Solving the Canaanite Problem
By Bill Fortenberry
One of the present generation’s most prominent arguments against the God of the Bible is the claim that God is immoral for commanding the Israelites to slaughter all of the people living in Canaan. The people who make this claim often assert that killing innocent people is objectively wrong, and therefore, the God of the Bible was wrong for commanding it. This is a very powerful argument that has stumped many Christians.
Over the years, various solutions have been offered with minimal hope of success. Some Christians attempt to avoid this claim by denying the accuracy of the Old Testament. Others claim that these passages are using either exaggerated or figurative language. Still others say that the Israeli army moved from village to village so slowly that all the women and children had ample time to escape before the soldiers arrived. Each of these arguments has seen a limited amount of success, but ultimately they all either fail as an explanation of God’s command or fail as a result of their negative effect on other Christian doctrines such as the doctrine of inspiration.
The prevalence of these weak arguments has done much harm to the cause of Christ, and I have sought in vain for anyone presenting a more viable solution. When I could not find such a solution, I determined to write out my own answer to this challenge in hopes that it would be a help to others.
The key to my answer is to remove all human assumptions by focusing solely on the teachings of God’s Word. Therefore, in order to determine whether it was morally acceptable for the Israelites to kill men, women and children, we must go back to the Bible and consider why killing is wrong in the first place. In Gen. 9:6 we read:
"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."
Here we see the reason that killing people is prohibited. It cannot be because killing takes away the gift of life, for verse three of the same chapter grants permission for the taking of that gift from "every moving thing." From this same passage, we can see that the act of killing another human being is not inherently evil, for if it were then it would be evil for anyone to carry out the punishment of death which God commands in this same verse thus making it evil for man to obey God. The only reason that we are given for the prohibition on killing other humans is that they are made in the image of God.
This realization changes the nature of the question. If killing is wrong solely because it destroys the image of God, then the real question is, "Is it wrong for God to command the destruction of an image of Himself which He created?" To answer this, we must consider why it is wrong for us to destroy an image of God.
We can discover a clue to this answer in the realization that Christ is expressly referred to as the image of God in II Cor. 4:4 and Col. 1:15. Once we realize this, we can turn to Heb. 6:4-6 where we read:
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened ... If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
Here Paul is explaining why it would be impossible for someone to lose their salvation and then receive salvation again. To do so would put Christ to an open shame. When considered in light of Christ being the image of God, we see that the losing and regaining of salvation is wrong because it would be an act of grave disrespect for the image of God. This means that the act of disrespecting the image of God is so heinous that it would overrule and prevent any attempt for someone to be saved again if it were possible for them to lose their salvation. The fact that this would disrespect the image of God would be enough to condemn such a person to eternal death in hell. Thus we see the seriousness with which God views disrespect towards His image.
Now, consider the claim made by Christ in John 10:17-18 that He had both the power and the command to lay down His life and take it up again. Thus, Christ had the power to do something which we are forbidden from doing. He could slay the image of God and still live. Why could He do this? Because He is God. Thus we discover that God does no disrespect to His image by destroying it. The image is never of more value than the One whom it depicts, and the One so depicted can destroy a marred image without doing any disrespect to Himself.
This gives us a solution to every command to kill found in the Bible. In Matthew 12:5, we read that "the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless." The reason for this is that they are acting in the place of and under the command of God who is not bound by the laws of the Sabbath for "the sabbath was made for man." (Mark 2:27) Similarly, the Israelites are blameless of the deaths of the Canaanites because they were acting in the place of and under the command of God who is not bound by the prohibition against disrespecting His own image by killing it.
Of course, this brings up the question of whether it is acceptable for someone to commit genocide in the name of God today, and the answer to this is that it would be acceptable if it were consistent with the Law of God. The actions of the Israelites toward the inhabitants of Canaan were commanded as part of the Law in Deut 20:10-18 as is the act of capital punishment, but God expressly forbade the Israelites from ever carrying out genocidal warfare against any of the other nations.
Since this solution to the Canaanite problem is drawn directly from the Scriptures, it avoids all of the pitfalls of those which were previously offered. It has great explanatory power, and yet, it is fully consistent with all the doctrines of Christianity. I am confident that this answer stand up against all attacks and that it can be successfully wielded to stop the mouths of those who oppose the Lord (Titus 1:11).
Over the years, various solutions have been offered with minimal hope of success. Some Christians attempt to avoid this claim by denying the accuracy of the Old Testament. Others claim that these passages are using either exaggerated or figurative language. Still others say that the Israeli army moved from village to village so slowly that all the women and children had ample time to escape before the soldiers arrived. Each of these arguments has seen a limited amount of success, but ultimately they all either fail as an explanation of God’s command or fail as a result of their negative effect on other Christian doctrines such as the doctrine of inspiration.
The prevalence of these weak arguments has done much harm to the cause of Christ, and I have sought in vain for anyone presenting a more viable solution. When I could not find such a solution, I determined to write out my own answer to this challenge in hopes that it would be a help to others.
The key to my answer is to remove all human assumptions by focusing solely on the teachings of God’s Word. Therefore, in order to determine whether it was morally acceptable for the Israelites to kill men, women and children, we must go back to the Bible and consider why killing is wrong in the first place. In Gen. 9:6 we read:
"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."
Here we see the reason that killing people is prohibited. It cannot be because killing takes away the gift of life, for verse three of the same chapter grants permission for the taking of that gift from "every moving thing." From this same passage, we can see that the act of killing another human being is not inherently evil, for if it were then it would be evil for anyone to carry out the punishment of death which God commands in this same verse thus making it evil for man to obey God. The only reason that we are given for the prohibition on killing other humans is that they are made in the image of God.
This realization changes the nature of the question. If killing is wrong solely because it destroys the image of God, then the real question is, "Is it wrong for God to command the destruction of an image of Himself which He created?" To answer this, we must consider why it is wrong for us to destroy an image of God.
We can discover a clue to this answer in the realization that Christ is expressly referred to as the image of God in II Cor. 4:4 and Col. 1:15. Once we realize this, we can turn to Heb. 6:4-6 where we read:
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened ... If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
Here Paul is explaining why it would be impossible for someone to lose their salvation and then receive salvation again. To do so would put Christ to an open shame. When considered in light of Christ being the image of God, we see that the losing and regaining of salvation is wrong because it would be an act of grave disrespect for the image of God. This means that the act of disrespecting the image of God is so heinous that it would overrule and prevent any attempt for someone to be saved again if it were possible for them to lose their salvation. The fact that this would disrespect the image of God would be enough to condemn such a person to eternal death in hell. Thus we see the seriousness with which God views disrespect towards His image.
Now, consider the claim made by Christ in John 10:17-18 that He had both the power and the command to lay down His life and take it up again. Thus, Christ had the power to do something which we are forbidden from doing. He could slay the image of God and still live. Why could He do this? Because He is God. Thus we discover that God does no disrespect to His image by destroying it. The image is never of more value than the One whom it depicts, and the One so depicted can destroy a marred image without doing any disrespect to Himself.
This gives us a solution to every command to kill found in the Bible. In Matthew 12:5, we read that "the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless." The reason for this is that they are acting in the place of and under the command of God who is not bound by the laws of the Sabbath for "the sabbath was made for man." (Mark 2:27) Similarly, the Israelites are blameless of the deaths of the Canaanites because they were acting in the place of and under the command of God who is not bound by the prohibition against disrespecting His own image by killing it.
Of course, this brings up the question of whether it is acceptable for someone to commit genocide in the name of God today, and the answer to this is that it would be acceptable if it were consistent with the Law of God. The actions of the Israelites toward the inhabitants of Canaan were commanded as part of the Law in Deut 20:10-18 as is the act of capital punishment, but God expressly forbade the Israelites from ever carrying out genocidal warfare against any of the other nations.
Since this solution to the Canaanite problem is drawn directly from the Scriptures, it avoids all of the pitfalls of those which were previously offered. It has great explanatory power, and yet, it is fully consistent with all the doctrines of Christianity. I am confident that this answer stand up against all attacks and that it can be successfully wielded to stop the mouths of those who oppose the Lord (Titus 1:11).