Deuteronomy 20:16-18, “But of the cities of these people, which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: The Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.”
How could a loving God command the killing of the Canaanites? In order to be able to answer this question there are certain causes that need to be considered and that are very important to take into consideration. Let’s look at the situation from God’s point of view in the matter of the destruction of the Canaanite race. Most of my evidence will be found within the Bible and historical record.
The topic of the destruction of the Canaanites is very controversial it is important to keep an open mind while reading about it to ensure that the information is fully understood. The theory I’m going to be elaborating on in this essay is one that is not universally accepted. In my opinion, it does not matter how unaccepted or unproven this topic might seem to some, as I think that it is the only logical reason why God allowed the destruction to occur.
THE NEPHILIM - “GIANTS”
The Nephilim or “Giants” is a subject that is not brought up in the typical Sunday morning service at a church pulpit, this is because it causes a strong reaction in people. Despite the strangeness of this topic, it is something that should be investigated. In this essay we will learn more about the Nephilim or “Giants”, and we will carefully examine the scriptures fo...
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... have concluded that the reason why God commanded the killing of the Canaanites was for the simple reason that this race was a branch of the Nephilim.
This theory is not accepted by many people because they say that a loving God would never harm women and children, and it would be better to believe that it wasn’t God who ordered the command, but I’ve come to the conclusion that when we search the Bible we can find the answers we are looking for. The Bible says that we aren’t to be in the dark like those of the world. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;” (1Thessalonians 5:4-5). I believe that in this essay I have constructed a good argument that fully answers the question regarding why God commanded the killing of the Canaanites.
The story of the great flood is probably the most popular story that has survived for thousands of years and is still being retold today. It is most commonly related within the context of Judeo-Christian tradition. In the Holy Bible, the book of Genesis uses the flood as a symbol of God's wrath as well as His hope that the human race can maintain peace and achieve everlasting salvation. The tale of Noah's Ark begins with God's expression of dismay as to the degenerate state of the human race at the time. People were behaving wickedly and sinfully and God decided that a genetic cleansing was necessary. He spared only Noah and his family, along with two of every type of animal; one male and one female. The other most popular flood story is found in the Epic of Gilgamish. In this text, the gods have decided to destroy everything on earth by creating a great flood. The only survivor is a man named Utnapishtim, spared because he is the god Ea's favorite human.
Notably, Bultmann’s approach is less as a debunker and more as an interpreter: his idea of the NT is a kind of pure theology written in the poetry of narrative. Therefore, the narrative elements are not important they are means of expressing a theological insight born of an encounter with God. Particularly, Jesus’ the death and resurrection are not two separate events, or two halves of one event. Christ simultaneously is crucified and God resurrects him to conquer death, is a singular event. As a result, the act of proclaiming Christ transcendence of the fallen world results in the person experiencing an encounter and relationship with Christ. Therefore, faith is an act of trust in this encounter and Christ's resurrection is an ongoing activity within the kerygma, and historical "facts" become irrelevant. Bultmann is criticized of denying the actual resurrection; perhaps it may be more accurate to say he redefines it.
However, there was a time that this distinction was taken to the ultimate extreme. One man alone followed God among the multitudes in the civilization that arose after the fall. His name was Noah. Genesis 6 tells us that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” Because of mans wickedness, He decided to send a flood to destroy that wickedness and to kill everyone on the earth except Noah and his family. The narrative of this drastic event in Genesis 6-9 show that God will not tolerate great wickedness forever. Several events including the flood, Sodom and Gomorra, Nineveh, and Babel show us who God is. He is a God of righteousness and justice and hates the wickedness of the world. Ed Hindson and Gary Yates explain that the events surrounding the tower of Babel indicate that God blesses those who obey and scatters those who disobey. As believers, we can see that God desires a heart that seeks Him above all else. Even when everyone else in the world has turned away from God, each of us must stand strong in our faith just as Noah did. When our country is turning from God and redefining God’s intended purpose for us and creation, we know His heart and that we must follow no matter how strong the current is raging against
New Revised Standard Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Print. The. Russell, Eddie.
One of God’s monikers is “The Creator”. He made the universe in seven days, brought a huge flood upon the Earth and rained fire and sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. Killing through massive disaster was the only option for God, because he couldn’t control the people and make them benevolent. He didn’t have the power. If God had the power, then he would have acted accordingly. God doesn’t like to kill his people, despite him being quick to kill. He wants humans to be fruitful and multiply, he doesn’t want to destroy them. It is irrational to believe that a creator would want his creations to die. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God even gives the town a chance to redeem themselves, but the town fails.
...Temple (this action is also noted in 2nd Chronicles). In Nehemiah, Artaxerxes allows the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. These actions are attributed to God’s favor and reveal that God is still faithful to his people. The promises made to Abraham are still in effect, along with the Mosaic and Davidic covenants. Although the people disobeyed God and were punished, God continues to exhibit his love for Israel. From an overview of the writings of the Old Testament, the theme of God’s faithfulness is displayed.
...f the divine world but the kings were in charge of vocalizing god’s wishes on earth. The most famous of these law codes was Hammurabi’s law code. The Hebrews tried to establish order by using Yahweh’s Ten Commandments and the Torah. Mesopotamian deities were hard to please and easily angered. The Mesopotamians constantly felt they were letting their gods down and usually didn’t even know the reason behind it. Hebrews had a much more forgiving god. Through texts like “The Book of Job”, it is apparent that Yahweh was a tough god but always forgiving and fair in the end. He had few demands of his people and all of them were ethical and easy to adhere to. As long as his devotees followed Yahweh’s laws, they were all capable of receiving his blessings. Through it all, it seemed that God and religion was at the center of every aspect of life in the ancient civilization.
or Canaan as a justification (102). To further justify religious roots as being the reason for
4. About religion in general, whenever man defies god, his existence, or his actions, it’s considered to be an act of defiance and they are to face punishment. With this in my mind, we can infer that at a time where man was expanding in Mesopotamia, the belief in the gods and goddesses was declining. Thus, the punishment from the infuriated gods was to eliminate them all.
... of Israel, 2d ed.: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament. Garden City: Baker Academic, 2002.
Even though God saw people as evil, he wanted to show his grace. He wanted to separate certain people in the world as His chosen people. “He wanted a chosen people: 1. To whom He might entrust the Holy Scriptures. 2. To be His witness to the other nations. 3. Through whom the promised Messiah could come” (Mears 47). This covenant is made between God and Abram. This covenant marks the beginning history of Israel, God’s chosen people.
In the Book of Exodus the relationship between god and man was similar to relation between a master and servant or in other words a king and a subject respectively. God says “you shall speak all that I command you”(Exodus,7:2), it is very clear through this vision that Moses had that God wanted to have dominion and control over peo...
In the creation, Eve was creating from “the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man” (Genesis 2). From this context one can see that this society believes that males were created first and women are created from men. The writer of the creation also makes the women seem like the ignorant one since she is the one that is tricked by the snake to consume the forbidden fruit. Thus, we start to see a society that belittle women. This is confirm when God punish Even by stating, “yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3). Furthermore, this line directly tells all readers that the wife is submissive to the husband and the husband has control over his wife. The key component of Genesis is that it gives a religious reasoning to why women are less superior to men. Genesis tells the Hebrew society that women are not equal to men because they are made from men, therefore, they have to be controlled by their husband or else they will get tricked like Eve. This time period uses religion to give reasoning to certain societal
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of the temptation of Jesus and how other sects defined the Messiah.
"45 Bible Verses about Nephilim." What Does the Bible Say About Nephilim? N.p., n.d. Web. 06