Commentary - Joshua 11:6-9

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we see the culmination of the northern campaign. A massive confederation of Canaanite kings, bristling with the latest military technology of horses and chariots, has assembled to crush Israel. From a human point of view, the odds are impossible. But the central lesson of the entire book of Joshua is that the battle belongs to the Lord. God gives a direct command to Joshua, a promise of total victory, and a very specific set of instructions concerning the instruments of pagan warfare. Joshua's response is immediate and exact obedience. The result is a devastating and complete victory, demonstrating that God's word is sufficient for God's people, regardless of the apparent strength of the opposition. This is not just ancient history; it is a paradigm for all spiritual warfare. God promises, we obey, and He grants the victory.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Following the successful southern campaign in chapter 10, news of Israel's victories has spread. Jabin, king of Hazor, a major northern power, responds by forming a grand coalition. The text describes their numbers as "like the sand that is on the seashore in abundance, with very many horses and chariots" (Josh. 11:4). This is the most formidable military force Israel has yet faced. The battle at the waters of Merom is the decisive engagement for control of the north. This passage is therefore the strategic climax of the conquest, breaking the back of organized Canaanite resistance and demonstrating Yahweh's supremacy over not just a few city-states, but over the combined might of the entire region.

Commentary

v. 6 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them over, slain, before Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

The first thing to note is that God speaks. The entire conquest is a divine initiative, and God does not leave His commander to figure it out on his own. The command, "Do not be afraid," is a standing order for the people of God. Fear is a failure of faith; it is looking at the size of the enemy's chariots instead of the size of your God. God immediately provides the basis for this courage, which is not Joshua's military genius but God's sovereign promise. "Tomorrow at this time I will give all of them over." This is not a pep talk; it is a decree. The victory is already accomplished in the counsel of God. Israel's job is simply to show up and act as the instruments of a judgment already rendered. Then comes the peculiar command: "you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire." This was not militarily prudent. A sensible general would capture the enemy's advanced weaponry and incorporate it into his own army. But God is teaching Israel a crucial lesson. Trust is not to be placed in military hardware. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God (Ps. 20:7). This command was a test of faith. To destroy the chariots was to declare, before God and the world, that Israel's strength was not in such things. It was a radical act of dependence on God alone.

v. 7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they fell upon them.

God makes the promise, but Joshua has to march. Faith is not passive. Joshua receives the word and immediately acts on it. The text says he came upon them "suddenly." This implies a forced march, likely through the night, to catch the enemy coalition off guard. Divine sovereignty does not negate human responsibility or tactical wisdom. Joshua uses the means available to him, and God blesses it. He doesn't sit back and wait for the Canaanites to drop dead. He musters the troops and leads the charge. The phrase "they fell upon them" is potent. It speaks of a swift, decisive, and overwhelming assault. This is the energy of faith. When God has given you His word, you do not advance timidly. You fall upon the enemy.

v. 8 And Yahweh gave them into the hand of Israel, so that they struck them down, and they pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and the valley of Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until there was no survivor remaining for them.

Here the narrator reinforces the central theological point. Why was the attack successful? Because "Yahweh gave them into the hand of Israel." The cause of the victory was God's action. The effect was that Israel "struck them down." Our efforts are only effective because God has gone before us and granted the success. The victory was not partial. The pursuit was relentless, pushing the fleeing armies all the way to Great Sidon, a major Phoenician city on the coast. This was a total rout. The command was to execute God's judgment, and so they fought until "there was no survivor remaining." This is the language of herem, or holy war. This was not a typical land dispute. This was a divinely commanded extermination of a culture that had filled up its cup of iniquity (Gen. 15:16). God was using Israel as His scalpel to cut a cancerous tumor out of the land He was giving to His people. We must not judge these actions by our modern sentimentalities, but by the standard of God's revealed holiness and His right as Creator to judge the wicked.

v. 9 And Joshua did to them as Yahweh had said to him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

This is the great commendation of Joshua. He obeyed. Specifically, he obeyed the most counter-intuitive part of the command. After the heat of battle, with all that valuable military equipment lying there for the taking, the temptation to disobey must have been immense. "Surely God would want us to be strong for the next battle?" But Joshua's wisdom was found in simple, exact obedience. He did "as Yahweh had said to him." He crippled the horses and torched the chariots. This act of obedience was as much a part of the victory as the initial charge. It was the demonstration of Israel's faith and the consecration of the victory to God alone. By destroying the world's instruments of power, Joshua declared that Israel would rely on the God for whom horses and chariots are as nothing.

Application

The principles here are directly applicable to the Christian life. We are engaged in a spiritual warfare, and we too face enemies that appear to have all the advantages, all the cultural "horses and chariots." The command to us is the same: "Do not be afraid." Our confidence is not in our own strength or cleverness, but in the promise of God that Christ has already conquered and will give us the victory.

Furthermore, we are commanded to a kind of spiritual hamstringing. We must be ruthless in destroying our own idols, the things we are tempted to trust in instead of God. This could be money, reputation, political power, or intellectual pride. Whatever your "chariot" is, God commands you to burn it. True strength is found in radical dependence on Him. This requires a faith that obeys God's commands precisely, even when, especially when, they seem foolish to the world.

Finally, Joshua's obedience was immediate and total. He did not procrastinate, and he did not do things by half-measures. When God gives a command, our response should be the same. We must act decisively and see the work through to its conclusion. God promises the victory, but He calls us to fight. And the way we fight is by faithful, exact, and courageous obedience to His word.