In my post on the Canaanite genocide I posited as one possible reply to the problem of how to reconcile God's Old Testament command to extirpate everything that breathes with the Christian belief in His goodness, mercy, and love that perhaps we simply don't know enough about the details of the matter. According to this reply, if we knew more about the situation prevailing in Canaan during the time the command was given maybe the whole passage would be less puzzling.
Bill writes to link us to a site that offers an intriguing possibility along these lines. Those of you with a theological bent should check it out.
RLC