A Faithful & Loving God | Sunday, February 7, 2021

When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show them mercy. Nor shall you make marriages with them... (Deuteronomy 7:1–3)

How can a faithful and loving God command Israel to "utterly destroy" the nations of Canaan? A closer look reveals not genocide, but a call to holiness rooted in love.

A Challenging Passage for Modern Readers

Admittedly, the passage before us this morning is a challenging one, primarily because of our modern sensibilities. We tend to read passages like this through the lens of our 21st-century Western world, and inevitably we read into the text things that may not be there at all in our time and culture.

One of the big objections to the Old Testament—especially to passages like this one in Deuteronomy and in the books that follow, Joshua and Judges—is that they seem to some to be sanctioning genocide, or even commanding it from God. I will grant that at the first reading one could be led to believe this is true. I am not convinced that it is. Furthermore, I am convinced that such objections distract from the passage as a whole and from very important aspects in the text.

Seven Nations Greater and Mightier

It is true that about 3,400 years ago God called His people Israel to conquer the land of Canaan, which was held by seven nations or tribal peoples. Deuteronomy 7 names them: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Moses speaks these words to the children of Israel.

It is almost impossible for us not to get stuck on the words "you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them." Those are heavy, strong words, and they are repeated with even more punch in Deuteronomy 20:16:

But of the cities of these people which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them... just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

A Historical Problem with the Literal Reading

Read in 2021, these words seem culturally out of place—and they are. But we also have a historical problem. When you read Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges as one unit, you learn quickly that these peoples—the Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, and so forth—remained alive in the land for most of Israel's history after the conquest.

Joshua chapters 10 and 11 say that Joshua and Israel fulfilled Moses's command to utterly destroy all their enemies. Yet these people were not wiped out. Israel was victorious in battle and did conquer the land, but they did not annihilate everyone. So how could Joshua have "fulfilled" the command if the people were not ultimately wiped out?

The answer is that this "utterly destroy" language is hyperbole, not literal. Historians tell us that in this period, hyperbolic language about the comprehensive defeat of one's enemies was typical war rhetoric, not intended to be taken literally.

We Still Use This Kind of Language

We use this kind of hyperbole today. In just the last few days you may have heard someone say, "Patrick Mahomes is going to destroy Tom Brady," and someone else respond, "No way—Brady and the Bucs are going to annihilate the Chiefs," or "The Chiefs' offense is going to crush the Bucs' defense." Are any of those words meant literally? Of course not. The point is victory, not annihilation. Recently a sitting U.S. congresswoman accused a senator from the opposing party of trying to murder her—again, hyperbole used for a purpose.

So either the Bible contradicts itself—commanding total destruction, then recording that those nations remained—or this is non-literal hyperbole used for a purpose. I am convinced it is hyperbole, and people get so stuck on "you shall utterly destroy them" that they miss the real focus of the text.

Does God Endorse Genocide?

The big question: does God endorse or command genocide? I do not see any sanction for genocide in the Bible. Such a command would contradict His nature as revealed in the same Scriptures. The Scriptures are the revealing of the nature and character of God, and the God revealed there would not command the total annihilation of a people. He is not into genocide.

So if someone tells you the Bible endorses ethnic cleansing, genocide, or even slavery, that should not pass the smell test. These things do not fit with the nature of God, so He obviously does not endorse them.

An Incomprehensibly Low Probability

Several things in this passage help us understand its real meaning. First, look again at verse 1: "seven nations greater and mightier than you." Israel was preparing to enter uncharted territory to take a land held by seven nations greater and mightier than them—nations in fortified cities, firmly established for generations, who knew the land. Israel did not.

The likelihood of tent-dwelling shepherds overcoming firmly established, fortified nations greater than themselves is incomprehensibly low. Without a massive miracle of God, the probability is about as close to zero as you can get—like my twelve-year-old son Ethan signing up to fight Tyson Fury, who is six foot nine. More amazing victories have happened—Gideon's 300 against the Midianites, David and Goliath—but only by God's power.

"When the LORD Your God Delivers Them Over to You"

Second, notice the opening clause in verses 2 and 3: "and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them." That clause is crucial. God did not say, "Go into the land and commit mass genocide against everyone." He effectively said, "When their armies come out against you and I deliver them into your hands in battle, you shall engage them and be victorious—because I am going to empower you."

Why would a sojourning, homeless group of shepherds engage seven nations greater than them on those nations' home turf? The only reason is that the Lord promised to be with them, to fight for them, and to deliver their enemies into their hands.

The Real Purpose: A Holy People

Why no covenants, no mercy, no intermarriage? Look at verse 4:

For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly... For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.

The point of all this strong language—about destroying altars, breaking sacred pillars, showing no mercy—is that Israel was to be a people completely separate and holy unto the Lord. God wanted His people set apart for Him. As we saw back in chapters 5 and 6, our God is a jealous God who does not want to share His people. This is the principle of separateness, of consecration, of holiness.

The Principle of Separation in the New Testament

This is not only an Old Testament principle. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, surrounded by pagan immorality and idolatry:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?... For you are the temple of the living God... Therefore "come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14–18)

God desired that Israel would be a people completely separate and holy unto Him.

"Above All Peoples"—Is God an Ethno-Nationalist?

This passage causes heartburn not only over the "utterly destroy" language but also over verse 6: God has chosen Israel "to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." People in our day will say the God of the Bible not only endorses genocide but also ethnocentrism or ethno-nationalism—that He only likes Israel, and if you believe this book you will become a racist too.

I am not overselling this. You may have had conversations with family members or co-workers who reject the Old Testament as a racist or ethnocentrist book. Are they right? Look at the passage:

The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers... (Deuteronomy 7:7–8)

Chosen Because of Love and Faithfulness

Why did God choose Israel? Not because they were superior or better—exactly the opposite. They were the least, practically nothing. God chose Israel to be a holy people because of His love and His faithfulness to His covenant promise. He swore an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and because of His love and faithfulness He redeemed their descendants out of Egypt and now brings them into the land He promised back in Genesis 12, 15, and 17.

Abraham believed God, and God accounted it to him as righteousness. God promised him that land and an inheritance and descendants, and Abraham followed Him. Now, more than 400 years later, God is making good on His promise—because of His love and faithfulness. In response, verse 9 says:

Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them.

God remains faithful and merciful to those who are His, while He does and will punish those who hate Him—evidenced in the judgment upon the seven nations of Canaan. Therefore, verse 11: "You shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them." The faithfulness and love of God are the basis for His expectation of love and faithfulness from His people.

How This Applies to Us

How does a passage 3,400 years old apply to us in 2021? In the same way God, according to His love and faithfulness, chose Israel, God has chosen you to be His own special people, set apart and holy unto Him. Why? Not because you are smarter, taller, or better-looking than everyone else. Some think that and are wrong.

Why did God choose you? For the same reason He chose Israel: because of His love. "For God so loved the world." He chose you out of love, and He will remain faithful to His covenant with you in Christ.

We Love Because He First Loved Us

The logical progression is essential. We do not keep His commandments so that He will love us; rather, because He loves us, saves us, and redeems us—just as He redeemed Israel out of Egypt—He redeems us out of sin and death and a broken, fallen world. Because He has loved us and been faithful to us, therefore we should be faithful to Him and keep His commandments.

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." He did not say, "If you keep My commandments, then I will love you." And why would we love God? John tells us in 1 John that we love Him because He first loved us, demonstrating His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The love and faithfulness of God to His covenant for those in Christ is the compelling factor that stirs us to be faithful to Him.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would cause these things in this challenging Scripture to be in our hearts and minds this week. I pray that those hearing this message would meditate on them, not just today but throughout the week, and that You would continue to do a work in our hearts and minds, drawing us into a deeper level of commitment and devotion to You as we grasp more fully Your love and faithfulness. Lord, we love You because You first loved us, and You have shown that love to us in the most wonderful and awesome way. Help us to be thinking on this, and let Your love continue to transform us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.