Joshua 11-12
Dear RTB’ers,
My apologies for late and short posts this past week. We had our Maryland daughter and her kids here all week, plus the rest of our kids and grandkids at the end of the week. In some measure, I was fortunate to be able to post at all! A big thank-you to Carol for watching the young-uns and giving me the morning space for notes to you all.
My post yesterday was short – intentionally so. I wanted to point out the complete destruction of the peoples in the Promised Land that the Lord had asked of Moses and Joshua and the Israelites. The author of Joshua continues that outcome today: And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed …, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:14-15) Joshua is doing what the Lord had commanded, simply following instructions, no matter how hideous to our minds.
A bit of the geography of the Conquest. Phase One is Jericho, Ai (and Bethel?), and Gibeon, Joshua 6-9. Phase Two is the southern campaign, most of which became the territory of Judah (and Simeon), yesterday’s chapter, Joshua 10. Phase Three, then, is the northern campaign, today’s reading, Joshua 11. Surprisingly (to me), that coalition of armies doing battle with Israel today had gathered in the far north of the Promised Land, at the waters of Merom (Joshua 11:5, 7), northwest of the Sea of Galilee. You may recall from our reading of Luke’s Gospel that Samaria separated Galilee from Ephraim and Judah. So this coalition gathering in the far north showed the north-south extent of the Conquest of the Promised Land.
Finally, there is also a Phase Zero (if you will), Moses’ defeat of the two kings east of the Jordan – Sihon, the king of the Amorites (Joshua 12:2-3) and Og, the king of Bashan (Joshua 12:4-5). Two and one-half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and a half-tribe of Manasseh) settled there before Moses died. However, their warriors battled with Joshua and the Israelites in conquering the Promised Land.
Blessings!