Joshua 11:1-15

April 25, 2004   

Total Obedience    

The battles to conquer Canaan are condensed into a short narrative, taking only 20 minutes or so to read. The actual events took much longer, which is hinted at in 11:18 which says: “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.” Victory was neither quick nor easy; it took seven years to possess the land God declared was theirs. God promised the land, but it was up to them to act on that promise, to obey and do what God commanded them. Obedience is never easy.

Joshua 11 up holds Joshua’s obedience as a model for us to follow. Several times in Joshua 11 we are reminded of his obedience (read 11:9, 12, and 15). The chief characteristic of a servant of God is obedience, not the size of chariot force, the number of females in his harem, or the presence of peacocks in the royal zoo, but obedience to God’s commandments that leads God’s people to be faithful. READ Joshua 11:1-15. What does obedience look like for Joshua, for us?

We are to obey fearlessly     1-6a

Obedience is most critical when disobedience appears most enticing. When problems loom large, it is easy to dismiss what God expects from us, make excuses why compliance is optional. We see in our passage that no matter the size of the opposition, God’s promised presence is what counts. In light of that we must obey fearlessly.

As in chapters past, a Canaanite ruler, here Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of Israel and seeks their destruction. Yet in these opening verses the author appears to needlessly spill much ink on ancient details that matter little to us today. Different ethnic groups are listed, focusing on where they gathered their armies, what armaments they employed. Why didn’t God make our Bibles lighter and give us fewer names to stumble over? Yet these details set the stage.

Hazor was a major city. It was 10 miles north of the Sea of Chinnereth, that is, Galilee, situated on the main highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia and Syria. The city covered over 200 acres, its population was over 40,000. Jericho on the other hand covered only four or five acres.

What is more, the enemy is more than just one city, but the writer wants us to get a sense of the helplessness of Israel. Last week we saw the southern confederacy gather against Israel. Here their northern cousins set aside their differences to fight their new enemy, the people of God.

They have a numerical advantage over Israel, but also a technological edge as well. The Canaanites possess what Israel does not – chariots.

The disparity between forces is hard for us to comprehend. Similar to our mechanized army in Afghanistan going against the Taliban’s camels, Israel would be sitting ducks to the sheer force and power of the chariot. What is about to happen is far from a fair fight.

In such a situation it would be understandable for Joshua to run and hide. Yet he, as we, must obey without fear. Obedience is hard, when we see good reasons to disobey, distrust, disappear.

In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, as Christian is approaching Palace Beautiful where he hopes to get lodging, he is walking down a very narrow passage and there he meets two lions in the way. And Bunyan adds, “The lions were chained; but he saw not the chains."

What Joshua understood is what we often forget. When God calls us to obey, we may see the lions, the dangers, the troubles that will come in obeying God, but those troubles are nothing but chained lions. Their roar is great, but their power is restrained.  

When the fear of man overpowers the fear of God, it is far too easy to tremble at the lions’ roar. When men loom like giants and God seems so distant, it is easy to tremble.

The boss demands unethical behavior – you may suffer not just a bad performance review, but the loss of a job. Jabin is massing his troops.

When friends ridicule your stand at school, it is as though you hear the thunderous roar of the chariots coming.

If you lie awake at night wondering what others think of you, if they will accept you – it is as if the northern confederation is ready to pounce.

God’s promises come to us at these times. But notice what God says to Joshua. He tells Joshua not to be afraid. He wouldn't have said that if Joshua had not been fearful. God speaks into the fear. Even though Joshua is a battle-hardened veteran, the fear of the enemy and the possibility of losing a battle still well up in him. But God assures Joshua that he has nothing to fear: God will win the battle on Israel's behalf.

But what God says is not that different than what was said before. Often you don’t need specific reminders of God’s grace, but continual reminder of the truth that God is victorious in all aspects of your life. But how often we find it annoying to hear the same truth over and over? But God knows the specific medicine to calm our anxiety – it is his promised presence.

In verse 6 he says, "I will give over all of them, slain." Israel will have to expend energy and attack Canaanite soldiers. Passivity will have no place in this battle.

Joshua uses a wonderful new strategy. God tells him to launch a surprise attack while the enemy is still gathered in counsel, unprepared for battle. God tells Joshua to disable the horses so they can't pull the chariots, and then to burn the chariots so the army can't use them. Joshua does just that, and launches a successful sneak attack.

They chase the Canaanites to Sidon, to mountainous areas to the north and east. In their panic, the soldiers run into the mountains where chariots and horses are of no use. So they have evened the balance in terms of foot soldiers fighting foot soldiers, because the Canaanites are caught totally off guard. Once again in verse 8, as we've seen over and over, the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel.

God’s promise to hand all of them over to Israel slain does not negate Joshua’s strategy. Instead it energizes him to plan, blast into the enemy camp in a surprise attack.

Divine sovereignty does not negate human activity but stimulates it. God’s command to not fear doesn’t render human effort irrelevant. There is no “Let go and let God.” His view was not to let go but to grab hold. Divine sovereignty creates confidence, calls forth effort. God’s sovereignty is not a doctrine that shackles us but a reality that liberates us; not a cloud that stifles but an elixir that invigorates.

What promises do we have which should keep us from fear, but energize us to obey?

2 Tim 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We are to obey specifically   6b-9

Fearless obedience is not a mindless compliance, but thoughtful submission to God’s commands. Joshua is told not to fear, but then has the freedom to move ahead as he sees fit. In that process he must be mindful of what God calls him to do. In Joshua 11 God’s commands at first seem foolish. His obedience to God is specific. He is to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots.

This command is rooted in what God told Moses a few years before. In Deuteronomy 17:16 says:

…he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'

Later the great warrior David reiterated this thought in Psalm 20. There he offers a series of prayers for the worshiper, causing him to know God’s blessing:

With all that God does for his people, David then speaks with confidence as to God’s protection (v6)

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.

With this he contrasts those who desire safety, but seek it on their own terms (v7)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

Again in Psalm 33, the psalmist uses the war horse as a picture of false hope. In v16-17 he says:

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

God’s command was specific.

To hamstring a horse is to cut the tendons on the hind legs near the hoof, thus rendering the animal militarily useless. The action would be similar to clipping the wings of a bird to keep it from flying. It would not kill the horse, but hobble it, allowing it to live out its life, but not be used in war. It could no longer pull a chariot or race into battle.

The reason Israel was not to keep the horses and chariots for themselves was not due to some desire to remain old fashion, to reject the latest high tech advances in warfare, but to maintain their trust in God’s grace. This was not their idea, but was specific to what God commanded.

Some of the men would have said, "These will be useful in battle." Why? Could they not have taken them and used them? He understood something that we don’t always understand: that they needed to be destroyed lest they become objects of trust among the people of God rather than them trusting in the Lord.

What is at issue here is not the evilness of modern technology, but the source of one’s confidence.

Where in do we place our hope, our assurance? What helps us to sleep soundly at night? What keeps us going during the day? Does obedience to God’s commands come only when we’ve answered the questions of our personal security first? Is obedience optional as long as problems surround us? Like the child who obeys as long as it is convenient, but slugs his little brother when he’s annoyed, do we justify our sins as necessary due to the pressures of everyday life?

Our disobedience may seem small in light of all the good we do. We may try to excuse our minor flaws pointing to our many attributes. But God doesn't just want extraordinary good works from us, but obedience in small things as well. Agatho, a desert monk of fourth-century Egypt put it this way: "If an angry man raises the dead, God is still displeased with his anger."

What horses are we to hobble and what chariots are we to burn? The answer isn’t simple, but we must consider what are those things in our lives which are forbidden or if permitted keep us from trusting God more.

An example of engaging in our society without succumbing to our culture’s values is the life of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants. Cathy did not winch from either giving what the customer wanted in a fast food chicken sandwich or in what God demands. With sales reaching 1.5 billion last year, Cathy has kept his fifty-five year promise to lose millions and keep his restaurants closed on Sunday. One can obey God’s Law and do well in business.

In church it is easy to think we can capture the enemy’s tools and use them without tainting ourselves, employing techniques of business and marketing to help God out in the Great Commission. Yet too often we fail to see that we begin to trust in the slick advertising scheme, the polished program, the beautiful building and not the work of God calling us to be obedient in faithfully worshipping Him and proclaiming His Word.

It is too easy to think we can serve a warmed over Dr. Phil approach to relationships and call it healthy, to imagine we can adopt the prevailing political views of the day, be they right or left and attach Christian labels to them and put them to practice.

Remember, in our passage God’s call for obedience does not preclude personal activity, planning and preparation. But it does demand we ground our obedience in the specific commands of God. When God pronounces an area of life off limits to us, then we must not make that a debatable topic. If there is no clear command, but principle, then we should wisely consider the issue. If the principle is questionable, it is a matter of conscience. If there is neither law nor principle, then we should not be bound. 

Too often we see God’s commands as merely suggestions, considering the Law of God a guideline which we should follow only as convenient. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said it best:

"Most people really believe that the Christian commandments (for example, to love one's neighbor as oneself) are intentionally a little too severe—like putting the clock ahead half an hour to make sure of not being late in the morning."

But that is not what God does, rather he calls us to obedience, not self adjustments whereby we try harder, but never fully expect to obey. What God demands of us is perfect obedience at every step of the way. Why do we not obey?

“Perfect obedience would be perfect happiness if only we had perfect confidence in the power we are obeying.”  (H. W. Smith in The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life.)

Joshua was not a law maker, but a law keeper. He obeyed what God commanded, for he knew the God who calls to obedience is the God who empowers us to obey. But what happens when we find ourselves on the wrong end of the Law? What do we do when we’ve excused ourselves from obeying only to sense the shame of not trusting God’s goodness to us?

In times such as those we must be willing to repent, to look to Christ, to trust his rescue. When and where we are able to move from disobedience to obedience, we should so move quickly. Yet we can never undo our sin. Only Christ has done that on the cross.

A family was vacationing at a cabin on a lake. They had three children, ages twelve, seven and four. One day the four-year-old slipped away from his brother and sister, went out on the dock to play, and fell into the lake. He didn't know how to swim and he wasn't wearing a life jacket. The screams of the two older children alerted the father to the danger. He ran out on the dock and the kids pointed to where their brother had fallen in. The father dove into the lake. The water was only about ten feet deep, but it was so murky that he couldn't see a thing. He went all the way to the bottom and felt around frantically for his little boy. Finally, he ran out of air, came to the top, took another huge gulp of air, and went down again, searching for his son. On his way down a third time, his hand brushed his little boy's leg. He turned and found his four-year-old son with his arms and legs wrapped tightly around one of the pilings, about three feet below the water. The father pried him loose, carried him onto the lawn, and they both caught their breath. After about thirty minutes, when they had calmed down, the father asked, "Son, what were you doing down there, hanging on to that piling?"

The little boy answered, "I was just waiting for you, Dad."

Certainly, we should tell little boys to stay away from lakes, but we know the hearts of little boys. They will obey … for only so long. You and I are called to obey … and we should. But when we fail, in Christ we have one who rescues us, restores us and returns us to service. Let us serve him, pointing others not to our obedience, but to his grace.