Passage: Joshua 11:1-23 Venue: GCF South Metro Bacoor

1. THE CLARION CALL
TO TRUST GOD
JOSHUA 11:1-23

2. Joshua 11:1-9
When 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, and 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, to
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.
And 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. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped
together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

3. Joshua 11:1-9
And 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.” So Joshua and all his
warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell
upon them. And 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. And Joshua did to them just as the Lord said to
him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

4. The Northern and Southern Campaigns

5. ”
“
Joshua 11:6, 8
“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.”
… And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel.

6. FIRST, THE ENEMY COULD NOT
USE THEM AGAIN.
SECOND, THE ISRAELITES COULD NOT
USE THEM OR TRUST IN THEM.

7. ”
“
Psalm 20:7
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

8. ”
“
Isaiah 31:1
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen
because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!”

9. MY VERSION OF “HORSES AND CHARIOTS”
IN MY YOUNGER YEARS
• I was competitive, and it covered up for my
insecurities. I considered myself a loner. I was not
used to asking help because the circumstances in
my life trained me to be independent and self-
reliant. I even found myself competing with my
siblings. In fact, I was so competitive that I used
my school breaks as my time to study and finish
my assignments way ahead of time.
• I also made sure I was “well-behaved”, which
covered up for my habitual pet sins. I was being
self-righteousness.
• Then, I made sure I did well in my extra-
curricular activities, which masked my constant
need for recognition out of a deep loneliness. I
was longing for attention.

10. Philippians 3:4-8
“… though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If
anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have
more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal,
a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,
blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing
worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

11. THE CLARION CALL
TO TRUST GOD
JOSHUA 11:1-23

12. JOSHUA TOOK A LONG TIME TO COMPLETE
THE WAR AGAINST THE CANAANITES.
GOD DROVE OUT THE INHABITANTS LITTLE
BY LITTLE UNTIL THE ISRAELITES WERE
READY TO POSSESS THE LAND.

13. Exodus 23:29-32
I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land
become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little
I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and
possess the land. And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea
of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will
give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them
out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their
gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against
me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

14. RECAP: HOW DO WE SEE GOD’S MOVEMENT IN THIS PASSAGE?
• “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.” (v. 6)
• And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. (v. 8)
• For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should
come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to
destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the
Lord commanded Moses. (v. 20)

15. RECAP: HOW DID JOSHUA RESPOND TO GOD?
• And Joshua did to them just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their
horses and burned their chariots with fire. (v. 9)
• Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses
commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that
the Lord had commanded Moses. (v. 15)
• So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken
to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to
their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. (v. 23)

16. PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE
• This is a profound reminder of God’s assurance of His
abiding presence and His trustworthiness as we walk in
faithful obedience.
See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take
possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you.
Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 1:21)

17. PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE
• This is a profound reminder of God’s assurance of His
abiding presence and His trustworthiness as we walk in
faithful obedience.
The narrative aims simply to make the point that Yahweh (or the
LORD) could be trusted and that obedience leads to the promised
outcome (v. 9a). The might of the enemy forces was played up only
for the purpose of showing that no enemy, however great, could
withstand the purpose of Yahweh. It is a story that is repeated
elsewhere in the Old Testament.

18. PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE
• This is a clear call to humbly and fully surrender the
unseen “idols” of our hearts unto God’s altar of grace.
Here is a biblical lesson which has always been difficult for the
people of God to learn.
Deuteronomy commanded Israel to obey God, destroy the
inhabitants, have no mercy, make no covenant, make no marriages
(7:1–3). Such a command had a divine purpose. It removed the
temptations to follow other gods. (Butler)

19. CALL TO ACTION
• SEARCH FOR FALSE SECURITY: What do the “horses and
chariots” represent in your own life? Where do we often turn to
when it comes to our security? Let us be careful to not anchor
our confidence on them.

20. John Piper
Labor with all your might, but do not trust in your labor — trust in God.
Plan hard, but don’t trust in your plans — trust in God.
Speak clearly and creatively, but don’t trust in your speaking — trust in God.
Sing, but don’t trust in your singing — trust in God.
Create and produce and lead and manage, but don’t trust in your creativity
and leadership and management and productivity — trust in God.
[To trust in God] is one of the simplest lessons you will ever learn,
and one of the hardest you will ever perform.

21. CALL TO ACTION
• SEARCH FOR FALSE SECURITY
• SEARCH FOR FAITH ROADBLOCKS: Identify the things that
keep us from holding fast to God. Do the things we hold on to
lead us to grow in faith? Or does it take our attention and
affection away from God?

22. Susana Wesley
“Son, whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of
your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away
your relish for spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the
power and authority of the flesh over the Spirit,
that to you is sin, no matter how good it seems.”

23. CALL TO ACTION
• SEARCH FOR FALSE SECURITY
• SEARCH FOR FAITH ROADBLOCKS:
• SEARCH FOR GOD’S HANDIWORK: Remember that God is
accomplishing even greater things in you, through you and for
you – beyond what we could ever see, perceive and imagine.

24. Genesis 50:19-20
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of
God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it
for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept
alive, as they are today.

25. THE CLARION CALL
TO TRUST GOD
JOSHUA 11:1-23