Unfinished Business

November 27, 2020

Joshua 11:1-5 King Jabin of Hazor heard about this. So he sent word to Madon’s King Jobab, to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph.2 He sent word to the kings from the north part of the highlands, in the desert plain south of Chinneroth, in the lowlands, and in Naphoth-dor on the west.3 He sent word to the Canaanites from east and west, to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the highlands, and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.4 They went out with all their battalions as a great army. They were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. There were very many horses and chariots.5 All these kings came together. They came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

Joshua 11 begins in the middle. The middle of what? What was the "this" King Jabin had heard about? King Jabin had heard, likely, of Joshua, the leader of the Israelite army. However, what he had surely heard about was how the Israelite God fought for his people against all odds. At this time, Joshua was in the middle of a string of victories against the inhabitants of the Israelite Promised Land. King Jabin would have heard of the complete wiping out of Ai. He would have heard how the Israelites' God had rained down hailstones at Gibeon so much so that more died from the hailstones than the swords of the Israelites. And he would certainly have heard of how Joshua had ordered the sun and the moon to fight for his people as well. (Joshua 10) “Sun, stand still at Gibeon! and Moon, at the Aijalon Valley!” 13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless until a nation took revenge on its enemies.

Isn’t this written in the Jashar scroll? So the sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky. For a whole day, it was in no hurry to go down. 14 There hasn’t been a day like it before or since, when the Lord responded to a human voice. The Lord fought for Israel.

Who was this Joshua who could move his God in such a way? Who was this God who could bring down hailstones and change the boundaries of day and night? King Jabin had likely encountered many enemies and fought many battles, but he had never encountered the likes of these people and the God they served. For good reason, he contacted his allies and they went out with their innumerable armies against the Jewish nation.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a string of victories? Maybe all seems well in the camp. The bills are paid, the car is running, the kids are making good grades, the marriage is seemingly good; maybe there is even a well planned vacation on the horizon. Life is good. Maybe you wouldn't necessarily call your circumstances victorious, but maybe they could be called tolerable. That situation for which you've been praying has at least improved. Things are somewhat better than they were. Victorious and tolerable are easy places to set up camp. They can be quite comfortable or at least doable. The problem with both of these is they can easily seduce us into living in compromise.

Look at Joshua. How easy it would have been for him to persuade the Israelites to stay in the place of partial victory where they were encamped. They had gained much territory. What pushed him onward?

Joshua 11:6-15 6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow, I will make them all dead bodies in Israel’s presence. Cripple their horses! Burn their chariots!”

7 Then Joshua along with the entire army launched a surprise attack against them at the waters of Merom. 8 The Lord gave them into Israel’s power. They struck them down. They chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, then to the east as far as the Mizpeh Valley. They struck them down until no survivors were left. 9 Joshua dealt with them exactly as the Lord had told him. He crippled their horses and burned their chariots.

10 Joshua turned back at that time. He captured Hazor and struck down its king with the sword. Hazor had been the head of all those kingdoms in the past. 11 They struck down everyone there without mercy, wiping them out as something reserved for God. Nothing that breathed was left. Hazor itself he burned. 12 Joshua captured all these kings and their cities. He struck them down without mercy. He wiped them out as something reserved for God. This was exactly as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded. 13 But Israel didn’t burn any of the cities that still are standing on their mounds. Joshua burned only Hazor. 14 The Israelites took all the valuable things from those cities and the cattle as plunder for themselves. But they struck down every person without mercy until they had wiped them out. They didn’t let anything that breathed survive. 15 What the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, Moses had commanded Joshua, and Joshua did exactly that. He didn’t deviate a bit from any command that the Lord had given Moses.

Did you catch it? First, the Lord said to not be afraid. How many times has our Lord encouraged us to fear not? Let us not forget that if He be for us, who can be against us! He has not given us a spirit of fear. Then the Lord told Joshua exactly what to do, but then "Joshua dealt with them exactly as the Lord had told him." Are we dealing with our enemies as He has instructed, or are we possibly bowing to tolerable or living obliviously in victory? Are we walking the line of compromise? I have done all three of these in my life. SPOILER ALERT: It doesn't turn out well. What the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, Moses had commanded Joshua, and Joshua did exactly that. He didn’t deviate a bit from any command that the Lord had given Moses. These weren't new instructions from Almighty God. He had always planned for His people to conquer ALL. It didn't happen under Moses, but that didn't negate the instructions. Does your past seem far from victorious? Thank the Lord, it doesn't have to dictate your future.

Joshua 11:16-22 16 So Joshua took this whole land: the highlands, the whole arid southern plain, the whole land of Goshen, the lowlands, the desert plain, and both the highlands and the lowlands of Israel. 17 He took land stretching from Mount Halak, which goes up toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Lebanon Valley. He captured all their kings. He struck them down and killed them. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 There wasn’t one city that made peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites who lived in Gibeon. They captured every single one in battle. 20 Their stubborn resistance came from the Lord and led them to wage war against Israel. Israel was then able to wipe them out as something reserved for God, without showing them any mercy. This was exactly what the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 At that time, Joshua went and wiped out the Anakim from the highlands. He wiped them out from Hebron, from Debir, and from Anab, from the whole highlands of Judah, and the whole highlands of Israel. Joshua wiped them out along with their cities as something reserved for God. 22 The Anakim no longer remained in the land of the Israelites. They survived only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, exactly as the Lord had promised Moses. Joshua gave it as a legacy to Israel according to their tribal shares. Then the land had a rest from war.

The Lord didn't direct His people to settle for "better." He directed Joshua to war for the territory. Only the Hivites made peace with the Israelites; every other place had to be captured in battle. You don't capture that which you don't pursue. 20 Their stubborn resistance came from the Lord and led them to wage war against Israel. Israel was then able to wipe them out as something reserved for God Realize, precious child of the Living God, that He hardens situations and people around you. Joshua saw this now as the leader of the Israelites just as he had seen in Egypt many years earlier when God had hardened Pharaoh's heart. Without this hardening, God's people will live quite contentedly in the land of Tolerable and Compromise. That hard place you're in? That hard person in your life? It is a victory reserved for God. It is not meant to reign over you. However, the victory will not come knocking at your door. You will have to battle, but, FEAR NOT, and remember He has trained our hands for war and our fingers for battle.

So Joshua took the whole land, exactly as the Lord had promised Moses. Joshua gave it as a legacy to Israel according to their tribal shares. Then the land had a rest from war.

What unfinished business does the Lord want to accomplish in your life? It could be "left over" from the previous generation as was the case in Joshua 11. It could be a prayer you have stopped believing for because you've landed in Tolerable or Compromise. Dear One, don't settle. Take the whole land exactly as the Lord has promised. It's not just about you. It's your legacy to pass on.