Joshua 6 - 12: The Beginning of the Conquest of Canaan
INTRODUCTION.
A. In our last lesson, we studied Joshua 1-5.
1. God appointed Joshua to lead the Israelites in the place of Moses.
2. Joshua sent spies into the land of Canaan, specifically to the city of Jericho.
3. After hearing from the spies, Joshua and the Israelites were led across the Jordan river.
B. In this lesson we will experience the fall of Jericho, Israel’s defeat at Ai, and Israel’s campaign throughout the land of Canaan.
I. ISRAEL DEFEATS JERICHO. (6:1-27)
A. The Lord told Joshua that He had given Jericho into Joshua’s hands. The Lord then gave Joshua instructions on how to take the city of Jericho. (6:1-5)
1. Joshua and the men of war were to march around the city of Jericho once a day for six days. The priests were to carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. (vs 1-4a)
2. On the seventh day, Joshua and the men of war were to march around Jericho seven times and the priests would blow their trumpets. When the priests blew the trumpets, the men of war were to shout with a great shout and charge the city of Jericho. (vs 4b-5)
B. After having received the instructions from God, Joshua gave the order for the priest and the men of war to advance to Jericho. The army of Israel marched around Jericho and then returned to camp. This they did for seven days. (6:6-15a)
C. On the seventh day, the army of Israel marched around the city of Jericho seven times. After the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted and the city of Jericho fell. (6:15b-27)
1. When Joshua gave the instructions to shout, he also ordered that the city and all who are in the city were doomed to destruction. Only Rahab the harlot and those with her in her house should be kept alive. (vs 17)
2. Joshua also ordered the people to keep themselves from the accursed things. If any of the Israelites were to take something accursed, then that person would be accursed and would bring a curse upon the camp of Israel. (vs 18)
3. The silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, were to be considered consecrated to the Lord. Those such items were to go into the treasury of the Lord. (vs 19)
4. When the people of Israel shouted, the walls of Jericho fell down flat. The people went into the city and utterly destroyed all that was in the city. The Israelites burned the city of Jericho. Only Rahab and her family was spared. (vs 20-25)
5. Joshua placed a curse upon any man that would raise up and build the city of Jericho. The builder of Jericho would lay the foundation with his firstborn, and he would set the gates with his youngest. (vs 26-27; cf. I Kings 16:34 - A man named Hiel did build Jericho. “(H)e laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, . . .”)
II. ISRAEL BATTLES THE CITY OF AI. (7:1 - 8:35)
A. Joshua sent men into Ai to spy out the city. The men reported that 3000 men would be sufficient to take the city of Ai. Joshua sent the 3000 men into Ai. The inhabitants of Ai caused the 3000 men of Israel to run away, killing 36 of the men of Israel. As a result, the heart of the Israelites melted. (7:1-5)
B. Upon hearing the news of the defeat, Joshua tore his clothes and asked the Lord why He had turned His back on Israel. The Lord explained that there was sin within the camp of Israel. The Lord instructed Joshua on how to find the sinner with the accursed items from Jericho. (7:6-15)
C. Joshua followed the instructions of the Lord and discovered that it was Achan, the son of Carmi who had taken the accursed things from Jericho. (7:16-26)
1. Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before him and the tribe of Judah was taken. Joshua then brought the tribe of Judah before him and he took the family of the Zarhites. The family of the Zarhites was brought before Joshua and Zabdi was taken. Then the household of Zabdi, man by man was brought before Joshua and Achan was taken. (vs 16-18)
2. Joshua told Achan to make a confession before God and to tell Joshua what he, Achan, had done. Achan confessed to having kept some of the spoils from Jericho buried in his tent. (vs 19-21)
3. Joshua sent messengers to search Achan’s tent. They found the spoils and brought them before the Lord. (vs 22-23)
4. Joshua and all of Israel took Achan, the son of Zerah, the spoils Achan had kept, all of Achan’s family and all of Achan’s flock and stoned them all. After stoning Achan, his family, his flocks, and the spoils, Joshua and all Israel burned them with fire. All that was left was buried in a great heap of stones. (vs 24-26)
D. After having cleansed the camp of the sin, the Lord told Joshua to go and take the city of Ai. The Lord instructed Joshua to do to Ai what he had done to Jericho, except this time, the Israelites could keep the spoil and the cattle as booty for their selves. (8:1-2)
E. Joshua obeyed the Lord and took the city of Ai. (8:3-29)
1. Joshua took 30,000 men of valor and sent them by night to lie in wait against the city, behind the city. (vs 3-4)
2. Joshua and the people with him would approach the city. Once the inhabitants of Ai came out of the city, Joshua and his people would flee before them. (vs 5-6)
3. Once Joshua and the people with him had led the people of Ai away from the city, the 30,000 men lying in wait behind the city would seize the city and set the city on fire. (vs 7-8)
4. Joshua set up the ambush. He and his people went to the gate of Ai. When the king of Ai saw Joshua and the Israelites, the king and all the men of the city set out to chase Joshua and the Israelites. (vs 9-17)
5. Once all the me were out of Ai, the Lord told Joshua to stretch forth his spear and give the signal for the men waiting beyond the city of Ai to attack the city. The Israelites who were lying in wait attacked the city and burned the city. (vs 18-19)
6. When the men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke, they lost their will to flee. The army of Israel destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai, except for the king. (vs 20-23)
7. 12,000 men and women were killed in the battle of Ai. Joshua hung the king of Ai in a tree and the Israelites kept the spoils as commanded by the Lord. (vs 24-29)
F. After the battle of Ai, Joshua built an altar to the Lord in Mount Ebal. The Israelites offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. (8:30-31)
G. In the presence of the children of Israel, Joshua wrote on the stones of the altar a copy of the law of Moses. Joshua read all the words of the law before the people, the blessings and the cursings. (8:32-35)
III. THE TREATY WITH THE GIBEONITES. (9:1-27)
A. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked out a scheme to create an alliance with Israel. (9:1-15)
1. Some of the inhabitants of Gibeon went to see Joshua, traveling on their donkeys with old sacks, old wineskins, old sandals, and old garments. The provisions they carried were also dry and moldy. It was their intent to make Joshua think that they were ambassadors from a distant city, coming to make a treaty. (vs 3-13)
2. Joshua and the men of Israel believed the story of the men from Gibeon. As a result, the men of Israel made peace with the men from Gibeon without asking the Lord for counsel. (vs 14-15)
B. When the men of Israel discovered that they had been deceived, they decided not to destroy the city of Gibeon since they had made a covenant to let them live. Because of their deception, Joshua told the inhabitants of Gibeon that they would become woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation of Israel. (9:16-23)
C. The inhabitants of Gibeon explained their reasoning for deceiving the Israelites. The Gibeonites had heard that Jehovah God had promised to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites and that He had ordered all the inhabitants of the land destroyed. As a result, the Gibeonites were very afraid. (9:24-27)
IV. ISRAEL DEFEATS THE AMORITES. (10:1-43)
A. Five kings from the westside of Jordan, the kings of the Amorites, came together to battle the Israelites. (10:1-15)
1. When Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard of the victories of the Israelites, he sent for Hoham, the king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon. (vs 1-3)
2. The four kings joined Adoni-Zedek and camped before Gibeon and made war against Gibeon. (vs 4-5)
3. Because of the treaty made with Israel, the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to help them defeat the kings of the Amorites. Joshua answered the call of the Gibeonites. With the help of the Lord, the army of Israel defeated the Amorites with a great slaughter. (vs 6-11)
4. During the battle, Joshua spoke to the Lord the words written in the book of Jasher, possibly a collection of natural songs. (Cf. The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. III, section on Joshua, pg 9 (ix) of the introduction.) Joshua asked the Lord to allow the daylight to remain long enough for him to complete the victory over the Amorites. The Lord answered Joshua’s prayer. (vs 12-15)
B. The five kings who led the Amorites against the Gibeonites fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua ordered the entrance of the cave to be blocked and guarded until after all of the Amorites were defeated. (10:16-21)
C. After ending the great slaughter, Joshua ordered the kings to be brought out of the cave. The kings were then executed and hung from trees. When the sun was going down, the bodies of the five kings were taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had taken refuge. Joshua ordered the entrance to the cave shut up with large stones. (10:22-27)
D. Beginning with the city of Makkedah, Joshua and the Israelites continued on their campaign to take the land of Canaan. (10:28-43)
1. They took the city of Makkedah and then traveled to Libnah and defeated the city and its king. (vs 28-30)
2. After defeating Libnah, they passed to Lachish and fought against Lachish. Joshua and Israel defeated Lachish and Horam, king of Gezer, who had come up to help Lachish. (vs 31-33)
3. From Lachish, Joshua and the Israelites passed to Eglon. After defeating the city of Eglon, they went to Hebron and utterly destroyed the Hebron. (vs 34-37)
4. After defeating Hebron, Joshua and the Israelites returned to Debir and fought against and utterly destroyed that city. (vs 38-39)
5. Joshua conquered all the land. He conquered the mountain country, the South (Negev), the lowland, the wilderness slopes, and all their kings. (vs 40)
6. Joshua “conquered from Kadesh Barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon.” (vs 41-43, NKJV)
V. THE CONQUEST OF NORTHERN CANAAN. (11:1-23)
A. After hearing of Joshua’s conquest of the southern part of Cannan, Jabin, king of Hazor formed an alliance with several kings of the northern part of Canaan. (11:1-5)
1. Jabin called together the king of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Achshaph, and 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.” (vs 1-2, NKJV)
2. Jabin also called 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 Mispah.” (vs 3, NKJV)
3. All the host called together by Jabin were “as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.” They all camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. (vs 4-5, NKJV)
B. The Lord told Joshua not to be afraid because the Lord would deliver “all the slain before Israel.” Joshua followed the instructions of the Lord and defeat all the host that had come against Israel. Joshua “hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.” (11:6-9)
C. After the great victory, Joshua turned his attention to Jabin and the city of Hazor. Joshua destroyed the city of Hazor just as he had done to all the other cities that had opposed the Israelites. Just as “the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did.” (11:10-15, NKJV)
D. A summary of all the land taken by Joshua is recorded in 11:16-23. The only city that made peace with the Israelites was Gibeon. All of the other cities made war against Israel and were destroyed. (11:16-23)
VI. A LISTING OF KINGS WHO WERE CONQUERED. (12:1-24)
A. The following is a list of kings defeated by Moses and the Israelites while on the east side of Jordan. (12:1-6)
1. Sihon, king of the Amorites, and all over which he reigned. (vs 1-3)
2. Og, king of Bashan, and his territory. (vs 4-6)
B. The following is a list of kings defeated by Joshua and the Israelites while on the west side of the Jordan. (12:7-24)
1. The king of Jericho, the king of Ai, the king of Jerusalem, and the king of Hebron. (vs 7-10)
2. The king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, and the king of Gezer. (vs 11-12)
3. The king of Debir, the king of Geder, the king of Hormah, and the king of Arad. (vs 13-14)
4. The king of Libnah, the king of Adullam, the king of Makkedah, and the king of Bethel. (vs 15-16)
5. The king of Tappuah, the king of Hepher, the king of Aphek and the king of Lasharon. (vs 17-18)
6. The king of Madon, the king of Hazor, the king of Shimron Meron, and the king of Achshaph. (vs 19-20)
7. The king of Taanach, the king of Megiddo, the king of Kedesh, and the king of Jokneam in Carmel. (vs 21-22)
8. The king of Dor, the king of the people of Gilgal, and the king of Tirzah. (vs 23-24)
9. Joshua and the Israelites defeated 31 kings. (vs 24)
VII. LESSONS LEARNED.
A. Followers of God should heed the warnings against sin.
1. Before the battle of Jericho, God instructed Joshua that no spoils were to be taken from the city. He explained that anyone who took spoils from the city would be accursed and would bring a curse upon Israel. (Joshua 6:18)
2. Followers of God under the new covenant of Jesus Christ must also give heed to the warnings against sin. Some passages clearly reveal the consequences of sin.
a. II John 1:9 - “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (KJV)
b. Galatians 5:19-21 - “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; . . . of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (KJV)
c. Hebrews 2:1-4
B. One sin can have a great impact upon our lives and the lives of others.
1. Achan’s sin resulted in the death of 36 fellow Israelites in addition to the lives of his family members. (Joshua 7:19-26)
2. There are times when the sin of one person may only impact his life. However, there are other times when the sin of one person may affect many lives. For example:
a. David and Bathsheba’s sin affected Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, the baby of David and Bathsheba, David’s children, and the nations around Israel who blasphemed the name of the Lord as a result of the sin.
b. The rebellion of Korah resulted in the death of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their families and all who were in their tents in addition to the 250 men that offered incense on Korah’s behalf. (Numbers 16:12-35)
c. Premarital sexual activity can lead to unwanted pregnancy and diseases.
(1) When an unmarried woman bares a child, the birth affects her parents, her future husband, her friends, and the baby itself.
(2) When unmarried people engage in sexual activity, you have the possibility of diseases. If a person contracts a disease associated with sexual activity, then their future spouse will be affected and their family members will bear the medical expense.
d. Any type of sexual immorality, including adultery impacts many, many people within our lives.
e. Many other examples could be given. Such as stealing, drinking, jealousy, uncontrolled anger, etc.
C. It is easy to be deceived if we are not always watching and thinking.
1. Joshua should have consulted the Lord before making a covenant with the strangers. (Joshua 9:1-15)
2. Anytime we are in doubt as to whether or not something is right or wrong, we should always consult God by going to His word.
3. There are those who would attempt to deceive us. We must never allow ourselves to be given over to strong delusions. (II Corinthians 11:13-15; II Thessalonians 2:9-12)
D. We must never hold hands in joint participation with those who are enemies of Christ.
1. The city of Makkedah harbored the five kings who attacked the children of Israel. They allowed them to hide in the caves. While Makkedah did not attack Israel, they did help the enemies of Israel. (Joshua 10:16-21) As a result, Joshua destroyed the city of Makkedah. (Joshua 10:28)
2. The Bible clearly warns us to be spiritual separated from those who do not follow Christ.
a. II Corinthians 6:14-18 - be not unequally yoked
b. II John 1:7-11 - do not bid them God speed.
E. No matter what obstacles and enemies we may face, as long as we follow the Lord’s commands, we will always be victorious.
1. When the armies of northern Canaan were amassing against Israel, Joshua became afraid. The Lord told Joshua not to be afraid. (Joshua 11:6-9)
2. There are times when life may seem to overwhelm us. At those moments we need to remember to listen to the Lord and follow His instructions.
a. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29, KJV)
b. Jesus also said, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6, KJV)
CONCLUSION.
A. While Joshua and the Israelites made much progress in the conquering of the land of Canaan, there was still much left to do. In the next lesson, we will begin by looking at the unconquered areas and how the Lord ordered the land to be divided up among the tribes of Israel.
B. As we close this lesson, let us remember the lessons learned from our study.
1. Followers of God should heed the warnings against sin.
2. One sin can have a great impact upon our lives and the lives of others.
3. It is easy to be deceived if we are not always watching and thinking.
4. We must never hold hands in joint participation with those who are enemies of Christ.
5. No matter what obstacles and enemies we may face, as long as we follow the Lord’s commands, we will always be victorious.
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Joshua 6 - 12: The Beginning of the Conquest of Canaan -- February 18, 2001 -- File # 669 - Joshua
by John M. Duvall – Lawton, OK