CHAPTER SEVEN
WHAT IS DEMANDED OF ISRAEL AS A HOLY NATION
Having instructed the people as to what is required of them in their personal attitude toward Yahweh, Moses now sets before them what is required of them as a holy nation. A sterner duty awaits them in the land. They are to be a separate people and to destroy existing nations. This will involve warfare, and the warfare will be one of severity. The object will be the extermination of the Canaanites, for their iniquity is now such that they must either be destroyed or they will destroy through moral pollution (Gen. 15:16). Israel, therefore, must enter the land as the executioner of Divine Judgment. The people are warned that they will suffer a like fate if they come to terms with the Canaanites and imitate their ways. In particular, they must be ruthless in their attacks on the Canaanitish religion. They must destroy its images and symbols, break down its temples and pillars, and purge the sites with fire. No marriages are to be contracted with the alien for they must be fully devoted to Yahweh, the God who has set His love on them (v. 7). The people are reminded of their weaknesses (vv. 7-8), urged to seek Yahweh's co-operation by obedience to His will (vv. 9-13), remaining undeterred by the strength of the opposition (vv. 17-21). The principle is stated that those who enjoy communion with Yahweh must have no communication with the unfruitful works of darkness; therefore, there is to be no fellowship of the Canaanites. A key verse is v. 6: "Yahweh thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself; and related verses are verses 9,12. The warfare of the Israelites against the Canaanites provides an illustration of the warfare of faith in which all Christ's people are involved. They are commanded not to let sin reign, nor to countenance it; but to hate it, and to war against it. God has promised that it shall not have dominion over those who do so (Rom. 6:12,14), and Paul has listed the weapons and armour available, the effective use of which will ensure victory (Eph. 6:12-18). The key to victory is love of Yahweh revealed
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Fellowship With The Nations Prohibited — w.1-4
There are both negative and positive aspects to the commandments and covenant of Yahweh. These are illustrated by the requirements of a marriage covenant. A woman separates herself from all others to be the loyal wife of one husband. A similar relationship illustrates the covenant existing between Yahweh and the nation of Israel. He is described as a Husband to Israel, and she as His bride (Isa. 54:5). Ezekiel with great frankness of detail, likens the Mosaic Covenant to a marriage contract, but also describes how the Bride proved unfaithful to her Husband (Ezek. 16). The chapter before us, in describing the reponsibilities of Israel as a holy nation, emphasises as a first principle the need for separation from the polluting influence of the Canaanites. There is to be no fellowship with them. On the contrary, Israel is commanded to ruthlessly exterminate them, in order to live peacefully with Yahweh in the land.
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"When Yahweh thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee" — Defeat and dispossession of the nations in Canaan is all attributed to Yahweh. He is to win the victory.
"The Hittites"—The word "Hittites" is from a root word, heth signifying terror. The Hittites were descendants of Heth, a son of Canaan from some of whom Abraham purchased the field of Machpelah, and two of whose daughters Esau married (Gen. 10:15; 23:16; 27:46; 49:32). The Hittites were a powerful, highly civilised nation that held sway in Syria, and Asia Minor from 1800-900 B.C. Their possessions in the Land of Canaan (for their chief centre was further north) were granted to Israel and taken by Joshua. (Josh. 1:4; 9:1; 3:10; 12:8). Some were converted, and became proselytes in Israel, serving as officers in David's army (Uriah was a Hittite — 2 Sam. 11:3; 23:39); some also were brought under servitude by Solomon (1 Kings 9:20-21). However there were independant Hittite kings north of Israel with whom Solomon conducted commerce (1 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 7:6; 2 Chron. 1:17). Though the Hittites were a highly civilised and powerful nation, their might was completely broken by the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Subsequently, all trace of them was so completely destroyed, that critics of the Bible claimed that they never existed; that their existence was a figment of the imagination; a mythological invention. The spade of the archaeologists, however, has forever silenced such criticism. Today, the existence of the Hittites has been proved beyond all doubt. We even know that they were a short, stocky race, with thick lips, large noses, and retreating foreheads. Hittite monuments, show them as wearing heavy :lothes and shoes with turned up toes!
"And the Girgashites" — The word signifies Sojourners. They were a tribe of Canaanites, that had evidently strayed into the Promised Land, hence their name. They were overthrown by Joshua. See Gen. 10:16; 15:21; Josh. 3:10; 24:11.
"And the Amorites" — The word is said to signify talker or mountaineers, (See Num. 13:29), highlander or tall ones. Amorite chieftans are represented as being confederate with Abraham (Gen. 14:7,13). They assisted him in defeating the forces of Chedorlaomer, and rescuing Lot. Sihon was an Amorite of a different kind (Deut. 1:4), for he bitterly opposed Israel. The Amorites were known as a very warlike people, exercising great
THE CHRISTADELPHIAN EXPOSITOR
implication a trader. The term is used throughout Scripture in that sense, and is applied to those who made merchandise of religion. They were a people cursed by God (Gen. 9:25), and thus the enemy of the righteous. Abraham wandered throughout the land, surrounded by such enemies (Gen. 13:7). Zechariah prophesied that they are ultimately to be rooted out of the land (Zech. 14:21). The Canaanites were a very religious people, but they followed a most licentious form of worship. As religious traders, they foreshadowed the merchants of Babylon the Great referred to in Rev. 18:11. The decree that they should be exterminated was right and proper on moral as well as religious grounds.
THE HITTITES
Reference to the Hittites is frequent in Scripture. From them Abraham purchased the field of Machpelah including the cave which became a burying place for his family (Gen. 23); Esau married Hittite wives (Gen. 26:41; 36:1-3); Hittites are represented as occupying the hill country of Palestine (Num. 13:29), and apparently were spread throughout the Land of Promise (Josh. 1:2-4). Solomon imported horses from Egypt and sold them to "the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria" (2 Chron. 1:17); and the reputation of the fighting qualities of the soldiers were such that when a Syrian army imagined that the Israelites had hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to assist them in battle, it fled in panic (2 Kings 7:6-7). At one time it was claimed that the Hittites were a mythological non-existant people; today archaeologists have established the fact that they formed a very powerful empire in Anatolia north of the Land of Promise, with a very advanced culture, and enlightened laws. Their Empire did not include the Land of Canaan, but it is known that they did invade it, and evidently left remnants of settlements throughout the land. The Hittites practised cremation, and their strict laws governing this rite have been discovered . Therefore, the purchase of the field of Machpelah by Abraham as a burying place for Sarah, must have struck them as strange; but to Abraham it was a witness to his belief in the resurrection, and his future inheritance of the land. The illustration is from an ancient monument and depicts a Hittite warrior. The beard is curled in the Assyrian style. The long sharp nose is characteristic. The main garments are a tight-fitting coat with half-length sleeves, and a braided kilt fastened with a broad belt. The pointed shoe and peaked cap with large pompom are typically Hittite. He is armed with a sword fixed at his waist, a long spear and an indented shield.
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power. Reference to their military strength is made by Amos (ch. 2:9). Mainly occupying the hill country of Canaan, the Amorites were very difficult to destroy. They were so prominent that their name seems sometimes to be used for Canaanites in general (Josh. 24:8), and in the Tel-el-Amarna letters of Egypt. Amurri is the name given for Palestine-Phoenicia.
"And the Canaanites" — The Canaanites seem to have been the original aborigines of the land. The term appears to be a general one given to the dwellers of the plain. Probably the Canaanites were of Phoenician stock. The Hebrew word is from a root signifying to bend the knee, hence to humiliate oneself, signifying by
THE CANAANITES
The terms "Amorite" and "Canaanite" seem to overlap, or to be interchanged. Thus in Gen. 10:15-16 the sons of Canaan include Amorites, while in Numbers 13:17-21 Israelite spies search the land of Canaan but eventually occupy the land of the Amorites (Josh. 24:15,18). Abraham is promised the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:5,6; 15:18-21), but there is a delay in occupation because "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete" (Gen. 15:16). The town of Shechem was in the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:5-6) under the rule of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 34:2,30), but the territory of Joseph, which included Shechem, is called Amorite territory (Gen. 48:22). Perhaps this fusion is due to the Amorites holding the hill country, and the Canaanites the plains.
The word Canaanite has been rendered "traffickers" (Isa. 23:8), "traffic" (i.e. trade — Ezek. 17:4), "merchant" (Hos. 12:7; Zeph. 1:11). The prophecy: "There shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts" (Zech. 14:21) is rendered a trader by the RSV. The Canaanites were a very religious people but their forms of worship were horrible and debasing, being a perversion of both truth and morals. The term Canaanite, therefore, is used throughout Scripture for those who engage in religious commerce, whose influence causes "the way of truth to be evil spoken of, and through covetousness and feigned words make merchandise" of God's people (2 Pet. 2:2-3). Like Rome, they traded in the "bodies and souls of men" (Rev. 18:13 mg.). Whereas the Amorites may have represented the military power of the flesh, the Canaanites prefigured the seductive influence of religious apostasy.
Like the Egyptians the Canaanites worshipped gods and goddesses many, but their religious rites were far more depraved. Among the goddesses were Anath, Asherah, and Astarte or
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Ashtaroth, patronesses of sex and war. According to archaeologists, both sadism and sex were prominent features of this evil religion (it is significant that these are prominent features of these evil times, indicating that the iniquity of current Amorites and Canaanites is almost complete, and therefore on the eve of divine judgment). In Archaeology And The Old Testament, M. Unger writes:
"As a patroness of war Anath appears in a fragment of the Baal Epic in an incredibly bloody orgy of destruction. For some unknown reason she fiendishly butchers mankind, young and old, in a most horrible and wholesale fashion, wading delightedly in human gore up to her knees—yea, up to her throat, all the while exulting sadistically."
Canaanitish worship was sexually most degrading. Every form of perversion was encouraged. The brutality, lust and abandon of Canaanite mythology was far worse than any other forms of religion at the time. And the astounding characteristic of Canaanite deities, that they had no moral character whatever, must have
brought out the worst traits in their devotees and encouraged many of the most demoralising practices of the time, such as sacred prostitution, child sacrifice and snake worship. They indulged in orgiastic nature-worship, a cult of fertility in the form of serpent symbols and sensuous nudity, served by male and female prostitutes on hand in their temples.
The goddess Anath was represented as both the sister and spouse of Baal, the patroness of war and sex including incest. She was worshipped as the "Virgin" and "Holy One" (qudshu) in the perverted sense of a sacred prostitute. Representations of her as a nude woman bestride a lion with a lily in one hand and a serpent in the other (symbols of sex in the Canaanitish religion), point her out as a divine courtesan. In the same sense the male prostitutes consecrated to the cult of the Qudshu and prostituting themselves to her honour, were called qodesh ("holy"), usually translated "sodomites" (Deut. 23:18; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46). The feminine qedeshah is also found (Deut. 23:18; Hos. 4:14).
It was vital to the success of Joshua's campaign, and the continued existence of Israel as a nation, that such influences should be completely eradicated. It is without sound reason to question Yahweh's justice in ordering the extermination of such a de-prayed people, for their moral influence was dangerously contaminating. In fact, the failure of the Israelites to execute God's command fully was one of the great blunders which they committed, as well as a sin, and it resulted in lasting injury to the nation, culminating in it ultimately being driven from the land.
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This image of Baal was covered with gold leaf. Standards of morality were completely unknown to the Canaanitish gods. The fertility of crops was linked with religion, and in religious ceremonies the loves of Baal, the god of fertility, were dramatised in the temples. In an act of sacred prostitution a man was identified with Baal and a woman with Baal's consort Ashtarte. The Canaanites supposed that such sexual union would incite Baal and Ashtarte to come together, with the fertility of crops thus assured. The modern decline of morals and sexual licence is a reversion to Canaanitish practices, and warrants the judgment of God that shall fall on this generation as it did on that current in the days of Joshua.
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THE ROUGH ANCIENT WALL OF JEBUSITE JERUSALEM. The square-built tower with the letters is identified as the work of Solomon following David's occupation of the site. Jebusite Jerusalem lay on the eastern hill of the modern city, south of the Temple area and above the Gihon Spring. The site the Jebusites developed as an impregnable bastion was a small triangle bounded by the Kidron, Tyropoeon and Zedek Valleys. Its bold rock escarpments made an ideal fortification site and its water supply from the Gihon Spring made it secure. Subsequently the Zedek and Tyropoeon Valleys were filled up, so the dc",sothedominance of the original fortress is not apparent today.
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"And the Perizzites" — The word signifies "villager". It relates to a tribe sharing the hill country. In Josh. 17:15, they are associated with the giants, or Re-phaim.
"And the Hivites" — In Gen. 10:17, the Hivite is given as one of the sons of Canaan. His descendants were located in the Lebanon hills (Jud. 3:3) and in the Her-mon range (Josh. 11:3). In the reign of David the Hivites are listed after Sidon and Tyre (2 Sam. 24:7), implying their location near those cities. Hamor, the father of Shechem, who experienced the treachery of Simeon and Levi was a Hivite (Gen. 34:2). The inhabitants of Gibeon to the N. of Jerusalem who deceived Joshua are called Hivites (Josh. 9:7; 11:19). However, because there is no identification of them outside the Bible record, some list
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them with the Horites, assuming that the word originally read as such. In confirmation they point out that Zibeon the Hivite (Gen. 36:2) is described as a Horite in w. 20-24. But it is not impossible that both titles were applicable to him. As to the meaning of the word, Strong gives chaw-wah (Eve) as a possible root, signifying life-giving or living-place. Pick's Concordance gives the meaning as A Declarer or Pronouncer. The Hivites were obviously a shrewd people, with ability to declare their case, as Jacob's experience with Hamor, and Joshua's negotiations with the Gibeonites reveal. They evidently were not as billigerent, or as skilled in war as other of the tribes, and sought to save their lives by diplomacy rather than by war.
"And the Jebusites" — The Jebusites
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were another powerful tribe. The word signifies treader down and among the cities they trod down, or dominated, was Jerusalem (Josh. 15:63) then called Jebu* (Josh. 18:16,28; Jud. 19:10-11; 1 Chron. 11:4). They were a warlike people, and occupied Mt. Zion until David expelled them therefrom. Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem headed the confederacy against the Gibeonites (Josh. 10:1-4), but was defeated and his city taken by Joshua (Josh. 12:10). But evidently the Jebusites returned to, and occupied the royal city (Jud. 1:21) until the time of David. Living on the border of Judah and Benjamin, they are represented as dwelling both with Judah (Josh. 15:63) and with Benjamin (Jud. 1:21), to which tribe Jerusalem belonged (Josh. 18:28). From Ezra 9:1 it would appear that Jebusites continued in the land to the times of Ezra, indicating that the Israelites had not exterminated them. They dwelt mainly in "the hill country" (Josh. 11:3), and were recruited by Jabin of Hazor to assist him in resisting Joshua (Josh. 11:3). Perhaps some of them lived in the northern sector of the land.
"Seven nations greater and mightier than thon" — This statement by Moses reminded Israel that victory depended upon the people seeking a strength greater than flesh in order to conquer. In such a seeking all could perform a part: both soldiers, priests and common people, men and women. Faith was needed to gain the victory (see Deut. 4:37-40; 2 Chron. 32:7). Though each of these nations was greater and mightier than Israel in warlike ability and fleshly attainments, Israel had access to a Power that was more than capable of overthrowing them. And to do so was vital to their national existence. Already Moses had warned the people of the consequences if they failed in their duty to exterminate these dwellers in the land. Those they allowed to remain would be "pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Num. 33:55). History reveals that Israel failed to carry out Moses' instructions (Jud. 1:28,30,33), and suffered as a result. In grace, Yahweh sent a messenger to remind Israel of its duty and to warn the people of the consequences of failing to do so (Jud. 2:1-3). In response to this appeal, Israel again tried, but again through lack of faith the people failed to successfully carry out the project set them (Jud. 3:1-7). Yahweh's command ordered the extermination of nations not necessarily indi-