The transition into the Promised Land is designed not as an overnight miracle, but as a careful, measured progression. This deliberate pace blends Divine guidance with practical, natural realities to protect the people from unforeseen dangers. To achieve this, God plans to remove, drive out, or relocate the local nations to gradually weaken their power [ביאור שטיינזלץ, העמק דבר].
The reality that the Israelites cannot destroy their enemies all at once is not a reflection of military weakness or a limit to God's power. Rather, a swift and total destruction is simply not in their best interest [חזקוני, ביאור שטיינזלץ, העמק דבר]. Practically, the Israelites are too few in number to instantly populate the entire land. If the local nations are wiped out immediately, the newly emptied territories will become desolate and overrun by wild animals. The process of building and settling takes much longer than the act of conquering, especially since the demands of war leave the people with little time to establish proper settlements [ביאור יש״ר, ביאור שטיינזלץ, ברכת אשר]. Tactically, taking the land city by city prevents neighboring empires from panicking and forming a massive, unified coalition to wage endless war against Israel [רלב״ג]. The primary approach among commentators is that God did deliver a swift, initial strike against the major kings and armies to establish fear and dominance, but He deliberately slowed the pace to remove the remaining populations gradually [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, מלבי״ם].
The warning about wild animals multiplying in empty territories raises an interesting theological point. If the Israelites are faithfully following God's will, nature itself should be at peace with them, rendering wild beasts harmless. However, God foresees the future and knows the people will inevitably sin. Because they will not maintain a state of perfect righteousness, they will not always merit an ongoing, supernatural miracle to keep predators at bay [רש״י, הטור הארוך, שפתי כהן, משכיל לדוד]. As a result, God chooses to operate primarily through the laws of nature and logical strategy rather than relying on constant miracles [רלב״ג]. The threat of wild animals in abandoned areas is a severe, frequent, and natural danger that is actually much harder to manage than the presence of a few remaining local inhabitants, which the Israelites can defend against more easily [דברי דוד]. Therefore, while the people possess free will, the entire pace of the conquest is tailored to a realistic future where they might stumble and require natural, practical protection.