Genocide in the Old Testament?

In the book of 1 John the apostle whom Jesus loved emphasizes that God is love. This aspect of God's character is a warm embrace to believers across the globe. We delight in this reality daily in our prayers and bask in the mercy and grace that flow from this abounding love. This abounding love is a gift we long to share with the world through the message of the gospel.

However, as Christian's consumed by love we often forget that God is just - an aspect of God’s character that causes believers to cringe and produces reluctance when sharing the gospel with the nations. In Joshua 10:39-41 we see God’s people, the people of Yahweh, destroy everything that breathes. Women…children…animals… We pause and ask ourselves what happened? To many around the globe this type of warfare is labeled ‘genocide’ and a moral abomination. These conquests are labeled by Christians as “Holy War” – a term that is also used to justify the destruction of 9/11, suicide bombings, the Crusades, witch-hunts, etc. So how do we as Christian’s justify the Old Testament “Holy Wars” to a skeptical world? How do we rationalize this type of conquest and convey this rational justification to an unbelieving world? There are three significant points that must be made when addressing this issue:

1) We must maintain the truth that as the only true God of the universe, Yahweh, holds the right to judge. While many claim “Holy Wars” in the name of false religions and false Gods, Yahweh holds the right to rule over and judge his creation.

2) The Canaanites were an evil people beyond that which we are accustom to in our culture today. They performed human sacrifice, drank blood, and were proud of their barbaric sins. There lust for evil was put on display in their art work and literature. Additionally, they were given opportunities to repent but remained evil and faced judgment at the hands of Gods people.

3) The literary style of military victories in the Ancient Near East commonly used strong language about total annihilation when in reality survivors were commonly found. The language used in Joshua is likely reflective of this cultural literary style and is evident in the number of Canaanites that remain in the land, particularly in the book of Judges.