To commit genocide is to deliberately kill a large racial, political, or cultural group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. The word genocide is a combined Greek and Latin word meaning “race killing.”

The atrocities of Hitler and the Nazi army upon the Jewish people were genocide. The Nazis rounded up and murdered some 6 million Jews between 1938 and 1945. There were over 2 million genocidal killings of Cambodians by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army between 1975 and 1979. Over a period of 100 days in 1994 perhaps 800,000 Tutsis in Rwanda were brutally murdered by militia of the Hutu tribe. And between 1992 and 1995 the Serbs of Bosnia-Herzegovina committed “ethnic cleansing” by murdering over 200,000 Muslims in Bosnia. These are just a few examples of genocide humans have perpetrated on one another in recent history.

Such merciless killings of groups of people are repulsive. They go against our sense of morality, freedom, and justice. So could God engage in such atrocities against a people or race? Is it possible that he is genocidal?In the book of Deuteronomy the children of Israel were told to “completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 20:17). Years later “Joshua conquered the whole region…He completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded” ( Joshua 10:40). Because of this, people such as atheist Christopher Hitchens have accused God of genocide and said that the Canaanites were “pitilessly driven out of their homes to make room for the ungrateful and mutinous children of Israel.” So is he a merciless deity that in anger wipes out entire races of people?

God’s Motivation

First, any killing by God in the Old Testament was not genocide. He was motivated by moral concerns, not race. Genocide simply is not within his nature. In answering the questions “What Is God Really Like?” and “Is God Violent?”1 we discovered that he is merciful and loving (Psalm 103:8), holy and righteous (Psalm 145:17 and Revelation 3:7), and fair and just (Psalm 119:137-138). God does not rush to judgment—he is “slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love” (Psalm 103:8). But he will “judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth” (Psalm 96:13). It is not in his nature to be unjust.

God could not be a perfect and loving God without equally being a just God who judges perfectly. He cannot look the other way when wickedness is committed and still be good. Theologian J.I. Packer helps us see this point clearly:

Would a God who did not care about the difference between right and wrong be a good and admirable being? Would a God who puts no distinctions between the beasts of history, the Hitlers and Stalins (if we dare use names), and his own saints, be morally praiseworthy and perfect? Moral indifference would be imperfection in God, not a perfection. But not to judge the world would be to show moral indifference. The final proof that God is a perfect moral being, not indifferent to questions of right and wrong, is the fact that he has committed himself to judge the world.

God judges rightly because he is perfect, holy, and loving. For him to act differently would make him less than God.

God’s Reasons

Secondly, we must determine why God commanded that an entire people be destroyed. Moses told the children of Israel that “God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:5). Ridding the land of the Canaanites that was promised to Abraham wasn’t because of anything the children of Israel did or because they were living true to God—they were not. The land was to go to them because God promised it to Abraham.

Additionally, the Canaanites were destroyed because of their wickedness. They were idolaters. They engaged in incest, temple prostitution, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality. They also molested and sacrificed children. They were a depraved people. Yet God was patient and extended mercy to them even in their despicable sin. The people of Canaan were given over 400 years to repent of their wicked ways (Genesis 15:16). God had nothing against them as a people—he did, however, take issue with their depraved and evil behavior.

Even so, he was willing to save those within Canaan that were righteous. In fact he saved Rahab in Jericho because she was a righteous individual. God does eventually bring judgment upon all that are unrepentant of their sin. And the people of Canaan were no different. This does not make him genocidal; it simply reflects his holy justice and righteous judgment.2

One of the most common objections against God is the prevalence of evil in the world. Why doesn’t he stop evil and suffering? And yet when he does act to stop evil, such as with the judgment of the Canaanites, people complain he is too harsh. But if a holy, righteous, all-knowing God really exists, wouldn’t we expect him to measure out judgment to evildoers? Even if we can’t fully understand why he had the Canaanites destroyed, we can be confident he has good reasons. God is God, and we are not. “ ‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’ ” (Isaiah 55:8).

While we may struggle at times understanding God’s methods of justice and judgment, by faith we must acknowledge him as the awesome and holy God that he is. As King David said,

O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. By your strong arm, you redeemed your people (Psalm 77:13-15).

This chapter originally appeared in 77 FAQs About God and the Bible by Sean McDowell and Josh McDowell (2012). Used by permission from Harvest House Publishers.