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The God of the Old Testament – Part 20: The Crimes for Which the Canaanites Were Judged

By Mark L. Carlton

Those who accuse the God of the Old Testament of crimes against humanity will invariably point to the destruction of Canaanite civilization as their prime example.  The Bible does tell us God ordered the complete destruction of this civilization, though the Israelites were far from obedient in carrying out this order[i].  In my last message I argued that as the “judge of all the earth,” God has the right to weigh any civilization in the scales of Divine justice and find it wanting.  It also follows that God has the right to sentence a decadent civilization to destruction by whatever means He would choose.  He can take direct action or use acts of nature.  He can also assign this work to human agency and use the sword of the conqueror to accomplish his purposes.  In the Bible we see Him using all of these means. 

We would expect a just and holy God to make a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous when He judges, and the Bible says He does.  We would also expect a righteous God to be concerned about children, and, as we have seen, the Bible insists that He is. So the only question we need to consider with regard to the destruction of the civilizations of Canaan is whether or not the Judge had just cause to issue the order of execution.   The record shows that He did.   

The first glimpse we have of a Canaanite civilization in full flower is Sodom and Gomorrah.   But it took the rest of the land of Canaa long time before it sunk to the same level and suffered the same fate.  Even before the Patriarchal family went into Egypt, Abraham was told that someday the sins of the Canaanites would reach the level that they would merit the wrath of God.[ii]“  We do not have to speculate about the iniquity that earned God’s condemnation, because it is described for us in some detail in the 18^th chapter of the book of Leviticus:

I am the LORD your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God.

 From this text we learn that in the days before the conquest there were things going on in Canaan that were displeasing to the Lord.   Then, after detailing some of these things, Israel was warned that they too would be judged if they began to practice the same things:

Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statues and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations…(for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.[iv]

What exactly were the Canaanites doing?  The 18^thchapter of Leviticus offers a two-fold description: gross sexual immorality and human sacrifice, specifically, the sacrifice of their own children to their god, Molech  (In a side note; perhaps those who object to “vindictiveness” of the God of the Old Testament  ought to consider the possibility that that the death cries of the innocent children being sacrificed to Molech were one of the principle reasons God called for the complete destruction of these ancient civilizations).

The 18^th chapter of Leviticus is among the most hated texts in the Bible.   It is hated because it condemns practically every form of sexual expression outside of heterosexual marriage.   Could anything be more offensive to our over-sexed culture than this? 

Particularly offensive to the modern ear is the Leviticalcondemnation of same sex unions.  Naturally, homosexuals and their theological allies are offended by the Law’s condemnation of Sodomy and they have responded  with a number of very creative interpretations to soften the traditional understanding of the text[v].  Much controversy has resulted from this modern effort to redefine sexual morality.  In fact, one major protestant denomination, the Anglican Communion, is being torn apart by it and others are not far behind. 

Lost in all of the modern hullabaloo over homosexuality is the fact the sexual sins cataloged in Leviticus 18 have a context.  When the context of the 18^thchapter of Leviticus is examined we learn that the laws forbidding incest, homosexuality, bestiality and human sacrifice, are not random, “Thou Shall Nots.”   Instead, these sins are cited as the central reasons God ordered the destruction of Canaanite civilization. 

Someone might ask, “Are sexual sins worse than other sins?” No, not necessarily; but history has shown us that a civilization is on its last legs when it loses all sexual restraint.    Add to this the sacrifice of innocent children and you had a situation so vile that the land itself cried out to God for cleansing. 

This leads us to a final question, “How far has Western Civilization traveled done this road?”  We do seem to be about as brazen in our sexual practices as the people of Canaan; if not, we are certainly on our way. At least we can take comfort in the fact that we are not sacrificing babies to idols….or are we?  True we do not burn them — we are far to sophisticated for that — we tear ours appart limb from limb.  What is more, we do not call the men who abort the lives our our babues priests, we call them doctors, and instead of wearing priestly robes they wear lab coats.   So I guess we can all breathe a little easier, we are clearly better than the Canaanites.

[i] Judges 1:27-2:5

[ii] Genesis 15:16

[iii] Leviticus 18:2b-4

[iv] Leviticus 18:24-28

[v] Until the sexual revolution, both Jews and Christians have been unanimous in understanding the command as a condemnation of homosexual practice.  In fact, for thousands of years no other interpretation was ever offered.