For one thing, the Israelites would intermarry with them, and their spouses would bring their gods into the marriage with all that entailed. 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. Copan, Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites. 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. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. But instead of repenting when things went badly, they concluded that their misfortune was because they stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven, Inanna/Ishtar (Jer. Christians believe that all authority belongs to God (Matthew 28:18, Romans 13:1, Colossians 2:10). God sent Jonah to Nineveh, and spared the nation because of their repentance towards God. But God has no such prohibition. 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}. In the Hebrew Bible, the Canaanites are described as inhabitants of Canaan before the arrival of the Israelites (e.g., Genesis 15:18-21, Exodus 13:11). He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Then, in AD 70, forty years after Jesus was crucified, the Roman emperor Titus destroyed Jerusalem. Because of such things, biologist and prominent atheist Richard Dawkins describes God as a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser . 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). This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it (Jeremiah 18:7-10 ESV). Spoiler alert: God did give Canaan a chance to repent. Now after all of this God gives marching orders. Moreover, given the evidence of Canaanite sin, it is no stretch to realize that even many young children would have already learned Canaanite ways. This is an online articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. Further, he said that Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35). 12:4, 30, 31). Rahab was later held up as an example of faithful obedience in the New Testament (Heb. Can these be put together? Under the sanctuary in the ancient city of Gezer, urns containing the burnt bones of children have been found. So theeremlaws still apply, but in a spiritual sense rather than a physical sense. But no one repented so all but Noah and His family were destroyed. Robert has written 111 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Dr. Michael Gleghorn draws on the book 'Body, Soul and Life Everlasting' to provide an overview of what the NT teaches about the body-soul connection. Though rebellion must be put down and rebels must be punished for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), God displays mercy for He is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 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! They are insisting that God and Christianity are in fact poisonous and must diligently be resisted and defeated. 18:28; Deut 4:2329, 8:1920). The Bible calls Noah a preacher of righteousness thats because before the flood Noah tried to save others by preaching repentance! Jesus power was shown in His healings and exorcisms and preeminently in His victory in the heavenlies by His death and resurrection (see Col. 2:13-15). I want to look at some Biblical stories about God destroying nations. What about these people prompted such a harsh judgment? Rick's interests focus on apologetics, Christianity and culture, and the changing currents in Western thought. And if all children are saved, then a Canaanite child would benefit by being alive in a better place. God would hardly have chosen a Baal-worshipper to be a type, prophetically previewing his Son (Hebrews 7:3). God sought to reveal His standards of righteousness to a thoroughly corrupted humankind, and He chose Israel out of the nations to exhibit the requirements for relationship with Him (Deut. In the meantime, we are still called to do battle, but not as Israel did. And how are Christians supposed to apply the erem laws today? It was merciful for God to bring an end to the.
Why doesn't God offer Sodom and Gemorrah the same chance to repent He Isnt there an inconsistency here? Based on the Biblical evidence, however, this objection dissolves away for two reasons: 1. What the Israelites are told to do to the Amalekites is exactly what the Amalekites had been doing to Israel. Bernhard Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1957), 93-94; 96-103.
Who Were the Canaanites, and Why Did God Order Their Destruction? For God does not show favoritism. The question has been raised whether God really intended the Israelites to kill all the people. 33:56; Lev. Why didnt God just tell Israel; move in, settle down and coexist? If the Israelites started to get a little slack in their obligations to Yahweh, they would turn to other gods.
God did not order the extermination of these people to be cruel, but to prevent even greater evil from occurring in the . Tugis life was full of dignity and worth. In Deuteronomy 20:18, God gave Israel an explicit reason why it was necessary to wipe out the Canaanites: that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God., It was merciful for God to limit the scope of the. 2:34; 3:3, 6).
Killing the Canaanites: A Response to the New Atheism's "Divine 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Probably the ultimate sexual depravity is intercourse with animals. The Canaanites were an evil, depraved people who had to be judged to fulfill the demands of justice. The Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. 11:31; Jas. Although these laws express Gods judgment, they also show us Gods mercy in several important ways: Now that Christ has come, the way in which we understand and apply theeremlaws has radically transformed. There are many nations and peoples called wicked or evil and then destroyed in the Bible including Canaan, Hittites, Giggahites, Amorites, Pharaoh and his people, Sodom and Gommorah. Can the actions of the Israelites legitimately be called genocide? What was to stop it? The Canaanites were descendants of Noah. Had there been repentance, there would have been no need to execute wrath on evildoers. 28:7. 13-14), but in nearby cities they were to save nothing alive that breathes (v. 16). 18:28). Before joining Probe Ministries, Rick worked in the ship repair industry in Norfolk, VA. In phase one, God fought the flesh-and-blood enemies of Israel. Bereishit 19:4:. However, if we properly understand the whole picture we will be able to view God 's actions as full of mercy and fairness in His dealings with His children. This was especially true of the Canaanite societies steeped in abominable practices like child sacrifice and cult prostitution. The phrase the Lords battles or battles of the Lord are found in 1 Sam. 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.
Why did God command the genocide of the Canaanites? - GotQuestions.org 18:7-8 ). 14. Who is more qualified than the Creator to decide how long one lives? God Was God just in destroying the Canaanites? And how else would God have said it if He did mean that? 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. All rights reserved. They reason something along these lines: (1) Christians condemn genocide. 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. It was merciful for God to allow individual Canaanites to repent and join the people of God. Lev. I consider Jesus the be the perfect example of how to be good, Jesus would never hurt anyone. It doesnt stop there. 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. They made a religion of lust. 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. And their laws concerningeremwarfare pointed to Gods just judgment against sin.
What the Bible says about Opportunity to Repent 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. We must keep in mind, also, that Israel did not decide to exterminate the Canaanites, God did. God knows what is best for humankind, but He allowed free creatures to rebel and find out on their own that He is right. For the story of Baal having sex with Asherah, see: El, Ashertu and the Storm-god, trans. Much of what follows is horrific, but if we refuse to look, will we really understand the reasons for Gods judgment? 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. Cf. 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? . God had decided to judge Nineveh because they were evil (Jonah 1:2). Previous post: 10 Biblical Steps Towards Restoration After Sexual Sin, Next post: Baptism Quotes: 27 Inspirational Christian Sayings. 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. The non-believer has no objective authority. It was merciful for God to allow the Canaanites to remain in the land as long as they did. God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. 12.
Why did God judge the Canaanites as wicked despite never appearing to 7). 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. 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. I have two questions: 1. Tagged as: 1. 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. Here are a few factors to take into consideration: First, the sins of parents, just like their successes, have an impact on their children. Consider one basic example of how new atheist rationalizations echo the propensities of Canaanite sin, and indeed, echo the rationalizations of the human heart. com; Question and Answer Archive, Question #16). Idolatry. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. 7 passage provides better support for his position.
Why Did God Tell Joshua To Kill The Canaanites? Bestiality. Long after the conquest of the land, when God decided He would have to destroy Moab, according to Isaiah God wept bitterly over her cities (Isa. Furthermore, justice must respond to the moral failure of sin. The Canaanites had not completely sinned away their day of grace. 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. God allowed Israel to become slaves in Egypt (more on this in a moment). Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. 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. Women were no less guilty than men, and in many cases they were the principal instigators. 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. 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. When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. Sue Bohlin reflects on how God has led her to trust Him through the trial of tongue cancer surgery. Another observation is that the instruction is frequently to dispossess the Canaanites or move them out rather than to destroy them. When a community sins, there are consequences for every member of the population, even children. I think God meant it quite literally. Israel was warned not to let the Canaanites live in their land, but to completely destroy them (Exod. What God commanded Israel to do to the Canaanites wasnt genocideit was capital punishment. Abraham decides to bargain again okay, okay but what about if Im 5 people short? 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. 11. Presumably, the Canaanites could have done the same thing. He points out how Yahweh Wars, i.e. God spoke these words to the Israelites as they were encamped on the plains of Moab and about to cross the Jordan River into Canaan. These nations were cut off to prevent the corruption of Israel and the rest of the world (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). 34:1516). This is why it is so important for us to get our doctrine of humanity right. Generation after generation of Canaanites continued in the same evil practices. In our pluralistic age, its easy to forget what an offense that is to the true God. In phase four there was a major change. At first, the Israelites tried to compromise and worship God the way the Canaanites worshiped their gods. 1 (2009): 73-92; www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=63. God gives nations a chance to choose that which is right and to mend their ways but if they refuse godliness and adopt immorality, idolatry, covetousness, sexual impurity, etc., then God has no alternative but to let them reap the consequences of their own wickedness. 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. Not even 10 righteous people could be found.
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