Commentary - Joshua 11:1-5

Bird's-eye view

Following the decisive victory over the southern coalition of kings in the previous chapter, Joshua and the armies of Israel now turn their attention to the north. The news of Israel's stunning successes travels fast, and the remaining Canaanite kings understand that they are facing an existential threat. Jabin, the king of Hazor, takes the lead in forming a massive, final confederacy to confront Israel. This is not a scattered, piecemeal resistance; it is a deliberate, unified effort of the remaining powers in the land to crush God's people once and for all. The sheer scale of the opposition is emphasized, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, equipped with the most advanced military technology of the day, horses and chariots. They gather at the waters of Merom for a winner-take-all confrontation. This passage sets the stage for the climactic battle of the northern campaign, demonstrating that as God's people advance, the world's opposition does not diminish but rather consolidates and intensifies, setting up a direct confrontation between the kingdom of God and the assembled kingdoms of men.

The central theological point here is the escalating and organized nature of worldly opposition to God's covenant purposes. Just as Israel's obedience and success grew, so did the fear and fury of their enemies. This is a pattern we see throughout Scripture. When the gospel advances, it inevitably provokes a reaction. The powers of darkness do not surrender territory willingly. They form alliances, gather their strength, and make their stand. But as the subsequent verses will show, their numbers and their technology are as nothing before the Lord of Hosts. This account is a permanent encouragement for the church to not be intimidated by the impressive and seemingly overwhelming coalitions of unbelief that array themselves against Christ's kingdom. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Joshua 11 marks the second major phase of the conquest of the land. After the initial foothold at Jericho and Ai (chapters 6-8), and the deceptive treaty with the Gibeonites (chapter 9), Israel faced and defeated a coalition of five southern kings (chapter 10). That campaign secured the southern half of Canaan. Now, in chapter 11, the narrative pivots to the north. The structure is parallel: a powerful king (Adoni-zedek in the south, Jabin in the north) hears of Israel's victories and rallies his neighbors to form a military alliance. This northern campaign is the final large-scale military operation described in the conquest narrative. Its successful conclusion in this chapter will lead directly to the summary list of defeated kings in chapter 12 and the subsequent division of the land among the tribes, which begins in chapter 13. This passage, therefore, represents the last great gasp of organized Canaanite resistance to the covenant people of God taking possession of their inheritance.

Key Issues

The World's United Nations

Whenever God's people begin to take ground, the world takes notice. And when the world takes notice, it does not sit idly by. It organizes. It forms committees. It creates coalitions. What we see here in the early verses of Joshua 11 is the ancient equivalent of the United Nations General Assembly passing a resolution against Israel. Jabin, king of Hazor, is the secretary-general of this pagan enterprise. He hears what has happened in the south, Jericho, Ai, Gibeon, the routing of the five kings, and he understands that this is not a localized border dispute. This is an invasion, a regime change on a continental scale, and if he doesn't act, his kingdom is next.

So he sends out emissaries, not just to his immediate neighbors, but to every pocket of Canaanite resistance left in the land. He gathers kings from the hill country, the Arabah, the coastal plains, and the mountain slopes. He brings together Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Hivites. This is a grand, multi-ethnic, pan-Canaanite alliance. Their theological and tribal differences are all set aside in the face of a common enemy: the people of the one true God. This is a foundational principle. The world is never more unified than when it is unified in its opposition to Christ and His kingdom. The Herods and Pilates of this world may be bitter rivals, but they will find common ground when it comes to crucifying the Lord of Glory. This gathering at the waters of Merom is a type, a preview of that ultimate gathering of the kings of the earth against the Lord and against His Anointed, which the psalmist describes in Psalm 2.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now it happened, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph,

The action begins with a man who hears the news. Jabin king of Hazor was the preeminent ruler in the north, as Hazor was a major, fortified city-state. The news he heard was the report of Joshua's total victory in the south. He did not hear a rumor of a minor skirmish; he heard that the entire southern region had been subdued. His response is not to sue for peace or to flee, but to fight. He immediately takes on the role of an organizer, sending out a call to arms to his primary vassals and allies. He is proactive. The ungodly are not always lazy; when their kingdom is threatened, they can be models of industry and diligence. Jabin is the northern Adoni-zedek, the "lord of righteousness" from Jerusalem who organized the southern coalition. Here, Jabin rallies the north to make a final, desperate stand.

2 and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country and in the Arabah, south of Chinneroth and in the Shephelah and on the heights of Dor on the west,

The geographical scope of this alliance is deliberately detailed to impress upon us its comprehensive nature. This is not just a handful of city-states. Jabin's messengers go everywhere. They go to the mountainous regions, the Jordan Valley (the Arabah) south of the Sea of Galilee (Chinneroth), the western foothills (Shephelah), and the coastal highlands near Dor. This was a summons to every ruler of every significant geographical region in northern Canaan. He was leaving no stone unturned, determined to bring the full weight of the remaining Canaanite power to bear on Israel.

3 to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.

Now the author moves from geography to ethnography. Not only were all the regions represented, but all the various "-ites" were as well. This list of peoples is a standard biblical shorthand for "the inhabitants of the land of Canaan." These were distinct, and likely often rival, people groups. The Amorites and Hittites were major powers. The Jebusites were entrenched in their fortress of Jerusalem, though their king had been dealt with in the southern campaign. The Hivites near Mount Hermon represented the far northern reaches of the promised land. Jabin's diplomacy was successful in uniting all these disparate clans under one banner for one purpose: the destruction of Israel. It is a picture of the world system, in all its diversity, finding a superficial unity in its shared rebellion against God.

4 Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

The response to Jabin's call was overwhelming. The text employs a common biblical hyperbole to convey the vastness of the assembled force: they were like the sand that is on the seashore. From a human perspective, this was an innumerable host, an intimidating and terrifying sight. But it wasn't just their numbers that were daunting; it was their technology. They had very many horses and chariots. Chariots were the ancient equivalent of tanks. They were instruments of shock and awe, designed to break infantry formations and sow terror. Israel, by contrast, was an army of foot soldiers. They had no cavalry, no chariot divisions. On paper, this was a catastrophic mismatch. The world had brought its numbers and its most fearsome military hardware to the fight. This was meant to overawe Israel, to make them tremble and despair before the battle even began.

5 So all of these kings agreed to meet, and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

Their unity is stressed again. They agreed to meet. There was a council of war, a shared strategy. They chose their ground, a place called the waters of Merom, likely a lake or marshy area in the upper Jordan Valley, terrain suitable for deploying their chariots. And their purpose was explicit: to fight against Israel. There was no ambiguity. This was not a defensive posture. It was an offensive alliance aimed at the total annihilation of God's people. They had gathered all their resources, chosen their battlefield, and were poised to strike. From a purely military standpoint, the situation looked bleak for Joshua. But covenantal warfare is never a purely military standpoint. The Lord of Hosts was about to demonstrate what He thought of their sand-like numbers and their iron chariots.

Application

The Christian life is a warfare, and the mission of the church is a conquest. Not a conquest with carnal weapons, for our warfare is spiritual, but a conquest nonetheless. We are tasked with taking the gospel to every nation, tribe, and tongue, pulling down strongholds with the weapons of truth, righteousness, and prayer. And as we do so, we should not be surprised when the world marshals its forces against us.

The spirit of Jabin of Hazor is alive and well. When a Christian school begins to flourish, when a church begins to faithfully preach the Word and see conversions, when Christian morality begins to influence the public square, the world hears of it. And it sends out its messengers. The kings of academia, the princes of media, the rulers of corporate power, and the magistrates of the state form their alliances. They gather their vast resources, their wealth, their influence, their "chariots" of technology and communication, and they encamp against the people of God. They present a unified front that appears as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.

Our response must be that of Joshua. We must not be intimidated by the numbers. We must not be impressed by their advanced weaponry or their sophisticated arguments. We must remember that the battle is the Lord's. The alliances of men are nothing to Him. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Our task is to trust His promises, obey His commands, and stand firm in the faith. The northern coalition at the waters of Merom looked invincible, but they were gathered for their own destruction. In the same way, every coalition that sets itself against Christ and His church is ultimately gathering for its own judgment. Our confidence is not in our own strength, but in the God who has promised to give His Son the nations for His inheritance.