Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

Deuteronomy 2-3, 7, 9, 20, 25

 

Deuteronomy 20:17 The Different Nations Identified By the Lord

 

The Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaannites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

 

What the Lord Commanded Israel to Do With These Nations.

 

The Lord commanded Israel to utterly destroy these nations, to make no conenants with them and to have no mercy upon them.

He also commanded him that he should destroy all of the places in which they served their gods. He told him to "overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place."

This reminded me of what Jesus did in the temple. Our Heavenly Father commands that we shall serve no other gods and He is punishing those who disregarded Him and all of the things that He has given them.

Why Did the Lord Command the Israelites to Utterly Destroy the Canaanites?

Deutronomy 9:4-5

Istitute Student Manual commentary for Deuteronomy 7:1-5

 

He commanded Israel to destroy the canaanites for their disobedience. He said that they were speaking in their HEARTS against the Lord. They were brought into the land because of righteousness but were being cast out because of wickedness.

The student manual teaches us that the groups intermarried and ignored the instruction of the Lord that their spouses would pull them away from following Him. Some acts of evil are so detrimental to society that the only way we can be cured of them is the death of the guilty party, as was the situation here. Their evil was so infectious and contaminating that sparing them would prove the downfall of society, as we see after Israel failed to follow these instructions.

“He that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity” (1 Nephi 17:35).

Many of the sins found among the people living in Canaan are prevalent in today’s society.

How Do  You Think We Can Protect Ourselves From These Sins?

 I think that one commandment that would be a protection would be not to inter marry with "the other countries" that don't serve God as the Canaanites did. It is so beneficial for us to have the love and support from a spouse of things pertaining to the gospel or it is hard to remain faithful to the Lord.

Also making sure that we are folling the commandments, regularly evaluating ourselves, and doing things such as going to church and reading our scriptures to make sure that we are kept on track.

I think another big one is controlling our thoughts. Thoughts are where every action begins and they will direct our love and opinions.

We have to love the Lord with all of our might MIND and strength.