[9.1, 10.3-5, 11.1-5] The enemies gather. Like ravenous wolves. A gathering storm. Those who oppose not only throw their collective might and resources against God and His people but they also come against those who are going over to the side of God’s people. ‘Cuz rebellion not only loves company, it cannot abide [deserters].
The promise of conquest. The [southern Canaanites] gather against the new allies of Israel, the Gibeonites, to whom Joshua has made a promise. And Joshua keeps his word and comes to their aid [6-7]. To which God gives Joshua yet another promise: Josh. 10:8 The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you.” Same for the [northern Canaanites]: Josh. 11:6 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel.” Do not be afraid. Why? I will be with you, AND I will fight for you. God is highly vested in fighting for His people. Over and over again He repeats this promise and shows this truth to Joshua. Just as sure as the world is against us, opposing the purposes and the people of God, God is with us. He is for us [Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?] He is always with us [Matt. 28:20b “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”]. AND He is faithful. Know this, Never.Doubt.This: 2Chr. 16:9 “The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” The promise of conquest. How about you(r heart)? How completely is it His?
The armies of the world line up against God’s people. They even line up against the friends of God’s people. Enemies are sure to come. Temptations, and distractions are sure to come. If we would live in God’s land of promise, there is sure to be opposition. Those who oppose. They point their arrows and their fingers and level their accusations against God’s people, would-be ambassadors of Good News who are far from perfect. But in reality, this battle isn’t ultimately waged on any earthly plain. When we pull back the curtain, we see a pitched battle in the heavenlies. An age-old rebellion, led by the prince of darkness. And his minions, those of like mind, are loathe to acknowledge God as God. A desperate rebellion that is doomed to fail. In the end, God always wins. 2Ki 6:16 So [Elisha] answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” We see the same thing in these next 3 chapters of Joshua: Joshua 10:25, 42 Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.” Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Josh. 11.23 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 divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war. Josh. 12:1,24b Now these are the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel defeated…: in all, thirty-one kings. We see total victory/vindication of the plans and purposes of the God Who.so.loves the whole world (including those who oppose) The promise of conquest.
One message resounds throughout the entire Bible: God, His plans, His grace - and those who side with Him - overwhelmingly conquer: Rom. 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. The promise of conquest. 2Cor. 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Is. 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
Now, [12.24] 31 kings (+2). Each one representing cities inhabited by hundreds if not thousands of people. So we’re talking tens of thousands of people. They ALL knew what was coming. They all heard about the God of Israel [2:8-11][Rom. 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of human beings who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.]. Everybody knows in their heart of hearts that there is a Great I Am, and I am not Him. Life is all about surrendering to that truth. Surrendering to Him.
As best we can tell, the Canaanites were all hoping for some other form of deliverance besides surrendering their heart to the one true God. The one exception we know of? Rahab. And maybe the Gibeonites? But as we step back and we “assess the damage”, this conquest of Canaan, it’s tempting to point a finger and accuse the Lord of being too harsh. It’s natural to feel a sense of shock and awe at the destruction we see in Joshua. Maybe instead we should be shocked by the [rebellion]. Horrified. Cuz truly, the consequences of sin ARE horrific. Remember, God told us that at some point, the sins of the Canaanites (Amorites) would be complete [Gen 15.16]. We see that our holy AND merciful Maker reaches this breaking point with peoples, where the depth and depravity of their rebellion catches up with them and He brings physical destruction down upon their heads. People not simply living apart from Him but standing against Him, against what He wants. The days of Noah. Sodom and Gomorrah. Now the Canaanites. Their sins in the name of religion - were horrific, AND catastrophic. Sin has catastrophic consequences: definitely in the next life, often in this.
But again, 2 key points: 1) life is not about our fate in this life. This life can be great, so enjoyable in so many ways. But it is also broken on so many levels, and fleeting. Once broken, this world ceased to be our ideal home. In fact, God’s Word tells us that He is going to make a new world for His people - and it will be so much better than this. The point of life in this world is getting ready for life in the next. THAT is the promise of conquest!
2) God’s justice and white hot holiness requires that rebellion MUST be dealt with. Sin must be punished. The most shocking awesome thing is actually that God would delay at all in dealing with our sin. Yet the history of the world is exactly that. God delays the just penalty for sin because He is also full of mercy. And He is giving people everywhere the chance to repent, to turn around in their hearts [Acts 17:30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.”].
And this is the real conquest in play here. What we’re ultimately talking about is not you and me and ours conquering the things of this life, having everything turn out with us at the top of the heap [Frank Sinatra famously crooned, "I wanna wake up in the city that doesn't sleep, to find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap"]. The real conquest is where each and every heart puts the Lord at the top of their heap. Where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. [Phil. 2:10-11 At the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.] The promise of conquest. AND the paradox of surrender [Lk 9.24]. Losing our life. Sadly, this kind of surrender is super hard for many people to embrace (including and especially Americans) - cuz we hate to lose [cf the quote by Gen. Patton below]. But as it relates to God's promise, victory, conquest, is tied to our ability to surrender.
There ARE enemies. Stumbling blocks. Things that make victory seem unattainable. Make faith seem unbelievable. But there is hope, in the Lord. And in Joshua we see the Lord fulfill His promise to His people. He does all the necessary fighting for them, even against overwhelming odds. The promise of conquest. He is faithful. And merciful. And we can trust Him. Yeshua. The God Who saves.
2Cor. 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
2Chr. 20:6 and he said, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.”
Luke 9:24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
PATTON
"When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time… Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans."
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