Joshua 10:28–43
28 Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.
30 And the Lord also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.
32 And the Lord handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it.
35 They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it.
37 And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it.
39 He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.
40 So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.
41 Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon.
42 Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Victory at Southern Canaan
Conquered cities
Joshua and his army continued their conquest. Following are the names of the conquered cities: Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, and Eglon. Now, the conquest of the lowlands (an area between the mountains and the coastal plain called the Shephelah) was complete. Next, Joshua captured Hebron in the hill country of Judah and then Debir. With this, all cities in the hill country were captured, except for Jerusalem. Verse 40 is a summary of Chapter 10. “Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.” (1) The hill country refers to the southern mountain range called the Hill Country of Judah (or Judean Mountains). (2) Negev is the desert region of the south. (3) The lowland is the Shephelah. (4) The slopes refer to the sloping area from the hill country to the Jordan River. We should pay special attention to the fact that it was the Lord who had given Israel victory in the abovementioned battles.
The reason for the ban
Let’s again think about what “the ban (utter destruction)” is. (1) The ban was a command given in a specific time (Joshua’s time), in a specific area (the land of Canaan), against certain specific people (the Canaanites). There are no passages other than in Joshua where the ban is permitted. (2) The ban was God’s judgment toward the Canaanites, in which He used Israel as the mean. (3) This was a fulfillment of the prophecy spoken to Noah (Gen. 9:25). Noah foresaw the corruption of Canaan, the son of Ham, and spoke of a curse upon him. (4) From the perspective of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Canaanites were given 400 years to repent (Gen. 15:13), but they did not do so. (5) The Canaanites were placed under the ban, to protect the spiritual purity of Israel, as the Canaanites practiced idolatry and sexual immorality. God provides even for us a time necessary to repent. Let us not take lightly God’s patience and cling immediately to God’s grace.
Today's prayer
Holy God, now is the time of grace, now is the time of salvation. May our families and friends promptly return to You. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.