Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Here the Amorites, the most formidable of the native inhabitants, represent all of them, by metonymy (cf. Genesis 15:16). The defeat of these giants demonstrated Yahweh’s superior power as well as His love for His people. By implication, if God drove the Amorites out of the land, He might also drive the Israelites out.