Joshua
Chapter 11-12
Background
 Innumerable people with very many horses and chariots
o 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. (Joshua 11:4 )
 Reminder: Chariots had blades on the axle extending upwards to 3 ft on each side
 Conquest of Canaan lasted 7 years, 85-40-38 = 7
o Caleb – 40 years old when sent as a spy into Canaan
 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out
the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. (Joshua 14:7)
o Caleb – 85 years old following the conquest
 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since
the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and
now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (Joshua 14:10)
o Israel wandered 38 more years after Kadeshbarnea
 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered,
was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among
the host, as the LORD sware unto them. (Deuteronomy 2:14)
10 Observations
1) History Repeats Itself
 Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different consequences is the definition of insanity
 I’m different
 God’s law does not change
o 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved
brethren. (James 1:14-16)
2) The mistake of following the crowd
 Always leads to destruction
o 10 ¶ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,
let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole,
as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with
spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with
them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely
in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. 18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily
for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the
owners thereof. (Proverbs 1:10-19)
3) God’s Great Love (Sunday) vs. God’s Great Judgment (Thursday)
 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.
(Joshua 11:20)
 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation
6:16-17)
 8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. 9 Thou shalt make
them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall
devour them. (Psalms 21:8-9)
 AW Pink – “….when God deals in judgment – whether it be with individuals or nations – He does so because man’s
sinfulness calls for it, and not because He delights therein.”
o 21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the
sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 22 Yet,
behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they
shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning
the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they
shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without
cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 14:21-23)
o
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8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath
the LORD done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the
covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. (Jeremiah 22:8-9)
o For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:33)
o Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11)
o For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may
do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. (Isaiah 28:21)
o One instance where the Bible talks of God being pleased in judgment
 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall
prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)
AW Pink – ‘While we contemplate with grief, shame, and horror the vile works of men of the same vicious natures
as our own, we must by no means overlook and ignore the place which Divine providence has in all those
occurrences in which they are actors.”
4) Don’t Forget About Chastisment
 While the wicked deserve the judgment of God, we must avoid thinking ourselves better than them. God’s chastises
those whom He loves!
o Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an
ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. (Jeremiah
5:15)
o And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall
eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy
fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. (Jeremiah 5:17)
o 6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of
the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment
and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. (Habakkuk 1:6-7)
o 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as
with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (Hebrews 12:5-7)
5) Our biggest battles…..only when we’re ready
 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they
return to Egypt: (Exodus 13:17)
 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience,
experience; and experience, hope: (Romans 5:3-4)
 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)
6) Be obedient and faithful…..with or without the miracles
 No hailstones, no standing still of the sun and moon
 God still brought the victory
 Miracles are exciting, but….
o And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a
sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. (Luke 11:29)
 Faithfulness demands obedience
 Victory required effort, faith and focus – but is all due to God
 Always balanced
7) We are more than conquerors
 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be
not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 20:1)
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For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deuteronomy
20:4)
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)
10 ¶ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam,
I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore
now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from
honour. 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 13
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do
either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? (Numbers 24:10-13)
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the
wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them
all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
8) Attacks on Us are Attacks on God
 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a
perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said,
Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that
he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. (Job 1:810)
 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. (Job 1:11)
 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said,
Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks. (Acts 9:4-5)
 Done for the ultimate glory of God
 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)
9) Hough the horses and burn the chariots
 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should
multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
(Deuteronomy 17:16)
 Israel’s greatest conquests came before they multiplied horses and chariots
o And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. (1 K 4:26)
o And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots,
and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
(1 Kings 10:26)
o Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are
many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither
seek the LORD! (Isaiah 31:1)
o The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. (Prov 21:31)
10) Leave Nothing Undone….Even the Hard Things (v 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. (Joshua 11:15)
o 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. (Josh 11:11)
o 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. (Josh 11:14)
 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone. (Matthew 23:23)
 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 AV)
 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Cor 12:9)
 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Heb 11:24)
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10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed
are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. (Matthew 5:10-11)
Bonus #1
Giants conquered (v 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. (Joshua 11:22)
o And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose
height was six cubits and a span. (1 Samuel 17:4)
Bonus #2 - Final Thought
 Part of Israel’s inheritance was on the eastern side of Jordan
o The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
 Greater inheritance is on the other side of Jordan
o But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)