I’ve heard lots of people argue that the destruction of Canaan and its subsidiaries was a prime example of God’s unloving and vengeful nature. His distaste for other supposed gods and their practices were heinous; a truly benevolent and merciful God would not be so total in His annihilation.
I’ve heard those arguments, and I reject those arguments.
For God to be labelled as “unjust,” it has to be that He applies a different standard to other people than He applies to Himself. If God were truly a racist bigot, then His justice would skew favorably towards Israel.
Deuteronomy 13:12-18 proves that’s not the case. Instead, what these verses reveal is the exact same punishment that should be doled out to any city in Israel that’s accused of what Canaanite cities were known for.
Read this section carefully. If it’s proven that an entire city of God’s people has been “seduced” to leave Jehovah worship and go after “other gods,” then it is the responsibility of the rest of the nation to punish them. Everything inside is lost— it will all be “utterly destroyed” with the edge of the sword.
A nearly identical phrase is used one chapter previously about the Canaanite cities. All the places that are used for idolatry will be annihilated, torn down, and have the identity of the idolater removed completely (Deuteronomy 12:2-3).
As if to punctuate the parallel with Deuteronomy 13, Moses even says “you shall not act like this towards the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 12:4). If they do, then the same punishment will come on their head.
There’s another level to this. God expressly forbids anything in those cities to be taken, due to them being “under the ban” (Deuteronomy 13:16). That should sound very familiar to anyone who has read the story of Achan, who stole precious garments from Jericho and paid the ultimate price (Joshua 6:26-7:1).
In fact, you could argue that God is even angrier with His own people for idolatry than He is with the Canaanites. In Deuteronomy 13:16, God says that the city that is punished this way shall “never be rebuilt,” thus removing a part of Israel’s inheritance from the map permanently.
Anyone who argues God is a bigot needs to reevaluate the way that God looks at His own people. For those who fixate on idols and false worship, the price is the same, no matter what country you’re from.