The conquest narratives of the Old Testament are among the most difficult passages in all of Scripture, not simply because they are intellectually challenging but because they force us as Bible readers to wrestle with the character of God Himself. How can the God who reveals Himself throughout Scripture as compassionate, gracious, and abounding in faithful love (Exodus 34:6–7) command Israel to destroy the Canaanite nations? For many believers, these accounts in Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges seem deeply difficult to reconcile with the Bible’s teaching that human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27) and that the Lord delights in justice and mercy (Jeremiah 9:24).

Questions like these should not be dismissed flippantly. Faithful Christians throughout Church history have acknowledged both the seriousness of these biblical passages and the sincerity of the question that naturally arises—and, in light of both, have sought to understand them carefully within the larger framework of God’s holiness, justice, patience, and redemptive purposes. Although no explanation removes every emotional tension we may feel when reading these passages, Scripture itself provides important theological categories that help us approach them faithfully.

God’s Judgment Is Never Arbitrary

One of the clearest themes running throughout the Old Testament is that God’s judgment is never arbitrary. Put another way: God’s justice cannot be misplaced, out of line, or uncalled for. The destruction of the Canaanites is not presented in Scripture as an act of ethnic hatred or national superiority. In fact, Deuteronomy includes repeated warnings to Israel against interpreting the conquest as proof that they themselves were morally righteous or uniquely deserving. Moses tells the people plainly: “Do not say to yourself, after the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’” (Deuteronomy 9:4). Clearly, Israel was not to think it was their righteousness that earned them the land!

Israel’s possession of the land was not grounded in their goodness but in God’s covenant promises and in His judgment against the wickedness of the nations occupying the land. As Dr. John Currid argues, the Canaanites are not portrayed in Scripture as innocent peoples suddenly overwhelmed by divine wrath but as nations whose rebellion against God had become deep, persistent, and culturally pervasive.¹

Genesis 15 provides an important theological backdrop for understanding this point. When God promises Abraham that his descendants will inherit the land, He also says that this inheritance will not come immediately, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). This statement is remarkably significant because it demonstrates that God delayed judgment for generations. Because of this, we see the conquest narratives not as examples of divine impatience but of divine patience extending over centuries.

The Old Testament describes the practices of the Canaanite nations in profoundly disturbing terms, including child sacrifice, ritual prostitution, occult practices, and systemic idolatry (Leviticus 18:21–30; Deuteronomy 12:31). Scripture presents these actions not merely as cultural differences but as grave moral rebellion against the Creator Himself. And while it’s difficult for us to remember, it’s also vitally important to recall that the Canaanites were not without witness to the true God; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their households had all lived in the land and worshiped openly before the nations around them. The biblical portrait, therefore, is not of morally neutral peoples judged without warning but of nations persistently rejecting God over long periods of time.

God’s Justice Is Impartial

These stories don’t just put God’s justice toward the nations on display but remind us that God’s justice is extended toward His own people as well. God’s justice is impartial. Israel eventually experiences the very same judgment. The prophets repeatedly warn Israel that covenant privilege will not shield them from exile if they embrace the idolatry and corruption of the surrounding nations. Eventually, the northern and southern kingdoms are themselves expelled from the land because of their rebellion.

This reminder is vital since it reframes the conquest narratives within the larger biblical story. Scripture is not presenting Israel as inherently righteous and the Canaanites as uniquely evil. Rather, the Bible consistently teaches that all humanity stands guilty before a holy God. Israel is spared not because they deserve mercy but because God has graciously bound Himself to covenant promises that ultimately lead to Christ.

In fact, despite their ongoing and cyclical disobedience, Israel still holds a special place within God’s redemptive plan. God chose Israel as the covenant people through whom the promised Messiah would come into the world. Through Abraham’s offspring, God intended to bring blessing not merely to one nation but ultimately to all nations (Genesis 12:1–3). The preservation of Israel’s covenant faithfulness, therefore, was tied directly to God’s unfolding plan of redemption—not just for Israel but for the world!

God’s Judgment Is a Response to Rebellion

We also see that, throughout the biblical story, many who are outside the people of God are welcomed in through their belief in God. Put another way, while many of God’s people were living like Canaanities, some Canaanites were living like God’s people! Rahab is one such example: A Canaanite woman living in Jericho, is spared because she turns in faith toward the God of Israel (Joshua 2, Hebrews 11:31). She later becomes part of the genealogy of Jesus Himself (Matthew 1:5). The Gibeonites also receive mercy when they seek peace rather than rebellion.

These stories are significant because they demonstrate that God’s judgments were not rooted in ethnicity but in persistent rebellion against Him. The door of mercy remained open to those who turned toward the Lord in faith.

For many Christians, myself included, the deepest struggle remains emotional and theological: How can these acts of judgment coexist with the Bible’s teaching that human beings bear God’s image? Scripture never resolves this tension by minimizing either truth. Human beings automatically possess dignity because they are made in the image of God, and at the same time, Scripture insists that humanity is deeply fallen and accountable before a holy Creator. The Bible consistently holds together both human dignity and divine justice without allowing one truth to erase the other.

God’s Judgment and Mercy

Ultimately, the conquest narratives point beyond themselves to the larger reality of final judgment. The destruction of the Canaanites is a small picture of the bigger—of the final reckoning that Scripture says will come upon all evil at the end of history. In this sense, these passages are not isolated ethical problems detached from the gospel but part of the Bible’s broader teaching that God will one day judge sin fully and finally.

We are all accountable to Him. Our lives are truly in His hands.

Even so, the gospel also declares something astonishing: The God who judges sin is the same God who, in Christ, bears judgment for sinners. The conquest narratives remind readers that evil is real, sin matters, and God’s holiness is not sentimental or indifferent. But they also prepare us to understand why the cross was necessary. At the cross, the justice and mercy of God meet together. God does not ignore human rebellion, but neither does He abandon sinners to judgment without providing a way of salvation.

For those of us who want to be faithful Bible readers, these passages spur us on in humility and gratitude. They remind us that God is patient, holy, and just (He has been this way with us through the gospel!) and that His judgments are never careless or impulsive. They also remind us that the story of Scripture is ultimately not about destruction but redemption; it’s the story of a God who judges evil rightly and yet, in astonishing mercy, makes a way for sinners to become His children through Jesus Christ—including you and me.

Notes:

“Wisdom Wednesday: In Class with Dr. John Currid,” Reformed Theological Seminary, accessed June 14, 2026, https://rts.edu/resources/wisdom-wednesday-in-class-with-dr-john-currid/.

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Author Bio

Amy Gannett is a writer and Bible teacher who is passionate about equipping Christians to study the Bible through The Bible Study Schoolhouse. She is also the founder of Tiny Theologians, a line of discipleship tools for children. Amy and her husband, Austin, are church planters in eastern North Carolina. You can read more on her blog at amygannett.com and follow her on Instagram.

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