The death of the Five Kings marked the beginning of the end for the Canaanite Southern alliance. As we read through chapter 10 we are struck by the sweeping advance of this Israelite war machine. Throughout the many years' since these battles, worldly military thinkers have speculated on the 'shock and awe' and 'divide and conquer' aspects displayed in the record of these military battles. The scripture, however, does not allow the reader to attribute these victories to the wisdom or strength of men. Chapter 10 verses 8, 10, 19, 30, 32, and 42, all give credit to the Lord with words like, "The Lord gave ..." or "... the God of Israel, fought for Israel."
Nevertheless, even though the Lord was fighting for Israel, Joshua's freedom to strategize his method of conquest was preserved (human agency active under divine sovereignty). Joshua was, without a doubt, a very talented military leader. We see this same military strategy of dividing an overwhelming force into smaller sections, in this case Southern and Northern kingdoms, duplicated in our own Revolutionary War against Great Britain and during the War Between the States. The other part of his strategy was a concentration of forces. Joshua did not send part of his army to conquer the Southern kingdoms and another part to conquer the Northern kingdoms. He wielded his smaller and weaker forces as a spear point into the heart of the enemy forces.
There is an obvious application here to our own personal challenges. At times we may feel overwhelmed by the immensity of our problems. We may have struggles at work with a coworker or struggles within our own families. Taking this example from Joshua, do you think concentrating your forces on smaller portions of the problem might seem more manageable and less intimidating? We must pray for those whom we have difficulties but the only thing we can change is ourselves - our only attack strategy must be against our own attitudes and our behaviors. But what is our order of battle in our war against sin? Though it is certainly true that we have struggles with sin but 'sin' is an enemy so large as to be overwhelming - it is an enemy too vague and too numerous. Joshua not only had specific enemies but he also concentrated his forces in a specific direction - to gain a certain result. In his case, the camp of the enemy army. Our battle must also be a concentration of our best efforts to obtain a certain result. For example, saying, 'I have bitterness over a specific offense ..." is a specific battle, a battle that requires clear action. So, following the example of Joshua, dividing your many struggles into specific areas and then attacking those areas with all your forces is likely to bring more satisfying results. Of course, just like Joshua and the sons of Israel, all your efforts will be in vain without the Lord giving victory. We follow a Savior who won every battle against sin; one who was tempted as we are but without sin; one who can sympathize with our weakness. We follow a Savior who offers mercy and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). Prayer and biblical insight via the Holy Spirit must always accompany all of your battles.
Now that the Southern kingdoms of Canaan have been conquered, Joshua turns toward the North. Remember that Joshua is aware of the Lord's command to conquer and occupy the whole of the Promised Land. The Northern kingdom is an even greater challenge as the narrative suggests by the statement in verse 4, "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." So he now faces a larger opponent (sand at the seashore) and more technologically advanced (chariots). Note in verse 6 the Lord again gives assurance of victory, "... tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel ..." The Lord also commands them to, "hamstring their horses and burn the chariots with fire." I take this as a cautionary warning that Israel not be tempted to put their future trust in such weapons (chariots) but to trust the Lord, only (Psalm 20:7). The Lord insists that his people recognize that their help comes from Him, maker of heaven and earth; therefore He sometimes denies us some of our favorite machines. For example, we are tempted to seek our own superficial pop psychology ‘solutions’ to deal with our sin problem. Has the Lord not given us specific 'means' for dealing with our sin? But Oprah Psych is much more palatable than confession and repentance! Are we tempted to seek church growth innovations to deal with making worship more relevant? Has the Lord not told us how He desires to be worshipped? But apparently making people ‘happy’ and 'entertained' is easier than obedience!
From the Northern Canaanite perspective, they were aware and outraged by Israel's easy victory in the south and they were determined to present a unified defense of the North. The leader of the coalition was King Jabin, king of Hazor. He assembled a council of war with the other Northern Kings. Kings from Madon, Shimron, and Achshaph, and all the kings (verse 1-3) “in the north and in the hill country" agreed to contribute their fighting forces to this great army of the North. The grand coalition army assembles together near Meron (pronounced, MEE rahm - see page 6 for illustration on the order of battle and its location), to fight against Israel.
Joshua was aware of the coalition and its strength. Joshua was aware of the relative weakness of his own forces. But with the speed and suddenness which is characteristic of all his military movements, Joshua, with his smaller force, fell upon the camp and totally routed this huge and powerful army. The fugitive Canaanites seem to have divided into three parts, one taking the road north-west to "Great Sidon," another southwest to "Misrephoth-maim" (which means, smelting-pits by the waters), and the third fleeing east toward the "Valley of Mizpeh." In each direction they were hotly pursued by the Israelites. One by one their cities were taken. The cities in the valleys were burned, but the cities on the hills, except for Hazor, were left standing. We will note here that these battles, south and north, must have taken around seven years. In Joshua 14:10 we read that forty-five years had passed since the spies returned to Kadesh. Subtract the thirty-eight years wandering in the wilderness we calculate seven years had passed since they entered the Promise Land and the end of the occupation battles.
To review, we find here that the wars under Joshua put Israel into possession of Canaan and broke the power of its inhabitants. The native Canaanites were not exterminated and not all of the cities were taken by Israel (see Joshua 13:1-6). This is no surprise when we read what Moses wrote much earlier (Exodus 23:28-30), “I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land." Canaan had been given to Israel by God, but much more was left to be done. Only by the same faith that they expressed in pursuit of war could they achieve the occupation of their Promised Land. Any conformity to the pagan culture surrounding them or toleration of those remaining Canaanites and their paganism, nor any loss of passion for the Glory of God by which they had entered the land, would result in spiritual weakness and eventual triumph of their enemies.
The lesson for us is obvious and important. To us also has our Joshua given entrance into Canaan, and victory over our enemies. Our enemies being the world, the flesh, and the devil. We have present possession of the land - our salvation is sure. But we do not yet hold all its cities, nor are our enemies exterminated - our sanctification is not complete till we enter our heavenly rest. Our part is to exercise constant faith, no compromise with the enemy, no end to our warfare. And though we have an obligation to fight the good fight, we also are unable to persevere and conquer without the aid of our God.
