JOSHUA LESSON 12


     We will begin this lesson in Joshua 11:1 "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,"

     "Jabin"  means intelligent. This was more of a title than a name.
He was head of the Canaanites against Israel. It appears their
governments were small and fragmented from the other little nations
around them. Israel did not have to fight them all at once, because
they had no lasting agreement with each other. With God leading Israel
it was not a problem to take on one of these small nations and defeat
them. It seems that Jabin was trying to form a group of the people
around him to join in and fight Israel. Madon and Shimron are not
known of elsewhere in the Bible.

     Joshua 11:2 "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,"

     These are some more of the small nations or kingdoms that Jabin
is trying to get to come in with him to fight Israel. These are from
the north, south and west. Chinneroth is one name for the Sea of
Galilee. This was in the land of Galilee.

     Joshua 11:3 "[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."

      Now, we see all of the people that God had promised to give
Israel are gathered against Israel. They could all be classed as
Canaanites. Each had their own tribal names like Amorite, Hittite,
Perizzite, Jebusite, and Hivite.

     Joshua 11:4 "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."

     All of them together made up a sizable army. They also had many
war chariots and horses. We might remember back, that Pharaoh had all
of this too, and God drowned them in the Red Sea.

     Joshua 11:5 "And when all these kings were met together, they
came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against
Israel."

     The reason they were willing to fight together is, they knew
individually they had no chance against Israel. "Merom" means the
waters of heights. They will all come against Israel at once.

     Joshua 11:6  "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."

     Joshua needed encouragement with this large army set to come
against them. The horses and chariots in particular made them seem
more powerful than they were. "Hough" means hamstring or exterminate.
Notice, God says he will deliver them up slain. The chariots will burn
with fire. Perhaps, the reason God wants the horses and chariots
destroyed is so Israel will not start depending on them for their own
protection.

     Joshua 11:7 "So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him,
against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon
them."

     It appears, from this, that Joshua attacked.

     Joshua 11:8 "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."

     Joshua's army was too powerful for them and they began to run.
Joshua's troops followed them unto Zidon, unto Misrephoth-main, and
unto Mizpeh and killed all of them.

     Joshua 11:9 "And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he
houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire."

     The string behind the horses hoof was cut and left the horses of
no use at all. They burned the chariots as well. God was Israel's help
and they did not need earthly power.

     Joshua 11:10  "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."

     Hazor was destroyed first because they were the ones who had put
this coalition army together against Israel.

     Joshua 11:11 "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."

     They killed all the women, the men, and even the chidren.

     Joshua 11:12 "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."

     It appears, that some of the cities Joshua had already destroyed
all the people in, had been repeopulated with other people. He now
burns Hazor with fire to keep this from happening here.

     Joshua 11:13 "But [as for] the cities that stood still in their
strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; [that] did
Joshua burn."

     This perhaps, means these cities were up on a hill separate from
the other cities. They were good look-outs. They would, also, not be
easily re-populated because of their position.

     Joshua 11:14 "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."

     In many cases they had killed all of the livestock, as well. In
this particular case, they had kept the livestock and spoiled the
city, just killing all of the people.

     Joshua 11:15  "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."

     We see from this, that Joshua was doing exactly as he had been
commanded by Moses to do. God had given these commands to Moses before
he gave them to Joshua. Deuteronomy 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the
word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it,
that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command
you." Deuteronomy 7:2 "And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them
before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou
shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:"

     Joshua 11:16 "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;" Joshua
11:17 "[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."

     He did all of this in obedience to the commands of God.
Deuteronomy 1:7 "Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount
of the Amorites, and unto all [the places] nigh thereunto, in the
plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea
side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great
river, the river Euphrates."

     Joshua 11:18 "Joshua made war a long time with all those kings."

     The war in the south lasted weeks, or perhaps a few months, but
the war in the north lasted much longer. Some historians say the
taking of their cities took somewhere between 5 and 7 years.

     Joshua 11:19 "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."

     The cities all had to be taken by force, except the Hivites, who
tricked Joshua into accepting them as servants of Israel. Gibeon was
the main city that was saved.

     Joshua 11:20 "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."

     God's wrath was against them, as it had been against Pharaoh of
Egypt. In both instances God hardened their heart and then destroyed
them. God had planned to give this land to Israel for their promised
land. The people were not followers of God, so He destroyed them and
gave the land to Israel.

     Joshua 11:21  "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."

     The Anakims had been going back and taking over the cities that
Joshua had already defeated. Now, Joshua goes in and destroys the
Anakims. "Anakims" means long necked men.

     Joshua 11:22 "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."

     There was a remnant of these giant people who lasted even until
the time of David, because Goliath was a giant, over 9 feet tall.
There was just a handful of giants left. They were almost annihilated
in the time of Joshua, here. Gaza was a stronghold of the Philistines.
Gath and Ashdod were too.

     Joshua 11:23 "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."

     They took the entire promised land as God had commanded them to
do. Joshua divided it up among the tribes as God had told him to do.
This does not mean that he had killed every single person in
opposition to Israel. It just means they were in total control of the
land of promise. They cast lots to determine who got what piece of
land. We remember, the Levites got cities instead of land. All the
other tribes got their allotted land. There was no more war, because
the few people left, greatly feared Israel's God.





                         Joshua 12 Questions


1.  Who was king of Hazor.
2.  What does "Jabin" mean?
3.  This was more of a ________ than a ________.
4.  What was Jabin trying to do, beginning with verse 1?
5.  Chinneroth is another name for the ______ of __________.
6.  What small nations could all be classified as Canaanites?
7.  What two things did the Canaanite armies have that Israel did not?
8.  Where did they meet to fight against Israel?
9.  What does "Merom" mean?
10. What made these armies seem powerful to Joshua?
11. What does "hough" mean?
12. What will God do to their chariots?
13. Where did they run toward?
14. What, exactly, did Joshua's men do to the horses?
15. Why was Hazor destroyed?
16. Why did Joshua and his army kill all of the people?
17. What was meant by "stood still in their strength"?
18. In verse 14 the Israelites were allowed to take what?
19. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 2.
20. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 7.
21. What is meant by "long time" in verse 18?
22. Which was the only city that made peace with Israel?
23. What did God do to these people to cause them to fight Israel?
24. What does "Anakims" mean?
25. How tall was Goliath?
26. Gaza was a stronghold of the ____________.
27. How was the land divided?