Okay, you can turn in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 11. Joshua 11, as we finish the portion that deals specifically with the conquest that began in chapter 5. I'm sorry, chapter 6, when they enter Jericho, they destroy Jericho. Chapter 7 and 8 deals with AI.
Chapter 9 is the treaty with the Gibeonites. Last week in chapter 10, we saw the southern campaign. And it only remains tonight in Joshua 11 to see the northern campaign. And chapter 12 deals with the kings conquered specifically.
And then from 13 to about 21, that's where the land is divvied up. The land is given to the specific tribes. And then the last few chapters are exhortation on faithfulness in the land that God had given. We're going to take up the Northern Campaign this evening, which deals with or which is dealt with in chapter 11, verses 1 to 15.
And then verses 16 to 23 is a summary of the entire conquest. It's not just the Northern Campaign there in 16 to 23, but rather it's sort of a capstone on the chapters 6 to 11 preceding. So I'll just begin reading in chapter 11 at verse 1. You'll see the similarities between chapters 11 and chapters 10.
Back in chapter 10, it was the Adonai Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, had heard about Israel and their goings forth. He calls a coalition of kings to try and stop and try and oppose them by attacking Gibeah. Well, here in chapter 11, it's a very similar convention. We have Jabin, the king of Hazor, he sends to various kings so that they can form a coalition so that they may indeed try and stop Israel.
So it's similar in nature. It reads in a lot of places sort of the same way. This seems to be more of a compacted summary than what we found in chapter 10, but I'll just pick up in verse 1. And it came to pass when Jabin, king of Hazor, heard these things, that he sent to Jobab king of Maidan, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Akshaph, and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain, south of Kinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and the Hivite below Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. But the Lord said to Joshua, do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.' So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them.
And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to greater Sidon, to the brook Misraphoth, and to the valley of Mizpah eastward. They attacked them until they left none of them remaining. So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor and struck its king with the sword. For Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing.
Then he burned Hazor with fire. So all the cities of those kings and all their kings Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them except Hazor only, which Joshua burned.
And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel, took as booty for themselves. But they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. As the Lord had commanded Moses' servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
Thus Joshua took all this land, the mountain country, all the south, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain, the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, from Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down and killed them. Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon.
All the others they took in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them and that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them as the Lord had commanded Moses. And at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah and from all the mountains of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel. They remained only in Gaza and Gath and in Ashdod. So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.
Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, a lot of similarities here in chapter 11 to what we find in chapter 10 in terms of the campaign. the military excursions into these places where they met with these various enemies and foes and by God's grace and his power and under his delivering hand they were able to defeat their enemies through and through.
The Coalition of Kings
So we see first of all in verses 1 to 5 this coalition of kings, secondly deliverance from the Lord in verses 6 to 11, thirdly is the faithfulness of the Lord's servant verses 12 to 15. Joshua would certainly be an example. Joshua would certainly serve as a great example of a leader in Israel. I mean, some of the things that are stated here in verses 12 to 15, what we read in the summary statement in verses 16 to 23, Joshua was not a perfect man, but he certainly was an obedient and a faithful man, and he should have served as a great example to Israel subsequent to his life and leadership.
And then fourthly is the summary of Israel's conquests in verses 16 to 23. Verse 23 specifically is very much a transition statement. So I said chapter 12 deals with the king specifically that were defeated and then chapter 13 is the division of the land. So that's what we find there in verse 23, Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes, then the land rested from war.
So at this time of rest from the war, it was the occasion where they were able to separate and divide up the land and give it to the various tribes there in Israel.
The Coalition Identified and Described
But notice first with reference to this coalition of kings in verses 1 to 5, the coalition is identified in verses 1 to 3. Jabin is announced as the king of Hazor. You notice in verse 10 that Hazor is formerly the head of all those kingdoms. So Jabin is the ringleader.
He's the big cheese. He's the big kahuna. He's the one that hears about what Israel is doing. So he rallies up these other men so that they can stand fast and try to resist and try to stop this spread of Israel.
Now, Jabin is also mentioned in the book of Judges, in Judges 4, specifically with Deborah and with Barak. Notice I didn't say Barak. It is Deborah and Beric in Judges chapter 4 there. And some have speculated and tried to figure out why Jabin appears here and why Jabin appears there.
There's been various theories that have been concocted. I think Woodstraw makes the most simple and probably the best explanation. The most likely is that Jabin was a hereditary title. adopted by successive kings in Hazor. Just like you might be called Pharaoh if you served in Egypt, or you were called Caesar if you served in Rome, you would be called Jabin if you served in Hazor.
That's probably the best way to try and iron out what appears to at least some people to be a difficulty. And then notice the other kings are mentioned. Some of these places, the commentators aren't absolutely sure where they're at. Some of them are very clear, but it certainly just rehearses this coalition as it did in Chapter 10.
He sent to Jobab, he sent to the king of Shimron, to the king of Akshaft. to the kings who are from the north and the mountains and the plains south of Kinerov, in the low land and in the heights of Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and the Hivite below Hermon. in the land of Mizpah. So what we're dealing with is that area or that region in our studies in Matthew where Jesus finds himself. It is the region of Galilee. It's the northern part of Israel.
Those are places that when you look on your map of Israel you look to the north and you will see these ones. Hence, the northern campaign. chapter 10 dealt with the southern campaign. So that region, at least at the time of Jesus, was called Judah. So you have Galilee in the north, you have Judah in the south, you have the northern tribes, you have the southern tribes at that particular time.
Well, it goes back to this instance in history when the land was divvied up and they each took a portion of the land. You had ten northern tribes, you had two southern tribes. But at this particular time, this coalition is in the north, and now notice the coalition is described in verses four and five. And this is what we need to appreciate here.
The author describes this to show us the power of God. These descriptions, or this description in verses 4 and 5, highlights for us the power, the deliverance, the victory that God the Lord gets when he defeats these people. Notice in verse 4, they have a numerical edge. They have numbers on their side.
So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude. That's a lot of people, isn't it? The text wants you to realize that this is a formidable enemy. There are a lot of opponents.
Incidentally, this language is used in the book of Revelation, specifically in chapter 20 in that final battle. It says that the opponents are as many as the sand that is on the seashore. in multitude. It's a phrase. It's an idiom.
It means, get this, a whole lot of people. It's used in Judges. It's used again in 1 Samuel. It means there's a great multitude, but I think what the author wants us to appreciate is that they had a numerical advantage.
They had they beat Israel out, or at least it looks as if they beat Israel out with reference to the numbers game. And then notice as well, they have a technological advantage. They have a technological advantage. They don't have iPods, and they don't have Bradley tanks, and they don't have F-16s and B-2 bombers, but they had horses and chariots.
That is a technological advantage. in a ground war, isn't it? Chariots and horses are very helpful when it comes to doing battle. And so what the author is saying is that this great multitude also has equipment. They have horses.
They have chariots. They have military might. They have power. They have strength.
They have centralization. They have an overall commander, which is Jabin. He is marshalling these troops together. They're going to mount this attack upon Israel. and we are being told here that we need to pay attention to this so that when the victory comes we can praise God that it's not just a handful of Boy Scouts that Israel defeats there in the north but rather it is a great multitude with a lot of armament certainly Deuteronomy 20 verse 1 comes to mind when you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them.
For the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." So if we are reading this and we start to get a little bit afraid when we read verses 4 and 5, it means we don't remember Deuteronomy 20 verse 1. It is simply setting the stage to show us the glory, the majesty, and the power, and the victory of the God of Israel. So it's putting all that into place. We're seeing these armies amass.
Now notice in verse 5, when all these kings had met together, They came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. So the battle is going to be on. We have the northern kings. We have this alliance.
We have this coalition. They're heavily armed. They're well trained. They're ready for battle.
Deliverance from the Lord
And then we come, secondly, to the deliverance from the Lord.
God's Instructions to Joshua
Notice, first, his instructions. But the Lord said to Joshua, as he has said every step of the way, Remember that God tells Joshua on several occasions, do not be afraid of them. You see, Joshua, as a military leader, fear will paralyze you. Faith is to motivate you.
Faith in the living God, faith in the promises of God, faith in the power of God, and not fear of the power of the enemy. So the Lord, in his kindness, again gives this encouragement, gives this word of instruction to Joshua, their number and their equipment must not be seen as a cause for fear, but rather do not be afraid because of them." God then gives this promise for tomorrow, about this time, I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. Now, as we have seen time in and time out, as we've moved with Joshua and the armies of Israel throughout the promised land, divine sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility, nor does human responsibility diminish divine sovereignty. In fact, Joshua chapter 11 is a wonderful example of these two things living in harmony, just like they do in Matthew's gospel in Matthew chapter 11, so they do in Joshua's book, Joshua chapter 11.
So God makes this promise based on his purpose, based on his plan, based on his unchanging character, and his faithfulness. He says, do not be afraid because of them for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. Now certainly, if God tells you that, it would add a spring to your step when you go into battle, wouldn't it? If God the Lord tells you, do not be afraid of them, for I am going to deliver them, certainly that would enable you and hopefully empower you to go with joy and happiness and with earnestness about the task at hand.
And then notice that God not only sovereignly promises, but he employs or gives them the strategy that they are to employ for this. He says, you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire. Love that. Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.
So the one who comes to this passage, who doesn't know who God is yet, is reading verses 4 and 5 and he sees this numerical edge, he sees this technological edge, and then he hears the God of Israel tell his military leader, I want you to hamstring their horses and I want you to burn their chariots. Now hamstringing simply means that you render the animal militarily useless. Davis says it involved cutting the large tendon at the back of the knee on the hind legs. Now certainly PETA and other animal rights activists would not be happy with this passage of scripture, they would rather see Joshua and the armies of Israel die than to see a horse's tendon cut.
But the people of God would rather see horses' tendons cut than the people of God die. So certainly this is a happy requirement that God institutes with reference to this plan. So notice, God encourages, God promises, God gives them a particular strategy. And then notice in, well, I'll just back up for just a moment.
No, let's keep going here.
Joshua's Obedient Attack
Verse 7, so Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom and they attacked them. The promise of God of verse 6 does not result in let go, let God sort of an attitude. Joshua doesn't say, hey, the victory's in the bag, the Lord has promised, let's go golfing. Let's go to Boston Pizza and count our victory.
No, this is something we need to appreciate. Sovereignty does not diminish responsibility. Sovereignty is the basis for and the foundation of responsibility. So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom and they attacked them.
And it's interesting, these waters of Meron, Davis says that it's about a 4,000 foot, it's about 4,000 feet above sea level and probably not the best place for charioteering or for maneuvering chariots. What could possibly be the case is that this coalition of kings gather at these waters of Meron where they will strategize, where they will plan, and then take their chariots, in fact there's some extra biblical literature, extra biblical writings where they would actually disassemble the chariots for ease of transport when they were in hilly or rocky area and then when they were on the lowlands or when they were in places where it was more conducive to chariot maneuvering, they'd put the chariots back together and off you'd go. So probably at these waters of Meron, they're just sitting there getting ready, strategizing. What does Joshua do?
God the Lord says, I promise I'm going to deliver them. It's a sudden attack. Let's strike them first, let's strike them aggressively, let's get them before they can even put their chariots together and let's devastate them. You see, sovereignty does not remove responsibility.
So Davis says the point is that Merom was in Upper Galilee, approximately 4,000 feet above sea level and not conducive to chariot maneuvering. Could it be that Merom was only an assembly point for Jabin's host and that they intended to encounter Joshua further south on the plain of Esterlon, where Canaanite tanks, the horses and chariots, could be used to real advantage? He says, in any case, Joshua's blitz negated any tactical advantage chariots or horses could give. Just because God promises victory, verse 6, is no reason not to use one's brains Verse 7, it is a sudden, swift, quick attack to nail them and to devastate them and to bring them to defeat.
And that is precisely what happens. It is done under the power and the sovereignty of God. We are never ever given opportunity to forget that in these narratives. Remember, they're theological history.
It's history, yes, it's reporting what happened, but it's theology woven in so that we can behold our God every step of the way. Verse 8. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to greater Sidon, to the brook Misraphoth, and to the valley of Mizpah eastward. They attacked them until they left none of them remaining.
So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire." It is a beautiful thing. Now, some speculate that they hamstrung the horses and they destroyed the chariots, because as of yet, the Israelites weren't skilled on how to use those things. I mean, face it, if we were an army and we were in battle and we defeated our enemy and there were lots of guns sitting there, we'd probably take those guns and use them.
Unless, of course, we didn't know how to use them, then we'd destroy them. That's probably not what's going on. Remember that the king of Israel, according to Deuteronomy 17, was forbidden from multiplying horses. He was forbidden from multiplying women, and he was forbidden from multiplying wealth.
He wants to be unique among the kings of the nations. And then additionally, the psalmist says, some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. So probably what the Lord is doing is telling them to hamstring these horses and to destroy by fire these chariots so that they will not trust in those implements, so that they will not adopt those and then use them for warfare and forget all about God. The grand lesson is they are the Lord's people, they are fighting holy war, and they are to be dependent upon the Lord.
Again, Davis says, divine help, verses 6 and 8, does not exclude human effort. Verse 7, acting in faith on divine assurance, but it does forbid using human machinery as a substitute for God's aid. So the Lord knows the tendency of His people to trust in those horses, to trust in those chariots, so instead, the horses are hamstrung, and the chariots are destroyed with fire.
The Destruction of Hazor
And then Hazor is destroyed, verses 10 and 11. Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, struck its king. Apparently this was a big city too, in terms of cities. of that particular day. It was one of the big cities, and so it is obvious why they make an example, if you will, out of this city.
You know, if you go on to the schoolyard and you take the 200-pound guy that's got muscles on his muscles and you beat him up, then all the 150-pound guys want nothing. They're not going to mess with you. Probably the same sort of thing here. Hazor was the biggest city.
King of Hazor was the head of this coalition. And so Joshua turns back at that time, takes Hazor. struck its king with the sword, for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing.
Then he burned Hazor with fire." So it was an utter destruction, an utter devastation of that particular city.
Faithfulness of the Lord's Servant
And then that brings us thirdly to consider the faithfulness of the Lord's servant in verses 12 to 15. So all the cities of those kings and all their kings Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. So it was a systematic execution of the inhabitants of those cities. So the conquest is going on.
Remember in the southern campaign, it indicated the several cities by name. Here it's more of a summary. It's an overarching look at what happened here. So he takes the kings, he takes the peoples, and he strikes them with the edge of the sword.
He utterly destroyed them." Now notice, "...as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded." This indicates to us This is God's decree. It is God's plan. This holy war in Canaan is being fought because the Lord had commanded it. It wasn't willy-nilly.
It wasn't a group of people who said, let's go in and utterly devastate this other group of people. No, this was God who spoke to His servant Moses. Moses wrote these things. Moses encouraged.
Moses exhorted. Moses commanded Israel and what we find in the conquest is that Joshua is faithful, Joshua is obedient, Joshua leads the people on to victory. And then verse 13 it's basically essentially says the only city that was burned was Hazor and I think that's important I didn't have time to explore this, but apparently some of these cities were burned in the 13th century, and people have blamed Israel. Well, that brings the dating out of whack to a conservative traditional dating.
The text is conspicuous that other than Jericho and Ai, it's Hazor alone that was burned. So these other cities that were burned wasn't necessarily Israel, so therefore it wasn't the 13th century. It's rather the 15th century, or the 1400s when this conquest actually took place. So the text is conspicuously highlighting this, not to answer this particular thing, but there is an apologetic thrust here.
And by that I mean defense, not I'm sorry. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. and all the spoil of these cities, and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves, but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing." Again, this was what was commanded. This is what the Lord God told them to do. And then the faithfulness of Joshua is seen in verse 15.
As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. Again, he ought to have served as a great model for the kings in Israel that would follow. He wasn't technically the king in Israel, but as leader in Israel, as successor to Moses, his example should have been followed. He was an obedient man.
He did what he was told. God the Lord spoke through his word, and Joshua took it seriously. When we get to Joshua chapter 24, when he says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He ain't kidding.
He's a faithful brother. He is consistent through and through. If anything, in these studies in Joshua, I hope you've been endeared even more to this brother who did things that you and I probably could never do. I mean, he's in breaking things, killing people, delivering the edge of the sword, burning cities, dividing up the spoil, dividing up the land itself under the God of heaven and earth.
The man is certainly obedient. Notice the end of verse 15, he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. Could you imagine that being on your tombstone? I mean, I don't know that we fully appreciate the weight of this sentence.
He left nothing undone. I like the margin in the New King James. He turned aside from nothing. That means whatever God commanded Joshua to do, he did it.
He didn't grumble, he didn't whine, he didn't complain, he didn't disobey. He was faithful to the very end. He had that issue with the Gibeonites to be sure. He didn't seek the Lord, they didn't inquire of the Lord, but he swore to his own hurt and he didn't change.
He honored that covenant with the Gibeonites. He protected them from his own people who wanted their throats and he protected them from that coalition of southern kings who wanted to destroy them. Joshua is a faithful brother, brothers and sisters, one that we ought to emulate, one that we ought to imitate. Certainly a great man of God.
I wonder if the margin would ever say that of us. He turned aside from nothing that God the Lord had commanded. We see this command throughout the Pentateuch, Exodus 34, Numbers 33, Deuteronomy 20, also specifically with reference to Joshua in Numbers 27, Deuteronomy 3 and 31, where God tells them as the nation to go in and dispossess the land And as time goes on, it's obvious that Joshua is going to succeed. Moses, God through Moses, tells Joshua he will be the one to lead these people into Canaan and to destroy the Canaanites and to divvy up the land for the people there.
So certainly a great testimony to our brother Joshua. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses, a great hero of the faith for our consideration.
Summary of the Conquest
And then the summary in verses 16 to 23. Note first the extent Summarizing the extent of the conquest, it deals with the boundaries, deals with regions, verses 16 and 17. Again, there's summary statements. It's telling us the nature of the conquest as it has happened.
And then note the duration, verse 18. Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. Now, we read Joshua, and it seems like it's just like this, right? It takes time to break things and kill people, doesn't it?
I think. I would imagine. I've never gone in and broken things and killed people, but I would imagine it takes time. Remember, Israel didn't have horses and chariots.
Their feet were their horses and chariots. The book of Joshua is a compendium. It is a summary. It is a condensed version.
Not every city is mentioned. Not every stop is mentioned. Not every battle is given. Not every event is described.
Notice in verse 18, Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. Now, based on chapter 14 and verse 10, some calculate it as having taken about seven years. About seven years is what we've covered in ten lessons, okay? So in ten weeks, we think, wow, this book of, you know, they're just moving and shaking and killing and breaking.
I didn't even mean that. That's a little poetry here, right? Seven years. Josephus reckoned five.
So probably between five and seven years. Again, that's one of those things. I didn't have time to search out why Josephus thought five and others think seven. But suffice it to say, it took several years to go about this particular task.
There's a reason for this. Back in Exodus chapter 23. Exodus chapter 23. And then again in Deuteronomy 7.
The text in Exodus 23 at verse 29, I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. You see, if it would have been done in a year before they could have inhabited those particular portions of land, before they could get into the allotments and tribal divisions, there would be wild beasts there. So it's going to take some time. It's going to be gradual.
Little by little, I will drive them out from before you until you have increased and you inherit the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea. Philistia, and from the desert to the river. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you." A similar statement is found in Deuteronomy chapter 7 at verse 22 as well.
Deuteronomy 7.22, And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. Little by little you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Now, I think that sheds some light on Joshua's obedience. I mean, probably most of us could obey God for like two days.
I mean, if it was do or die, yeah, I know we could. I'm giving us the benefit of the doubt. Two days is easier than seven years, right? Seven years of faithfulness.
That's just in the conquest. That's not the time going up to the conquest. It's not the time subsequent to the conquest in terms of the division of the land, the final exhortations, and all those sorts of things. The brother was faithful over the long haul.
We need to understand that Canaan wasn't conquered in a day. Faithfulness over the long haul is crucial to the accomplishment of the mission. It is not the case that the church goes out and evangelizes once and the city falls down and confesses its sins before God. That just doesn't happen.
We need to be faithful. We need to be enduring. We need to be persevering. We need to realize and settle in for the task that is at hand.
The church is not a here today, gone tomorrow sort of a thing. It's not a flash in the pan. We have to build strong so that we can build far. We must be faithful to the long haul.
Just a quote from Dale Ralph Davis where he mentions something about the conquest and then gives a bit of an analogy or parallel to us. He says, the conquest then was a long, grueling, demanding process. Seven years of war. That's a long, demanding, grueling process.
He says, Joshua 2 to 11 rightly gives you the highlights, but you must not think it was merely one hot summer's work. And then he says, I don't want to get drippy and spiritualized, but. It may be proper to point out that this remains one of God's patterns with his people. God's power still works among us, not necessarily in quick flashes, but over a long time, which calls for simple, durable fidelity over such time.
Even though God is at work, many days still consist of washing your face, brushing your teeth, taking out garbage and attending class. That is why you have need of endurance. It is faithful plotting that the Lord God used in the conquest of Canaan. It wasn't just this one time big event where we settle up all accounts.
It's the same with the church. It's not the case where it's just an immediate thing. We need to labor long, we need to pray hard, we need to pray often, we need to be faithful to preach the Word whether it seems as if God is attending in great power or not. Our task, as the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, is to be faithful.
He says, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Not that they be found successful, not that they be found popular, not that they be found everybody's favorite guy, but that they be found faithful. That's the point. That's the emphasis.
Verse 18 jumps out from the passage to tell us this was a long and hard process. Anything that God calls his people to is probably going to be likewise. the Great Commission. We are to go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. We are to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we need to teach them to observe all things that Christ has commanded, and He's promised, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Even to the end of the age. What's the implication? You need to do this to the end of the age. It's not going to happen overnight.
Immediate success is not something that the church ought to look for. In fact, some of us are so to the opposite when there appears to be any sign of success, we're wondering what's going on here. But God the Lord tells us in verse 18 that he made war a long time with all those kings. There's a very important principle here.
We are to be faithful plotters in the Christian life rather than just we're going to get it all done overnight.
The Divine Purpose in Hardening
Notice thirdly, with reference to this summary, we've seen the extent of the conquest, the duration of the conquest. Notice the divine purpose. Verses 19 and 20. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon.
All the others they took in battle." We already know this because we've gone through Joshua chapters 1 to 10, right? We know they've taken them in battle. We've just read about the Northern Campaign. He put the edge of the sword to everybody.
Well, why is this? Verse 20. Again, this isn't just history. It's theological history.
There is a divine purpose behind all this. For It was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Now if you remember in our studies in Matthew over the last few weeks, we've been in a passage that deals with election and reprobation. One of the things we've noticed along the way is that sometimes people balk at that particular doctrine, the doctrine of predestination. because at its root it asserts the Godhood of God.
It writes God entirely too large, as Machen says, and man entirely too small to suit our human pride. And so man likes to reject and man likes to try and argue that that's not really what it says. There is no out in verse 20. There is no escape divine sovereignty in verse 20.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Now, if we've read the Pentateuch, we shouldn't be surprised here. God hardened Pharaoh's heart, right? Now, a lot of people who are opposed to this doctrine of divine sovereignty say, well, Pharaoh hardened his own heart.
The first instance is God hardened Pharaoh's heart. He also hardened either Sihon or Og. The particular king escapes me at this particular moment. I think it was Sihon.
He hardened his heart as well. And so it's not uncommon for God to do this. In the language of Calvin, it is simply, hence the hardness is called his work because it secures the accomplishment of his design. He will harden that heart so he can accomplish his purpose.
The victory of Israel, the punishment and judgment of the wicked Canaanites. God the Lord is operating according to his own sovereign prerogatives and privilege. And so it says, it was of the Lord to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them. In case you have a problem with that, let me just tell you twice.
It's that He might destroy them. You see that? It's almost like the author of Joshua is writing against Arminians. It's almost like he's writing against the opponents of sovereign grace.
How dare God do that? Well, let me just tell you again. He hardens their hearts so that they will not, or should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them. And that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Make no mistake about it. Our God is sovereign. Our God controls events. There is an eternal purpose and plan.
There is an eternal decree. It is being orchestrated by a good, gracious, merciful, kind, and loving God. The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and he turns it wherever he wishes the way the waters go in their particular channels. If you think, and I don't think any of you think this, but if someone thinks that they can run from Joshua 11, 20 into the New Testament to try and hide against the sovereign God, may I suggest he stop at Jesus' prayer in Matthew 11, 25 and 26.
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you did hide these things from the wise and prudent, and you revealed them to babes." May I suggest that he keeps running from Matthew 11 into Romans 9, and there he will see even again that God hardens whom He hardens, and He shows mercy to whom He shows mercy. There is no escaping. You cannot leave the Old Testament into what you think is a nicer, calmer, more settled New Testament to try and escape divine sovereignty. There is no escape.
We live in a world governed by a sovereign God. We live in a world under control. We live in a world that is foreordained, predestined, whatever you want to call it. God the Lord is in charge.
And that is the point in verse 20.
The Defeat of the Anakim
Notice with reference to this summary, fourthly, the anarchy are mentioned. Again, I think this is just a shot in the arm to the people of Israel. Praise your God. Remember the Anakim?
They were those giants in the land that terrified that first generation. Numbers 13, we don't want to go into the land because there's Anakim there. That literally means long necks is what Anakim translates to. Giraffe type people.
No, I'm kidding. That one guy would think they were probably lion-like people and giraffe-type people. But they were afraid of the Anakim. The Anakim were a foe.
They were formidable. They were paralyzing in terms of what they were and how they had ability. Look at what we find here. Verse 21, and at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains. from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel.
Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel. They did remain, though, in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. It wasn't an utter destruction.
There were still Anakim, but they were defanged, and they were cut off at the feet. They no longer had that They no longer had that strength. They had been defeated. And that is the point.
As we continue or as we summarize this conquest, that fearful foe that caused the first generation to tremble has been taken care of by God the Lord in his goodness and in his kindness.
Official Summary and Transition
And then the fifth observation with reference to the summary is an official summary and transition as I've already mentioned in verse 23. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses. Now when you read that, and you look at chapter 13, verse 1, you say, wait a minute. Chapter 13, verse 1.
Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him, you're old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed." You'll see similar statements along the way in Joshua. And lo and behold, when you get to Judges, you still see them having to go in and engage the enemy. How could it be said that Joshua took the whole land?
I think Kyle and Dalich explain it very well. The taking of the whole land does not imply that all the towns and villages to the very last had been conquered or that all the Canaanites were rooted out from every corner of the land. but simply that the conquest was of such a character that the power of the Canaanites was broken. Their dominion overthrown and their whole land so thoroughly given into the hands of the Israelites that those who still remained here and there were crushed into powerless fugitives who could neither offer any further opposition to the Israelites nor dispute the possession of the land with them. If they would only strive to fulfill the commandments of their God, and persevere in the gradual extermination of the scattered remnants.
Moreover, Israel had received the strongest pledge in the powerful help which it had received from the Lord in the conquest thus far obtained that the faithful covenant God would continue his help in the conflicts which still remain and secure for it a complete victory and the full possession of the promised land." In other words, they broke the back of their enemy. Yeah, there were pockets. Yeah, there were still some places. But all in all, Joshua and the children of Israel had taken the whole land.
So they were faithful. The land then had rest from the war. And they were able to divide up the portions for the people in the various tribes. And then the emphasis, as I said at the end of the book, is how do we keep this land?
And that's where in Israel ultimately falls. Judges already starts. The downfall, the rest of the historical books, the former prophets and following, show us that they did not remain faithful and were ultimately cast out of the land by God himself. So that's chapter 11, the northern campaign. and the summary of the entirety of the conquest up to this point.
So let's close in prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your faithfulness. Certainly it jumps out at us from every chapter in this great book. We know that you promised to Abraham and we know that you delivered on that promise. We pray, Father, that we would learn the lessons from passages such as these, that we would have assurance, that we would have faith, that we would have strength and courage, and that we would be faithful for the long haul.
We just pray that you would bless us and strengthen us and encourage our hearts, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.