Deuteronomy 20:16–18

Commands in War

“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.”

 Holy War or Moral Horror? When God Commands What We Wish He Wouldn’t

Few biblical passages collide with modern conscience as violently as Deuteronomy 20:16–18. The language is blunt. The command is total. And our instinctive response is resistance. How could God say this? How could a holy God order the destruction of entire peoples? For many readers, this text feels like a line Scripture should never have crossed. It raises the most uncomfortable question of all: What if God’s holiness does not always look like our morality?

This passage refuses to let us keep God safely tamed. It drags us into a world where covenant, idolatry, survival, and spiritual corruption are bound together, and where compromise is not a private matter but a national contagion. The issue here is not bloodlust or ethnic hatred—it is loyalty. Israel is being warned that the real danger is not foreign armies, but foreign gods; not military defeat, but spiritual assimilation. The command is severe because the stakes are severe: if Israel absorbs the worship practices of the nations around them, their covenant identity will not merely weaken—it will disappear.

That does not make this passage easy. But it does make it honest. Deuteronomy 20 forces us to confront the cost of holiness, the seriousness with which God treats idolatry, and the terrifying power of moral compromise. This is not a text to read quickly or comfortably. It is a text that presses on our assumptions, challenges our instincts, and demands that we wrestle—not with a cruel God, but with a God who takes spiritual destruction far more seriously than we ever have.

1. Why is this verse controversial, misunderstood, or debated?

Challenges modern readers: Commands the total destruction of people, including men, women, and children, raising ethical questions about divine morality and justice.

Theological tension: How can a loving God command what seems like genocide?

Historical debates: Some argue it is literal; others see hyperbolic or symbolic language common in ancient Near Eastern war narratives.

Misuse: Historically, this verse has been misapplied to justify violence, conquest, or intolerance.

2. What does it really mean in the bigger picture?

Covenant context: Israel was to remain faithful and holy in the land God promised.

Spiritual concern: The destruction prevents the Israelites from being influenced by idolatry and immoral practices of surrounding nations.

Literary context: Part of the Deuteronomic law codes emphasizing obedience, holiness, and separation from corrupt cultures.

Moral framework: Highlights the seriousness of sin and the spiritual dangers of compromise.

3. How do we understand and apply it today?

Principles, not literal violence: Modern application focuses on spiritual vigilance—avoiding corrupting influences, immorality, and idolatry.

Community life: Protecting faith integrity in family, church, and society.

Ethical caution: Do not take this as a command to harm others physically.

4. What is the purpose of it being in the Bible?

Moral warning: Shows the consequences of sin and the seriousness of turning away from God.

Cultural illustration: Demonstrates Israel’s historical context and their covenant obligations.

Narrative purpose: Reinforces God’s sovereignty and the importance of obedience.

5. What can we learn about God, Christianity, and life?

God’s character: Holiness, justice, and protective care for His covenant people.

Human nature: Humans are prone to sin and compromise if exposed to corrupt influences.

Christian life: Calls for spiritual discernment, moral integrity, and reliance on God’s guidance.

6. How would it have been understood originally?

Ancient Israelites saw this as a direct command for conquest, framed within a divine covenant context.

War practices of the time: Total destruction (herem) was a literary and military motif to express complete separation from pagan cultures.

Cultural lens: They would perceive this as obedience to a holy and protective God rather than cruelty.

7. Is it as controversial as it looks at first sight?

Modern vs. ancient ethics: Modern moral perception sees genocide; ancient readers saw covenantal obedience and holiness.

Contextual controversy: It is controversial today because we interpret it outside the original cultural and historical setting.

8. How do we see it in the context of a loving God and the rest of the Bible?

Love and justice: God’s commands protect Israel’s spiritual life, not for arbitrary cruelty.

Narrative arc: This fits with God’s consistent concern for holiness, covenant faithfulness, and preventing corruption.

Rest of Scripture: Later biblical teachings (e.g., New Testament) focus on spiritual warfare, moral separation, and love for neighbours, showing a shift from physical to ethical and spiritual application.

9. Cultural, historical, linguistic factors:

“Completely destroy” (herem) often implies dedication to God, not indiscriminate slaughter.

Ancient Near Eastern war idioms are hyperbolic in nature.

10. Parallel or related passages:

Joshua 6:20–21 (Jericho conquest)

Deuteronomy 7:1–2 (utter destruction of Canaanite nations)

11. Literary/narrative context:

Part of covenant law codes in Deuteronomy; combines historical, legal, and theological instruction.

12. Underlying principle/moral lesson:

Avoid spiritual compromise; obedience and holiness are essential.

Purity of community and faith must be prioritized.

13. Historical Jewish/Christian interpretation:

Jewish interpreters: saw as covenantal obedience and divine protection of Israel.

Christian interpreters: often spiritualize these passages, emphasizing moral and spiritual lessons rather than literal violence.

14. Practical guidance today:

Vigilance against moral and spiritual corruption.

Upholding integrity and holiness in communities of faith.

15. Common misconceptions:

Misreading it as God endorsing indiscriminate violence today.

Ignoring historical, cultural, and covenant context.

16. What does it reveal about human nature, society, or the human condition?

Humans are influenced by corrupt surroundings.

Spiritual and ethical vigilance is necessary to maintain community integrity.