Remember Caleb

Chapters 14 through 19 describe the tribal allotments in the land of Canaan. Chapter 14 starts with an inheritance for Caleb and chapter 19 ends this section with Joshua’s allotment (Joshua19:49-50). The first five verses are a summarization of chapter 13. Verses 1-5 give a brief explanation of why only nine and a half tribes received portions in Canaan, and why two and a half tribes received their inheritance east of the Jordan. The patriarch, Joseph, had two sons, Manasseh (who inherited land west of the Jordan) and Ephraim (who inherited land east of the Jordan) who were counted as half-tribes. Notice that nine and a half plus two and a half equals twelve tribes. Verse 3 reminds us that the tribe of Levi was not counted as they were not given land except for two cities to live in. This may appear to be minor details to our eyes but this introduction paragraph in chapter 14 through 19 clearly describe the division of the land in great detail. Dale Ralph Davis says, “Such a matter probably doesn’t interest us much– it’s only a note about obedience. But perhaps it suggests a useful correction—that obedience in the more prosaic duties is just as important to Yahweh as in the more explosive, dynamic events. No command of Yahweh is ever trivial, and, therefore, all obedience is both necessary and significant.”

When the time was right Caleb approached the issue of his inheritance by recalling the Word spoken by God. He said to Joshua, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me.” I do not think this was a statement of pride or entitlement, but rather a simple statement recalling the promise of God. We recall the event where he received this promise—Caleb and Joshua were the two ‘spies’ who stood alone against the majority report. Ten spies said that the land of Canaan could not be conquered. Caleb (Numbers 13:30) gave the favorable report: “Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” We recognize how difficult it must have been to stand up and oppose the majority. And he did not face ridicule only, but also a threat to his life (Numbers 14:6-10—“Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones”).  Where did Caleb get this assurance? He believed Yahweh was strong enough to accomplish all that was promised. By quoting God’s Word he demonstrates that he trusted God’s promises. He believed that the Lord was faithful, trustworthy, and intended to do Caleb good. Caleb was courageous because he was trusting in One who is greater, One who is a Redeemer-King who will never leave or forsake His people. Even so, Caleb needed courage to stand and in this chapter, Caleb, by his appeal to for his inheritance, was standing on the promise of God.

All men and women who stand for the Lord and for His promises will need courage. Believers will need courage, and a willingness to go against the world’s opinions. In this, like Caleb, they will face isolation of faith. Young Christian girls and boys know what is it like to follow Christ in a school system that laughs at Christianity and a biblical desire for purity. Any man or woman knows what it is like to work in an atmosphere of corruption and mocking of moral absolutes. Even in church there is pressure to conform for the sake of unity or ’growth’. Are school children prepared to work harder at school assignments since they refuse to cheat? Will the Christian believer be willing to tell their superior they will not be a part of some sort of corrupt deal knowing that they will lose an opportunity for advancement? Will the pastor have the guts to discipline a disorderly member knowing that his ability to support his family is related to the number of folks who attend? God’s people must be prepared, for devoted faith frequently means lonely faith. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “ ... all deserted me. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me…” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). As and encouragement to this ‘loneliness’ we are trusting in Christ alone—as closest companion, all-wise leader, mighty God, everlasting Father who give us peace in the struggle.

But back to Caleb and his inheritance, notice that he requests the ‘Hill Country … with great fortified cities…” (verse 12), where he and Joshua first encountered the fearful Anakim. Remember that, back in the wilderness, the ten spies said, “we saw the descendants of Anak there … we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:28-33). Though Caleb was an old man, he asked and received a section of Canaan that scared the wits out of the other ‘spies.’ And Caleb then says, “It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them (the Anakim) out just as the LORD said.” Talk about faith! He had a sure foundation for his faith in God’s excellent Word! The Promise Land was just that to Caleb; a land which was given to him by the promise. Caleb’s assurance was bolstered by his remembering the specifics of God’s past dealings—God’s leading them out of slavery in Egypt; God leading them through the wilderness; God bringing them across the Jordan River; God giving them victory over the wicked Canaanites.

The application here is obvious – our assurance is strengthened by remembering what the Lord has done for us and recalling to our minds what the Lord has promised. We remember what the Lord has done when we take the opportunity to receive the means of grace given to us by the Good Shepherd. That is, weekly attendance at worship, the preaching of the Word, and the Lord’s Supper. 

Joshua Chapter 13

The book of Joshua divides into three chapters; 1 through 4 is a record of entering the land promised to Abraham. Chapters 5 through 12 describes how the nation liberated the land from the Canaanites. Joshua chapters 13 through 21 describes how the people took possession of the land.

Chapter 13 is essentially a list of how the land was divided between the individual tribes of Israel. To us, thousands of years later, it seems merely tedious history, easily skipped or skimmed through – no drama, no action, and no application to us today. Or so it would seem. But when we read this like an Israelite we see a remembrance of something very significant. It is dull to us because the Lord has not given us the inheritance of a specific ‘land’.  The Lord promised to these people, “to your seed I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7) and now Abraham’s grandchildren could walk into valleys and hill tops and count the villages that were promised.

Verses 1-7: “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites (from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim, in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites, and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephothmaim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

If we forget all that came before we may take verse 1 as a negative: ‘there remains yet very much land to possess.’ But when we look at a map we see that they had already conquered most of the land! What remained was a strip of Philistine land in the southwest of Canaan and in the north a section of territory approximately 50 miles wide extending from Lebo-hamath to 50 miles north of Damascus. In other words, this land was on the edges of Israel’s land. The first seven verses of Chapter 13 indicate that Israel had achieved a significant dominance in the main part of Canaan. It was not total dominance, but it was substantial. Joshua was ‘old,’ there remained no organized Canaanite resistance movement—it was time to allot the land to the individual tribes who would follow up and extend the conquest from town to town. Even then, the Lord was not leaving them to accomplish all this under their own power but in verse 6 says, “I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel.”

Verses 8-13: “With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them: from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon; and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; and Gilead, and the region of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); these Moses had struck and driven out. Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.”

This section is very relevant to Christians today. We see the start of Israel’s failure to follow up the Lord’s command to them: to conquer the land that was assigned to them. “Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites …” We read much more of their failure in Joshua chapters 15-17 and Judges chapter 1. I am saying that this is the same struggle that we have in our prosperous ‘Western’ culture. Comfortable Christians tend toward boredom and a subsequent lack of attention to our ‘first love.” (Rev. 2:4). It seems that when Christians are not under some great crisis of faith; enduring great storms; fighting great battles, we tend to get distracted from the simple faith that characterized our early walk with Christ. Granted, it is not easy to patiently plod along with what seems to us to be no big quest or battle. But we should never see things a small when the Lord see them as ‘big.’ Living a simple life of obedience, loving our Lord Jesus Christ and His church, loving our families, loving our neighbors as ourselves, being good workers and citizens wherever the Lord places us … these are not small things!

In the remainder of this chapter (verses 8-33) we see repeated reminders of past battles. Brother Dale Ralph Davis says it best: “All which seem to us as so many lakes, rivers, valleys, plains, and towns all jumbled together. However we must not miss the repeated allusions to Israel’s victories over our old friends Sihon and Og (vv. 10,12,21.27,30-31), not to mention Balaam (v. 22; see Num. 22-25; 31:8). What does this mean? It means that throughout all this geography and topography there are constant allusions to the victories Yahweh had previously given to Israel under Moses. The allusions jog Israel’s memory and fortify their faith in the face of any contemporary enemies; for it is in remembering how Yahweh handled Sihon and Og (Ps. 135:10-12; Ps 136:17-22) that Israel finds assurance that Yahweh will still have compassion on his servants and that his covenant love persists into present prime time as well (Ps. 135:14; Ps 136:19-20). This is the biblical prescription for faith; faith finds both steadfastness and expectancy by rehearsing and reveling in Yahweh’s past acts of faithfulness.” (brother Dale’s quote taken from Davis, D.R. No Falling Words, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1988)

Do not forget the power and faithfulness of Yahweh!

Joshua Chapter 12 contains a list of the kings defeated by Israel. As we read through it we may be excused for skimming and wondering, what is the point? Granted, all scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, etc. (2 Timothy 3:16), but some parts may cause us to wonder. One value of this particular chapter is found again in the thought that Joshua was writing this whole account for his grand-children - to remind them of God’s rich blessings, both as an all powerful Lord and a faithful, covenant keeping Sovereign. Many prophets, including Joshua, have told God's people, do not forget the power and faithfulness of Yahweh! After all, how do you suppose the people of God learn of His faithfulness and His power? The scripture is full of history written for the purpose of reviewing God’s manner of dealing with His people; and this leads God's people to thankfulness and increases their faith. We read Psalms 105, 135, 136 to remind us of God’s faithfulness; the psalm writer follows a pattern of looking back at what the Lord has done. I think John Calvin makes a great point by writing,

“But though each of those (kings) now summarily mentioned was previously given more in detail, there is very good reason for here placing before our eyes as it were a living picture of the goodness of God, proving that there had been a complete ratification and performance of the covenant made with Abraham as given in the words, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” (Gen. xii.7;xiii.15;xx18.) John Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of Joshua, trans. Henry Beveridge, in vol. 4 of Calvin’s Commentaries, 22 vols. (reprinted ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 178.

The list of defeated kings in Chapter 12 is a direct challenge to us - saying, ‘thanks for all your blessings,’ is often used as a prayer of thanksgiving, but it would be better for us to use specific words! Biblical prayers of thanksgiving and praise do not consist of vague generalizations but rather contains specific examples of what the Lord has done. The purpose of remembering the past is to renew our hope and faith for the future. We may say, God works all things for the good of His people, but our faith that He is able and willing to do so is strengthened by remembering what He has accomplished in the past.

As we proceed into chapter 13 we are presented with a problem. Back in chapter 11 verse 23 we are informed that “Thus the land had rest from war.” How can we understand the first verse in chapter 13?

"Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed."

Do we have a real discrepancy in the historical record? To believers and skeptics this is a question that requires an answer. The basic argument for the accuracy and consistency of scripture in this example is based on the definition of ‘war.’ First, we need to remember that wars between nations need instigators and leaders and in the ancient world they were called ‘Kings.’ Prior to the God–ordained invasion of the Israelites the vast majority of inhabitants of Canaan were peasant workers. The land was owned by those very same kings that were listed in Chapter 12. Numerous historical examples prove that motivating the masses to war requires propaganda and direct efforts to demonize the enemy. In one sense, the peasant natives of Canaan were pawns of corrupt kings. But  I am not saying that the peasant natives were innocent pawns of corrupt kings. The Lord is just and his judgment of the Canaanites apparently included all who were disobedient and unrepentant. With the notable exception of Rahab, both kings and peasants were depraved and unrepentant; they were liable to the wrath of God, as are all who "do not honor Him as God or give thanks" (Romans 2:21). Rahab and her family repented and were spared; if there were others who were repentant, I suppose they might also have been spared- the Bible does not comment on that possibility therefore we ought to go no further. The Bible gives us all the information we need to know but not everything we might want to know! It is none of our business.

So back to the apparent discrepancy, I am saying that in a very real way, the defeat of the kings marked the end of organized warfare. The kings were defeated and were no longer instigating and organizing war against the sons of Israel. The land had rest from this kind of warfare. We use the term 'war' to mean anything from warring between nations to 'war' between families about a property dispute. It is clear from the Lord's catalogue of un-conquered territories contained in chapter 13, verses 3 through 6, that much of the land remained to be possessed and the task of possessing the land would take struggles and, to be sure, further fighting. The continuing battles fought would not be wars between nations, neither were they simply disputes about property rights. The battles remaining would be serious fights requiring cooperation between the Israelite tribes. They would be regional battles to displace stubborn occupiers of the Land that the Lord had granted to Abraham and his descendants.

The phrase, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed." (v. 1) implies that there was some danger that, at this very point in history, the people might have become weary of these many years of battles. The Lord's command to Joshua, "apportion this land for an inheritance ..." (v. 7) was perfectly timed to match the peoples war-weariness with an appropriate measure of encouragement. We must remember that they had been wanderers their whole lives - their fathers had left their homes in Egypt. Due to their lack of faith they had perished in the wilderness. Their children, these very people who had fought so long to posses the land, had never known a home to call their own. Living in tents, and not having any experience maintaining a homestead or farming the land, we can imagine they could easily revert back to their nomadic ways, continuing to live their lives 'on the road.'

We ought to consider that for these people, living in a home and farming the land may have been as foreign to them as it would be for us to consider living in a tent under an interstate highway overpass. Owning a home and land was a dream that their fathers had! After a lifetime of wandering the wilderness in tents, depending on the grace of God to provide for their necessities, we may excuse them for the fleeting thought that their former life on the road may appear preferable to this Promise Land with a future filled with what seems like endless battles.

But the Lord would have none of that! It is as if Yahweh is simply telling His people to consider the whole land theirs, and to go forward, in faith of that promise and in obedience to His command. This is an encouragement and a command! The land is yours, obey the Lord's command to occupy! Here is another example of godly realism - a realism that informs the people that they will have further battles but the Lord has already granted success because of that promise to Abraham so many years ago.

Our spiritual war has been won by our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. By His atoning sacrifice on the cross, King Jesus set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gained for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life. But our personal battles to displace remaining sin will continue till we die or Christ returns. We are realists but we also need the same encouragement that this generation of the sons of Israel required - the land is ours, simply obey the Lord's commands, and go forward!

As believers we are also are in danger of forgetting or forsaking our true inheritance. There may be times when we ponder that false peace we experienced during our former lives of pleasure seeking and worldliness. No struggle with our sin, no struggle with our old friends who approved of our ungodly behavior. We need this same encouragement - we do have an inheritance! This inheritance may be dimly seen, an inheritance which we are only faintly aware and with which we have no prior experience. This passage in the book of Joshua ought to remind us that the Lord has already granted us a "future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). Yahweh is telling us to consider the whole of our inheritance, and to go forward, in faith of that promise and in obedience to His commands.

Anakim

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. were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod some remained. 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 11:21-23).

The Anakim were observed some 40 years prior when Moses sent the 12 spies into the land of Canaan to return a report of the land to the people. The Lord commanded Moses to select a leader from each tribe to form this covert reconnaissance team. They are given the command to quietly explore the Negev and the hill country; the land that the Lord had promised to Abraham and to them as an inheritance.

The information they were to gather included the quality of the land; was it a fair land that could support these many people? Were the Canaanites strong or weak? Did the land have trees or was it prairie land? And could you please bring back some of the fruit of the land if you find any?

One must wonder if this was intended as a test of the peoples' faith. Or did Moses think they needed extra assurance from the spies reports? After all, the goal for Moses and the people had been the possession of the Promise Land and they had endured the hardships of this exodus from Egypt with this goal as a prime motivation. They had trusted the Lord so far, why the need of a report? I am not really sure except that in addition to this being a test of faith, this also gave two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, a first-hand look at the land that they would later enter into to do battle. Forty years' later, vital information about fortresses, cities, and armies would be remembered by Joshua. And also, he would remember where to find necessary water and provisions for the many women and children who would depend on him for sustenance.

From the Numbers 13 account, we read that ten of those spies came back with a negative report. The leaders failed to believe God's promises - and the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They said the people of the land were too strong for them. To emphasize the point, they referred to 'giants' in the land - Nephilim- the sons of Anak (Anakim) - "we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (read more about this shameful incident in Numbers 13:1- 14:10).

So now we read in Joshua 11 that the terror of this unbelieving generation - the Anakim - have been defeated by their children, the following generation. "Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim" (Joshua 11:21). The fear of the earlier generation appears so foolish now and the strength and faithfulness of the Lord is magnified! That generation lost the opportunity to possess that great promise of God because they failed to trust in the Lord. The one thing that put the terror into that unbelieving generation, the Anakim, the descendants of the Nephilim, were defeated.

The original two spies, Joshua and Caleb, by the grace of God were allowed to see this in their time. But the unfaithful would not see this fulfillment of the Promise. Later, we see that Caleb not only saw their expulsion from the Promised Land, but was also granted the land formerly occupied by these 'giants.'

I find it interesting that some surviving Anakim emigrated to Gath. Do you recall that other, 'giant' from Gath that later taunted unbelieving Israelites (1 Samuel 17)? Again, we see this unbelief in the great army of Saul unable to muster an ounce of faith and courage to attack this enemy of God's people. A descendant of the Anakim, Goliath by name, caused the army of Saul to be "dismayed and greatly afraid!" (1 Samuel 17:11). Faithful David, another in a long line of those who trusted the promises of God, was able to defeat this descendant of the Anakim.

Application: Most of us have many fears. And at times we are, "dismayed and greatly afraid"  of our own 'giants.' In this passage in the book of Joshua the Lord exposes the groundlessness of the fear and unbelief of the earlier, Numbers 13, generation. The Anakim were not able to thwart the purposes of God. Our most dreadful fears are also subject to the power of God. The point of the account of the defeat of the Anakim in Joshua 11 is that God's power is adequate to meet both the fears of the Sons of Israel of old, and our own fears. The form of our fears are different but the adequacy of our God is the same.

Brother Dale Ralph Davis adds this to our discussion, "In Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan describes Christian's approach to the Palace Beautiful where he hoped to get lodging. He began to walk down a very narrow passage leading to the porter's lodge. Then he saw two lions in the way. Bunyan adds parenthetically: "The lions were chained; but he saw not the chains." That is frequently our case - we fear because we don't see the chains. Yet the fact that Christ sits at the Father's right hand "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" and has "all things under his feet" (Ephesians 1:20-22) means that every power that would destroy us is chained. But, sometimes, we don't see the chains." (Davis, Dale Ralph No Falling Words, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg 101-102)

Conquest of the North - Joshua 11

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.