Joshua 11:1–14
1 Then it came about, when Jabin king of Hazor heard about it, that he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,
2 and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the Arabah—south of Chinneroth and in the lowland, and on the heights of Dor on the west—
3 to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
4 Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
5 So all of these kings gathered together, and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
6 Yet the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I am going to turn all of them over to Israel as good as dead; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”
7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and attacked them.
8 And the Lord handed them over to Israel, so that they defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon, and Misrephoth-maim, and the Valley of Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them.
9 And Joshua did to them just as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms.
11 They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire.
12 Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings; and he struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed them, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.
13 However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.
14 And all the spoils of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every person with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one breathing.
Victory in Northern Canaan
The battle against the northern coalition
The victory in the southern region allowed Joshua to march up north without any worry of being attacked from behind. Just as the kings of the south joined to form a coalition, the kings of the north gathered as well in an attempt to battle Joshua’s army. (1) Jabin, king of Hazor, became the leader. (2) The kings of the cities in the north hill country (Galilee), Arabah south of Chinneroth (Jordan Valley south of the Sea of Galilee), lowlands (within the Shephelah north from Mount Carmel), the heights of Dor (sloping area towards the west and the south from Mount Carmel) responded to Jabin’s call. (3) The combined armies of the coalition were “as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.” They came together at the waters of Merom in order to fight Israel.
The Lord’s command
Let’s look at some characteristics of the battle against the northern coalition. (1) The Lord spoke to Joshua new words of encouragement. “Do not be afraid because of them.” Are you in need of a new word of encouragement today? If so, let’s ask the Lord for a new anointing. (2) The Lord told Joshua to hamstring the enemies’ horses and burn their chariots with fire. (3) Next day, Joshua ambushed the northern armies and pursued them as they fled in three directions. (4) After defeating them, Joshua did as he was told. He hamstrung the horses and burned their chariots. The horses could no longer be used in war but could be used as farm horses. Considering the battles ahead, it was more favorable to keep them as war horses, but Joshua obeyed the Lord’s command. He chose to trust in the Lord, rather than strengthening his military (ref. Ps. 33:17). Next, Joshua captured Hazor, struck its king, and burned the city. However, he did not burn the cities on the hilltop. Israel claimed all the spoils of these cities and the cattle as their plunder. As so, the judgment toward the Canaanites was fulfilled in the northern region. What can you learn from Joshua’s obedience toward the Lord? What is He expecting from you today?
Today's prayer
God of Israel, please protect and guide me, that I might live this earthly life placing my unwavering faith in You alone. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.