Joshua 12 and 13 (1)

These arethe kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain…  Joshua 12.1

Reflect.
1.  The author now gives us a catalog of Israel’s victories, before proceeding to report on the divisions of the land. Why was that necessary?

2.  Israel had defeated the enemies of God, but had the people yet realized all His promises?

Think about it.
The next section of the book of Joshua (chapters 12-21) can be a little tedious, and we will take larger chunks of it in our study for most days.

Nevertheless, since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable to equip us for every good work, we need to examine these reports carefully to discover how God wants to encourage us and give us hope (Rom. 15.4).

Note the emphasis on “defeated” and “possessed” in our verse for today. It was never God’s intention that Israel should merely be a rod of punishment for the Canaanites, whose sin was now out of control and overflowing (cf. Gen. 15.16). He had given this land to Abraham as a possession and dwelling-place, and now it was the calling of His people to resume that covenant story which had begun so many years before. God had been good to the people of Canaan, giving them homes and harvests and much else beside. Yet instead of receiving those benefits with gratitude, as a witness to God’s love, they multiplied false deities and the repugnant religions and morality that went with them (cf. Acts 14.17; Acts 17.26, 27; Rom. 1.18-32).

God was now determined to reclaim the good He had given these ungrateful nations, and to bestow it upon His people, according to His promise. Chapter 12 connects the conquest of Canaan with the promises of God and the deliverance accomplished by Moses, thus establishing continuity with past generations of God’s people with those who would inhabit the land from this point forward. And chapter 13 begins the record of how the land of promise was divided among the people of Israel.

Meditate and discuss.
1.  Meditate on Matthew 12.32-45. Can you see any similarities between Jesus’ teaching here and the “defeat” and “possess” mandates given to Israel under Joshua?

2.  We remember that, with the exception of the Gibeonites, none of the kings Israel defeated in battle sought to make peace with them. But why didn’t Israel try to make peace with those kings? What’s the lesson in this for us?

3.  Joshua’s defeat of the enemies of God and Israel is a type of Jesus’ defeat of the enemy of our soul. Explain. In a sense, Joshua’s victories made it possible for Israel to be at rest and to begin working out the salvation God had granted them. This reminds us that being saved is just the beginning; working out our salvation is the ongoing calling of every believer (Phil. 2.12). What does that entail?

“It is clear that Moses saw in his mind the truth of the law and the allegorical meanings related to the anagogical sense of the stories he recorded, and that Joshua understood the true distribution of land which took place after the overthrow of the twenty-nine kings, since he could see better than us that the things accomplished through himself were shadows of certain realities.” Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

Lord, I rest in Your salvation, but I do not rest from my salvation. Instead, I…

Pray Psalm 9.1-13.
Give thanks to God and ask Him to give you opportunities to proclaim His salvation today. Trust in Him for boldness to witness and openness on the part of those who need to hear.

Psalm 9.1-13 (Diademata: Crown Him with Many Crowns)
I will give thanks, O Lord, with all my heart to You!
I’ll tell the wonders of Your Word, so many and so true!
With joy to You I cry; Your glory I will raise; 
Your matchless Name, O Lord on High, will I forever praise!

Backwards my foes shall fall before Your holy face.  
You rescue all who on You call by Your all-glorious grace.
The nations lie in ruins; the wicked are no more; 
Our enemies have come to doom in wrath and judgment sore.

Lord, You forever reign in judgment on Your throne.
The world in bitter wrath and pain Your righteousness will own. 
All those who know Your Name, though in this life oppressed, 
You shelter from the storms of shame and keep them ever blessed.

Praise then the Lord of Zion; declare His deeds abroad!
Praise Judah’s mighty saving Lion, the ever-blessèd God!
Whose blood has washed us clean, Who hears our plaintive cries, 
Who good to us has ever been and lifts us to the skies!

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).