Once the word got out that the Israelites destroyed all of the southern cities and completely wiped out the people, others in the area were, obviously, terrified. In this chapter, King Jabin of Hazor, wanted to unite forces with the rest of the northern kings to fight against Israel. As a result, “...he sent urgent messages to the following kings: King Jabab of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Acshaph; all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee; the kings in the western foothills; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west; the kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites; the kings in the Jebusite hill country; and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon, in the land of Mizpah.” (Joshua 11:1-3)
Wow...that is a lot of kings and a lot of fighting power! My bible says in verse 4, the combined armies covered the land like “sand on the seashore”.
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow they will all be dead. (That’s my God!) Cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” (verse 6)
So Joshua and his warriors traveled to the location where the kings and their armies had camped and attacked them suddenly. “And the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was left alive. Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.” (Joshua 11:8-9)
That is crazy! All of those warriors, like sand on the seashore, and they were no match for Israel! I’ve said it many times before...If God is on our side, who can be against us???
Joshua and the Israelites went on to completely destroy all of the cities and people, just as Moses had commanded. “And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses.” (verse 15)
So Joshua conquered the entire region -- the hill country, the Negev, the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, and the mountains and lowlands of Israel. The Israelite territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir, to Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. The Hivites of Gibeon were the only people who made peace with the Israelites. “All the others were destroyed. “For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites instead of asking for peace.” (verse 20) Wow...God is always in control.
Remember the descendants of Anak? They were the giants that the Israelites were afraid of when Moses sent a few men to spy out the Promised Land in Canaan. When they returned, the men spread fear amongst the people and they didn’t trust God would make them victorious over these giants. This was the point at which God was fed up with Israel and sentenced them to the wilderness for forty years! Well, while Joshua was conquering all of these northern kings and cites, he “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. Not one was left in all the land of Israel, though some still remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.” (Joshua 11:21-22) Wow! Won’t God do it???
The chapter ends with Joshua taking complete control of the entire land, the Promised Land, and giving it to the people of Israel as their special possession, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Lord, thank you for your Word today! We are more than conquerors! Thank you for being on our side. We can do all things with you...no fight and no enemy is too large for you! We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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