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Joshua 3:7-10 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. Joshua 15:63 Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.
Here, god states "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses." In other words, god is with him. Then god says "This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites." Therefore, if god is with them, these peoples will be driven out. But then it goes on to say "Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah." There are only three possibilites: god lied to him and was not with him; god was incapable of stopping the Jebusites; or this is a biblical contradiction.
Well, we can rule out god's failure as he is omnipotent and could not possibly fail at anything. As for god's lying:
Hebrews 6:18 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. and
Numbers 23:19-20 19 God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
So god lying is out of the question. Therefore, the only remaining choice is that this is a contradiction.
Wait, I remember now (thanks to our resident poe):
Judges 1:19 19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.
Here is the answer: god couldn't win because of iron chariots... Yeah, I don't get it either.
You might object that it says Judah, and not Joshua, but the promise was extended to Judah in the below passage. Judges 1:1-2 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
Nonetheless, it says the lord was with them, and in the early passage it says he will show he is with them by allowing them to conquer such and such kingdoms, including the Jebusites, who they failed to defeat.
So, it looks like god is a little less than all-powerful today. But, the apologist will say, god is not necessarily omnipotent. (At least s/he will say this if s/he wishes to avoid the contradiction, but that would bring up other problems.)
Matt 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Therefore god is omnipotent, therefore all things, including the defeat of iron chariots, are possible with god. However, it says "but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron." Unable as in couldn't do it. But, "The Lord was with the men of Judah." and "This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites." Key word certainly.
I don't know how even an apologist could weasel their way out of this one, but they never cease to appauldisgustannoy...amaze me.
John Adams Wrote:The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.