Joshua 11
Joshua 11:1 – Confederacy Against Israel This chapter describes another important campaign led by Joshua. Although this campaign did not have as many miracles as the last one, it was still very successful. Earlier miracles had encouraged the Israelites, but now God expected them to act bravely using the strength He gave. In this story, several northern kings unite to fight against Israel, led by Jabin, king of Hazor. Their army was very large and had many horses and chariots, which made them seem powerful. But God promised Joshua victory and told him not to be afraid. Joshua obeyed God’s instructions, destroyed the enemy’s horses and chariots, and led Israel to triumph. This passage reminds us that God sometimes uses ordinary help, not just miracles, to give victory to His people.v. 1–3: Jabin, king of Hazor, led a new alliance against Israel. He called together kings and armies from many nations—Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and others (vv. 1–3 a). Even though they had different backgrounds and interests, they united to fight Israel. This shows how enemies of God's people can work together, even if they normally disagree (Luke 23:12 b). – – v. 4–5: The combined armies were huge, like “sand on the seashore.” They had many horses and chariots, unlike the earlier southern alliance. This made them seem very strong and confident (vv. 4–5 c). Some ancient historians, like Josephus, say there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers. But their strength only made their defeat bigger. – v. 6: God encouraged Joshua, telling him not to be afraid of the large enemy army. God promised that by the next day, Israel would win. God also told Joshua to cripple the enemy’s horses and burn their chariots, so Israel would not trust in them or be tempted to use them (v. 6 d). God’s people needed to depend on Him, not on military technology (Psalm 20:7 e). v. 7: Joshua marched quickly and surprised the enemy. He acted fast to confuse the enemy and to be ready for the time God had set for battle (v. 7 f). Joshua wanted to keep in step with God’s plan. v. 8: Israel won a complete victory. They chased the enemy in different directions, and God delivered the Canaanites into their hands (v. 8 g). The Canaanites did not choose to make peace, so God allowed them to be destroyed. v. 9: Joshua obeyed God’s command and destroyed the horses and burned the chariots (v. 9 h). This showed his trust in God, not in military power. Joshua wanted all Israel to depend on God alone (Psalm 20:7; 33:17 i). Joshua 11:10 – Joshua’s Victories This section describes how Joshua finished the campaign against the northern kings. The main city, Hazor, was destroyed because its king started the plan to fight Israel. Joshua also conquered many other cities in the region, but he did not burn them all. Instead, Israel was allowed to live in these cities and enjoy their wealth, as God had promised. The victory was complete: Israel destroyed all the people in these cities and took their goods as spoil. This fulfilled God’s command and gave Israel everything they needed to settle in the land.v. 10–11: Joshua captured Hazor and killed its king, who had escaped the battle but was later found and slain in his own city. Hazor was burned because it was the main city behind the attack on Israel (vv. 10, 11 j). The city would later be rebuilt by the Canaanites (Judges 4:2 k). – v. 12–13: Joshua took all the other cities in the area, but he did not burn them like he burned Hazor. God wanted the Israelites to live in these strong and beautiful cities which they had not built themselves (Deuteronomy 6:10 l). This was part of God’s blessing. – v. 14: Israel killed all the people in these cities, leaving no survivors, just as God had commanded (v. 14 m). However, the Israelites kept the cattle and the goods for themselves. God allowed them to become wealthy through the spoils of their enemies. Joshua 11:15 – The Conclusion of the Conquest This section sums up the whole story of Israel’s conquest of Canaan under Joshua. It describes how the Canaanites kept fighting even when it was clear that God was with Israel. Only the Gibeonites made peace. God allowed the rest to have hard hearts, so they would not ask for peace and would be destroyed. Joshua and Israel fought for a long time, and at the end, even the Anakim—the giants who had once scared the Israelites—were defeated. When the fighting was over, the land had rest from war. Everything happened just as God told Moses, and Joshua faithfully obeyed all of God’s commands.v. 15: Joshua did everything that the Lord commanded Moses, and Moses commanded him (v. 15 n). Joshua left nothing undone. He followed God’s instructions carefully, especially in destroying the Canaanites and their idols (Deuteronomy 7:2-5; Exodus 23:24; 34:13 o). Joshua’s greatest honor was his obedience to God. v. 16–17: Joshua took all the land as God had promised. The Israelites began to live in the territories they had conquered (vv. 16, 17 p). – v. 18: The conquest took a long time—some say five to seven years (v. 18 q). God used this time to teach Israel about war and to show His power again and again through many victories. v. 19–20: None of the Canaanite cities made peace with Israel, except Gibeon. All the others fought and were destroyed because God let their hearts become hard (vv. 19, 20 r). Like Pharaoh in Egypt, their stubbornness led to their downfall. – v. 21–22: Joshua finally defeated the Anakim, the giants who had frightened the Israelites forty years before (vv. 21, 22; Numbers 13:28, 33 s). Even the greatest enemies were no match for God’s power. Sometimes God saves the hardest challenges for the end, when His people are ready. – v. 23: Joshua completed the conquest and the land rested from war (v. 23 t). God had kept every promise He made to Moses (Exodus 33:2; 34:11; Deuteronomy 9:3 u). Now the Israelites could enjoy the land in peace.
Copyright information for
MHM