JOSHUA CHAPTER 10:29-11:23,
“Dividing And Conquering The
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. In our last study, we looked
at Joshua and the Israelites coming to the defense of the Gibeonites, whom they
had recently made a covenant of peace with after being deceived by them, when some of the kings in the land joined
together to attack Gibeon. In the battle
that ensued, Joshua and the children of
1.1.1. We looked at the Devil when
he comes to us as Christians as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
1.1.1.1.
In that story, we saw that a second federation of kings was formed,
comprised of those closer to Gibeon, and they united to attack
1.1.2. We saw that the Lord fought
for the children of
1.1.2.1.
First, He dismayed their enemies before them.
1.1.2.2.
Then, He worked in a completely miraculous way by throwing down huge
hail stones upon them and killing more with the hail stones than the children of
Israel themselves slew with the sword.
1.1.2.3.
Finally, Joshua by faith commanded the sun and the moon to stand still,
and miraculously the Lord performed this miracle so that Joshua and the children
of
1.1.3. We were reminded that the
Christian life is just one battle after the other, and the sooner we come to
grips with the fact that we have an enemy, that we are in a war, and that we
need to get vigilant and be on the offensive, the better for us and the more we
will be used by the Lord in the lives of people in this world.
1.1.4. We looked at the fact that
we as Christians need to make a full scale attack plan against the Devil, and
not just live our lives putting out the fires of the attacks of the enemy.
1.2. In our study today, we are
going to look at Joshua and the children of
1.2.1. In our previous study, we
concentrated on how we as Christians need to go on the offensive against the
Devil, and never be on the defensive, never just live our lives putting out the
fires that the Devil, our enemy, has created.
1.2.2. In that study, as we saw
Joshua remove the 5 kings whose armies he had conquered from the cave where
they had fled to and been sealed in, and then he told his chief men to place
their feet on the necks of these 5 kings as he told them that in the same way
that they defeated these kings that they would also have victory over all of
their enemies. We concentrated therefore
upon the fact that we as Christians needed to make a full scale attack against
our enemy, and attack on all fronts. We
needed to make a plan to completely eradicate all of our enemies of the world,
the flesh, and the Devil, and, we needed to be committed to going out and
winning all of the lost people of this world to Christ, and thus take back that
which the enemy had stolen.
1.2.2.1.
Alan Redpath has the following quote in regard to this, “There will
be no victory in the name of Christ until you declare total war against
everything in your life that is sinful.
Fancy you and me having our feet on the neck of jealousy, of pride, of a
critical spirit, of a harsh tongue! Fancy
our having our feet on the neck of every crippling thing in our Christian testimony! …I ask you in the name of heaven, are you
attacking on all fronts? Have you
identified yourselves by declaring war
on pride, on self, on tongue, and on criticism, by determining to attack and
conquer them in the name of Jesus? You
have a constant attitude to maintain, and a victory to claim.”
1.2.3. In our study today, we are
going to see that Joshua and the children of Israel go on that all out attack
against all of their enemies and that they press on in dividing up and
conquering of the land of Canaan, until they have conquered every one of their
enemies.
1.2.3.1.
Alexander the Great, Napolean, and every great general who conquered
nations and continents used this strategy that Joshua used of dividing up and
conquering the land.
1.2.4. The events of Joshua 10:29
through chapter 11 when the land is completely conquered actually take a
considerable time to complete. In these
remaining battles, there are not many new principles to explore regarding their
conquering of the
1.2.4.1.
The word of God doesn’t give us every detail of history, rather it
gives us every detail that the Lord deems to be essential for our spiritual
growth and walking in the victory that we can have in Christ.
1.2.5. The total time that it took
for Joshua and the children of
1.2.5.1.
Caleb was 40 years old when the children of
1.2.5.2.
38 years passed from the rebellion in Kadesh Barnea until they crossed
the
1.2.5.3.
It is written that Caleb was 85 years old when the conquest of
1.2.6. There are five things which
I believe gave Joshua and the children of
1.2.6.1.
The children of
1.2.6.1.1.
This fact should encourage us as Christians that we too must depend
upon the Lord for the victories in our lives against our enemies, for it is the
fact also for us that when we fail to have victory over them it is because we
have not trusted in faith for the Lord to help us.
1.2.6.2.
The children of Israel were assured victory in their conquests in the
land of Canaan, and they could have just sat back and waited for the Lord to
bring the battle and their enemies to them to conquer, however we see that the
Lord only gives His children victory over their enemies as they are committed
to the commission the Lord has given them and as they step out in a faith that
is not faith in faith itself, but rather a faith that is resting upon His
promises.
1.2.6.2.1.
This is equivalent to the New Testament concept from Philippians
chapter 3 where Paul writes that with fear and trembling we Christians are to
work out the things that God is working into our lives.
1.2.6.2.2.
For us as Christians, there are no armchair victories, for we must be
committed to stepping out and be on the move so that the Lord can direct us
where He wants us to go.
1.2.6.2.2.1.
Illustration: Its much easier to
steer a car that is moving than one that is parked, and in the same way it is
much easier for the Lord to direct us if we are walking in faith and stepping
out and apprehending those things that the Lord has given us as our inheritance
in Christ.
1.2.6.3.
The children of
1.2.6.3.1.
In the many times that they come upon their enemies suddenly and take
them by surprise.
1.2.6.3.2.
In the fact that they are not daunted nor discouraged in their campaign
by overwhelming forces that will amass against them.
1.2.6.4.
We see that Joshua and the children of
1.2.6.4.1.
Yet again, we Christians are reminded that it is only as we are
obedient to the Lord that we shall walk in the victory and blessing that is our
inheritance in Christ as children of God.
1.2.6.5.
The children of
1.2.6.5.1.
The scriptures challenge us as Christians to have the mentality of a
soldier for Christ and therefore to persevere in carrying out the Great
Commission of Christ as well as the individual calling that the Lord has given
to each of us, without letting our focus become distracted by the everyday
cares of life.
1.2.6.5.1.1.
2 Tim. 2:3-4, “3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus.4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of
everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”
1.2.6.6.
When the children of
2. VS 10:29-30 - “29 Then Joshua and all
2.1. Here, we see that having
conquered the kings and peoples in the central part of the
2.2. We see in these verses that Joshua
and the children of
3. VS 10:31-33 - “31 And Joshua and all Israel
with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought
against it.32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he
captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it
with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Horam king of
3.1. Here we see that not only
do Joshua and the children of
3.2. As was mentioned earlier in our study of Joshua, the
peoples in the
3.2.1. We read in Joshua 16:10 that
the city of Gezer was never completely conquered by the children of
Israel, “10 But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer,
so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became
forced laborers.”
3.2.2. It is true for us as
Christians also that though we should and are called to do so that none of us
every conquer all of our enemies.
3.2.2.1.
Joke: Remember the next time that your are caught up in traffic that
there is always going to be some old
4. VS 10:34-43 - “34 And Joshua and all Israel
with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought
against it.35 And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of
the sword; and he utterly destroyed that day every person who was in it,
according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all
4.1. Joshua and the children of
Israel conquer and annihilate all of the people of the cities of Eglon, Hebron,
and Debir.
4.2. Joshua tells us that they
conquered ‘all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the
slopes and all their kings’ as well as all of the peoples ‘from Kadesh-barnea
even as far as Gaza, …all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon…all these
kings and their lands at one time.’
4.3. Notice in verse 42 that
Joshua tells us the reason that they were victorious in all of these battles
was ‘because the Lord the God of
4.3.1. In Deut. 20:3-4, as
well as many other places in the scripture the Lord has promised to His people
that if they will just look to Him for their help, hope, and strength that He
will fight for them and give them victory, “3 “And he shall say to them,
‘Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do
not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them,4 for
the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your
enemies, to save you.’”
4.3.2. The Psalmist in Ps. 44:3 wrote
about the fact that
4.4. As was mentioned at the
outset of this study, we Christians only fail to have victory when we trust in
ourselves and our strength, will power, goodness, righteousness, etc., rather
than in the Lord. When we trust in the
Lord and the power of His might He will also give us glorious victory over all
of our enemies and we will learn the truth of Rom. 8:31-32, “ 31 What then
shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?32 He who did
not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also
with Him freely give us all things?”
We also have the promise, “Greater is He that is in you than He that
is in the world!” (1 John 4:4)
4.5. Note that after this
successful campaign in the southern portion of the
4.6. We have seen now in the last
couple of chapters that Gilgal has also become the place where the children of
5. VS 11:1-9 - “1 Then it came about, when Jabin
king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon and to the king
of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph,2 and to the kings who were of the north
in the hill country, and in the Arabah—south of Chinneroth and in the lowland
and on the heights of Dor on the west—3 to the Canaanite on the east and on the
west, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the
hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.4 And
they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand
that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.5 So all of these
kings having agreed to meet, came and encamped together at the waters of Merom,
to fight against Israel. 6 Then the Lord
said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I
will deliver all of them slain before
5.1. Joshua and the children of
5.2. Here now at the beginning of
the northern campaign of the
5.3. This group of people is so
large that its size is described in hyperbolic language as having as many
people as the sand on the seashore.
5.4. Not only is this multitude
very large in number, but they also have many chariots, and these were most
likely equipped with various implements of war such as spears and shields.
5.4.1. There are some Psalms and
Proverbs which contain promises for God’s people about not worrying
about those who come to fight against us using horses and chariots, for it
is the Lord who fights for us, for instance:
5.4.1.1.
Ps. 33:16-17, “16 The king is not saved by a
mighty army; A warrior is not delivered
by great strength. 17 A horse is a false
hope for victory; Nor does it deliver
anyone by its great strength.”
5.4.1.2.
Prov. 21:31, “31 The horse is prepared for the
day of battle, But victory belongs to the Lord.”
5.5. Notice that all of the
chariots whom Joshua and the children of
5.6. In the spiritual realm, we
Christians are doing battle with wicked spirits that are incredibly powerful
and crafty, but they are no match for our Lord.
Therefore, we too do not need to worry about them but just look to the
Lord to fight for us also.
5.7. The children of
5.7.1. Is it not true for us as
Christians that every trial that we endure and every test that we pass just
prepares us for the next greater challenge that the Lord brings into our life
as we are walking with Him and trying to be faithful to our commission and
calling as Christians? As we are now
walking in the victory and blessing that is our inheritance as Christians?
5.7.2. Just as the Lord just
continued to give the children of Israel victory over all of their enemies, so
the Lord is able to give us victory in every temptation and strength to endure
every trial for
the Lord promises us in 1 Cor. 10:13 that He will never give us more
than we can endure, “13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is
common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond
what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also,
that you may be able to endure it.”
5.8. Joshua is understandably
shaken by
this huge federation that has amassed against him, and we know that this is
true because the Lord in verse 6 tells him not to be afraid and then guarantees
him victory in battle on the very next day.
5.9. Rather than retreat and cut
his losses, Joshua instead acts upon his faith in the Lord with great zeal and
comes upon this huge federated army suddenly on that next day and attacks them.
5.10.
This great army was no match for the Lord as He fought in battle for
Joshua and the children of
6. VS 11:10-15 - “10 Then Joshua turned back at
that time, and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor
formerly was the head of all these kingdoms.11 And they struck every person who
was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one
left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire.12 And Joshua captured all the
cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of
the sword, and utterly destroyed them; just as Moses the servant of the Lord
had commanded.13 However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their
mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.14 And all the spoil of these
cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they
struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them.
They left no one who breathed.15 Just 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.” -
Joshua and the children of
6.1. The city of
6.1.1. Yet again we see that in all
that he does, Joshua is careful to inspire the people’s faith in the Lord. This is a key quality of an effective leader
in God’s kingdom.
6.2. All of the cities of the
kings that had amassed the federation to come against Joshua and the children of
6.3. This completed the conquest
of the northern portion of the
7. VS 11:16-20 - “16 Thus Joshua took all that
land: the hill country and all the Negev, all that land of Goshen, the lowland,
the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland17 from Mount Halak, that
rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot
of Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them down and put
them to death.18 Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.19 There was
not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living
in Gibeon; they took them all in battle.20 For it was of the Lord to harden
their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy
them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as
the Lord had commanded Moses.” - Joshua
tells us that he and the children of
7.1. Joshua details for us all of
the
7.1.1. The hill country.
7.1.2. The
7.1.3. The
7.1.4. The Lowland.
7.1.5. The Arabah.
7.1.6. The hill country of
7.1.7. From
7.2. The long time in verse 18
refers to the long time that it took to conquer the entire
7.3. Joshua tells us that all of
the inhabitants of the cities and lands that they conquered were put to death, with the only exception
being the ‘Hivites,’ who were the people of the city of Gibeon with whom
they had earlier made a covenant of peace with after being deceived by them.
8. VS 11:21-22 - “21 Then Joshua came at that time
and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from
Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of
Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.22 There were no Anakim
left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod
some remained.” - Joshua tells us that even the
Anakim were destroyed in all of their cities
8.1. The Anakim were the race of
Giants whom the 12 spies sent by Moses from Kadesh Barnea had originally seen,
after which 10 of the spies were too fearful to want to go into the land of
Canaan and conquer the land, and they inspired fear and rebellion against the
Lord among the people.
8.1.1. In these verses, we are
encouraged because the Lord was faithful in giving victory to the children of
8.1.2. Isn’t it appropriate then
that Joshua should end his description of the conquests of the land of Canaan
by describing the victory in battle over these Anakim who once paralyzed the
nation with fear?
8.2. 1 Sam. 17:4 points out to us
that the giant Goliath whom David fought was from Gath, so Joshua and the
children of Israel must not at this point in time have actually killed every
single one of these Anakim, or giants, from the city of Gath, “4 Then a
champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath,
whose height was six cubits and a span.”
8.2.1. Note from this verse that Goliaths
height was approx. 10 feet tall.
9. VS 11:23 - “23 So Joshua took the whole
land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it
for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus
the land had rest from war.” - Joshua
tells us that after all of the peoples were conquered the land finally ‘had
rest from war’
9.1. Here we see that Joshua
and the children of
9.2. There will be more
conquering to do, however what this verse tells us is basically that all of the
strongholds in the
9.2.1. The fact that after Joshua
has conquered and brought down every stronghold in the land of Canaan and that
now the individual tribes would have to conquer the rest of their enemies
within their own territories, and in this way truly take possession of their
inheritance has been compared to Jesus, Joshua’s anti-type, who upon the
cross of Calvary conquered all of our enemies of sin, hell, death, the grave,
and the Devil, and then ascended up to heaven to sit at the right hand of
God and ever live to make intercession for us, and thus now we Christians
are to individually appropriate by faith all that has now become our
inheritance in Christ. We must
conquer our own individual land.
9.3. With the conquer of the
Anakim in all of their cities, the children of Israel had now seen the
fulfillment of the promise that the Lord had made to them that they would be
victorious in every place that their feet trod (Joshua 1:3).
9.4. This verse tells us, you
see, that every word which the Lord had promised to them had been fulfilled.
9.4.1. If we will just give the
Lord a chance to prove Himself faithful to us, what He will do to show Himself
faithful to us.
9.5. The rest of the book of
Joshua concerns the dividing up of the
10. CONCLUSION: The summary of the major lessons we should
learn from this final conquest of the
10.1.
We must look to the Lord to fight our battles.
10.2.
We must not just sit back and wait for the Lord to
give us victory over our enemies of the world, the flesh, and the Devil as we apprehend
the promises that the Lord gives us, we must take a hold of our commission and
begin to step out in faith and apprehend the promises.
10.3.
We must just continue stepping out in faith claiming
and appropriating those things which are ours in Christ.
10.4.
We must be meticulously obedient to the Lord’s
commandments if we are to walk in the blessing and victory which is our
inheritance in Christ.
10.5.
We must persevere faithful to the end in eradicating
all of our enemies, until the very last one is destroyed. It will take a lifetime for us to eradicate
all of them, and one day we will meet the Lord before we have finished the
task, however this is our calling by the Lord.
10.6.
If you will do these things, you too will see that
God will be faithful to keep every word He has promised to you!