Why Did God Destroy the Canaanites? 400 Years of Mercy

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Why did God destroy the Canaanites? It is one of the most common objections raised against the God of the Bible. When people want to criticize Him, they point to the conquest of Canaan and ask how a good God could command the destruction of an entire people. The title of this study might sound like it does not make sense: God’s mercy to the Canaanites. When we think of the Canaanites, we think of judgment, not mercy. But even though the Canaanites are one of the clearest pictures of God’s judgment in Scripture, they are also one of the clearest pictures of His mercy—and my hope is that you will see that by the time you finish reading.

God Told Abraham the Canaanites Were Not Wicked Enough Yet

To answer the question, we have to go back long before Joshua ever set foot in the land. God made the Abrahamic Covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, and one of the most important parts of that covenant was the land of Canaan that God promised to give Abraham’s descendants. God repeated the covenant in Genesis 15, and that is where He told Abraham how long the wait would be:

Genesis 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

This was not the best news for Abraham to receive. He learned that his descendants would not receive the land for four hundred years, and that while they waited they would suffer. This refers to their time in Egypt. If I were Abraham, I would be thinking, “I sure hope there is a good reason my descendants have to suffer for four hundred years. It had better be for some great, godly people!”

The news gets a little better in the next verse:

Genesis 15:14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Abraham learned that God would judge Egypt, and that Israel would leave with much of Egypt’s wealth—which is exactly what happened. Exodus 12:36 says they plundered the Egyptians when they left. Abraham even received some personal news:

Genesis 15:15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

In other words, “All your descendants will suffer terribly—but do not worry, you will be fine!” Then God told Abraham the reason Israel could not enter the Promised Land for four centuries, and I suspect it would have been very disturbing for him to hear:

Genesis 15:16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Put simply: the Amorites had not been bad enough yet. In Abraham’s day the Canaanites were broadly defined as Amorites, because they were the most prominent group in Canaan. And that brings us to the first way God showed His mercy to them.

God’s Mercy to the Canaanites: He Gave Them Centuries to Repent

God told Abraham his descendants could not enter the Promised Land because He was waiting for the wickedness of the land’s inhabitants to reach the level that warranted the judgment He would pour out on them. Think about what that looked like year after year. Each year that passed, the Canaanites came closer to the point when God’s divine longsuffering could no longer put up with them. Each year they engaged in more wickedness, which meant more of God’s wrath was stored up against them. Finally, when they exhausted His patience, He would unleash His righteous fury: the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt would be over, and He would use Israel to remove the Canaanites from the land.

But until that happened, what could the Canaanites still do? They could repent. Otherwise, why give them all that time?

Here is the question I want you to consider. If God wanted to be merciful to the Canaanites, how long do you think He might give them? A few weeks? A few months? Maybe a few years if He wanted to be really merciful? He gave the Ninevites forty days. He gave the Canaanites more than four hundred years.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Notice that Peter had to say the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise—referring to His promise of judgment—because that is the criticism against Him. He is so patient, so merciful, that people criticize Him for it. He wants to give people time to repent, and the Canaanites are one of the best examples of this in Scripture.

So here is what you need to know. Just because the Canaanites did not repent and God had to judge them, it does not mean He was not merciful. It means they were stubborn, unrepentant sinners, and God is just.

But there were Canaanites who did repent, and God did not have to judge them. I want you to see them.

God’s Mercy to the Canaanites: He Spared Rahab and Her Family

In case you are unfamiliar with Rahab, here is the account briefly. When Israel entered the Promised Land, the first city they encountered was Jericho. They sent men to spy out the city, and those men happened to encounter one of the city’s harlots, a woman named Rahab. While the spies were at her house, the king of Jericho learned about them and sent a message to Rahab ordering her to send them out. She risked her life to hide them instead, and her only request was that when Israel destroyed the city, they would spare her and her family. Look at what she said before hiding them:

Joshua 2:8–9 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

First, notice she used the covenant name of God in verse 9, which we can tell by the way LORD is written in small caps. This is the same name God shared with Moses at the burning bush, and the name Moses then shared with Pharaoh. There were many false gods in Canaan, but Rahab knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Second, notice she said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land.” That refers to the Abrahamic Covenant, and it shows her confidence in God’s promises. If He said it, she believed it, and that reveals her faith. Look at what she said next:

Joshua 2:10–11 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

Notice two things. First, listen to her pronouns. In verse 9 she said the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. In verse 10 she said, “For we have heard.” In verse 11 she said, “As soon as we heard it.” Rahab was not talking only about her family. She was talking about all the inhabitants of the land. This matters, because it means they all heard, and they all knew what God had done. But they did not all respond the way she did, which is why she lived and they did not.

Second, in verse 11 she said, “for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” That is a wonderful testimony. In my mind it is one of the clearest professions of faith you can find in Scripture. And notice what she asked for:

Joshua 2:12–13 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

Rahab has some interesting things in common with Noah. First, they were both saved when everyone around them was judged. Second, they were both saved through faith and fear:

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

And that reveals the third thing they have in common: they both saved their households.

Consider something else for a moment. Rahab lived in the wall of the city because she was a harlot. Her family lived somewhere else, and we know that because the spies told her she would have to gather them to her home. My suspicion is that they did not think highly of her and probably wanted little to do with her. But when the walls came crashing down and they knew she had saved them, what do you think their opinion of her was then?

Notice the timing of all this. As soon as Israel entered the Promised Land—before defeating any Canaanites, before unleashing any of God’s judgment—we first see God’s mercy. And who, of all people, received it? A harlot. When I see how Rahab was saved and experienced God’s mercy, it makes me think anyone in Canaan could have been saved too, if they had been a little more like her.

Here is something else worth noticing. Rahab is mentioned again in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25, and in both verses she is called Rahab the prostitute. It is as though God keeps reminding us that a harlot experienced His mercy. Why? So we can be encouraged that His mercy is available to anyone like her.

And when I say “like her,” what do I mean? What did she have that allowed her to experience God’s mercy? Let me first tell you what she did not have. She did not have righteousness. She did not have sinlessness. She did not have morality. She did not even have a long history with God. She had three things: faith in God, fear of God, and repentance—and we will come back to all three.

God’s Mercy to the Canaanites: He Spared the Gibeonites

There was another group in Canaan with the same three things, and their account begins in Joshua 9:

Joshua 9:3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,

The people of Jericho heard what Israel did to Egypt, but the Gibeonites heard what Israel did to Jericho and Ai. What had Israel done to Jericho and Ai? Destroyed them. Gibeon was only about seven miles from Ai, so more than likely they thought they were next. That motivated them to come up with one of the most unique plans in Scripture to avoid judgment: they acted like they were from very, very far away. Basically, anywhere but Canaan.

Joshua 9:4–7 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?”

The Hivites lived in Gibeon, which is why the Hivites are Gibeonites and the Gibeonites are Hivites; the names can be used interchangeably. Notice this is the first time the Gibeonites asked Israel to make a covenant with them. Keep that in mind as you read on:

Joshua 9:8–10 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

You can tell the Israelites were suspicious. And when the Gibeonites were asked where they were from, notice they never actually answered. They simply said they were from far, far away—from anywhere that is not Canaan. Their response was well crafted. They made no mention of any events that had taken place recently in the Promised Land, such as crossing the Jordan or defeating Jericho and Ai, because that would give away their identity. But they did mention events distant enough in time and location, such as everything in Egypt and the wilderness, that could make another nation want to join Israel.

Joshua 9:11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’

They were acting like delegates from another country who had traveled a long distance to see the Israelites. And notice this is the second time they asked Israel to make a covenant with them.

Joshua 9:12–15 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

It was a deceitful plan, but it worked. The words “swore to them” are very serious. Joshua 9:19 says all the leaders told the congregation they had sworn to the Gibeonites by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now they could not touch them. When the Israelites entered this covenant, not only could they no longer attack the Gibeonites, they were now obligated to protect them—and the oath could not be revoked, even though it was made under false pretenses.

The Gibeonites have quite a few things in common with Rahab. First, they received God’s mercy the way Rahab received God’s mercy. Second, they lied the way Rahab lied; apparently there were a lot of liars in Canaan. Third, back in verse 9 they used the covenant name of God, just as Rahab did, showing they knew who He was. Fourth, they feared God, just as Rahab feared God. Listen to how they answered Joshua when he confronted them about the deception:

Joshua 9:24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing.

Just like Rahab, they feared greatly. That is why they went to all this trouble.

The troubling part of both accounts is that they lied. I am not defending the lying, but keep two things in mind. First, we cannot expect unbelievers—or brand-new converts like Rahab and the Gibeonites—to act like mature Christians. When we are saved we are forgiven, which means we are delivered from the consequences of our sins, but it does not mean we are immediately delivered from the sins themselves. That comes with time and sanctification. It would almost be more surprising if Rahab and the Gibeonites had not lied, because then they would not be acting like new converts.

Second, they lied because they did not want to be wiped out. We can criticize their behavior, but we cannot criticize their motivation. Just like Rahab, they believed God. If He said He was going to give the land to the Israelites, they believed it. If He said He was going to wipe out the Canaanites, they believed it—and this is why the Gibeonites lived and the rest of the Canaanites did not.

Now look at their submission to Israel, which is really to say their submission to the God of Israel:

Joshua 9:25–27 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

For the rest of their lives the Gibeonites would serve the priests and Levites at the tabernacle, and later the temple. Keep that in mind, because we will come back to it.

For now, notice that the theme of these verses is the word covenant. It occurs five times between verses 6 and 16. And what was this covenant? It was a way for the Gibeonites to be on Israel’s side, which is to say on God’s side. In verse 15 notice the words, “And Joshua made peace with them.” They wanted peace with Israel, which is to say they wanted peace with God—and they got it.

Only One City in Canaan Wanted Peace with God

You might hear this and say, “Rahab and the Gibeonites wanted to be on God’s side, but who would not want to be on God’s side?” Believe it or not, everyone else in Canaan did not want to be on God’s side. Listen to this:

Joshua 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

This is a summarizing verse describing Joshua’s entire time in the Promised Land fighting the Canaanites. Now listen to why he had to fight all of them:

Joshua 11:19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle.

Notice what it does not say. It does not say there was not a city that Israel made peace with. It says there was not a city that made peace with Israel. The rest of the Canaanites did not want to be on God’s side. They wanted to fight Him, because they hated Him.

Respected commentators have noticed the same thing. Matthew Henry observed that this verse suggests other cities might have obtained good terms for themselves if they had humbled themselves, but they never so much as desired conditions of peace. Adam Clarke pointed out why: their refusal to make peace was proof that they willfully persisted in their idolatry.

That explains a great deal. What happened to the Gibeonites when they made peace with God? They spent the rest of their lives serving the Levites at the house of God. Imagine what that would be like for people who only wanted to worship idols. Here is the difference between the two groups in Canaan. The majority of the Canaanites said, “We hate the God of Israel. We will fight His people, because we can defeat Him.” The Gibeonites said, “There is no defeating Him. He is too powerful. He is the God of heaven and earth. We had better join Israel.”

So there were two groups in Canaan, and they were complete opposites: Rahab and the Gibeonites, who wanted peace with Israel and Israel’s God, and the rest of the Canaanites, who wanted to fight God. This is why I think the account is so important to understand. The destruction of the Canaanites draws some of the sharpest criticism of God in all of Scripture, but He had mercy waiting for anyone who was willing to humble himself.

God’s Mercy Can Be Shown to Us the Same Way

I suspect I am not the only one who sits back wondering why God does things the way He does. In these accounts we wonder why His mercy was shown to such sinful people: a prostitute, and a city of deceivers. But this is exactly what is so fitting about the account, because God’s mercy can only be shown to sinful people.

You start to think, “Why could God not be merciful to some good people?” The first reason is that good people do not need God’s mercy. The second reason is that there has only ever been one good Person.

Let us say for a moment that there were some good, honorable people in Canaan, and that is who God saved. We might say, “That makes more sense,” but we would also have to say, “That is not very encouraging.” I am glad Noah, Jeremiah, Josiah, and Daniel were saved, but they do not seem that bad. If you want to be encouraged, think about Rahab and the Gibeonites being saved. The verse that comes to mind is:

Romans 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

So here is the question: how did they receive God’s mercy and grace? They had three things.

They Had Faith in God

They believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they believed what He said. If He said He would give the land to Abraham’s descendants, they believed it. If He said He would wipe out the Canaanites, they believed that too. Everyone in Canaan heard the same reports. Only a few responded with faith.

They Feared God

The world acts as though the fear of God is a terrible thing, but what does the Bible say about it?

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

The same words appear in Psalm 111:10. Here is the interesting thing about the fear of God: those who fear God—like Rahab and the Gibeonites—have nothing to fear from God, and those who do not fear God have everything to fear from Him.

They Repented of Their Sins

These accounts do not directly mention repentance, but they indirectly reveal it. Rahab repented of her harlotry, or she would not have been able to remain in the nation of Israel, and she certainly would not have been able to marry a man from the tribe of Judah and end up in the lineage of Jesus. The Gibeonites had spent their lives worshiping and serving the gods of Canaan, but they were willing to turn from their idolatry and spend the rest of their lives serving the priests and Levites where God was worshiped.

God’s Mercy Is Available to You

Let me conclude with this. However flawed you are—and in our own ways we are all as flawed as the people we have read about—God’s grace and mercy are available to you. Maybe you have been like the Gibeonites and you have lied and deceived. Maybe you have been like Rahab and you have been immoral. You can be justified and declared righteous in God’s sight just as they were, if you have faith, if you fear God, and if you repent of your sins.

So why did God destroy the Canaanites? Because after four hundred years of patience, they still would not make peace with Him. And why did some Canaanites live? Because they did.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did God destroy the Canaanites instead of forgiving them?

He was willing to forgive them, and He proved it by waiting more than four hundred years and by sparing every Canaanite who turned to Him. Joshua 11:19 says not one city made peace with Israel except Gibeon. The judgment fell on people who refused the peace that was available to them.

How long did God give the Canaanites to repent?

More than four centuries. In Genesis 15:16 God told Abraham his descendants would return in the fourth generation because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. By comparison, He gave Nineveh forty days.

Were any Canaanites saved?

Yes. Rahab and her family were spared in Joshua 2, and Rahab is later commended for her faith in Hebrews 11:31. The Gibeonites were spared in Joshua 9 and spent the rest of their lives serving at the place of worship.