Though the Amorites were as tall as giants, the Lord defeated them in order to bring Israel into the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 3:11). The Lord had rescued Israel from Egypt and cared for them in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. The Lord sent prophets and other servants to teach them and remind them of his commandments but they were rejected. The sins of Israel (and Judah) are so heinous because they come despite knowledge of God’s law and experience of God’s grace.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.