did god give the canaanites a chance to repent
No worldly government can exist unless it uses every necessary means to punish law breaking. Why Your Church Needs Vacation Bible School, Gods Amazing Conversions Through Dreams and Visions Part Three, Gods Amazing Conversions Through Dreams and Visions Part Two, Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies Movie Review, Phoenix Wilder And The Great Elephant Adventure Movie Review, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Movie Review. One should note that Joshuas commands in Deuteronomy 23 are given before the Israelites have completed their sweep through the land, so of course there are Canaanites there to marry. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 550. 4:28 NIV). They reason something along these lines: (1) Christians condemn genocide. 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. In Leviticus 18 God then warns Israel that if they commit similar sins that the land would similarly vomit them out. If they did not destroy them, the land would vomit them out just as it had vomited out the Canaanites (Num. 28:7. Longman goes on to cite OT scholar Meredith Kline, who proposes a theory of intrusion ethics. Scripture tells us that the punishment for all sin is death (Gen. 2:17; Rom. Minor judges Izban, Elon, and Abdon get brief mentions. Further, in Deuteronomy 20, Moses said they were only to kill the adult males in far away cities (vv. And He said to Abraham, you and your children to the fourth generation must be patient too. He is also a God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. 1:27-2:5, we read that tribe after tribe of Israelites did not drive out all the inhabitants of the cities they conquered. This news had terrified the city of Jericho and Rahab had put her faith in God (Joshua 2:10-14). The Canaanites were descendants of Noah. They could have repented of their evil, followed God, and been spared judgment. Rick's interests focus on apologetics, Christianity and culture, and the changing currents in Western thought. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Nevertheless, those that choose to reject Gods love will be lost (2 Peter 3:7). Bring biblical wisdom to the confusing issues across the world by making a gift to our international work. The story of Canaanite incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality flow out of the plot line of idolatry. The debate between Craig and Hitchens occurred on April 4, 2009 at Biola University. These twentieth-century examples were basically people killing people simply because they hated them and/or wanted their land. God knew it would take the destruction of the nations. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. It was merciful for God to allow the Canaanites to remain in the land as long as they did. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. If you like what you're reading, you can get free daily updates through the RSS feed here. 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). Far be it from you! 2:25) and even included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. But no one repented so all but Noah and His family were destroyed. There is no denying that God, in the Old Testament, commanded the nation of Israel, His chosen people, to exterminate many nations of people. Conclusion: What does this tell us about God? In the old testament God tells Joshua to kill all the Canaanites, including women and children. Why did God judge the Canaanites as wicked despite never appearing to For one thing, the Canaanites worshipped other gods. 16:9; cf. This article is a slightly adapted version of the program that aired on the Probe radio program. It has been suggested that such obliteration language was hyperbolic.{10} Commands to destroy everyone are sometimes followed by commands not to intermarry, such as in Deut. A book review of In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration by William Lane Craig (Eerdmans, 2021), Let Faith Oust Fact: A Review of The Whale, No Mindful Matter: The Explanatory Failure of Scientific Materialism, Una pregunta que los mormones no pueden responder, Connect with the Christian Research Institute. Robert believes that the Bible contains the truth that God wants us to base our lives upon. He teaches theology at Westminster Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. Dt. In phase four there was a major change. 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. Old Testament scholars Keil and Delitsch write that there can be no doubt that the idea which lay at the foundation of the ban was that of a compulsory dedication of something which resisted or impeded sanctification; . 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. Like all Ancient Near East (ANE) pantheons, the Canaanite pantheon was incestuous. Lev. Albrecht Goetze, ed. God had warned them against that ( Deut. In Genesis 15:16, God told Abraham that his descendants would have to remain slaves in Egypt for 400 years before taking possession of Canaan, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. So God was patient in dealing with the Canaanite nations, waiting until they reached the point of no return. . Tagged as: 1 (2008): 7-37; www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=45. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Rusty Wright presents a compelling case for the historicity of Jesus resurrection. Concerning the destruction of the Canaanites, atheists especially like to exploit the Christian condemnation of genocide. 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. What the Bible says about Opportunity to Repent They are insisting that God and Christianity are in fact poisonous and must diligently be resisted and defeated. Kyle Dillon (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) serves as an assistant pastor at Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tennessee. 1: The Pentateuch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d.), 484-485. The third goal of the conquest was the protection of Israel. Canaanite tribes (especially the Hittites) greatly exceeded the boundaries that Israel was told to conquer. 6. They are dated to somewhere between 2000 and 1500 BC, between the time of Abraham and the Exodus.{7}. Driving them out wasnt simply a way of making room for Israel. IGRG: Did God Give The Canaanites a Chance? - lofteideas You cannot have moral laws without a moral Lawgiver. This is an online Viewpoint articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. God and the Canaanities | Bible.org Of course Dawkins complains that Gods monumental rage whenever his chosen people flirted with a rival god resembles nothing so much as sexual jealousy of the worst kind.5 But does anyone think that if Dawkinss wife left him for a gingerbread man of her own baking, and then she began to tell everyone that he liked to play with his excrement, that Dawkins would tolerate the characterization of his feelings as no more than sexual jealously of the worst kind? Tugis life was full of dignity and worth. Will More People Go To Hell Than Go To Heaven? 12. 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. Notes Did the Canaanites Have a Chance? In phase one, God fought the flesh-and-blood enemies of Israel. But why should we take seriously the skeptics advocacy for Canaanite children? Speaking with Abraham, God predicted that the Canaanites would eventually become so evil that He {13} How persuasive this thought is will depend on how seriously we take biblical teaching about our future after the grave. 18 records briefly the moral degradation of the Canaanites. The Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. Probably the ultimate sexual depravity is intercourse with animals. 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 Bible calls Noah a preacher of righteousness thats because before the flood Noah tried to save others by preaching repentance! Subsequently, God sent prophets to warn Israel of their coming destruction, but they didnt repent and God said that they became like Sodom to me and He visited destruction on Israel for committing the same sins. If I can find 50 good people will you spare Sodom God says sure. 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. Bible Based.We believe in solo-scriptura. 2:34; 3:3, 6). God had decided to judge Nineveh because they were evil (Jonah 1:2). The tragedy of this story is that not only is idolatry an offense to Yahweh, but it fails to supply a happy ending for human communities as well. God had warned them against that (Deut. If He wanted to strike me dead right now, thats His prerogative (Reasonable Faith . They were fully aware that God had chosen Israel to be a tool in His hands in bringing judgement to the nations. 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. 13-14), but in nearby cities they were to save nothing alive that breathes (v. 16). God is a God of . 12:4, 30, 31). Lets look at something God told Abraham before all this started. (972) 941-4565 note: please see Probes article Do Babies Go to Hell? by Probes founder Jimmy Williams.]. And I say contemporary because children werent regarded as highly in the Ancient Near East as they are today. Resources The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version(ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. He points out how Yahweh Wars, i.e. 12:4, 30, 31). 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. God promised Canaan to Abraham and his children. 22:1011; Amos 2:7), and even Solomon set up an altar to Molech (1 Kings 11:5, 78). Read them in the archive below. But this is precisely the thing that the unbeliever loses in denying the existence of God. This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 44, number 2 (2021). . However, what is good and right or what is bad and wrong changes with societys opinions. The Canaanites took seriously the testimony of the Old Testament witness of Yahweh and His revelation, if for no other reason than intentionally to transform the scriptural depiction of Yahweh into a castrated weakling who likes to play with His own excrement and urine.4. God gave us life, and He has the right to take it away. In Deuteronomy 20:16, Moses said the Israelites were to save alive nothing that breathes in the cities in their new land. . Then theres Sodom, God tells Abraham that because of the wickedness of Sodom He will destroy it. He believes the latter is the correct interpretation. Glenn M. Miller, How could a God of Love order the massacre/annihilation of the Canaanites? on the web site A Christian Thinktank, 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. God knows what is best for humankind, but He allowed free creatures to rebel and find out on their own that He is right. He holds a B.A. He gave them the law so that they may know Him and His ways. For God does not show favoritism. The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. Women were no less guilty than men, and in many cases they were the principal instigators. Clay Jones is assistant professor in the Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics program at Biola University and specializes in issues related to why God allows evil. Their authority is based on the current societal perception of morality. It was merciful for God to bring an end to the. However recently an atheist friend told me God was cruel and unloving and used examples from the old testament to prove it. Now after all of this God gives marching orders. Thus, the Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 15:16, "the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." If they had sex with just about every living thing they could get their hands on, and they did, then all had to die. 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. 2:11). And then these same skeptics turn around and say if there is a God of justice, why does He permit the wicked to rule the world and bring sorrow and suffering on the innocent? No matter what God does, all of His actions are guided by His sovereign will and the fact that He, so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 ESV). Before He redeemed humankind, He needed to unambiguously demonstrate what exactly He was redeeming them from: a blatant and unrestrained evil that resulted in a worthless, nasty, and cruel existence. Did the Ancient Gentiles Have the Hope of Salvation? 7. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org. Yahweh derided these handmade gods that cannot speak and must be carried because they cannot walk (Jer. Here are a few factors to take into consideration: First, the sins of parents, just like their successes, have an impact on their children. Was God just in destroying the Canaanites? - BibleAsk They had passed the point of redeemability, and were ripe for judgment. What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?Far be it from you to do such a thingto kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. 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! This again reveals that Gods motive isnt genocide, but capital punishment. God's character, Why did God judge the Canaanites as wicked despite never appearing to them or giving them law? Therefore, Israels own mission foreshadowed Jesuss mission in a number of ways. See also Leupold (1942, 463). Dawkins, 338. 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. The second goal of the conquest was the judgment of the Canaanites. This document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. What the Bible says about Why did God Command Israel to Go to War 7). 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. Josephus records that the Jews in Jerusalem were first whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were then crucified before the wall of the city.So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.26 Titus then renamed the region Palestine and for almost 1,900 years one couldnt find Israel on the map. See Paul Copan, Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites, Philosophia Christi 11, no. He can be reached at [emailprotected]. 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. What was to stop it? 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). Why did God wipe out the Canaanites? : r/TrueChristian The people believed that re-enacting these unions themselves played a part in the fertility of the land.{9}. Dan. 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. Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman sees five phases of Yahweh war in the Bible. Israel had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. They were corrupt and depraved to the core. 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. 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. I consider Jesus the be the perfect example of how to be good, Jesus would never hurt anyone. Non-Christians often point to the Old Testaments erem laws to reject Christianity altogether. 7:22). Longman writes: 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. Not only have some people rejected Christianity over this, but it has even spurred some Christians to leave the faith. If we see humans as being basically good or innocent, then of course we will react with indignation to the Bibleseremlaws. However, if we take the Bible on its own terms, we will recognize that all humans are born guilty and corrupt. He is convinced that the hope of the world lies in men and women having a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. These people were not clueless about their responsibility to God; rather, they openly mocked His lordship and committed horrible acts that even the most hardened of us would deem worthy of judgment. Servants were sent to the tenants of the vineyard, but had been mistreated, and so the owner of the vineyard sent his son, but the tenants killed the son. 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. The part that concerns us herethe real culmination of Yahweh waris called herem. 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. Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?27 Ultimately the Lord then agrees to spare both cities if only ten righteous people were found. Emphasis added. 23:14). God didnt. If you feel an answer is not 100% Bible based, then leave a comment, and we'll be sure to review it. 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. Rick Wade provides a biblically informed perspective of these Old Testament events, looking back at them with a Christian view of history and its significance. In fact, He waited almost 400 years, and until their society had become completely depraved, before He instituted His command of capital punishment. 1. Ironically, the unbelievers moral criticisms presuppose a transcendent source of morality. The evidence says no. Judges: a cycle of sin and deliverance - OverviewBible God has delivered Israel and set them apart as His people. Second, if the Canaanite children were allowed to live and remain in the land, they could very well act to avenge their parents when they grew up, or at least to pick up again the practices of their parents. 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. Kyle, Canaan, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, ed. He looks at all things from a infinite perspective than man can. If God is so merciful and loving, why didnt God just assimilate Israel into Canaan instead of driving them out? 7:1-2). Third, God gave the Canaanites ample time to repent. 32:4; Colossians 3:25; etc.). All rights reserved. However, according to Kline, sometimes we get snapshots of Gods final judgment intruding into the flow of history, foreshadowing the reality to come. Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?, Philosophia Christi 10, no. PDF What Do We Do with the Canaanites? So for those of us who confess the authority of both the Old and New Testaments, we are faced with a number of challenging questions: How do we reconcile the erem laws with the rest of Scriptures teachings on justice and compassion? 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). Jesus then warned, What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 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. It was merciful for God to allow individual Canaanites to repent and join the people of God. For the Canaanites, it was time for Gods judgment. For me to do so would be murder. The Canaanites: Genocide Or Judgment? | Bible.org Who Were the Canaanites, and Why Did God Order Their Destruction? Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. 4:26; 7:4 ). Herem literally means ban or banned. It means to ban from human use and to give over completely to God. Further, he said that Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35). Similarly, the southern tribes (usually referred to as Judah) were deported when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem beginning in 586 BC. 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. 33:56; Lev. 3. 15:5). In Deuteronomy 9:4-6, God Himself explains the reason for His command to slaughter the Canaanites. Keil and F. Delitzsch, trans., James Martin, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. In Luke 20 Jesus told the Jews the parable of the tenants and the vineyard. No ANE text condemns homosexuality. Are We Held Accountable for the Sins of Our Forefathers? Plano TX 75075 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 people of the land had heard about all that had happened with the Israelites from the time they escaped Egypt. 2. God and the Canaanites: A Biblical Perspective, www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=45, www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=63, Yahweh War and the Conquest of Canaan - A Biblical Worldview Perspective, "How Could a Compassionate God Order the Genocide of the Canaanites? Presumably, the Canaanites could have done the same thing. This is one of the most morally troubling passages in all of Scripture. For one thing, the Israelites would intermarry with them, and their spouses would bring their gods into the marriage with all that entailed. Was John the Baptist the only person that understood Christs mission. God had given the Midianites, Amalekites and other Canaanites 400 years to repent of their unbelievably evil practices (sacrificing children on red-hot idols being one of them), and they hadn't (Genesis 15:13-16). You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. (Deut. Instead, the Israelites worshiped the Canaanites gods and did evil (Judg. What Does It Mean for the Saints to Judge Angels? 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. As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. But He said to Abraham that the promise would take a long time to be fulfilled for the iniquity of the Amorites, or the people of Canaan, is not yet full (v. 16). We dont live in a theocracy anymore and, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:45, we dont fight with the weapons of the world, but we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (NIV). Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, in his " ", posits that one of the reasons that Sodom was not given the chance to repent was that even their children were wicked. But what about Deuteronomy 24:16 which says that children shall not be put to death because of their fathers sins? The answer is: absolutely not! In regard to the Canaanites, God commanded, "In the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Their task was to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah. Based on the Biblical evidence, however, this objection dissolves away for two reasons: 1. C.F. Why would Jesus die for basically good folk? 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. In phase three, when Israel and Judah were in exile, God promised to come in the future as a warrior to rescue them from their oppressors (cf. 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. 1:5). Thus, they were all without excuse for not worshiping God. Doesnt the new atheists complaint ring hollow, since they are often at the forefront of defending a womans right to suction, dismember, or scald to death her unborn baby at any time and for any reason? Who Were the Canaanites in the Bible - History and Importance
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