Joshua 11:15–23
15 Just as the Lord had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland
17 from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings, and struck them and put them to death.
18 Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.
19 There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle.
20 For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 Then Joshua came at that time and eliminated the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
22 There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod some remained.
23 So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with everything that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. So the land was at rest from war.
Review of the Battles
Conquest of eight regions
Joshua had conquered eight regions. (1) Hill country (the hill country of Judah and the hill country of Ephraim), (2) all of Negev (the desert region of the south), (3) all lands of Goshen (this is Goshen in the hill country of Judah, not in Egypt. Ref. 15:51), (4) the lowlands (Shephelah), (5) the Arabah (Jordan Valley that runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea), (6) the hill country of Israel (higher hill country of Galilee), (7) the lowlands (lower hill country of Galilee), (8) area from Mount Halak that rises toward Seir to Baal-gad in the Lebanon Valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. In order to conquer all of these areas, Joshua battled for seven years (only the major battles were recorded in this book). All residents of Canaan, except for the Gibeonites, were conquered. The series of these battles were of the Lord’s. Joshua utterly destroyed the Anakim cities. The Anakites were the giants that terrified the ten spies 40 years ago (ref. Num. 13). However, Joshua destroyed them with ease. With this, the Anakites disappeared from the stage of the Bible.
Joshua’s character
Let’s learn from Joshua’s leadership. (1) Tactically, he constantly was in offense rather than defense. Also, he utilized raid strategies to catch enemies off guard. Furthermore, he pursued the enemies and completely destroyed them such that they were incapable of regrouping. (2) Spiritually, he was faithful to promises. He kept the promises made to Rahab and Gibeonites. Also, he did not use his position for personal gain. He was obedient to God’s commands as the successor of Moses (the covenant with the Gibeonites was a result of inattentiveness, not that Joshua was disobedient to God). It says in Verse 23, “So Joshua took the whole land.” There were scattered areas unconquered, but as a whole, the land was conquered. Joshua was well aware that he was the successor of Moses. What will you learn from Joshua’s leadership?
Today's prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, You are the God of the covenant, the One who surely fulfills Your promises. Please protect me today that I might walk faithfully in Your commands. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.