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Most of the time when people refer to God as being cruel and a bloodthirsty barbarian, they usually refer to how God ordered bloodshed and total annihilation of an entire race including babies and old people. A genocide if you call it. Well, this makes a perfect argument for atheist to bank off of to prove to us that the God in the Bible cannot be real. But is that truly the case? If God is a judge then how can he be so unfair? This seems to be a uncomfortable, touchy subject in which Christians will overlook and hope to ignore. In today’s society, people ask simple questions but demand instant answers because they are impatient with complexity. Why did God order the annihilation of the Canaanites (consisting of the Sidon, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites) including babies and women? That certainly is a simple question deserving an answer. But fortunately God gives us the answers by leaving His Word and that answer is  found simply by doing homework, what anti-Christians usually fail to do.

Tracing back from the beginning of the encounters, Joshua, Aaron, and Moses were leading the Israelites to their promise land. The fist battle occurred against Edom. Israel asked first if they can pass through and said they wouldn’t touch anything. Instead of just refusing, Edom initiated a war for no reason so the Israelites fought back to defend themselves and defeated them. (Numbers 20:14-24) Nothing unfair with that.

Now along their journey, King Arad, a Canaanite also instigated a war against and held them captive for no reason. So Israel fought back in self defense. Nothing unusual with that (Numbers 21:1).

Then a third incident occurs. Israel is once again minding their own business and wanting to travel to their promise land without bothering anyone. They came across Sihon, King of the Amorites and requested if they could peacefully pass through. You guessed it, Sihon refused and started a war against Israel for no apparent reason so Israel fought against them. They defeated Sihon and Og, kings of that region. (Numbers 21;22) Can you see the trends here?

Continuing their journey, the Midinites knew they couldn’t defeat Israel through war. They knew they were protected under the True God because of their victories. So instead of applying with what they understood, they still maintained their evil ways. They got real tricky and used their women to sexually seduce the Israel men and take part of evil practices and Baal worship (Numbers 31:16). They were partially successful until God struck down the men and women engaged in that practice through plagues and execution. Fortunately the Midinite women who were innocent were spared.

Later on, a tribe called the Gibeonites cleverly tricked the Israelites into having a peace treaty with them. Even though Israel wasn’t too happy being tricked, they still honored their word for being allies. We read later on that the Adoni, Hoham, Piram, Japhra, and Debir fought against Israel’s allies. Israel, keeping their truce, fought back against their ally’s enemies. That’s what friends are for right? Just like we helped our allies during World War 1 and 2. There is nothing wrong with that.

Although these answer certain episodes they don’t account for the rest of the wars that continued after. So what was the reason?

Well One great reason why God ordered the genocide was because they practiced Baalism with their God’s of Peor, Astheroth, Berith, and Molech. God called Baalism detestable and such an abomination. (Judges 2:19) It consisted of sacrificing innocent children (2 Judges 11-14). King Ahab and Ahaz who sacrificed their son by burning them into the fire (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Kings 21:6)

The Bible speaks clearly on this:

“And they built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech” (Jeremiah 32:35).

“They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons as offering to Baal” (Jeremiah 19:5).

‘You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags’ (Isa.57:5).

They have set their abominations in the house which is called My name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire ..’ (Jer.7:30-31)

You took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them [the idols] to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?‘ (Ezek.16:20-21)

The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices,  for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, [a] as food for them. They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house. ( Ezekiel 23:36-39)

Also get this- after the Baal priest rolled the babies into the fire, they engaged in sexual intercourse and orgies! In fact archaeology confirmed this by has uncovering Baal cemeteries with the remains of more than 20,000 children and 6000 cremated children in urns in a Phoenician Baal worship site. Now if you don’t see why God wanted this nation destroyed now you know. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you’ (Deut.18:10)

God also says this about Baal worship:

“I will bring such a catastrophe on this place … because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents. They have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into mind; therefore behold, the days are coming,”

The children were going to die anyways or grow up to continue this abominal act. By ending their lives as children, God enabled them to have entrance into Heaven. The Bible also reveals that God was patient to the Canaanites. After hundreds of years they continued to practice evil ways. We see an example of a Canaanite prostitute by the name of Rahab spared because of her righteousness. Unfortunately the Canaanites continued to do evil.

Finally, the reason why God gave that order was because He knew if they allowed that race to continue to exist, they would lead the daughters and sons of Israel to intermarry and be taught the ways of Baal (Duet 20:18, Judges 2: 1-4, Duet 7:1-6, Judges 8:33, Exodus 23:19). Over and over again God warned what would happen. God also warned them not to make any covenants because they would turn against Israel when they least expected it, rise into power, and then enslave them. Of course, God is God and can see the future. And guess what? When Israel didn’t listen and disobeyed, God’s prophecies came true. When Israel spared a few Canaanites, they later started practicing their ways of child sacrifices and orgies (Judges 2:11, Judges 2:19). Baal worship is a religion of fertility so you could imagine what took place. Furthermore, these Canaanites that were spared rose back to power to enslave the Israelites. We see tons of examples of slavery and oppression from the Canaanites in the entire Book Of Judges and also in Judges 2:1-3; 1 Kings 11:5; 14:24; 2 Kings 16:3-4. One perfect example we see is when Saul disobeyed God’s command to wipe away the Amalekites by sparing 400 men. Just a couple of decades later there were enough Amalekites to take David and his men’s families captive (1 Samuel 30:1-2). After David and his men attacked the Amalekites and rescued their families, 400 Amalekites escaped. If Saul had fulfilled what God had commanded him, this never would have occurred. Several hundred years later, a descendant of Agag, Haman, tried to have the entire Jewish people exterminated (see the book of Esther). So, Saul’s incomplete obedience almost resulted in Israel’s destruction. God knew this would occur, so He ordered the extermination of the Amalekites ahead of time.

We know that God’s ways are higher than our ways and that He knows what’s best for us. He detests Canaanite Baal worship and is evil in his eyes! When we disobey God we will have a consequence not always because God is punishing us but because that’s what our actions lead us to.

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