Choice 1: Deuteronomy 2-3, 7, 9, 20, 25. Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

1.    Read Deuteronomy 20:17 and make a list of the different nations the Lord identified in these verses. Then read Deuteronomy 2:15, 7:2, 12:2-3, and write a paragraph about what the Lord commanded Israel to do with these nations.

The Lord commanded them to destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  In Deuteronomy 2:15 it says the Lord was against them and they needed to be consumed.  The Lord told them In Deuteronomy 7:2 that they should kill them, and make no covenant with them, and show no mercy unto them.  In Deuteronomy 12:2-3 God tells them to destroy all their places they worshiped false Gods. 

1.    Read Deuteronomy 9:4-5 and the Institute Student Manual commentary for Deuteronomy 7:1-5, “Why Did the Lord Command the Israelites to Utterly Destroy the Canaanites?” (pg. 219). Add to your previous paragraph any other reasons why these nations were destroyed.

The Lord allowed the wicked to be driven out not because the Israelites were being righteous but because the Lord keeps his word that he swore unto they fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Abraham was told that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan, the Lord also told him that Israel would first be taken into captivity in Egypt because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full”  Certain acts are so evil and so destructive to the order of the society that the only just reparation is the death of the guilty parties  But, in certain instances, the destruction of graven images required also the destruction of the people of the images They were warned not to become like the Egyptians and slave the people.   Prostitution and homosexuality had become religious practices to the point where the people were entrenched in depravity and proud of it. Their iniquity was ‘full’ or total. Accordingly, God sentenced them to death and made Israel the executioner. … The Canaanites as a whole were deserving of death; God’s patience allowed them a few centuries from Abraham’s day to Joshua’s and then His judgment was ordered executed. The failure of Israel to execute it fully became finally their own judgment.” Nephi said of the Canaanites, “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.    Many of the sins found among the people living in Canaan are prevalent in today’s society. Write a paragraph explaining how you think we can protect ourselves from these sins.

Many of these sins are very prevalent today and are becoming more and more excepted.  We can be protected by staying on God’s side.  If we stay on His side we will be protected.  We can avoid temptation by staying away from those evil acts.  We can gain strength through prayer and scripture study.  We need to stand together as God’s people and proclaim what is right and what is wrong.