Joshua 10:40

The Bible says in Joshua 10:40-43, “So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.[41] And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.[42] And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.[43] And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.” The key phrase in these verses is found in verse forty-two that tells why the children of Israel had so many victories early in their occupation of the Promised Land. It says, “because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.” Unless God fights the battle, the enemy will not be defeated. That is the clear message. Another message is this: draw close to the LORD, and do things His way, and trust in Him. He will give you the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Bible says in Joshua 11:1-6, “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,[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,[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.[4] And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.[5] And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.[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.” Once again kings formed an alliance and came to fight Israel. But also once again God told Joshua basically, “Don’t worry about it. I got this too.” The LORD said in verse six, “Be not afraid because of them.” As we live this life for Christ, we also will go from one battle to the next. The only way to be able to handle these things that will come upon us is to stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. His words will take away our fear. He will give us the victory. If you stay close to the Lord Jesus and His Word, you can look into your future and this is what you will see: spiritual enemies and war, but also victory over them all.

The Bible says in Joshua 11:7-15, “So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.[8] And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.[9] And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.[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.[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.[12] And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded.[13] But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.[14] And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.[15] As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.” There is an important point to be made from these verses. Notice that Joshua obeyed both the LORD and Moses. When Moses was alive, Joshua was under Moses’ leadership. God spoke to Moses, and then Moses spoke to the people. God puts people into positions of leadership, and God expects you to have the right amount of obedience and respect and honor to those that God has put over you in your life. It says in verse fifteen, “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua.” And it says to Christians in Romans 13:1-2, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” And it says in Romans 13:7, “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

The Bible says in Joshua 11:16-23, “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;[17] Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew 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, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other 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 destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.[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.[22] There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.[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.” Only one king made peace with Israel. The rest wanted to fight Israel. Why did they want to fight: God. The LORD controlled their hearts just like He controls everyone else. Verse twenty is the key verse of this passage, and it says, “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.” God hardened their hearts so that they would attack Israel, so that God would then use Israel to destroy them. God’s ways are unsearchable. Do not fear what human beings are doing. The LORD is in charge. The outcome will be just the way the LORD wants it to be.

The Bible says in Joshua 12:1-6, “Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:[2] Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;[3] And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah:[4] And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,[5] And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.[6] Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.” In these verses we are reminded of the fact that the land that God gave to Israel included a lot of land on the east side of the Jordan River. The current day Israel is much smaller than God intends to make available as a part of Israel one day.

The Bible says in Joshua 12:7-24, “And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;[8] In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

[9] The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;[10] The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;[11] The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
[12] The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
[13] The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
[14] The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
[15] The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
[16] The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
[17] The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
[18] The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
[19] The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
[20] The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
[21] The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
[22] The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;[23] The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one;[24] The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.” Verse seven says that “Joshua and the children of Israel” won the victory over all these kings. Of course, we know that it was because God gave them the victory. As long as they stayed close to the LORD and did things His way, they were victorious. The reason that the nation of Israel went so far down and were eventually themselves conquered is because they stopped doing things God’s way and they stopped walking close to Him. Christians are given the same message over and over in the New Testament. Jesus told us that we cannot bear fruit unless we abide in the vine. Jesus is the vine. Similarly, we are told in Galatians that we must “walk in the Spirit” to avoid manifesting the “works of the fresh.”

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