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TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings in Joshua (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 14.3-The Final Conquest (Concluded) 11:1-12:24
Other Subjects in this Topic:
Gleanings In Joshua
14. The Final Conquest (Concluded)
Joshua 11:1-12:24
Summary
Before turning to the next section of our book (chapters 13-18), which treats of the apportioning of the land unto the tribes of Israel and their actual entrance into their inheritance, one more article is called for on chapter 11: with a few supplementary remarks upon the twelfth, where we have abbreviate of Israel's conquests. A report is made of the protracted fighting which the complete subjugation of the Canaanites entailed, and this is followed by a list of the thirty-one kings who were vanquished by Joshua. There are a number of details in the former chapter which, despite the five articles we have already written thereon, have not yet been noticed, and which are much too important for us to pass over, for they are details which adumbrate and illustrate various aspects of that good fight which Christians are called upon to wage. They concern things which, if success is to crown our efforts, contain valuable lessons that we do well to take to heart. Since they be included in the "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4), we cannot afford to ignore them.
When our Lord had miraculously fed the multitude with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, we are told that He bade His disciples to "gather up the fragments . . . that nothing be lost" (John 6:12)-a word that needs to be pressed much upon God's people today, for some of them are following the evil example of this wasteful and wanton generation by being guilty of throwing away much that could well be used or reused. It is in the spirit and according to the general principle contained in that precept of Christ's that we turn again to Joshua 11 for though we have, again and again, feasted from its contents in our more or less general survey of them, yet quite a few scattered "fragments" therein claim our attention, and these we shall now endeavor to "gather up" into this present article. Though we lack the ability to do as the apostles did and "fill twelve baskets" with the same, yet we trust that by Divine assistance we shall be able to provide sufficient to meet the needs of some hungry souls. The Lord graciously grant it.
"And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded" (Josh. 11:12). Most express orders had been given to him by his predecessor to do these very things (Deut. 7:2; 20:16, 17); he was to show no mercy and spare none, for they were drinking in iniquity like water is by the parched. And Moses, in turn, had received these instructions from the Lord Himself. Thus, in the slaughtering of the idolatrous and immoral Amorites, Joshua and his men were not actuated by a spirit of bloodthirstiness or malice, but instead were having regard to the Divine precepts. The practical application of this detail unto ourselves should be obvious. Some of God's statutes enjoin that which is painful unto flesh and blood (Matthew 16:24; Phil. 3:10), yea, quite contrary to our fallen natures (Matthew 5:29, 30), yet we must not pick and choose only those which are agreeable to us, but conform to the most trying and disagreeable of them; and even though it involves antagonizing those nearest and dearest to us (Matthew 10:34, 35; Luke 14:26), we must, like David, "have respect to all God's commandments" (Ps. 119:6).
"As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua: he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses" (Josh. 11:15). That is to be regarded first as a general statement, summarizing his obedience unto such enactments as Exodus 23:24; 34:11-13; Numbers 33:52; Deuteronomy 12:3, in which he was bidden to overthrow their idols and quite break down their images, to destroy their altars and cut down their groves, to destroy all their pictures and pluck down all their high places, to break down their pillars and burn their groves with fire; in short, so thoroughly to make an end of all the monuments of their religion that the very names of their false gods should be "destroyed out of that place." Thus Joshua was not free to follow his own caprice, nor left to the exercise of his own judgment, but was required to carry out the detailed orders which he had received from his Master. How conscientiously and thoroughly he did so appears from this inspired record of the Holy Spirit: "he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded."
"Would we approve ourselves upright, then we must leave nothing undone which the Lord hath commanded: for though omissions are not so scandalous, either in the world or in the Church, as commissions, they are as certainly acts of disobedience and effects of a will unsubjected to the Divine authority" (Thomas Scott). As our Lord told the Pharisees, who were very punctilious in paying tithe of mint and anise, yet omitted the weightier matters of the Law-judgment, mercy, and faith-"these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). Sincere obedience is impartial. He who from a right principle obeys any of God's commandments will have respect unto all of them. Here is one of the radical differences between gracious souls and empty professors: the latter act for themselves and not for God, and will do no more than what they consider promotes their own interests or enhances their reputation before their fellows and, like the Pharisees, usually lay stress on the "least" commandments, especially those things which distinguish them from other denominations, and neglect those which relate to moral duties attending to such externals as the "washing" of their hands, yet making no serious attempt to cleanse their hearts.
What a searching word is this for both writer and reader to measure himself by: "he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded"! Therein he conformed to that fundamental injunction, "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deut. 12:32). For men to add anything to the precepts of God, as binding upon the conscience or as being essential to personal piety, is an affront upon His wisdom, for it is tantamount to charging Him with an oversight. Equally so, to diminish aught from the Divine commandments, to ignore or render any of them void, is to despise God's authority and goodness. If we be wise, even a regard to our own interests will cause us to render unqualified obedience, for God has enjoined nothing but what is for our good, and therefore none of His commandments can be neglected but to our injury and loss. What a solemn word too is this to the preacher! Oh, that he may be able to look his congregation in the face and say truthfully at the close of a pastorate, "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you" (Acts 20:20).
"Joshua made war a long time with all those kings" (Josh. 11:18). Though the account of his conquest of Canaan be a very brief one and his numerous victories are packed into a small compass, yet it is not to be thought that they were all obtained within a few days (or even weeks) as was the case at Jericho and in the campaign described in chapter 10 but rather occupied a considerable period. Yet, after all, the expression "a long time" is a relative one, for the swiftness or slowness of time's passing is not always to be gauged by the clock. When its span is filled with stress and strain, its flight seems much slower-as it would to the mothers and wives more than to the fighting men of Israel themselves-hence in the Hebrew it reads "many days." But, as a matter of fact, that span of time comprised only seven years, as may be seen by a comparison of Joshua 14:1-10, with Deuteronomy 2:14, for in the former we learn that Caleb was only eighty-five when Canaan was conquered and but forty when sent forth by Moses to spy out the land; while the latter informs us that thirty-eight of those years had been spent in the wilderness before Israel crossed the Jordan. Thus the whole of Canaan was subdued and occupied by Israel within the space of seven years.
Those words, "And Joshua made war a long time with all those kings," tell us of his constancy, and the stability of those who served under him. They did not take things easy after Jericho was captured, nor relax their efforts when Ai fell before them, but continued steadfast until they had completed the task assigned them. What a noble example for the Christian to follow in the prosecution of his spiritual warfare! Let him not be appalled by the obstacles confronting him, deterred by the number of enemies to be overcome, nor disheartened by his failures along the way. Patience and fortitude must be earnestly sought from above. Though the fight of faith lasts "a long time," for it is to be without any intermission while we are left in this scene, yet "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). It is just because we are so prone to flag in our efforts during the performance of duty that this exhortation is addressed unto us and repeated in 2 Thessalonians 3:13! Then let us watch and guard against this evil tendency and persevere unto the end.
"And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities" (v. 21). Apparently a special campaign was made against them, and particular notice is here made of the same. Nor is the reason for this far to seek. It will be remembered that when Moses sent forth the twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan and upon their return ten of them threw cold water upon the prospect of Israel's occupying it, they emphasized the formidable strength of its walled cities and made mention of the Anakims as being of "great stature," the descendants of the giants, being by comparison "as grasshoppers" in their own sight (Num. 13:28-33). But mighty as those men were, and taking refuge as they now did in their fastnesses, Joshua and his men-notwithstanding the difficulty of the mountain passes and attacking these giants in their caves-hunted them out and completely routed the very ones who had originally inspired their unbelieving fathers with such terror.
"Even that opposition, which seemed invincible, was got over. Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for even their day will come to fall. Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence; yet this struggle with the Anakims was reserved for the latter end of the war, when the Israelites were become more expert in the arts of war and had had more experience of the power and goodness of God. God sometimes reserves the sharpest trials of His people, by affliction and temptation, for the latter end of their days. Therefore, 'let not him that girds on his harness boast as he that puts it off.' Death, that tremendous son of Anak, is the last enemy to be encountered, but it is to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26). Thanks be to God who will give us the victory" (Matthew Henry). The words "Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities" are not to be understood absolutely, as the later Scriptures show, for both of the books of Samuel make it clear that the race of these giants had not been completely exterminated, that some of their number succeeded in escaping and either concealed their presence from Israel or took refuge in the surrounding countries. This is more than hinted at in the verse that follows.
"There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained" (v. 22). This was one of the passages used by J.J. Blunt as an illustration of his striking book, Undesigned Coincidences. He pointed out that 1 Samuel 17:4, informs us that the Philistine champion whom David vanquished was "Goliath, of Gath," whose height was six cubits and a span-ten feet-and then bids the reader mark the value of that description, which though quite casual serves to authenticate its historicity. Next, he reminds us of the testimony of Moses in Numbers 13:32, 33, where we are told that certain of the original inhabitants of Canaan were "men of great stature . . . giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants." Those details are to be carefully borne in mind in connection with Joshua's final feat of arms, when, as we have seen, he "cut off the Anakims from the mountains," and none of them were left in the land of Israel "only [observe the exception] in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod."
Thus, when we find in the book of Samuel that Gath is most incidentally named as the country of Goliath, that fact squares most unmistakably with the two other independent facts chronicled by two other authors, Moses and Joshua: the one that the Anakims were of gigantic size, the other that some of that almost exterminated race, who survived the sword of Joshua, actually continued to dwell at Gath! Thus in the mouths of those three witnesses is the Word established, concurring as they do in a manner the most artless and satisfactory, in confirming one particular at least in that remarkable exploit of Israel's shepherd boy. Since this one particular, and that like a hinge upon which the whole incident moves, is discovered to be a matter of fact beyond all question, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we have good reason to regard the other particulars of the same history to be authentic too. But there are also many providential circumstances involved in it which argue the invisible Hand by which David slew his adversary. His being on hand to hear and accept the haughty challenge, his bag with five small stones opposed to the helmet of brass and the coat of brazen mail and the spear like a weaver's beam, the first sling of a pebble, the panic of the whole host of the Philistines and their overthrow, combine to show that it was no ordinary event, and that "the Lord sayeth not with sword and spear," but that the battle is the Lord's, and that He gave it into Israel's hand (1 Sam. 17:47).
"So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war" (Josh. 11:23). It is clear from Joshua 13 and the book of Judges that those words are to be regarded as a general statement, probably meaning "the far greater and better part, all before described; all that he went against-he failed not in any of his attempts; no place stood out against him that he besieged or summoned; all yielded to him" (John Gill). Thus did God make good His promises unto the patriarchs (Deut. 1:8), to Moses (Deut. 3:18), and to Joshua (Josh. 1:6). And now, for a season, the land rested from war"' those Canaanites who had escaped, fearing to attack and remaining quiet; the surrounding nations invading them not. The spiritual application of this unto ourselves is both apparent and blessed. However unpleasant and irksome the spiritual warfare of the Christian may be, his patience in tribulation should ever be encouraged by the joyful expectation of hope (Rom. 12:12), for ere long perfect rest above shall be his portion, and that not for a season, but for ever.
The twelfth chapter forms a fitting conclusion to the military campaigns of Joshua, containing as it does a summary of his numerous victories and a list of the thirty-one kings which were smitten by him. A short account is there given of the conquests made by Israel both in the times of Moses and of Joshua. The land which the Lord gave unto Israel consisted of two parts, for though it was but a single country, yet its terrain was divided by the Jordan. Thus the conquest of Canaan was a single enterprise, though it was actually accomplished in two distinct stages. That portion on the eastward side of Jordan was subdued by Moses, and given to the two and a half tribes, but the much larger half lay on the western side, and was subjugated by Joshua and allotted unto the nine and a half tribes. Typically, that probably has a threefold significance or application. First, redemptively, the fruits of Christ's mediatorial work: far more have benefited therefrom since His death (the Jordan) than those who were saved by Him during the days of His public ministry. Second, dispensationally, in connection with the Church and its members: most probably a much greater number of them being sinners taken out from the Gentiles than those who had formerly been from the Jews.
Third, spiritually, in connection with the believer's salvation: a portion of his inheritance is entered into and enjoyed by him before the Jordan is crossed, but the principal part of it lies on the farther side of death. But while looking for the mystical meaning of this, let us not overlook the practical lesson. "Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh. And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west . . . which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions" (Josh. 12:6, 7). The linking together of those two things is instructive. "The enjoyment of present blessings should revive the grateful remembrance of former mercies, and the benefit derived from the labors of the living servants of the Lord should remind us to respect the memories of those who have hitherto served Him in their generation. The national covenant mediated by Moses engaged many temporal advantages to Israel" (T. Scott).
"And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west . . . all the kings thirty and one" (Josh. 12:7, 24). It may be thought strange that there should have been so many kings in such a small country. In reality, it supplies evidence of the accuracy and veracity of this historical record, for it is in perfect accord with the ancient practice followed in various countries, namely that many of their principal cities had their own separate kings. Historians inform us that when Julius Caesar landed in Britain he found four kings in the single county of Kent-then how many more would there be in the whole island? How blessedly did Joshua's conquest of all those kings illustrate the truth that the more entirely our hearts be fixed upon the Lord our strength (Josh. 11:6, 7), the more certainly will our foes-however powerful or numerous-be subdued before us! According to its gematria (the use of letters instead of figures-for our modern numerals were unknown to the ancients), thirty-one equals EL-the name of God. If then He be for us, who can be against us?
14. The Final Conquest (Concluded)
Joshua 11:1-12:24
Summary
Before turning to the next section of our book (chapters 13-18), which treats of the apportioning of the land unto the tribes of Israel and their actual entrance into their inheritance, one more article is called for on chapter 11: with a few supplementary remarks upon the twelfth, where we have abbreviate of Israel's conquests. A report is made of the protracted fighting which the complete subjugation of the Canaanites entailed, and this is followed by a list of the thirty-one kings who were vanquished by Joshua. There are a number of details in the former chapter which, despite the five articles we have already written thereon, have not yet been noticed, and which are much too important for us to pass over, for they are details which adumbrate and illustrate various aspects of that good fight which Christians are called upon to wage. They concern things which, if success is to crown our efforts, contain valuable lessons that we do well to take to heart. Since they be included in the "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning" (Rom. 15:4), we cannot afford to ignore them.
When our Lord had miraculously fed the multitude with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, we are told that He bade His disciples to "gather up the fragments . . . that nothing be lost" (John 6:12)-a word that needs to be pressed much upon God's people today, for some of them are following the evil example of this wasteful and wanton generation by being guilty of throwing away much that could well be used or reused. It is in the spirit and according to the general principle contained in that precept of Christ's that we turn again to Joshua 11 for though we have, again and again, feasted from its contents in our more or less general survey of them, yet quite a few scattered "fragments" therein claim our attention, and these we shall now endeavor to "gather up" into this present article. Though we lack the ability to do as the apostles did and "fill twelve baskets" with the same, yet we trust that by Divine assistance we shall be able to provide sufficient to meet the needs of some hungry souls. The Lord graciously grant it.
"And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded" (Josh. 11:12). Most express orders had been given to him by his predecessor to do these very things (Deut. 7:2; 20:16, 17); he was to show no mercy and spare none, for they were drinking in iniquity like water is by the parched. And Moses, in turn, had received these instructions from the Lord Himself. Thus, in the slaughtering of the idolatrous and immoral Amorites, Joshua and his men were not actuated by a spirit of bloodthirstiness or malice, but instead were having regard to the Divine precepts. The practical application of this detail unto ourselves should be obvious. Some of God's statutes enjoin that which is painful unto flesh and blood (Matthew 16:24; Phil. 3:10), yea, quite contrary to our fallen natures (Matthew 5:29, 30), yet we must not pick and choose only those which are agreeable to us, but conform to the most trying and disagreeable of them; and even though it involves antagonizing those nearest and dearest to us (Matthew 10:34, 35; Luke 14:26), we must, like David, "have respect to all God's commandments" (Ps. 119:6).
"As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua: he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses" (Josh. 11:15). That is to be regarded first as a general statement, summarizing his obedience unto such enactments as Exodus 23:24; 34:11-13; Numbers 33:52; Deuteronomy 12:3, in which he was bidden to overthrow their idols and quite break down their images, to destroy their altars and cut down their groves, to destroy all their pictures and pluck down all their high places, to break down their pillars and burn their groves with fire; in short, so thoroughly to make an end of all the monuments of their religion that the very names of their false gods should be "destroyed out of that place." Thus Joshua was not free to follow his own caprice, nor left to the exercise of his own judgment, but was required to carry out the detailed orders which he had received from his Master. How conscientiously and thoroughly he did so appears from this inspired record of the Holy Spirit: "he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded."
"Would we approve ourselves upright, then we must leave nothing undone which the Lord hath commanded: for though omissions are not so scandalous, either in the world or in the Church, as commissions, they are as certainly acts of disobedience and effects of a will unsubjected to the Divine authority" (Thomas Scott). As our Lord told the Pharisees, who were very punctilious in paying tithe of mint and anise, yet omitted the weightier matters of the Law-judgment, mercy, and faith-"these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). Sincere obedience is impartial. He who from a right principle obeys any of God's commandments will have respect unto all of them. Here is one of the radical differences between gracious souls and empty professors: the latter act for themselves and not for God, and will do no more than what they consider promotes their own interests or enhances their reputation before their fellows and, like the Pharisees, usually lay stress on the "least" commandments, especially those things which distinguish them from other denominations, and neglect those which relate to moral duties attending to such externals as the "washing" of their hands, yet making no serious attempt to cleanse their hearts.
What a searching word is this for both writer and reader to measure himself by: "he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded"! Therein he conformed to that fundamental injunction, "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deut. 12:32). For men to add anything to the precepts of God, as binding upon the conscience or as being essential to personal piety, is an affront upon His wisdom, for it is tantamount to charging Him with an oversight. Equally so, to diminish aught from the Divine commandments, to ignore or render any of them void, is to despise God's authority and goodness. If we be wise, even a regard to our own interests will cause us to render unqualified obedience, for God has enjoined nothing but what is for our good, and therefore none of His commandments can be neglected but to our injury and loss. What a solemn word too is this to the preacher! Oh, that he may be able to look his congregation in the face and say truthfully at the close of a pastorate, "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you" (Acts 20:20).
"Joshua made war a long time with all those kings" (Josh. 11:18). Though the account of his conquest of Canaan be a very brief one and his numerous victories are packed into a small compass, yet it is not to be thought that they were all obtained within a few days (or even weeks) as was the case at Jericho and in the campaign described in chapter 10 but rather occupied a considerable period. Yet, after all, the expression "a long time" is a relative one, for the swiftness or slowness of time's passing is not always to be gauged by the clock. When its span is filled with stress and strain, its flight seems much slower-as it would to the mothers and wives more than to the fighting men of Israel themselves-hence in the Hebrew it reads "many days." But, as a matter of fact, that span of time comprised only seven years, as may be seen by a comparison of Joshua 14:1-10, with Deuteronomy 2:14, for in the former we learn that Caleb was only eighty-five when Canaan was conquered and but forty when sent forth by Moses to spy out the land; while the latter informs us that thirty-eight of those years had been spent in the wilderness before Israel crossed the Jordan. Thus the whole of Canaan was subdued and occupied by Israel within the space of seven years.
Those words, "And Joshua made war a long time with all those kings," tell us of his constancy, and the stability of those who served under him. They did not take things easy after Jericho was captured, nor relax their efforts when Ai fell before them, but continued steadfast until they had completed the task assigned them. What a noble example for the Christian to follow in the prosecution of his spiritual warfare! Let him not be appalled by the obstacles confronting him, deterred by the number of enemies to be overcome, nor disheartened by his failures along the way. Patience and fortitude must be earnestly sought from above. Though the fight of faith lasts "a long time," for it is to be without any intermission while we are left in this scene, yet "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). It is just because we are so prone to flag in our efforts during the performance of duty that this exhortation is addressed unto us and repeated in 2 Thessalonians 3:13! Then let us watch and guard against this evil tendency and persevere unto the end.
"And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities" (v. 21). Apparently a special campaign was made against them, and particular notice is here made of the same. Nor is the reason for this far to seek. It will be remembered that when Moses sent forth the twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan and upon their return ten of them threw cold water upon the prospect of Israel's occupying it, they emphasized the formidable strength of its walled cities and made mention of the Anakims as being of "great stature," the descendants of the giants, being by comparison "as grasshoppers" in their own sight (Num. 13:28-33). But mighty as those men were, and taking refuge as they now did in their fastnesses, Joshua and his men-notwithstanding the difficulty of the mountain passes and attacking these giants in their caves-hunted them out and completely routed the very ones who had originally inspired their unbelieving fathers with such terror.
"Even that opposition, which seemed invincible, was got over. Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for even their day will come to fall. Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence; yet this struggle with the Anakims was reserved for the latter end of the war, when the Israelites were become more expert in the arts of war and had had more experience of the power and goodness of God. God sometimes reserves the sharpest trials of His people, by affliction and temptation, for the latter end of their days. Therefore, 'let not him that girds on his harness boast as he that puts it off.' Death, that tremendous son of Anak, is the last enemy to be encountered, but it is to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26). Thanks be to God who will give us the victory" (Matthew Henry). The words "Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities" are not to be understood absolutely, as the later Scriptures show, for both of the books of Samuel make it clear that the race of these giants had not been completely exterminated, that some of their number succeeded in escaping and either concealed their presence from Israel or took refuge in the surrounding countries. This is more than hinted at in the verse that follows.
"There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained" (v. 22). This was one of the passages used by J.J. Blunt as an illustration of his striking book, Undesigned Coincidences. He pointed out that 1 Samuel 17:4, informs us that the Philistine champion whom David vanquished was "Goliath, of Gath," whose height was six cubits and a span-ten feet-and then bids the reader mark the value of that description, which though quite casual serves to authenticate its historicity. Next, he reminds us of the testimony of Moses in Numbers 13:32, 33, where we are told that certain of the original inhabitants of Canaan were "men of great stature . . . giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants." Those details are to be carefully borne in mind in connection with Joshua's final feat of arms, when, as we have seen, he "cut off the Anakims from the mountains," and none of them were left in the land of Israel "only [observe the exception] in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod."
Thus, when we find in the book of Samuel that Gath is most incidentally named as the country of Goliath, that fact squares most unmistakably with the two other independent facts chronicled by two other authors, Moses and Joshua: the one that the Anakims were of gigantic size, the other that some of that almost exterminated race, who survived the sword of Joshua, actually continued to dwell at Gath! Thus in the mouths of those three witnesses is the Word established, concurring as they do in a manner the most artless and satisfactory, in confirming one particular at least in that remarkable exploit of Israel's shepherd boy. Since this one particular, and that like a hinge upon which the whole incident moves, is discovered to be a matter of fact beyond all question, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we have good reason to regard the other particulars of the same history to be authentic too. But there are also many providential circumstances involved in it which argue the invisible Hand by which David slew his adversary. His being on hand to hear and accept the haughty challenge, his bag with five small stones opposed to the helmet of brass and the coat of brazen mail and the spear like a weaver's beam, the first sling of a pebble, the panic of the whole host of the Philistines and their overthrow, combine to show that it was no ordinary event, and that "the Lord sayeth not with sword and spear," but that the battle is the Lord's, and that He gave it into Israel's hand (1 Sam. 17:47).
"So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war" (Josh. 11:23). It is clear from Joshua 13 and the book of Judges that those words are to be regarded as a general statement, probably meaning "the far greater and better part, all before described; all that he went against-he failed not in any of his attempts; no place stood out against him that he besieged or summoned; all yielded to him" (John Gill). Thus did God make good His promises unto the patriarchs (Deut. 1:8), to Moses (Deut. 3:18), and to Joshua (Josh. 1:6). And now, for a season, the land rested from war"' those Canaanites who had escaped, fearing to attack and remaining quiet; the surrounding nations invading them not. The spiritual application of this unto ourselves is both apparent and blessed. However unpleasant and irksome the spiritual warfare of the Christian may be, his patience in tribulation should ever be encouraged by the joyful expectation of hope (Rom. 12:12), for ere long perfect rest above shall be his portion, and that not for a season, but for ever.
The twelfth chapter forms a fitting conclusion to the military campaigns of Joshua, containing as it does a summary of his numerous victories and a list of the thirty-one kings which were smitten by him. A short account is there given of the conquests made by Israel both in the times of Moses and of Joshua. The land which the Lord gave unto Israel consisted of two parts, for though it was but a single country, yet its terrain was divided by the Jordan. Thus the conquest of Canaan was a single enterprise, though it was actually accomplished in two distinct stages. That portion on the eastward side of Jordan was subdued by Moses, and given to the two and a half tribes, but the much larger half lay on the western side, and was subjugated by Joshua and allotted unto the nine and a half tribes. Typically, that probably has a threefold significance or application. First, redemptively, the fruits of Christ's mediatorial work: far more have benefited therefrom since His death (the Jordan) than those who were saved by Him during the days of His public ministry. Second, dispensationally, in connection with the Church and its members: most probably a much greater number of them being sinners taken out from the Gentiles than those who had formerly been from the Jews.
Third, spiritually, in connection with the believer's salvation: a portion of his inheritance is entered into and enjoyed by him before the Jordan is crossed, but the principal part of it lies on the farther side of death. But while looking for the mystical meaning of this, let us not overlook the practical lesson. "Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh. And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west . . . which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions" (Josh. 12:6, 7). The linking together of those two things is instructive. "The enjoyment of present blessings should revive the grateful remembrance of former mercies, and the benefit derived from the labors of the living servants of the Lord should remind us to respect the memories of those who have hitherto served Him in their generation. The national covenant mediated by Moses engaged many temporal advantages to Israel" (T. Scott).
"And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west . . . all the kings thirty and one" (Josh. 12:7, 24). It may be thought strange that there should have been so many kings in such a small country. In reality, it supplies evidence of the accuracy and veracity of this historical record, for it is in perfect accord with the ancient practice followed in various countries, namely that many of their principal cities had their own separate kings. Historians inform us that when Julius Caesar landed in Britain he found four kings in the single county of Kent-then how many more would there be in the whole island? How blessedly did Joshua's conquest of all those kings illustrate the truth that the more entirely our hearts be fixed upon the Lord our strength (Josh. 11:6, 7), the more certainly will our foes-however powerful or numerous-be subdued before us! According to its gematria (the use of letters instead of figures-for our modern numerals were unknown to the ancients), thirty-one equals EL-the name of God. If then He be for us, who can be against us?