The Canaanites in the Land
The Book of Judges tells us the story of widespread corruption that prevailed during that period. Where did this corruption come from, and how did idolatry enter among the people of God?
The answer is that the Canaanites were still in the land, as the Scripture tells us.
The Canaanites in the Land
Joshua did not rid himself of all the idolatry that existed in his days; rather, he left some of the Canaanites in the land.
The result was that their influence prevailed and increased until it filled the land with corruption, and the situation reached the grievous condition that existed in the days of the Judges, because the Canaanites were still in the land.
And when you began to know the way of the Lord and entered the Promised Land, did you cast down the idols, or did you leave the Canaanites in the land?
This is a question prompted by the state of apostasy into which some fall after walking in the way of the Lord, when they turn back and fall away! Unfortunately, we see some servants of the Church,
and perhaps some prominent or consecrated servants, who still have dispositions exactly like those of the people of the world!
+ An example of this is a person who was prone to anger before he came to know Christ.
He would become irritated, raise his voice, lose his temper, and perhaps even curse. Then he came to know the Lord, yet he retained some of that anger within himself.
He began to become angry for religious reasons, but in a manner resembling the people of the world. In his anger, there was nothing to distinguish him from his former self!
He had left some of the Canaanites in his holy land.
You may reason with him concerning his anger, and he may claim that it is holy anger, for God’s sake!! But holy anger is not expressed in such a wrong manner.
The Scripture says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor be put away from you.”
And it says, “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Therefore, the repentant person ought to leave behind all his former anger, entirely, whatever the reason may be.
And if it pleases God to grant him anger for the sake of truth—a holy anger—then He will give him an anger of an entirely different kind.
Holy anger is not the old anger patched onto a new garment.
Rather, it is a new anger, different from the old in its nature, essence, manner, spirit, and expression.
But the one who has left the Canaanites in the land becomes angry like the people of the world; he does not produce the righteousness of God.
With weary nerves and an unbecoming, even stumbling, appearance—especially when such conduct comes from servants who are placed in a position of example!
They have walked in the way of the Lord, yet they still retain something of the old nature, just as Rachel journeyed with Jacob while still keeping some of Laban’s idols!
The great problem is that some people divide sins into major and minor sins:
When they rid themselves of the major sins—wine, women, smoking, gambling, stealing, nightclubs, and the like—they imagine that they have been saved, renewed, sanctified, justified, and have become children of God.
Perhaps, however, they have left some Canaanites in the land, such as anger, judgment of others, cursing, and the like.
They curse while they are in the Church! They curse the wicked, like the Pharisees who wanted to stone the sinful woman,
or like the Pharisee who said, “I thank You, O God, that I am not like other men… nor like this tax collector!”
Such a person fasts and prays and gives tithes of all his possessions, yet he is proud in his heart. He judges the tax collector and imagines that the rest of mankind are sinners!
Such a person may not think that cursing or judging others can bring about his destruction, while the Scripture says, “Nor will revilers inherit the kingdom of God,” and, “Whoever says to his brother, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
What is astonishing is that some of these people hide behind verses and passages of Scripture!
They appeal to Paul’s words, “Convince, rebuke, exhort,” and assume for themselves the position of the prophets and Apostles whom God sent to rebuke the people.
Then they also forget how those saints rebuked and warned,
and how the Apostle Paul said, “I did not cease to warn everyone with tears.” Do they warn in the same manner, or does their heart become haughty, harsh, and proud?!
Truly, the Canaanites are still in the land. The repentant person ought to be broken in spirit and should rebuke no one but himself.
And if it pleases God to entrust him with the ministry of rebuke, the Spirit will teach him how to rebuke and how to warn with tears, love, and humility, without losing his spiritual life.
He should not rebuke in the manner he did before repentance, but in a new manner.
It is not fitting for a spiritual person to cover his faults with verses and passages of Scripture, for the way of God is clear.
As the Apostle says, “The children of God and the children of the devil are manifest,” and as the Scripture says, “Your speech shows who you are.”
So do not raise your voice with nervousness and harshness, with anger and pride, and then say, “The Holy Spirit convicts people through my mouth!!”
This is not the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Rather, these are some of the remnants of the Canaanites in the land.
A person may walk in the way of God and imagine that he has received the new life in Christ Jesus! Yet you find him disturbed by the slightest things.
Gloom takes hold of him, he becomes discouraged, and he says, “I have become troubled because of this matter!” He loses his peace and falls into despair.
All these are remnants of the Canaanites, for among the fruits of the Spirit are joy and peace.
The children of God do not fail, nor do they lose their peace or the virtue of hope, no matter how greatly they are surrounded by difficulties and the sorrows of the world.
Rather, they rejoice in tribulations, and in the midst of them they say, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10).
As for feelings of gloom and despair, they indicate that the Canaanites are still in the land.
Let each one examine himself: Is there still something of the world in his heart?
The Apostle said:
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1–2). Are you like this?
Perhaps there is within you some impatience, narrowness of heart, or inability to bear with others—some of the remnants of the Canaanites in the land.
Someone may say a word to you, and you cannot bear it and become distressed. You may undertake a service, and when it does not bear fruit quickly, you become weary and cannot endure.
Someone may rebuke you, and your heart is not broad enough to receive the rebuke. At the same time, you fast and pray and tithe your possessions, and abstain from wine and smoking—but the Canaanites are still in the land!!
Do not boast in vain, saying, “I have entered the Promised Land. I have been justified, renewed, sanctified, purified, and have received salvation!”
How easy it is afterward to be carried away and weep by the rivers of Babylon. Look and see whether there is anything of the Canaanites in the land.
Have you removed the evil thing from your midst? What is the secret of your defeat? Do not think that falling consists only in major sins.
Perhaps you have rid yourself of many sins, but you have retained stubbornness.
You have become a well-known servant, yet no one is able to reason with you because of the rigidity of your opinion and your insistence upon your own word!
And what is astonishing is that, in this stubbornness which drives people away from you, and whose source is pride,
you still defend yourself and justify your position as being a defense of the truth, and as firmness that will not bend before sin!
Perhaps this justification with which you justify yourself has been inspired by the Canaanites who are still in the land!
How can a person be a servant in the Church and yet be difficult to reason with?!
How can he study theology and spirituality and fill the world with knowledge, while being difficult to reason with? Yes, he has knowledge, but he also has Canaanites in the land.
It is possible for a person to claim that he has repented, yet retain within himself a spirit of fault-finding, covering it with his love for reform, without ever reforming himself.
How many sins are committed under the name of love for reform!
You may find a servant whom no one can please! Everyone in his eyes is a sinner and deficient, and everything in the Church is in need of reform.
Everyone in the Church needs reform. Everyone in the Church has faults exposed to criticism. Why?
Because when this person repented, he retained his critical spirit; he left some of the Canaanites in the land.
It is possible for a person to know the way of the Lord and still retain laziness!
He does not think that laziness is a sin that can destroy him like the other sins. Because of laziness, he fulfills none of his spiritual duties.
No prayer, no contemplation, no fasting, no prostrations. And if you ask him, he answers with great calmness and confidence: “It is enough that the love of Jesus fills my heart.”
He uses the word “Jesus” with remarkable familiarity, whereas in the Church we say, “Our Lord, our God, our Savior, and our King, Jesus Christ, to whom is the everlasting glory, forever. Amen.”
But he says only “Jesus,” with the tender assertion that “the love of Jesus fills his heart.”
And how can the love of the Lord fill his heart when he is too lazy to pray and has no eagerness to speak with the One whom he loves?!
How can he love the Lord when the Lord says, “He who loves Me keeps My commandments”? Does love lead to laziness, or is laziness one of the remnants of the Canaanites in the land?!
Laziness may be found in service, worship, confession, spiritual training, self-examination, or in reading the Holy Bible and spiritual books.
And all of this they cover with the phrase, “It is enough that the love of Christ fills my heart.” But the Apostle responds to such people and says:
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth!” (1 John 3:18).
Self-justification, as I have said, is also one of the remnants of the Canaanites. The sinner who knows his sin and confesses it finds repentance easy. But the one who justifies his sin has a difficult and lengthy path.
How many sins deceive us without our even realizing it!
How many Canaanites do we leave in the land and live alongside them in our spiritual journey, such as the sin of deceit and reliance upon human strength.
Let us beware of the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards. “Blessed is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock” (Ps. 137).
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in El-Keraza Magazine, Ninth Year, Issue 42, October 20, 1978.
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