As Joshua closes out his leadership campaign, we see him addressing the children of Israel. In Joshua 23 and 24, we see the great leader giving parting words. It is in chapter 24 that Joshua makes that well-known presentation about choosing to serve God that ends with the familiar charge “…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (v. 15).
In chapter 23, Joshua gives a warning to Israel. He charges them to keep the commands of Moses as they possess the land and warns them of the dangers of mixing with the Canaanite people (vv.6–8). Joshua warns them specifically of the danger of marrying the Canaanite people: “For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you” (vv.12–13). Moses also warned the children of Israel of the danger of marrying the sons and daughters of Canaan (Ex. 34:12–16; Deut. 7:3).
Admittedly, it was a necessary warning. In the beginning of Judges Israel does exactly what they were told not to: “So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth” (Judges 3:5–7). Solomon was also led away by his many foreign wives (1 Kings 11:1–10). Israel failed to maintain their purity because of the marriages of their sons and daughters.
But what was the reason behind this command? Was the concern that Israel was going to marry people of a different nationality? Was it based on race? Some have taken passages like this (and others) and made a biblical argument against “race mixing.” Is that really the point of Moses and Joshua’s commands? Simply put, no. Such arguments are severely flawed in their approach.
First, we have ample evidence of people from other races marrying Israelites and being blessed by God. Rahab was a native of Canaan. She was from Jericho. She married Salmon, a man of Judah, and is included in the lineage of Christ (Matt. 1:5). She is praised for her faith in Hebrews 11:31. Can anyone argue that God did not approve of Rahab marrying Salmon? Ruth, a Moabite widow, follows her Jewish mother-in-law to Israel and marries Boaz, the son of Salmon and Rahab (Matt. 1:5). Ruth is also a part of the lineage of Christ. She also happened to be the great grandmother of David the king. Can anyone argue that God disapproved of Ruth marrying Boaz? The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful presentations of loyalty and love that the world has ever read. A presentation of marrying only Israelites to preserve race from the Old Law must overcome these two roadblocks.
Secondly, the context of these passages show what the true danger was. Joshua says, “For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you” (Josh. 23:12–13). Moses’ commands helps us understand even more: “and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods” (Ex. 34:16). The true danger presented in marrying the Canaanites was that the Israelites would be turned away from God and would chase after the Canaanite gods. That’s exactly what happened to Solomon (1 Kings 11:1–10). His foreign wives led him away from Jehovah and he served other gods.
What we learn from these texts is not the need for racial purity, but rather the need for spiritual purity. The lesson is that we should be careful who we marry! Our mate should be someone who brings us closer to God, not pulls away from Him. We should marry someone who is spiritually minded. We should marry a person who helps us serve God better, not one who causes us to serve Him less.
Too often we use texts like Joshua 23:12 and others to say “Don’t marry those people!” And we should teach that—but only with the understanding that “those people” are ones who will cause you to forsake the Almighty God. Don’t marry them. Don’t marry those people!
