Joshua 11:1-23
1 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, 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,a 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.
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.
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.
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 leftb 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 mountc 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 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, 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.
CONQUEST OF NORTHERN ENEMIES
(vs.1-15)
Israel's returning for the time being to Gilgal gave time for the nations in the north to mobilize. In this God's wisdom is evident, for He brought these nations together so that Israel could defeat them enmasse, and not have to spend weeks or months in going from one city to another to wage war. In defeating their armies first, the taking of their cities would be simple.
In the tremendous gathering of this northern confederacy only two kings are mentioned by name, Jabin king of Hazor and Jobab king of Madon. Jabin means "discerning" and Hazor means "inclosed." Jabin therefore represents "the wisdom of this world" (1 Corinthians 1:20) which has its own inclosed stronghold, keeping out anything that does not conform to its proud claims. But God knows how to render the wisdom of this world "foolish." This attack by "philosophy and empty deceit" (Colossians 2:8) can appear most formidable so that many are deceived by it, but the energy of faith in the living God can fully overcome it.
Jobab, meaning "shouter" was king of Madon which means, "contention." Philosophy needs its advertising agent who, with a loud voice and confident tone can contend against every effort to expose and refute its claims. Tercullus the orator was such a man (Acts 24:1), a man of contention. Also, Paul tells Titus, "There are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped" (Titus 1:10).
Such leaders are well able to influence large numbers to unite together in resisting the work of God. Indeed, they will point to their superior numbers as being proof that God is really on their side. This is one of Satan's most effective arguments. The numbers gathered from all that northern area were "as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude" (v.4), with large numbers of horses and chariots. God allowed them to be well prepared, so that from a military point of view they had the advantage, but in this way they would learn the lesson that God is greater than all the wisdom and organization and power of all His enemies put together, and Israel would learn too that God's power alone was to be the deciding factor
The Lord told Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about-this --, time I will deliver all of them stain before Israel" (v 6). Their horses were to be hamstrung and their chariots burned. Why were these not taken as spoil? Psalms 20:7 gives a most satisfactory answer, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
Joshua and his armies therefore, without any maneuvering of any kind, directly attacked this great company (v.7). The Lord gave them the victory immediately, so that the enemy fled in total disarray, in contrast to their previous united front. Israel pursued them, killing them with such slaughter as to leave none remaining. Would Israel then not be thankful they had returned to Gilgal to be in the presence of God before rushing to engage in battle?
After defeating the northern armies, Joshua returned and attacked the city of Hazor, which was the head of all the other kingdoms that had mustered themselves against Israel. The king Jabin was killed and all the inhabitants of the city, and also the city was burned (vs.10-11). The city was not simply captured by Israel, for it means "enclosure," implying independent sectarianism in the land, and Israel was not to have any of this.
The other cities and their kings Joshua took, killing the kings and the people of the cities, but did not burn those cities. Hazor alone was burned, the other cities possessed by Israel, for their spiritual significance was no doubt valuable when no longer perverted by the enemies of God (vs.12-13). Therefore, Israel took the livestock and other spoil for themselves (v.14).
Thus we are told that Joshua fulfilled the commandments of the Lord given to him by Moses (v.15). He was a leader of remarkable faith and God-given ability. These two great victories over the south and the north of the land gave Israel undisputed domination over all the land, though they had not as yet destroyed all their enemies, as chapter 13:1-6 shows. Does this not tell us also that, though we may have in general taken possession of our heavenly inheritance, yet there are many details of that inheritance that we have failed to apprehend or enjoy?
SUMMARY OF JOSHUA'S CONQUESTS
(vs.16-23)
All the land from south to north, whether mountainous or plain, Joshua conquered, from Mount Halak in the south to the Valley of Lebanon in the north, below Mount Hermon (vs.16-17). To accomplish this, it was necessary to continue warfare for a long time (v.1,8). No other city besides Gibeon made peace with Israel: all were taken in battle (v.19).
The Lord had hardened the hearts of their enemies so that they should fight against Israel. This is judicial hardening which is the result Of their having for a long time hardened themselves against God. They had come to the point of no return, stubbornly refusing their only avenue of hope, a genuine straightforward repentance. Thus they were devoted to total destruction (v.20).
In verse 21 the Anakim are specifically mentioned. These were giants (Numbers 13:33), and were found in the area of Hebron and Debir. We have before seen that Hebron (meaning "communion") and Debir ("the speaker") were taken by Joshua (ch.10:36-39), but there were Anakim still in the area, determined to have some possession at least of Hebron and Debir, for Satan wants to encroach on these things - that are rightly the possession of believers. The enemy would like to claim a place of communion with God in order to "speak" his evil doctrine as though it was God's message. King Ahab employed such deceivers to prophecy to him and Jehoshaphat insisted on hearing a prophet of the Lord (1 Kings 22:3).
At this time in Joshua's history, however, the Anakim were cut off from the land of the children of Israel and left only in the Philistine cities, Gaza, Gath and Ashdod (vs.21-22). Philistines are "wallowers," typical of mere formal religion, which really wallows. as in mud, not free of the fleshly entanglements that keep people from knowing the liberty of the Spirit of God in Christ. The Philistines remained in their area, but a constant source of trouble for Israel. Their successors today, the Palestinians, continue in the same role.
Joshua, having subdued the whole land, gave it as an inheritance to Israel, dividing it according to the needs of each tribe. Then finally the land rested from war. This rest was in general complete, though it did not mean that Israel would have no more conflict in possessing all that actually belonged to them.