God at Work in History 9: When the Enemy Is Greater Than Ever --Joshua 11
J
oshua 10 ended with one of the most remarkable statements in the book:
“And the LORD fought for Israel.” —Joshua 10:14
Israel had seen God intervene in the battle against the southern kings. The Lord had thrown the enemy into confusion, sent hailstones from heaven, and answered Joshua’s prayer in an extraordinary way.
But Joshua 11 reminds us that one great victory does not mean the battles are over.
There was still much land to possess.
And now the challenge came from the north.
Once again, we see the God who is at work in history.
A New Enemy Coalition
Joshua 11 begins with Jabin, king of Hazor, hearing about Israel’s victories in the south.
His response was to organize a massive coalition.
Kings from the northern hill country, the Arabah, the regions of Galilee, and other territories joined together. The text describes their armies as being “as many as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude” (Joshua 11:4).
This was not a small gathering of local armies.
It was an overwhelming military force.
The enemy had horses and chariots—military technology that would have represented a significant advantage in ancient warfare.
From a human perspective, the situation looked frightening.
Israel had already experienced victory, but now it faced an enemy that appeared even greater.
And that is precisely when the Lord spoke to Joshua:
“Do not be afraid because of them.” —Joshua 11:6
Notice the timing.
God did not give Joshua this command after the victory.
He gave it before the battle.
Joshua did not have to wait until the danger disappeared before trusting God.
He was called to trust God while the danger was still standing in front of him.
God Does Not Measure the Battle the Way We Do
We often measure our circumstances by their apparent size.
How big is the problem?
How powerful is the opposition?
How many resources do we have?
How much strength remains?
Joshua 11 invites us to ask a different question:
How great is the God who has called us to obey Him?
The northern coalition was enormous.
But it was not larger than God.
The horses and chariots were impressive.
But they were not greater than the Lord.
The enemy could assemble an army “as many as the sand that is on the seashore.”
But the Lord had already promised Joshua victory.
The size of the opposition did not change the faithfulness of God.
That is an important lesson for us.
Sometimes circumstances become more difficult precisely when we thought the hardest part was already over.
We may experience one victory and then discover another challenge waiting for us.
We may solve one problem only to face another.
We may think, “Surely it cannot get any harder.”
And then it does.
Joshua 11 reminds us that God's faithfulness is not exhausted by yesterday's victory.
The God who helped us before is still God today.
“Do Not Be Afraid”
The words God spoke to Joshua deserve our attention:
“Do not be afraid because of them.”
God did not tell Joshua that the enemy was insignificant.
He did not pretend that the northern armies were harmless.
He simply told Joshua not to be afraid.
Biblical courage does not mean pretending that danger is not real.
It means recognizing that danger is never greater than God.
Joshua still had to fight.
Israel still had to march.
There would still be hardship, exhaustion, and danger.
But fear was not to determine Israel's response.
God's promise was.
That is a lesson we desperately need.
Fear often grows when we focus exclusively on what is against us.
Faith grows when we remember who is with us.
Joshua Obeyed
Joshua did not merely receive God's promise and then sit back.
He acted.
“So Joshua came suddenly upon them, having spent all night on the march.” —Joshua 11:7
There is something important here.
Joshua trusted God enough to obey God.
Faith was not passive.
The Lord had promised victory, but Joshua still had to march.
The soldiers still had to fight.
Israel still had to do what God commanded.
This is the same balance we saw in Joshua 10.
God fights for His people, but His people are still called to obey.
God's sovereignty does not eliminate human responsibility.
Instead, God's sovereignty gives us confidence as we obey.
We do not act because everything depends upon us.
Neither do we refuse to act because we assume God will do everything without us.
We obey because God has spoken.
We move forward because God is faithful.
We trust Him with the outcome.
The Lord Gave Them Into Israel's Hand
Joshua 11:8 tells us:
“And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel.”
Once again, the biblical writer directs our attention to the real source of Israel's victory.
Israel fought.
But God gave the victory.
The armies were defeated, and the northern coalition collapsed.
The military strength that had seemed so overwhelming could not stand against the purposes of God.
The chapter repeatedly emphasizes what the Lord was doing.
This is one of the great themes of the book of Joshua.
Israel is not the hero of the story in the ultimate sense.
Joshua is not the ultimate hero.
The army is not the ultimate hero.
God is.
Joshua is faithful because God is faithful.
Israel succeeds because God keeps His promise.
The history of Israel is therefore not merely a story of military conquest.
It is a story of divine faithfulness.
What About the Horses and Chariots?
There is a particularly interesting detail in Joshua 11.
After defeating the northern armies, Joshua was commanded to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.
Why?
Because Israel was not to place its confidence in the military technology of the nations.
The temptation would have been obvious.
If horses and chariots represented military strength, why not keep them?
Why not build Israel's own military power?
Why not become stronger by adopting the weapons of the nations?
But Israel was being taught a different lesson.
Their security was not ultimately found in horses and chariots.
Their security was found in the Lord.
The same principle appears elsewhere in Scripture.
Psalm 20:7 says:
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
The temptation to trust in visible resources is not limited to ancient armies.
We can trust in money.
We can trust in position.
We can trust in education.
We can trust in connections.
We can trust in technology.
We can trust in our own abilities.
None of these things is necessarily wrong.
But none of them can take the place of God.
Joshua 11 reminds us that God's people must never confuse the means God provides with the God who provides them.
The Fall of Hazor
The chapter gives special attention to Hazor.
Jabin was king of Hazor, described as the head of all those kingdoms.
Joshua captured Hazor and burned it.
The destruction of Hazor was significant because it represented the collapse of the northern coalition.
Once again, we encounter the difficult subject of judgment in the conquest of Canaan.
Joshua 11 is not an easy chapter for modern readers.
The warfare described here involved the judgment of entire cities and nations.
These events must be read within the larger biblical story.
Israel was not simply engaged in a campaign of territorial expansion. The conquest was connected to God's covenant with Abraham and to God's judgment upon persistent wickedness in Canaan.
The Bible presents God as both merciful and just.
He is the God who saves His people, but He is also the righteous Judge who takes evil seriously.
Joshua 11 therefore reminds us that history is moving toward God's purposes, even when those purposes involve judgment that we find difficult to understand.
We should approach these passages with humility rather than attempting to reduce them to simple formulas.
“Joshua Took All That Land”
After describing the battles, Joshua 11:16 summarizes the campaign:
“So Joshua took all that land.”
The chapter then lists the regions that Israel conquered.
It might seem like a dry geographical summary.
But it is actually a testimony to God's faithfulness.
God had promised Israel the land.
Now, step by step, that promise was becoming visible in history.
The promise was not fulfilled instantly.
There were battles.
There were delays.
There were difficult places.
There were enemies.
There was work to be done.
But God's purposes were moving forward.
This is often how God works.
We sometimes want immediate answers.
God often gives us the next step.
We want to see the entire road.
God gives us enough light to walk faithfully today.
We want the finished result.
God often works through a long process.
Joshua 11 reminds us that the fulfillment of God's promises may be gradual without being uncertain.
“The Land Had Rest from War”
Joshua 11 concludes with a remarkably peaceful statement:
“And the land had rest from war.” —Joshua 11:23
After all the battles, there was rest.
That word matters.
The goal was never simply warfare.
The goal was the establishment of God's people in the land He had promised.
The battles were not the final destination.
Rest was.
This points toward a much larger biblical theme.
Throughout Scripture, God's purposes ultimately move toward rest, peace, and the establishment of His kingdom.
The book of Hebrews later reflects on the theme of God's rest and reminds us that the ultimate fulfillment of that rest is still found in God.
Joshua could lead Israel into the promised land, but Joshua could not provide the final and perfect rest that God's people ultimately need.
That points us beyond Joshua.
It points us toward Christ.
Jesus offers the deeper rest that Israel's victories could never finally provide.
The wars of Joshua eventually ended.
But the human heart still needed peace with God.
The enemies of Canaan could be defeated.
But sin and death still remained.
The land could be given to Israel.
But humanity still needed redemption.
The story therefore continues.
God at Work When the Opposition Is Overwhelming
Joshua 11 teaches us something especially important about the way God works in history.
God does not always remove the opposition before we begin.
Sometimes He tells us to move forward while the opposition is still there.
He does not always make the path easy.
He makes Himself faithful.
He does not promise that we will never face another battle.
He promises that He will never abandon His purposes.
Joshua had already seen God work in Joshua 10.
Now he had to trust God again in Joshua 11.
Yesterday's faithfulness becomes today's testimony.
But yesterday's victory must not become today's substitute for trusting God.
Every new challenge calls us back to the same God.
The God who fought for Israel in the south was the God who gave victory in the north.
And He is still the God who works through history.
What Joshua 11 Teaches Us Today
Joshua 11 gives us several important lessons.
First, God's faithfulness is not limited to one victory.
A difficult chapter may follow a successful one. We should not assume that new difficulties mean God has stopped working.
Second, the size of the opposition does not determine the outcome.
The northern coalition was enormous, but it was not greater than God.
Third, courage is rooted in God's promise.
God told Joshua, “Do not be afraid.” The command was based upon God's own action, not Joshua's natural strength.
Fourth, faith produces obedience.
Joshua trusted God's promise and immediately acted upon it.
Fifth, we must be careful about what we trust.
Israel was not to build its confidence around horses and chariots. Visible strength can never replace dependence upon God.
Finally, God's purposes move toward rest.
The wars of Joshua eventually gave way to peace in the land. The larger biblical story points beyond Joshua to the perfect rest and salvation found in Jesus Christ.
The God Who Is Still at Work
Joshua 11 is another chapter in the great story of God's activity in history.
The circumstances changed.
The enemies changed.
The battlefield changed.
But God did not change.
He remained faithful to His word.
He remained sovereign over the nations.
He remained with His people.
And He continued to accomplish His purposes.
That is good news for us.
We may face circumstances that look far larger than anything we have encountered before.
We may see new opposition after an earlier victory.
We may wonder how we can possibly overcome what lies ahead.
Joshua 11 calls us to remember the words spoken to Joshua:
“Do not be afraid because of them.”
Not because the enemy was small.
Not because the battle was easy.
But because God was greater.
Our confidence is not that every battle will unfold exactly as we expect.
Our confidence is that God remains faithful in every battle.
We do not know everything that tomorrow will bring.
But we know who holds tomorrow.
The God who was at work in the history of Israel is still at work in history today.
And therefore, we can move forward in faith—not trusting in our own strength, our own resources, or our ability to control the future, but trusting the Lord who keeps His promises.
**The enemy may be greater than ever.
But God is still greater.**
“Do not be afraid because of them.”—Joshua 11:6
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
A mighty fortress is our God,A bulwark never failing;Our helper He, amid the floodOf mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foeDoth seek to work us woe;His craft and power are great,And armed with cruel hate,On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,Our striving turns to losing;The right Man on our side,The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?Christ Jesus, it is He;Lord Sabaoth His name,From age to age the same,And He must win the battle.
—Martin Luther
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