Who is Lord? ... Joshua

"Joshua made war for a long time..." (Joshua 11:18) probably about 5 years.  In that time, he took the thirty-one cities that were occupied by those who worshipped Baal.  Joshua had orders to kill every person - no matter how old.  When you first consider that order, you try not to picture the issue of children.  How could these men go from city to city, killing women and children?

Baal (or Bel, Beel) is the generic name for "lord" among the Canaanites.  So, if you translate Daniel's Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, you get "the one who leads the lord" – which he certainly did as he led the pagan kings.  Beelzebub (Matthew 10:25, 12:24, etc.) is translated as "lord of the flies" and is understood by the 1st century Jews as the lord of the demons.  Baal, in the Old Testament, is often a term for the pagan god(s).  The Philistines, being the Sea People (Mycenaean Pirates), worshipped many gods but their principle god was Dagon, the fish god (1 Samuel 5).  The Amorite and other kings that were slaughtered by Joshua (chapter 12) worshipped Baal but their specific god was Molech (or Moloch).  The worship of Molech involved the ritual rape of children and babies, followed by their sacrificing, burning or both.  There's no idiotic Hollywood/Disney picture of noble sacrifice here: just satanic hatred and molestation of humanity.  When Joshua and his men arrived, the children were already dead or mutilated.  Who wouldn't destroy the adults?

Joshua 11:20 describes the attitude of the Lord (Jehovah - Hebrew = YaHWeH) toward the 31 doomed, Molech loving kings.  "For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He (the Lord...implicit is that Israel is included with the Lord since they are in service [elect] to do his bidding. Thus the condition that Israel is included under the command of the Lord of Hosts. Thus the condition that we are spiritual Israel if we obey Jesus, the Lord of Hosts. Join Jesus at the cross!) might destroy them utterly; that they might have no favor” = literally - they didn't have a prayer.

Calvinists like to explain that God, in His inscrutable (Calvin must have skipped over Amos 3:7 when he made up his nonsense about God's secrets...) sovereignty, hardens the hearts of people just because He wants to and gets them to do cruel, ugly things because He can.  This simple minded approach to the truth of the Word is foolish and dangerous.  As noted above, the Canaanite kings were hideous and it was a mercy from God to annihilate them all.  For God to harden their resolve was to fix them in the condition they had chosen and practiced for years.  They personally chose "that hideous strength" -- like Hitler -- like Klansmen -- like Idi Amin.

Calvinistic oversimplifications lead to stupid conclusions.  The unbiblical notion that God has reprobated most people in advance gives the Calvinist an unconscious sense of superiority.  Left unchecked, where does the notion of pride and superiority always go?  Following Jesus?  Gotta deal with that "cross" clause first...

God Himself (Jesus is God) set aside superiority that was truly His (Philippians 2:6-8) and served humans who were/are all sinners - none of whom had been blotted out before they came into existence.  Jesus offered a redemption based on love beyond all reason.  He gave Himself on the cross.

Come to the cross.