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The DEEP

Outnumbered

God gets all the glory.

Joshua 11:1–9 (ESV)

When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, 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 in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

Joshua’s outnumbered this time. It’s the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 20:1.

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (ESV)

This time the enemy is massive and well-organized. No clown kings here. Victory looks impossible.

Perfect. Now God gets all the glory.


Okay, but hamstring? As a verb? To do to horses?!? What’s that all about?

It’s all about peace. Despite all the blood and guts going on here, peace is coming. They won’t be needing chariots and war horses because there isn’t going to be any more war. Joshua is to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots to show that he doesn’t need them.

It’s hard to know exactly what hamstring means in this context. Joshua isn’t supposed to kill the horses, just hamstring them from being able to make war. It’s some kind of restriction or injury.

Just like we’ve seen before, this is nuts from a military strategy point of view. You should keep the weapons you’ve captured to be ready for the next war.

But the LORD tells Joshua to destroy the very things that could come in handy in the future. It’s another test of faith.

Joshua has to trust that he’s not going to need anything but what God provides.


These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.

Mike Slay

As a mathematician, inventor, and ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, Mike Slay brings an analytical, conversational, and even whimsical approach to the daily study of God's Word.

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