1 Ne 17:32-5 the children of this land…who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

It is not our purpose here to comment on Old Testament events. However, Nephi’s question is instructive and deserves some comment. It will be remembered that after the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, they began to enter the land of Canaan, but they had to do it by force. When they fought the inhabitants of the land, they would kill men, women, children, and livestock (Josh 6:21). This is always hard to understand for those who believe God is a merciful God. It is hard to tell from reading the Old Testament why the Lord is so ruthless with these people.

Nephi makes it clear that they were wiped off the face of the earth because of their wickedness. They had become ripe like the people in Noah’s day, they were ripe in iniquity and the fullness of the wrath of God was upon them (v. 35). The Lord is not just indiscriminately wiping them out because the children of Israel need a place to live. He is delivering just rewards to the idolatrous inhabitants of the land. Nephi goes on to explain that the Lord would not have chosen Israel had they not been more righteous, thus confirming that the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one (v. 35).