Joshua 11 (1)

And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and the Hivite below Hermon in the land of Mizpah. So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.  Joshua 11.1-5

Reflect.
1.  Hazor “heard these things,” but he resolved to fight. Why?

2.  Does sin affect our ability to think straight? With what kinds of consequences?

Think about it.
We can almost read Hazor’s mind here. The problem, as he saw it, was that the kings of the south just weren’t numerous enough to do the job. “We need a bigger army,” Hazor must have considered.

So he set off to unite the remaining kings and kingdoms of the land of Canaan in a grand army of resistance “to fight against Israel.” These kings had heard about what Israel’s God had done to Egypt, the kings on the east side of Jordan, Jericho, Ai, and all the kingdoms in the south. But they were still persuaded that, given a little more firepower, they could prevail against Israel and its God.

We might marvel at their foolishness, but we live in a generation that is equally blinded by the power of sin; and even we ourselves, whenever we give into temptation and fall through it into sin, show just how strong the power of sin can be.

God used Hazor’s folly to accomplish His purposes. By gathering all these nations to one place, He made it easier for Israel to defeat them all. The campaign against the kingdoms of the north, west, and east (v. 3) would be, if anything, easier than that against the kingdoms of the south.

Meditate and discuss.
1.  Sin can affect our thinking, so that our reasoning drifts from its moorings in God’s Word and begins to be carried along by the winds of our secular, materialistic, and narcissistic age. Give some examples of how this works.

2.  Is it possible to know when our thoughts are beginning to “drift” from the Lord and His salvation (Heb. 2.1-4)? How?

3.  We are daily engaged in a spiritual warfare with spiritual forces of wickedness in high places which continue to believe they can overthrow Christ and gain the throne of God. How should we prepare each day to engage this conflict and come out on top?

“You see how many swarms of opposing powers and of malicious demons may be stirred up against Jesus [Joshua] and the Israelite army. Before the coming of our Lord and Savior, all those demons, undisturbed and secure, were occupying human spirits and ruled in their minds and bodies. But when ‘grace appeared’ in the world, the mercy ‘of God our Savior’ instructs us to live piously and purely in this world, separated from every contagion of sin, so that each soul may receive its liberty and the ‘image of God’ in which it was created from the beginning.” Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

I know, Lord, that powerful foes are arrayed against me today. But I also know that…

Pray Psalm 3.
How do you expect to be “troubled” today? Lay your anticipated troubles before the Lord, and call on Him to be your shield and glory throughout the day.

Psalm 3 (Eventide: Abide with Me)
Lord, all around my foes are multiplied, 
Rising against me, like a ‘whelming tide; 
Many are saying of my weary soul, 
“Not even God can save and make him whole!”

You are a mercy shield about me, Lord, 
Raising me by Your glory and Your Word.
Prayers fraught with tears stream from me like a fount, 
Yet God will answer from His holy mount.

Waking and sleeping, guarded by Your grace, 
When foes by thousands stand before my face, 
When countless dangers ‘round me are arrayed, 
I will not fear, I will not be afraid!

Rise up, O Lord, rise up and rescue me!
Let all my foes destroyed and routed be!
Grace and salvation, Lord, are Yours alone; 
Bless and protect all those You call Your own.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).