Wednesday Night Bible Study….(Announcements): www.ebcnc.com (calendar & information) Continues the Fighting Joshua 10:28-39; No indication of time is given for the rest of the chapter, but the implication is that the rest of southern fell in weeks, perhaps days, from this point. Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, , and Debir all fell to the Israelites. The geographical and topographical accuracy of the text is attested by the statement And Joshua went up from Eglon … unto Hebron, since Hebron is situated on the hills of Judah while Eglon is down in the plain of the Philistines

Joshua 10:40 So Joshua conquered all the land: the mountain country and the South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.

Joshua 10:41 And Joshua conquered them from Kadesh Barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon. :42 All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. :43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. What can we learn from these verses?

Joshua Captures Towns in the North Joshua 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,

When word of Joshua’s victories fltered northward into Galilee, the kings of that area immediately formed a protective alliance.

Joshua 11:2 and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, :3 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. :4 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. :5 And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fght against Israel.

The coalition army included the kings north of the mountains to the south of Galilee (Chinneroth) and westward to the coast at Dor. The league was made up of the Canaanite, Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Hivite. The multitudinous hosts were as numerous as the sands of the sea (a poetic phrase common in Hebrew,) and fercely strong, with horses and chariots very many.

The Israelites held cavalry and chariots in particular esteem. The northern alliance war machine gathered by the now drained Lake Huleh, which was at that time called Merom.

Joshua 11:6 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 fre.” As God had already frequently done (see 1:6–7, 9; 8:1; etc.), He again encouraged Joshua. And as He had also frequently done (see 1:1–3; 3:7; 6:2; etc.), God again gave Joshua a promise. Also, as He had frequently done before (see 3:8, 12–13; 6:3–4; 8:2; etc.), God again gave a plan of attack to Joshua. God’s encouragement was Be not afraid. His promise was for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel. His plan was to hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots.A horse is hamstrung when the sinews behind the hoof or hock are severed, thus rendering the horse useless. Given the larger picture of war, this was not a cruel act, but was probably done to prevent the Israelites from amassing a large chariot force from the spoils of war (see Deut 17:16; Ps 20:7; Isa 31:1). God would be their only trust.

Joshua 11:7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. :8 And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. :9 So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fre. 1 Digital Copies can be found at: http://bit.ly/19k0HFJ No doubt swooping down from the mountain passes, the armies of Israel employed their usual swift and surprise attack. Quickly, as He had promised, the Lord delivered the northern alliance into Joshua’s hand, who chased them unto great Zidon. Zidon is called “great” to indicate its importance.

Misrephoth-main, meaning “burnings of waters,” probably denotes either salt pits or hot springs. Joshua did all that the Lord had commanded him to do.

Joshua 11:10 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. :11 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 fre. :12 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. :13 But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. :14 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.

Having pursued the enemy all the way to the sea, Joshua now returned to destroy the capital of the confederacy. So complete was the destruction of Hazor that nothing that breathed was left. Joshua burned the city, something he did not do to the cities that stood still in their strength. This implies cities that were “heaped up,” or built high mounds for defense and strength, like the castles along the Rhine.

Joshua 11:15 As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

This verse gives witness to Joshua’s simple faith in God and his implicit obedience to God’s commands.

Some of those commands were given to Moses; nevertheless, Joshua carried out the commands as if they were his own.

Joshua was a soldier and as such had learned to obey every command without question.

He had learned to assume the responsibility for those commands given to his superiors, and thus Joshua left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.

Joshua 11:16 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,

The conquests of Israel included the hills, the highlands of Judah north and south of Jerusalem, the south country, the Negev or dry country of the south, Goshen, that area which leads to Egypt, the valley or Shephelah, which was a piedmont area stretching from Gaza northward to Joppa, and the plain, or Arabah. Both mountains and valleys were captured by Israel.

Joshua 11:17 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.

The northern areas subdued by Israel extend to mount Halak, the “smooth mountain that goes up to Seir,” the mountainous region well-known in the territory of Esau (Gen 32:3). To distinguish even further the far-reaching northern conquests is added the description even unto Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley at the base of mount Hermon. Baal-gad has been variously interpreted as Baalbek in Lebanon, Heliopolis in Syria, or Caesarea-Philippi in Israel. The exact identifcation of Baal-gad, which means “the lord of fortune,” is tenuous; but Caesarea-Philippi is most likely.

Joshua 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. :19 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. :20 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. Page 2 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. So great was the hatred for Jehovah and His people that only the Hivites made peace with Israel. All the rest made war and lost.

Once again Joshua explains that even this was in the plan of God: For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle. Thus, the Lord God could utterly destroy the paganism that would have destroyed His people. What are your thoughts on this?

Joshua 11:21 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. :22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in , and in .

The Anakim. Literally, “the long-necked” men, these were the gigantic children of Anak (Num 13:28, 33; Josh 15:13–14). Their long-necked character may be the derivation of the German nacken and the English neck. The Hebrew word is used of the chains around camels’ necks (Jud 8:26) and even of a necklace (Song 4:9).

The children of Anak were subdued from the mountains and cut off from Hebron, from Debir, and from Anab, a town about ten miles southwest of Hebron. The only places the Anakim retained were Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

It may be that the later Philistine “” of Gath was actually a descendant of the Anakim.

Joshua 11:23 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.

The word “whole” (Heb kal) is meant to imply that he had established an unquestioned military presence in the land, and not that he had subdued every nook and cranny of the land.

The remaining inhabitants would be expatriated by degrees. This was in the divine plan (see Jud 2:20–23). With the tremendous conquests of Joshua in the South and in the North, the land rested from war.

Joshua 12 (Summary of Kings conquered by Moses and Joshua)

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE PROMISED LAND (Chaps. 13–21)

Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed.

These words of the Lord to Joshua speak a timeless truth. Joshua was now of advanced age, and he had brought Israel well along the road to the blessing promised to them by Jacob (Gen 49) and by Moses (Deut 33). Yet, it was now Israel’s responsibility to “possess” her possession, to colonize her designated territories.

What was true of Israel is also true of the Christian church today. We have been around many years as an organized body of believers, but there is still much land to be possessed for the Lord Jesus. How can this be done?

The Apostle Paul may have had this thought in mind when he chided, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Cor 15:34).

Joshua 13:18-33 (Reading Homework)- Summary and Interesting points… Dropping Levi from the tribes leaves only eleven tribes. But Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are included in Joseph’s place, and that raises the number to twelve again. The reason Joseph’s sons are included is that they were adopted by Jacob as his own sons before his death (Gen. 48:5).

Special mention is made of the fact that Balaam was among those slain in Transjordan (v. 22). The Lord had not forgotten the terrible calamity that this wicked prophet caused His people (see Num. 23– 25). “Be sure your sin will fnd you out” (Num. 32:23).

Page 3 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.