Day 20 – 40 Days of Daily Devotions – Book of Joshua
Day 20
Devotional Reading:
Joshua 11 (KJV)
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
Joshua had conquered the conquest of the south now he was facing the north. Israel defeated the Kings and Israel witnessed God sovereign hand, move on their behalf. God fought for Israel in the previous wars by having the wall of Jericho to fall. When fighting the kings, God would fight by releasing hailstones from heaven to descend upon them and killing them. Now Jabin King of Hazor who was beforetime head of all those southern kingdoms stirred up the kings of the north to team up with him to help defeat the Israelites. The enemy is always conspiring to come up against you. If he feels defeated, he will gather up a people to help him fight you to destroy you. God has your back. He will never send you into a place unprepared.
The war that Joshua was to take on looked overwhelming for Joshua when he saw the strength in number of the enemy. The children of Israel never faced anything of this magnitude before. Understand according the Josephus, the Jewish historian, informs us that Jabin was able to bring together an army of 300,000 soldiers, 10,000 horsemen and 20,000 chariots.
God reassures Joshua again in Verse 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.
In this war, Joshua would work hard seeing He and the army had to use the strength that God have given them. There were no hailstones falling to help them. God in the previous battles had supernatural intervened, which has caused Israel faith to grow and for them to mature in the things of God. Our past battles that led us to victory are to prepare us to keep walking by faith. They teach us how to remove all doubt and cause us to step out of the boat and onto the water.
Know that when Job and David were going through their most desperate and difficult times they leaned on and trusted God. They not only had a testimony they had a witness of who God was for themselves.
Job 13:15 (KJV)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
Job 19:25 (KJV)
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Psalm 37:25 (KJV)
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Not only does God tell them to slay them. God tells them to lame the horses and burn the chariots. God would show them what the enemy would use as their weapons and for their strength they would not to be able to depend on them.
Psalm 20:7 (KJV)
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
They were to move forward on God’s Word alone. Notice Moses’ name is mentioned throughout this chapter, to remind us that when the Word of God has been spoken and passed down you must remember it and treasure God’s Word. Joshua was not going to make another mistake like he did with the Gibeonites. It is clear that he heard God, and he remembered the Words that God told Moses. In one of our previous devotional readings, we saw that Joshua spent much time with Moses in the mountain and stayed in the presence when Moses went out. Hold unto God’s Word and whatever you do don’t let go. Do not let it depart from your heart.
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
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.
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.
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.
When God gives you a Word hold onto it. Don’t let the Word go its life.
Remember 40 year ago Moses sent them over to spy out the land, and they saw Anakims who were giants and came back with a negative report to Moses. Their process has lined up with their timing, and those negative reports that were speaking have no voice. When you hear God, you must cut off all distractions that will deter you from the plan of God. Time to take them out.
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.
Pray:
Father in the name of Jesus, I want to take this time to thank you for teaching me that you work on our behalf in many ways. Isaiah 40:28 – There is no searching of His understanding. Keep me focused and in your Word. When I have deterred from your plan that you have set for my life, bring me back to the place where I belong. I thank you for teaching me that you are always there, and you have gone before me. I know that you are always equipping and preparing me to walk in total victory. I thank you for delivering me from fear and teaching me to walk in power, love and a sound mind. In Jesus name, Amen!
Copyright © 2015 by Pastor Misty Holmes-Dorsey