How to process the OT treatment of Canaan

[Kelly]

I think this is a topic that may come up when witnessing or discussing the Bible with a non-beliver. I think it's something that we should be able to answer with some biblical authority.

In light of the typical reaction today of how terrible islamic extremism can be, how can we say anything about it when God ordered the systematic genocide of the peoples that lived in Canaan when the Israelites crossed the Jordan and began the war to take the Promised Land?

In most circumstances, there was complete slaughter - men, women, children. At the least, the slaughter of everyone save the virgin girls, who could be taken as wives - all commanded by God.

There is NO WAY to spin this as the actions of a loving God. Any thoughts?

I've heard that it's analogy for sin, like ridding your life of sin. Tell that to the people that lost their lives. I've never had issue with the soldier on soldier aspect, but the destruction of whole societies has always left me a bit ill. There are only so many things that I can excuse with "His ways are higher", you know?

 

[JAS4Yeshua]

The Old Testament was before Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross. The penalty for sin is judgement and death. In the Old Testament, the people of Isreal were commanded to kill those who were lost to their sin. He cast His judgement on them and used the Israelites to carry out that judgement.

With Christ's sacrifice on the cross, there is no more need for immediate judgement. God has provided a way so that the slaughter of innocents no longer has to happen. He has postponed His judgement for the future.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentence. He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins, and poured out his righteous judgement on Him. By accepting God's Love and Christ's Sacrifice, we can escape God's judgement.

There isn't a way to separate God's Holiness, God's Judgement, and God's Love. They are all important and essential to explain to anyone. We don't have to spin or justify it. The fact is, God's Judgement is always in effect, and He has, in His Love, provided a way to escape that judgement.

 

[HypnoToad]

I think a better analogy than "ridding the life of sin" is "ridding the body of cancer". Cancer has to be completely removed, or it just grows and continues to infect and destroy healthy tissue.

The same with the Canaanite societies - they were so pervasively evil, that their obliteration was the only way to end their evil - allowing remnants to survive would just let their wickedness grow again and infect other societies like the Israelites.

Also, killing everything was typically a merciful thing to do. If they just destroyed the soldiers, they would be removing the vast majority of the adult male population. Those left would be ill-equipped to survive anymore. They would be left to slowly die from exposure or starvation.

 

[Psalms34]

Joshua 2:9 and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.

Actually, God gave Canaan 400 years to vacate while the Jews were taken off to Egypt and then another 40 years they spent in the wilderness after that. The Canaanites knew the land belonged to Israel, and they had ample opportunity to leave. Those that refused to leave were destroyed as soon as Israel was instructed to do so.

Islam, well they have been at war with the west for over 400 years, and the West is still not destroyed. They are at war with Israel, to "run them into the sea" (to kill them all), but their pagan moon god [SIZE=-1](Hubal)[/SIZE] has no power to deliver on his promise. In fact, the God of the bible has said that He will destroy their armies when they come up against Israel (Ezekiel 38), and we have already seen a sampling of this when the six day war happened and God completely delivered those armies into Israels hands for a complete and utter defeat.

Also keep in mind, the spies saw giants in Canaan. These are believed to not just be men of stature, but humans that were crossbred with angels to make super beings. Goliath was a Nephilim. This scourge to the human gene pool needed to be purged. I take it as an attempt by Satan to taint all the human blood on earth so that the messiah could not be born. Also was probably the leading reason for the great flood, the gene pool was tainted, but Noah was found to be still pure blooded. It wasn't just that he was "rightious" but pure of blood apart from the tainting of angels and nephilim.

Anyway, no need to "spin" it, there is always a very logical reason why things are done the way they are. It's just a matter of digging for the facts, at least by a logical basis. There are a lot of clues to be found in the bible that show why certain actions had to be taken. I suppose if these actions were not taken, the human race would simply not exist any longer and all would have suffered eternity in hell, for no pure human bloodline for Christ to be born from.

 

[CreationofYahweh]

No , no. God made a COVENENT with the Children of ISrael, he preferred them to other peoples. He sent Moses and saved the Israelites from THe pharoah and his people.....now he is giving the Israelites with land, rich and bountiful Land....of Canaan.

Now do you see?

It is the like of America when the europeans came and took over the Natives ( Indians). God did bestow honour on the British, and the Spaniards. He abased the NAtive Indians for what reason God only knows.