Joshua 11: The Northern Conquest
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, 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 fight against Israel.
“We now enter upon a different scene in the conquests of Joshua. Just as before Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, had summoned the five kings of southern Canaan, so now Jabin, the king of Hazor, summons the chiefs of the north against the Israelitish leader. Jabin…was an hereditary and official title of the chief of Hazor. It denotes ‘the wise’or ‘intelligent’...” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; [Job 5:13] and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’ [Psalm 94:11] therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)
Just like the promise of God concerning physical Israel, the enemies of Israel were as numerous as the sands of the seashore. It makes sense because true, spiritual Israel is always only a remnant – approximately a tenth of the whole population. “The nations of the north united to try to join forces and defeat Israel. They realized that as individual nations they could not defeat this nation led and protected by God. Together they thought they could mount an army so large that by sheer numbers they would be able to overwhelm the nation of Israel." (Gary Gleans Blog)
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 fire.” 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 fire.
But Yahweh said to Joshua... ”God, before the general battle, encouraged and instructed Joshua how to fight with the iron chariots of the Canaanites, viz. by cutting the hamstrings of their horses on coming to close contact [making their battle chariots inoperative]. So in the hard conflicts we have to sustain with the world, Christ has instructed us to be wise as serpents, and bold as lions: and by bidding us, as Joshua, not to be afraid, he gives us the pledge of victory-” (Sutcliffe) the Holy Spirit.
We are so few, but God is our wisdom. “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has been become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.” (1 Cor 1:30)
“Nothing could be better timed than these words as a preparation for the work that had to be done” (A. B. Mackay)
So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. ”Merom-- meaning height, a lake in Northern Palestine through which the Jordan flows. It was the scene of the third and last great victory gained by Joshua over the Canaanites ( Joshua 11:5-7 ). It is not again mentioned in Scripture." (M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary) That which was esteemed so high was brought low by the hand of the Almighty. All that exalts itself above God must be brought down.
Joshua defeated them by the wisdom of Yahweh 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. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Yahweh our God.” (Psalm 20:7) But the Sidonians were not part of the battle on this day. The destruction only took place here; and it stopped here. The relative antiquity of Sidon “may be determined by the ‘table of nations’ (Gn 10), which names Sidon as the firstborn son of Canaan, who was a son of Ham.” (Tyndale) So the God’s firstborn— Israel— and the firstborn of the the spiritual sons of Canaan are reserved for another day. Even after the conquest of Canaan, when the tribal allotments were made, “Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Sidon (Jgs 1:31)” (Tyndale), as instructed. So the ultimate day of their judgment might be on that Great Day of God’s wrath. Yet on this day of battle, the Northern Kingdom was pursued to the brook of Misrephoth and to the Valley of Mizpah- meaning "burning of water," and ”watchtower”. (Tyndale Bible Dictionary) So much for the waters and watchtower of the wicked. In great contrast, He who watches Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; He will give that Living Water.
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 fire.
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. 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.
Joshua now seems to move by the Spirit, and indeed he does that which was commanded by his spiritual father- Moses, as recorded for us now in the Pentateuch. Yea, a Greater than Moses is here. "The difference between Jesus' teaching and the teaching of the scribes was obvious to all. The scribes referred to respected teachers of the past for their authority, but Jesus spoke on his own authority. The scribes could only repeat the regulations of Judaism, but Jesus interpreted the law with an authority that came from God." (Bridgeway Bible Commentary) Joshua did “as the Lord commanded.” “This is often repeated, to free Joshua from suspicion of inhumanity and cruelty in all these bloody executions. Julius Caesar, and such like conquerors, had no such warrant for his slaughtering a million of men, after three hundred nations vanquished, and three thousand towns taken by him." (Trapp) We are called to like obedience but neither do we have license to destruction of life. The Crusades were in the name of Christ, but they were not Christian. “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ [Deut 32:35] (Romans 12:19)
Hazor- the capital city- was destroyed by fire by Joshua himself. But "Israel took possession of a great many cities without the burning of them, only destroying all of the inhabitants, even the children, as Henry stated, 'Lest those children should later on lay claim to the land in the name of their parents.' Also, all of the wealth, the treasures, and the cattle of many of those cities became the possessions of Israel. Henry also pointed out that this fulfilled a prophecy, 'That Israel should dwell in great and goodly cities which they builded not' (Deut 6:10)." (Coffman Commentary) For the time being, their military base was still Gilgal but, after subduing all of their enemies, they now had great and goodly cities to dwell in, according to Yahweh their God's promise.
Joshua 11: Joshua Takes Possession of the Land
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.
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, 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. 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.
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 Gath, and in Ashdod.
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.
"Joshua here evinces two cardinal virtues: (1) diligent study of the recorded precepts; (2) perfect obedience. Here is the model of all righteous living...” (Whedon) Thus, Joshua took the land of Canaan. There were some areas not yet taken, but God gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. “Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region." (Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown)
”There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. All other — namely, all that were taken by Joshua, were taken by the sword, and therefore it is no wonder that the war was long, when the enemy was so obstinate." (John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes)
“Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. For, though the account of the conquest of them is put together, and lies in a small compass, yet those victories were not obtained at once, or in a few days, as were those of the five kings, and others, related in the preceding chapter, Joshua 10:10; but were the work of some years;... our Bishop Usher thinks it was done in six years; and it may be concluded that it was about six or seven years ere this work was completely finished.” (John Gill's Exposition)
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts… They had hardened their own hearts and over time the Lord agreed with their decision. "Far from being warned by their neighbours' calamities, no city but Gibeon sought for peace, but, hardened as Pharaoh by the Divine judgment, came out to war with Israel, and rushed upon their own destruction." (Coke Commentary)
At that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: "This note on the destruction of the giant Anakim is of interest because it was these very giants that discouraged the ten spies who brought back the evil report to Moses in the wilderness, but Joshua made a quick and final end of the vast majority of them, leaving only a few in the principal cities of the Philistines. Later in Jewish history, one of the descendants of this race, 'Goliath of Gath' confronted David and was destroyed by him with a sling-shot to the forehead." (Coffman Commentary)
"The conquest is now completed: these dreaded foes of Israel no longer make them afraid, but fall before the devouring sword of the conquering Joshua..” (Coke) -- the new possessor of the land.
Then Joshua gave the land for an inheritance unto Israel, as described in the next chapters. “He claimed no peculiar jurisdiction over it; his own family had no peculiar share of it, and himself only the ruined city of Timnath-serah, in the tribe of Ephraim, which he was obliged to rebuild. See Joshua 19:49, Joshua 19:50,...” (Adam Clarke)
And the land rested from war — “These words import that Joshua had overcome all overt resistance. There were, however, many districts by no means thoroughly and finally subdued Joshua 13:1-6." (Barnes) The land rested – not the people from their works; see Hebrews 4:1-10. There was still work to be done. When the land was divided and the tribes of Israel were given their inheritance, then they were given an admonition from Yahweh to finish driving out the inhabitants of the land. Yet, "The people did NOT go on and do what God told them to do for two reasons: (1) They wanted peace at any price; and (2) they wanted wealth. They were practical materialists. For the sake of ease and money, they did NOT go forward and do what God told them to do. Tribute! Tribute! Tribute! They demanded and let the people stay in the land ... Does that sound up to date?" (Francis Schaeffer)
They failed and so often do we when we trust in the flesh and not the Spirit. "And must we forget that the judgment of Canaan, as well as the judgment of Egypt, is prophetic. Judgment and wrath are in store for this earth. The divine sword will some day be unsheathed again. The conditions of the earth are such that God must judge. Thousands are hardening their hearts; ere long, as it was with the Canaanites (Joshua 11:20), the Lord will harden their hearts. These judgments are written in language which cannot be misunderstood.” (Gaebelein)
But Jesus gives that Blessed Rest to those who trust in Him for their salvation from sin and death. They are saved from fire. The peace is granted the day you make a decision for Jesus. "Today, if you will hear His voice.... and harden not your heart." "Herein lies the superiority of the Apostle of Christianity; Christ does lead His people into the true rest. Such, we believe, is the line of truth developed in our passage [Hebrews 4:1-10]..." (A. W. Pink), that is, there is some other rest for the Gentile nations of the world to seek after, even for Israelites by first birth only. There is a second birth by trust in Israel's Messiah, resulting in rest.