1 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9 And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction; there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15 Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that land, the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
21 And 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 devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 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 tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
As with the kings of the south, the kings of the north heard of Israel’s conquests and realised they too would soon face destruction. Another coalition was formed this time creating an enormous army that was so numerous it was like the sand on the seashore. Not only that, they came with many horses and chariots. Again God told Joshua not to be afraid because He would give them all over to Israel and then they were to hamstring (cripple) their horses and burn their chariots. The reason for this was likely twofold. Horses were involved in the Canaanite worship which God wanted Israel to remain far from and because there was a risk that Israel would depend on the might of weapons of war instead of God (Ps 20:7).
Hazor was singled out in the northern campaign because it was the largest city and served as a capital of the area. It was burned to the ground as an example unlike the other cities of the area.
The chapter closes with a summary of Joshua’s conquests stating that Joshua took all the land. This can be confusing because later it is said that there were still large areas of land to be taken over (Joshua 13:1). In the Hebrew mindset, the part represents the whole. Joshua had taken key centres in all the parts of the land which is why it can be said that he had conquered the whole land, even if it wasn’t completely.
In all the time Israel battled through Canaan, only the Gibeonites sought peace. Every other city and people took them on in battle. God had hardened their hearts against Israel so that they should be devoted to destruction, receive no mercy and be destroyed. As with Pharaoh in Egypt, they had missed the many opportunities for mercy and had chosen to harden their hearts. Now God had withdrawn His mercy and removed them from Canaan in order to give Israel their promised land.
It is so sad to see people ignore God’s mercy. Through the cross, God’s mercy is available to everyone and yet many ignore it. Eventually there comes a time when that mercy is no longer available. Jesus has made eternal life available to everyone but it is only available while we are still alive. Once we pass on from this life, that mercy is no longer available. If you haven’t accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation, then you will have to stand before His throne of judgement. Don’t let that be you.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Rahab and the spies: Joshua 1-2
Often we feel that God is unjust in his destruction of those who fail to accept Him and his offer of salvation but as He does with these cities, He offers everyone mercy many times but they fail to accept it and surrender themselves to God.