For some of those city-states, there were still people left in them even though their king and best fighting men had gone to war and been defeated, there were still people who went to war against the Israelites.
Makkedah, which was the city to which the defeated kings had fled, perhaps seeking aid or sanctuary, was the first to fall. Libnah was next, then Lachish, whose king, Japhia, had fallen in front of the cave at Makkedah. But Horam, the king of Gezer, had come to battle in defense of Lachish...and was defeated as well. Eglon, who had also lost their king at Makkedah, was the next city to fall. Finally, Debir was defeated as well.
All the kings were hung as the king of Jericho had been hung, the population of the cities obliterated.
Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon All these kings and their lands Joshua conqured in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, for for Israel. (Josh. 10:40-42).
If you're keeping track....the kings conquered so far are: Jericho, Ai (and the fighting men of Bethel were defeated in that battle as well, although their king apparently was not in the battle), Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Makkedah, Libnah, Gezer and Debir. Nine kings were defeated before Joshua returned to Gilgal with his army, putting all their territories under Israelite control.
That sounds impressive...and, for that day and age it was...but it's not as much as you might think. Every town of any size had its king and its territory...but, by today's standards, those were pretty small towns and pretty small territory. All added together, it was a good foothold, but Israel was still a long way from conquering all the land.
Also by our standards, the 'left no survivors' thing seems excessively harsh. But there's more to this story than just the Israelites claiming territory; there is also the rebellion and debauchery of the pagan people. They had rejected the knowledge of God and given themselves over to the worship of idols, with vile practices, including sacrificing children. Using the same standard He applied to the Israelites, God decreed that they all had to perish in order to protect His people from falling into similar error. The instruction of Moses is found in Deut. 20:16-18:
In the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them -- the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites -- as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.
Also, check out Lev. 20:22-23:
'You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things [vile things listed previously in the passage], I abhorred them'
Here's the point to ponder as we continue through Joshua and see the conquest unfold...God has NEVER intended His people to assimilate into the culture around them. They have ALWAYS been required to be distinct, and stay distinct. Our dispensation is different; we are in the age of grace and the ministry of Holy Spirit, so our means of staying distinct no longer involves removing anyone who would teach or act contrary to God's instruction but the principle is the same. God's people are not to take on the morals, behaviors, actions, etc of the unbelievers around them. How much compromise have I allowed in my life?
'You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.' Lev. 20:26
No comments:
Post a Comment