note: please see Probes article Do Babies Go to Hell? by Probes founder Jimmy Williams.]. 2). 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 Killing of the Canaanites - Genocide or Capital Punishment? - Part Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. 8. M.G. God had given the Canaanites more than four hundred years of probation, during which He sent prophets and warnings. In Jdg. What place should they have in our preaching and practice? In all of these respects, Israels laws were signposts to the spiritual realities behind Christs redemptive work for us. Also, God made it clear in His conversation with Abraham regarding the Canaanite cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that He knows who would or would not repent, and in the case of those cities, not one person would heed the warning and even Lots family had to be forcibly pulled away from the coming destruction. Now after all of this God gives marching orders. Wouldnt that be a more merciful thing to do? Shedding light on this question will actually show that God is merciful and good. But the war is not over. 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: 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. It was merciful for God to allow individual Canaanites to repent and join the people of God. This is an online articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. God has done everything in His power to save the sinner through the plan of redemption (John 3:16). God mercifully provides time and opportunity for repentance from idolatry and spiritual fornication with this world ( II Peter 3:9 ). Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. Rick Wade provides an expanded discussion of the issues around the Israelites battles against the Canaanites. Change). 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. Claiming Have you ever felt like an alien in your own culture? Recently I asked some of the mamas of littles in our church, What God questions are your kids asking? Dr. Michael Gleghorn provides good reasons to believe that the stories about Jesus were reliably preserved by his followers Dr. Zukeran presents five major reasons to believe Christianity is the truth. 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). [1] Tremper Longman, The Case for Spiritual Continuity, inShow Them No Mercy: 4 Views on God and Canaanite Genocide, ed. 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. Even so, many who acknowledge Gods existence still have trouble accepting the morality of Scripture. We're not around right now. Previous post: 10 Biblical Steps Towards Restoration After Sexual Sin, Next post: Baptism Quotes: 27 Inspirational Christian Sayings. Minor judges Izban, Elon, and Abdon get brief mentions. God had decided to judge Nineveh because they were evil (Jonah 1:2). You cannot have moral laws without a moral Lawgiver. He is passionate about understanding the Bible and helping others do the same. 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. 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). 6:23), and ultimately every unrepentant sinner will have to face Gods judgment. (LogOut/ Just as God had demonstrated his knowledge of who would repent in the Canaanite cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, before he destroyed Jerusalem He told Jeremiah that if He could find even one righteous person He would spare the entire city (Jer. Little of the Canaanites' textual records remain, perhaps because they used papyrus instead of the more durable clay for writing. No matter what explanation of the death of children is given, no one except the most cold hearted will find joy in it. In Luke 20 Jesus told the Jews the parable of the tenants and the vineyard. 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. I think God meant it quite literally. God's Justice in the Land of Canaan - The Gospel Coalition 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/. Seems a bit harsh right? Why were Ananias and Sapphira not given a chance to repent? Acts 5:1-11 Instead, the Israelites worshiped the Canaanites gods and did evil (Judg. In our pluralistic age, its easy to forget what an offense that is to the true God. Atheists use this fact to condemn the character of God. 5:1). 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}. God did not order the extermination of these people to be cruel, but to prevent even greater evil from occurring in the . As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. God and the Canaanities | Bible.org 12:4, 30, 31). 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.