Deuteronomy 7
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Deuteronomy 7:1-6, When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
As the Israelites made their way into Canaan, the promised land, they were to totally and completely annihilate the people who resided there. These were people who could lead God's people into moral decay. The indigenous people of Canaan worshipped many gods and did things that were detestable in the eyes of God. God wanted his people, who he called to be holy, to have nothing to do with the pagan peoples living in the land.
I'll be honest. I struggle with this concept of total destruction of the people, including the women and children. I know intellectually why God instructed them all to be killed. Later on, we see the result of not totally annihilating the people. In some areas, the Israelites did spare women and children and even intermarried with them. As a result, idolatry seeped into their homes and lives. Old habits die hard. I am certainly glad we live on the other side of the cross, in a time when forgiveness and grace are always available and God seeks relationship with all people.
Let's pray...God, Your ways are better and higher than our ways. There are many things we don't understand. What I do know is that I'm thankful for your love, grace, and willingness to accept me with all my flaws and brokenness. Help me to continue to seek a life characterized by holiness. In Your Name, Amen.