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Joshua Chapter
Eleven
Joshua 11
Chapter Contents
Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom. (1-9) Hazor
is taken and burned. (10-14) All that country subdued, The Anakims cut off.
(15-23)
Commentary on Joshua 11:1-9
(Read Joshua 11:1-9)
The wonders God wrought for the Israelites were to
encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war against Satan's
kingdom, carried on by preaching the gospel, was at first forwarded by
miracles; but being fully proved to be of God, we are now left to the Divine
grace in the usual course, in the use of the sword of the Spirit. God
encouraged Joshua. Fresh dangers and difficulties make it necessary to seek
fresh supports from the word of God, which we have nigh unto us for use in
every time of need. God proportions our trials to our strength, and our strength
to our trials. Joshua's obedience in destroying the horses and chariots, shows
his self-denial in compliance with God's command. The possession of things on
which the carnal heart is prone to depend, is hurtful to the life of faith, and
the walk with God; therefore it is better to be without worldly advantages,
than to have the soul endangered by them.
Commentary on Joshua 11:10-14
(Read Joshua 11:10-14)
The Canaanites filled up the measure of their iniquity,
and were, as a judgment, left to the pride, obstinacy, and enmity of their
hearts, and to the power of Satan; all restraints being withdrawn, while the
dispensations of Providence tended to drive them to despair. They brought on
themselves the vengeance they justly merited, of which the Israelites were to
be executioners, by the command the Lord gave to Moses.
Commentary on Joshua 11:15-23
(Read Joshua 11:15-23)
Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of
God, for their day to fall will come. The land rested from war. It ended not in
a peace with the Canaanites, that was forbidden, but in a peace from them.
There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which
they shall enter, when their warfare is accomplished. That which was now done,
is compared with what had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if
viewed together, will be found mutually to set each other forth. If we make
conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise.
But the believer must never put off his armour, or expect lasting peace, till
he closes his eyes in death; nay, as his strength and usefulness increase, he
may expect more heavy trials; yet the Lord will not permit any enemies to
assault the believer till he has prepared him for the battle. Christ Jesus ever
lives to plead for his people, and their faith shall not fail, however Satan
may be permitted to assault them. And however tedious, sharp, and difficult the
believer's warfare, his patience in tribulation may be encouraged by the
joyfulness of hope; for he will, ere long, rest from sin and from sorrow in the
Canaan above.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Joshua》
Joshua 11
Verse 1
[1] And
it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent
to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of
Achshaph,
Hazor —
The chief city of those parts, verse 10.
Had heard —
This was a remarkable instance of the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence,
which so governed the minds of the Canaanites, that they were not all united
under one king, but divided amongst many petty kings; and next, that these did
not all unanimously join their counsels and forces together to oppose the
Israelites at their first entrance, but quietly suffered the destruction of
their brethren, thereby preparing the way for their own.
Verse 2
[2] And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the
plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the
west,
On the north —
The general designation of all the particular places following: they were in
the northern parts of Canaan, as those mentioned chap. 10:1-43, were in the southern parts; in the
mountain, either in or near the mountain of Lebanon, called the mountain by way
of eminency; or in the mountainous country.
Cinneroth —
Heb. in the plain lying southward from Cinneroth, or the lake of Genesareth.
Dor — A
place upon the coast of the midland-sea.
Verse 3
[3] And
to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the
Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
The Canaanite —
The Canaanites properly so called, lived part of them on the east near Jordan,
and part on the west near the sea, and both are here united.
The Hivite —
That dwelt under mount Hermon in the north of Canaan, whereby they are
differenced from those Hivites who lived in Gibeon.
Mizpeh —
That Mizpeh which was in the northern part of Gilead. But there are other cities
called by that name, which signifying a watching-place, might be easily applied
to several places of good prospect.
Verse 5
[5] And
when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the
waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
Merom — A
lake made by the river Jordan in the northern part of it, which was in the
territory of the King of Schimron, near Hazor, Jabin's royal city, and almost
in the middle of these confederate kings.
Verse 6
[6] And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to
morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou
shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Hough their horses —
Cut their hamstrings that they may my be unfit for war. For God forbad them to
keep many horses, now especially, that they might not trust to their horses,
nor ascribe the conquest of the land to their own strength, but wholly to God,
by whose power alone a company of raw and unexperienced footmen were able to
subdue so potent a people, who besides their great numbers, and giants, and
walled cities, had the advantage of many thousands of horses and chariots.
Verse 7
[7] So
Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of
Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
Suddenly —
When they least expected them, intending there to refresh, and prepare, and
order themselves for the offensive war which they designed.
Verse 8
[8] And
the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased
them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh
eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
Great Zidon — A
great city in the northwest part of Canaan, upon the sea.
Misrephoth-maim — A
place not far from Zidon, supposed to be so called from the salt or glass which
they made there.
Valley of Mizpeh —
Under mount Hermon, as appears by comparing this with verse 3, and 17. where it seems to be called the valley of
Lebanon. This lay on the east, as Zidon did on the west; and so it seems they
fled several ways, and the Israelites also divided themselves into two bodies, one
pursuing east, and the other west.
Verse 10
[10] And
Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof
with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.
The king — In
his royal city, to which he fled out of the battle.
Head of these kingdoms — Not of all Canaan, but of all those who were confederate with him in
this expedition.
Verse 11
[11] And
they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly
destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with
fire.
Not any left —
That is, no human person.
Verse 13
[13] But
as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of
them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.
In their strength —
Heb. with their fence, walls or bulwarks, that is, which were not ruined with
their walls in taking them.
Save Hazor —
Because this city began the war, and being the chief and royal city, might
renew the war. If the Canaanites should ever seize upon it: which in fact they
did, and settled there, under a king of the same name, Judges 4:2.
Verse 16
[16] So
Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the
land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and
the valley of the same;
All that land — Of
Canaan, whose parts here follow.
The hill —
Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A
considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luke 1:39,65.
The south country —
That is, not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay
in the southern part of Canaan, and often comes under the name of the south.
The vale —
The low countries.
The plain —
The fields or campaign grounds.
The mountain of Israel — The mountains or mountainous country of Israel.
Verse 17
[17] Even
from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of
Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and
slew them.
To Seir —
That is, To the country of Seir or Edom; namely, that part of it which was
south from Judea, not that which was eastward from it, as appears from hence,
that here is mention of the two extreme bounds of the land conquered by Joshua;
whereof the other which follows being in the north, this must needs be in the
south of the land.
Baal-Gad — A
part of mount Lebanon.
Verse 18
[18]
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
A long time —
For divers years together, as is evident by the following history. And this is
here expressed, lest it should be thought that as all these wars are here
recorded in a short narration, so they were dispatched in a short time. And God
would have the land to be conquered gradually, for many weighty reasons; 1.
Lest the sudden extirpation of those nations should have made a great part of
the land desert, and thereby have increased the number of wild beasts, Deuteronomy 7:22. 2. Lest being done suddenly
and easily, it should soon be forgotten and despised, as the nature of man is
apt to do in those cases. 3. That by long exercise the Israelites might grow
skilful in the art of war. 4. For the trial and exercise of their patience and
courage, and trust in God. 5. To oblige them to the greater care to please God,
whom they yet need for their help against their enemies.
Verse 19
[19]
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.
Verse 20
[20] For
it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel
in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no
favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
To harden their hearts — It was the design of God's providence not to soften their hearts to a
compliance with the Israelites, but to give them up to their own animosity,
pride, confidence and stubbornness; that so their abominable and incorrigible
wickedness might be punished, and that the Israelites might not be mixed with
them, but be entire among themselves in the possession of the land.
Verse 21
[21] And
at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from
Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from
all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
At that time — In
that war, but in divers years.
The mountain —
Or, mountains, the singular number for the plural; these barbarous and
monstrous persons either chose to live in the dens or caves, which were
frequent in the mountains of those parts, or else they were driven thither by
the arms and success of the Israelites.
From Debir — From
the territories belonging to these cities, as we have often seen in this
history, cities mentioned for the country subject to them.
The mountains of Israel — It doth not follow from hence, that this book was written by some other
person long after Joshua's death, even after the division of the Israelites
into two kingdoms. of Israel and Judah; but only that this was one of those
clauses which were added by Ezra or some other prophet; though that be not
necessary: for since it was evident to Joshua, from Genesis 49:10, etc. that the tribe of Judah was
to be the chief of all these tribes, and some dawnings of its eminency appeared
in that time, in their having the first lot in the land of Canaan, chap. 15:1, and the largest inheritance, chap. 19:9, it is no wonder that it is mentioned
apart, and distinguished from the rest of the tribes of Israel, though that
also be one of them. But how could Joshua utterly destroy these, when Caleb and
Othniel destroyed some of them after Joshua's death? chap. 14:12; Judges 1:10-12. This might be, either 1. Because
these places being in part destroyed and neglected by the Israelites, were
repossessed by the giants, and by them kept 'till Caleb destroyed them. Or
rather 2. Because this work, though done by the particular valour of Caleb, is
ascribed to Joshua as the general of the army, according to the manner of all
historians; and therefore it is here attributed to Joshua, though afterwards,
that Caleb might not lose his deserved honour, the history is more particularly
described, and Caleb owned as the great instrument of it, chap. 14:6-15 and Judges 1:12-20.
Verse 23
[23] So
Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and
Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by
their tribes. And the land rested from war.
The whole land —
That is, the greatest and best part of it, for some parts are expressly
excepted in the following history.
All that the Lord said unto Moses — God had promised to drive out the nations before them. And now the
promise was fulfilled. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly
comfortable, when we see them flowing to us from the promise. This is according
to what the Lord hath said: our obedience is acceptable, when it has an eye to
the precept. And if we make a conscience of our duty, we need not question the
performance of the promise.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Joshua》
11 Chapter 11
Verses 1-23
When Jabin king of Hazor had heard.
Take heed how ye hear
I. Healing and not
hearing. The tidings of the overthrow of Sihon and Og, and the fall of Jericho,
seem to have made almost no impression on the sleepy King of Hazor.
II. Hearing, but
hearing in vain. When Ai fell there seems to have been a general movement all
through Canaan west of Jordan (Joshua 9:1). Before Jabin had gathered
the northern legions southern Canaan had been destroyed.
III. Hearing, and
hearing to ruin. When Jabin did exert himself, it was but to proceed straight
to destruction. Thus do the wicked delay heedlessly, awaken slowly, and finally
bestir themselves to anticipate judgment. (F. G. Marchant.)
Be not afraid because of
them.
Divine directions for the fight
I. The directions
which God gave Joshua on this occasion were prefaced by words of encouragement
according to the Divine custom. Though Jehovah is not to interpose with mighty
power as on former occasions, yet He supports and strengthens His servant with
timely encouragement. Nothing could be better timed than these words as a
preparation for the work that had to be done. Joshua had been made fully
acquainted with the foe. His scouts have returned covered with dust, and
reported the position and numbers and equipment of this new enemy. As these particulars
were all told we can imagine that the boldest held his breath for a time.
Joshua’s generals would look at each other as if to say, “What shall we do
now?” God knows human nature, therefore at this emergency He steps in with the
words, “Be not afraid because of them, for to-morrow about this time will I
deliver them up all slain before Israel.” God is always well timed in His
announcements. When we seek with all our hearts to do His will we shall never
lack encouragement, and the greater the enemy, the harder the task, the more
emphatic will that encouragement be. And the encouragement God gave was very
definite. He did not speak in a general way. He fixed the day, the hour, and
the extent of the victory. Whatever our difficulties may be, if we only search
God’s Word we will find definite encouragement, that which exactly meets our
circumstances. The encouragement was also emphatic. We lose somewhat, in our
translation, the emphasis of the original. The “I” is most emphatic. The army
before Joshua may be as the sand of the sea for multitude, but what are the
hosts of Jabin to the hosts of Jehovah? And the man who has on his side Jehovah
of hosts can also count on the hosts of Jehovah. Therefore Joshua, even in the
sight of such a foe, has no cause for fear. Does not God deal in the very same
way with us? With what emphasis does He point to Himself as the glorious source
of light and love and life, so that our hearts may be encouraged to put all
their trust in Him, to the casting out of every fear. And the encouragement was
also suggestive. God’s words bring to remembrance other scenes and other
victories. Joshua was not the only one whom God had helped in similar
emergencies. All the difficulties that may come upon us may be new to us, but
not one of them is new to God. He has brought His people triumphantly through
the same or worse before, and He can do so again.
II. This Divine
encouragement was coupled with a divine command. The chief object of Israel’s
fear would naturally be the horses and chariots which were Jabin’s pride and
confidence; and it is to them that the command has special reference. God
ordered His servants not to seize them and turn them against the enemy, but to
destroy them utterly. This command is given for the express purpose of removing
a temptation to carnal confidence. Jehovah wishes His people to look to Him
alone for victory. This is to be their constant attitude, the holy habit of
their souls. The bearing of this command on us is plain, and the lesson is much
needed in our day. We are to carry on God’s work in God’s way. There are many
of the weapons and devices of the world which ought not to be pressed into the
service of the Church. To handle the iron chariots and the prancing horses of
human philosophy against the hosts of unbelief, at the same time retaining our
confidence in God as the Giver of every victory, and the consciousness that not
a single soul can be savingly convinced except by His might--this is an
attainment which the history of the Church from the beginning has proved a
practical impossibility. Our one work in the prosecution of the campaign of
salvation is to preach “Christ and Him crucified,” though fully conscious of
the fact that to some it is foolishness, not worth a row of pins; and to others
a stumbling-block, utterly repugnant. There is, and has always been, a fatal
tendency to use the world’s weapons in the Church’s work; to worship intellect,
learning, genius, scholarship, eloquence; to look on these things as the
treasury and armoury of the Church; to depend on what is outward and human,
instead of what is spiritual; to depend on that which appeals to the eye, the
ear, the intellect, the emotions, rather than on the living God and His
glorious gospel. They are the mightiest champions who, like the Master, do all
the fighting “not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit, and with power.” Thus encouraged and commanded,
Joshua brought his army into close proximity to the foe. He rested during that
night, and when the grey dawn was lighting up the rushy marshes round the
waters of Merom, he burst like a thunderbolt upon Jabin’s camp. The victory
could not have been more complete; and it was speedily followed up, as in the
south, by the subjugation of all the leading cities in the northern portion of
Canaan; the city of Hazor, Jabin’s capital, being destroyed with fire. As we
think on this crowning victory we remember the words, “An horse is a vain thing
for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.” Jabin found
this out in that dire encounter. So will it be with all who harden themselves
against the gospel of Christ. The more stout in heart they are to
resist, the more terrible will be their overthrow. And if Jabin’s overthrow
reminds us of these things, this last great victory of Joshua also places very
emphatically before us the conditions of success in the work of the Lord. They
are few and simple, and easy to be understood. They comprise wise purpose,
believing courage, sleepless energy, scrupulous obedience, hard blows. As a
young student said to a friend when they were speaking of the work to which
they had devoted themselves, “Our great work in preaching to people is not to
dish up dainty ideas, but to pound them with the truth.” Let us only listen to
God’s encouragement, obey God’s command, march with unfeigned faith, and strike
with all our might, and victory is sure. (A. B. Mackay.)
Types of Christian warfare
1. The enemies of Christ are very many in number.
2. Not only are the enemies of Christ very numerous, but they are
perfectly united. There is a common consent amongst them. They hate the good.
They are unanimous, and their unanimity is power.
3. The forces of evil are many, united, and desperate. They have
made up their minds to work rack and ruin. (J. Parker, D. D.)
All the spoil of these
cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto
themselves.--
Sharing the spoil
These at the end would amply make up for the toils and sufferings
of conflict, and for all the privations and prohibitions they had been laid
under. This is that which should engage the Christian’s hopes, and on which his
whole heart should be set, the end of warfare, when He who poured out his soul
unto death, and was numbered with transgressors, will, in assigning the fruits
of His eternal conquests, divide the spoil with the strong, and His portion
with the great. Unsearchable the riches, and invaluable the spoils, to be
shared in the heavenly world: treasures of everlasting bliss and glory that
await every holy warrior. These are appropriate only to the elevation of
perfect being and blessedness; and then to be enjoyed, when the conflicts of
time end in the triumphs of eternity. Nothing will be found marked with a
prohibition, nor anything less be obtained, than an unwithering crown of life.
This will compensate for all the sufferings that can now be endured, and for
all the sacrifices that may ever be made, the hope of which, as realised in the
mind, yields no small support. (W. Seaton.)
Verse 15
He left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
Things undone
“This year omissions have distressed me more than anything.” So
speaks Andrew A. Bonar, concluding one of the years of his life. How many of us
are similarly distressed!
I. The things
undone are many. We have not left undone a duty here or there merely, but we
have the painful consciousness of having missed so much that more seems undone
than done. Darwin’s biographer relates that the great scientist “never wasted a
few spare minutes from thinking that it was not worth while to set to work.”
His golden rule was “taking care of the minutes.” And so he became rich and
accurate in knowledge. How much more might we have done in the home! We deal
negligently with those about us until change or death takes them away I How
much more might we have done in the world! We have loitered in the sheepfold to
hear the bleating of the sheep, when we ought to have been in the high places
of the field. How much more might we have given and taught and toiled in the
Church of God! We are always evading manifest obligations, which are also
precious privileges. With what fiery energy the bird, the bee, the butterfly,
carry out the special commission with which they are entrusted! In nature
everything seems to be done that can be done with the granted measure of time,
space, material, and energy. But we are conscious of a very different and far
less satisfactory state of things in the human sphere. Here inertia, laziness,
slipperiness, procrastination, prevail. There are great gaps in our work.
II. The things
undone are often the things of the greatest consequence. Emerson speaks of “the
science of omitting.” A very necessary and much-neglected science. “The
artist,” says Schiller, “may be known rather by what he omits.” The master of
literary style is best recognised by his tact of omission. The orator declares
his genius as much by what he leaves out as by what he puts into his
discourses. And in life the science of omission must have a large place. Life
on its moral side, in its highest sense, becomes complete and successful by
exclusion: if we are to make anything of it, we must reject much. When,
however, an artist understands the science of omission, he leaves out the
trivial, the vulgar, the irrelevant. Pater, speaking of Watteau, the French
artist, says, “Sketching the scene to the life, but with a kind of grace, a
marvellous tact of omission in dealing with the vulgar reality seen from one’s
own window.” Yes, leaving out the vulgar features and commonplace detail. But
the defect in our moral life is that in our science of omission we too often
leave out the primary, the highest, the essential. The trivial, the fugitive,
the inferior, the accidental, are given a place in our life, whilst the large,
the noble, the precious, and the supreme are excluded. It is thus with us in questions of
character. The weightier matters are more difficult, and we evade them. It is
thus with matters of duty. We shirk the calls demanding courage, diligence,
sacrifice, and content ourselves by doing abundantly the things which are more
immediately connected with our pride, our interest, or our pleasure. Here we
are often condemned. Great principles are left out of our character, because
they are difficult to acquire and maintain; great duties are ignored, because
they mean heroism and suffering; great opportunities are forfeited, because
they demand promptitude and resolution; great works are declined, because they
involve consecration and sacrifice.
III. The things
undone are things for which we must be held responsible. We are often deeply
concerned, as, indeed, we ought to be, with the things we have done amiss; but
we are less troubled by the things left undone. Yet the negative side is as
really sin as is the positive side. In these modern days it is rather
fashionable for men of a certain type to stand quite aside from an active
career. They are deeply impressed by the seriousness of life, by its difficulties,
its mysteries; they decline, as far as may be, its relationships, its
obligations, its trials, its honours, its sorrows. They will tell you that they
have no gifts, no calling, no opportunity. But, however disguised, these lives
are slothful and guilty. But most of us have somewhat of this slothful temper.
True, we gloss with mild names this skirking of duty. We call it expediency,
standing over, modesty, deliberation, forgetfulness, oversight; but it ought to
be called sloth, hypocrisy, cowardice, sin. How much undone for God, for man,
for our own perfecting! And as for the future, let us put into life more
purpose, passion, and will. Let us be more definite, prompt, unflinching. Let
us be at once more enthusiastic and more methodical. (W. L. Watkinson.)
It was of the Lord to
harden their hearts.--
Resisted conviction
We must not suppose, of course, that God stepped in to
produce, in the case of these Canaanites, a result which would not have accrued
to them by the working out of the natural laws which He had instituted. God
loved them as He loves the world. They were included in the propitiation of
Christ. They might have been saved, as Rahab was. And when it is said that God
hardened their hearts, we must understand that their hearts became hardened by
sinning against their light, in accordance with that great principle which God
has established, that if a man resists his convictions of right he becomes more
inveterate in his sinful ways. God is thus said to do what is done by the
working out of the laws of that moral universe which He has constituted. It is
clear that the Canaanites knew that God was with Israel. Rahab said (Joshua 2:10-11). And the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:10). There is no doubt, then,
that throughout the land there had gone forth the fame of God; and when the
kings flung their hosts in battle against Israel it was as it has always been (Psalms 2:2). (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Hardening the heart
I remember one day, in our natural history class, the
professor explained to us how sponges became flints. He had all his specimens
arranged along his table. He took the soft sponge, elastic and flaccid, that
could bend any way--beautifully soft and fine. Then he took the next one; it
was not so flexible: and he went on, each one only a little more flinty than
the former, till he had the flint. That had been a sponge; though now its heart
was so hard that you could strike fire from it with a steel. The sponge will
become flint. There are little silicious particles that gather in the soft
sponge; and by and by the silex is deposited in the interstices of the sponge;
and on it goes till the silica has the victory, and the sponge becomes flint. A
wonderful sermon from science. I have had companions like that--young men with
hearts, oh, so soft I at their first revival. Impressions went home to them;
they had tears and anxiety; yet, as years have passed, the hardness of heart
has increased, as with one whom I met recently, who, since then, has bolted to
America with a heart of flint instead of a soft heart. As the days went by,
hardness increased; the silicious particles of rejection of Christ multiplied
in number, till the man became a reprobate. Perhaps you are in that position.
As I am preaching from the presence of God it has no effect. You are hearing
it, but it is going in at the one ear and out at the other. See to it that the
judicial hardening of your heart does not overtake you, and you learn by
experience the despair of a lost soul. (J. Robertson.)
So Joshua took the whole
land.--
The people for whom the Lord fights
I. The magnitude
of their difficulties should be regarded as only the measure of their
victories. “Joshua took the whole land.”
II. Their most
signal victories are ever incomplete. The whole land, yet not the whole (Joshua 8:1).
III. The triumphs
which they do win are ever the fruit of God’s promises.
1. According to all that the Lord said unto Moses.” This clause
serves also to limit and explain the former. God had specially told Moses that
the whole land should not be conquered too suddenly (Exodus 23:29-30).
IV. The inheritance
thus given by god should be the inheritance of all God’s people. “Joshua gave
it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their
tribes.”
V. The rest which
they obtain here faintly foreshadows the perfect rest hereafter. “And the land
rested from war.”
1. Rest after severe strife.
2. Rest only through faith and obedience.
3. Rest, but rest which still requires that they watch and pray.
4. Rest, which though but an imperfect pattern, should stand for a
sure prophecy of the rest which is perfect, If we really enter into the rest of
faith, it will be by that holy Spirit of promise, “which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” (F. G.
Marchant.)
Verse 23
The land rested from war.
The fight from which they rested
Though the records of this war are short, we know that “Joshua
made war a long time with all these kings.” Only the most striking and salient
features are recorded, and these are such as are well fitted for correction and
instruction. The campaign in all probability lusted for six years. God, had He
so chosen, could have brought all the Canaanites together and crushed them at
one blow. He did not do so, and He gives us the reason why He did not. So far
as His people were concerned it was for their spiritual training. Had He
wrought such a wonder, they might have magnificently celebrated His praises as
at the Red Sea, but as easily forgotten His mercies as at Marah. Jehovah sought
to teach them and us by the continuance of this conflict, that His heritage is
our portion only through faith in Him and faithfulness to His word. Yet there
is an opposite error that must be guarded against. If we are not to expect one
great and decisive victory, much less are we to expect a series of disastrous
defeats. If too great a triumph might have led to presumption on the part of
Israel, too great a trial might have induced despair. Accordingly, God neither
gave the one nor did He permit the other, but always tempered both to the
necessities of His people. Is not this a true picture of spiritual experience,
full of instruction and encouragement? How often does the young convert feel
himself walking in a land of miracle? “Old things have passed away, all things
have become new.” The chains of iron and the fetters of steel fall from his
limbs. The bars of brass are broken, and he quits the prison house of Satan and
walks abroad in abounding liberty and glorious triumph. Sometimes, indeed, in
the buoyancy of his soul, he indulges in strange talk, shakes his head with
precocious wisdom, and assumes unconscious airs of superiority in the presence
of such as do not share his happy experience. But by and by he encounters some
gross and humiliating defeat like that which befel Israel at Ai. He is humbled
in the dust. With chastened spirit he begins to join trembling with his mirth,
and he finds out, more and more every day, the need of constant trust and
unquestioning obedience. He wakes up to the fact that in this fight of faith,
as in that, the conditions of success are trustful courage, wise purpose,
sleepless energy, scrupulous obedience, and hard blows. It will be interesting
to notice the last foes encountered in this fight. We read in the immediately
pre ceding verses: “At that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims.” These
Anakim were the first to fill the hearts of the Israelites with fear, and they
were the last to be faced. Compared with them the Israelites felt themselves
grass hoppers, and it was well that their giant strength was not braved at the
beginning of the campaign, but reserved to its close. Israel did not face these
giants till it had been trained in the war of the Lord; till it knew how
invincible was the man who puts his trust in Jehovah; till it knew from its own
experience how one could chase a thousand--till, in short, it was able to
measure the strength of the Anakim not against its own, but against the
omnipotence of Jehovah. The opposition, which was once deemed invincible, now
shrinks into insignificance. How often is it thus in the experience of God’s
people. I have sometimes asked young converts why they had been so long in
coming forward to confess Christ. And their reply has often been, “I saw what
was required and expected of a Christian. I felt the many and great
difficulties that lay in the way of confessing Christ. I knew some thing of the
temptations and troubles that would come upon me if I became a Christian, and
as I looked at these things I felt afraid, and shrank back conscious of my own
weakness.” Exactly! Before these difficulties, that would come upon you by
confessing Christ, you feel as grasshoppers. Does that express your present
position? You are like Israel at Kadesh-Barnea. You are standing on the very
borders of the land, with all its beauty spread before you. Yea, you also are
spying it out. You are considering the promises and blessings of Christ for
time and eternity. You cannot but confess that it is a goodly heritage, a
pleasant land flowing with milk and honey. Even though you have not entered the
good land, you know that you are refreshed by its blessed fruits. Then why not
enter in? It is free for you. No walls rise up between you and it to shut you
out. No deep river rolls to prevent your entrance. Ah! you are afraid. There
are giants there, and strong cities walled to the sky. If I confess Christ I
shall have mighty temptations and troubles to face and overcome. Are such your
difficulties? Well, I do not say you are strong. I do not say that there are no
Anakim in the land. But I do say that you utterly misunderstand the meaning of
the situation. The instant you go forward you enlist on your side the strength
of Jehovah, and there is no sin, no temptation, no trouble, however gigantic,
over which He cannot cause you to triumph. But there are lessons here for the
Christian veteran as well as for the Christian recruit. He has left Moses
behind, as a leader who can give no rest, he has put himself under the flag of
Joshua, he has entered into the inheritance and fought the good fight of faith,
with encouraging measure of success. Yet still there remain some temptations,
some sins, some sorrows, some bereavements, which look very dreadful. They are
like gigantic Anakim, before which you quail. Do not measure your might with
theirs. Pit them against the omnipotence of your Father God. Any temptation,
any sin, any trial, is too much for us in our own strength; but strengthened
with His might the meanest can face and over come the greatest of them all.
Notice, again, that the fighting does not grow less severe as we go onwards.
The Anakim were left to the last. So often the greatest burdens, sharpest
trials, severest afflictions, fiercest temptations, come at the end. No man can
ever rest here in fancied security. (A. B. Mackay.)
The rest for which they fought
The rest for which Israel fought had been promised more
than four hundred years before (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:6-7, &c.). This promise, so
old, so solemn, so wide, so definite, so clear, and so often repeated, was the
formative and governing principle in the lives of all the patriarchs. This it
was that made them Faith’s Pilgrim Fathers. They believed these promises, their
hearts embraced them, said they confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers
in the earth. But the
promise was sure, though held long in abeyance for wise and loving purposes.
The vision may tarry, but come it must; because God’s gifts and calling are without repentance,
unconditioned by aught in the creature; and because God’s power and wisdom are
without limit. He is the God of truth and of infinite resources. Through
strange scenes, hard discipline, and varying experiences the seed of Abraham may
pass, but all the time God is leading them to His promised rest. What a lesson
in patience have we here! What encouragement to wait for the end of the Lord!
Surely, as we consider them thus at the end of their toils and in the enjoyment
of that great promise, we may exclaim, “Happy is the people whose God is the
Lord.” Is there anything as good in store for us? There is better. God’s basket
of bounty is not empty. God’s act gave this promise first of all. After He
created all things He rested from His works. He had gone out of Himself to
work; He returned to Himself to rest. As certainly as the old creation, through
ages of convulsion and astounding changes, attained its crown and climax in
God’s rest, so surely the new creation, by whatever mysteries and conflicts its
development is characterised, shall usher in the glorious Sabbath of
redemption. As surely as Joshua gave rest to those who followed him, so surely
does Jesus give rest to all who put their trust in Him. The innumerable company
of the redeemed have found in this promise a power sufficient to govern all
their lives, a solace for every woe. But if the rest for which Israel fought
was a rest long promised, it was also a rest which for a time was forfeited.
“They could not enter in because of unbelief. Thou standest by faith. Therefore
be not high-minded, but fear.” Let us fear with that fear which has strong
confidence, with which we work out our salvation, which mingles with holy
mirth, which lasts through all the time of our sojourn here, and which is our
safety. “Blessed is the man that feareth alway.” Further, the rest for which
Israel fought was imperfect. It was only a comparative rest. The land as a
whole was taken. It was so far in their hands that they could with safety
partition it among the several tribes, allowing each to perfect the work of
conquest within his allotted territory. The Canaanites were unable to put an
army in the field. Their united power was for the time utterly broken. Yet
still they had cities here and there in their possession. They were to remain
for a time, to prevent the land from lapsing into an irreclaimable waste, to
exercise the people in war, and to be a test of Israel’s faithfulness. We have
therefore here a master-sketch of Christian experience. The believer enters
into life by a miracle of grace and power. He is buried with Christ by baptism
into His death. He is raised with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places.
He finds his Gilgal at Golgotha, where the reproach of sin is rolled away, and
he receives nourishment for his soul. Here, also, he learns the mystery of the
Divine leadership of Him who has said, “Lo, I am with you alway.” He takes Him
as Prophet, Priest, and King. Then he learns the might of faith in casting down
the walls which human pride and strength and skill have reared. He is also
taught, it may be by humiliating defeat, the weakness of unbelief and
disobedience, as was Israel at Ai. He is convinced that if he is not to make
shipwreck he must hold fast “faith and a good conscience.” Then with bitter
sorrow he learns the value of self-judgment and confession of sin. The dark and
dreadful valley of Achor becomes the only door of hope. Then with deeper
intelligence he repeats with restored soul the Amen of allegiance, deliberately
takes the law of God for his guide, and depends on the Cross for power of
communion. The camps at Ebal and Gerizim, in the very centre of the blessed
inheritance, surrounded by its fairest scenes, when his heart knows the meaning
of these words, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us
from all sin.” Then, from new consecration, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and
having no confidence in the flesh, he passes on to higher acts of faith and to
nobler victories. Things in heaven as well as things on earth reveal faith’s
power. Be can put his foot on the neck of tyrant sins, and laugh to scorn the
horses and chariots of human might. Sometimes there are periods of desperate
fighting, in which every fibre is strained to its utmost tension, Sometimes
there are periods of comparative repose, a welcome lull, when the land rests
from war. And in these happy days all the work may seem done, and perfect
victory gained. Old and tough sins are conquered. Those that remain hide their
diminished heads. Still they lurk in the dark recesses of the heart, ready to
spring out and pounce upon us if for a moment we are off our guard. Therefore
there is constant need of watchfulness. Lastly, the rest for which Israel fought was
prospective. From the very fact of its imperfections it pointed forward to a
better. (A. B. Mackay.)
Rest from war
Interesting period! What so much the anticipation of the heart in
conflict? As long as the land remained unsubdued rest could not be enjoyed.
Besides, had there been nothing else to annoy peace and disturb the inheritance
of the Church, whose heart could have rested in his lot, and been free from
distress, amidst the judgments of heaven upon guilty idolaters, and upon whom
Divine authority made it an imperious necessity in Israel to execute a sentence
of extermination? Sweet to the expectation and welcome of hope, a period when,
in the perfect and undisturbed rest of heaven, war will cease for ever, and
sighs of woe be eternally removed. The peace of heaven will be lasting as
sweet. There no Canaanites will be left to dispute their right, or remnants of
broken powers ever rise to assert, and attempt to restore their long forfeited
claim. That land shall have rest from war, as long as the destroyer of sin and
conqueror of death shall live. Joyous prospect! Soon the armour of light will
be exchanged for robes of incorruptible glory, and the helmet of salvation for
the conqueror’s crown. As under the dominion of the Prince of peace, and
themselves the subjects of its reigning influence, Christians will rest from
war; as commanded, they will cease from anger and forsake strife. Nor will they
ever embroil themselves in the contentions of others, unless as peace-speakers
and peace-makers. (W. Seaton.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》