A useful tool in Bible Study is a good Bible Atlas. Most study bible’s have a good selection of maps. Tonight’s study is perfect reason why having one right next to your Bible is helpful, because it allows you and I to “see” the movement of Joshua and the Israeli army as they conquer the northern portion of the land that God gave unto them.
JOSHUA 11
1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things (the conquest of the southern kingdoms), 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 (Sea of 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.
- King Jabin led a coalition of kings from several city-states in Galilee and to the W against Joshua, whose victory reports in the South had spread northward.
- They gathered together at the waters of Merom, The lake is now called, the lake of Huleh.
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.
- Be not afraid because of them. Their combined forces, according to JOSEPHUS, amounted to three hundred thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand war chariots. A host so formidable in numbers, as well as in military equipments, was sure to alarm and dispirit the Israelites. JFB
- Hough their horses; hamstring them; cut the great cord of their hind legs. They cut the large sinew or ligament at the back of the hock on the rear leg, which crippled the horses, making them useless.
- The reasons for this special command to destroy the use of the horses was because The Lord wanted to teach His people that He would be their wisdom and strength in battle, not in military resources.
- Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
- The same holds true for you and me tonight. Spiritual warfare is part of the Christian life. It is inevitable and unavoidable. However, the resources that we are given to engage in these battles are of divine origin.
- 2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
- Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 2 important parts of our armor are
- The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
- Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
7 So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly (caught them by surprise NET Bible); and they fell upon them.
- Joshua acted quickly on the promise of God instead of giving in to his fears. The aid which God gives is not designed to supersede or render needless human efforts; but to encourage men to make efforts, and to render them successful. FBN
- Faith is acting on the promises of God, not thinking about it.
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 did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
- Joshua fought with obedience, doing exactly what the Lord told them to do, even destroying the Canaanite “weapons” (the horses and the chariots) instead of taking them for his own army.
10 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.
- It is by acting on the sword of God’s Word that we smite the things that desire to reign as kings in our lives.
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 he 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.
- Stood still in their strength; rather, "stood upon their hill." If you have ever been to Israel, these cities built on hills are called tells. Tel Aviv for example.
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.
- Beloved, sin is an enemy that we are commanded to mortify (destroy). Listen to these powerful words from Matthew Henry.
- “It is our duty to mortify our members which incline to the things of the world. Mortify them, kill them, suppress them, as weeds or vermin which spread and destroy all about them. Continual opposition must be made to all corrupt workings, and no provision made for carnal indulgences. It is necessary to mortify sins, because if we do not kill them, they will kill us.”
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.
- Here we see how the power of God is released when we exercise the biblical principle of submission to God ordained authority.
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.
- Though some mistakenly assume the conquest under Joshua to have been a blitzkrieg, in fact it took a long time (v. 18), perhaps about seven years. This number is calculated from information provided for Caleb, Joshua’s fellow spy in Numbers 13–14. Caleb was 40 years old when Moses sent him as a spy (Josh. 14:7). From that time to the entry into the land of Canaan was another 38 years (Deut. 2:14), making Caleb 78 years old at the beginning of the conquest. Caleb receives his allotted territory at age 85 (Josh. 14:10), seven years after the start of the conquest. ESV Study Bible
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.
- Only Gibeon submitted without a fight
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.
- We are told that this judgment on the Canaanites was accomplished when God did harden their hearts against Israel. The hardening of men’s hearts is when God gives man up to the sin that is in his heart (Romans 1:24-28). Israel was God’s instrument of judgment.
21 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.
22 There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath (out of which came Goliath), and in Ashdod, there remained.
- It was a fear of the Anakim – a giant like group of people that had made the 10 spies to come back with an evil report that prevented the nation of Israel from entering the land some forty years ago (Numbers 13:27-33). Once again we learn how faith in the promise of God will always defeat the giants in our lives. Here, the foes of 40 years ago fall. Do not allow a defeat of the past stop you from claiming a victory over that giant tonight beloved.
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.
- Took the whole land; Yet, not every small town and village had been conquered and occupied. That was up to each individual tribe to do in the land that was apportioned to them.
- That the tribes failed to do so was not a reflection on the power of God, but on the failure to take for themselves what Joshua had given and allotted to each one of them.
JOSHUA 12
Now that the land has been conquered, and before it is apportioned, the full extent of the conquest is summarized. Verses 1–6 describe the land beyond the Jordan (west of the Jordan). This land consisted of the territories of the Transjordanian kings whom Israel had conquered under Moses’ leadership (Num. 21:21–35), that Moses had allocated to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Num. 32:33).
Why do we have such an exhaustive, and seemingly tedious list? It only seems tedious to us because we do not live in the land. For those who really had their inheritance there, these were essential matters that touched every day life, answering the question: “What land belongs to Israel?”
1 ¶ Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun (east side of Jordan), from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:
2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
3 And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah:
4 And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
- Remember that half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan River, and half of the tribe lived west of the Jordan River.
Verses 7-24 lists the kings whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan (v. 7), the total coming to 31.
7 ¶ And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;
8 In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
9 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
14 The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
20 The king of Shimronmeron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
21 The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;
23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one;
24 The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.
JOSHUA 13
1 ¶ Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
- It is estimated that Joshua was around 100 years old at thus time, but God is not through with him yet. Beloved, do not think that when you get older that you are no longer useful to The Lord.
- Ps 71:17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
· How sad to see the people of God embrace the American delusion of retirement and in the process “retire” from serving Him.
· In one sense, living for the glory of God means that I will order my life in such a way that it’s clear message is that this world look is not my treasure. When a person fails to renew their minds with the Word of God, and embrace godliness and the promise of the life that now is and that which it to come, they will inevitably check out of the army of God and the call of God in order that they can embrace the kind of retirement that the world seeks.
· Twenty years of leisure (!) while living in the midst of the Last Days of infinite consequence for millions of people who need Christ. What a tragic way to finish the last mile before entering the presence of the King who finished his last mile so differently!John Piper
· At the age of 89, J. Oswald Sanders said these words, “
· “O God, don’t let me waste my final years! Don’t let me buy the American dream of retirement—month after month of leisure and play and hobbies and putzing around in the garage and rearranging the furniture and golfing and fishing and sitting and watching television. Lord, please have mercy on me. Spare me this curse.””
· Beloved, it is not how we start the race that counts, but how we finish…..live dangerously and courageously for The Lord Jesus Christ. Our golden years are to be spent investing our time and talents and resources for Jesus Christ. Older saints, beware of checking out before your time. Choose to treasure living for Christ and investing in the next generation, not shuffleboard.
2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,
3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
4 From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
6 All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
- Each tribe was responsible to possess their own land completely. Once again we see that divine providence and personal responsibility work in concert with one another. .
7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
8 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them;
9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;
10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;
11 And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;
12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out.
13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
- Only two small tribes of peoples were not replaced by the Jewish tribes settling on the east side of the Jordan: the Geshurites and the Maachathites.
- Because they had not destroyed all as God had commanded they that remainder were snares and pricks to hurt them.
14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.
15-23 The portion of Reuben’s land.
15 And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.
16 And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;
17 Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon,
18 And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,
19 And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,
20 And Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah, and Bethjeshimoth,
21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.
22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.
- Those who love the wages of unrighteousness and tempt others to sin, may for a time escape punishment; yet their sins are not forgotten, and in due time they will receive the just reward of their deeds. FBN
23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
24-28 is The portion of Gad’s land.
24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.
25 And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
26 And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;
27 And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.
29-32 is the portion of half the tribe of Manasseh’s land.
29 And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.
30 And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:
31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.
32 These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.
33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
- In verse14, we are told that the Levites had no land for an inheritance, but instead had the sacrifices Israel brought to God. They also received a greater inheritance than that: God Himself.
- It was Asaph who said in Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
- It was David, the man after God’s own heart that said: Ps 142:5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
- Only the man or woman that have The Lord Jesus Christ as their portion in life will be able to embrace the promise, whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.