Summary Of 'Slaughter Of The Canaanites'

Is God a moral monster? A rhetorical question as well as a Book written by Paul Copan. The book asks and opens the big questions about the morality of many situations of the Old Testament such as; slavery, polygamy, and genocide. The book itself is full of counter arguments in hopes for people to see both the atheistic and the religious defense. The religious view is more of “God has commanded so let it be” type of outlook, much like William Lane Craig writes in his article “Slaughter of the Canaanites.” In the article he says, “The command to kill all the Canaanite peoples is jarring precisely because it seems so at odds with the portrait of Yahweh, Israel’s God, which is painted in the Hebrew Scriptures. Contrary to the vituperative rhetoric
of someone like Richard Dawkins, the God of the Hebrew Bible is a God of justice, long-suffering, and commands.”
Considering that Yahweh commands several genocides that are similar to the Canaanite genocide within the Old Testament, its safe to say that it isn't quite out of his character.
But what is out of character for him is that he commanded the people to commit the mass murder instead of doing it himself like he did with the flood. “You can’t read the Old Testament prophets without a sense of God’s profound care for the poor, the oppressed, the down-trodden, the orphaned, and so on. God demands just laws and just rulers.” (Craig 30) Scholars wrestle with the morality of God’s character in the Old Testament because of such “cruel” practices that are included in books such as; Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy . Things just as Yahweh commands at child sacrifice (Exodus 22:29); selling daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7); prescribing the death penalty (Exodus 21:17). For anyone growing up in the 21st century of course all of these commands sounds hanis and barbaric. An argument that Craig uses is, “The Pentateuch itself contains the Ten Commandments, one of the greatest of ancient moral codes, which has shaped Western society. Even the structure “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was not a prescription of vengeance but a check on excessive punishment for any crime, serving to moderate
violence.”
Also according to scholar Rick Wade “To understand what God was doing in Canaan, one must see it within the larger context of redemptive history.” Scholars referrer to such events as the “Yahweh War.” A Yahweh war is a war that God commands for this glory and is won because of His power.
Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman sees five phases of Yahweh war in the Bible. In phase one, God fought the flesh-and-blood enemies of Israel. In phase two, God fought against Israel when it broke its side of its covenant with God (cf. Dt. 28:7. 25). In phase three, when Israel and Judah were in exile, God promised to come in the future as a warrior to rescue them from their oppressors (cf. Dan. 7).
In phase four there was a major change. When Jesus came, He shifted the battle to the spiritual realm; He fought spiritual powers and authorities. Jesus’ power was shown in His healings and exorcisms and preeminently in His victory in the heavenlies by His death and resurrection (see Col. 2:13-15). Christians today are engaged in warfare on this level. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against . . . the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”
(6:12).
Phase five of Yahweh war will be the final battle of history when Jesus returns and will once again be military in nature.
Thus, Longman says, “The war against the Canaanites was simply an earlier phase of the battle that comes to its climax on the cross and its completion at the final judgment.”{5}
There are several aspects of Yahweh war. The part that concerns us here—the real culmination of Yahweh war—is called herem. Herem literally means “ban” or “banned.” It means to ban from human use and to give over completely to God. The ESV and NIV give a fuller understanding of the term by translating it “devote to destruction” (the NASB renders it “set apart”).
Old Testament scholars Keil and Delitsch write that “there can be no doubt that the idea which lay at the foundation of the ban was that of a compulsory dedication of something which resisted or impeded sanctification; . . . it was an act of the judicial holiness of God manifesting itself in righteousness and judgment.”{6}
Canaan, because of its sin, was to be herem—devoted to destruction.