Thus, they were all without excuse for not worshiping God. 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). Canaanite religion, like that of all of the ANE, was a fertility religion that involved temple sex. Here are a few factors to take into consideration: First, the sins of parents, just like their successes, have an impact on their children. He blogs at, How J. K. Rowling Played, then Lost, the Polarization Game, GAFCON IV: Lessons from a Communion in Birth Pains, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Christian Nationalism, What to Do When Your Child Is Addicted to Video Games, Radical Christian Gentleness in an Era of Addictive Outrage, The FAQs: Anglican Group Calls on Church of Englands Leader to Repent, Whats the Earliest Evidence for Christianity? But there is a major difference. 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 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. 2001 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2000 The second premise is false, however. Judges: a cycle of sin and deliverance - OverviewBible Because of that advance warning, it is possible that some people abandoned their cities. Why did God judge the Canaanites as wicked despite never appearing to them or giving them law? The Canaanites were descendants of Noah. In fact, He waited almost 400 years, and until their society had become completely depraved, before He instituted His command of capital punishment. Or better yet why didnt God give Canaan a chance to repent? (The Answer May Surprise You), It was merciful for God to protect the Israelites from idolatry. the people of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, the entire populace from every end[of the city]. 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. If we see humans as being basically good or innocent, then of course we will react with indignation to the Bibleseremlaws. Probably the ultimate sexual depravity is intercourse with animals. Robert believes that the Bible contains the truth that God wants us to base our lives upon. Who Were the Canaanites, and Why Did God Order Their Destruction? Herem literally means ban or banned. It means to ban from human use and to give over completely to God. Craig writes, For example, I have no right to take an innocent life. God and the Canaanites: A Biblical Perspective - Probe Ministries God would hardly have chosen a Baal-worshipper to be a type, prophetically previewing his Son (Hebrews 7:3). 15:5). But this is precisely the thing that the unbeliever loses in denying the existence of God. The people of the land had heard about all that had happened with the Israelites from the time they escaped Egypt. God was patient. In the conquest of Canaan, three goals were being accomplished. Rahab was later held up as an example of faithful obedience in the New Testament (Heb. The people have rebelled against God and spend 40 years in the desert. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Mariner Books, 2008), 51. 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. Now after all of this God gives marching orders. 7.1-2; 20.16-18). The answer is: absolutely not! Old Testament Mass Killings - bethinking.org The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. This explains why, in certain cities, Yahweh sentenced to death everything that breathes. These ideas may provide little consolation. Idolatry. However, according to Kline, sometimes we get snapshots of Gods final judgment intruding into the flow of history, foreshadowing the reality to come. This is an online Viewpoint articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. The Bible calls Noah a preacher of righteousness thats because before the flood Noah tried to save others by preaching repentance! (972) 941-4565 He holds a B.A. Thus, the Israelites could possibly have married people who werent in the cities when they were attacked. 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. They are dated to somewhere between 2000 and 1500 BC, between the time of Abraham and the Exodus.{7}. 2). 6:23), and ultimately every unrepentant sinner will have to face Gods judgment. And so for 400 years more, the Amorites were allowed to live and do as they pleased. Abraham starts bargaining with God. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. 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. Dawkins, 338. Sue Bohlin processes how she is handling the crisis of tongue cancer by trusting Gods goodness. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 550. Presumably, the Canaanites could have done the same thing. 23:14). Also, this wasnt the entire destruction of a race as God didnt order that every Canaanite be killed but only those who lived within specific geographical boundaries (Josh. The Israelites intermarried with them which eventually drew Gods judgment on them as well. Even though the Ruler of the universe displays mercy and gives to men time to repent, there ultimately must be a day of judgement. 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). Was God just in destroying the Canaanites? The story of Canaanite incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality flow out of the plot line of idolatry. 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? Ironically, the unbelievers moral criticisms presuppose a transcendent source of morality. Would a governor of a state who refuses to pardon a criminal and instead hands him over to the justice system be considered a heartless cruel man? 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. But why should we take seriously the skeptics advocacy for Canaanite children? Curiously, this simply relates back to the entire dialogue of God with Abraham. 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. (2) Yahwehs command to kill the Canaanites was an act of divine genocide. Gods first inclination is to save Canaan rather than destroy it. And He said to Abraham, you and your children to the fourth generation must be patient too. Additionally, some ANE manuscripts talk about party-boys and festival people who changed their masculinity into femininity to make the people of Ishtar revere her.17. 4:58). Israel was warned not to let the Canaanites live in their land, but to completely destroy them (Exod. Ones background theological beliefs make a big difference in how one sees this. There is no justice in the world today, and therefore there must be a day when the wrongs of the present life are made right. 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. Lev. Skeptics often complain that children were killed in Sodom and Gomorrahs destruction. 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. 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. God, as judge, used Israel to carry out His judgment on these people. 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: After all, he spoke approvingly of the destruction of Sodom, a pagan city that also included men, women, and children (Luke 17:28-29). . Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?, Philosophia Christi 10, no. Even so, many who acknowledge Gods existence still have trouble accepting the morality of Scripture. 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. The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. 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. What was to stop it? 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. Isnt that a better alternative? Later Lots own daughters get him drunk to have sex with him and so even Dawkins, in a surprising moment of moral clarity, writes, If this dysfunctional family was the best Sodom had to offer by way of morals, some might begin to feel a certain sympathy with God and his judicial brimstone.28. As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. 5:7; 29:23; Hos. Although Abraham was Gods friend and the Lord wanted to give to him the land of Canaan for an inheritance. Bible scholars call thiseremwarfare. Peter Singer Heavy Petting: Review of Midas Dekkers, Dearest Pet: On Bestiality (London, 2000), Nerve.com, 2001, http://www.nerve.com/opinions/singer/heavypetting/main.asp. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. This is one of the most morally troubling passages in all of Scripture. Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. Not only have some people rejected Christianity over this, but it has even spurred some Christians to leave the faith. Atheists use this fact to condemn the character of God. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against . 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. 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. 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. The question has been raised whether God really intended the Israelites to kill all the people. Moreover, given the evidence of Canaanite sin, it is no stretch to realize that even many young children would have already learned Canaanite ways. So lets not kid ourselves: at the end of the day no amount of explanation will cause todays illuminati (or brights, as some new atheists like to be called) to consider Gods commands justified.36 But our job as Christians is to proclaim unambiguously, especially to strongholds set up against knowledge of God, that humankind is sinful, that the wages of sin is death, and that by trusting Christs sacrifice we can be saved from the wrath of God and enjoy resurrection life in and with Him forever. At first, the Israelites tried to compromise and worship God the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods. Speaking with Abraham, God predicted that the Canaanites would eventually become so evil that He Like all Ancient Near East (ANE) pantheons, the Canaanite pantheon was incestuous. The second goal of the conquest was the judgment of the Canaanites. Instead, the Israelites worshiped the Canaanites gods and did evil (Judg. In phase one, God fought the flesh-and-blood enemies of Israel. 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! Why did some rules from the Old Testament cease to exist? God's Justice in the Land of Canaan - The Gospel Coalition Going by this definition alone, the destruction of the Canaanites would seem to have been genocide. God had warned them against that (Deut. Kerby Anderson provides an overview of some ancient Christian heresies that are still being embraced today: legalism, gnosticism, mysticism, and marcionism. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during in the time of Jonah. Their task was to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah. For one thing, the Israelites would intermarry with them, and their spouses would bring their gods into the marriage with all that entailed. the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (6:12). Are We Held Accountable for the Sins of Our Forefathers? And their laws concerningeremwarfare pointed to Gods just judgment against sin. They were corrupt and depraved to the core. 33:11). At first, the Israelites tried to compromise and worship God the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods. Hittite Laws: 199 states, If anyone has intercourse with a pig or a dog, he shall die.