The invasion of Canaan was not only necessary to create a strategic living space for Israel. It was also a terrible once-off act of judgement that foreshadowed the final judgement still to come. It is as though a bit of the future was brought into the beginning of Israel’s history to prefigure where the story would end. God had waited until the sin of the land’s inhabitants had reached “its full measure” (see Genesis 15:16) and this also is what we see happening in the book of Revelation: the sin of the world reaching its full measure. In Revelation, the judgement on the world is universal and exhaustive. So too was it to be with the invasion of Canaan. The main imperative used in connection with the conquest is that of ‘driving out’ the people, so we can assume that killing them was a last resort. The point is that they must not compromise. If they did, these people would certainly mislead them. Canaanite occultism was entrenched and powerful and they would not be able to resist it. So, this was also a vital pre-emptive strike. The invasion itself is not unusual by ancient standards. It is disturbing for modern readers because God commands it. For ancient people though, a God that does not defeat enemies was unintelligible, because wars were seen as conflicts between gods that showed who was the greatest god. However, this chapter is meant to be disturbing (as is Revelation 19-20). It reminds us that God treats sin very seriously and we had better take his hand of reconciliation in Christ lest we be on the wrong side of judgement.
Praise God for the grace given to you in Jesus Christ.
Read Deuteronomy 7
