Joshua 13

Joshua 13 - Unfinished Business!

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  Above image is from http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/jira/ruth.htm

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We're now starting part 2 of the Book of Joshua, the half which relates the division of the land of Canaan among the children of Israel. Its character is entirely different from part 1, as is its subject matter. In the previous twelve chapters, we have the invasion and conquering of the Land of Promise by Joshua and the sons of Israel. Joshua 13 begins the chapters in which the land of Canaan is divided up among the tribes of Israel. This particular chapter will deal primarily with the east side of the Jordan River - the portion of land given over to Gad, Reuben and to half the tribe of Manasseh.

In this chapter, we see a change in the life of Joshua. For about forty years, Joshua was the servant of Moses. Then one day, God told Moses to pronounce Joshua as his successor. Almost immediately, Joshua became a 5-star general commanding the troops of the Israelites, planning strategy, advancing his men, etc. As abruptly as it began, this life of Joshua’s will end. From hereon, he will no longer be General Joshua. He will be the leader of his country for a rather indefinite period of time, during which he will supervise the division of the Land Promise. And he will become writer Joshua and record what his life on the battlefield was like and also record the distribution of the land.

(1) When Joshua was an *old man, the **Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be ***conquered.

• *old man:
• Joshua was now between 85 and 100 years old. Caleb was 85 in chapter 14 and Joshua was probably older than Caleb. Joshua lived to be 110 (24:19) and the events described in the last half of this book could well have taken over ten years. Believers are never allowed to retire from His service.
• Never assume that God can no longer use you when you grow old and gray-haired. There is no "retirement plan" for the believer as long as we live in this lifetime.
• **Lord said to him: So, HOW did the Lord tell Joshua?
• ***conquered:
• There are consequences to failing to do what God has called them (or us) to do. Many generations of Israelites had to suffer simply because the Israelites failed to follow through with the command to finish conquering the land and wiping out the inhabitants.
• Even when we come to the book of the Judges, we find that the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites and the children of Manasseh did not drive out those in Bethshean and so the Canaanites dwelt in the land and so on (Judges 1).
• Judges 3 lists the nations not yet conquered and the result:
  
  • Judges 3:5-7: So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.

(2) This is the territory that remains: all the regions of the *Philistines and the **Geshurites,

• Verses 2-5 are saying in effect to the Israelites that their job as soldiers was not yet complete. God wanted the Israelites to divide up into tribes and then the individual tribes were to conquer these remaining groups and remaining locations.
• *Philistines:
  
  • The Philistines were not native Canaanite people - they were Cretans and "sea people". They had displaced the Canaanites in the southwest portion of the Promised Land. Because the land they occupied was part of what God had promised Israel, the Israelites were responsible to drive them out too, but they were not successful. The Philistines increased in power and influence over the Israelites, eventually becoming the major enemy of Israel during King Saul's reign more than three centuries later. In Joshua's time, however, they were a smaller, secondary target of the Israelites.
  • Their first settlement after being forced out of Crete seems to have been Gaza, whose original name was "Minoah", a clear reference to the fallen Minoic kingdom. They also invaded Egypt and were defeated by Pharaoh Ramose III in the 12th century BC. Their most important city-states were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, and their territory was close to the Mediterranean coast, a little longer and broader than the present-day "Gaza Strip" - a narrow tract stretching about sixty miles along the Mediterranean coast.
  • Those dwelling in Canaan were defeated by King David and reduced to insignificance; the best warriors among them were chosen as David's bodyguard.
  • The remaining Philistines still dwelling in Gaza were subdued by Sargon II of Assyria and after that time, they disappeared definitively from history. They are no longer mentioned since the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon.
  • Jeremiah 47:4: “The time has come for the Philistines to be destroyed, along with their allies from Tyre and Sidon. Yes, the LORD is destroying the remnant of the Philistines, those colonists from the island of Crete.
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• **Geshurites: David later married a princess from Geshur, and his son Absalom was born of her (2 Samuel 3:3). Absalom returned to Geshur and used it as a place to plot against his father David (2 Samuel 13:37-38, 14:23, and 14:32).

(3) and the larger territory of the Canaanites, extending from the stream of *Shihor on the border of Egypt, northward to the boundary of **Ekron. It includes the territory of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, ***Ashdod, ****Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The land of the Avvites

• *Shihor means 'dark' and is a river or canal on the east border of Egypt and a branch of the Nile. It is commonly known as the brook of Egypt (Numbers 34:5).
• **Ekron means 'emigration' or 'torn up by the roots' and is the most northerly of the 5 principal cities of the Philistines. Excavations in 1996 in the temple complex at Tel Miqne (Ekron) recovered a dedicatory inscription of the seventh-century king of Ekron, Achish.
• ***Ashdod means castle or fortress and it lived up to its name, holding out for 29 years against a siege by Egypt (under Egyptian king Psammetichus), the longest recorded siege in their history. In one of Israel's most serious military defeats, during the time of Eli and Samuel, the Ark Of The Covenant was captured by the Philistines and taken to Ashdod, something that the Philistines soon regretted.
• ****Ashkelon was the birthplace of Herod the Great, who was a Moabite, not a Jew. The Bible tells an episode about Ashkelon in the story about Samson (Judges 13-16). Ashkelon is mentioned in Judges 14, where Samson kills 30 men in revenge for the Philistines having given his (Philistine) wife to another man.

(4) in the south also remains to be conquered. In the north, the following area has not yet been conquered: all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the *Sidonians), stretching northward to **Aphek on the border of the Amorites;

• *Sidonians were inhabitants of the city if Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast between Tyre and Beirut in modern Lebanon.
  
  • 1 Kings 5:6: “Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!”
• **Aphek, about 9 miles northeast of Tel Aviv, was the site of the Syrian temple of Astarte, dedicated to her as mourning for Tammuz, the ruins of which are still visible.
  
  • 1 Samuel 29:1: The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel.

(5) the land of the *Gebalites and all of the **Lebanon mountain area
to the east, from ***Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath;

• *Gebalites -Their capital was Gebal or Bylbos (Greek), on the Mediterranean, north of Beirut, Lebanon. Gebalites participated in Solomon's work force (I Kings 5:18) and they were considered experts in the caulking of ships (Ezekiel 27:9).
• **Lebanon: Much of the material for the temple came from the land of Lebanon, the king of Tyre (Hiram) being a friend of David (I Kings 5:1).
  
  • 1 Kings 5:10: So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired.
• ***Baal-gad: It is obvious from the listing of these towns that fertility worship was the main religion of the Canaanites. The term “Baal” is a Hebrew word which means “master,” “owner,” “lord” or “husband.”  The female goddess is called Ashtaroth (see verse 12). Baal-gad was at the foot of Mount Hermon.

(6) and all the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you.

• This was not an unconditional promise. This chapter shows that ALL of Canaan was indeed promised by God to Israel, contingent only upon their obedience and cooperation, neither of which they gave. That Israel failed to carry out God's intention in this matter did not change God's purpose.
• Each tribe was responsible to possess their own land completely.
• If the Israelites have trusted in God for their victories up to this point, then they need to trust in the fact that God will lead them to victory over the remaining inhabitants. So why did the Israelites fail to conquer these people? The short answer is the Israelites failed to trust God at this point and, therefore, failed to follow through with attacking the people God wanted them to attack.
• As far as dividing up the land, there was a past tense (to us) fulfillment and a future "end time" fulfillment of this plan. The "past tense" fulfillment is what we are reading about here in the book of Joshua. One day God will again divide the land by tribe as promised to them. (See Ezekiel Chapter 48). The reward for the Christians is bigger in the sense that we inherit "all things".

(7) Include all this territory as Israel’s possession when you divide this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

(8) Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their *grants of land on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously assigned this land to them.

• *grants = inheritance (from the Lord). When we study chapter 22 in a few weeks, we're going to learn that while that choice may have been good for their cattle, it was terrible for their children. These tribes became a buffer zone between the Jews in Canaan and the pagan nations like Moab and Ammon. Their location made them extremely vulnerable both to military attack and to ungodly influence in their lives. Both of those liabilities eventually brought their downfall.

(9) Their territory extended from *Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba, as far as Dibon.

(10) It also included all the towns of King *Sihon of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, and extended as far as the borders of Ammon.

• *Sihon ruled over a large territory. Given the fact that this battle was some time ago against one king, Sihon receives a lot of space in the Bible. He is mentioned in Numbers 21:21-30; Deuteronomy 1:4, 2:24-37, 3:6; Joshua 12:2. Whatever you do, you do not want to stand in God’s way. Sihon was given a more than fair warning that the Israelites would be moving through and that they would leave him, his land and his people unharmed. Sihon did not buy into this and sought to destroy the Israelites, even though he, like that entire portion of the land, had heard about the Israelites triumphal exit from Egypt.

(11) It included *Gilead, the territory of the kingdoms of **Geshur and Maacah, all of ***Mount Hermon, all of Bashan as far as Salecah,

• *Gilead was part of the kingdom of Og, half of which was given to Reuben, and the other half to Gad
• **Geshur and Maacah: Two small "kingdoms" north and east of the Sea of Galilee. This is not the same Geshur in verse 2 which is far to the south on the Philistine coast.
• ***Mount Hermon: More than twenty ancient temples have been found on the mountain or in its vicinity. At 9,200 feet above sea level, Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Runoff from the snow-covered mountain’s western and southern bases feeds several streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. The high places of Mount Hermon were apparently used by the Canaanites for their pagan religious rituals. They referred to the mountain as Mount Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3). Mount Hermon was a possible site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain for prayer. It is on the border between Lebanon and Syria. The summit of Mount Hermon is under the control of Syria, however, the southern and western slopes are under the control of Israel, and is part of the Golan Heights. These slopes were annexed by Israel in 1980 with the conclusion and victory of the Six Day War in 1967.

(12) and all the territory of King Og of Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. King Og was the last of the Rephaites, for Moses had attacked them and driven them out.

• Deuteronomy 3:11: (King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
  
  • "bed" could refer to his sarcophagus.
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(13) But the Israelites *failed to drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.

• *failed:
• This is the failure of the Israelites, not a failure of God. They had grown weary of fighting and decided to rest on their laurels. But, the presence of these Canaanites was a thorn in the side of the Israelites down through the centuries.
• The day this book is written, that Canaanite opposition is still there, bedeviling them, tempting them, assaulting them. We're going to hear this litany again and again, in every tribal territory, of the people's failure to possess their possession. This book does celebrate the great victories, the promises and triumphs that God accomplishes, but it doesn't hide the fact that sometimes the fulfillment of the promises is limited by Israel's failure to obey.

(14) Moses did not assign any allotment of land to the tribe of Levi. Instead, as the Lord had promised them, their allotment came from the offerings burned on the altar to the Lord, the God of Israel.

(15) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

• The Reubenites became much intermixed afterward with the Moabites, who, in fact, later acquired much of their land, and several, if not all of the cities mentioned in this passage. Reuben was the very first tribe to go into captivity.

(16) Their territory extended from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba.

(17) It included Heshbon and the other towns on the plain—Dibon, *Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

• Note the predominance of the name of the Moabitish god, Baal in these place-names. These high places were probably so-called from the altars that were erected on hills Baal worship. His worship was an excuse for lewdness, lustfulness, and persistent, morbid and excessive sexual excitement.
• *Bamoth-baal means the high places of Baal. This is where King Balak brought Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22:41).

(18) *Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,

• *Jahaz: The Moabite Stone (the Mesha Stele) quotes Mesha as saying that the king of Israel lived in Jahaz while at war with him, but he was driven out, and Mesha took the city and added it to Moabite territory. Isaiah 15:4 and Jeremiah 48:21 refer to it as a city of Moab. This stone also refers to the house of David and to Yahweh, contradicting the critics of the Bible!

(19) Kiriathaim, Sibmah, *Zereth-shahar on the hill above the valley,

• *Zereth-shahar = "light of the dawn" because it catches the rays of the rising sun.

(20) *Beth-peor, the **slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

• *Beth-peor is the place where Israel received Moses' farewell address (Deuteronomy 3:29); here Balaam uttered one of his prophesies (Numbers 23:28).
• **slopes of Pisgah: This is a reference to Mt. Nebo, from where God showed Moses the Promised Land before his death.

(21) The land of Reuben also included all the towns of the plain and the entire kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who had reigned in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the leaders of *Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—princes living in the region who were allied with Sihon.

• *Midian: The Midianites were cousins to the Israelites. Abram was the father of both Isaac and Midian, through different mothers (Genesis 25:1-5).

(22) The Israelites had also killed *Balaam son of Beor, who used magic to tell
the future.

• *Balaam: Numbers 22:4-25; 31:8; Deuteronomy 23:4. Numbers 31 also gives us this information but not as much as Joshua 13 for Balaam is described as a soothsayer or one who used divination. The elders of Moab and Midian had approached Balaam with the rewards of divination in their hand according to Numbers 22:7. God told him not to go for God hates divination (Deuteronomy 18:10), but he went and paid the ultimate price for going against the mind of God.
  
  • 2 Peter 2:15-16: They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
  • Revelation 2:12,14: “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum ... “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.

(23) The Jordan River marked the western boundary for the tribe of Reuben. The towns and their
surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

(24) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Gad.

(25) Their territory included Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half of the land of Ammon, as
as the town of Aroer just west of *Rabbah.

• *Rabbah is the only city of Ammon ever mentioned in the Bible and it is the present-day Amman, capital of Jordan.

(26) It extended from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from *Mahanaim to Lo-debar.

• *Mahanaim: When Jacob left his father-in-law and when the angels met him in Genesis 32, he named that place Mahanaim. It was a Levitical city (1 Chronicles 6:80) as well as a city of refuge (Joshua 21:38). It was here the Ishbosheth (Saul's son and successor) would be proclaimed king (2 Samuel 2:8-9) and here where David would flee from Absalom (2 Samuel 17:24, 27, 1 Kings 2:8).

(27) In the valley were Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, and the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. The western boundary ran along the Jordan River, extended as far north as the tip of the *Sea of Galilee, and then turned eastward.

• *Sea of Galilee: This body of water has several different names in the Bible: (1) the Sea of Genesseret (Chinnereth); (2) the Sea of Tiberias; and (3) the Sea of Galilee.

(28) The towns and their surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Gad.

(29) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

(30) Their territory extended from Mahanaim, including all of Bashan, all the former kingdom of King Og, and the sixty towns of Jair in Bashan.

(31) It also included half of Gilead and King Og’s royal cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei. All this was given to the clans of the descendants of Makir, who was Manasseh’s son.

(32) These are the *allotments Moses had made while he was on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River, east of Jericho.

• *allotments = inheritances. The word translated allotment in the NLT or inheritance in the King James is used more than fifty times in the second half of the book of Joshua. It's a very important word. The Jews inherited their land. They didn't win it as a prize of warfare, or purchase it in a business transaction. The Lord himself was the sole owner of the land, and in a sense he leased it to them. Listen to God's instructions from Leviticus 25:23: "The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me." Imagine God being your landlord! The rent that God required was very simple-he wanted loving, submissive obedience. And as long as the Jewish people honored the Lord with their obedience, he would bless them. He would make the land productive and keep the nation at peace with their neighbors.
• Also note that the average Israelite that is alive today has no idea which tribe they are from. The family records of the Israelites were lost when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. To God, the tribal significance is still important. Ezekiel describes a future day when the land of Israel will again be divided by tribe, but in that day, the boundaries will be different. God knows the tribal background of every Jewish person alive today. That knowledge of tribal background will be revealed to saved Jewish people in the "end times".

(33) But Moses gave no allotment of land to the *tribe of Levi, for the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised that he himself would be their allotment.

• *tribe of Levi:
  
  • Numbers 35:2-4: “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction.
  • 48 cities were assigned to the Levites, including 13 for priests (21:14,19).
  • Later in the book of Joshua, there are two chapters that focus just on the Levites (Chapters 20 and 21) and we'll discuss that tribe and their significance when we get there.
  • Levites numbered 23,000 males one month and older at the time of the conquest. Among them, descendants of Aaron were declared to be priests, and the eldest son of the continuing family was designated high priest.
  • For the Levites, the Lord himself and the privilege of serving him in priestly worship were inheritance enough. They were given four cities in each tribe, forty-eight in all, in which to live and serve the Lord. They were given certain portions of the meat that was brought for sacrifices. There were tithes and offerings that helped support the priestly work of the Levites.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. Why did Joshua spend 1/2 of the book on the distribution of the land to the twelve tribes? Why is it so important?
2. What are our unconquered lands - have we stopped the fight somewhere along the line? Do we have sin in our lives that we've failed to remove?
3. Don't be like the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh - don't be outside of God's promised land. The symbolic idea behind these two and one half tribes not settling in the Promised Land is that some Christians are willing to "settle for less". They see where they are in life at some point and say in effect, "Where I am right now is good enough for me". That is pretty much what these two and one half tribes said. They said the land east of the Jordan River is good enough for us and we don't have to actually go into the land of Israel. God gave them what they wanted. God always works on our level and where we are at, at the present moment. God wants us to grow further toward Him, but if we are comfortable at our present level, God does not force us to go on to the next step.
4. The way we understand and live out God’s will is only half of the battle. The other half is how we pass this vision on to others.
5. The tragedy with so many Christians is they start off in the Spirit in a very powerful way. They make great initial spiritual strides in their lives. But then they will hit a spiritual plateau where a complacency will settle over them, and they're no longer eager for conquest. They're no longer really striving towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. So that oftentimes when you talk to them, their conversation is always of some past spiritual victory and blessing that they experienced in their life. But there's nothing fresh and up to date. Most of the spiritual victories are relegated to some historic period in their own walk and experience, and they're always remembering the glory days of the past. God wants you to have an up-to-the-moment experience of His grace and power and love in your life, and His victory. Beware of spiritual plateaus. Whenever you can start living comfortably with your flesh, you are in danger spiritually. Our flesh is a constant enemy to our walk in the Spirit.
6. The most dangerous times are after certain victories. And it is precisely here that the Israelites failed.
7. The conflict with which we are confronted here in the view of "a task well done" as contrasted "with much yet left to do," is a fact of all life, especially in the spiritual sector. This experience of the secular Israel is a type of the Christian Church, or a type of the human heart. "The work of subduing God's enemies is gradual. One successful engagement does not conclude the war. The enemy renews his assaults, and when force fails, he tries fraud. When direct temptations are of no avail, he resorts to enticements. The victory belongs only to him who has learned to keep guard over himself, and to direct his ways to the counsels of God." - Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament, Joshua.
8. Joshua was being warned that he'd not finished the task God had assigned him, yet his days were numbered. We're to be careful that we don't leave undone those tasks that God has assigned to us. It's too tempting to put off unpleasant or difficult jobs day after day until it's too late. Until our death, God intends us to be busy at "our Father's work."
9. Isaiah 46:4: I will be your God throughout your lifetime — until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.
10. Psalm 92:12-15: But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”
11. J. Vernon McGee: "From all outward appearances Israel seemed to be doing very well. They went into the land and drove a wedge right into the center of it. They conquered the south and went on to conquer the north, but the Lord reminded him that there remained much land to be possessed. After doing a tremendous job, my friend, that will be true of you and me. It was been true of every servant of God; he will never accomplish all that he wished. In Philippians 3:12 Paul says, “Not as though I already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” God told Joshua that the land upon which the children of Israel walked would be theirs. They did not, however, walk on all of it. Neither will we ever be able to possess all of our spiritual possessions. I have met a few saints who think they have. They think there is nothing more for them to learn or do. They are satisfied with the life they are leading and have no desire to press on to “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14)."
    
    1. What is it that he has not yet taken hold of? What is the prize, the goal that he's aiming for? If you look at the whole paragraph, you see that it's knowing Jesus Christ, gaining intimacy with him, being found secure in him, being conformed to his image. The ultimate goal, in a word, is Christlikeness. The Christian life is not about accomplishment ultimately, it's about relationship.
12. The desire of the two and a half tribes to stay east of the Jordan rather than living with the rest of the tribes in God's land is a warning for us not to become borderline believers. Perhaps you get close to the inheritance in Jesus Christ, and experience some spiritual victory in your life, but you're still determined to go back to the comfort east of the Jordan. For you, the quality of material life is more important than life eternal. You just want a little bit of God.
13. So what is the significance of all of this? Let's start with the statement by God saying He will drive out the inhabitants. The point for us is that God wants us to have victory in our lives over all the sin issues and problem issues we face. God promises us as He promised them that IF we are willing to confront those issues, He is there to lead us to victory.
14. Although the Levites would have some cities and fields, their inheritance is God. This is how we should be living life and perceiving our inheritance. We are just pilgrims passing through. We are travelers on our way to eternity. Hebrews 11 describes great people of faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham - they desire a better country , that is a heavenly one. If there is any tribe that Christians are spiritually connected to, it is the tribe of Levi. We also are called priests (1 Peter 2:5) and have a special inheritance in God (Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:12 and 1 Peter 1:4).

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html

Joshua 12

The previous chapter ends with the statement, "The land finally had rest from war". It was after Joshua had made war seven years with and eliminated all those "kings" (11:18).

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 was fulfilled: “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.,"

Now that the primary city-states have been defeated and their so-called "kings" have been killed and before it is divided up by tribe, the full extent of the conquest is enumerated here. Verses 1-6 describe the land east of the Jordan. This land consisted of the territories of the kings whom Moses had conquered (Number 21:21-35) which were to be given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32:38). These are not part of the Promised Land. Verses 7-24 list the "kings" defeated by Joshua on the west side of the Jordan.

Below are images of Joshua's campaigns and maps of the areas.

Above image from Sermon/Study Guide: Joshua
by Steve Hixon: www.hixonstudies.com/studyguides/joshua_sg00.asp

Above image is from www.messianic-torah-truth-seeker.org/Scriptures/Tenakh/Yehoshua/Yehoshua12.htm

(1) These are the kings east of the Jordan River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan Valley.

(2) King *Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, was defeated. His kingdom included Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge to the Jabbok River, which serves as a border for the Ammonites. This territory included the southern half of the territory of Gilead.

• *Sihon: Numbers 21:23-24: But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz. But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified.
  
  
  
  Above image is from http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/jira/ruth.htm

(3) Sihon also controlled the Jordan Valley and regions to the east—from as far north as the Sea of Galilee to as far south as the Dead Sea, including the road to Beth-jeshimoth and southward to the slopes of Pisgah.

(4) King Og of Bashan, the last of the *Rephaites, lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei.

• *Rephaites: Another branch of the Nephilim.

(5) He ruled a territory stretching from Mount Hermon to Salecah in the north and to all of Bashan in the east, and westward to the borders of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. This territory included the northern half of Gilead, as far as the boundary of King Sihon of
Heshbon.

(6) Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites had destroyed the people of King Sihon and King Og. And Moses gave their land as a
possession to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

(7) The following is a list of the kings that Joshua and the Israelite armies defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad
in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir. (Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as their possession,

(8) including the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountain slopes, the Judean wilderness, and the Negev. The people who lived in this region were the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.) These are the kings Israel defeated

(9) The king of Jericho; The king of Ai, near Bethel

(10) The king of Jerusalem; The king of Hebron

(11) The king of Jarmuth; The king of Lachish

(12) The king of Eglon; The king of Gezer

(13) The king of Debir; The king of Geder

(14) The king of Hormah; The king of Arad

(15) The king of Libnah; The king of Adullam

(16) The king of Makkedah; The king of Bethel

(17) The king of Tappuah; The king of Hepher

(18) The king of Aphek; The king of Lasharon

(19) The king of Madon; The king of Hazor

(20) The king of Shimron-meron; The king of Acshaph

(21) The king of Taanach; The king of Megiddo

(22) The king of Kedesh; The king of Jokneam in Carmel

(23) The king of Dor in the town of Naphoth-dor; The king of
Goyim in Gilgal

(24) The king of Tirzah. In all, thirty-one kings were defeated.

Many of the same names above appear in the Amarna letters, confirming the historicity the book of Joshua.

• 
• 
• 
• 
  
  Above image is from http://www.tinybeetle.us/dbrag/06joshua/main.htm
• It's now up to each tribe to possess their allotted territories and conquer any remaining Canaanites in their area. The key word up to now has been "conquer". From this point forward, the key word will be "occupy". But, we will find that they failed to fully occupy the land God gave them!
• Not all battles and not all kings are listed. The land was only 150 miles from north to south, and 50 miles from east to west.
• The Canaanites were more hopelessly divided than any of the surrounding nations. Their mountains contained nearly as many city-states as there were valleys. In the plains, each town represented a separate government and was built on a spot carefully selected for purposes of defense. These city-states were so crowded together that a horseman traveling leisurely could easily pass through two or three of them in one day.
• The chronological order of the Book of Joshua ends at verse 24. When we read a normal book, we expect it just to continue from the beginning to end in the chronological order. Not so, the Bible. It will take you and lead you through the story and then it will come back again and give you further details of the story. Many casual readers of the Bible, as a result, get very confused and give up.
• 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?”
• These descriptions are also important because they make it clear that these things happened in real time, and in real space. These are not fairy tales that begin with “once upon a time,” this is history that begins with specific places and people and rulers.
• It was also a way that Israel could forever remember the great things God had done for them. “Sometimes in the course of human experience it is good to sit down and reflect on what has been conquered by the grace of God.” (Redpath)
• This area that the Arab nations insist is theirs and that Israel is largely willing to concede is in fact the heart of the Promised Land and was the foundation of the Kingdom of God that Joshua had taken in battle.
• Joshua was to divide the land and give it to the people; Joshua was not to own it or personally control it as Israel’s leader. Such a procedure was generally unknown in history up to that time.
• How can a wandering horde of people with no country, a people with no fields for food and no foundries for making weapons, not even a center of civilization have the wherewithal to be an unstoppable conquering force over a substantial region of multiple kingdoms that were entrenched, well defended with sizable standing armies? Answer: it can’t happen except by the hand of the Almighty.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. When the goal is reached, we can look back at our victories. But, we can't rest on our past victories. May we be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
2. After we stop to give God thanks and reflect on the past, it's time to get back to work for Him.
3. When you have achieved a significant victory in life, it is important to take time to give God the credit. He has given us victories in the past and by giving thanks to Him, we keep our focus upon Him and remind ourselves that He will guide us in the future if are willing to do His will.
4. Three tribes chose to live on the FRINGE of the Promise land – saved out of Egypt but chose to never enter in and live in the land of Promise. They chose to settle for second best. Years later, they are the first to be invaded and taken captive by the Assyrians. Many Christians are the same way - although saved, they choose to live on the fringes of the world. They are saved but so much of their life is spent still on trying to finds ways to gratify and satisfy the flesh – "Me oriented" life. Many are afraid to really commit their lives to the Lord because they're afraid what He might ask of them - without realizing what He wants to give them. How sad!
5. It took seven years of fighting and the victories were won – one battle at a time! The same is true in the Christian life. There are no short cuts to spiritual growth. Our victories in Christ come one battle at a time.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html

Joshua 11

Joshua 11 - Conquest of the Northern Cities

Before we begin our study of Joshua 11, perhaps we need to consider the objections by many atheists and others to the slaughter of men, women and children by the Israelites in Canaan - was this "genocide" or was it God's judgment upon those living in Canaan?

1. First, if the Canaanites were allowed to live, they would draw Israel away from worship of Yahweh to worship idols, Baal, practice temple prostitution, commit child sacrifices and all the rest that was so prevalent in Canaan. That would fit in perfectly with Satan's plan and, in fact, we find in later years, his plan succeeded, which resulted in the removal of the northern kingdom of Israel.
2. Second, the Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. They had passed the point of redeemability, and were ripe for judgment.
3. Third, God wanted to ensure the Israelites did not contaminate the seed line with the Nephilim, born of intercourse between fallen angels and human women. I list several web sites at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html on this topic.
4. I direct you to a further study of this subject which does not include reference to the Nephilim at:
   Yahweh War and the Conquest of Canaan - The Charge of Genocide by Rick Wade: www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.6479729/k.8890/Yahweh_War_and_the_Conquest_of_Canaan.htm

Below are images of Joshua's campaigns and maps of the areas.

Above image from Sermon/Study Guide: Joshua by Steve Hixon: www.hixonstudies.com/studyguides/joshua_sg00.asp

Source of above image: http://souljournaler.blogspot.com/2010/06/examining-scripture-xxxvi-divide.html

(1)When King *Jabin of **Hazor heard ***what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of ****Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of *****Acshaph;

• *Jabin means "intelligent." Jabin was a title like "Pharaoh" and "Caesar" rather than a person's name. The same name or title occurs in Judges 4:2.
• **Hazor:
  
  •   
  • Historians believe that Hazor was the most powerful of all of these cities being located along the main trade route. The main highway to travel from Egypt to Europe or the western part of Asia ran through Hazor; so, this city was probably rich through trade along this route. This was the largest walled city of Canaan. Jericho covered about 6 or 7 acres while Hazor covered about 200 acres. Apparently the Israelis did not occupy this site because in Judges 4 it is a powerful Canaanite stronghold again.
  • Hazor has now been more thoroughly excavated than almost any other ancient site. Keller indicates that no fewer than 21 stages of development can be distinguished in the city Hazor, indicating that at least 21 cities occupied that same area, each one erected over the rubble of the previous cities.
• ***what had happened: The southern and central campaigns: Joshua 10:40-43. Along with the defeat of Pharaoh, the defeat of Og and Sihon and their kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan River.
• ****Madon was a Canaanite city on a hill overlooking Lake Tiberias. It is the mountain from which Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
• *****Acshaph means “a place of sorcery”.

(2) all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee; the kings in the Galilean foothills; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west;

(3) the *kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the land of **Mizpah.

• *kings of Canaan:
• The Canaanites were an evil, depraved people who engaged in child sacrifice. Is there any real difference between the Canaanites sacrificing their children to their gods and the muslims sacrificing their children to Allah and calling them martyrs? Listen to Muslim mothers hoping for more children to die for Allah. And, how about mothers aborting their children because they were "an inconvenience"? Canaan, because of its sin, was to be devoted to destruction. And Israel was to be the instrument of God for the carrying out His judgment.
• **Mizpah: This place name means “watch tower”. This was a very common name and its location is uncertain, possibly related to verse 8.
• Now, we see all of the people that God had promised to give Israel are gathered against Israel. They could all be classed as Canaanites. Each had their own tribal names like Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite and Hivite.
• 24 cities are mentioned, but Jabin contacted virtually everyone who had not yet been conquered by the Israelites.
• The important thing to remember here is that these groups were not all part of the same family. They were different "nations" with different backgrounds that happen to live in the same area. History teaches us that these groups constantly fought amongst each other. The only reason they were uniting was to fight a common enemy.

(4) All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde.
And with all their horses and *chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.

• This is a much superior force than the armies of the southern kingdoms and much larger and vastly superior to Joshua's forces. When we win battles against Satan, he brings out his "big guns" in an attempt to defeat us and our testimony.
• Such an army should be able to easily defeat Joshua's forces, but they were to discover, as others both before and since have done, that "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong" (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
• The size and might of this assembly only made its overthrow the more notorious and demonstrated more evidently that it was the Almighty who fought for Israel.
• *chariots: Chariots were the ultimate military weapon of that day. In the light of Judges 4:3, it is highly probable that the chariots commanded by Jabin were of iron and armed with terrible scythes like the Persian scythed chariots below, to cut down men as they drove along. They were effective only on relatively flat ground with plenty of room to maneuver such as a large valley, not in the area Joshua fought them.
  
• Deuteronomy 20:1,4: “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! ... For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’
• Judges 4:3: Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.

(5) The kings *joined forces and established their camp around the water near **Merom to fight against Israel.

• *joined forces: The reason they were willing to fight together is, they knew individually they had no chance against Israel.
• **Merom was a shallow lake about 5 miles west of the Sea of Galilee in a mountainous area about 4,000 feet in elevation which was drained in the early 1950's. It was not a location where chariots could be used in battle - chariots couldn’t maneuver in the hills. It was probably a chosen as a good place to gather and develop strategy before attacking the Israelites in a valley area. Below is a picture from Wikipedia of the drained area in modern times - an area where chariots couldn't well function:
  

(6) Then the Lord said to Joshua, “*Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must *cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

• *Do not be afraid. Would you be afraid if you were facing an overwhelmingly large well-equipped army determined to exterminate you? Is this command starting to sound familiar? This is YHWH’s battle and victory, not Israel’s. But, Joshua must act quickly - God helps and directs but expects the Israelites to act.
• *cripple their horses and burn their chariots: "Hough" (Hock) in the KJV, means hamstring or exterminate.
  
  • God did not want His people to come to rely on horses and war chariots in the future.
  • Some like to think that the horses were just crippled, but a blow with a sword that severed the key tendon would also have severed the artery. Partial hocking would have required much more time and patience. It was this hocking of the horses that deprived the enemy of their chance to escape. They fled on foot and were no match whatever for the hardened soldiers of Joshua.
  • Deuteronomy 17:16: “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’
  • 2 Samuel 8:4: David captured 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.
  • 1 Chronicles 18:4: David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.
  • Psalm 20:7: Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
  • Psalm 33:16-17: The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory - for all its strength, it cannot save you.
  • Proverbs 21:31: The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

(7) So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked *suddenly.

• *suddenly: Joshua got there quicker than the Canaanites had expected and caught them unprepared and by surprise. Joshua doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do. He surprises the alliance. He does it in the mountains where the chariots are useless. God must have alerted Joshua to get there quickly before they had a chance to organize and develop a plan. How did Joshua know the alliance had gathered there?
• Taken by surprise, and hemmed in between the mountains and the lake, the chariots and horses would have no time to deploy and no room to act effectively; and thus, in all probability, the unwieldy host of the Canaanites fell at once into hopeless confusion. Israel’s sudden attack and the tight quarters made the chariots and horses more of a liability to the Canaanites. There apparently were routes of escape, and the Israelites were able to chase them down.

(8) And *the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Greater **Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was
left alive.

• *the Lord gave them victory: The victory was as result of the Captain of the Lord's army, not just Joshua. Without Him, Joshua would have been sent back over the Jordan and out of the Promised Land - if he and his army had even survived.
• Romans 8:31: What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
• **Sidon was the major city of the Phoenicians who were basically at that time Northern Canaanites. Sidon was the contemporary capital of Phoenicia, but later it was Tyre. It was from Sidon that the apostle Paul sailed for Rome (Acts 27:3-4)
  

(9) Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.

(10) Joshua then turned back and captured *Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.)

• *Hazor was destroyed first because they were the ones who had put this coalition army together against Israel. It seems that this city, though burnt, was built again and inhabited by Canaanites, who had a king over them of the same name in the times of Deborah, (Judges 4:2).

(11) The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.

(12) Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.

• It appears, that some of the cities Joshua had already destroyed all the people in, had been repopulated with other people. He now burns Hazor with fire to keep this from happening here.

(13) But the Israelites did not *burn any of the towns built on **mounds except ***Hazor, which Joshua burned.

• *burn: The only cities listed in Joshua to be burned were Hazor, Jericho and Ai.
• **mounds is the Hebrew term “tel” (as in Tel Aviv) or "ruin". The largest "tel" in Israel is Hazor.
• ***Hazor: The archaeologist Garstang found the ashes of this fire, with pottery evidence that it had occurred about 1400 B.C. An Amarna Tablet, written to Pharaoh, 1380 B.C. by the Egyptian envoy in north palestine, says, "Let my lord the king recall what Hazor and its king have already had to endure." Great layers of ashes were also found from Joshua's time in Jericho, Bethel, Lachis and Debir. Even though Joshua burned Hazor, it was later rebuilt and continued to harass Israel during the days of the judges. It was later part of Solomon's kingdom (1 Kings 9:15) and was eventually captured by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29). A vast metropolis of 40,000 people, many times the size of Jerusalem in David's day.

(14) And the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for themselves. But they killed all the people, leaving no survivors.

(15) As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.

• This is the key to Joshua's victories.

(16) So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire *Negev, the whole area around the town of **Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills.

• *Negev is the dry semi-desert region in southern Canaan. It was uninhabited except for shepherds and flocks.
• **Goshen refers to an area in the hill country of Judah, not the area in Egypt where Joseph's family was allowed to live.
• Deuteronomy 1:6-8: “When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

(17) The Israelite territory now extended all the way from *Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as **Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories,

• *Mount Halak (literally, "the bare" or "smooth mountain") is a mountain or mountain range in the central Negev. It seems to be between the wilderness of Zin and Seir. It was part of the boundary between Judah’s allotment and the nation of Edom.
• **Baal-gad: Baal was the male fertility god of Canaan. Every town had its own worship altar. Many of the towns of Canaan had the male god Baal or the female Asherah or Astarte in their names. The term “gad” apparently meant “good fortune”. In reality, Baal is none other than Satan himself.
• Verse 17 reveals the northern limits of Joshua’s conquest. More was given by YHWH, but not taken by Israel.

(18) waging war for a *long time to accomplish this.

• *long time: About 7 years. Seven years can be calculated because the scripture gives us benchmarks with Caleb’s age at various points:
  
  • Caleb was 40 years old when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and rebelled against the Lord at Kadesh Barnea
    (Joshua 14:7).
  • 38 years passed from the rebellion in Kadesh Barnea until they crossed the Jordan River (Deuteronomy 2:14).
  • Joshua 14:10 say that Caleb was 85 years old when the conquest of Canaan was over. 85-38-47=7.

(19) No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated.

(20) For the Lord *hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were
completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

• *hardened their hearts:
  
  • Maybe this is why the Arabs and Palestinians and others cannot make peace with the Jews. Maybe their evil nature is pushing them in the path of their own destruction. How long will the Jews go on letting themselves be victimized and only retaliating in a limited fashion whenever innocent citizens of Israel are killed?
  • The hardening of men’s hearts is when God gives man up to the sin that is in his heart (Romans 1:24-28).
  • God hardened the Canaanites’ hearts, not to keep them from repenting, but to prevent them from surrendering to Israel in unrepentance. The examples of Rahab and the Gibeonites demonstrate the unchanging purpose of God that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). As in the case of Pharaoh, God may be said to harden the hearts of those who harden their own.
  • Paul mentioned this in Romans, and it appears that a course of wickedness willingly pursued by a sinner will result, even in these present times, in God's disabling, darkening or hardening his mind so that, having already chosen evil, the hardened soul is incapable of intelligent decisions. Even a fool, for instance, should have known better than to rush into the Red Sea following Israel's crossing, but Pharaoh, whose heart the Lord had hardened, went right in with his whole army, only to be drowned! Just so, here it seems that the "intelligent" Jabin should already have caught on from the instances of Jericho and Beth-horon that God Himself was helping Israel. Therefore, when this "intelligent" sinner formed his coalition against Israel, he merely proved what a fool he was! Just so, today, there are men with high positions of academic, political or social power who are BLIND indeed to the simple truth of Christianity. Why? They love evil; they have already elected evil as their preferred course. And God has hardened their hearts!
    
    • 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

(21) During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of *Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns.

• *Anak: The word means "long necked" or "tall". The Anakim were a race of giants, greatly feared by the 10 spies.
  
  • Genesis 6:4: In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
  • Numbers 13:22,33: Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) ... We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
  • Joshua 15:14: Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
  • The word "giants" in the King James version is "Nephilim". These are the descendants of the second incursion of evil angels (Genesis 6:4) through one, Anak. See Bullinger's Appendix 23 and 25. The term "Anak" occurs also in Numbers 13:22, Deuteronomy 3:2 and Joshua 15:14.
  • Consider, among many others, the legend of Hercules - the product of Zeus and a human woman. They still existed in the day of David, Goliath being one of them.
  • Here, the foes of 40 years ago fall. They were no match for an army that was blessed and directed by God.
  • There seem to be three names used in the Old Testament to describe these very tall people: (1) Nephilim (Genesis 6:4); (2) Rephaim (Genesis 14:5; 15:20; Joshua 12:4; 13:12); and (3) Anakim (Numbers 13:22,28; Deuteronomy 1:28; 9:2; Judges 1:20).
  • Joshua 12:21 lists Taanach and Megiddo as being among the cities captured by Joshua, showing that many military operations carried on by Joshua must have been passed over here in silence.

(22) None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though
some still remained in Gaza, *Gath, and Ashdod.

• These were three of the five principalities of the Philistines, and were never conquered and possessed by Israel.
• *Gath:
  
  • Shuwardata, governor of Gath, is also mentioned in the following letter from a man named Milkilu, a prince of Gezer, with whom he was allied: “Let it be known to the king that there is great hostility against me and against Shuwardata. I ask the king, my lord, protect his land from the approaching Hapiru.”
  • The giant Goliath whom David fought was from Gath; so, Joshua and the children of Israel must not at this point in time have actually killed every single one of these Anakim, or giants, from the city of Gath:
    
    • 1 Samuel 17:4: Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!

(23) So Joshua *took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He
gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among
the tribes. So the land finally had **rest from war.

• *took control of the entire land:
  
  • Their power has been broken and the main cities destroyed. Once the tribes were assigned their territories, they were to remove or destroy the remaining. In Judges chapters 1-3, there were more to be removed.
  • There were two parts to an effective conquest of Canaan:
    
    • 1. Joshua defeated the main military forces of the Canaanites and captured or destroyed the major walled cities.
    • 2. Each individual tribe had to possess its allotted land by faith.
• **rest: Hebrews 4:8-10: Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
• The time of peace and rest is not the final reality. This is a “dress rehearsal” for the ultimate Sabbath rest–heaven.
• What Joshua could not yet see is that the greater Joshua, Jesus Christ, was yet to come. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God conquers our great enemy, which is the guilt and power of sin. Through his resurrection, Jesus will conquer even death itself. The reality is that the Canaanites were not Israel’s greatest foe. No, sin and death are our greatest enemies, and Jesus Christ came and defeated them both, casting them forever from that good land where we at long last will receive everything God has promised to us. If God promised an earthly inheritance to Israel–the land–he’s promised a much greater inheritance to us, an eternal Sabbath and heavenly rest. And just as Israel’s great general, Joshua, oversaw the conquest of the land and the defeat of all the Canaanites, so too greater Joshua (Jesus) has conquered death and the grave and won for us entrance into heaven itself. And there we will enter our Sabbath rest, we will be at peace forever, as we dwell in the glorious presence of the Lord Jesus himself.
• Joshua 13:1-7: When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. This is the territory that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and the Geshurites, and the larger territory of the Canaanites, extending from the stream of Shihor on the border of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron. It includes the territory of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The land of the Avvites in the south also remains to be conquered. In the north, the following area has not yet been conquered: all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the Sidonians), stretching northward to Aphek on the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites and all of the Lebanon mountain area to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath; and all the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you. Include all this territory as Israel’s possession when you divide this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
• Later, problems developed because (1) Israel did not kill all of the Canaanites and they reasserted themselves and recaptured some of their old fortresses or (2) the individual tribes never fully finished the task of conquest. There are hints of this failure in Joshua 13 and Judges 1.
• Joshua 17:13: Later, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.
• 

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. We must look to the Lord to fight our battles.
2. We must be obedient to the Lord’s commandments if we are to walk in the blessing and victory which is our inheritance in Christ.
3. While the "war tactics" is interesting from a historical aspect, it is not the focus of this lesson. The important point is that the Israelites trusted in God and He led them to victory over their enemies. The idea for us is that we can win over situations that are way too big for us to handle on our own if we are willing to turn it over to God.
4. At the end of our life, God wants us to look back at our life and say "we have made a difference for Him." The idea is that we have accomplished what God wanted to do through us. This generation of Israelites has done "just that" by conquering the land as God required them to.
5. God called Joshua to conquer the land and for the most part, and by the end of this chapter, Joshua has accomplished this assignment. God may call on you or me to be involved in some project for Him. The question is not so much the "what", but are we being loyal to what God called us to do.
6. The point for us is that in the things we do for God, the ultimate victory is guaranteed. As the battles are being won for God in our life, the point is we do achieve victory for God whether we see the end results or not. We are to be loyal to what God has called us to do and let Him worry about the results.
7. The Bible is full of stories of people winning battles that "without God's help" they never would have won. David defeating Goliath comes to mind. The point is this chapter in Joshua is not an isolated example of the Israelites taking on "something" that is bigger than them.
8. The lesson of this chapter is about trusting God with a situation that is "too big too handle" on our own. It is another way of showing our complete dependence upon God especially when whatever is in front of us is way to big to defeat on our own.
9. Remember who's the "power behind the throne" with these northern kings - Satan himself. And our battle too is - "...not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12).
10. Joshua’s confidence lay not in his own military skill, nor in the valor of his men, but in the sure promise of the One whom he served. The assault which he made upon the Canaanite northern kings was in compliance with the orders which he had received from the Lord.
11. The secret for Joshua was knowing and following everything that God had commanded through Moses in the first five books of the Bible, the Torah. In Joshua 1:8-9, God spoke to Joshua: "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." The key is to play by his rules and submit ourselves to his authority in our lives.
12. The secret of Joshua's remarkable success from the human viewpoint was his consistent obedience to the Lord (verse 15). We too will experience victory over our spiritual enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—to the extent that we do God's will as He has revealed that in His Word.
13. We read Ezekiel chapter 38 and the first few verses of 39 that show this same pattern of warfare being used in a time that lies ahead for those of us living today, in a battle better known as Armageddon. And the pattern is that the armies of those nations that do not wish to submit to the authority of God, and who will be determined that Israel must be wiped out, will move their armies into Israel (the Valley of Jezreel) to attack the forces led by Messiah. This will prove to be as foolish and full of destructive bravado then as it did long ago for the kings of (first) the south, then the north, of the Land of Canaan.
14. When we win battles against Satan, he brings out his "big guns" in an attempt to defeat us and our testimony.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html

Joshua 10

(1) *Adoni-zedek, king of **Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and ***completely destroyed Ai and killed its king, just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now their allies.

• *Adoni-zedek means "lord of righteousness". This is a title, not a person's name. Among the Tell Amarna tablets that we covered much earlier in our study are some very interesting letters from Adoni-zedec to the king of Egypt. In these letters, the wars brought upon him by the Abiri (i.e., Hebrews) is graphically described: “Behold, I say that the land of the king my lord is ruined,” “The wars are mighty against me,” “The Hebrew chiefs plunder all the king's lands,” “Behold, I the chief of the Amorites am breaking to pieces.” Then he implores the king of Egypt to send soldiers to help him, directing that the army should come by sea to Ascalon or Gaza, and thence march to Wru-sa-lim (Jerusalem) by the valley of Elah.
• If Adoni-Zedek (the false Lord of Righteousness) represents the Antichrist, it is interesting to find that he leads many nations against Joshua (Yeshua - Jesus) and the children of Israel. In fact, the book of Joshua parallels in many ways Paul's epistle to the Ephesians and the Revelation to John.
• **Jerusalem:
• This is the first mention of the city name. The last part, "salem," means peace. The first part means "settlement" or "inheritance." Ancient records show that this is the same Jerusalem we know today. In the time of the judges, the city had the name Jebus or Jebusi. The Jebusites were not removed from the city until the time of David. There is no mention of the defeat of Jerusalem in Joshua. In fact, we don't read of Jerusalem's fall until King David comes along many centuries later.
• Adoni-zedec operates out of Jerusalem. In the end-times, the Antichrist will also operate out of the Holy City:
• 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4: Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
• ***completely destroyed: This refers to the Hebrew concept of “holy war” called the herem. This meant that a city (i.e., Ai) was dedicated to God; it became so holy that everything that breathed, including men and animals, must be killed. We see this same kind of situation at the battle of Jericho.

(2) He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this because Gibeon was a large town—as large as the royal cities and larger than Ai. And the Gibeonite men were **strong warriors.

• The defection of the Gibeonites was cause for great alarm for three reasons:
  
  1. It was discouraging to see such a large city with an excellent army surrender to the enemy.
  2. Without Gibeon the southern coalition was severely weakened.
  3. They constituted a fifth column that would fight with Israel in time of war. Though it had no king, Gibeon was “like one of the royal cities”; it was just as strong and influential as any city-state.
• **strong warriors: There is a wordplay between “Gibeon” and “strong warriors,” which is literally gibborim. Boling defines gibborim as “men trained in combat and prosperous enough to afford armament, squire, and leisure time for such activity.”

(3) So King *Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: Hoham of **Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of ***Lachish, and ****Debir of Eglon.

• *Adoni-zedek means "lord of righteousness". Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18 - king of Salem) means "king of righteousness".
• **Hebron is one of the major cities. It’s about 20 miles south from Jerusalem in what is known as the Jerusalem range of mountains, and it’s at the southern end of the Jerusalem range of mountains. Then over toward the coast from Hebron are Lachish, and Jarmuth and Eglon.
• **Lachish: The Wellcom Archaeological Expedition in the 1930's found there a great layer of ashes coinciding with Joshua's time.
• ***Debir: An expedition in the 1920's found a deep layer of ashes, charcoal and lime from Joshua's time.
• These sites are all located in the southern hill country of Judah and Benjamin. They were all of Amorite descent. All of them appear in the ancient Amarna tablets except for the city of Hebron which was also called “Kiriath-arba”.
• If these 5 kings can attack and take Gibeon - while Joshua is off at Gilgal - not only will they regain dominance and control of the area - but they’ll weaken and demoralize Israel - handing them a strategic defeat. They’ll prove that Israel can’t be trusted when it comes to alliances and ultimately show-up Israel’s God - in Whose name the alliance was made.

(4) “Come and help me destroy Gibeon,” he urged them, “for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.”

(5) So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon.

• Gibeon was a strategically important city and cities in the area could not afford for them and their warriors to go over to the Israeli
  side.
• The kings come out of their fortified cities and mountains (Jerusalem was a mountain) to fight on the plains. These kings played right into God’s hand. First of all, they gave up their great defensive positions - the walls and ability to hide behind them. Their soldiers poured out of the city walls to fight Joshua in another place. So the advantage of their defenses were abandoned. By leaving the cities to fight elsewhere, the enemy left their cities wide open to attack. It was this principle by which Joshua could easily defeat these walled cities.
• One can also compare this section to the book of Revelation. During that future great destruction of the earth, there will be some people that acknowledge God and turn to Him. That is "represented" by the Gibeonites in the last chapter. The rest of the world admits that God is behind the attack, but still refuse to submit their lives to Him. One of the purposes of Revelation is to show that no matter how much effort God shows about the destruction of the earth, some people refuse to submit to Him and change their lifestyles.
• In the end times, the Bible informs that the Antichrist will also
  form a confederation with 10 Kings:
• Revelation 17:12-13: The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give him their power and authority.

(6) The men of Gibeon quickly *sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don’t abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.”

• *sent messengers to Joshua: These pagan Gentiles call to Joshua (Yeshua-Jesus) to save them as Gentiles today appeal to the real Yeshua.
• Israel’s covenant with Gibeon promised military protection.

(7) So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon.

• Humanly speaking, this was the perfect opportunity for Joshua to get rid of the Gibeonites. Why shouldn’t Joshua just ignore the very people who had deceived them? Why not let the coalition destroy them and rid him of his mistake? There were at least two reasons he could not do that:
  
  1. First, as a man of integrity who honored his word, Joshua did not consider that an option. They had given their word and were duty bound to honor it.
  2. Second, this now provided a unique military opportunity. Rather than a long, drawn out campaign against one city at a time, this gave them the opportunity to defeat and destroy several armies at once.

(8) “*Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I **have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”

• *Do not be afraid of them: As Joshua looks at this situation, it is obvious that his first reaction was one of FEAR because the Lord tells him here – do not be afraid. How does the Lord help Joshua overcome his natural fear - by telling Joshua that the battle is already won. Same goes for us. We should have nothing to fear if we're in His will. This comes up again in chapter 11.
• **have given: Notice this is in the past tense. The battle was already over and won before it even started.
• The fact that God now gives this promise might suggest that Joshua had inquired of the Lord and had received this answer and promise. With all these kings coming together, there was surely a certain amount of concern in Joshua’s heart. The situation was urgent, and God’s word of encouragement and his promise of victory were certainly needed.
• Although God assured them of the victory, they still had to prepare for the battle and form a strategy to defeat the Canaanites. Just because God has promised us victory, we shouldn't then sit on our behind and expect Him to do it all - He expects us to get up and go to work to fulfill His promise! There is no room for a lazy Christian.

(9) Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise.

• From Joshua 9:17, we know this was normally a three day journey from Gilgal to Gibeon. So, this was a "forced march". They had to have been exhausted by the time they arrived at Gibeon.
• Joshua and his men marched all night about 20 miles over steep and difficult terrain. This meant, with no opportunity to rest, his fighting men would be tired. They would certainly need the sovereign strength of the Lord. By marching under cover of darkness, Joshua was able to take the enemy by surprise and this created disorder in the enemy's camp.
• With God's encouragement, Joshua does not hesitate -  he doesn't even wait till morning! Once God gives us our marching orders, we are to move!
  
  

Above image from www.foundationsforfreedom.net/References/OT/Historical/Joshua/Joshua06-12/Joshua10-e_12-43_Pursuing_More.html
Notice that the five cities are south of Gibeon. Gibeon controls the central highlands and the conquest route to south. Along with defeating Jericho and Ai, Israel’s alliance with Gibeon gives Israel control of the central area and an opening to attack the south - where these 5 cities are.

(10) The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

• This campaign secured a foothold in central Canaan and opened up the way for Joshua's southern campaign.

(11) As the Amorites retreated down the road from *Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible **hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.

• *Beth-horon:
  
  • That is, "the House of Caves," of which there are still traces existing. There were two contiguous villages of that name, upper and lower. Upper Beth-horon was nearest Gibeon--about ten miles distant and approached by a gradual ascent through a long and precipitous ravine. This was the first stage of the flight. The fugitives had crossed the high ridge of Upper Beth-horon, and were in full flight down the descent to Beth-horon the Lower. The road between the two places is so rocky and rugged that there is a path made by means of steps cut in the rock. Down this pass, Joshua continued his victorious rout. Here it was that the Lord interposed, assisting His people by means of a storm, which, having been probably gathering all day. The Oriental hailstorm is a terrific agent; the hailstones are masses of ice, large as walnuts, and sometimes as two fists; their prodigious size, and the violence with which they fall, make them always very injurious to property, and often fatal to life. The miraculous feature of this tempest, which fell on the Amorite army, was the entire preservation of the Israelites from its destructive ravages.
  • The Battle of Beth Horon was fought centuries later between Jewish forces led by Judas Maccabaeus and a Seleucid Empire force under the command of Seron.
  • The Battle of Beth Horon was also a battle fought in 66 AD between the Roman army and Jewish rebel forces in the First Jewish-Roman War. The Battle of Beth Horon was the worst defeat the Romans suffered at the hands of rebels.
• **hailstorm:
• More people who died from the hailstones than those by sword. Revelation 16:21 speaks of great hail, each stone being about 75 pounds! Hailstones have been reported to weigh as much as 75 pounds when they fell in Arabia some years ago. Notice that the hail stones only fell on the enemy - not one fell on an Israelite! So, this was no ordinary hailstorm.
• Job 38:22-23: “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)
• Exodus 9:19,25: Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’” ... It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.
• Revelation 16:21: There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
• Baker’s Bible Atlas describes the scene: “Attacked the enemy and then pursued them through the mountain passes guarded by the two Beth-horons in the Valley of Ajalon. After relieving the Gibeonites, he chased the enemy from Upper Beth-horon (1730 feet above sea level) to Lower Beth-horon, 1 3/4 miles down the valley, where a providential hailstorm contributed to the disastrous defeat of Israel's foes” (Baker’s Bible Atlas, page 89).

(12) On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, *Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”

• *Joshua prayed: There is a huge contrast between 9:14 and 10:12. Joshua is praying this time! He understands that although God is sovereign and He’s made certain promises, He still expects us to pray and makes sure we get the message whenever we don’t. God answers prayer. He unfolds His providence in answer to prayer.
• Joshua didn't make a selfish request. He asked the Lord for help in fulfilling the specific task God had assigned to him. If you are seeking the Lord's will, and that seems to require stopping the sun or moving a mountain, ask Him boldly—and don't be surprised if and when God does it.

Above image from www.foundationsforfreedom.net/References/OT/Historical/Joshua/Joshua06-12/Joshua10-e_12-43_Pursuing_More.html

(13) So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The *Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it **did not set as on a normal day.

• *Book of Jashar: Or, "The Book of the Upright". Only other mention of this book is in 2 Samuel 1:18. In the Targum, it is "the book of the Law". Joseph mentions it as a book in the temple. The Syriac would translate "a book of praises" or "book of hymns" It was apparently a collection of ballads and prose to which additions were made over the years. It was probably the "book of the song" in 1 Kings 8:53.
• **did not set as on a normal day: Or "did not set for about a whole day".
• In the late 1960's, someone circulated a story that NASA had discovered there was a missing day in the solar system. Using this passage they accounted for about twenty one missing hours and the account in (Isaiah 38:8) to account for the rest of the missing time. This story is a complete fable and has absolutely no basis in fact.
• Obviously, in these days of science we try to figure out exactly how God answered Joshua’s prayer. Those of us who believe in the truth of the Bible still have a number of options as to how and what happened. Dr. Boice says, “What is certain is that God did something to give the Jewish armies a complete and decisive victory.”
• Views concerning this phenomenon fall into two categories. The first assumes a slowing or suspending of the normal rotation of the earth so that there were extra hours that day. God did this so that Joshua’s forces could complete their victory before the enemy had a night for rest and regrouping. The Hebrew for “stood still” is a verb of motion, indicating a slowing or stopping of the rotation of the earth on its axis (which would not affect the earth’s movement around the sun). Verse 14 indicates that this was a unique day in the history of the world. The second category includes views that assume no irregularity in the rotation of the earth. One such view argues for the prolonging of daylight by some sort of unusual refraction of the sun’s rays. Thus, there were more daylight hours but not more hours in the day. Another view supposes a prolonging of semi-darkness to give Joshua’s men relief from the blazing summer sun, accomplished by God’s sending an unusual summer hailstorm. This view takes "stood still" to mean “be still” or “cease,” indicating that the sun was clouded by the storm and no extra hours were added to the day. The Maori people of New Zealand have a legend of how their hero Maui impeded the sun before it rose. According to the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, the ancient history of Mexico, night continued for extended period of time. In addition, according to ancient Chinese annals, King Yao testified that at one point during his reign the sun remained in the sky so long that many feared the world would be set on fire. The reign of Yao is said to correspond with the time of Joshua.
• It is interesting that many cultures speak of an extended day in their legends. According to Greek mythology, Apollo’s son, Phaethon, disrupted the movement of the sun for a day. Cultures on the other side of the world have legends of an extended night.
• This passage has brought much ridicule upon the Bible. Some
  believe that this proves the Bible is uninspired, because science has
  long since proven that the earth rotates around the sun and that the
  sun doesn't move.
• The Chinese, the Babylonians, The Incas, the Aztecs, the Egyptians, the Assyrians and other ancient cultures all record the existence of a long day, which occurred about this time.
• Not only did God give the Hebrew army victory, but He directly involved himself in the battle. He did this in three ways:
1. He threw the enemies into confusion. They didn’t know what was going on. The idea in the Hebrew is to “rout”. It encompasses terror and panic. They thought their world was coming to an end and in truth, it was.
2. Next God rains hailstones down onto the enemy, which certainly would have enhanced the confusion, panic and terror they were currently experiencing. Through this, God slew more of the enemy than the Israelites did. Talk about having God on your side. The Canaanites, who worshiped nature deities, must have thought that their own gods were aiding the Israelites.
3. But what came next was really something. Joshua requested God’s intervention, to continue the day so he could go on fighting in order to avenge Israel on her enemies. God did this by stopping the sun, holding time at noon for an extended period.

(14) There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!

(15) Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

• Many commentators suggest that because this verse was later repeated in the last verse that it was more than likely that verse 15 also belonged to the original quote taken from the Book of Jashar. In other words, this description of returning to the camp at Gilgal did happen but later. This understanding of what happened seem to make much sense for then they would not need to return back to the camp and could eliminate the enemy. Isn’t this Joshua’s concern in verse 19? While we tend to write books in historical sequence, God often directs the books to be written in sequence of importance.

(16) During the battle the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah.

• We have another striking similarity with the Book of Revelation. Not only does a false “Lord of Righteousness” (Adoni-Zedek) lead a group of nations against Joshua, who has come to possess the land; but also, in the midst of their defeat, the kings hide in caves in fear of the conquering Joshua (Revelation 6:15-16).
  
  • Revelation 6:15-16: Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
• While everyone else is trying to make it back to the safety of a fortified city, these 5 kings do the cowardly treasonous thing - they abandon their armies and go hide in a cave!

(17) When Joshua heard that they had been found,

(18) he issued this command: “Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.

(19) The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don’t give them a chance to get back to their towns, for the Lord your God has given you victory over them.”

• The five kings and their armies had left the safety of their fortified cities to fight Joshua and his army out in the open which gave Joshua a great advantage. He was determined to keep them from escaping to the safety of their walls which would prolong the campaign against that portion of the land.

(20) So Joshua and the Israelite army continued the slaughter and completely crushed the enemy. They totally wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified towns.

(21) Then the Israelites returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to speak even a word against Israel.

(22) Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me.”

(23) So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, *Hebron, **Jarmuth, ***Lachish, and ****Eglon.

• *Hebron means "communion" or " fellowship" and its king, Hoham, means "corrupt confusion of sound."
• **Jarmuth means "elevation," and its king, Piram is defined as "the wild donkey."
• ***Lachish means "walk as men," and the meaning of its king, Japhia, is "shining -- resplendent."
• ****Eglon means "round, as a wheel." Its king was Debir, meaning "speaker" or "an oracle."

(24) When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your
feet on the kings’ necks.” And they did as they were told.

• Psalm 110:1: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:25: For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

(25) “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “*Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.”

• *Be strong and courageous: The key phrase in Joshua. How many times have we seen this so far?

(26) Then Joshua killed each of the five kings and *impaled them on five sharpened poles, where they hung until evening.

• *impaled them on five sharpened poles: Impaling was very common in those days - both of alive enemies and of dead bodies, as here. The five kings were first killed with swords and then their bodies were impaled on a stake. From Deuteronomy 21:22-23 we learn what a humiliating act this was in the eyes of the Jews. Joshua used this as a sign to ridicule this united Canaanite opposition to the Israeli advance. Even though most versions say they were “hung on a tree”, the hanging did not mean with a rope around their necks and the Hebrew word for tree and for wood is the same: ets. Rather, as was customary and pictured on several old Assyrian reliefs, this meant being killed and then their lifeless bodies hung on a pole. This act of impalement was (since time immemorial) an Oriental symbolic gesture that meant the condemned person was also cursed.
  
  Above image is an Assyrian impalement of 3 townspeople.

(27) As the sun was going down, Joshua gave instructions for the bodies of the kings to be taken down from the poles and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding. Then they covered the opening of the cave with a *pile of large rocks, which remains to this very day.

• *pile of large rocks: This is the fifth pile of rocks serving as a monument in the land.
• Remember these were leaders in satanic worship, and when the day of God's judgment comes there will be no sparing those who have sold themselves to Satan. The sun finally went down on that long day, and the bodies were taken from the trees and returned to the cave with large stones again covering it permanently.

(28) That same day Joshua captured and destroyed the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it, including the king, leaving no survivors. He destroyed them all, and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho.

(29) Then Joshua and the Israelites went to *Libnah and attacked it.

• *Libnah means "whiteness."

(30) There, too, the Lord gave them the town and its king. He killed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. Then Joshua killed the king of Libnah as he had killed the king of Jericho.

(31) From Libnah, Joshua and the Israelites went to *Lachish and attacked it.

• *Lachish: Its army had already been defeated, now the inhabitants are killed and Israel captures the city.

(32) Here again, the Lord gave them *Lachish. Joshua took it on the second day and killed everyone in it, just as he had done at Libnah.

• *Lachish was a city in the southwest part of Judah; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:9, and strong enough to resist for a time the whole army of Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18:17; 19:8; 2 Chronicles 32:1,9,21; Micah 1:13.  It was here that king Amaziah was slain, 2 Kings 14:19.

(33) During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of *Gezer arrived with his army to help defend the
town. But Joshua’s men killed him and his army, leaving no survivors.

• *Gezer was given to Solomon by Pharaoh per 1 Kings 9:16-17. Gezer means "isolated" or "cut off." Horam means "tumid or "swollen."

(34) Then Joshua and the Israelite army went on to Eglon and attacked it.

(35) They captured it that day and killed everyone in it. He completely destroyed everyone, just as he had done at Lachish.

(36) From Eglon, Joshua and the Israelite army went up to *Hebron and attacked it.

• *Hebron means "communion."

(37) They captured the town and killed everyone in it, including its king, leaving no survivors. They did the same thing to all of its surrounding villages. And just as he had done at Eglon, he completely destroyed the entire population.

(38) Then Joshua and the Israelites turned back and attacked Debir.

(39) He captured the town, its king, and all of its surrounding villages. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He did to Debir and its king just what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.

(40) So Joshua conquered the whole region—the kings and people of the hill country, the Negev, *the western foothills, and the mountain slopes. He completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.

• *the western foothills: Hebrew "the Shephelah".
• The Amorites were spread out over certain parts of Canaan. Five of their kings came forward to fight the Israelites. But in addition to this big war party were other kings and of course their armies: king of Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king of Jarmuth, king of Lachish and king of Eglon. We are not sure how many armies there were altogether but for sure it was a great number.

(41) Joshua slaughtered them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and from the region around the town of *Goshen up to Gibeon.

• *Goshen was an area in Southern Judah, not to be confused with the area of Egypt by that name.

(42) Joshua conquered all these kings and their land in a single campaign, for the Lord, *the God of Israel, was fighting for his people.

• *the God of Israel, was fighting for his people: The whole chapter is summarized with this statement.
• These verses summarize what is called the "Southern Campaign". The point is that Joshua had victory over every king that lived in the Southern part of Israel.
• When chapter 10 is done, the Israelites have not only overcome formidable opposition, but they’ve taken the central and southern sections of the Promised Land.

(43) Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

• Verse 42 reminds us that Joshua captured all these kings and their lands - not because he was some great military genius - some great political leader - clever - wise - but because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Who fights for His people? The Lord. Who fights for you? The Lord. Never doubt that.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. No mistake is final for the dedicated Christian. God can use even our blunders to accomplish His purposes.
2. God is used Joshua's mistake in signing a protective treaty with Gibeon to defeat these five city-states all at once instead of one at a time! Even when we mess up, once we've acknowledged our mistake (sin), God finds a way to make the best of it.
3. Dr. Don Campbell, in his conclusion to this chapter which he titled, "People Who Know Their God", has a focus that really provides a fitting conclusion to this study on the book of Joshua. He writes: "Most of us learn, early in our Christian experience, that we do not just face one enemy. We face evil forces that have banded together in an attempt to destroy us. Those enemies are commonly called “the world,” “the flesh” and “the devil.” The world pressures us and hammers us and tries to conform us to its mold. The flesh is the sinfulness within us which betrays us and undermines us and sabotages us, even though we want to serve God with our minds and our bodies. The devil is master strategist of the assault against us and sometimes attacks us openly, sometimes craftily, but always with an unerring sense of where our weaknesses lie." Together, the world, the flesh, and the devil make an unbeatable combination—or they would be unbeatable, if not for the saving intervention of God. Without God, victory against such an alliance is impossible. With God, victory is assured.
4. Most importantly, the key to victory was that the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. This is also true as we battle against our own spiritual enemies. We can only win as we see the Lord fighting on our behalf. He provides the victory and we walk in it. We come to realize that the victory was won at the cross, and now we need to live in light of that victory. Colossians 2:15 speaks to this idea: In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. It is in this sense that overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
5. The same living LORD stands ready to help us to overcome today. Our victories may be different in nature, but they will nevertheless also be great victories. We too can see great victories if we will cooperate with Him in quiet obedience and calm confidence just as Joshua did. The choice is ours. We can live by according to our values and depend upon our own strength, but we will pay the price. Or we can elect to faithful to Him and discover his faithfulness. He has not changed in all the countless years of human history.
6. Battles are a reality in the life of the child of God, but we never have to face them alone. Our lives will be filled with battles. However, these battles are not really physical battles, neither are they battles with other people. Our battles are spiritual battles, "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12. Therefore, our weapons must be spiritual as well. "(We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.) " 2 Corinthians 10:4.
   
   1. Hebrews 13:5: Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
   2. Matthew 28:20: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
7. The Lord didn't save you for you to be agitated and worried. He doesn't mean for you to tremble in fear when the enemies of the Lord approach. When the day of battle comes in your life, the Lord will give you peace, if you will lean on Him, Proverbs 3:5-6. As God's children, we need to remember that everything that happens in our lives had to pass first over God's desk and it received His stamp of approval (Romans 8:28.)
   
   1. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
   2. Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html