1 TESTING

The Lord left some nations to test the Israelites who had not experienced wars in Canaan.

He intended it to teach every generation of Israelites about war especially those who had never experienced war.

The rest of the Philistines were five cities, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the hill country of Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

They were used to test the Israelites as to whether or not they would obey the commandments the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

So the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They intermarried with the people and worshiped their idols.