Razing Canaan

It is not because of your righteousness or integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you…” (Deut 9:5)

Popular critics of the Bible portray the God of the Old Testament as a vicious tribal deity because he ordered the Israelites to conquer Canaan and slaughter all its inhabitants. People think God was cruel to them and unfairly favored the Israelites. But here we see the real story. The Canaanites were destroyed for their great wickedness – child sacrifice, temple prostitution, idol worship, etc. God explicitly tells the Israelites it is not because they deserve it or are holy – they themselves are a “stiff-necked people” who continually rebel against him. They only avoid the fate of Canaan because they acknowledge God as Lord and repent of their rebellion.