1^st – The Northern War… vs. 1-23 (4 things)

• 1^st – One massive army… vs. 1-5 Read: Joshua 11:1-6
  • Joshua and Israel had defeated the Southern Kingdoms in the Promised Land…
    • When King Jabin of Hazor heard – he called together all of the Northern Kingdoms…
    • And while the five kings of the south had mustered a large army to attack Israel…
    • The Northern army was so numerous – people were like the sand on the seashore!
    • And they had lots of chariots – the military equivalent of tanks in Bible times…
  • Joshua and Israel had won one victory – only to face an even greater challenge…
    • God will often take us out of one difficulty – only to make us face something harder…
      • Because tribulations = perseverance = character = hope…
      • Romans 5:4-5 – “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces…”
      • When we face trials/tribulations in life – we get to see God’s faithfulness…
      • If there were never any challenges – we would never get to see God do a work!
    • As we experience God giving us the victory – looking out for us…
      • We gain confidence that He will take care of us the next time as well…
      • It is not that we have great faith – we have just seen God’s great faithfulness!
      • We are confident the Lord will take care of us – cause He has never failed us…
    • Our confidence in the Lord’s faithfulness – gives us a godly character…
      • We become known as those who trust in – rely on the Lord…
      • People who do not panic in the trials – who patiently wait on the Lord…
      • So we can rejoice in trials because we know they make us a Godly people!
• 2^nd – Hamstring the horses / burn the chariots… vs. 6-9
  • God told Joshua do not be afraid – He would destroy the armies of the North!
    • But Joshua was to hamstring the horses – and burn all their chariots…
    • By cutting the hamstring on a horse – it could no longer ride out into battle…
    • In essence God was telling Israel to destroy the ‘tanks’ of the Northern army…
    • You would think it would have been wiser to simply capture and use them….
    • The more horses / chariots – the greater your military strength and prowess!
  • But God wanted Israel to trust in Him – not in their own might…
    • Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
    • We tend to look to man for help – money / resources / answers to our problems…
    • So God will let those things fail in our life – so we learn to depend on Him!
    • When the money runs out / when we have no one who can help us…
    • That is when we run to Jesus – and learn He is the one who gives us the victory!
• 3^rd – A long war… vs. 10-18 Read: Joshua 11:16-18, 21-22
  • The battle with the Southern Kings only lasted one day (although it was a long day)…
    • But the battle with the Northern Kingdoms took a ‘long time’ to be completed…
    • When we first get saved God often gives us immediate victories…
    • But as we grow in the Lord – the battles often seem to become harder…
    • In I Kings 17 – Elijah the prophet prayed it would not rain – and the rain stopped…
    • But after 3 years – when it came time to pray for rain – it was not so easy…
    • Elijah had to pray 7 different times before a small cloud appeared on the horizon…
    • James 5:17 – “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly…”
    • Like Elijah – it is the longer battles that keep us on our face in prayer!
  • Joshua killed all the Anakim in the Land (with the exception of the Philistines – Goliath)…
    • The Anakim were evil Giants who lived in the Promised Land…
    • One of the reasons Israel ended up wandering for 40 years – Deuteronomy 1:28
    • They seemed undefeatable – but with God on their side – Israel wiped them out!
    • We look at the challenges – and they seem like Giants that will crush us like bugs…
    • If we look at the Giants – we will quickly become discouraged and overwhelmed…
    • David was only a little shepherd boy when the giant Goliath came to taunt Israel…
    • Mighty warriors cowered in their tents – but David was unafraid – I Samuel 17
    • He knew that with God on his side – the Giant did not stand a chance!
    • When we look to the Lord – we can take down any Goliaths that come our way!
• 4^th – The defeated Kings… Read: Joshua 13:1-2 / Conquered land Map
  • In total Joshua and Israel defeated 16 kings in the South / 15 kings in the North…
    • Joshua was old – but there was still a lot of land to be conquered…
    • The costal regions along the Mediterranean – all the way from Egypt to Lebanon…
    • All the Land of the Philistines – not conquered until the time of King David…
  • Why did God not have Israel conquer all the land at once…
    • Judges 3:4 – “They were left, that God might test Israel by them…”
    • Perhaps there is some sin in your life – one that you have been battling for years…
    • And you want to know why God does not just take it away – give you the victory…
    • The answer is He leaves it there to test us – remind us we need to trust in Him!
      

2^nd – The Division of the Land… Chapters 13-19 / Tribes Map

• Joshua was to divide up the Land among the tribes… Read: Joshua 13:7-8 / 14:1-5
  • The ½ Tribe of Manasseh / Reuben / and Gad received inheritance on the East side…
  • The 9 ½ tribes were to receive land on the West side of the Jordan River…
  • Even though much of the Land remained unconquered – they were to divide it up…
  • The battle was far from over – but God knew for certain whom the victor would be!
  • Even though we still are at war – with sin / satan / and a world that does not know Jesus…
  • There is no question on the outcome – we know because of Jesus we win in the end!
• Divided up by lots…
  • The Land was divided up among the 9 ½ tribes – by the casting of lots (rolling the dice)
  • The idea was not to show favoritism – let ‘chance’ decide the location of each tribe…
  • That way there could be no bickering about who got ‘the best’ land…
  • God knew it did not matter – it was not about the dirt – it was about eternity…
  • It is easy to get jealous of what others have – wonder why we did not get ‘the best’…
  • But if we get our eyes on ‘the dirt’ – we end up missing the whole point…
  • The stuff of this earth does not last – what is important is knowing God – eternity!
• There were 12 tribes that received Land…
  • There are always 12 tribes listed for Israel – one for each of the 12 sons of Jacob…
  • But there are also the two sons of Joseph – counted as sons of Jacob – Genesis 48…
  • So in all there are actually 14 tribes – though only 12 are mentioned at any one time…
  • The 2 left out of the list are Joseph (Ephraim & Manasseh) & Levi (priestly tribe)…
  • The Levites were given no Land – because the Lord was their portion…
  • But they were given 48 cities from among the other 12 tribes of Israel…
• Most of the remainder of chapters 13-19 gives the DETAILED boundaries of the Tribes…
  • Chapter 15 – the division of the Promised Land to the Tribe of Judah…
  • Chapter 16 – the division of the Promised Land to the Tribe of Ephraim…
  • Chapter 17 – the division of the Promised Land to the ½ Tribe of Manasseh…
  • Chapter 18 – the division of the Promised Land to the Tribe of Benjamin…
  • Chapter 19 – the division of the Promised Land to the remaining 7 Tribes…
    

3^rd – Details of the Division… (5 things)

If God promises you salvation through faith in Jesus – heaven is your destination!

1^st – The inheritance of Caleb… Read: Joshua 14:6-12

Caleb was one of only two men over 20 years old who survived the wilderness…

He and Joshua had been the only two spies to bring back a good report…

Numbers 14:9 – “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread…”

All – those who had looked at the circumstances – ended up loosing their lives…

Like the rich man who would not walk away from his riches (centavos really)…

So that he might receive the overwhelming blessings of eternal life – Matthew 19:22

If we only look with our eyes – not by faith in the Lord – looking to the world…

Then we will miss out on all the Lord has for us – the blessed life…

God had promised to give Caleb an inheritance in the Land – Numbers 14:24

It had taken 45 years – but at 85 Caleb was still as strong as when he was 40!

So he asked Joshua if he could have the city of Hebron on top of a mountain…

It was a very well fortified city – full of giants – no easy task…

45 years later Caleb was still not looking at the circumstances – still looking to God!

He was a man who never looked at the problem – he kept his eyes on Jesus!

When we walk by faith and not by what we can see – II Corinthians 5:17

We will experience blessing from God beyond anything we could have imagined

Ephesians 3:20 – “He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think…”

When we walk by faith – we will see things we never imagined possible!

2^nd – The daughters of Zelophehad… Read: Joshua 17:3-4

Zelophehad – a man from the tribe of Manasseh – died having only 5 daughters…

They came to Eleazar – reminded him of the command from the Lord…

They were to receive an inheritance in their fathers place – Numbers 27:7

God made no distinction between the rights of men or women – equals!

We take for granted today the rights of women – but it was not always that way…

Roman law – the wife was the purchased property of her husband…

In Saudi Arabia – women are not allowed to drive / own land / choose a husband…

Women cannot go out in public without a male escort – father / brother / husband…

Women’s rights come from the Bible – it is God who established equality – Galatians 3:28

Ladies next time you go to vote – or even just choose what you want to wear…

Give a hearty ‘thank you’ to the Lord – He is the God who loves all equally!

3^rd – The complaint of from Ephraim… Read: Joshua 17:14-18

Ephraim argued they needed more than one lot – because they were too big…

The mountains they were given were all covered with trees – no farming land…

And the Canaanites in the valley had iron chariots – powerful armies…

It was not that they land was too small – it was just not easy to live in…

Joshua encouraged them to ‘get to work’ – cut down the trees for Land…

And since they were so ‘big’ – surely they could conquer the valley as well!

Often we do not grow in our walk – because it is not easy…

People make the mistake of thinking that following Jesus is no effort…

Following Jesus does not mean we sit around all day waiting for God to work in our lives…

If we need to eat – work / if we want people to know Jesus – share…

If you want to want to mature in your walk – spend time with Jesus!

I Corinthians 15:10 – “I have worked harder than all… yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace.”

4^th – Cities of Refuge… Read: Joshua 20:1-6

God had Joshua set up 6 cities of refuge within the Promised Land…

On the west side of the Jordan River – Kedesh / Shechem  / and Hebron…

On the east side of the Jordan River – Bezer / Ramoth / Golan…

If you killed someone accidentally – you could run to one of the cities for refuge…

But you were not allowed to leave the city – until the death of the High Priest…

We all have all received a death sentence…

We are all sinners – Romans 3:23 – cause of our sin we deserve death – Romans 6:2

If we stay in the world – at some point our sin will catch up to us – and kill us!

We cannot run from our sin – at some point it will catches up to everyone! 

The church – is a place where any sinner is welcome to come…

The one place where we can be safe from sin – is in Jesus / in His church…

It does not make any difference who you are – or what you have done…

God does not discriminate – He welcomes everyone in!

The death of our High Priest – Jesus…

Jesus is our High Priest – Hebrews 9:11 – and He died to set us free!

We should be living in fear of death – the avenger coming to make us pay for our sin

At best we should be stuck within the 4 walls of the church – our refuge…

But instead Jesus has set us completely free – given us new life!

John 8:36  – “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

5^th – Faithful to fulfill all the promises… Read: Joshua 21:43-45

God gave everything He had promised to give to Israel – faithful to every word – Numbers 23:19

God cannot lie – and He never changes His mind – God says it / that settles it!