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Joshua
10:16-43 Wrap-Up
Of The Southern Campaign “But
these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17
And it was told Joshua, saying, The five
kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. 18
And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon
the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: 19
and stay not, but pursue after
your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into
their cities; for the LORD
your God hath delivered them into your hand. 20
And it came to pass, when Joshua and the
children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter,
till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered
into fenced cities. 21
And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the
children of Israel. 22 Then
said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me
out of the cave. 23 And
they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24
And it came to pass, when they brought
out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and
said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put
your feet upon the necks of these kings.
And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. 25
And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor
be dismayed, be strong and of good courage:
for thus shall the LORD
do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. 26
And afterward Joshua smote them, and
slew them, and hanged them on five trees:
and they were hanging upon the tress until evening. 27
And it came to pass at the time of the
going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down
off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid
great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day. 28
And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and
smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed,
them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did
unto the king of Jericho. 29 Then
Joshua passed Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought
against Libnah: 30 And
the LORD
delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote
it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he
let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of
Jericho. 31 And
Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped
against it, and fought against it: 32
And the LORD
delivered Lachish into the hand of
Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the
sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had
done to Libnah. 33 Then
Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his
people, until he had left him none remaining. 34
And from Lachish Joshua passed unto
Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought
against it: 35 And
they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the
souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all
that he had done to Lachish. 36 And
Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they
fought against it: 37 And
they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof,
and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left
none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it
utterly, and all the souls that were therein. 38
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with
him, to Debir; and fought against it: 39
And he took it, and the king thereof,
and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and
utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none
remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so
he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to
her king. 40 So
Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale,
and of the springs, and all their kings:
he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the
LORD
God of Israel commanded. 41 And
Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of
Goshen, even unto Gibeon. 42 And
all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD
God of Israel fought for Israel. 43
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with
him, unto the camp to Gilgal.” Map of Canaan
and its cities during Joshua’s conquest: https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/27-the-israelites-move-into-canaan/the-israelites-cross-the-river-jordan/
Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED622] “The
Book of Joshua, chapter 10, we had entered into the main campaign, in the southern
part of the land. Adonizedec, the king
of Jerusalem had heard of the victories at Ai and Jericho, had heard what the
Gibeonites had done in making peace with Israel, and he then began to
historically, culturally he gathered all of the southern powers he could to
make war against Joshua and the children of Israel. God’s masterplan of course, puts this great
force out in the open field, where Joshua and the children of Israel can then
begin to pursue these kings. This is the
first time in the battles where the actual kings of the cities are named for
us. We don’t have the name of the king
of Ai or the king of Jericho, these kings are named for us, and their names are
significant, some of them dealing with self-worth, haughtiness, pride, very
interesting, certainly those are the battles we fight, in the heart of the land
as it were. This is the central ridge,
and it’s an interesting picture, I don’t think those names are given to us
without purpose. And of course, the
great battle, Joshua prays, he asks the Sun to stand still over Gibeon, and the
Moon in the Valley of Ajalon, and God lengthens the day, and this tremendous,
tremendous battle takes place to win, the people from these five kings and five
cities are fleeing, God lengthens the day.
And we talked about that last week.
There are times in our lives, depending on what we are wrestling with,
struggling with, we’re also in a warfare, that if we are genuinely willing to
bring certain things before the Lord, he’ll lengthen the day, he’ll lengthen
the battle if we sit before him with all of our heart and say ‘Don’t let
this end until I have victory,’ how gracious he is, the day is lengthened,
the battle is won. At the end of the
day, Joshua, the children of Israel returning to Gilgal, passing by their
enemies dead, covered with ice, just a remarkable, quiet walk, I’m sure, as
they come back to Gilgal. And it is at
that point, where Joshua receives word that the five kings themselves are
hidden in a cave. And Joshua, rather
than being distracted by that, gives orders to the rest of his army to pursue
the fleeing troops, not to stop until the battle is finished, don’t be
distracted. We have the identity of the
kings, they’re hidden in this cave, but that is not to be a distraction, we are
to prosecute the war, the battle that God has put in front of us until we are
done with it. So we begin with this
interesting picture at the end of this battle, verse 15 says, “And
Joshua returned, and all Israel with him unto the camp to Gilgal.” The
Enemies In The Land Were So Awestruck That None Of Them Moved Their Tongue
Against The Children Of Israel “But
these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, The five
kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.
And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set
men by it for to keep them: and stay ye
not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them;
suffer them not to enter into their cities:
for the LORD
your God hath delivered them into your hand.
And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end
of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the
rest which remained of them entered into the fence cites.” (verses
16-20)
So there were those small numbers that escaped and entered into some of
the fortified cities and did survive, but Joshua pursuing the enemy until the
battle was finished. In verse 21 it
says, “And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in
peace: none moved his tongue against any
of the children of Israel.” the
enemies in the land so awe-struck that none of them even moved their tongue
against the children of Israel. That’s a
great position to be in. I don’t
remember much ever being in a position where nobody moves their tongue against
you. It’s nice, I guess, if those days
come and God gives you a season of grace and a season of rest and all tongues
are at rest, that sounds like a wonderful thing. The Scripture tells us that that’s how the
enemy makes war against us is through the tongue, as he says, ‘Behold,
what a great forest fire a spark can begin, or consider how a rudder can steer
a huge ship that is so small in comparison to the rest of the ship,’ he
said, ‘so is the tongue, it’s a member of our body set on fire of
Gehenna.’ Certainly James as he
writes that is a man who knew that, because he’s the one who thought his
brother was a lunatic, only to find out his older brother was God, later. So James can give us good warning in regards
to the tongue. But again, the only
member of our body that comes in its own cage, and easy to control if we keep
the cage closed. I regret probably more
things I did say and wish I hadn’t said, than the things I didn’t say and wish
I had said. But in the world that we
live in, abortion is promoted through the tongue, immorality, promoted through
the tongue, hatred and bigotry, promoted through the tongue, it is a member set
on fire of hell, and so many of the things that are adverse to you and I and
our faith and the truth of Christianity are mobilized through the tongue, and
it’s just the way it is, and the enemy understands the power of that. And how wonderful here God so powerfully
manifests, it says “none moved his tongue against any of the children of
Israel.” (verse 21b) The
Five Kings In The Cave--What Do They Represent? “Then
said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me
out of the cave. And they did so, and
brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem,
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the
king of Eglon.” (verses 22-23) Now it’s an interesting picture, you know
they have a battle here, they have a victory here, very interesting. But the kings themselves, the central
figures, the initiators as it were, are hidden in a cave. And you know, sometimes it’s a picture of you
and I, we have victory, but somehow we’re content to leave something alive in a cave, it’s still there,
it’s in the heart, it’s not being manifest, we’re not letting it out, we’re
aware of it, you know, it can be an idol, something that we play with, we let
it live there. And God’s never content
with that, he wants it brought out into the light, “bring them out,” and
there’s a question sometimes with us.
Are we really willing to bring those things into the light, out into the
open, that need to be put to death?
Sometimes when they’re hidden, you know, outward things, our language,
violence or immorality or addiction, so many of those outward things that we
don’t hide or can’t be hidden, sometimes just because of own pride and our own
humiliation, we get victory over those things.
But sadly there are those things that are hidden, and quite often we let
them linger on. And I think there’s an
interesting picture here, you know we have those kings hidden in our own
hearts, and sometimes you don’t really get to see them until you’re worried or
you’re angry or you’re lustful, or you’re going through something and all of a
sudden there it is. You know, you
thought you’d put it to death and it’s raising its head and coming to life
again as it were. And certainly it’s a
picture of the works of the flesh, our fallen nature, but those things are
there, they’re not to be left alive. I
just think it’s an interesting picture, he says, and our Joshua, this is a
lesser Joshua, but our Joshua [Yeshua], our Jesus also says ‘Bring them
out, bring them out into the open, bring them into the light.’ “And they did so, and brought forth those
five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they brought out
those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said
unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your
feet upon the necks of these kings. And
they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.” (verses 23-24) Isn’t there something you kind of like about
that, isn’t it? “And Joshua said unto
them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD
do to all your enemies against whom ye
fight.” (verse 25) Now this is a great thing for the armies of
Israel to hear, certainly it’s a great thing.
Now isn’t it interesting, because in the first chapter, Moses said this
to Joshua, ‘Be strong, and of good courage, you’re not to be afraid, not
to be dismayed,’ and challenged Joshua.
And then the children of Israel said ‘We’ll follow you as we
followed Moses, only be thou strong and of good courage, be not dismayed,’ and
Joshua now has gone through this process.
I think at sometimes it’s harder than others, maybe early on, where the
LORD said ‘OK, I want
you to have the children of Israel begin to move, but I want them two thousand
paces behind the ark, and I want you to tell the priests to walk up to the
river, and to just walk into it, when they get to their ankles the river’s
going to stop,’ and Joshua’s going to come back and say ‘Well
here’s the battle plan,’ and you know, he was in training, he’s
learning. And of course, the remarkable
things they saw, the setting up of the stones, and then with the stones in the
river, and that saying, meeting the Captain of the LORD’s
host in the plains at Gilgal, and then having to walk around the city of
Jericho for those seven days. So much of
that kind of defying logic, demanding faith, and there are things like that in
our lives. Look, I would say, by in
large, the Lord leads us in a way that’s reasonable, we’re not to be
supernaturally weird, we’re to be supernaturally natural. But there are those times, when we’re to step
out of the boat onto the water, there’s those seasons. And Joshua now, as seeing the LORD’s
victory, seeing what happened to Jericho, understanding that he made a mistake
there in Ai, he hadn’t sought the LORD,
he hadn’t prayed. But knowing now,
because you lose a battle it doesn’t mean that you lose the war. Paul said ‘Forgetting those things that
are behind, I press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ, I have not
apprehended of that which I have been apprehended for,’ you know, there
is moving on. And Joshua now, you know,
as he comes to this battle, has the courage to say ‘Stop sun, stand thou
still,’ and he never read the chapter before. And in the history of Israel, and in the
history of the Patriarchs, back to Abraham, back to Noah, back to Adam, no one
had ever done that before. You didn’t
even have a case study of the Bible, this man now saying “Sun, stand thou
still, and Moon in the Valley of Ajalon” and it said ‘and the LORD
hearkened to the voice of a man, and it was a day of which the world has never
seen or ever would again,’ and now Joshua,
in the flush of victory, understanding it had nothing to do with himself, now
he, look, trained by experience, it says in Hebrews our senses are sharpened by
experience, how many battles God will take us through and let us learn, now
Joshua himself is able to say, he brings the whole army, he says to his
captains, ‘Put your feet on the necks of these kings,’ he says, ‘I
don’t want you to be afraid, I want you to be of good courage, for thus shall
the LORD
do,’ Joshua knew, he didn’t make the sun
stand still or the moon, ‘for thus shall the LORD
do unto all of your enemies against whom you will fight,’ and
we’ll see that as we move on here. Look,
we are encouraged to take the same kind of attitude, Paul would tell the Romans
‘And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly, the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen.’ The church in Rome there that was
being persecuted, the persecution in Rome would mount to a very fearful degree,
and yet Christians were laying down their lives, and their encouragement from
Paul was ‘The God of peace is gonna crush your enemy under heal.’ So this is not about some macho thing, it’s
not showing ‘OK, we got these guys,’ Clint Eastwood, ‘Get ‘em out of here,’ no
this is what God has done, and this is what God is gonna do to all our enemies,
the battle belongs to the Lord, and as long as we’re obedient, this is the
Promised Land, this is the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, this
is what he is going to do, remarkable picture, it says, that they came and they
put their feet on the necks of these men, verse 26 says, “And
afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until
evening.” Deuteronomy said you cut
them down at night, don’t let their bodies hang upon the tree, or
Leviticus. They hung there till evening,
“And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that
Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the
cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which
remain until this very day.” (verse 27)
Now, nobody’s sure what the time of the going down of the sun is
lately, in this scene here, evidently it’s a more normal time on this day. Joshua
Wraps Up The Campaign For The South “And
that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the
king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein;
he let none remain: and he did to the
king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.” (verse 28) Now what we’re
going to do now, after the five kings, Joshua now begins to move quickly to
destroy the backbone of the southern kingdom.
He doesn’t take every city, because we’re going to find out in Judges,
there’s still battles, there’s still areas to be subdued within the
inheritances of the tribes [the whole 12 tribes of Israel, not just Judah, the
Jews, which are only the tribe of Judah].
But, Joshua in the southern campaign, and then chapter 11, the northern
campaign, breaks the back of Canaan, he takes the most significant cities, and
he takes them in a very brilliant way, so much so, that centuries after this,
when Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar come into the land, they follow the same
pattern exercised by Joshua here in taking cities, very remarkable. So, Joshua, now led of the LORD,
we have a fast succession of the cities that are taken and destroyed, most of
their armies destroyed, so certainly any amount of enemy troops would have been
depleted, “And that day Joshua took Makkedah,” that day, “and smote
it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them,
and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did
unto the king of Jericho. Then Joshua
passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against
Libnah: and the LORD
delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote
it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he
let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of
Jericho. And Joshua passed from Libnah,
and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought
against it: and the LORD
delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and
smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were
therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.” (verses 28-32) “the second day,” now that’s interesting, all
these cities we’re told, it took till the second day to take Lachish, there may
have been many others, but for some reason this one is named, made conspicuous
here. “Lachish” means “impregnable,” you
know, it seems they’re taking these cities a day at a time for some reason,
there’s some lesson here, there may be other things that take twice as long as
something else for us to bring under control in our lives. I’m convinced, no, it doesn’t matter what I’m
convinced of, but I have the microphone, so, I think sometimes, you know, we
live a certain way, and we create kind of an almost alternative reality, even
before we are saved, when we come under conviction, when we know we’re doing
something wrong, we compartmentalize our sin to the point where we kind of
justify ourselves, ‘I’m righteous, I only sleep with the girl I love, I
always sell everybody a full count, I only punch the guys that deserve it,’ we
create this self-righteousness, and then when we come to Christ we’re learning ‘Turn
the other cheek?’ Wait a minute, the
second cheek, can I hit him then?’ you know. ‘Go the extra mile,’ we almost have to
re-adjust ourselves, and some things go very quickly in our lives, depending on
how we’ve grown up, and the influences in our lives, and we find that some
things take twice as long as other things.
And we’re all different. Some of
us begin to cry, and some of us are learning not to cry immediately, some of us
after years are still learning to shed a tear, we’ve spent so many years
putting up our defense mechanisms to survive.
So, just interesting as we watch this, for some reason it tells us,
Lachish, which means impregnable, it was not impregnable at all, it just took
longer than some of the other battles. “and
they smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein,
according to all that he had done to Libnah.
Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him
and his people, until he had left him none remaining.” (verses 32b-33) “Horam king of Gezer” whose this guy? He’s a guy whose butting in and it’s a bad
move, we haven’t heard of him up until now.
For some reason he thinks he could jump in, I’m sure there’s a lesson
for people not to get themselves involved in other people’s business. But “Horam king of Gezer came up to help
Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none
remaining. And from Lachish Joshua
passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and
fought against it: and they took it on
that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were
therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to
Lachish. And Joshua then went up from
Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: and they took it, and smote it with the edge
of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the
souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that
he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.”
(verses 33-37) and I wonder what that day was like for Joshua? You see, this is Mamre, Hebron, in fact some
of the ancient Arabic names related here, this is the plain where Abraham
encamped, this is the place it tells us in Genesis 13 where Abraham separated
himself from Lot, and God said ‘Lift up your eyes now from where you are,
look from where you are northward, southward, eastward, westward, walk through
the land, all thou seest I will give unto thee,’ and it says ‘Abraham
came to the Plains of Mamre, and he pitched his tent and built his altar,’ and
it says ‘that place is called Hebron.’
I wonder what Joshua thought as he came in here, he looked
around, because there was a cave there called Machpelah in Hebron, it’s there
today. It’s under a mosque today, but
Abraham is buried there, Sarah is buried there, Isaac and Rebekah are buried
there, Jacob is there. What an
interesting place, Leah, the mother of Christ is there, she’s there. I wonder what it was like for Joshua that
day, to think of the promises that had been made so long ago to Abram, here
they were like the stars, the number of the children of Israel, having
incredible victory. God had said to
Abraham in chapter 15 and 16 of Genesis, ‘The iniquity of the Amorites is
not yet come to a full, but in 400 years I’ll bring you back into the land,’ so
now no doubt, again, you can go to the University of Pennsylvania Museum, good
museum, but great bookstore, and you can study the Canaanites, the way they
lived, their sexual practices, the sacrificing of their children, how wicked
and how depraved they were. And
evidently in God’s estimate at this point, the iniquity of the Amorites has
come to a full. And he’s using Joshua
and the children of Israel as his chastening rod, his judgment to bring them
through. [Comment: God’s no respecter of persons. He brought Israel into judgment for the same
sins. See https://unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html]
But I think, you know, here’s, even
today in Hebron there are 38 springs around Hebron today, and it’s 3,042 feet
above sea-level, it’s higher than Jerusalem.
And yet up on that mountain, even today in Hebron, there are 38
different springs around the city. What
a remarkable place. So, here Joshua
looking around, looking at his own heritage, wondering what it was like, I’m
sure, as he stopped there at the Cave of Machpelah where Abraham was and so
forth. Verse 38 says “And
Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: and he took it, and the king thereof; and
they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls
that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir,
and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.”
(verses 38-39) “So Joshua smote
all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the
springs, and all their kings: he left
none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD
God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even
unto Gaza,” in the news today, “and all the
country of Goshen,” this is not Goshen down in Egypt, this is a Goshen in
the area towards the Philistine country, “even unto Gibeon.” (verses 40-41) And again, I wonder what it’s like for Joshua
to come back to the area of Kadesh-barnea now, and to just groub them, I wonder
if he talked with Caleb, whose about 85 years old at this point in time, and
say ‘Man, sure would have been more fun 38 years ago, wouldn’t it?’ these two old guys, speaking of geezers, that
was a city, but these two old geezers, now imagine them saying ‘We’re here,
after all these years, God is faithful, he said he would bring us back.’ And no doubt they’re slaughtering the
giants, in fact they are, we’re going to hear of that, just remarkable. Wouldn’t you loved to have just walked behind
these two guys at Kadesh-barnea and just listened to their conversation, how
remarkable it must have been. Notice in verse
42 “And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the
LORD
God of Israel fought for Israel.” Look, notice this, all of Joshua’s battles
are offensive, Israel [the Israelis] still maintains very much the same posture
today. Joshua, moving through the land,
any time he’s aware that an enemy’s mustering and getting ready to attack,
Joshua preempts that attack and moves first.
And it says here it’s because the LORD
is fighting for him, and all of his battles are offensive, there are no
defensive battles here. Joshua in all of
these victories, moves and preempts the enemy and attacks the enemy,
particularly if he hears the enemy is going to attack him, and I have a feeling
Israel [the Israelis] is going to behave the same way in the not too distant future,
and I don’t blame them, I think they have the right to protect themselves. Interesting here as we watch this, all of
these battles moving that way. “And
Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.” (verse 43) Just imagine what this is like. Interesting, and we don’t know why, Jarmuth
and Jerusalem are both spared, those are two of the cities that are named when
we have the names of the five kings.
They were both fortified cities.
We don’t get the information specifically by the end of the book whether
Jarmuth is taken. We know Jerusalem
waits until David, David is the one who defeats the Jebusites. Those of you who go to Israel will see
Warren’s Shaft, where Joab climbed up the tunnel, where those there in Jebus
were mocking David and his army, we’ll see that very place. So the Jebusites for some reason, the heart
of the land, were held off until God’s king comes on the scene, it’s
interesting, but the rest of the southern campaign is finished, not every city
is defeated, but the backbone of the southern campaign is, the backbone of the
land is broken. And as that takes place,
we’re going to hear of the kings of the north, we start to hear that, and they
then start to assemble themselves, and in fact do in great numbers, knowing
what they’re in for. Joshua
11:1-23 The
Northern Campaign “And
it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that
he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of
Achshaph, 2 and
to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains
south of Chinneroth [Galilee], and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on
the west, 3 and
to the Canaanite on the east and on the
west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the
Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of
Mizpeh. 4 And
they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the
sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots
very many. 5 And
when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the
waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. 6
And the LORD
said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver
them up all slain before Israel: thou
shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. 7
So Joshua came, and all the people of
war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon
them. 8 And
the LORD
delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto
great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward;
and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. 9
And Joshua at that time turned back, and
took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all
those kingdoms. 11 And
they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword,
utterly destroying them: there
was not any left to breathe: and he
burnt Hazor with fire. 12 And
all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and
smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them, as
Moses the servant of the LORD
commanded. 13 But
as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none
of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. 14
And all the spoil of these cities, and
the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every
man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them,
neither left they any to breathe. 15
As the LORD
commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he
left nothing undone of all that the LORD
commanded Moses. 16 So
Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the
land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and
the valley of the same; 17 even
from the mount Halak, that goeth up to
Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them,
and slew them. 18 Joshua
made war a long time with all those kings. 19
There was not a city that made peace
with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 20
For it was of the LORD
to harden their hearts, that they should
come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that
they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD
commanded Moses. 21 And
at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from
Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from the mountains of Judah, and from all
the mountains of Israel: Joshua
destroyed them utterly with their cities. 22
There was none of the Anakims left in
the land of the children of Israel: only
in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. 23
So Joshua took the whole land, according
to all that the LORD said
unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to
their divisions by their tribes. And
the land rested from war.” Introduction: Without The LORD
These Are Insurmountable Odds “It
says here, “And when it came to pass, Jabin king of Hazor had heard those
things,” all that had happened in chapter 10, “that he sent to Jobab
king of Madon, and to king of Shimron, and to the king of Achsaph, and to the
kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south
of Chinneroth,” Chinneroth is the area of the Sea of Galilee, Chinneroth is
the Hebrew for “harp,” the Sea of Galilee is shaped like a harp, the Greek word
“Gennesaret” kind of describes the same thing, “and in the valley, and in
the borders of Dor on the west, and to the Canaanite on the east and on
the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and
the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the
land of Mizpeh.” all the way up today into the Golan Heights towards Syria,
“And they went out, they and all their hosts with them,” please notice
this “much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in
multitude, with horses and chariots very many.” (verses 1-4) Now, Josephus tells us, and usually he is
a fairly good source of information, Josephus tells us that the footmen, the
army was over 300,000 soldiers, that there were 10,000 cavalrymen, and that
20,000 chariots. So you have to imagine
this scene, and they’re up in northern Israel, which would be in that area by
one of the lakes up there, Merom, and imagine 300,000 soldiers, 10,000
cavalrymen, and 20,000 chariots, those are the tanks in that day,
chariots. I mean, you didn’t stand in a
field with your sword when a chariot was coming at you. Just remarkable numbers. Now Joshua is going to be encouraged by the LORD
as we look at this. Verse 5 says “And
when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the
waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.” probably planning to come down
the Jordan Valley and attack them in Gilgal, they were probably going to
preempt Israel. Look, one of the lessons
in this chapter is, these are insurmountable odds, without the LORD,
in the natural, you measure this, 300,000 footmen, 10,000 cavalrymen, and the
staggering number is 20,000 chariots.
Here it just says they were like the sand, with horses and chariots. That is insurmountable. The thing we have to see, you and I, and I do
this sometimes, I get so absorbed sometimes with the enemy of God today, the
enemy of the Church, the things that are out there. Do we stand a chance? Look what goes on in legislation, look what
goes on in Hollywood, look what’s going on in the entertainment industry, look
what goes on here, look what goes on with our young people, look what’s going
on in marriages, look what’s going on with pornography, look at what’s going on
with all this. And sometimes it almost
seems like there’s 300,000 footmen and 20,000 chariots and 10,000 cavalrymen,
and they’re all come together it says, it says they were all come together,
they all met together, and the common consent of this crowd is the hatred of
God’s people. And there is a common
consent growing today, there are more movies in the movie theaters that are
blasphemous, not just immorality and you know, shoot ‘em up--I like a movie,
and it’s one of my problems, I like a movie where all the bad guys are dead at
the end. That appeals to my flesh, I’m
sorry, you know, I can’t feed that a whole lot, that I start to dream that I’m
Rambo or Clint Eastwood or something.
But they get more bloody, just hack ‘em up, chop ‘em up, but now look,
they’re crossing a line, now they’re specifically mocking God in the movie
theaters. So many things that are out
there, and they’re getting worse, and they’re coming together with a common
consent, and that is the hatred of God’s people. And the hatred of God’s people because you
want to live with a standard, you want to live with an ethic, you want to live
with a morality, you want to live with accountability to a Living God, you want
to ascribe what’s going on around us to a Creator and not random chance, you
want to use your mind and use your brain, and you want to dig and want to be
educated, you want to understand why you believe what you believe. And there is mounting, in the culture and the
days we live in, a common consent in regards to the hatred of God’s people (cf.
Matthew 24:9). And it’s good for me to
read these chapters, because sometimes I get all wound up in that. And I get all caught up in it, and I can let
my mind go where it doesn’t need to go in regards to these things, because the
Church sometimes appears to be outmatched, there’s the king of lust out there,
and the king of pornography is out there, and the king of violence, and the
king of bitterness, and the king of this, and the king of that, and you think ‘We’re
just outmatched, what do we do? What
about our kids, how do we ever raise them, what happens to our grandchildren,
what are we gonna do,’ sometimes you almost feel like we’re outnumbered and
we’re outmatched to such an incredible degree.
Well Joshua did too, and he needed to be encouraged here. Look in verse 6, “the LORD
said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver
them up all slain before Israel: thou
shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.” Now I take it
that the LORD just,
you know, ‘I need to say something to Joshua, what do I say to him?’ I think he said this because Joshua was
afraid. [Comment: In Numbers 26:51
it says “Those who were numbered of the sons of Israel were
601,730.” This
was the second numbering or census taken of Israel, all men 20 years old or
older, able to go to war, this census taken just before Moses died and Joshua
crossed the Jordan with them. So
in reality, the number of Joshua’s troops outnumbered the 330,000 enemy troops
by a 2:1 ratio. But this enemy force was
still a formidable force, especially with 10,000 mounted cavalry and 20,000
chariots of war.] Tomorrow, God tells
Joshua ‘Tomorrow, there’s a tomorrow in your life Joshua, today you might
seem overwhelmed, everything might seem overwhelming, but there is a tomorrow,’
as there is in our lives. We
know the last chapter, we know who wins, we know who comes out on top, we know
whose Victor, we know whose going to be Lord of lords and King of kings, we
know that every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess, of
things of heaven and things on the earth, and things under the earth, that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (cf. Revelation chapters
19 & 20). We know he’s given him The
Name above every name. And it
doesn’t matter in the final analysis what legislators and entertainers and
Hollywood and everybody else has to say, because there is a final voice that
has already been raised, and when we’re very discouraged, God comes to us and
says ‘Don’t be afraid, because tomorrow I’m going to do something, I’m
going to move, everything’s going to be shaken except that which cannot be
shaken, tomorrow I will move.’ And
in the days we live in, it could be tomorrow.
But he’s the same, he’s ever the same, he comes to encourage, ‘don’t
be afraid, with this great outmatched contest, like the sand of the sea,
because tomorrow I’m going to deliver them into your hand,’ “So
Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of
Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.”
[see http://godswarplan.com/battle-of-waters-of-merom-northern-kings-canaan-northern-campaign-joshua-11
] Another
Forced March, Joshua Falls On The Enemy Suddenly Now
it’s a five day march from Gilgal to there, so, you know it doesn’t give us all
those details, they’re moving, they’re moving [what you’d call “a forced
march”]. Ah, they must have had spies up
there giving them a sense of the numbers, because Joshua’s aware of something,
God telling him not to be afraid, you can imagine them encouraging each other
as they’re moving, somewhere in the process, the captains here, ‘God has
spoken to Joshua, it’s going to be another miraculous victory, God’s going to
do this.’ What an interesting
picture we have here. “So Joshua
came, and all the men of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom
suddenly; and they fell upon them. And
the LORD
delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto
great Zidon, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until
they left them none remaining. And
Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade
him: he houghed their horses, and burnt
their chariots with fire.” (verses 7-9) hamstrung their horses, cut their tendons in
the back of the legs. Now look, seems
like a strange command in some ways, but it isn’t too long into the future,
that we will find Israel worshipping horses, it tells us, you don’t have to
turn, 2nd Kings chapter 23 they’re wrestling with Tophet and
Molech, and it says Josiah “and he took away the horses that the kings of
Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD
by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the
suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.” (verse 11) By the time
Josiah’s on the scene, they’re actually worshipping horses and worshipping
chariots, calling them “the horses and the chariots of the sun” worshipping the
sun, no doubt depending, you know the Psalmist will say ‘Some trust in
horses, some trust in chariots, but we will remember the name of the LORD
our God.’ And
early in all of this, God says to Joshua ‘Hamstring their horses, burn
their chariots, you’re having victories that will be written in history without
horses, without chariots, incredible victory here because you’re being led by
my Word,’ so they follow those directions, but it won’t be long before
there’s trouble with all of these things, ah, interesting. The
Taking Of Hazor, And The Rest Of The Cities Verse
10 says this, “And Joshua at that time
turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all
those kingdoms. And they smote all the
souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all
the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword,
and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD
commanded. But as for the cities
that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor
only; that did Joshua burn.” (verses 10-13) Now what it’s
telling us is this, this is the northern campaign now, he defeats this great
army by Merom, then he turns back and comes a little bit westward towards
Hazor. Hazor is the largest town in
Israel today. Hazor was the largest city
in Canaan. You figure this, Jericho and
the battle there, and all the attention it got, Jericho was 8 acres, inside the
walls (that’s not quite as big as our property here). Megiddo, that they will take, is 14 acres
inside of its walls. The city of Hazor is 200 acres inside of its walls (see https://creation.com/hazor). Imagine, Jericho is 8 acres, Hazor is 200
acres inside of its walls. It was
centered on the trade routes, the Via Maris, coming from Syria, and Babylon and
the Euphrates, down to Egypt, it guarded the whole northern plain, and the
entrance to the plains, it was the wealthiest, largest, most fortified city in
the north, and it tells us that Joshua took Hazor, and he made an example of
it. He didn’t burn the other cities, but
he burned this one, he had a great victory over it, and burned it to the
ground, reminding everybody in the northern end of Israel that nobody could stand
before the children of Israel and their God.
So he makes this example of Hazor, I’ve been there many times, just I
don’t want to tour a 200 acre Tel. I
don’t mind the smaller ones, you can get around Megiddo in no time, you can see
what’s going on, but they tell you [in Hazor] ‘that goes all the way over
there, all the way over there,’ that’s a lot of, that’s a big, big city. But I’ve seen it many times, the interesting
thing, when you go there, you realize ‘Wait, this is not Bible stories, this
is history, here’s Hazor, here’s Megiddo, here’s Jericho, all of these places,’
the difference is here [in Philly], something old is Independence Hall,
it’s 200 years old. Over there 2,000
years is just starting. 2500 years is
old, 3,000 years old, that’s old, that’s Independence Hall back there. So, but interesting, he takes this northern
city that was known throughout the world in that day, and he makes an example
of it, and he puts it to the sword and he burns it to the ground. The other cities, it says, he didn’t do
that. “And all the spoil of these
cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves;
but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed
them, neither left they any to breathe.” (verse 14) “He
Left Nothing Undone Of All That The LORD
Commanded Moses” Look
at verse 15, “As the LORD
commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he
left nothing undone of all that the LORD
command Moses.” What
it’s saying is everything God commanded Moses, Moses passed to Joshua, and
everything the Moses passed to Joshua, Joshua did. That’s quite an endorsement. “he left nothing undone of all that the LORD
commanded Moses.” That’s
the epitaph you want have on your tombstone, which I’m not going to have on
mine. But that should be our goal, to
leave nothing undone that all that the Lord commanded. I think of all of the things, because I’m a
stubborn bonehead that I probably didn’t do what he was talking to me
about. And you know the wonder of it is,
he never wearies of me, he waits for me every morning, he speaks to me at night
when I lay on my bed, he begins and ends the day with me, in all of the
patience it takes him to conform me and to speak to me and to lead me, and in
my rebellion, in my stubbornness, he loves, he fathers me, he cares for me. But what a testimony here of Joshua, of all,
he left nothing undone of all that he had commanded him, that’s quite a
testimony, quite a testimony. I remember
seeing Billy Graham on Larry King Live once, seen him many times, but in
one of conversations he said “You must be impressed, looking at everything
God’s done throughout all of the world with your ministry,” and he said, “No,
not really,” he said, “Come on,
Billy, what are you talking about?” he
said, “Well, I see everything the Lord’s done, and I think to myself, If I
had been yielded to the Holy Spirit every moment, just think what God might
have done.” And I think, ‘that’s
depressing, I’m kind of way far away from that.’ But I’m in the game, ok, I’m in the game. So, “he left nothing undone of all that
the LORD
commanded Moses.” and that’s important
for us to read that, because some of us are saying ‘what do you mean, he
went into the city and killed all the people, went in the city and killed all the
people?’ it says “he left nothing undone of all that the LORD
commanded him” he wasn’t doing that alone on his
own unction, never did it out of hatred, he never did it out of bitterness, he
did it out of obedience, and it was God’s design. Look, again, you go into your yard in the
morning, and there’s a rabid dog out there, ready to go after your children,
not my kids, not as long as I can get between that dog and my kids, ain’t gonna
happen with my kids. You know,
kidnapping, that’s what God considered this, these were idolatrous nations, if
they took the children of Israel, they took their souls. I don’t have any tolerance for
kidnappers. [see https://unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html
and
scroll to and read from “King Ahab, son of Omri Rules in Israel”
through “Temple of Baal Discovered” and click on the various
links and read through them] So, God
here with much greater understanding, says of Joshua and these battles and this
war, ‘he left nothing undone of all that had been commanded,’ “So
Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the
land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and
the valley of the same; even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to
Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them,
and slew them. And Joshua made war a
long time with all those kings.” (verses 16-18)
We get it in a couple chapters, he didn’t go that fast. He made war a long time. When we come to chapter 14, verse 10, God
there, through Joshua, speaking to Caleb, they’re dividing up the land, and
Caleb is asked what territory he wants, he says ‘I want to take Hebron,’ he
says ‘These forty five years I’ve waited.’ Well Israel had turned away at
Kadesh-barnea, it’s been 38 years from Kadesh-barnea until they crossed the
Jordan and came into Canaan, that was 38 years, and if Caleb’s been saying 45
years from Kadesh-barnea until I come here to take Hebron, that means the wars
of Canaan lasted about 7 years. Now the
challenge would be to occupy the land.
Remember back in the book of Exodus, God says ‘I’m going to drive
out the enemy, I’m even going to use hornets and so forth. I’m not going to drive them out all at once,
I’m not going to hand everything to you so fast that you’re not able to then
occupy the land,’ so we find God gives them portion by portion, he
breaks the back of the land militarily, there’s no question about whose in
charge, it doesn’t say Joshua’s taken every single city, but he’s taken the
land. For all intent purposes the land
belongs now to the children of Israel.
And God then allows each one of them to take the land and occupy it as
it falls to their inheritance. “Joshua
Made War A Long Time”--Our War Is A Long One Here
it says “Joshua made war a long time” and so will you and I. It says in Ecclesiastes chapter 8,
verse 8, ‘There is no discharge in that war.’
That’s the one I feel like I’m in, don’t you? There is no discharge in that war. You know, the Catinas told me before they
were here last weekend they had been in a huge military base, they had been
over with the general, and they were given all the folks on the base, the guys
and the gals, that are serving our country, and he said a large part of what we
did is thank them for their service. But
he said “Our challenge was, you’re willing to lay down your lives to fight
for freedom for other people, but, in the final analysis, when the war’s over,
you’re home with your wife, with your kids, with your husband, are you free?” There’s another war, there’s a spiritual
war. Are you free? Are you free tonight. They said they had a tremendous response,
people coming forward to receive Christ.
It says Joshua made war a long time, and there’s that struggle in our
lives also, certainly we are victorious, God has promised the land, but we are
engaged in the battle, aren’t we? It
says (I’m going to finish this), “There was not a city that made peace with
the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the LORD
to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he
might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that
he might destroy them, as the LORD
commanded Moses.” (verses 19-20) please take note
what’s happening here, it was of the LORD
to harden the hearts of these different tribes, that they should come against
Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, like he had done to
Pharaoh in Egypt. Now again, it’s God’s
estimation that their iniquity had come to a full. God measures time morally, not by the clock
and so forth, not by the calendar, he had decided that these tribes had become
so vile, and so wicked, that it was healthier for humankind in that part of the
world for them to be exterminated, that’s God’s decision. He deliberately hardened their hearts so that
they should come against Israel, that he might destroy them utterly. It wasn’t that they didn’t have a chance,
they had the same chance that Rahab had [and that the Gibeonites had], Rahab
had heard of their victory in Egypt, Rahab had heard about the Red Sea, Rahab
had heard about their God, Rahab had heard that they worshipped the God of
slaves, Rahab had turned her heart towards that God though she was a prostitute
living on the wall of Jericho, that first city that would be destroyed, God
extended mercy to her, and saved her, and not only saved her, she’s in the
lineage of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 1.
The Gibeonites had heard, and had acted deceitfully, but they secured
their place in Israelite history, understanding the power of Jehovah-God and
they didn’t want to be found fighting against him, so it wasn’t that God comes
in mercilessly, they all had opportunity, they all had opportunity to hear and
turn, but refused, so he hardened them in their position, he hardened their
hearts and utterly destroyed them and so forth.
[Comment: As seen in Numbers 11,
even Israel was not granted God’s Holy Spirit, by Moses’ own observation and
words, only the 70 elders God had specifically given his Spirit, as well as
Joshua and Caleb. So Christianity has
wrestled with the question of what God does with “the unsaved dead” which
technically is all of Israel other than Joshua, Caleb and Rahab. There are some alternate beliefs within the
greater Body of Christ about this age-old question, for some of these see https://unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm] “And at that time came Joshua, and cut off
the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from
all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their
cities.” (verse 21) Now the Anakim
are the giants we hear about in Numbers 14, there were Anakims, there were
Emmins, there were Zamzumins, there were Refiums, there were a number of tribes
of giants, that’s a whole different study.
But the Israelites were terrified
at Kadesh-barnea 38 years before this, and turned away. And now it says Joshua, when he’s in there
now in this campaign, they destroy the Anakim, they utterly destroy them, they
wipe them out. Notice verse 22, it
says “There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of
Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in
Ashdod, there remained.” Now that
would be trouble later, because that’s Goliath of Gath, becoming one of the
enemies of Israel, he’s of the remnant of the Anakim, he’s only 9 foot, six,
he’s not like the bigger Anakim, his forefathers, he’s just kind a little puny
Anakim, but he’s 9-foot-6. You imagine
Og of Bashan, 13-foot tall, and this is not 13-foot tall skinny, this is
13-foot tall Hulk Hogan, this is 13-foot tall Mike Tyson, these are
proportionately terrible in every direction, not just tall. And here’s Joshua and Caleb coming in, and
the armies of Israel, and destroying them, except it says that there were those
that remained in what would be the Philistine territory of Gaza and Gath and
Ashdod. God’s
Sovereignty And Man’s Responsibility “So
Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD
said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to
their divisions by their tribes. And the
land rested from war.” (verse 23) That
sums up the first 11 chapters, that’s a summation of what had taken place. What an interesting picture, Joshua took the
land. Really? It just says God gave it to him, God hardened
the hearts of the enemy, God gave them the victory, God commanded them to go
in. Look at this interesting cooperation
between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Here it is, Joshua took the land? Joshua didn’t make the sun stand still or the
moon, he prayed and God did it. God said
‘Go on up there to the plain of Meribah, I’m going to deliver them into
your hand tomorrow,’ God said ‘Walk around the walls of Jericho
and they’ll fall down,’ God said to the priests ‘Enter into the
Jordan up to your ankles and I’ll part the Jordan River.’ Isn’t it interesting? And yet all the way along, Joshua and the children
of Israel play their role. They are part
of the process. There is seen throughout
this God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, as there is in your life and
my life every day, every day. And the
interesting thing is, we look at it here, it says that they went in, they had
this great victory, you and I need to understand, this is the Land of
Promise. You have to fight for the Land
of Promise? We have great and precious
promises given to us, ‘whereby we might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that’s in the world through lust.’ God
has made promises to us, God is going to conform us into the image of his Son,
God is going to continue the good work he’s begun in us. God is going to have us there on that
day. And yet he tells us ‘there’s
good works foreordained, that we should walk in them,’ he asks us to
yield, he tells us things he doesn’t want us to be involved in, he doesn’t want
us to be involved in the works of the flesh, he wants us to walk in the Spirit,
he exhorts us through the New Testament in regards to our behavior, and in the
final analysis it says he does it and then rewards us for the things he does
through us. I hope your not confused,
like me [and me too. This gets into the
touchy area of Law & Grace (see https://unityinchrist.com/whatisgrace/whatisgraceintro.htm)]. The point is, God has given us tremendous
promises. Does that absolve us of
responsibilities? Does that let us sit
around saying ‘Well, God’s grace, so I don’t have to do anything,’ nowhere
does the Bible know any of that. Nowhere
does the Bible know any of that. We’re
not righteous because of our contribution, we’re not saved because of the
things that we do, we’re saved simply and solely by the completed work of
Christ on the cross, but our growth, our rewards, will be based on our
obedience, and our faithfulness.
Interesting here, you know, Paul says that we should remember, in 1st
Corinthians 15:58, ‘that our labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ Here 7 years of war begins with some
of the most horrendous opposition, and it sums it all up by saying ‘Joshua
took the whole land, he gave it for an inheritance to the children of Israel
according to their divisions. And the
land rested from war, the land yielded, and will,’ every sword and
every spear will yield, to be beaten into a plowshare and a pruning hook, it’s
unavoidable, it’s going to take place, it’s going to come. You and I for now, we’re here, we’re in our
pilgrimage, we’re making this journey, and lessons there are for us to learn,
certainly remembering that our labour is not in vain in the Lord, that he’s
going to have the victory, he’s going to use us in the process, and that every
day he uses us, not because of ourselves, but in spite of ourselves, and it’s a
wonderful program, you can’t beat it. So
I encourage you, lessons yes, struggles yes, there are battles that we fight,
yes. Some of us are more vulnerable in
regards to certain things than others.
But we’re all being conformed into the same image and likeness, none of
us have the excuse of sitting around, saying ‘Well this is the way God made
me.’ He didn’t, as a matter of
fact. He made you vastly different, but
because of Adam and Eve’s sin [and because mankind was created on a planet that
was infested with Satan and his demons, broadcasting an evil nature into the
world of humans], we’re left with you [laughter]. What he’s doing is he’s conforming us into
his image and likeness, we should all be becoming more and more like him, as
time goes on, but none of us have the excuse ‘Well that’s the way he made
me.’ I hear Christians say
that. It doesn’t matter, he’s not
content to leave us like we are. He’s
changing us, increment by increment, day by day, battle by battle, struggle by
struggle, experience by experience, line upon line, precept upon precept, here
a little there a little, his Word never returning void. And what a hope we have, listen, tomorrow,
tomorrow, who knows, in the world we live in.
He says he’s coming in an hour we think not, it could happen by
tomorrow. Are we living like we believe
that? That’s a challenge for me. I know you’re all ok, but you guys need to
pray for me. Let’s stand, let’s pray
together, the musicians will come, we’ll sing a last song. How blessed you guys are not out shopping
tonight, it’s a madhouse out there, mad, mad, mad, mad world…[transcript of a
connective expository sermon on Joshua 10:16-43 and 11:1-23, given by Pastor
Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia,
PA 19116] related
links: Why
did God tell Joshua to kill all the inhabitants of Canaan? What were they doing that was so awful? see https://unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html
For
differing beliefs about the “unsaved dead” see https://unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm
God’s
sovereignty and man’s responsibility is covered by a study of Law & Grace,
see https://unityinchrist.com/whatisgrace/whatisgraceintro.htm
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