Joshua 11:1-9

¹ When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph, ² and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; ³ to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. ⁴ They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. ⁵ All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
⁶ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
⁷ So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, ⁸ and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. ⁹ Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

Introduction

When basketball players make a basket, especially when they convert three-point shots, they would celebrate in many different signature manners. They bump fists, chests, hips, or shoulders. Others run, dance or do acrobats.
Celebration for every shot made does not necessarily decide the result of the game. While winners celebrate, losers feel sorry watching the celebration.

In Romans 12:15, ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Is it easy for the losers to rejoice when winners are rejoicing? Can you rejoice with the winning team when your favorite team is in the losing end?
After Israel defeated their enemies should they not celebrate? The Bible did not mention anything about celebration after they completely destroyed their enemies in southern Canaan. They still have the northern Canaanites to conquer.
When the kings of the northern part of Canaan heard of what happen in the south, they joined their forces, assembled and planned on how to resist Israel.

1. Assembly

¹ When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph, ² and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; ³ to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. ⁴ They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. ⁵ All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

Jabin king of Hazor must have been very influential. He gathered all the kings and their forces from the other tribes of Canaan. Horses and chariots might be an indication that they had the most advance armed forces at that time.
They were as numerous as the sand. That multitude would have caused Joshua to panic but the Lord encouraged him not to be afraid of their numbers.
Have you observed that most of the times problems can overwhelm us? On earth, we always face trials. Troubles reveal believers who have received Christ.
In Romans 8:35-39, ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Believers who sincerely accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord can experience His love, joy and peace in the midst of difficulties. As we grow spiritually mature, we grow more confident in the Lord, grow in our love of the Lord, and become more obedient to His instructions. To obey His command proves love for God.
It says in 1 John 5:3-5, ³In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

God’s word assures us that we can be victorious in this world because of our faith in Christ. Likewise, God’s word has assured Joshua of their victory.

2. Assurance

⁶ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
⁷ So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, ⁸ and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. ⁹ Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

While the kings and their forces were having a meeting on what strategy they would use, Joshua and his whole army came and attacked them by surprise. They had no time to instruct their forces. Everyone scrambled to safety but the Israelites overtook them because the Lord delivered them into their hands.
Joshua did as the Lord told him. He disabled horses and burned chariots.
Why did God want Joshua to destroy the modern armament or military equipment of their enemies? They could have used the horses and chariots to travel faster or defeat their enemies, right?
The Lord was teaching Joshua and the Israelites to trust in Him instead of their abilities or what they have. He proved to them that modern military equipment had no advantage when they put their trust in the Lord.
It says in Psalm 20:7, ⁷Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

It is easy for to blame others when there’s problem. Have you ever asked, “Why does God allow problem when I trusted Him?” You are not alone. When Israel came out of Egypt, the Egyptian pursued them. They complained a lot.

Crossing of the Red Sea

It says in Exodus 14:9-11, ⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

The raging chariots and horsemen scared the Israelites and blamed Moses. In contrast, when the kings of the northern Canaan assembled, instead of panic, Joshua and his army trusted the Lord and they destroyed all the enemies.
When God allows us to face problems (personal, family, church), should we blame others like the Israelites who were with Moses or should we be like the next generation Israelites who were with Joshua? What’s your concern today?
Paul advised in 1 Corinthians 7:30-32; 35, ³⁰those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; ³¹ those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. ³²I would like you to be free from concern… ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Concerns are opportunities not to blame others but to trust the Lord. Ask the Lord to free you from concerns that may divide your devotion to Him. We can progress in our spiritual journey if we have undivided devotion to the Lord.

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