God, the Ancient Israelites, and the Canaanites
This is article four in the Educational Theology Series (ETS).
“The Bible tells the story of evil-its origin, its battle against good and its ultimate defeat at the hands of an eternally good God” (Ryken et al, 2000, p. 248) with both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible revealing, “a God of love who is also a God of justice” (Kaiser et al, 1996, p. 47).
This essay introduces some of the discussion around God leading the ancient Israelites into the land God promised Abraham and his descendants, after their release from slavery in Egypt, and their subsequent conflict with the Canaanites from a biblical perspective.
Please note that while the theological and philosophical topic of the problem of evil, which is the “difficulty posed by the existence of evil (both moral evil and natural evil) in a world created by a God who is both completely good and all-powerful,” is relevant and aspects are included from a biblical perspective; a formal introduction of the problem of evil exceeds the scope of this essay (Evans, 2002, p. 42).
Whatever the magnitude of an ancient flood affecting the region (Ross, 2014, pp. 145-182), the Old Testament informs that Canaan was Noah's grandson (Gen 10:6), and that Canaan was cursed by Noah for some shameful act recorded in Genesis 9:20-27. Afterward, tribes of Canaan’s descendants arose and then dispersed. A number of these tribes are identified with areas around ancient Syria and Canaan where they settled (Gen 10:15-19) (Canaan, 2024).
In Genesis 9:26 Noah had blessed his son Shem from who Abraham (i.e. Abram) descended (Gen 11:10-26), in such a way “that the knowledge and practice of the true religion should continue among his descendants” (Spence-Jones & Excell, 1919, Gen 9:26). The knowledge of the holy one true supreme creator God that created the universe, was preserved from Shem to Abraham and from Abraham’s descendants to Moses (Gen 5:1-32, 11:1-26, Exo 1-2; Rose Publishing, 2005).
By the time Abraham entered Canaan, the Canaanite’s knowledge of Noah’s original monotheism was still present with at least some, such as the Canaanite prince Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20) who spoke “of God as Creator and deliverer” (Corduan, 2013, p. 326; Ryken et al, 2000, p. 546).
However, most Canaanites had already rejected the holy one true creator God of Noah (and Melchizedek and Abraham) as supreme to descend into a state of wickedness in service to a pantheon of fictional false gods and goddesses in conjunction with socio-religious depravity (Jones, 2009).
Geisler (2013) summarized the body of archeological discoveries regarding “the dark religious practices of the Canaanite peoples in the land prior to Joshua’s conquest. These wicked practices offer confirmation of the Canaanite deities, practices, and religious customs described in the Old Testament, including:
1. The suffocation of children, who were buried alive, evidenced by the discovery of thousands of clay jars containing the remains of children who were sacrificed.
2. Absence of morality among the gods.
3. Orgiastic worship of nature.
4. Male and female religious prostitution.
5. Malice and jealousy among the gods.
6. Other types of child sacrifice.
7. Pornographic nudity with serpent symbols.
8. High religious mythology.
9. Sensual idol worship.
These finds give new meaning and significance to the divine command given to Joshua and the Israelites to amputate the moral gangrene of the Canaanites and their religion" (p. 71).
Genesis 18 and 19 describes the events around the destruction of two Canaanite cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, during Abraham’s stay there. Presumably the centuries following the destruction of these two cities was an opportunity for the remaining Canaanites to repent of their depravity; however, they failed to do so.
As an aside, intriguingly the Collins (2016) excavation of Tell el-Hammam has unearthed a city that aligns with the biblical description for the city of Sodom. And the debate around articles discussing a possible airburst destroying Tell el-Hammam is interesting (Bunch et al, 2021, 2022, 2023; Jaret & Harris, 2022; Silvia et al, 2024) as are artifacts such as the Sumerian K8538 tablet at The British Museum.
Eventually, centuries after the death of Abraham the ancient Israelites ended their period of wandering in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt and prepared to enter and take possession of Canaan (Deu 1-34; Rose Publishing, 2005).
At this juncture, the land of Canaan is populated by various cultures of people groups that are sometimes referred to by their individual identities, sometimes altogether as Canaanites, and sometimes by both (Trimm, 2022, p. 39) who live “in the land between the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Jordan Rift (which includes the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea) on the east. The southern border was the desert area, while the northern boundary most likely included much of modern-day Lebanon" (Trimm, 2022, P. 35).
The book of Deuteronomy records the period preceding the offensive, emphasizing total commitment to the holy one true supreme creator God, to love God and obey His commandments. Directions are given. Separation from the depravity and idol worship of the Canaanites is mandated in the strongest terms with blessings promised for obeying God’s commandments and warnings for not obeying God’s commandments. Note that Heiser (2001) confirms the monotheism of Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (pp. 52-74).
The ancient Israelites are ordered to drive out the seven nations (e.g. Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) in the Promised Land (Deu 7:1-2) destroying those who remain and resist (Copan & Flannagan, 2014, pp. 76-83). They are not to make treaties with them or intermarry, they are to demolish all their idols and places of worship. If possible, they were to avoid military conflict with the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites who were ancestrally related to the ancient Israelites (Deu 2:4-8, 2:9, 16-23).
In Deuteronomy 9:5, Moses emphasizes that their victory is not due to their righteousness “but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (NASB, 1997).
Moses also communicates internal discipline for Israelites who fall into Canaanite practices that lead them away from the holy one true supreme creator God; however, only after due diligence is taken to ensure that such has occurred. Examples include if an Israelite false prophet arises to lead the people astray or an Israelite city falls into idol worship (Deu 13).
The separation given to the ancient Israelites was so complete that verses like Leviticus 19:19 prohibits even the mixing of items which modern readers may initially find confusing. Such passages forbid the Israelites from associating with the pagan fertility cult practices of the Canaanites who believed in occultist sympathetic magic which was the idea that symbolic actions could influence their pantheon of false gods and goddesses (also see Deuteronomy 32:17) which they believed could influence nature. The Canaanites believed the mixing of animal breeds, seeds, or materials would marry them and magically produce offspring, an agricultural bounty. The Israelites were to be separate, a people consecrated to the holy one true supreme creator God (Kapelrud, 1952, pp. 93-98; Baal, 2015).
Yet, though Moses knew the Israelites would settle the land they were about to enter, he, also knew they would eventually fail to love God and keep His commandments as evidenced in Deuteronomy 31:29 which states, "For I know that after my death you will behave very corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will confront you in the latter days, because you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands” (NASB, 1997).
The historical record of ancient Israelite backsliding is firmly established in the Old Testament. Israel became more of an offender than Judah, with exceptions. Throughout this history prophets arise and call for a return to God and repentance from false idols, foreign religious practices, intermarrying with foreigners, etc. This struggle dominates the history of the ancient Israelites until judgement finally comes in the form of subjugation, exile, and diaspora (e.g. Assyrian exile, Babylonian exile, Roman diaspora) (NASB, 1997; Gilbert, 1978, pp. 3-12; Bergren, 1974; Rose Publishing, 2005).
As the Israelites prepare to enter and work to possess their Promised Land, difficult verses are found such as Deuteronomy 7:1-2; 20:16-17 and Joshua 6:21; 8:24-26; 10:28, 40; 11:11, 14, 20-21.
Trimm (2022) asserted that many scholars can be categorized into one of four ways of viewing these Old Testament verses and their context while (Cowles et al, 2003) presented four ways many scholars look at the relationship between these Old Testament verses and their context in relation to New Testament thought. Both books benefit the discussion; however, the why and to what end appear understated. Such aspects of theodicy (see glossary) should not be undervalued.
The seven ancient Canaanite kingdoms were deeply wicked. For centuries they practiced the worst immoralities, engaged in deep occultism, sacrificed their children to false gods, mistreated the vulnerable in horrific ways, and refused to repent even though, if only as a distant echo, the existence of the holy one true supreme creator God of Noah was still known to some of them as an unknown deity above El, Baal, and all of their gods (Jones, 2009; Corduan, 2013, p. 329).
Eventually, the holy one true supreme creator God helped the Israelites codify a religious legal system which mandated separation from Canaanite depravity in the land they were to take possession of while simultaneously executing divine judgement (Kaiser, 1996, pp. 206-207; Jones, 2009, 2010; Craig, 2007).
And when the Israelites failed to maintain their separation from worshipping false Canaanite gods, goddesses, and depravities they faced divine judgement as well.
Jones (2010) stated:
"Israel’s response to Canaanite sin is a parable of how their own sinfulness empowered them to ape the sin of the Canaanites and thereby procure God’s judgment on them. For God does not show favoritism. Israel was warned not to let the Canaanites live in their land, but to completely destroy them (Exod. 23:33; Deut. 20:16–18), lest the Israelites learn the Canaanite ways (Exod. 34:15–16). If they did not destroy them, the land would “vomit” them out just as it had vomited out the Canaanites (Num. 33:56; Lev. 18:28; Deut. 4:23–29, 8:19–20)." (para. 3)
Such verses remind us that God’s sovereignty is not only good news for those who strive to do what is right, those who take a high view of the importance of right and wrong; but as Baker (2000) stated:
"In what must be terrifying words to hear, Yahweh can also say (Nahum 2:13) ‘I am your enemy’ (NLV), ‘I am against you’ (NIV). While Yahweh’s patronage shields… those who honour him (Gen. 12:2-3a; Rom. 8:31), those who oppose him (Gen. 12:3a; 2 Pet. 3:3-10) experience unmitigated woe." (p. 252).
This is reflected in the book of 2 Peter. The greater biblical context; however, is of God working to shepherd a people within covenants (e.g. Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David) from which Jesus Christ would later emerge and usher in the preeminent covenant (Ferguson & Packer, 2000, pp. 173-176; Geisler, 2004b).
Reader’s note: Also see https://www.ppothier.com/p/the-amarna-letters
and
https://www.ppothier.com/p/the-elephantine-papyri-in-english
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