Joshua 10:29-12:24 "From South to North"

"All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

That is an important reminder when we come to passages like this.

This is not only a true historical account of what happened when Israel invaded the Land.

It is also profitable for you.

1. The Southern Campaign (10:29-43)

From Makkedah to Libnah (29-30)

Indeed, the profit is evident from the very first verse of our text.

"Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah..."

You know the story of Moses!

Then Israel grumbled against the LORD, and complained against Moses,

saying, "why have you brought us into the wilderness to perish?!"

Israel is following Joshua.

They are obeying his voice, and are conquering the nations.

And so v30 declares, "And the LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel."

The lesson is plain:

God will destroy his enemies through the hand of his anointed conqueror!

If you want to live in the promised land-the eternal inheritance-

then you must line up behind the anointed conqueror and follow him.

"If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

These 15 verses at the end of chapter 10 chronicle the destruction of the southern Canaanites.

Libnah falls in verse 30.

Lachish in verse 32 (along with Gezer-v 33)

Eglon in verse 35

Hebron in verse 37 (also known as Kiriath Arba-the place where Sarah died-later a royal city)

Debir in verse 39

These were the leading cities of the Canaanites in the south.

Chapter 10 may make it sound as though they have killed everyone in the south.

That is not quite true.

To say that "he devoted to destruction all that breathed,

Just as the LORD God of Israel commanded"

is not the same as saying that there are no Canaanites left in the south.

You have to capture them before you can kill them!

All the text says is that Joshua was faithful to God's command.

They are destroying their enemies, rather than letting them live

(even if many may be fleeing into the hills).

As later chapters will reveal, there is still more work to be done.

But having captured the leading cities, and slaughtered many thousands throughout the south,

Joshua has quickly cut off the war-making power of the southern Canaanites.

And in verse 42 we here the main point of all this:

"And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time,

because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel."

Note the connection between Land and Seed.

The kings of the nations are the heirs of their gods.

As the Holy Seed now comes into the land,

the seed of the Serpent is driven back.

2. The Northern Campaign (11:1-15)

The Northern Alliance (1-5)

But Joshua's blitzkrieg triumph in the south only rouses the wrath of the nations against him.

The Northern Alliance gathers the hosts of hell against him:

Jabin, king of Hazor, gathers the forces of the nations together.

Jabin may be the dynastic name of Hazor,

since another Jabin of Hazor will be named in Judges 4,

as the king who sends Sisera against Israel.

But Jabin gathers an alliance of Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,

Jebusites and Hivites, against Israel.

And they come "a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore,

with very many horses and chariots.

And Jabin comes against Israel at the waters of Merom,

literally, the waters of the Heights.

There is no other reference to Merom in scripture.

But the combination is interesting.

Jabin assembles a great army-compared to the sand on the seashore,

which was part of God's promise to Abraham.

This is a counterfeit army.

They have assembled a great horde against the people of God.

You might say that Jabin is the pre-Anti-christ!

And he gathers at the waters of the heights,

(The word used for the high places of worship)

If you look at the battle of Revelation 19,

you see its fore-telling in the Battle of the Waters of Merom.

Many nations are gathering together to put an end to the Lord's Anointed.

The Defeat of the Northern Alliance (6-9)

The LORD speaks to Joshua and declares the defeat of the Northern Alliance.

And he commands them to burn their chariots in the fire.

This was a missed opportunity.

Israel could have become a leading power in the region

if they had captured those chariots and trained....

Oh, wait.

That wasn't the point!

God is the one who fights for his people.

They don't need the latest and greatest technology.

They need the Word of the LORD to go before them and defeat their enemies.

And that is precise what God does.

God gave them into the hand of Israel,

and so Joshua did as the LORD commanded.

He burned the chariots in the fire and hamstrung the horses.

Our God is the Divine Warrior.

He does not need our nifty military technology to win his battles.

The Destruction of the Northern Alliance (10-15)

Indeed, with the LORD going before him,

Joshua is able to capture all the leading cities of his enemies

(Read 12-13)

Hazor is punished for heading up the Northern Alliance.

It alone is burned.

But all the cities are decimated,

as Israel brings the final judgment against these nations.

3. Summary of the Conquest (11:16-23)

Verses 16-23 then give us a summary of the conquest of Canaan.

The Conquest of the Land (16-20)

The point of the conquest is stated clearly in verse 20.

God's purpose was to bring judgment against these nations,

as a picture of what is in store for any nation that does not yield itself to the Lord.

The Conquest of the Seed (21-23)

Verses 21-23 then summarize the conquest of the seed.

The Anakim are the giants.

Anak was a Canaanite warrior-goddess.

The Anakim, then, are her great warriors.

But now the sons of God, led by Joshua, the anointed conqueror,

cut off the Anakim from the land.

Only a few are left in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

The chief cities of the Philistines!

Indeed, many years later another of the Anakim will arise and taunt Israel,

claiming that Yahweh could not defend them.

And God will not raise up a mighty warrior to face him.

No, God will call a shepherd boy to cast down the mighty Goliath.

The Seed of the Woman must triumph over the seed of the serpent.

Israel must destroy the Anakim.

(Verse 23)

And the land had rest from war.

We'll see later that there are still foes to be fought.

But the point is that Joshua was faithful.

He overthrew all the major cities,

many of which Israel captured and inhabited.

(Others apparently they were unable to inhabit quickly,

and so the locals were able to reassert control-see Judges 1)

He slaughtered all those devoted to destruction.

It would have been impossible to track down

every single member of the seven nations in a matter of one lifetime,

but Joshua did all that God had said.

And so we have the prelude to the division of the inheritance that starts in ch 13.

4. Retrospect (12)

But before we move on,

we are given one last retrospect at the conquest.

Kings Defeated by Moses East of the Jordan (1-6)

Moses had conquered two kings on the east side of the Jordan.

Sihon (v2-3)

and

Og (v4-5) of Bashan-of the remnant of the Rephaim (Anakim)

Called a remnant because in Genesis 14-they had been overthrown

But then we here in verses 7-24 of the:

Kings Defeated by Joshua West of the Jordan (7-24)

There were 31 kings in all.

Do you see God's providence at work?

31 kings with their fortified towns fell against the armies of the LORD.

Whose armies were truly "like the sand of the seashore"?

It is Abraham's seed who triumphs over the nations.

From South to North, his victory is to be celebrated by all his people.

Praise the LORD!!