Title: Joshua's Conquest of Canaan
Content 17. Joshua's Conquest of Canaan
A historical event occurs in Joshua's conquest of Ai (Joshua 8:1-7). It was because of Achan's unbelief that the people of Israel had a hard time, and after his deeds were exposed and he was executed, God helped him conquer Ai. This was widely reported, and the inhabitants of Jericho and their king became afraid of Israel. Here we look at the duties of Jericho and the war with the five kings there.
1. Adonisedek appears as the leading figure
“When Adonisedek king of Jerusalem heard it, he was greatly afraid” (verses 1-2), and it was a serious matter for the inhabitants of Israel to conquer Canaan one by one. The conquest was won with the help of a strange heaven rather than a strategic victory of the soldiers in the war (Joshua 6:1-20). As these rumors spread, the people of the surrounding area became more and more afraid of Israel. The conquest of Jericho completely departed from the basic fighting stance and methods (Joshua 6:1-5).
But even in such a way of fighting, Israel was victorious. It is rare in the world to destroy a castle by making a sound while walking around it. The inhabitants of Canaan initially ignored Israel, but as their victory became more certain and city conquered, fear grew. Such fears grew as “the child was smitten to an end,” and the rumors spread further and further.
Adonisedek was the king of Jerusalem, an important city of that time. He was terrified when he heard such rumors. In addition, the rumor that the inhabitants of Gibeon, a strategically important location, maintained good relations with Israel rather than hostilities, and that they “made peace” (v. 1) made these Canaanite kings even more uneasy. Gibeon was “the same great city” (v. 2), and it was important that the city made peace without fighting with Israel. So, Adonisedek tried to find a way to deal with such a situation (Joshua 10:1~2).
God's soldiers are always the object of fear of the world.
2. Adonisedek takes necessary action
“Adonisedec king of Jerusalem… … He said, “Come up to me and help me” (verses 3-4). Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, who foresaw Joshua's attack on him, made preparations for it. One such method was to “send his envoys to the other four kings of the surrounding area” for their help. Their relationship was close, and they sought help in times of crisis.
(1) The King of Hebron appears.
Hebron occupied the mountainous regions of Judah and performed well in strong mountain warfare.
(2) King Biram of Yarmuth appears.
“Jarmuth appears in Joshua 15:35 and Nehemiah 11:29, and the extent and details of that time are unknown.
(3) King Jabia of Lachish appears.
Along with Jarmuth, Lachish also occupied the lower reaches of Judah, and appears occasionally in Judah's later history (2 Kings 14:19; 18:14).
(4) Debir the king of Eglon appears.
This area was located not far from Lachish, on the road from Eryuderapolis to Gaza. Therefore, as a forward area of Jerusalem, it was an essential point for the defense of Jerusalem. Adonisedek foretold and made necessary preparations for an Israeli attack on Jerusalem through this area. At that time, these four countries and Jerusalem formed a form of federal government, with Adonisedek being their head.
God's will was to conquer all of Canaan and establish a kingdom of God's people there. Nevertheless, the inhabitants and their kings who had lived in the area for a long time disobeyed the will of Israel and waged a fierce battle. This also teaches us another lesson. Even if God gives us these blessings, it takes a lot of effort on our part to receive those blessings.
The king of Jerusalem said to them, “Come up and help me.” The enemies of God's people sometimes have this attitude. They disobey God's will and use worldly means to "come up and help us." Their way of living was to make peace with Israel like the Gibeonites, but they refused and prepared for battle.
These, under the direction of Adonisedek, “came up” and, together with all their armies, “made their battle against Gibeon” (v.
3. Joshua's Loyalty
“The people of Gibeon … … Come quickly to us and rescue us” (verse 6). The Amorite kings who live in the mountains come together using the federation system, camp in Gibeon, and try to attack Gibeon first. This is because Gibeon made peace with Israel and their battle lines were weakened. So, instead of attacking Israel, they wanted to attack Gibeon first. This was the conclusion of the strategic evaluation of these Amorite kings. At that time the Gibeonites turned to Joshua for help. Previously, Joshua had made peace with them and “made them alive” (Joshua 9:15). For that reason, when they were in crisis, they sought Joshua's help, and Joshua grants his request.
They hurriedly said, “Come up to us quickly” and “Do not be slow to help.” What we need to know in this case is Joshua's faithfulness. He kept his covenant. This is important. Joshua fought in the name of God and made a covenant with them in the name of God. Now he faithfully fulfills that covenant.
God's people should always have the glory of God in their hearts. The unfaithful attitude of God's people obscures the glory of God. At this point, we should be more honest.
It shows that Joshua heard the petition of the residents of Gibeon, “going up out of Gilgal with all the soldiers and mighty men” (verse 7), and immediately put it into action. Faith is not in words, but in actions. Now Joshua shows such a thing.
4. There is also God's help
“Then the LORD said to Joshua at that time” (v. 8), and how the LORD appeared to Joshua is unknown. But one thing is certain: God spoke to Joshua “when he went up” to help Gibeon. This has important implications. When Joshua first tried to keep his faith, God appeared. This shows that even in God's work, man's sincere attitude must come first. In some cases, God's help comes first, but man puts effort first, followed by God's help. You can see it right here.
God said, “Do not be afraid of them” (v. 8) when Joshua went out to fight the Amorite kings. where is that More specifically, God said, “I have delivered them into your hand, and not one of them shall be against you” (verse 8).
These same kings formed a federation to oppose Israel with great force, but it was only their thoughts. God had already said to Joshua, “I have given them into your hand.” This is the guarantee of an amazing victory. Hearing these words of the Lord, Joshua went up all night from Gilgal and came to them suddenly (verse 9) and launched a surprise operation.
Joshua conquered Jericho by miracle, Ai by strategy, and Gibeon by peace. Now he thought that he would conquer the whole region effortlessly, but he was stopped by the Canaanite Federation forces, and the first battleground was the Gibeon region. So he came to them "suddenly" and made a surprise attack, marching "all night long" for it. He did what he had to do with all his might. This shows the attitude of the believer. There are promises of God's help, but that does not exclude our human efforts.
That is exactly what Joshua teaches here. The war has already been won mentally.
5. There Is Jehovah's Intervention
“Because the LORD caused them to be defeated before Israel” (verse 10), the battle was already guaranteed to be Israel's victory. It was ① the intervention of Jehovah, ② Joshua also carried out the best strategy, and ③ there was the direct intervention of Jehovah. In this war, victory was not won on the side of man, but had already been determined by God. The enemies were defeated before Israel, not because Joshua's army was strong, but because the Lord intervened. With God's help, Joshua slaughtered and pursued the enemies at Gibeon, and pursued “as far as Makkedah (verse 10), which is one of the lower regions of Judah, and achieved a great victory. The appearance of the war at this time is well shown in “He rained down hail from heaven as far as Azekah” (verse 11).
An incident like this happened suddenly. This had an even more terrifying effect, since it had been brought down by the Lord. Large hailstones are hail stones in the Hebrew word ‘abgeibad’. This means that the hailstones are large. In tropical climates, this is sometimes the case. It was at this time that God helped Israel in this way and frightened the kings of Canaan. God's way of helping is beyond measure.
6. There are consequences
“The number of the children of Israel died more by the hailstones than by the sword” (verse 22). This is conclusive evidence for Israel and its enemies in this battle. This evidence shows several facts:
(1) God is great.
(2) The God helps Israel.
(3) Therefore, opposing that Israel will only bring ruin.
(4) Evidence of such is the number of deaths from hail.
This rumor would have spread far and wide, so that the God of Israel was more glorified.