Dear Jeremy:

Jesus fulfilled the law and prophets of the Old Testament and brought the system of the law into perfection.

As for God ordering Israel to kill all inhabitants of the Promised Land, that was God's judgment upon those people. God had previous wiped out the entire earth, except for Noah and his family, in judgment of the wickedness of the earth in those days. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in judgment of their wickedness. Those judgments included women and children.

When Moses brought down the ten commandments and the people had abandoned the faith, Moses called them to repentance. Those who did not repent were slaughtered. They were judged by God and destroyed. God chose the Levites to administer His Judgment. As a reward for their obedience the Levites became the priestly class.

Again, in the case of the Canaanites, God had judged them. He chose as His instrument of Judgment the nation of Israel. He could have brought down fire upon them like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah, but He didn't. He chose Israel to the the instrument of judgment in this case. One reason why was probably a test of Israel's obedience. They failed.

They were suppose to have killed all the Canaanites, every man, woman, and child, but they didn't in disobedience to God. Instead they brought some of these women and children into their houses as slaves. These Canaanite people, of course, brought with them their false gods and idolatry. As a result Israel became contaminated with these false gods and notions.

The story of Israel is a story of disobedience. This is just one example.

Thus, this story served at least two purposes: 1) judgment upon Canaan in which God choose Israel as the instrument of His judgment; and 2) a test of obedience for Israel.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary