Why do the Canaanites get the short end of the stick in this story? They’re just living their own lives in Canaan and now these foreigners get to come in and take over? Not cool, right?
Well, the Canaanites had some serious problems. They were committing some truly abhorrent sexual sins (seriously, just read the first 15 verses of Leviticus 18 to find out– so gross), and offered their own children as burnt sacrifices to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:29-31). Not the kind of next-door neighbors God would want for His holy nation.