“When he does this, when Adonai your God hands them over ahead of you, and you defeat them, you are to destroy them completely! Do not make any covenant with them. Show them no mercy. Don’t intermarry with them — don’t give your daughter to his son, and don’t take his daughter for your son.”-Deuteronomy 7:2-3
Okay, we’re now firmly immersed in what I can only imagine is probably considered to be one of the most politically incorrect portions of all of Scripture.
Right from the outset of Deuteronomy 7, Moses lays down some very specific rules Israel is to obey once they invade Canaan.
And make no mistake about it.
This is an invasion by Israel who have been commanded by their God to displace an entire group of people from their native land…a place they have called their home for centuries.
So what are some of these rules Israel is to abide by?
We are told the Israelites are to grant the Canaanites “no terms and give them no quarter“.
What exactly does this mean?
It means that Israel was forbidden from entering into agreements or treaties with the Canaanites that would allow them to stay in the land as self-governing societies.
In those days, it was common for a conquering king to allow the king of a nation he had just conquered to continue to rule over his people in exchange for tribute, taxes and labor paid back to him.
This had been the way of the world since time immemorial.
However, with Israel, God was saying NO!
You are NOT to allow the Canaanites to keep their sovereignty under any circumstances.
A Hebrew son is forbidden from marrying a Canaanite woman and a Hebrew daughter is forbidden from marrying a Canaanite man.
In addition, all of the Canaanites’ altars of sacrifice or religious pillars to their false gods are to be completely torn down and destroyed.
And all pagan idols and images are to be cast into a fire and burned up.
There was only one condition under which a Canaanite was to be allowed to stay in the land and live.
And that one condition was if they bowed down to the God of Israel.
Any Canaanite who insists on staying in the land but refuses to bow down to the God of Israel is to be killed, period.
Recall in the past I talked about how events in Scripture are prophetic and thus hint at what’s going to happen in the future.
Well, I believe right here we’re being painted a picture of what’s eventually going to happen in the possibly not too far away future…but on a worldwide scale.
In other words, with Israel as the central ruling authority, eventually not just Israel but the whole world will be forced to bow down to the God of Israel or be destroyed.
And again, if you think that’s immoral, I remind you that as the Creator of our planet, HASHEM is the rightful owner of planet earth and has the sovereign right to do with it what He pleases.
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