", "How Can a Just God Order the Slaughter of Men, Women and Children? Yahweh has made it clear that He is willing to relent in His judgment if a nation repents of its sins and changes its ways ( Jer. Baal has sex with his mother Asherah,6 his sister Anat, and his daughter Pidray,7 and none of this is presented pejoratively. 18:17 and 25:28. If I can find 50 good people will you spare Sodom God says sure. 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. But the section ends with Samson. Spoiler alert: God did give Canaan a chance to repent. But the war is not over. Yahweh is a God of justice as well as mercy. God did not just decide to command the Israelites to destroy all the inhabitants of Canaan simply because he promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit it; he commanded them to do it because the Canaanites were wicked, evil, sinful people. For further information Este artculo es una exclusiva en lnea de Christian Research Journal. When a community sins, there are consequences for every member of the population, even children. Generation after generation of Canaanites continued in the same evil practices. Conclusion: What does this tell us about God? They engaged in temple prostitution which was thought to be a re-enactment of the sexual unions of the gods and goddesses. 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. At first, the Israelites tried to compromise and worship God the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods. Such a complaint usually masks an unspoken premise: God shouldnt have killed the children because that wouldnt give them the chance to reject Canaanite sin. What place should they have in our preaching and practice? They are insisting that God and Christianity are in fact poisonous and must diligently be resisted and defeated. These twentieth-century examples were basically people killing people simply because they hated them and/or wanted their land. 44:18). Theeremlaws of the OT were an example of this intrusion. 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. 5. What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ. 12:4, 30, 31). Our aim is to share the Word and be true to it. Instead, the Israelites worshiped the Canaanites gods and did evil (Judg. Paul Copan, How Could a Loving God Command Genocide, in Thats Just Your Interpretation (Grand Rapid: Baker, 2001), 165. 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 quote is from Gail Patches, The Great Debate: Craig, Hitchens ask Does God Exist? Whittier Daily News, April 5, 2009, A1, A4. 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. Incest. What Do the Four Soils in the Parable of the Sower Represent? Israel was not commanded to deal with all other nations the same way they dealt with the Canaanites. They were corrupt and depraved to the core. This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. The new atheists call Gods 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 Gods reason for commanding their death was not genocide but capital punishment. Probe VP Steve Cable examines some of the findings of the Probe Survey 2020: The Changing Face of Christianity in America. 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. Presumably, the Canaanites could have done the same thing. When we look at the Canaanites we must realize that God gave them 400 years to repent. God promised Canaan to Abraham and his children. Revelation 2:21-23. He can be reached at [emailprotected]. Therefore, Israels own mission foreshadowed Jesuss mission in a number of ways. 1:4). 25). . 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. I want to look at some Biblical stories about God destroying nations. Genesis 15:13-16 God tells Abraham that his descendants will be enslaved for 400 years. What does it mean that "the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its 14. God had decided to judge Nineveh because they were evil (Jonah 1:2). If He does not receive a proper response, He promises great tribulation and martyrdomnot necessarily as punishment, but as an inducement to repent. All reproductions of this document must contain the copyright notice (i.e., Copyright 2023 Probe Ministries) and this Copyright/Limitations notice. 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. Lets look at something God told Abraham before all this started. 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. 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. Kerby Anderson provides an overview of wokeness, critical race theory, and their effect on the Christian church. 2:34; 3:3, 6). 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. The Hebrew word means to devote something to total destruction.. Inanna/Ishtar, also known as the Queen of Heaven, became the woman among the gods, patron of eroticism and sensuality, of conjugal love as well as adultery, of brides and prostitutes, transvestites and pederasts.10 As University of Helsinki professor Martti Nissinen writes, Sexual contact with a person whose whole life was devoted to the goddess was tantamount to union with the goddess herself.11, The Canaanites even remake the God of the Bible, El, after their own image and portray Him ceremonially as having sex with two women (or goddesses). Stanley Gundry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 173-74. Israel had a unique calling as Gods chosen covenant people. Concerning sexual desire, Dawkins questions why evangelical Christians are so obsessed with private sexual inclinations.30 The apparently not obsessed Christopher Hitchens considers dangerous sexual repression so serious that he calls it one of the four irreducible objections to religious faith.31 Dawkins and Hitchens are not just encouraging a sort of sexual libertarianism per se. God, as judge, used Israel to carry out His judgment on these people. 5:1). Canaanite religion, like that of all of the ANE, was a fertility religion that involved temple sex. 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. Who Were the Canaanites in the Bible - History and Importance Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. 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. Lets first frame this question with context. They say they refuse to believe in any being that could be so cruel and heartless. The passages that record Gods command to slaughter the Canaanite cities have even caused many Christians some confusion. However, once the biblical doctrines of God and of sin are taken into consideration, the background scenery changes and the picture looks very different. An obvious objection to the idea that God was judging the Canaanites is that it would be unfair for Him to do so if they had no opportunity to repent and be saved. 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 . God knew it would take the destruction of the nations. Lets start with the flood. These ideas may provide little consolation. Our enemies are the demonic forces that hold the world in captivity to sin, and our weapons are now prayer, preaching, and evangelism. The evidence says no. 20:16-17). The answer is: absolutely not! 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. If you feel an answer is not 100% Bible based, then leave a comment, and we'll be sure to review it. 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. 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). The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (around 2100 BC) came 600 years before Israel destroyed the Canaanite nation. Similarly, the southern tribes (usually referred to as Judah) were deported when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem beginning in 586 BC. Idolatry. Rick Wade provides an expanded discussion of the issues around the Israelites battles against the Canaanites. The judgment that they foreshadowed was demonstrated decisively on the cross of Christ, who received the full measure of Gods wrath for the sins of his people. God promised Canaan to Abraham and his children. Eternal Insecurity Once I Was Saved, But Now Am Lost? Dawkins objects that it adds injury to insult that the unfortunate beast is to be killed too.23 But Dawkins doesnt seem to grasp that no one would want to have animals around who were used to having sex with humans.24 Moreover, this might also explain why God used a flood to destroy what Dawkins called the presumably blameless animals in the days of Noah.25 If pre-flood humankind frequently had sex with every imaginable animal, then even though it wasnt the animals fault, it would be harmful to allow these animals to be a part of Gods start-over society. Yahweh wars are battles recorded in Scripture that are prompted by God for His purposes and won by His power.{4}. 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. The question has been raised whether God really intended the Israelites to kill all the people. Keil and F. Delitzsch, trans., James Martin, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. Based on the Biblical evidence, however, this objection dissolves away for two reasons: 1. Bible scholars call thiseremwarfare. Thanks for stopping by! Why did some rules from the Old Testament cease to exist? (972) 941-4565 Divine Judgment and the Canaanite Conquest: A Theological Exploration The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. Far be it from you! 4:58). 3. Genocide doesn't wait for people to have a change of heart; and certainly not 400 years. 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. 2:25) and even included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. However, it is crucial to note that in the same passage, God declares the Israelites no less wicked than the Canaanites, deserving the same fate: Thus, Longman says, The war against the Canaanites was simply an earlier phase of the battle that comes to its climax on the cross and its completion at the final judgment.{5}. There is no denying that God, in the Old Testament, commanded the nation of Israel, His chosen people, to exterminate many nations of people. Killing the Canaanites: A Response to the New Atheism's "Divine 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). The peoples of the land did not repent, just as the survivors of God's plagues will not repent. 7. 4:1314; Ezek. In the old testament God tells Joshua to kill all the Canaanites, including women and children. However recently an atheist friend told me God was cruel and unloving and used examples from the old testament to prove it. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. Probably the ultimate sexual depravity is intercourse with animals. 6:23), and ultimately every unrepentant sinner will have to face Gods judgment. 7). The people believed that re-enacting these unions themselves played a part in the fertility of the land.{9}. (LogOut/ God is love (1 John 4:16) and He is also just (Psalm 25:8). God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. According to the Bible, the Canaanites were so vile that the very land spued them out (Lev. The Israelites intermarried with them which eventually drew Gods judgment on them as well. 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). Dawkins, 338. However, if we take the Bible on its own terms, we will recognize that all humans are born guilty and corrupt. The part that concerns us herethe real culmination of Yahweh waris called herem. He points out how Yahweh Wars, i.e. God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. The Canaanites were descendants of Noah. Furthermore, justice must respond to the moral failure of sin. Subsequently, God sent prophets to warn Israel of their coming destruction, but they didnt repent and God said that they became like Sodom to me and He visited destruction on Israel for committing the same sins. in communications (radio broadcasting) from Moody Bible Institute, an M.A. As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. 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]. What God commanded Israel to do to the Canaanites wasnt genocideit was capital punishment. Then they would simply abandon worship of the true God. He gave them the law so that they may know Him and His ways. But what about Deuteronomy 24:16 which says that children shall not be put to death because of their fathers sins? Skeptics have claimed that God was unjust when He ordained Israel to destroy the Canaanites. The Amorites' sin had not escaped God's notice. They had passed the point of redeemability, and were ripe for judgment. He can give and take life as He chooses. 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 are dated to somewhere between 2000 and 1500 BC, between the time of Abraham and the Exodus.{7}. The non-believer has no objective authority. He teaches theology at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. 18:7-8 ). The classic example is Rahab, the prostitute who helped the Israelite spies in Jericho and swore allegiance to the Lord (Jos. God destroys Sodom. Even so, many who acknowledge Gods existence still have trouble accepting the morality of Scripture. 33:56; Lev. 28:7. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. (Deut. However, what is good and right or what is bad and wrong changes with societys opinions. 7:22). Hittite Laws: 199 states, If anyone has intercourse with a pig or a dog, he shall die. The law given in Deuteronomy provided regulations for the people of Israel. 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. The Canaanites, by contrast, were destroyed at the direction of God and primarily because of their sin. If God is so merciful and loving, why didnt God just assimilate Israel into Canaan instead of driving them out? That atheists are incapable of judging spiritual matters leads some Christians to wonder why we even need to answer them at all, especially if they lack any objective, moral, or epistemological foundation for their claims. 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. God waited to redeem humankind until they had the chance to be, as 2 Live Crew once put it, as nasty as they wanna be.. He blogs at Allkirk Network. Driving them out wasnt simply a way of making room for Israel. Israel received direct word from God that they should do this. Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. The Extermination of the Canaanites - Knowing the Bible Because of that advance warning, it is possible that some people abandoned their cities. 2). Please make sure all fields are filled out. This is an online articlefrom the Christian Research Journal. 1: The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d.), 484-485. There are several aspects of Yahweh war. 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. Why did God judge the Canaanites as wicked despite never appearing to The ceremony ends with directions: To be repeated five times by the company and the singers of the assembly.12 About this John Gray comments, We may well suppose that this activity of El was sacramentally experienced by the community in the sexual orgies of the fertility cult which the Hebrew prophets so vehemently denounced.13, Child sacrifice. The second premise is false, however. In Leviticus 18 God then warns Israel that if they commit similar sins that the land would similarly vomit them out. However, the city repented, turned to God, and God did not judge them. How could the Israelites intermarry with the Canaanites if they killed them all? Killing of the Canaanites, Robert Driskell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Pastoral Ministries and Biblical Studies from Mid-America Christian University in 1995. Thus, if God wanted to rid the world of their wickedness, then He couldnt have them grow up wanting to imitate their birth parents with whom they bonded. Canaan, because of its sin, was to be heremdevoted to destruction. 12:4, 30, 31). And how are Christians supposed to apply the erem laws today? In Leviticus 18 and elsewhere, for example, the Bible reveals that God punished the Canaanites for specific grievous evils. The situation with Canaan was different. God knows who will or will not repent of his or her sin and if He concludes that all the children would have been similarly corrupted, then He is perfectly right to institute capital punishment. 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. Why Did God Command the Israelites to Destroy the Nations in the Land Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Mariner Books, 2008), 51. {14} The only test we can put to God is consistency with His own nature and word. 2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000 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. Accessed 5 November 2008. Parents can corrupt their children.29. Skeptics often complain that children were killed in Sodom and Gomorrahs destruction. After the defeats of both Heshbon and Bashan, Moses noted that they had devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children (Deut. How could the Canaanites have that much influence over the Israelites? Since Canaanite sin was regular and systematicthe entire adult population participated in the idolatrous systemGod judged the entire nation. Why didnt God just tell Israel; move in, settle down and coexist? And their laws concerningeremwarfare pointed to Gods just judgment against sin. H, e teaches theology at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. Although no Scripture is definitive that all children will be saved, many Christians point out that it is possible (based on verses like Matthew 19:14). And as a consequence, God used Israel to bring judgement upon them. Concerning the destruction of the Canaanites, atheists especially like to exploit the Christian condemnation of genocide. 7.1-2; 20.16-18). Dt. 16:9; cf. Craig writes, For example, I have no right to take an innocent life. 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. What about these people prompted such a harsh judgment? . Such arguments are clearly illogical. 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. Old Testament Mass Killings - bethinking.org If Jesus had died to redeem humankind prior to humankinds comprehending the depth of their sin, then people would question the need for Jesus death. 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. Longman writes: The war against the Canaanites was simply an earlier phase of the battle that comes to its climax on the cross and its completion at the final judgment. In phase four there was a major change. Change). Maybe this was just an example of Ancient Near Eastern military language.{11}. I have two questions: 1. Moreover, given the evidence of Canaanite sin, it is no stretch to realize that even many young children would have already learned Canaanite ways. The debate between Craig and Hitchens occurred on April 4, 2009 at Biola University. 4:26; 7:4). What the Bible says about Opportunity to Repent Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?27 Ultimately the Lord then agrees to spare both cities if only ten righteous people were found. 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. [a] capriciously malevolent bully.{2}. For one thing, the Israelites would intermarry with them, and their spouses would bring their gods into the marriage with all that entailed. We must keep in mind, also, that Israel did not decide to exterminate the Canaanites, God did. These nations were cut off to prevent the corruption of Israel and the rest of the world (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). 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. This is an online articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. . Isnt there an inconsistency here? To understand what God was doing in Canaan, one must see it within the larger context of redemptive history. Nevertheless, those that choose to reject Gods love will be lost (2 Peter 3:7). Did the Ancient Gentiles Have the Hope of Salvation? In Genesis 15:16 the LORD made reference to the Canaanites when he said, "the sin of the Amorites (Canaanites) has not yet reached its full measure." God was waiting to fulfill his justice against this people. 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. No ANE text condemns homosexuality. 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? Only when one views life through the lens of the Bible can one arrive at a worldview based on truth. But we must keep in mind that God is not subject to our contemporary sensibilities. For example, God commanded the Israelites, in Deuteronomy 20:10-15, to offer conditions of peace rather than extermination to all others. 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. The people of the land had heard about all that had happened with the Israelites from the time they escaped Egypt. 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. (3) Therefore, Christians should condemn Yahweh for commanding genocide. Josephus records that the Jews in Jerusalem were first whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were then crucified before the wall of the city.So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.26 Titus then renamed the region Palestine and for almost 1,900 years one couldnt find Israel on the map. This wasnt merely punishment, however. Non-Christians often point to the Old Testaments erem laws to reject Christianity altogether. 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? Then theres Sodom, God tells Abraham that because of the wickedness of Sodom He will destroy it. When a nation starts burning children as a gift to the gods (Leviticus 18:21) and practices sodomy, bestiality and all sorts of loathsome vices (Leviticus 18:25, 27-30), they, are storing up wrath for [themselves] on the day of wrath when Gods righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5 ESV). Resources The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version(ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. A more obvious reason for the possibility of intermarriage is the fact that the Israelites didnt fully obey Gods commands.