Yes — Israel was forbidden to covenant or marry with Canaanites because such unions would turn their hearts from Jehovah to the idols and immorality of the heathen.
God knew that intermarriage and social alliances with the Canaanites would pull His covenant people away from exclusive loyalty to Him. The evidence shows that when Israel disobeyed and absorbed the Canaanites into their lifestyle, within a couple of generations they turned their backs on Jehovah and pursued the gods of Canaan. The example of Solomon further demonstrates the danger: even a righteous king was led into extreme idolatry and child sacrifice through his foreign wives.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 — This is the core command against intermarriage, stating that such unions would turn Israel's sons away from following God.
In Deuteronomy 7, as Israel prepared to cross the Jordan, God commanded them to make no covenant with the Canaanites and to show them no mercy. They were not to intermarry with them—neither give their daughters to Canaanite sons nor take Canaanite daughters for their own sons. The stated reason was that a Canaanite spouse would turn Israelite sons away from following the Lord, and they would then serve other gods. The Bible also reveals that when Israel disobeyed, they walked in the statutes of the heathen, set up idols and groves on every high hill, and even offered their sons and daughters through the fire to the god Moloch. Scripture shows that the Canaanites had 400 years to change, but instead degenerated until God commanded Israel to cleanse the land.
Les Feldick teaches that Israel was a covenant people set apart by God, and they were never to intermarry with anyone outside the nation of Israel. They could do business with pagans, but socially they were to remain a separated people. He emphasizes that God never told the Jew to proselyte or evangelize the Gentiles, because He was dealing strictly with this covenant nation and making them different. Les explains that when Israel grew soft-hearted and made servants of the Canaanites instead of destroying them, they incorporated them into their lifestyle, and within two generations Israel had abandoned Jehovah and gone headlong after Canaanite gods. He also uses Solomon as the extreme example of the danger: though a righteous and godly man, he followed other women and their gods to the point of offering little Jewish babies to Moloch. Les also ties the marriage prohibition back to the curse of Canaan in Genesis 9, showing that the whole program unfolds literally and fits together in God's plan.
Before Israel crossed the Jordan, God gave explicit instructions: don't leave a single Canaanite alive. Les says this was not unfair or unjust, because the Canaanites had 400 years to clean up their act, but instead they degenerated down and down. God told Israel to cleanse the land, warning that unless they did, they would become just like the Canaanites. Israel disobeyed, however, by growing soft-hearted and making servants of the Canaanites instead of destroying them.
When Israel incorporated the Canaanites into their lifestyle, it took only a couple of generations before they turned their backs on Jehovah and pursued the gods of the Canaanites. The Bible records that they walked in the statutes of the heathen, set up images and groves on every high hill, and secretly did things that were not right. Les emphasizes that whenever Israel went into idolatry, they also went into abject immorality in the name of religion.
Les presents Solomon as the extreme example of what could happen. Although Solomon was a righteous and godly man in many respects, he followed other women and their gods to such an extreme that he eventually became involved in offering little Jewish babies to the fires of the god Moloch. This demonstrates that even an Israelite could face and fall into the very temptation God warned against when He forbade intermarriage with the Canaanites.
Les emphasizes that God never told the Jew to go out and proselyte the Gentiles or to evangelize them. This may be hard to accept, but God was dealing strictly with His covenant nation of Israel, setting them apart and making them different. Socially they were to remain separated from the pagan people around them, even though they still had to do business with them.
Why God Commanded Israel to Destroy Entire Nations — Deuteronomy 7
And they did. They succeeded in quite a few thousand of them. And, of course, God had to, as they say today, He had to do some ethnic cleansing, and so quite a few thousand Israelites lost their life as a result of their losing their separated position. But nevertheless, the nation of Israel remained intact. The Moabites just couldn't do anything about it.
Israel Called to Be a Separated People
Les teaches that Israel was a covenant people never to intermarry with anyone outside the nation, and they were to have no real social contact with pagans, remaining a separated people even though they did business with them.
The Command to Destroy and the Failure
Les explains that God explicitly told Israel not to leave a single Canaanite alive, warning that if they didn't cleanse the land they would become like them, and that Israel's soft-hearted failure led within two generations to their turning to Canaanite gods.
Solomon as the Extreme Example
Les shows the danger of the forbidden mixing by pointing to Solomon, who despite being a righteous and godly man, followed other women's gods to the extreme and even offered little Jewish babies to the god Moloch.
Israel Following Heathen Statutes
Les points out how Israel became exactly like the heathen Canaanites around them, walking in their statutes and secretly doing those things that were not right.
What Does It Mean to Be Crucified With Christ?
And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, which Canaan would have been, you know, but to them that committed adultery, but to them who worshiped the golden calf? That's what we would think. Because you want to remember just a few months earlier while Moses was up in the mount getting all of his instructions, the people came to Aaron and said, Well, we don't know what's happene…
Idolatry Leading to Immorality
Les teaches that when Israel bowed to idols in high places, idolatry always led to abject immorality in the name of religion.
The Reason for the Marriage Prohibition
Les connects the prohibition against marrying Canaanites all the way back to the curse of Canaan in Genesis 9, explaining that God's program unfolds literally and everything fits together in detail.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
This is the foundational command against intermarriage and the stated reason: it would turn Israel's sons from following God to serving other gods.
Deuteronomy 7:2: And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
This is the command to make no covenant with the Canaanites and to show no mercy, which Les cites as explicit instructions before Israel crossed the Jordan.
2 Kings 17:8: And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
This shows Israel's disobedience: they walked in the same statutes as the heathen Canaanites whom God had cast out.
2 Kings 17:17: And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
This verse documents the extreme results of Israel's mixing with the nations — even the sacrifice of their own children through fire, as Les emphasizes with Solomon and Moloch.
God forbade covenants, marriages, and mercy toward the Canaanites, but Les clarifies that Israel still had to do business with pagans. The prohibition was on social mixing and intermarriage that would compromise Israel's separated position as His covenant people.
God said Canaanite spouses would turn Israelite sons away from following Him and toward serving other gods. Les reinforces this with the example of Solomon, who followed the gods of his foreign wives to the extreme of offering babies to Moloch.
Les teaches it was not unjust, because the Canaanites had 400 years to change but instead degenerated further and further. God, in justice, could tell Israel not to spare a single one, warning that if they did they would become just like them.
Israel grew soft-hearted and made servants of the Canaanites instead of destroying them. Within a couple of generations, Israel had turned its back on Jehovah and was headlong after the gods of the Canaanites, walking in their statutes and even sacrificing children to Moloch.
The evidence in these transcripts focuses on Israel's specific covenant position in the Old Testament economy. Les teaches that God dealt strictly with Israel as a separated covenant nation, and the page's evidence does not directly apply that command to New Testament believers.
Watch the Teaching: Why God Commanded Israel to Destroy Entire Nations — Deuteronomy 7