Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.
But when the Israelites became strong and powerful, they made the Canaanites pay them taxes and work for them, instead of completely driving them out of the land as they were supposed to do.
The Israelites chose the easier path of making money from their enemies rather than fully obeying God's command to remove them from the land.
📚 Historical Context
God had commanded the Israelites to completely drive out the Canaanite peoples from the Promised Land to prevent them from leading Israel into idol worship and compromise. However, as Israel grew stronger militarily, they found it more profitable to keep the Canaanites as forced laborers and taxpayers rather than follow through with God's original instructions.
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