Lest the land be desolate The Israelites were not numerous enough to people all the land immediately. Providence had likewise another end in view in suffering some of the Canaanites to remain in the land: they were to prove Israel, and show whether they would hearken unto the commandment of the Lord, Judges 3:4. And the beast of the field multiply The wild beasts from Arabia Deserta made frequent inroads into Canaan, in quest of prey, and were not to be driven out but by continual hunting.
Related Commentaries of Exodus 23:29
Exodus 23:29
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.