Joshua 12:7-8 (ESV)
7 And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, 8 in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites):
God Wants Us to be Victorious
To fully understand the above text we have to go back to the first chapter of Joshua to read God’s instruction to him:
Joshua 1:8-9 (ESV)
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
God gave Joshua marching orders and Joshua fulfilled them. God set Joshua up to succeed by giving him the formula for success. In the above verses we read that Joshua was able to subdue the majority of the kings of the land (those he left were to be subdued by each tribe as they claimed their inheritance). Whoever wrote the book of Joshua goes on to record 31 kings that were destroyed under Joshua’s leadership. These were powerful kings. But, in God’s hands, Joshua was the instrument of God’s wrath on these wicked nations. God was fighting with Joshua, but He was fighting for Joshua, as well. Note the battle Joshua fought against a collection of kings, who assembled together in hopes to defeat Joshua:
Joshua 11:8 (ESV)
8 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.
Joshua, in this section, gets the credit, but it was God who accomplished the victories. God wants us to be victorious. God goes before us to fight the battle for us, but also uses skills He gives us to fight those battles. God wants our victory. He enables us to fight and He fights for us.
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