Deuteronomy 7:2 New International Version (NIV)
2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.
God told the Israelites to completely destroy their enemies. How can God do this? Isn’t he God of love and mercy? How could he just wipe out people? Although God is loving and merciful, he is just. These enemy nations were a part of God’s creation, but evil cannot go on unchecked. Israel had been punished for their disobedience by keeping them out of the Promised Land for 40 years. The command to destroy the nations in the Promised Land was judgement, as well as, a safety issue to protect Israel from being ruined by the idolatry and immorality that was there. The people living in the land were being judged for their sin. The instrument for this judgement was Israel. God would one day use the nations around Israel to judge them for their disobedience and sin, as they would fall prey to idolatry and immorality. Learn from the nation of Israel. If you have any hidden sin or disobedience; stop, ask for forgiveness, and change your behavior. Honor and obey God with all your being.
