Why did God command the Israelites to completely destroy the Midianites in Numbers 31:17? But Walton is quick to note that this narrative isnt about punishing the Canaanites: we have to stop imagining the purpose of the conquest account is to teach us that Gods ideal of goodness involves us going out and killing Canaanites (or whomever they represent today) and then either adopting that idea or rationalizing it away by embellishing the text so that killing Canaanites seems good according to our own logic. (Walton, 29). 7-14), and other empires (2 Kgs. [2] For a discussion of how the Roman Empire by the Second Testament was just as bad as the Canaanites, see Sarah Ruden, Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time, 2010. Leviticus 18:6 (2) They were having sex with their mothers. In Genesis 10:15-19 we read of 11 groups in the area of Syria and Palestine that descended from Canaan. [8] Text in brackes is provided because it was missing in the original document. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. trailer Not only did they declare these acts as righteous morality, but they also participated in these acts in the worship of their gods as a means of gaining the gods approval. Sometimes the Amorites were named in the same way. Now The Canaanites Had Sunk To Bestiality. This is why many scholars today consider the Canaanites more of an ethnic unit than a nation, per se. Get the answers your looking for and save with code SPRINGSTUDY15! Yahweh also placed Abraham and his family in the land of Canaan in order to witness to the Canaanites, as Noah had previously. 0000003109 00000 n Does God Really Work All Things Together for Good? 20). They took it. The extermination of the Canaanites had to do with removing all influence of the idolatry of immoral gods and practices that would corrupt the lives of the Israelites and lead to perverted and dysfunctional culture. The Egyptian Dream book has a section for men that begins with: Remember, the gods themselves were involved in incestuous relationships. Even when Israel went into battle they were commanded to consecrate themselves (Josh. Yahwehs mercy, poured out despite deserving judgment, was seen in Ex. The Canaanites descend from the grandson of Noah, Canaan. The human perspective is not always the divine and right perspective. [1] Yahweh was not interested just in punishing sin but in maintaining the righteous purity of His people. Sin is serious and carries with it consequence. " Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Ugaritic Baal myth describes Anat as taking joy in slaughtering her enemies, cutting off their heads and hands and wearing them as a necklace and belt. The main point is that Yahweh loves humanity so deeply that despite His need to execute justice, He is looking for every excuse to forgive us. A fitting illustration might be to say it could be compared to the Ally invasion of Nazi Germany (I am indebted to The Bible Project for this illustration). Leviticus 18:7 (3) They were having sex with their sisters. It seems from Gods promise to Abraham that they were wicked and idolatrous people. 0000001321 00000 n Where Do We See the Canaanites in the Bible? Canaanites were morally salvageable and they were accordingly shown mercy if they would agree to make peace with the Israelites. He also used the flood to judge the world, the plagues and the Red Sea to judge Egypt, fire to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge Israel. Albrecht Goetze, ed. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Remember, if the gods did it, then certainly the people who worship them would do it. All rights reserved. __Deuteronomy 20:16-18. . do not leave alive anything that breathes. Save 15% on BibleGateway+ for a limited time! He is ending all sin and unbelief (even in our own hearts) and he is ultimately doing it through the self-sacrifice of His Son. These people were so evil that Yahweh commanded their extermination specifically in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua. {C} Murdered Their Own Children {Molech}.. Yahweh is both a just and a merciful God. Sometimes the Amorites were named in the same way. 3:21-26). 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. 5:13-6:27; 8:1-29; 10-12). Adultery was forbidden by law but only for a married woman. We do Him and Scriptures an injustice when we gloss over or oversimplify passages like this. It was not uncommon for a man who wanted to demonstrate his authority and power to rape another man. . End of story. {D} Blood-Lust Gory Murder Religious Ceremonies. Revised Standard Version (RSV). The Canaanites represented a continuation of the corrupt line that led to the Flood, so it makes perfect sense that God would want that very specific line destroyed, because permitting them to continue on would only result in the earth becoming utterly corrupt again. were already out of Egypt. 5:21) on behalf of all peoples, including the Canaanites (Ps. But we would be remiss not to point to Jesus Christ. War isnt part of the Garden of Eden. This is also the mission of God through Jesus Christ. A God of love and justice, they say, could never command genocide, and therefore he must not exist. Their polytheism and godless living held out a temptation to the devotion to the God of Israel. Article Images Copyright , 5 Things to Know about the Canaanites in the Bible. Women were no less guilty than men, and in many cases they were the principal instigators. So you were different from other women in your whorings. Always active in her community and the local church, Meg also leads Bible study and serves as a leader for teen girls. FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson. From time to time it subverted the essential monotheism of the Israelites after they occupied Canaan, the Promised Land of the Old Testament. This shows that Israel themselves were now a thing for destruction. But they would no longer be thus when their sin had been dealt with. SourcesElwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. 2 Joseph commanded the physicians who served him to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. Some even consider them to be a specific social class (merchants). OT references specifically placed the Canaanites in western Palestines valleys and coastal areas; the upland country was occupied by Amorites and other peoples.. The Canaanites were descendants of Noah. 16:4-22). Here is the list of the sins of the Canaanites: (1) They were having sex with their close family members. It was centuries between Abrahams arrival and Joshuas entrance into the promised land that was to be for the people of God. Why then were the Canaanites singled out for such severe treatment? The earliest Canaanite laws did prescribe the death penalty for those caught in incest or adultery, but by the fourteenth century BC the penalty had been reduced to a financial fine. 5). The main focus of Deut. Baker Books. In Joshua 6, the narrator presents a wicked city that was being destroyed. El told him to go ahead and have sex with her in order to humiliate her, which Baal did. 19:23-25; Zech. Young and elderly, men and women, are working the fields. 50 20 Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Anat, Baals wife and goddess of war and love, fought her way into the grave to rescue her husband. Leviticus 18:10, (5) They were having sex with their aunts. Canaanite Culture Canaanite Culture We know from the Bible and from experience that God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. In Joshua 6:1 we read that they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.. The completely negative connotations of "genocide" make it hard to look at the biblical events without a jaundiced eye. It includes the sexual promiscuity and perversion particularly associated with fertility cults as well as the callousness of child sacrifice. His violent death will eventually put an end to all violent deaths. Genesis 15:18-21: "On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.", Genesis 9:25-27: "He said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers. He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. This is a sure and certain promise. In the midst of idol worship, God would establish His promises to Abraham. At such moments there was only one place to look, and that is up, beyond oneself, to the One who could do so much more than we can ask or imagine.. The Canaanites were destined to be the servant of . Leviticus 18:23. Now if we take all these texts seriously as part of Gods own explanation for the events that unfold in the book of Joshua, we cannot avoid their implications. There is a concept known as generational sin, wherein a child will become like his parents not only because he was raised under their instruction and example, but also because he came genetically from those parents. They taxed the Canaanites instead of driving them from the land. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. To that point, Yahweh commanded the Israelites to not intermarry with the Canaanites, which seems odd if they were all supposed to be destroyed. Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites as the LORD your God has commanded you. This fact makes it very clear that the extermination of the Canaanites had everything to do with the righteous justice of Yahweh and nothing else. 21:21-35; Josh. because they were not salvageable. . THE SINS OF CANAAN HAVE BECOME THE SINS OF AMERICA Pastor Del Wray One of the question Ive been asked, "How could a good loving God command the Israelites to slaughter every man, woman, child, and even animal in the cities of the Canaanite nations? These sins exist in every culture, then and now, but are forbidden by most governments and are socially condemned by the majority of people in the culture. Genesis 6:9. The women would often fight in battles and participate with the men in the cutting off of their enemies heads and hands. All the other many tribes and cities that were living at a distance from the Canaanites were to be offered an opportunity to make peace. And even then they were only to drive them back, not destroy them. It had everything to do with the judgment of a people for their sins. But what kind of people were the Canaanites? Completely destroy them Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.Deuteronomy 20:17-18, Moreh means teacher, the NIV Study Bible explains, it suggests that the Canaanites sought directions from their gods by this tree. The Lord was angered by their idol worship, leading to many immoral practices within the Canaanite culture. and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. The only problem with this out is that it is not the way the Bible reads. Yahweh wanted the lives of His people and their worship to remain completely pure. Yahweh did not command Israel to exterminate the Canaanites because they were a different race. The sin in question is debated, ranging from literal voyeurism, castration or . In fact, temple prostitution was a large part of worship in the Canaanite culture. A group of settlers are happily farming in their fields. Canaan, Canaanites. They were descendants of Ham, who was a son of Noah, whom Noah had cursed. We already know that certain people are more genetically predisposed to alcoholism and other addictive tendencies; scientists are even trying to find a gay gene. Ultimately, this question can be answered only when one comes to understand that Yahweh is good and that a God who is willing to die for useven for the Canaanitesis a God who can be trusted with where babies and children go when they die. But Jesus conquers through the cross. 69 0 obj<>stream At the end of the chapter, the two perspectives are brought together. Asherah or Ishtar, also known as the Queen of Heaven, was a female fertility goddess who was worshiped through sexual acts, including orgies. End quote. The strategic location where the Canaanites were settled carries great significance as we zoom out on the providential plan of God. . This implies that Yahweh waits until nations or people have become wicked enough before He judges them. 2. The ancient Sifra commentary on Lev. There are certainly exceptions, but they are the exceptions. This was 400 years before the extermination of the Canaanites, meaning He gave them a long time to repent from their idolatry and sins. The Sin of Achan. The Canaanites were said to be cursed. The people of the ancient Near East viewed a sexual act with these priests as sexual union with the goddess herself.[5]. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD . 106:24-35). It was directly proportional to the 40 days that the spies had spied out the land. 7:1-6, 17-26 and 20:10-18. 0000001112 00000 n 0000050996 00000 n Yahweh also showed his willingness to forgive and restore with His dealings with Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire (Jonah 3:4-10). 0000001192 00000 n Cursed be Canaan! This does not mean that Yahweh has changed His mind on what He considers wickedness or on how to execute justice. All rights reserved. Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt. [13] See Day, John. What Deut. To the north, Canaan extended to Latakia, just south of Ugarit, and inland to Hamath. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1991. Canaan, the progenitor of the Canaanites, first appears in the story of Noah as one who did not cover their fathers shame. 87; Isa. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The ritual describes the woman not only doing grotesque things with the animal but enjoying it. %PDF-1.4 % God will always be purposeful in all He does and allows. [1] See Daniel Hawk. What bothers many many readers of the Old Testament is why God, after commanding Israel not to murder, uses their nation as an instrument of genocide to punish. The Canaanites were a people group who inhabited the land promised to Abraham. 4. Used by permission. See Deuteronomy 20:11 and Deuteronomy 20:15 on the offer of peace to be made to the nations living at a distance from the Canaanites. Joshua decided that showing mercy and honoring oaths takes priority over the Mosaic Law to exterminate everything. Molech was a Canaanite underworld deity[13] that required child sacrifice in order to prove devotion to him (Lev. And it seems that as history trudged along, the Canaanites became increasingly wicked. And just as He desires that sin be removed from Israel, so should we desire that sin be removed from the Church. . James B. Pritchard, in The Ancient Near East: Supplementary Texts and Pictures Relating to the Old Testament, p. 519. From this point forward they serve as the backdrop to the promise of Abraham. The Bible says Noah, was righteous and blameless, but Genesis 6:12 says "all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth." We are to live such righteous lives through the power of the Holy Spirit that those around us, like those living around Israel, will want to leave behind their old ways and worldviews and join the fellowship of Christians. Leviticus 18:7, (3) They were having sex with their sisters. 11:30-40; 2 Kgs. Leviticus 18:15, (7) They were having sex with their brother's wife. Yes, this means that conquest of evil is necessary. [11], The Egyptian dream book also describes which animals bring good omens when you have a dream about having sex with them. Certainly, it is to juxtapose it with that which is expected of Israel, but its also to set the stage for the just judgment of God against their wickedness. 7 But the Israelites [] broke faith concerning the devoted things. In fact, he made it clear that Israel, too, would be judged and would lose the land if they committed the same sins (Deut. In the second, the law states that Israel was to attack other nations outside the land of Canaan only if they were attacked first. The reason Yahweh repeatedly gives for the extermination of the Canaanites is that it is their judgment for their sin and rebellion against Him (Gen. 15:16; 18:20-21; Lev. Though there is much to commend in Waltons work, I lean more towards the explanation of Christopher J.H. . Canaan is the place God chose to fulfill His promise to Abraham. Disclaimer: Through My Bible - April 28. Though other cultures also participated in some of these practices, it was the widespread involvement and acceptance of these sins that brought the Canaanites under Yahwehs judgment. As a just and righteous God, Yahweh cannot tolerate evil and sin. Under the leadership of Joshua the Israelites were to conquer the Land of Canaan and utterly destroy the inhabitants. It was divine judgment. (Wright, 93). The fact that Jesus Christ was willing to be exterminated (Matt. They have little to no political affiliation, they are just simple people hoping to live out their days in their fields, loving their families, and doing honest work. Likewise, Yahweh did not choose Israel alone to execute justice in every case throughout history. When God did give the land over to Israel, he told Israel not to think it was because of their own righteousness. 7:3-4; 9:4-5). Where most cultures dehumanize the people they are destroying and make them out to be monsters to justify their slaughter, the narrator does not. Does God killing people make Him a murderer? With little intercession from Moses, Yahweh quickly relented and forgave Israel. 7 all state the Canaanites will be in the kingdom of Yahweh), so that they might escape this judgment shows the love and mercy of Yahweh. Wisdom 12:3-5 Revised Standard Version The Sins of the Canaanites 3 Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land 4 thou didst hate for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites, 5 their merciless slaughter[ a] of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. And even though He is a merciful and longsuffering God, there is a point where, for the sake of His holiness and the good of others in His creation, He must punish evil. 24:20-25:30). The Canaanites were clearly early, early members of the Democrat Party. The land that was then vacant after the conquest was to be given to Israel as a blessing for their obedience, but if they sinned as Canaan had, then they too would lose the land. 3: 26-27). And just as the Israelites were to deal with their own sin in a just way, so is the Church. Nissinen, Marti. Leviticus 18:16, ( 8 ] They were having sex with their neighbor's wife.. Leviticus 18:20, (9) They were having homosexual sex. All rights reserved. 0000006193 00000 n The Egyptians mourned for him for seventy days. That list is so hard to read. God told Abraham that the Amorite were a wicked people. Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? That is part of what we can learn from this story. [12] Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 10001. "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them." <<395D2D047C712C4997B87D5B811ED3E2>]>> We see in Christ that even stories like the Israelite conquest of the Canaanites is redeemed. Why not just destroy the Canaanites the same way He destroyed Sodom and Gomorah and not involve people killing other men, women and children? Canaan is here singled out from Hams descendants as the object of Noahs curse, NIV Study Bible explains, Israel would experience firsthand the depth of Canaanite sin and the harshness of Gods judgment on it.. They were not to go out to the other nations but were to live so righteously within their own borders that they would become a better and more blessed nation; in doing so, the people from the other nations would be so attracted to this difference that they would want to leave their old lives behind and join Israel. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.", Joshua 17:16: "The people of Joseph said, The hill country is not enough for us. Every member of that community is declared dead. 16:21; 20:31; 23:37; Jer. 7:1-4 does not seem to be focused on the sole extermination of the Canaanites but on the theological principle of separation from the Canaanites and protection of the Israelites from their influence. Thats the point. During the Exodus and wilderness period, they also serve as a threat to the religious purity of the Israelites. The point, instead, is to give insight that is never discussed by those who attack Christianity over this issue. Completely destroy them-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites-as the LORD your God has commanded you. Since Canaanite sin was regular and systematicthe entire adult population participated in the idolatrous systemGod judged the entire nation. We Dont Hate Sin So We Dont Understand What Happened to the Canaanites: An Addendum to Divine Genocide Arguments, in Philosophia Christi 11:1 (Spring 2009). When Israel first entered the land, Yahweh did not immediately send warriors to kill people; rather, he sent two witnesses to give the people in Jericho a chance to repent and escape the judgment (Josh. Sorted by: 4. Did God order this? John H. Walton in his excellent book The Lost World of Israelite Conquestgives twenty-one propositions to the make the argument that herem (what God ordered) was not so much an order to kill everyone by the sword but instead is more about rooting out ethnic identityit was about taking away their godless community. This idea continues in the book of Judges with the many different foreign nations, including the Canaanites, that Yahweh allowed to oppress Israel for their sins of idolatry and social injustice. New York: Routledge, 1994. Joshua in 3D: A Commentary on Biblical Conquest and Manifest Destiny. 7:13) and to destroy all the idols (Deut. A contributing writer for Salem Media since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team. Not only did they worship these gods, but they worshiped these gods with acts of sex in the temples and called it holy and righteous. During which time they only grew worse. [10] Hoffner, Incest, Sodomy and Bestiality in the Ancient Near East, p. 82. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3114473/jewish/Memoirs-of-Og-the-Not-So-Gentle-Giant.htm. 17:7-23) and Judah (the southern kingdom) in 586 BC with the Babylonians (2 Kgs. These are the people of the land and the ones that it will require Gods strength to conquer. Through Canaan, we are reminded of the danger of having idols and the importance of keeping God genuinely first and foremost in our lives. He used another nation to do it just as He had used Israel to judge the Canaanites (2 Kgs. Abram traveled though the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. 16:3; 21:6; 23:10; 2 Chr. [7] Godfrey Rolles Driver and John C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws, p. 38. True There were many things in the cities that were to be devoted to Yahweh (Josh. Her joy at the butchery is described in even more sadistic language. in light of: The Sins Of The Canaanites: Blood-Lust, Murder, Incest, Sex With Animals. What Every Christian Should Know about the Protestant Reformation. ***totally justified in giving His command to Israel to totally destroy the Canaanites.***. This is the role they play throughout this part of the Old Testament narrative. Israel's sons and daughters intermarried with the Canaanites and joined the Canaanites in worshiping their false gods. Some believe the Nephilim were directly responsible for the earth being so corrupt that God ultimately sent the Flood, destroying all life, except for Noah with his wife, his three sons and their wives, and the animals on the ark. People would go to the temples and have sex with these prostitutes as an act of worship. She is described as killing so many that she was wading through their blood. They would often seduce men from other villages so that their men could kill them (Judg. Infants and children as old as four were offered up to him. Apparently, they had copied his moral decadence. Decade after decade, He will allow the sins of Israel to go unpunished. 7:10-15), Yahweh made it clear that all of Israel had sinned, and He punished Israel by allowing them to be defeated by the Canaanites in the same way they were now defeating the Canaanites. "However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. This is consistent with the character of our great God, to do the impossible through circumstances we could never imagine working out the way they do. The Church, on the other hand, has not been called to be a nation with its own government but instead to be a people who are holy and distinct from the world within their nations and governments. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. the detestable customs that were practiced before you came" Leviticus 18:30. How Can I Recognize and Understand the Holy Spirit Better? How to Have Joy in Your Golden Years Despite These 10 Life Garrett Kell explains in an article for TGC, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The Canaanite people worshipped many gods. To the south, Canaanite territory stretched to the Negeb desert area, with no clear boundaries. ). The Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Ham, son of Noah. Rahab and her family repented, and they not only escaped the judgment but also became a part of Israel. Its supposed to be unsettling. It does not seem to fit with the narrative of God aiming to bless the nations through Abraham genocide doesnt seem to fit that storyline. The first states that the Canaanites were to be handed over to destruction. Though on the surface Yahwehs command to exterminate the Canaanites may leave us emotionally uncomfortable, we must realize that we really do want a God who hates sin and punishes evil justly. Yahweh gave Israel the land of Canaan as a reward for their obedience to Him but not because He was playing favorites. Leviticus 18:14, (6) They were having sex with their daughters-in law. 18:3 specifically says the Egyptians and Canaanites had same sex marriage contracts. [6] Papyrus Chester Beatty III recto (BM10683) from about 1175 BC, quoted in Lise Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 100. 19:22). The basic principles of divine intervention in conflict situations were stated by G.E. They wanted land. 5:13-15; 28:19; Acts 1:8). Blood-lust, murder, close family member incest, sex with animals. Wright says it well: On the contrary, the refusal of the exodus generation to go ahead and do it (in the great rebellion of Kadesh Barnea in Numbers 14), and the failureof the following generations to complete the task properly, are condemned as disobedience to Gods will (Ps. God remained patient with the Canaanite people for centuries. 3Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land4thou didst hate for their detestable practices,their works of sorcery and unholy rites,5their merciless slaughter[a] of children,and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood.These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult,[b]. Word of their plight comes to an elite team of special op soldiers. The blood was so deep that she waded in it up to her knees -- nay, up to her neck. The Canaanites, by contrast, were destroyed at the direction of God and primarily because of their sin. After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Furthermore, Israel and the Church have purposes that are different from each other. 12:3). As the creator of all things, Yahweh is sovereign over all creation and has the right to execute His justice in any way He sees fit. 0000006864 00000 n Today the church is not called to execute justice on the wicked in the same way. When Abraham arrived at the land promised to him, the Canaanite people inhabited the land.