The Northern Confederacy and the Sovereignty of God Text: Joshua 11:1-5
Introduction: The Futility of Resisting God
We come now to the final major campaign in the conquest of Canaan. Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, has already accomplished two impossible things. First, they struck the land in its center, taking Jericho and Ai. Second, they swung south and, in a series of lightning battles culminating in the day the sun stood still, they shattered the southern coalition of Amorite kings. One might think that the remaining inhabitants of the land would see the writing on the wall. One might suppose that the fear of God would fall on them, leading them to sue for peace, as the Gibeonites had shrewdly done. But that is not what happens. Instead, we see the opposite. We see a hardening, a doubling down, a confederacy of defiance.
This is a profound lesson for us on the nature of sin and rebellion against God. When God's power is displayed, it does not automatically lead to repentance. It never does. The display of God's power forces a choice, and the unregenerate heart, left to itself, will always choose to fight. The sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay. The same gospel that is a savor of life unto life for the elect is a savor of death unto death for the reprobate. And so, as news of Israel's victories spreads north, it does not produce surrender. It produces a summons. Jabin, the king of Hazor, rallies the remaining Canaanite kings for one last, massive, coordinated assault on the people of God.
What we are about to witness is the ancient equivalent of "all the king's horses and all the king's men" gathering to defy the manifest will of Almighty God. This is the pagan world's last great stand, and it is a picture of every subsequent attempt to resist the kingdom of Christ. Men will always believe that their numbers, their technology, their horses and chariots, and their united political will can somehow overcome the decree of Heaven. They believe that if they can just form a big enough committee, pass the right resolutions, and assemble a large enough army, they can successfully tell God what to do. This is the spirit of Babel, the spirit of Pharaoh, the spirit of the Sanhedrin, and the spirit of our own secular, humanistic age. And the lesson of Joshua 11 is the same lesson that echoes through all of history: it is a fool's errand.
This passage teaches us about the anatomy of rebellion, the sovereignty of God in that rebellion, and the calm confidence that the people of God ought to have in the face of overwhelming odds. When the world gathers its horses and chariots against the Lord and against His Anointed, we are not to tremble. We are to trust the God who has already declared the victory.
The Text
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, 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, 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. 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. So all of these kings agreed to meet, and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
(Joshua 11:1-5 LSB)
The Catalyst of Rebellion (v. 1)
The action begins with one man's reaction to God's work.
"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" (Joshua 11:1)
Jabin, king of Hazor, is the prime mover here. The name Jabin may be a royal title, much like Pharaoh in Egypt, as we see another Jabin of Hazor opposing Israel later in the time of Deborah and Barak. Hazor was a major city-state, the head of all these northern kingdoms. Archaeology has shown it to have been a massive, well-fortified city, a regional superpower. When Jabin "heard of it", that is, when he heard of the complete destruction of the southern armies, he did not interpret this as a sign of God's invincible power. He interpreted it as a threat to his own power. This is the first thing we must understand about the world's opposition to Christ. It is rooted in a love for autonomy and a hatred of divine authority.
Jabin does not call for a national day of prayer and fasting. He does not send ambassadors to Joshua to inquire about the God of Israel. He sends messengers to his fellow pagan kings. His response to the mighty acts of God is to organize a political and military coalition. He sees a problem, and his immediate, instinctual solution is to gather men. This is the essence of humanism. It is the belief that the solution to any problem is found in the collective will of man.
Notice the names listed: Jobab, Shimron, Achshaph. These are not just names in a dusty old book. These were real kings, of real cities, with real armies. The Bible is not a collection of "once upon a time" stories. It is rooted in actual history, in dirt and geography and politics. This is a historical account of a genuine conspiracy against the purposes of God.
The Unholy Alliance (v. 2-3)
Jabin's call goes out far and wide, and the response is overwhelming.
"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, to the Canaanite on the east and on thewest, 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." (Joshua 11:2-3 LSB)
This is a roll call of God's enemies. The geographical scope is extensive, covering the whole of northern Canaan. The ethnic scope is also comprehensive. We see Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Hivites. These were tribes that were often at war with one another. They had their own rivalries, their own territorial disputes, their own petty hatreds. But they were all willing to set aside their differences to unite against a common enemy: the people of the living God.
This is a pattern we see repeated throughout Scripture and history. Herod and Pilate, who were enemies, became friends on the day they united to crucify Jesus. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, who disagreed on fundamental points of theology, found common ground in their opposition to Christ. And today, we see the most unlikely of alliances, radical secularists, militant Islamists, progressive corporations, all united in their hostility to biblical Christianity. The one thing that unites the various factions of the city of man is their shared hatred for the city of God. When the church is faithful, it has a wonderfully clarifying effect on the world. It forces all the little idols to stop their squabbling and join forces against the one true God.
This great gathering is a fulfillment of what David would later write in Psalm 2: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed." This is not just a military maneuver; it is a theological statement. It is the creature shaking his fist at the Creator.
The World's Intimidation Tactic (v. 4)
The description of this army is designed to strike fear into the heart of any purely human observer.
"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." (Joshua 11:4 LSB)
The language here is deliberately hyperbolic. "As many people as the sand that is on the seashore." This is the world's primary weapon: intimidation through overwhelming numbers. The enemy wants you to look at the polls, to see the crowds, to read the headlines, and to conclude that you are hopelessly outnumbered. The argument is not one of truth, but of consensus. "Everyone is doing it. Everyone believes it. Who are you to stand against so many?"
And they had more than just numbers. They had technology. "With very many horses and chariots." This was the ancient equivalent of tanks and air support. The Israelites were primarily an infantry force. They had no cavalry, no chariots. On the flat plains, a chariot army was a terrifying and seemingly invincible force. This was the pinnacle of pagan military might. From a human perspective, Israel stood no chance. The Canaanites had the numbers, the terrain advantage in the valleys, and the superior weaponry.
This is precisely the position God often puts His people in. He brings us to a place where victory is humanly impossible so that when the victory comes, there is no question as to who gets the glory. He did it with Gideon's three hundred men against the Midianites. He did it with David against Goliath. And He is doing it here with Joshua. The world trusts in its horses and chariots, its wealth and technology, its political power and its sheer numbers. But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
The Rendezvous with Judgment (v. 5)
The final verse of our text sets the stage for the decisive confrontation.
"So all of these kings agreed to meet, and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel." (Joshua 11:5 LSB)
They "agreed to meet." They "encamped together." There is a terrible unity in their purpose. Their goal is simple and direct: "to fight against Israel." But in fighting against Israel, they are fighting against Israel's God. And this is where the doctrine of God's sovereignty shines with blinding clarity. Later in this same chapter, the Holy Spirit gives us the divine commentary on this event. "For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them" (Joshua 11:20).
Think about that. This grand coalition, this impressive display of pagan unity and military might, was not a surprise to God. It was not a threat to His plan. It was His plan. God, in His inscrutable wisdom, hardened their hearts. He gave them over to their own rebellious desires. They thought they were gathering in their own strength and for their own purposes, but they were actually gathering at God's express invitation to the place of their own destruction. They were marching to an appointment that God Himself had set in His calendar. The waters of Merom were not just a strategic campsite; they were the designated abattoir for the enemies of God.
This is a hard truth for our sentimental age, but it is a glorious comfort for the people of God. The wrath of man will praise the Lord. The most defiant acts of rebellion are, in the hands of a sovereign God, merely the means by which He accomplishes His own righteous judgments. God is not wringing His hands in heaven, worried about the latest coalition forming against His church. He is the one who is gathering them. He is herding His enemies to the very place where He intends to break them.
Conclusion: Fighting from Victory
This scene at the waters of Merom is a microcosm of all of redemptive history. The world sees the church, small and seemingly weak, without the horses and chariots of cultural power, and it gathers its forces for a final, decisive blow. It appears to be an uneven fight. All the smart money is on the massive confederacy of the world.
But we know how the story ends. The true Joshua, Jesus Christ, has already won the decisive victory. At the cross, He faced the ultimate coalition of sin, death, and the devil. He faced the wrath of man and the wrath of God, and He absorbed it all. By His death, He disarmed the principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15). The resurrection was God's great "Fiat Lux" in the new creation, the declaration that the war has been won.
Therefore, we do not fight for victory; we fight from victory. The battles we face now are mop-up operations. The enemy is defeated, and he knows it. His current strategy is one of intimidation, to assemble his remaining forces, his horses and chariots, his media empires and university faculties, and to roar like a lion, hoping that we will forget that our Joshua has already pulled all his teeth.
When you see the kings of the earth taking counsel together, when you see the armies of unbelief gathering at their own waters of Merom, do not be afraid. Do not look at the sand on the seashore or the horses and chariots. Look to the Captain of the Lord's Host. The God who gathered Jabin and his allies for judgment is the same God who is sovereign over all the defiant alliances of our own day. They are gathering, not to thwart His purposes, but to fulfill them. And our task is simply to be faithful, to stand our ground, and to watch the salvation of the Lord.