did god give the canaanites a chance to repent

www.probe.org. In fact, the Hebrew wars with other nations (except Canaan) were designed to be only in self-defense (Toward Old Testament Ethics, Walter Kaiser, Jr., p, 267, Zondervan, 1983). What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ. 10:6; 1 Kings 14:22; 2 Kings 17:10). C.F. Memory,. That we commit similar sins today renders us incapable of appropriate moral outrage against these sins and thus we accuse God of genocide to justify our own sinfulness. The Canaanites, by contrast, were destroyed at the direction of God and primarily because of their sin. 7.1-2; 20.16-18). it was an act of the judicial holiness of God manifesting itself in righteousness and judgment.{6}. But the war is not over. However, once the biblical doctrines of God and of sin are taken into consideration, the background scenery changes and the picture looks very different. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Mariner Books, 2008), 51. Driving them out wasnt simply a way of making room for Israel. The Bible calls Noah a preacher of righteousness thats because before the flood Noah tried to save others by preaching repentance! Kyle Dillon (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) serves as an assistant pastor at Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tennessee. God didnt. Rahab spoke of having heard about Israels great God and His mighty miracles. Tugis life was full of dignity and worth. Our aim is to share the Word and be true to it. But no one repented so all but Noah and His family were destroyed. 2:25) and even included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. When Joshua led the people across the Jordan River into Canaan, he was fulfilling this promise. They engaged in temple prostitution which was thought to be a re-enactment of the sexual unions of the gods and goddesses. Part of the goal of this essay is to offer evidence to show that God had good reason to command Israel to kill the Canaanites. God gave us life, and He has the right to take it away. He blogs at Allkirk Network. On an individual basis, when a father sinned, his son wasnt to be punished for it. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. In a recent debate with William Lane Craig, Hitchens exhorted the Christians in the audience, Emancipate yourself from the idea of a celestial dictatorship and youve taken the first step toward becoming free.32, Although Dawkins nowhere endorses sex with animals, he does endorse Princeton atheist and ethicist Peter Singer as an eloquent advocate for our need to become postspeciesist.33 According to Singer, to claim that one species is better than another is to invoke grave implications because, after all, We are animals.This does not make sex across the species barrier normal, or natural, whatever those much-misused words may mean, but it does imply that it ceases to be an offence to our status and dignity as human beings.34. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. What the Israelites are told to do to the Amalekites is exactly what the Amalekites had been doing to Israel. Much of what follows is horrific, but if we refuse to look, will we really understand the reasons for Gods judgment? (972) 941-4565 Rick Wade provides a biblically informed perspective of these Old Testament events, looking back at them with a Christian view of history and its significance. A miracle child heralded by divine announcement, he grows up to become a one-man army against Israel's enemies. Because of this, I think the term should be avoided. And I say contemporary because children werent regarded as highly in the Ancient Near East as they are today. Predictably so, their values conflict with what God hates. God is a God of . Seems a bit harsh right? 25). ", Jesus Resurrection: Fact or Fiction? Our enemies are the demonic forces that hold the world in captivity to sin, and our weapons are now prayer, preaching, and evangelism. Notes / He lies with her seventy times seven / Mounts eighty times eight / [She conceiv]es and bears a boy.20. Skeptics say if God is a God of love why did He bring destruction on certain nations of the world? For further information Este artculo es una exclusiva en lnea de Christian Research Journal. God allowed Israel to become slaves in Egypt (more on this in a moment). Perhaps what the skeptic is really concerned about is whether the just destruction of the Canaanites is license for Christians to resort to killing the wicked. (Judges 2:1-3; 1 Kings 11:5; 14:24; 2 Kings 16:3-4). Eternal Insecurity Once I Was Saved, But Now Am Lost? Used by permission. Christians believe that all authority belongs to God (Matthew 28:18, Romans 13:1, Colossians 2:10). For God does not show favoritism. Based on the Biblical evidence, however, this objection dissolves away for two reasons: 1. The story of Canaanite incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality flow out of the plot line of idolatry. (LogOut/ (Deut. Their task was to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah. Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, Article II, University of the West of England, at: www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/. To understand what God was doing in Canaan, one must see it within the larger context of redemptive history. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. To answer these questions, we must understand the place of the erem laws in the history of redemption. 4:26; 7:4). It is reasonable to believe that other people had heard what Rahab (and Jericho) had heard, thus giving them the opportunity to repent and be spared. The category scholars use for such events as the battles in the conquest of Canaan is Yahweh war. 10 Biblical Steps Towards Restoration After Sexual Sin, Baptism Quotes: 27 Inspirational Christian Sayings, 25 Encouraging Bible Verses About Strength, Words of Encouragement: 30 Uplifting Quotes. Why did some rules from the Old Testament cease to exist? 11:31; Jas. 1:5). Paul Rutherford explains the lies he believed and tow which he was in bondage about pornography, until Jesus helped him achieve sexual sobriety. 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. The ESV and NIV give a fuller understanding of the term by translating it devote to destruction (the NASB renders it set apart). Israel had a unique calling as Gods chosen covenant people. Tagged as: 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. 1 (2008): 7-37; www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=45. Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. In Ezekiel 18:23 we read, Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (see also Ezek. Doesnt the new atheists complaint ring hollow, since they are often at the forefront of defending a womans right to suction, dismember, or scald to death her unborn baby at any time and for any reason? A more obvious reason for the possibility of intermarriage is the fact that the Israelites didnt fully obey Gods commands. Baal has sex with his mother Asherah,6 his sister Anat, and his daughter Pidray,7 and none of this is presented pejoratively. A biblical example of this would be Gods treatment of the city of Nineveh. God's patience on the Canaanites The skeptics illogical arguments Skeptics have claimed that God was unjust when He ordained Israel to destroy the Canaanites. This article is a slightly adapted version of the program that aired on the Probe radio program. If I can find 50 good people will you spare Sodom God says sure. Canaanite tribes (especially the Hittites) greatly exceeded the boundaries that Israel was told to conquer. How could the Canaanites have that much influence over the Israelites? 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 Hebrew word means to devote something to total destruction.. A God of love and justice, they say, could never command genocide, and therefore he must not exist. Israel was warned not to let the Canaanites live in their land, but to completely destroy them (Exod. Skeptics often complain that children were killed in Sodom and Gomorrahs destruction. 6. Now after all of this God gives marching orders. This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. They had male shrine prostitutes (1 Kings 14:22), committed acts of lewdness, adultery, and incest (Jer. Revelation 2:21-23. Can these be put together? They are all part of an inherently wicked culture that, if allowed to live, would morally and theologically pollute the people of Israel.[1]. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Another biblical story that is similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira is the story of Elisha's servant, Gehazi greedily wanting money for Naaman's healing . In regard to the Canaanites, God commanded, "In the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 20:1618), lest the Israelites learn the Canaanite ways (Exod. However, what is good and right or what is bad and wrong changes with societys opinions. Can the actions of the Israelites legitimately be called genocide? Longman goes on to cite OT scholar Meredith Kline, who proposes a theory of intrusion ethics. Scripture tells us that the punishment for all sin is death (Gen. 2:17; Rom. Claiming Have you ever felt like an alien in your own culture? God had given the Midianites, Amalekites and other Canaanites 400 years to repent of their unbelievably evil practices (sacrificing children on red-hot idols being one of them), and they hadn't (Genesis 15:13-16). 44:18). Concerning the destruction of the Canaanites, atheists especially like to exploit the Christian condemnation of genocide. God promised Abraham (Genesis 15), that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan. God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. He was keeping track of the measure of their sins, and, during Abraham's time, it was not yet "full." So the Amorites were warned that judgment was coming. Rusty Wright presents a compelling case for the historicity of Jesus resurrection. Dan. First, the Lord's command to enact erem was preceded by a long period of divine patience and longsuffering in the face of Canaanite wickedness (gross forms of idolatry, immorality, and injustice, including the sacrifice of children). Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. in communications (radio broadcasting) from Moody Bible Institute, an M.A. 7. The tragedy of this story is that not only is idolatry an offense to Yahweh, but it fails to supply a happy ending for human communities as well. Wouldnt that be a more merciful thing to do? Shedding light on this question will actually show that God is merciful and good. They are insisting that God and Christianity are in fact poisonous and must diligently be resisted and defeated. Although prophets warned the northern kingdom (usually referred to as Israel or Samaria) of impending doom, they didnt repent, and in 722 BC the king of Assyria killed or deported most of them, and filled the land with conquered peoples from other nations. Yahweh is a God of justice as well as mercy. The peoples of the world at His return will be doing the same things that the Canaanites were doing when God gave it to Israel (Revelation 9:20). Similarly, the southern tribes (usually referred to as Judah) were deported when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem beginning in 586 BC. Dr. Ray Bohlin reviews a second science critique of Theistic Evolution, asking if universal common descent is real. Not even 10 righteous people could be found. (3) Therefore, Christians should condemn Yahweh for commanding genocide. 4. What about these people prompted such a harsh judgment? The Canaanites worshiped other gods, which the Old Testament frequently denounced as no more than sticks or pottery made by human hands that could not see or hear or eat or smell (Deut. God had promised this land to their ancestor Abraham around 500 years earlier (Gen. 15:18-21), but it would be their responsibility, under the leadership of Joshua, to clear out the local inhabitants and take possession of the land. And as a consequence, God used Israel to bring judgement upon them. According to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), when God called forth his people out of slavery in Egypt and back to the land of their forefathers, he directed them to kill all the Canaanite clans who were living in the land (Deut. And since, as we will see, He punished Israel when they committed the same sins, what happened to the Canaanites was not genocide, but capital punishment. Heres why. They are dated to somewhere between 2000 and 1500 BC, between the time of Abraham and the Exodus.{7}. And then these same skeptics turn around and say if there is a God of justice, why does He permit the wicked to rule the world and bring sorrow and suffering on the innocent? God did not order the extermination of these people to be cruel, but to prevent even greater evil from occurring in the . Although these laws express Gods judgment, they also show us Gods mercy in several important ways: Now that Christ has come, the way in which we understand and apply theeremlaws has radically transformed. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). But He said to Abraham that the promise would take a long time to be fulfilled for the iniquity of the Amorites, or the people of Canaan, is not yet full (v. 16). Gods first inclination is to save Canaan rather than destroy it. The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. Why Your Church Needs Vacation Bible School, Gods Amazing Conversions Through Dreams and Visions Part Three, Gods Amazing Conversions Through Dreams and Visions Part Two, Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies Movie Review, Phoenix Wilder And The Great Elephant Adventure Movie Review, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Movie Review. Likewise, Gods government cannot successfully continue unless there is a plan that will ultimately, if not immediately, punish evil (Isaiah 61:8; Deut. Will More People Go To Hell Than Go To Heaven? note: please see Probes article Do Babies Go to Hell? by Probes founder Jimmy Williams.]. Canaan, because of its sin, was to be heremdevoted to destruction. Some Christians have responded by driving a wedge between the Old Testament and the New, claiming that Jesuss ethics improved upon the brutal practices of ancient Israel. What is right and moral is known to all (Romans 1:18-23), but was rejected by the Canaanites to such an extent that they cut pregnant women open and burned their children as sacrifices to their pagan gods (Leviticus 18:21, 24, 25, 27-30). For the Canaanites, it was time for Gods judgment. 28:7. Did the Canaanites Have a Chance? 7:1-2). Robert has written 111 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Rick's interests focus on apologetics, Christianity and culture, and the changing currents in Western thought. And how else would God have said it if He did mean that? Another observation is that the instruction is frequently to dispossess the Canaanites or move them out rather than to destroy them. In the conquest of Canaan, three goals were being accomplished. Glenn M. Miller, How could a God of Love order the massacre/annihilation of the Canaanites? on the web site A Christian Thinktank, The first fact Cf. God allowed Israel to become slaves in Egypt (more on this in a moment). Second, if the Canaanite children were allowed to live and remain in the land, they could very well act to avenge their parents when they grew up, or at least to pick up again the practices of their parents. Accessed 5 November 2008. . God had warned them against that (Deut. 7:1-2). 32:4; Colossians 3:25; etc.). The Deut. God had warned them against that ( Deut. 22 Christian Quotes and Sayings About God. A more detailed version is also available on our Web site with the title Yahweh War and the Conquest of Canaan. Therefore, Israels own mission foreshadowed Jesuss mission in a number of ways. So the Lord said that Israel became like Sodom to me (Jer. Other ungodly acts routinely engaged in by the Canaanites included adultery, bestiality, and homosexuality (Leviticus 18:20-30). You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. This news had terrified the city of Jericho and Rahab had put her faith in God (Joshua 2:10-14). Paul wrote to the Ephesians, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against . God was concerned that, if the Canaanites remained in the land, they would draw the Israelites into their evil practices. 10. He is convinced that the hope of the world lies in men and women having a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. 4:1314; Ezek. 2). Why didnt God just tell Israel; move in, settle down and coexist? I think God meant it quite literally. {8} In addition, the Israelites would be tempted to imitate Canaanite religious rituals because of their close connection to agricultural rhythms. 7). {13} How persuasive this thought is will depend on how seriously we take biblical teaching about our future after the grave. Real Answers. Skeptics have claimed that God was unjust when He ordained Israel to destroy the Canaanites. The term genocide means a major action committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. {3} Some twentieth-century examples are the extermination of six million Jews by the Nazis and the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis by the Hutus in Rwanda in 1994. Kyle, Canaan, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, ed. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during in the time of Jonah. But the section ends with Samson. the people of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, the entire populace from every end[of the city]. See the Papyrus Chester Beatty III recto (BM10683) from about 1175 BC as referenced in Lise Manniche, For an example of how embarrassing and dangerous this could be, see Robert M. Yerkes, The Mind of the Gorilla: Part III. The Canaanites were an evil, depraved people who had to be judged to fulfill the demands of justice. Their purity laws pointed to the holiness demanded by God. When God told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded for them, and God agreed in his mercy that if but only ten righteous people were found, He wouldnt do it. This was Gods judgment carried out on the people of Canaan using the chosen people of Israel. And their laws concerningeremwarfare pointed to Gods just judgment against sin. In phase four there was a major change. And its not simply forced eviction we are talking about here; its the slaughter of entire nations, down to the last man, woman, and child. The "new atheists" call God's commands to kill the Canaanites "genocide," but a closer look at the horror of the Canaanites' sinfulness, exhibited in rampant idolatry, incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality, reveals that God's reason for commanding their death was not genocide but capital punishment. 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. Bring biblical wisdom to the confusing issues across the world by making a gift to our international work. Tremper Longman III, The Case for Spiritual Continuity, in C. S. Cowles, Eugene H. Merrill, Daniel L. Gard, and Tremper Longman III, Show Them No Mercy: Four Views on God and Canaanite Genocide (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 185. Theeremlaws of the OT were an example of this intrusion. If you like what you're reading, you can get free daily updates through the RSS feed here. In Deuteronomy 20:16, Moses said the Israelites were to save alive nothing that breathes in the cities in their new land. In his article Yahweh Wars which was written after Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?, Copan presents two scenarios, one in which everyone was put to death, and the other in which the targets were military leaders and soldiers. They reason something along these lines: (1) Christians condemn genocide. Real Questions. A special thanks to Joseph Gorra for his many helpful suggestions and to my wife, Jean E. Jones, for her extensive reading of ANE primary and secondary sources and for years ago explaining to me much of the Old Testament. It seems from God's promise to Abraham that they were wicked and idolatrous people. God sought to reveal His standards of righteousness to a thoroughly corrupted humankind, and He chose Israel out of the nations to exhibit the requirements for relationship with Him (Deut. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. After the defeats of both Heshbon and Bashan, Moses noted that they had devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children (Deut. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). No worldly government can exist unless it uses every necessary means to punish law breaking. Incest. in Christian Thought (theology/philosophy of religion) from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Master of Humanities (emphasis in philosophy) from the University of Dallas. This article first appeared in the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 33, number 04 (2010). Consequently, we love what He hates, and we hate what He loves. Thus, the Israelites could possibly have married people who werent in the cities when they were attacked. First, the movement of the Israelites into Canaan was the fruition of Gods promise to Abram that He would give that land to his children (Gen. 12:7). These people were not clueless about their responsibility to God; rather, they openly mocked His lordship and committed horrible acts that even the most hardened of us would deem worthy of judgment. From the Canaanite epic poem The Baal Cycle we learn: Mightiest Baal hears / He makes love with a heifer in the outback / A cow in the field of Deaths Realm. Copyright 2010-2023 Telling Ministries LLC. See also Leupold (1942, 463). The Canaanites had not completely sinned away their day of grace. . THE CANAANITES- God's Justness in Perspective It's clear from history, God gave them ample time to repent, but they refused (Gen. 15:16; Deut. He sent Moses to Pharaoh, and gave him 9 chances to repent. There are several aspects of Yahweh war. 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. In the worship of their gods, the Canaanites committed other evils. Further, in Deuteronomy 20, Moses said they were only to kill the adult males in far away cities (vv. 23:14). This was Gods judgment carried out on the people of Canaan using the chosen people of Israel. Robert is happily married and lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Isnt that a better alternative? Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. He gave them the law so that they may know Him and His ways.

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