In Joshua 11, King Jabin of Hazor formed a vast coalition of northern kings and their armies to oppose Israel. They gathered at the Waters of Merom with a massive force, including numerous horses and chariots. The Lord assured Joshua of victory, instructing him to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots. Joshua launched a surprise attack, and the Lord delivered the enemy into Israel’s hands. The Israelites pursued and annihilated them, leaving no survivors. Joshua captured Hazor, its king, and its people, burning the city. He conquered the other cities and kings, destroying their inhabitants as commanded by the Lord through Moses.
Joshua’s campaign spanned a wide area, including the hill country, the Negev, and the Arabah, and extended to the Valley of Lebanon. He waged war for a long time, with no city making peace except Gibeon. The Lord hardened the hearts of Israel’s enemies to ensure their destruction. Joshua also exterminated the Anakim from the hill country, leaving none except in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. By the end, Joshua had taken the entire land as the Lord had commanded, distributed it among the tribes of Israel, and brought peace to the land.
Let’s set the backdrop. In Joshua 10, Joshua has just led Israel in defeating the cities in the south. News travels fast. The northern kings are becoming restless at the dominance of Israel. Specifically, Jabin of Hazor. He seems to be the “alpha male” of the north. So, Jabin begins to assemble his team. His response shows you just how seriously he was taking the Israelite forces. He calls forward his normal crew. But then he summons for backup by inviting those in the hill country, those along the Jordan, and those as far as Mt Hermon to come fight as well (v. 3).
The kings of the north are looking to overwhelm and outnumber Israel.
Meanwhile, back at Israel’s camp, we can see the divine strategy that God is revealing to Joshua. Joshua is an obedient leader, but he’s also human. He needs encouragement. He needs confidence. He needs to know that God is with him. What would have happened if God had not spoken to Joshua that night? But He does.
God gives Joshua the assurance he needs to secure the victory, but, there is still a strategy that’s put into place. God wanted Joshua’s full trust, and now that He’s got it, the plan was hatched to shock the enemy with a surprise attack. Joshua and his forces take a good chunk out of Jabin’s backup which leaves Hazor unprotected. Israel conquers the city and Joshua burns it to the ground.
“Excavation of Hazor has shown several destructions in the Late Bronze Age, one from about 1400 B.C. that could easily be attributed to Joshua.”
Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary
So Joshua conquers everyone and the chapter is over, right? There is one other detail.
“Joshua did to them what the LORD had commanded: he crippled their horses and burned their chariots. 10 Joshua then turned back, captured Hazor and killed its king. (At that time Hazor was the most powerful of all those kingdoms.)”
Joshua 11:9-10 GNB
In between beating down his first batch of enemies and heading to the headquarters of Hazor, Joshua, in obedience to God, decides to cripple himself. He cripples perfectly good horses (makes it so they can no longer run). He burns perfectly good chariots. Joshua is about to fight the strongest enemy in the north and he decides to disable himself. Does that make sense?
God had warned Israel before about trusting in horses instead of Him.
“Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt’s vast military strength—horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the LORD, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help.”
Isaiah 31:1 GNB
It takes total trust to cripple yourself when it makes absolutely no sense. What if God is asking you to quit that job you love or stay at that job you hate? What if God is asking you to work less, make less money, or stop saving for retirement? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with those things. Don’t miss the point.
Obedience to Jesus means we trust Him with everything. We are an open book. We don’t just assume that God agrees with every decision we want to make in life. In fact, sometimes God will ask us to do something that contradicts logic and experience. It made sense to use those horses and chariots in their upcoming battles! What allowed Joshua to have that kind of trust and faith in God?
Faith. God pulled back the curtain and assured Joshua the battle was won. Sound familiar? Jesus has done the same thing for us. We have hope and we share in Christ’s victory. We have the Holy Spirit. That means that we, like Joshua, can hear God in the moments that require us to do something that seems crippling. We are given spiritual eyesight as we share a glimpse of the upside-down counter-cultural Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus so often spoke of.
Archaeological evidence supports the biblical account of Hazor’s destruction by Joshua (Joshua 11:11). Excavations have uncovered layers of ashes and pottery dating to about 1400 B.C., consistent with this event. An Amarna Tablet from 1380 B.C., written by an Egyptian envoy, references hardships endured by Hazor and its king, the only Canaanite ruler referred to as a “king” in the 400 Amarna Tablets. The Bible describes Hazor as “the head of all these kingdoms” (Joshua 11:10). This evidence, along with findings from Jericho and Debir, aligns with the biblical narrative of Joshua’s conquest. (Source: Halley’s Bible Handbook)
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These commentaries answered the questions I had yesterday more clearly. In this chapter I came to realize how wicked and unyielding these people had become. God purged the land of it's unbelief to give to Israel as they walked in obedience and courage. Hank touched on something that has been preying on my mind through the night as we had talked about handling our anger. I have come to think that we mirror how we deal with anger from our parents or grandparents and if they have not used God as their guidepost then we don't as well. These behaviors can be unlearned and Gods plan for dealing with such things can be applied to our life challenges promoting a better outcome. Maybe the next time I have an argument with someone I need to stop and think who am I emulating Christ or man.