What Gives You the Advantage?

Joshua 11:1-9
1When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, 3to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. 6And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8And 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. 9And Joshua did to them just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

With the southern portion of The Promised Land firmly in Joshua’s hands, he now turns his attention to the north. This time he faces a massive army as the kings of the north come together, just as the kings of the south had done and we know how that ended. Joshua’s assault against this great horde takes one day. God doesn’t send hail, or wind, or anything else. God strengthens Joshua’s army to do the job.
 The forces of the north are fortified by their chariots, which I’m sure made them feel invincible. They were the modern technology of the day. But even the advantage of all those chariots meant nothing to Joshua’s army. Whenever I think of chariots, I image the golden ones from the movie Ben Hur but it would be 1,500 years before those came along. The chariots of the northern army looked nothing like that. These were rickety affairs made of wood, easily destroyed. Joshua is not afraid of this advanced weaponry and follows God’s command to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots. Israel is not to take those chariots and incorporate them into their own arsenal.

Cutting the tendon of the joint of a horse’s hind leg would render the animal useless for war but perhaps still suitable for domestic chores. The Lord does not want the defeated army to be able to rise and fight another day. He may also be keeping Israel from using these horses and chariots in the future. He wants his covenant nation to rely on his Word rather than on mere tools of war.
Harstad, A. L. ©2004. Joshua (p. 458). Saint Louis, MO: CPH.

There have certainly been times in my life when I have longed after more resources than I possessed. And I’m not really talking about money here. Yes, unlimited cash would certainly be interesting. But instead I have coveted unlimited creativity or talents that are never going to be mine. But given those things, I know with certainty that I would strike out on my own, leaving God far behind. I know this is true because I’ve tried it. Joshua is ordered to turn the horses into work animals rather than warriors and burn the “current technology” so that God’s people don’t strike out on their own. They are given a massive victory over a horde in one day because God made it possible. All the chariots in the world were of no help and nor would they be so to the Hebrews. God alone needs to be our strength.

Psalm 20:7-8
7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

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