 CHAPTER 11:
Verses 1-5: During the various battles between Israel and the southern cities of Canaan, news of Israel’s victories reaches the northern cities and their kings. (v.1) According to the notes in my study Bible, Hazor is a heavily fortified city located on the main road between Egypt and Mesopotamia, about 10 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee (or Chinneroth, as it was known before Israel conquered the promised land) in northern Palestine. As did King Adoni-zedek in the previous chapter, King Jabin of Hazor forms an alliance with his fellow rulers of the nearby cities of Madon, Shimron, and Achshaph, as well as the regions of Chinneroth and Dor. (v.2) Verse 3 makes it clear that he even sends word to the Amorites, Hittites, and the Perizzites, all of whom are currently engaged in battle against the Israelites as described in the previous chapter. Verse 4 states that the army which Jabin assembled at Merom (v.5) is as great in number “…as the sand that is upon the sea shore…with horses and chariots very many.” The Moody Bible Commentary quotes the renowned Roman historian Josephus as saying, “…the number of the whole army was three hundred thousand armed footmen, and ten thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand chariots…”. That is a mighty and powerful force indeed! It very likely outnumbers the Israelite forces at least two to one, else God would not have spoken encouraging words to Joshua in verse 6. Verses 6-15: Once again, God promises the victory to His chosen people. He tells Joshua to not be afraid of the enemy, “…for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel…”. (v.6) The word “hough” is found four times in scripture, the first two being here in Joshua 11. (The other passages are 2 Samuel 8:4 and 1 Chronicles 18:4.) The term refers to the severing of the tendons in the horse’s hind legs, thus permanently crippling it. Horses and chariots were the primary symbols of military might and power in the ANE. Thus, when God tells Joshua that the Israelite army will easily hamstring the enemy’s horses and then burn their chariots, this is indeed a great promise and encouragement! Emboldened by the word of the LORD, the Israelite army descends upon the enemy camps at Merom with sudden ferocity and soundly defeats all of the kings’ forces. (v.7-9) Just as he did with the five southern kings, Joshua executes all of the northern kings, and then burns the city of Hazor. (v.10-13) King Jabin of Hazor was the ringleader and orchestrator of the alliance against Israel (v.10), so that’s why Hazor is destroyed. All the other cities, however, are left standing, and all their spoil is plundered by Israel. (v.14) As Moses had commanded by God’s word (v.15), the Israelites “…smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe…”. (v.11) This is confirmed again in verse 14. Verses 16-20: With the exception of Achan’s sin and the alliance with the Hivites, the Israelites had done all that God had commanded them in regards to conquering the promised land. (v.16-17) Verse 20 confirms that God had hardened the hearts of the Canaanites, just as He did with Pharoah and the Egyptians, in order that His judgment against them for their rebellion and wickedness would be fulfilled. (Genesis 15:16) Like the Egyptians, it was the choice of the Canaanites to reject God first, and because of that God hardened their hearts. Now His judgment against them is complete. (v.20) Verses 21-22: There is a footnote here regarding the Anakim, the giants that the ten spies were so fearful of. (Numbers 13:32-33) Joshua and Caleb had, of course, been right in their defense of God’s power and ability to deliver even these into Israel’s hand, as proven in this chapter. The author notes that the only giants now left alive are in the Philistine cities of Gath and Ashdod. Gath, as we already know, is the home of the giant named Goliath whom David, the future king of Israel, will slay with a single stone. (1 Samuel 17:4, 49) Verse 23: All of the land that was promised to the descendants of Abraham is now under the dominion of Israel, “…according to all that the LORD said unto Moses…”. (Exodus 33:2, Numbers 34:2) The next step is for Joshua to divide up the land among the twelve tribes as instructed by Moses. (Numbers 26:53) “And the land rested from war.” God had promised to deliver this land into the hands of His chosen people as the inheritance of Abraham, and He had made good on that promise. Now, as a reward for this generation’s obedience, He gives the Israelites rest from all their enemies. (Deuteronomy 12:9-10, 25:19, Hebrews 4:8) CHAPTER 12: As is common with oral and written records of the ANE, this chapter is a closing summary/recap of Israel’s victorious conquering of the promised land. The Moody Bible Commentary puts it this way: Chapter 12 “…has the feel of a formal, holy convocation, a stately march through the fraternal graveyard of deceased kings sharing alike in a failed attempt to thwart God’s purposes.” Verses 1-6: These are a summary of the victories led by Moses before the Israelites crossed the Jordan into the promised land. (v.1) Sihon and Og were the kings defeated there, and the dimensions of all their land and kingdoms is stated again in verses 2-5. Their land is what was given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. (v.6) (Numbers 32:29, Deuteronomy 3:12, Joshua 13:8) There is mention again of Og being related to the Anakim. (v.4) Verses 7-24: The remainder of the chapter is a list of the kings conquered on this side of the Jordan, starting with Jericho. The only people missing from the list in verse 8 are the Gibeonites. The total number of conquered kings and armies is thirty-one (v.24), and they are listed in the order of the battles from south to north. (v.9-24) (Deuteronomy 7:24) It’s necessary to note here that while the kings and their armies were defeated, not all the cities were actually conquered by Israel in this initial campaign. Jerusalem and Gezer, for example, will not be taken for many centuries yet. (2 Samuel 5:6-9, 1 Kings 9:16) Verse 14 mentions the kings Hormah and Arad, two victories that were actually achieved first under Moses. (Numbers 21:1-3) A possible explanation of this is that in the time between those initial battles and the campaigns led by Joshua, some of the Canaanites had re-settled in those two cities, thus requiring the Israelites to conquer them a second time. Also, the fact that Beth-el is not listed as being conquered until after the battle at Makkedah indicates that, while its armies had initially assisted the King of Ai, the king of Beth-el and his city was not actually defeated by Israel until later on.
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Verses 1-2: God commands Joshua to prepare for battle against Ai, affirming that He will give Israel the victory. (v.1) Not only that, but all the spoil of the city, including all the livestock, may be kept by the Israelites for themselves. If only Achan had trusted God and waited, then he would have had for himself far more treasure than just the little bit that he stole from Jericho. This is another tragic truth of our sin: when we give in and deviate from God’s plan because we want instant gratification instead of waiting for God’s perfect timing, then we miss out on the far richer blessings that God had planned for us. Waiting on the LORD and trusting in His plan is always better than rushing ahead because of our own shortsightedness and our lust for the temporary pleasures of this life.
Verses 3-9: Joshua explains the battle plan to Israel’s army. Per God’s command (v.2), he selects a battalion of thirty thousand men to go behind the city of Ai, on its west side near Bethel, and hide themselves. The rest of the army, led by Joshua, will attack the city from the front and draw out all of its fighting forces. The Israelites will feign fear and retreat, causing the enemy to pursue them. At that time the thirty thousand soldiers lying wait in ambush will attack the city, setting it on fire, and thus surrounding Ai’s army. Take note of the primary reason that this plan will get Israel the victory. Joshua states in verse 6 that the soldiers of Ai will believe Israel’s ruse at the beginning of the attack because that’s what gave Ai the victory before. The enemy will believe they have another easy victory in sight, and so they won’t hesitate to pursue the Israelites. Notice how God uses the prior defeat to ensure the success of this new plan. Even when we stumble in our walk with God and turn to sin, He still weaves that into His divine plan for our lives, especially after we repent and get back on the right path. In other words, when God devised His plan for your life He already took into account all the times that you’re going to fail Him and disobey His leading. That doesn’t mean that you won’t suffer the consequences of that sin – Israel lost 36 good men in the first failed attack – but God will often use our mistakes & failures to bring about unexpected blessings in our lives. Verses 10-17: On the day of the battle, Joshua moves the army in position on the north side of Ai. He selects a contingent of five thousand men and assigns them to a position further away, near Bethel. (This is a separate strategy from the other thirty thousand men already hidden behind Ai, also near Bethel.) Joshua waits until after nightfall to advance on Ai, which, of course, doesn’t go unnoticed by the king of the city. He and his army respond in kind, as well as the soldiers of Bethel. The king foolishly orders all the fighting men of both cities to pursue the retreating Israelites. (v.17) Verses 18-29: Joshua’s signal to the thirty thousand men hiding south of Ai is reminiscent of God’s command to Moses at the Red Sea. God tells Joshua that He has given the victory to Israel and to raise his spear as a signal to the ambush unit behind Ai. (v.18) The men swarm the city, plundering it and setting it on fire. When Joshua and the main army see that Ai is burning, they turn and fight the Canaanites, and the battle is joined by the thirty thousand men, thus completely surrounding the enemy. (v.22) Once the whole of Ai’s and Bethel’s armies are slaughtered, the Israelites return to Ai to finish the battle. They utterly destroy the city, killing any remaining survivors of the initial attack, except for the king, and taking only the livestock and possessions as spoil for themselves. (v.27) Throughout all of this, Joshua remains on the hill above the battle, his spear raised, similar to Moses in the battle with the Amalekites. (v.26) (Exodus 17:11-12) The total population of Ai was twelve thousand (v.25), including the women and children. This fact helps to explain why the scouts in the previous chapter had advised Joshua to send only three thousand soldiers to battle Ai’s relatively small army. Only the king is spared so that he can be executed by hanging. (v.29) At sundown Joshua commands the soldiers to cast the body at the remains of the city gate where the men pile upon it “…a great heap of stone…”. God’s judgment against the cities of Ai and Bethel is complete. Verses 30-35: Joshua and all of Israel now carry out the final command of Moses. (Deuteronomy 27:4) Joshua builds an altar of uncut stones upon which is offered up to the Lord the required sacrifices for atonement and for peace. (v.31) Joshua then writes upon the stones of the altar the law of Moses, after which all of Israel assembles on either Mount Ebal or Mount Gerizim to recite the blessings and cursings as described by Moses in Deuteronomy 27-28. (v.33) Verses 33 and 35 also mention the strangers that have been absorbed into Israel’s population by this point, the most recent being Rahab and her family. They, along with all the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob listen as Joshua reads aloud the law of Moses (v.34). CHAPTER 5:
Verse 1: Because this is the season of harvest the river Jordan is overflowing its banks and, thus, the Canaanites believed that Israel would not be able to get to them anytime soon. However, once word reaches them of Israel’s miraculous crossing of the river, the heathen nations are now paralyzed with fear. Verses 2-8: But before Israel can officially begin its military campaign against her enemies, there are three things that must be addressed. The first is a critical issue regarding the disobedience of the first generation that died in the wilderness. In these verses we find out that those who came out of Egypt had been circumcised according to the Abrahamic covenant in obedience to God’s directive. (v.5) However, in the course of their travels to Mount Sinai, and then later in their journey to the border of the promised land, they had failed to circumcise their sons. (v.7) This is another indication of their lack of faith and rebellion against God, especially after the Lord had specifically commanded circumcision in the laws he gave to Moses at Mount Sinai. (v.6) This relates back to the need for sanctification before God as described in the previous chapter. There were many issues of obedience and holiness that remained unresolved from the first generation that needed to be corrected by their children before they could proceed with God’s plan of conquest and settling the promised land. Therefore, as the first order of business after crossing the Jordan, Joshua commands the people to set up camp at Gilgal (v.9-10), and then all the males are circumcised. (v.8) Verses 10-12: The next order of business is the annual observance of the Passover. (v.10) Additionally, there is a note here that God will no longer be providing the daily manna that had sustained the Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness. (v.11-12) Now that they are in the promised land, there is no need of that particular provision. There is plenty “…of the fruit of the land of Canaan…” for the people to consume as they conquer and settle in their new home. Verses 13-15: And, finally, there is a meeting between Joshua and the captain of the Lord’s host. We can logically conclude from verses 14-15 that this is another preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. (Genesis 18:1-2, 32:24, 30, Exodus 23:23, Numbers 22:3, Judges 13:3) In all other places in scripture when a man or woman attempts to worship any supernatural being other than God or Christ, he/she is immediately corrected and ordered to stand. But not so here. In fact, the captain tells Joshua to take off his shoes because the ground on which he is lying prostrate is holy. (Exodus 3:5) The Lord’s appearance here is an indication of Joshua’s and the nation’s obedience to all that God has commanded of them. It’s also a sign for Joshua that God is with His people, and that He will give them the victory in their battle against Jericho. CHAPTER 6: Verses 1-5: The city of Jericho is under lockdown. Whether it’s because of the orders of its king due to the imminent attack by Israel, or because Israel has waged a successful siege campaign against it is not clearly stated in the text. The former is probably the best explanation due to verse 1 of the previous chapter. God now gives His battle plan to Joshua. The nation is to march around the city, led by seven priests bearing the ark of the covenant, one time each day for six days. On the seventh day they are to march around it seven times, after which the priests will sound their trumpets and all the people will give a shout. (v.3-4) The walls of the city will then fall, providing a means for Israel’s army to invade and conquer. (v.5) The story of the conquest of Jericho contains some parallels to the seven years tribulation following the rapture of the New Testament church in the book of Revelation. Here it is seven days leading up to the final judgment, there it is seven years leading up to the battle of Armageddon. Just as Rahab and her household are spared from death here, there will be tribulation saints that are received into heaven during that future apocalypse. Just as it is God’s chosen people here that sound the battle cry as they wage a successful victory, so it will be with us who return to earth for that final battle, led by Christ himself, to conquer Satan and all his host. The rams’ horns that the priests blow are the same ones that are used every year on the day of atonement, which is celebrated in the seventh month. (Leviticus 25:9) Verses 6-14: Joshua assembles the priests and gives the instructions to the people. Verses 9 and 13 refer to the soldiers that march in front of the ark of the covenant and behind it, but this is not because God needs help guarding His ark. This is to protect the ark from any accidental defilement from the Israelites. Joshua also makes a specific point that the people are not to shout – nor even speak or make any sound at all with their voice – until the seventh day when he will give them the signal to do so. (v.10) Joshua and the people rise early each day, forming up ranks and marching around the city once before returning to camp. (v.12, 14) From the Moody Bible commentary: “This sounds like a staggering amount of ground to cover for the Israelite soldiers, but Jericho was only about 350 yards long north to south, and about 180 yards wide east to west.” Notice that verse 11 highlights the fact that “…the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once…”. From start to finish, this whole operation is of God and for His glory alone. The children of Israel are merely messengers and servants carrying out God’s divine plan. For the people of Jericho this sight must have been strange and perhaps even foolish. They must have wondered why their enemy was not attacking directly. Some probably waited with fear and anxiety, knowing what this foreign God had done for His people in Egypt. But, like so many today, they dismissed their fear, trusting instead in their fortified walls and their own strength. They knew judgment was coming, yet they scoffed and refused to believe, even when it was too late to change their fate. Verses 15-16, 20-25: On the morning of the seventh and final day, the Israelites rise at dawn and march around the city seven times. On the seventh lap, after the priests blow the trumpets, Joshua commands the people, “Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.” (v.16) One of the reasons that Jericho was such a mighty and fortified city was because it had been built upon a hill. When all of Israel shouted with triumph the wall of Jericho collapsed outward and down the slope of the hill. This fact has long been vindicated by numerous archeological digs many centuries later in this area. This is yet another indication of the supernatural power of God at work here. It was not necessarily the force of sound that collapsed the wall as much as God bringing it down by His own hand. This is even more remarkable considering that Rahab’s house was directly on the outer wall of the city. (Joshua 2:15) By the laws of physics her home should have been destroyed with the rest of the houses that were built on the wall. But, again, by God’s hand her house was the only portion of the wall left standing. (v.22-23) She, her parents, and the few family members that had believed her report of the coming judgment are safely transported out of Jericho before the army of Israel utterly destroys it and all its people. (v.24-25) The only objects that are spared are certain vessels of brass and iron that are consecrated to the priests for use in the house of God, as well as all the gold and silver. (v.19, 24) Verses 17-19: These are the instructions Joshua had given to the people prior to their seven day march around Jericho. He begins by stating that God has cursed Jericho and all who live there except for Rahab and anyone within her house at the time of the final attack. (v.17) Joshua then warns the people not to touch any of the accursed things of Jericho during the battle. To do so will bring the anger and punishment of God upon the whole camp of Israel. (v.18) (This is, sadly, exactly what happens with Achan whose story is told in the next chapter.) Only the silver, gold, and the vessels of brass and iron are to be taken for the house of the Lord. (v.19) “And ye, in any wise, keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed…” (v.18) That which God has cursed should not be touched by we who are His children, called by His name unto salvation and good works. (Ephesians 2:10) That is what it means to be separated, to no longer walk in the ways of the flesh. For God has cursed the things of this world and the sin of our flesh that manifests itself in the many vices which stem from pride and the love of self. Those things are contrary to the commandments of God. Just as Israel was delivered out of bondage and set apart as God’s chosen people, so are we today called to walk in the way of the Spirit and to not have anything to do with “…the accursed thing…” of the flesh. Verses 26-27: When the battle is over and all of God’s judgment has been successfully carried out against the city and all its people, Joshua makes a proclamation for all to hear. Because God has forever cursed and condemned Jericho, there is also a curse upon anyone who attempts to rebuild it. (v.27) The firstborn and the youngest of whomever defies this divine decree will be taken by God as punishment. This prophecy was fulfilled several generations later during the reign of King Ahab. (1 Kings 16:34) This episode concludes with the statement that the fame of Joshua is spread throughout all of Canaan, which answers Joshua’s question to the captain of the Lord’s host in the previous chapter. (Joshua 5:13) God is clearly on the side of Joshua and all of Israel, and though the text doesn’t say so specifically, it can be logically presumed that Israel’s victory at Jericho causes even more fear in the hearts of her enemies. |
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