Israel's victories bring
fresh war upon them; but the confederation of their
enemies only serves to deliver them all together into
their hands. If God will not have peace, it is because He
will have victory. A new principle is now set before us.
God will in nowise allow the world's seat of power to
become that of His people; for His people depend
exclusively on Him. The natural consequence of taking
Hazor would have been to make it the seat of government,
and a centre of influence in the government of God, so
that this city should be that for God which it had before
been for the world; "for Hazor beforetime was the
head of all those kingdoms." But it was just the
contrary. Hazor is totally destroyed. God will not leave
a vestige of former power; He will make all things new.
The centre and the source of power must be His, entirely
and exclusively His: a very important lesson for His
children, if they would preserve their spiritual
integrity.
Conquest and rest
In a certain sense the
conquest of the land seemed complete; that is to say,
there was no outward strength left, either to stand
before them or to form a kingdom. But Israel had still
many enemies in this land, enemies who did not, indeed,
molest them while they continued faithful, but who taught
the people many things that afterwards helped on their
ruin. They had divided the conquered land; they had rest
from war. When all is finished, we may reckon up our
victories, but not before; till then we ought rather to
be occupied in gaining more.
God's dealings as
to Ai and the Gibeonites
We may remark here that,
in the result of God's dealings, the fault committed
previously to the attack upon Ai seems blotted out, and
had even contributed to the development of His purposes.
At the time it had kept them back, and was punished. But
God applied Himself to Israel's moral restoration to the
confidence of faith, and the grand object of His dealings
was in nowise hindered. This is no excuse; but it is a
sweet and strong consolation which leads so much the more
into worship. The fault committed in the matter of the
Gibeonites appears to me more serious. It did not delay
their progress; but, being the act of Joshua and the
princes, it set them for ever in a false position with
respect to those whom they spared.
Chapter 11 closes the
first division of the book, that is to say, the history
of Joshua's victories (typically that of the Lord's power
by the Spirit, giving His people possession of the
promises).
Joshua 11 Bible Commentary
John Darby’s Synopsis
Israel's victories bring fresh war upon them; but the confederation of their enemies only serves to deliver them all together into their hands. If God will not have peace, it is because He will have victory. A new principle is now set before us. God will in nowise allow the world's seat of power to become that of His people; for His people depend exclusively on Him. The natural consequence of taking Hazor would have been to make it the seat of government, and a centre of influence in the government of God, so that this city should be that for God which it had before been for the world; "for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms." But it was just the contrary. Hazor is totally destroyed. God will not leave a vestige of former power; He will make all things new. The centre and the source of power must be His, entirely and exclusively His: a very important lesson for His children, if they would preserve their spiritual integrity.
Conquest and rest
In a certain sense the conquest of the land seemed complete; that is to say, there was no outward strength left, either to stand before them or to form a kingdom. But Israel had still many enemies in this land, enemies who did not, indeed, molest them while they continued faithful, but who taught the people many things that afterwards helped on their ruin. They had divided the conquered land; they had rest from war. When all is finished, we may reckon up our victories, but not before; till then we ought rather to be occupied in gaining more.
God's dealings as to Ai and the Gibeonites
We may remark here that, in the result of God's dealings, the fault committed previously to the attack upon Ai seems blotted out, and had even contributed to the development of His purposes. At the time it had kept them back, and was punished. But God applied Himself to Israel's moral restoration to the confidence of faith, and the grand object of His dealings was in nowise hindered. This is no excuse; but it is a sweet and strong consolation which leads so much the more into worship. The fault committed in the matter of the Gibeonites appears to me more serious. It did not delay their progress; but, being the act of Joshua and the princes, it set them for ever in a false position with respect to those whom they spared.
Chapter 11 closes the first division of the book, that is to say, the history of Joshua's victories (typically that of the Lord's power by the Spirit, giving His people possession of the promises).