Does God reveal Himself in history? Yes and since this is so with regards to Joshua, what then are we to make of the moral difficulties involved? Is there a justification for war? Joshua 11:16-20
From your write up, I sensed that you wanted to seek justification for war but end up stating that there is no justification for war. How about going to war in "defence", would this be more acceptable? Verse 20 gives us some similiarity in that it was the Lord who hardened hearts just as He had hardened the heart of the Pharoah in contention with Moses. You have provided a broad backround to the passage compare to the exegetical content i.e. what was the author trying to get across to the readers of that time. Perhaps this further exegetical exercise would help us find justification in war. Additionally, perhaps if we could study into more details on the culture of that period, we may be able understand better. Is war a common thing then? Are they skirmishes or an all out war like between countries. The broader question I would asked is, "Can God use war to fulfill His purpose?" Could it be that we struggle to find justification for war because of its atrocities and also that we are also troubled on the personal level if we try to justify it.
