did god give the canaanites a chance to repent did god give the canaanites a chance to repent

God knew it would take the destruction of the nations. 1:4). What God commanded Israel to do to the Canaanites wasnt genocideit was capital punishment. They reason something along these lines: (1) Christians condemn genocide. 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. 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. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?Far be it from you to do such a thingto kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. This was especially true of the Canaanite societies steeped in abominable practices like child sacrifice and cult prostitution. But God has no such prohibition. Those on whom God pronounced judgment were wicked, God had given the Canaanites opportunity to repent, are storing up wrath for [themselves] on the day of wrath when Gods righteous judgment will be revealed, The Canaanites were the only people God commanded the Israelites to destroy, God always offered the possibility of redemption. Here we encounter the issue of authority. 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. Not even 10 righteous people could be found. 13. 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 twentieth-century examples were basically people killing people simply because they hated them and/or wanted their land. These ideas may provide little consolation. This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. He gets no pleasure in the death of anyone. After the defeats of both Heshbon and Bashan, Moses noted that they had devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children (Deut. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (around 2100 BC) came 600 years before Israel destroyed the Canaanite nation. He looks at all things from a infinite perspective than man can. 12:4, 30, 31). Canaan, because of its sin, was to be heremdevoted to destruction. Skeptics say if God is a God of love why did He bring destruction on certain nations of the world? Generation after generation of Canaanites continued in the same evil practices. 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. Memory,. Gods enemies were dealt a crushing blow through Christs victory on the cross, but they will not finally be defeated until Christ returns to establish everlasting justice on earth. In Luke 20 Jesus told the Jews the parable of the tenants and the vineyard. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. What Do the Four Soils in the Parable of the Sower Represent? 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). Then theres Sodom, God tells Abraham that because of the wickedness of Sodom He will destroy it. In Deuteronomy 9:4-6, God Himself explains the reason for His command to slaughter the Canaanites. Furthermore, justice must respond to the moral failure of sin. Israels response to Canaanite sin is a parable of how their own sinfulness empowered them to ape the sin of the Canaanites and thereby procure Gods judgment on them. 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. In Leviticus 18 God then warns Israel that if they commit similar sins that the land would similarly vomit them out. 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. 22 Christian Quotes and Sayings About God. However, if we properly understand the whole picture we will be able to view Gods actions as full of mercy and fairness in His dealings with His children. 4:58). (972) 941-4565 Please make sure all fields are filled out. 14. 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, as judge, used Israel to carry out His judgment on these people. 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? 22:1011; Amos 2:7), and even Solomon set up an altar to Molech (1 Kings 11:5, 78). But this sort of response does not fit with Jesuss own view of the Old Testament. in communications (radio broadcasting) from Moody Bible Institute, an M.A. 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. Will More People Go To Hell Than Go To Heaven? 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 Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. Humans do not have the right to do whatever we want. Sue Bohlin processes how she is handling the crisis of tongue cancer by trusting Gods goodness. In phase three, when Israel and Judah were in exile, God promised to come in the future as a warrior to rescue them from their oppressors (cf. This document may not be repackaged in any form for sale or resale. God allowed Israel to become slaves in Egypt (more on this in a moment). Craig writes, For example, I have no right to take an innocent life. Driving them out wasnt simply a way of making room for Israel. If they did not destroy them, the land would vomit them out just as it had vomited out the Canaanites (Num. Lev. Had there been repentance, there would have been no need to execute wrath on evildoers. Rusty Wright presents a compelling case for the historicity of Jesus resurrection. The apostle Paul described this spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:12: Forwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but againstthe rulers, against the authorities, againstthe cosmic powers overthis present darkness, againstthe spiritual forces of evilin the heavenly places. The battle may be fierce, but we remain confident that Gods justice will ultimately prevail. For the most part, they chose to rebel against God. Permission is granted to use in digital or printed form so long as it is circulated without charge, and in its entirety. The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. Leviticus 27:29 says very plainly that every person devoted to destruction was to be killed. 11:31; Jas. The people believed that re-enacting these unions themselves played a part in the fertility of the land.{9}. If a man has intercourse with a horse or a mule, there is no punishment.18 As with incest, the penalty for having sex with animals decreased about the fourteenth century BC.19, There should be no surprise that bestiality would occur among the Canaanites, since their gods practiced it. For one thing, the Israelites would intermarry with them, and their spouses would bring their gods into the marriage with all that entailed. Parents can corrupt their children.29. Canaanite religion, like that of all of the ANE, was a fertility religion that involved temple sex. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. (Deut. 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. Third, if one holds that there is an age of accountability for children, and that those younger than that are received into heaven with God at their death, although the means of death were frightful and harsh, the Canaanite childrens experience after death would be better than if theyd continued to live among such a sinful people. Their sacrificial laws pointed to our need for atonement. God promised Canaan to Abraham and his children. Consider one basic example of how new atheist rationalizations echo the propensities of Canaanite sin, and indeed, echo the rationalizations of the human heart. 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? The Spirit of God comes on Jephthah, but the military leader's efforts still end in tragedy. Kyle Dillon (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) serves as an assistant pastor at Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tennessee. Lets start with the flood. Bible scholars call thiseremwarfare. 1 (2009): 73-92; www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=63. Ones background theological beliefs make a big difference in how one sees this. 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). We all recognize this when we accuse some authority who presumes to take life as playing GodGod is under no obligation whatsoever to extend my life for another second. The Bible is explicit concerning the sins of the Canaanites: idolatry, incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 550. Kyle, Canaan, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, ed. Minor judges Izban, Elon, and Abdon get brief mentions. 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. So for those of us who confess the authority of both the Old and New Testaments, we are faced with a number of challenging questions: How do we reconcile the erem laws with the rest of Scriptures teachings on justice and compassion? Gods character is such that He gives nations an appropriate amount of time to repent. 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. Israel had a unique calling as Gods chosen covenant people. 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. It was merciful for God to allow individual Canaanites to repent and join the people of God. 32:4; Colossians 3:25; etc.). The classic example is Rahab, the prostitute who helped the Israelite spies in Jericho and swore allegiance to the Lord (Jos. Theeremlaws of the OT were an example of this intrusion. In Jdg. A more obvious reason for the possibility of intermarriage is the fact that the Israelites didnt fully obey Gods commands. Israel received direct word from God that they should do this. 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. 7.1-2; 20.16-18). 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. ", Jesus Resurrection: Fact or Fiction? 1: The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d.), 484-485. Christians believe that all authority belongs to God (Matthew 28:18, Romans 13:1, Colossians 2:10). Isnt that a better alternative? For example, God commanded the Israelites, in Deuteronomy 20:10-15, to offer conditions of peace rather than extermination to all others. The new atheists immaculately exemplify what the Bible has proclaimed all along: sin corrupts our authority to judge rightly; what we think is justified prosecution against God Almighty turns out to be, on further illumination, a raucous rant full of the noxious fumes of the sinful heart. For God does not show favoritism. The Canaanites were the only people God commanded the Israelites to destroy Israel was not allowed to treat other nations as they treated the Canaanite cities. What Does It Mean for the Saints to Judge Angels? This article is a slightly adapted version of the program that aired on the Probe radio program. No matter what God does, all of His actions are guided by His sovereign will and the fact that He, so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 ESV). 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). If God was not behind the conquest of Canaan, then the Israelites were no different than the Nazis and the Hutus. 4:1314; Ezek. 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. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. Thus, the Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 15:16, "the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." Long after the conquest of the land, when God decided He would have to destroy Moab, according to Isaiah God wept bitterly over her cities (Isa. [1] Tremper Longman, The Case for Spiritual Continuity, inShow Them No Mercy: 4 Views on God and Canaanite Genocide, ed. 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. Every forecast of prophecy of doom came with an implied unless attached to it: If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. In all of these respects, Israels laws were signposts to the spiritual realities behind Christs redemptive work for us. Concerning the destruction of the Canaanites, atheists especially like to exploit the Christian condemnation of genocide. Rahab spoke of having heard about Israels great God and His mighty miracles. . 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]. God didnt. Hittite Laws: 199 states, If anyone has intercourse with a pig or a dog, he shall die. And as a consequence, God used Israel to bring judgement upon them. The victims were not only infants; children as old as four were sacrificed.15 Kleitarchos reported that as the flame burning the child surrounded the body, the limbs would shrivel up and the mouth would appear to grin as if laughing, until it was shrunk enough to slip into the cauldron.16, Homosexuality. Other ungodly acts routinely engaged in by the Canaanites included adultery, bestiality, and homosexuality (Leviticus 18:20-30). 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). Israel was not commanded to deal with all other nations the same way they dealt with the Canaanites. And they even sent their own children into the fires of the god Molech as living sacrifices. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. They say they refuse to believe in any being that could be so cruel and heartless. The part that concerns us herethe real culmination of Yahweh waris called herem. 7). The Canaanites had not completely sinned away their day of grace. He believes the latter is the correct interpretation. Their authority is based on the current societal perception of morality. Isnt there an inconsistency here? wars instituted by and fought with the, My eldest daughter and I have been discussing portions of the Bible with which she is struggling. However, if we take the Bible on its own terms, we will recognize that all humans are born guilty and corrupt. OT scholar Tremper Longman summarizes this point well: We must point out that the Bible does not understand the destruction of the men, women, and children of these cities as a slaughter of innocents. This is an online articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. 28:7. The Hebrew word means to devote something to total destruction.. Emphasis added. Seems a bit harsh right? I consider Jesus the be the perfect example of how to be good, Jesus would never hurt anyone. If we see humans as being basically good or innocent, then of course we will react with indignation to the Bibleseremlaws. Dt. This is one of the most morally troubling passages in all of Scripture. 5. Notes This news had terrified the city of Jericho and Rahab had put her faith in God (Joshua 2:10-14). Christians today are engaged in warfare on this level. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, in his " ", posits that one of the reasons that Sodom was not given the chance to repent was that even their children were wicked. The problem with new atheist divine genocide claims is rather simple: God hates sin, but the new atheists do not.35 Consequently, they complain of divine genocide in the face of Canaanite sin! 1:16; 8:25). What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us"- Augustine. Rick Wade provides an expanded discussion of the issues around the Israelites battles against the Canaanites. 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. Skeptics often complain that children were killed in Sodom and Gomorrahs destruction. Can the actions of the Israelites legitimately be called genocide? [emailprotected] Moreover, given the evidence of Canaanite sin, it is no stretch to realize that even many young children would have already learned Canaanite ways. Of course Dawkins complains that Gods monumental rage whenever his chosen people flirted with a rival god resembles nothing so much as sexual jealousy of the worst kind.5 But does anyone think that if Dawkinss wife left him for a gingerbread man of her own baking, and then she began to tell everyone that he liked to play with his excrement, that Dawkins would tolerate the characterization of his feelings as no more than sexual jealously of the worst kind? Thus, the Israelites could possibly have married people who werent in the cities when they were attacked. Herem literally means ban or banned. It means to ban from human use and to give over completely to God. If you like what you're reading, you can get free daily updates through the RSS feed here. Capital Punishment Reason 4 An even more detestable practice was that of child sacrifice. In Leviticus 18 and elsewhere, for example, the Bible reveals that God punished the Canaanites for specific grievous evils. The Canaanites were an evil, depraved people who had to be judged to fulfill the demands of justice. Their task was to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah. 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. 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. {8} In addition, the Israelites would be tempted to imitate Canaanite religious rituals because of their close connection to agricultural rhythms. If He does not receive a proper response, He promises great tribulation and martyrdomnot necessarily as punishment, but as an inducement to repent. 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. God says its going to be a while before you all enter the promised land, because the Canaanites arent beyond saving.. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. ", "How Can a Just God Order the Slaughter of Men, Women and Children? There had been a patient waiting from Abrahams time for the sin of the Amorites[to reach] its full measure (Toward Old Testament Ethics, Walter Kaiser, Jr., p, 267,Zondervan, 1983). If the Israelites started to get a little slack in their obligations to Yahweh, they would turn to other gods. Dawkins, 338. 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). They could have repented of their evil, followed God, and been spared judgment. But no one repented so all but Noah and His family were destroyed. I want to look at some Biblical stories about God destroying nations. Many people take issue with the idea that God commanded the Jewish nation to initiate war against the Canaanites, ordering them to wipe them out and take their land for their own. However, according to Kline, sometimes we get snapshots of Gods final judgment intruding into the flow of history, foreshadowing the reality to come.