（的世界中）被拯救出來(見羅馬書8:18-25)。在那日之前, 我們一心信靠主。
I love you and God loves you,
Wes McAdams
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