Joshua 11-12; Major Victories

Objectives

• Students will recognize that they have a part to play and cannot depend on major victories to carry them through.
• Students will determine to do their part regardless of how a perceived leader is doing.

1. Note: Joshua 11 must be understood together with Joshua 13:1. The Israelites had some major victories in chapter 11 but there seems to be a problem, namely Israel failed to solve the small problems and only seems to have focussed not he major cities.

Introduction

• In recent history we have seen several military operations that have taken a fair amount of time. Despite having resources, technology, and a vastly superior military, these operations have taken a significant amount of time. What are some reasons for this?
  • Try to avoid a political discussion, instead work to the point that major battles are different from the minor small scale battles. Local peoples are a real challenge for a military force.
  • Isoroku Yamamoto is often attributed with saying "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." This quote is disputed but it, nevertheless proves an important point. Conquest of a land requires more than just victories in major battles.

Main Body

Another Major Operation (V. 1-15)

• What political action is taken in Joshua 11:1-6?
  • A major alliance is formed by all the kings of the northern cities. The plain near waters of Merom is a region just North of the sea of Galilee. The army was enormous "Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century A.D., speculated that this northern confederacy included 300,000 infantry soldiers, 10,000 cavalry troops, and 20,000 chariots.". It is hard to say how many Israelites were in the military. Scholars have grappled to find a balance between the large numbers of Numbers 26:1-4 and Numbers 26:51 with Joshua 4:13. Many scholars hold that the 40,000 listed in Joshua represent just the portion that was from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Deuteronomy 7:1-7 indicates that Israel was charged with pushing out seven nations each larger than themselves. Which would be a huge number if Israel's army totaled 600,000. Scholars have wrestled with this conflict and many ideas have been proposed including a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for 1000. In any case, the point is that the northern cities of Canaan managed to form a enormous fighting coalition to oppose Joshua.

• What promise is made to Joshua in Joshua 11:6?
  • God promised that He would be with Joshua.

• What does Psalm 20:7 teach us about why God would have Israel destroy the Canaanite weapons that they otherwise might have been able to use themselves?
  • It appears that God wanted Israel to trust in Him alone.

• What strategy does Joshua use in verses 7-9?
  • Joshua takes the offensive, attacks, has victory, presses the victory and destroys the military force.

• What important city does Joshua destroy in verses 10 and 11?
  • Hazor was probably the largest city (about 200 acres) and was an important city on the trade routes through the region.

• How did Joshua handle the other cities listed in verses 12-14?
  • Joshua defeated the cities but did not completely destroy the cities themselves.

• What summary statement is provided in Joshua 11:15?
  • Joshua had done his part, the major battles had been won.

A summary of the Conflict (11:16-23)

• How do verses 16-17 summarize the efforts?
  • We are shown that Joshua's battle campaign was extensive.

• What does verse 18 tell us?
  • The battle took a long time.

• What do verses 19-20 tell us?
  • God ensured the complete conquest of the land by preventing the cities from making peace with Israel.

• Why do you suppose special mention is made of the Anakim in verses 21-22?
  • There were the people who had caused terror for the spies 45 years earlier in Numbers 13:33. God has demonstrated his faithfulness by allowing Israel to accomplish what they had thought to be impossible.

Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 353.