Today's lesson comes from Joshua 11: 1-12, 15, 23. The study deals with Joshua's northern campaign. As we look into the material, you need to understand the size of the enemy force the Israelites are facing. It is massive. They have chariots and horses, and Joshua only has an infantry. It is appropriate to draw some spiritual lessons because many times in this life we face huge problems.
After completing the southern campaign, Joshua and the troops return to their base in Gilgal. The people rested at Gilgal briefly before hearing word that a coalition of the cities of the north was forming. The Israelites marched northward and as they came closer to the Sea of Galilee, they learned that the enemy were assembled at the waters of Merom. The spring was nine miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee.
The first section is: "A Multitude Against Israel." (v. 1-5) Jabin was the leader of the Canaanite forces. He was king of Hazor, a main city in the northern region. After hearing about Joshua's victories, Jabin sends word to all the surrounding cities and kings to come and join him. The historian Josephus estimated the combined army was 300,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 horses, and 20,000 chariots. In the natural, Joshua had no chance. He only had an infantry, no horses or chariots. The chariots had long scythes. A scythe was a long shaped curved blade for cutting grass or wheat. With the scythes, the chariots could sweep through a line of infantry men and cut them to pieces. Thank God that Joshua was not depending on human means. He had marching orders from God and that was his assurance. Joshua would attack first.
The summary points of this section are:
1. It is not by human strength we prevail, but by the power of God.
2. Sometimes it is best to attack the spiritual enemies first.
3. While we don't ignore the physical circumstances, we must see the spiritual realities and follow God's Word.
The second section is: "Israel Smote Them." (vv. 6-9) The LORD gives Joshua some additional assurance in verse 6. "Be not afraid because of them: for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel." Further, God tells Joshua to disable their horses and burn their chariots. This would prevent them from creating a new army to attack Joshua.
Joshua uses a technique he used at Ai and Gibeon. He launched a surprise attack when the enemy was not ready. This threw the Canaanites into confusion, and "the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel." The enemy split into two sections. Some fled westwards toward Zidon and the other eastward toward Mizpeh. It was a total victory!
The summary points of this section are:
1. The more intense the battle, the sweeter the victory.
2. What God promises, He will deliver.
3. God is able to intervene into the lives of unbelievers to bring about the victory for His people.
The third section is: "All the Cities Taken." (vv. 10-14) Having slain the enemy forces, Joshua retuned to the city of Hazor. The city was now defenseless without its army. Joshua took the city and killed the king. Further, Joshua slew all the inhabitants of the city, and then he "burnt Hazor with fire." Hazor became a symbol of the futility of resisting Israel. It was clear that Israel could destroy any city in Canaan.
Joshua continued his campaign in the north taking all the cities of the coalition. He killed all the kings and the inhabitants of the cities in obedience to God's commands. However, he took spoil of these cities and the cattle (v. 14), but they left no person alive.
The summary points of this section are:
1. It is not enough to merely defeat the enemy; they must be destroyed less a new foe should arise.
2. We get spiritual spoils when we win spiritual battles.
3. God wants sin destroyed in our lives so we must leave no place for it to reside.
The fourth section is: "As the Lord Commanded." (VV. 15, 23) Verse 15 provides the chain of command: the LORD commanded Moses and Moses commanded Joshua and Joshua obeyed. "He left nothing undone." Joshua did not question the commands, nor did he cut corners or take a lesser stand. You can read a summary of the military campaigns and conquests starting at verse 16 until the end of chapter 12. It was God's will to utterly destroy those people because of their idolatry and evil. Verse 23 provides a summary for the first 11 chapters of the book: "Joshia took the whole land." It is also a preface for the rest of the book: "Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel." Now, "the land rested from war." The major conflicts were now over, but there was still much land to be possessed (13:1). There would be minor skirmishes that would still need to be fought, but the major battles were over.
The summary points of this section are:
1. When we come to Christ, our sins are forgiven and the major fight over, but there will still be temptations we will have to face.
2. Obedience brings the best results in our lives.
3. Never question the Word of the LORD.
The Golden Text is: "He left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses." (Joshua 11:15) There was no decline in spiritual obedience from Moses to Joshua. The promises given to Moses would be fulfilled in Joshua's time. In the same way, we owe the generations to come behind us the same degree of spiritual obedience that we received from our elders. This does not to be occurring in our churches today. Today, too many churches preach a watered-down gospel. My expression is that "the pastors are driving a yellow happy bus with their congregations with the next stop hell." May we be faithful to preach the whole gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Next week: "Caleb's Inheritance." (Joshua 14: 1-14)
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