So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. (Joshua 11:4)
Joshua went from victory to victory over the kings of the land. This made the enemy kings to group together in an unholy alliance. The above verse describes the size of the army that came against Joshua and his people.
There is a vital principle here. When you have victory after victory, the enemies will group together to fight against the people of God.
When they wanted to put Jesus on the cross, Pilate and Herod became friends though they did not see eye to eye. (See Luke 23:12)
And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. (Joshua 11:5)
Merom means height
The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” (Joshua 11:6)
Notice the phrase, tomorrow at this time. This speaks of a 24 hour period.
The Lord promised Joshua a 24 hour miracle.
To “hock” or “hamstring” a horse was to cut the sinew in the back legs so as to render the animal incapable of speed.
The Lord wanted their confidence grounded in him, not in strength of sophisticated military implements. The multiplication of horses and use of chariots, therefore, declared a lack of faith on the part of Israel in God’s ability to achieve the victory.
Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. (Joshua 11:10)
Notice, how Joshua dealt with the head of those kingdoms. This ensured total victory. This is a great spiritual warfare principle. Deal with the root of the issue rather than only dealing with surface issues.
None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. (Joshua 11:22)
Even today Israel has been unable to capture Gaza. Gath is in Palestine territory. Ashdod is however now under Israeli occupation.
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