Old Testament Violence (5) - Canaan

Christians have tended to confuse the Israelites’ behaviour with God’s character. There is a big difference between God’s command and what his people did. In this section I focus on God’s words and actions. When I look carefully at what God told the Israelites to do when entering the land of Canaan and what he said should be done to the Canaanites, I get quite a different picture of God. He was not bloodthirsty and violent.

God did not order his people to slaughter the Canaanites. Rather, he promised that he would drive the Canaanites out of the land in the same way that he freed his people from slavery in Egypt. He would do mighty signs and wonders that would fill the people of Canaan with fear and cause them to flee.

The children of Israel did not understand this promise. They thought that they had to take the land using military force, so they became aggressive and bloodthirsty. However, they were acting presumptively rather than obeying God, because he had not authorised their violence and bloody destruction. He intended them to gain victory in a better way, but they did not have enough faith to trust him for it.

When God called Moses to lead Israel, this is what he said.

I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:7,8).

God promised to come down and do it all. He did not promise to deliver them from Egypt, but leave them to fight for the good land.

In Exodus 23, when God was speaking to Israel directly, he told them that he would drive the Canaanites out of the land. He explained it would happen.

Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared… I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out…

I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you (Ex 23, 20:22,23,27,28).

God promised to do the job himself. He would send his angel before them to drive out their enemies. The enemy hearts would be filled with confusion and fear. The angel would strike the Canaanites with discomfit and fear. Hornets would come and frighten them. They would turn their backs and flee.

At the same time, God told Israel that they should not mix with the Canaanites or have anything to do with the people who lived in the land. When they had fled, the Israelites should break down and destroy the Canaanite’s idols.

You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars… For if you serve their gods… (Ex 23:24,33).

God gave the Israelites very clear instructions, but he did not tell them to destroy the Canaanites. He said three times that he would “drive them out”.

Little by little I will drive them out before you (Ex 23:30)

This shows that God wanted the Canaanites to be expelled from the land.