Joshua
12 - Chapter 11
We now come to the eleventh chapter of the book of Joshua. The Children of Israel, under Joshua's leadership, have swept through the southern parts of Canaan subduing all opposition. The enemies of God's people in the north do not take this passively. Under the leadership of Jabin, the king of Hazor, a powerful city in northern Galilee, they start to gather their armies. Jabin summoned the surrounding tribes to unite in one massive army to finish off the Israelites. Apart from the Gibeonites who, as we discovered in a previous programme, were tied to the Israelites by a treaty, no-one sought peace with the Jewish people.
We read that Joshua was encouraged by God with a promise of victory. He said: "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain." So Joshua marched north and launched a sudden attack. A rout followed with the enemy fleeing in all directions from the Israelites. The city of Hazor was taken and destroyed along with many others. Only those places built on the ruins of earlier cities were spared to be inhabited later by the Israelites. Unlike the restrictions applied at the battle of Jericho, spoil and cattle were taken by the victorious army. The population was put to the sword and no-one was spared for they were under the judgement of God for their depravity and idolatry. The chapter ends with a sigh of relief as it records that the land rested from war.
So much for our outline of Joshua chapter 11. Now we shall discover what God is saying to us through this episode of conflict and intense hostility. You might be tempted to read this as just a piece of dramatic history. It IS that, but it is much more than that. There are lessons of spiritual significance to be learned.
First, in verses 1 to 5, we see:
Daunting Opposition.
This vast united force encamped at the waters of Merom. This was a vast cluster of springs six miles south west of Hazor where troops and horses could be refreshed. The Jewish historian Josephus writes of three hundred thousand infantry, one hundred thousand horses and twenty thousand iron clad chariots. What could the Israelites do against such an army? Surely all was lost? Thank God, it was not, for His sure purposes had promised the land of Canaan as the inheritance of His people. That in no way minimises the forces arrayed against them, nor their determination to be rid of the Israelites.
In this we have a picture of our Christian life. We may have some great victory or success in God's service and feel elated, just a Joshua will have done after his successful drive through the southern areas of Canaan. Such joy will soon be attacked and our feeling of elation challenged. Great forces are arrayed against the Christian in the form of Satan and his allies. Now we should not exaggerate his power, but neither should we minimise it. Our Saviour defeated him at Calvary, but he is still around, able to make trouble, though not able to claim as his own any true Christian believer. If you are a Christian you belong to the One Who died for you, and so sin shall have no dominion over you as we read in Romans 6 verse 14.
How encouraging, then, to see in this chapter that despite a daunting opposition, there is:
Divine Assurance.
We see this in verses 6 to 9. In the midst of Joshua's common sense preparations and watchfulness God gave him that word of encouragement, "Do not be afraid of them." So it must be with us. We have to be on our guard, watching in prayer, well armed with God's word - the Sword of the Spirit - being aware of present day threats to our faith. If we do this then we may expect God's help just when we need it.
Joshua was given clear, precise instructions regarding what to do with the Canaanite horses and chariots. The horses were to be hamstrung, or have a tendon cut not to cripple them, but so that they could still be ridden, but not able to charge or pull the chariots. Remember, this was God's instruction. He did not order the horses to be killed. The chariots, a terrifying weapon of war, were to be burned. This was so that Israel would not start to use them and so put their trust in chariots rather than in the Lord their God Who was their Deliverance.
There were to be no hailstones or prolonging of the day as there had been on a previous occasion. Those miracles had been granted to encourage them to trust in God and to rouse them to further efforts in their fight against the enemy. That is how it was at the beginning of the attack on Satan's kingdom after the Lord Jesus' ascension back to heaven. As we read in the Acts, the attack was pressed forward with a stream of miracles in the ministry of the apostles. These miracles gradually diminished but we still have spiritual weapons that are mighty for the breaking down of Satan's strongholds. We have the Word of God, we have prayer and we have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In our ongoing battle these are the weapons we rely on and on God's blessing. We do not depend, as it were, on the weapons of the Canaanites in order to do battle against them.
The weapons of our warfare are spiritual, not of the flesh. We must not borrow from the world weapons that we are not entitled to use. One weaknesses of modern Christianity is looking to see what brings success in the world and feebly borrowing their ideas trusting in these for success in the battle. That is nothing more nor less than seizing Canaanite horses and chariots and it will fail!
Next, in Joshua chapter 11, we read of:
Decisive Conquests.
This is in verses 10 to 17. Joshua utterly destroyed the city of Hazor and completely despoiled the others, while leaving them ready for occupation. There were to be no more pitched battles, just localised mopping-up operations. The enemy had been utterly crushed by the power of God and the success granted to Joshua.
So it is in our warfare. The great pitched battle has been fought and decided by Christ at the cross. We read in Hebrews 2 verses 14 and 15: "He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Further skirmishes will continue wherever companies of believers are found in different parts of the world, but the final outcome is certain. Our Saviour has overcome sin, death, hell and Satan by His complete obedience to His Father's will, by His sacrifice for sins at Calvary, and by His resurrection from the dead.
Let us take heart and be confident of decisive conquests as we wage warfare on our own sinfulness and as we pray for the success of God's work in our fellowships and around the world.
We discover more encouragement in this eleventh chapter of Joshua as we read in verses 18 to 22 of a:
Determined Campaign.
Joshua did not sit back after his victorious sweep through the northern parts of Canaan. He went on in his warfare giving his enemies no rest. There had to be a follow-up to those decisive conquests. Every available city and its surrounding area had to be appropriated. Even the dreaded giants, the Anakim, who had so terrified the spies sent to look over the land were vanquished at last.
Our Christian warfare has to be just as determined as that. The victory we have in our Saviour has to be appropriated and followed up right to the very end. We may be called on to face the giants of sorrow, despair, loneliness or discouragement. There may be onslaughts to be faced towards the end of our battling when we are advanced in years and Christian maturity. The Lord, however, has promised to keep us all along the way. We read in Isaiah 46 verse 4:
"Even to your old age and grey hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
The enjoying of our heritage as children of God will need such a determined campaign because of the nature of the opposition. In verse 19 we read that not a single city made peace with the children of Israel. Do not imagine for one moment that Satan will make a truce with you if you leave him alone. He will simply bide his time until you are weak and unsuspecting.
More than that, we read in verse 20 that it was the Lord Who hardened the hearts of the enemy to come out against the Israelites and then be destroyed by them. God was dealing with them in judgement withholding his softening mercies from their hearts. They simply went on in their evil ways and gave them up to a progressive hardening and confirmed them in it. The same thing happened to Pharaoh in Egypt as he progressively resisted the evidences of God's power on the behalf of His people. Take a warning from this and do not be careless with God's patience and kindness. He has said that His Spirit will not always strive with man and a day of judgement is coming. But we also read in the Scriptures that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Have you come in repentance to God placing your trust in Christ as your Saviour?
Finally, at the end of all the battles, we see a:
Divided Inheritance.
We read in verse 23: "So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions."
Each Christian has his or her own portion from God's good hand. This is not according to merit but as the Lord sees fit. Where we are placed, the abilities or opportunities we possess, the fellowship in which we serve, these are the sharing out of the land for us. We read this in Romans chapter 12 verses 6 to 8:
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do so cheerfully."
So fight on in prayer and faith to overcome and claim your inheritance as a child of God. Every inch of soil has to be claimed, but remember that the great victory has already been won by our Saviour.