And He said to Abraham, you and your children to the fourth generation must be patient too. Generation after generation of Canaanites continued in the same evil practices. Bernhard Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1957), 93-94; 96-103. 4:28 NIV). No ANE text condemns homosexuality. Then He says something very Interesting your descendants will come back in the fourth generation, because the sins of the Amorites hasnt been fulfilled. The Amorites in this case are the Canaanites. If you think the Canaanites deserved to die because of their own wickedness, Dawkins will zealously compare you to acting like the Taliban.3 A closer look at several key facts will help explain Gods reason for the destruction of the Canaanites and reveal how our own sinfulness demonstrates our incapacity to judge rightly. He is also a God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. If God is so merciful and loving, why didnt God just assimilate Israel into Canaan instead of driving them out? It also happens to be one of the most frequently heard objections to the Christian faith today. wars instituted by and fought with the, My eldest daughter and I have been discussing portions of the Bible with which she is struggling. the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (6:12). The peoples of the land did not repent, just as the survivors of God's plagues will not repent. Killing the Canaanites: A Response to the New Atheism's "Divine 4. God had given the Canaanites more than four hundred years of probation, during which He sent prophets and warnings. Idolatry perverts our ability to love what Yahweh loves. Like all Ancient Near East (ANE) pantheons, the Canaanite pantheon was incestuous. Staff. Of course not. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. Lets first frame this question with context. Moses instructions to the Israelites as they were about to move into Canaan included this: In the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded (Deut. Could there have been any righteous Canaanites, especially in view of the pervasive, seductive, and corrosive nature of Canaanite sin? Wouldnt even infants, as they grew, begin to ask, What practices did my parents do which resulted in your killing them? As sad as this is, it also points to the horror of sin. 23:33; Deut. There are many nations and peoples called wicked or evil and then destroyed in the Bible including Canaan, Hittites, Giggahites, Amorites, Pharaoh and his people, Sodom and Gommorah. In phase two, God fought against Israel when it broke its side of its covenant with God (cf. In the meantime, we are still called to do battle, but not as Israel did. As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. We dont live in a theocracy anymore and, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:45, we dont fight with the weapons of the world, but we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (NIV). 32:4; Colossians 3:25; etc.). 7:1-2). They were fully aware that God had chosen Israel to be a tool in His hands in bringing judgement to the nations. God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. Who Were the Canaanites in the Bible - History and Importance But no one repented so all but Noah and His family were destroyed. And He will ultimately save righteous and also punish the unrighteous He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. He can be reached at [emailprotected]. There are several aspects of Yahweh war. Molech was a Canaanite underworld deity14 represented as an upright, bullheaded idol with a human body in whose belly a fire was stoked and in whose outstretched arms a child was placed that would be burned to death. It has been suggested that such obliteration language was hyperbolic.{10} Commands to destroy everyone are sometimes followed by commands not to intermarry, such as in Deut. (2) Yahwehs command to kill the Canaanites was an act of divine genocide. 7:2-3. The people believed that re-enacting these unions themselves played a part in the fertility of the land.{9}. Christ and the Conflagration of Canaan - The Gospel Coalition Even so, many who acknowledge Gods existence still have trouble accepting the morality of Scripture. Abraham asked the Lord this exact question in Genesis 18 regarding the coming destruction of two Canaanite citiesSodom and Gomorrah: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? The situation with Canaan was different. In Deuteronomy 20:16, Moses said the Israelites were to save alive nothing that breathes in the cities in their new land. Eternal Insecurity Once I Was Saved, But Now Am Lost? With Miller, I think they can. Although early Canaanite laws proscribed either death or banishment for most forms of incest, after the fourteenth century BC, the penalties were reduced to no more than the payment of a fine.8 In the larger ANE context, it is helpful to consider that in an Egyptian dream book dreams of having sex with your mother or your sister were considered good omens.9, Adultery. Before joining Probe Ministries, Rick worked in the ship repair industry in Norfolk, VA. 10:6; 1 Kings 14:22; 2 Kings 17:10). 13-14), but in nearby cities they were to save nothing alive that breathes (v. 16). Skeptics have claimed that God was unjust when He ordained Israel to destroy the Canaanites. 23:12-13 where Joshua also warns the people against intermarrying. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! The object of warfare moves from the Canaanites, who are the object of Gods wrath for their sin, to the spiritual powers and principalities, and then finally to the utter destruction of all evil, human and spiritual.[2]. They could have repented of their evil, followed God, and been spared judgment. What Happened to the Canaanites? - Biblical Archaeology Society Genocide doesn't wait for people to have a change of heart; and certainly not 400 years. And as a consequence, God used Israel to bring judgement upon them. 23:14). Dr. Michael Gleghorn draws on a work by Dr. Gail R. O'Day, "Jesus as Friend in the Gospel of John," to explore the perspective of Jesus Christ as a Friend. God was concerned that, if the Canaanites remained in the land, they would draw the Israelites into their evil practices. As soon as we heard it, Rahab of Jericho said, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath (Josh. God says its going to be a while before you all enter the promised land, because the Canaanites arent beyond saving.. Para ms informacin o para http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/, Overcoming the Enemy of Education: A Review of Pete Hegseth with David Goodwin, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation., Who Was Adam? . In the worship of their gods, the Canaanites committed other evils. However, if we properly understand the whole picture we will be able to view God 's actions as full of mercy and fairness in His dealings with His children. What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ. Tagged as: Instead, the Israelites worshiped the Canaanites gods and did evil (Judg. 18:17 and 25:28. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. At first, the Israelites tried to compromise and worship God the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods. Non-Christians often point to the Old Testaments erem laws to reject Christianity altogether. . There is no denying that God, in the Old Testament, commanded the nation of Israel, His chosen people, to exterminate many nations of people. {8} In addition, the Israelites would be tempted to imitate Canaanite religious rituals because of their close connection to agricultural rhythms. Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. The Canaanites took seriously the testimony of the Old Testament witness of Yahweh and His revelation, if for no other reason than intentionally to transform the scriptural depiction of Yahweh into a castrated weakling who likes to play with His own excrement and urine.4. See Paul Copan, Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites, Philosophia Christi 11, no. The classic example is Rahab, the prostitute who helped the Israelite spies in Jericho and swore allegiance to the Lord (Jos. These twentieth-century examples were basically people killing people simply because they hated them and/or wanted their land. Seems a bit harsh right? Other ungodly acts routinely engaged in by the Canaanites included adultery, bestiality, and homosexuality (Leviticus 18:20-30). 34:1516). He believes the latter is the correct interpretation. God is love (1 John 4:16) and He is also just (Psalm 25:8). Copan, Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites. I probably will not answer every question in this short article, and even some of the answers I give will not satisfy everyone, but I do hope to present a solid biblical argument for the goodness, holiness, love, and justice of our Creator God. The most disturbing part of the conquest of Canaan for most people is the killing of children. But why should we take seriously the skeptics advocacy for Canaanite children? Women were no less guilty than men, and in many cases they were the principal instigators. When we look at the Canaanites we must realize that God gave them 400 years to repent. 2). However, the verses that follow, namely verses 16-18, disallowed the same offer to be given to Canaan. If they had sex with just about every living thing they could get their hands on, and they did, then all had to die. Israel was not allowed to treat other nations as they treated the Canaanite cities. Gods first inclination is to save Canaan rather than destroy it. Israel was warned not to let the Canaanites live in their land, but to completely destroy them (Exod. If God didnt mean to kill everyone in nearby cities, then what distinction was being made? 25). God promised Abraham (Genesis 15), that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan. However, according to Kline, sometimes we get snapshots of Gods final judgment intruding into the flow of history, foreshadowing the reality to come.