God commanded the destruction of certain nations, particularly the Canaanites, as an act of divine judgment on deeply entrenched sin, and to protect Israel from being corrupted by idolatry and wicked practices. These commands were specific, limited, and purposeful. Not arbitrary violence, but righteous judgment.
“But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them… that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominations…”
(Deuteronomy 20:16–18)
The nations marked for destruction were not innocent. For centuries, they practiced child sacrifice, witchcraft, sexual immorality, and idolatry. God had warned that their sin had reached its full measure:
“But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
(Genesis 15:16)
By the time of Joshua, that measure was full. The conquest was not about racial or territorial conquest, it was about purging the land of corruption and executing God’s long-delayed judgment.
“It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations…”
(Deuteronomy 9:5)
God waited hundreds of years before acting, giving them time to repent. Rahab’s account in Joshua 2 proves that individuals who feared God could be spared, even from condemned nations. Rahab was not destroyed with Jericho because she believed in the Lord and acted in faith.
These commands were also protective. God knew that if Israel allowed the Canaanites to remain, their influence would corrupt Israel:
“They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
(Exodus 23:33)
This is exactly what happened later. When Israel failed to fully obey, the remnant of these nations led them into idolatry and apostasy. God’s justice is always righteous, even when it is severe.
The destruction of the Canaanite nations reminds us that God is patient, but He is also just. When sin reaches a certain point, judgment falls. These events were not models for modern violence but unique acts of divine justice in redemptive history, carried out by divine command.
