Joshua 10:34-43
Jos 10:34
And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all
Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:
Once Lachish had been conquered Joshua then turned his
sights on Eglon. Eglon was about 8
miles (13 KM) southwest of Lachish.
Joshua was getting really deep into the territory and was now getting very close
to the principal cities of the Philistines such as Gaza.
I am sure the Philistines had taken notice of their advance.
Then Joshua encamped against Eglon and fought against it.
Jos 10:35
And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge
of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed
that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
Then just as they did to Lachish, they did to Eglon and
that was to destroy the city and to kill all the inhabitants in the city.
Joshua was making sure there was no enemy behind him that could threaten
his army. Joshua had already hung
the King of Eglon so they had no leader to guide them as they were probably in
disarray attempting to destroy Joshua in that futile alliance with the other
four kings.
Jos 10:36
And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him,
unto Hebron; and they fought against it:
Then after they destroyed Eglon they proceeded to
Hebron. The same situation happened
to them. As they attempted to
destroy Joshua in the alliance the king of Hebron was caught by Joshua and hung
with the other four. Hebron was 23
miles (37 KM) east of Eglon.
Jos 10:37
And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the
sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that
were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done
to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
Then they attacked Hebron and smote all the inhabitants
with the sword including their king.
Joshua had already hung the king of Hebron but by time he and the army
got to Hebron they had already installed another king which was killed in the
onslaught. It seemed after the
death of Joshua that the Canaanites had once again moved into Hebron to
repopulate it but they were driven out in the time of the Judges.
And Judah went against the
Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before
was Kirjath-arba:) and they
slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. (Judges 1:10)
Jos 10:38
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir;
and fought against it:
Then after the defeat of Hebron Joshua turned to the
city of Debir. Debir was about 25
miles (40 KM) northeast of Eglon.
Then Joshua had fought against this city also. Joshua was running almost a
zig-zag pattern which would keep all the cities wondering who would be next.
If his army moved away from a certain area, then it would seem like the
closest cities had nothing to worry about and may let their guard down.
Jos 10:39
And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities
thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed
all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done
to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to
Libnah, and to her king.
Then Joshua attacked Debir and their surrounding cities
and smote all the inhabitants with the sword.
Debir was considered a royal city as other cities depended upon it.
There was none remaining in the city just as he had done to Hebron and he
took the king and smote him with the sword as he did previously to the king of
Libnah. It seems Debir, like Hebron
had begun to be repopulated until Judah went in and cleared them out in the time
of the Judges.
And from thence he went against the
inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before
was Kirjath-sepher: (Judges
1:11)
Jos 10:40
So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the
south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none
remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel
commanded.
This would be the part of Canaan that was south of Debir
and Hebron which contained hills and vales which are valleys.
For the LORD thy God bringeth thee
into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring
out of valleys and hills; (Deuteronomy 8:7)
These were probably smaller cities which were dependent upon the bigger
cities like Debir. Joshua had smote
all of them and left none of them alive as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
The LORD was not being cruel here in ordering their deaths because he
knew that their false religions along with their idolatries would become a snare
to Israel and an abomination unto the LORD himself.
Jos 10:41
And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza,
and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.
Then Joshua went farther south to Kadesh-barnea which
would have been about 20 miles (32 KM) south of the hill country where he was.
Than after he had attacked in the region of Kadesh-barnea, he then moved
north unto Gaza which was about 20 miles (32 KM) north.
It was one of the principal cities of the Philistines.
The Goshen in view is not the land of Goshen in Egypt but a portion of
the land in Canaan. It is believed
that it was initially settled by Egyptians who left Egypt.
Then Joshua moved north again to the city of Gibeon and its surrounding
cities.
Jos 10:42
And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at
one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
Then all the kings were taken at one time in the course
of a few days because the LORD had gone before them to battle and these pagan
kings could not stand before Joshua as an obedient servant to the LORD.
It should tell us one thing that when a Christian is obedient to the LORD
there is nothing that can stand in his or her way until their work on earth is
finished. Too many Christians are
living in cowering fear today and therefore the LORD does nothing with them
since they are bad testimonies for the LORD.
Jos 10:43
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the
camp to Gilgal.