Deuteronomy 7:22
TSK
He, the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you.
TSK
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge references in NET.
He, the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you.
The Ephraimites did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.
These were the nations the LORD permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel– he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites.