Date: January 29, 2023
Preacher: Matthew Millen
Topic: Joshua 10-12 Principles of a Godly Conqueror
We’re in Joshua 10 and 11 and 12 today!
We’re not going to read all the way through those 3 chapters, but we’ll pull out bits and pieces.
Today is all about conquest – being a conqueror. From the text we’re going to look at 10 principles to being a godly conqueror. In all of our military branches, each of them has their basic training or boot camp. The Maines have the longest at 13 weeks. The Army goes for 10 weeks. The Air Force goes for 8.5 weeks. The Navy and the Coast Guard is 8 weeks. Each of those branches, once you get through basic training, there is ongoing training, combat simulation, and then ultimately specializing in some particular area or aspect of warfare. The reality is that most service men and women will spend more time in training for combat than actual combat.
Today as we study the conquest of the Promised Land, we’ll see that the Lord taught the Israelites how to conduct their warfare really without any sort of basic training. It was on-the-job training. If we’re honest with ourselves, that’s the way it is with most of us. We don’t really have a bootcamp for spiritual warfare, we often times learn as we go, by God’s grace, in His victory and our weakness. We’ll go over some major principles today about spiritual battles. Scripture calls us soldiers: Philippians 2 talks about fellow “soldiers,” Paul in 2 Timothy encourages to endure hardship like a good “soldier”. The metaphor of being a soldier in the army of the Lord who is the Lord of Hosts “Jehovah Sabaoth”. As a soldier, the reality is that we have an enemy that we contend against. We know this very well. 1 Peter 5:8 we are told “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Not only we contend against Satan. We also contend against the culture and lies of this world and against our own fleshly desires, our urges, our passions, our pride. Those are the enemies we contend with and so it’s no surprise that throughout Scripture we are told to fight, to contend against these enemies. Satan is the deceiver, accuser of the brethren and our number one enemy. He is what scripture calls the prince of this world and he’s in control of the lies of culture and he’s been around since the beginning of creation and he knows exactly how to tweak, tempt, and call to you to your flesh.
We are called to fight the good fight of the faith. We fight against the principalities and powers of this present darkness. 2 Corinthians says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” Praise God that God equips us and gives us the tools and the weapons to fight to tear down the strongholds of the enemy be they on our minds, hearts, and circles of influence. The Lord gives us the power to be conquerors. Paul writes about this in Romans 8 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Today we’re going to look at 10 principles of a godly conqueror in this life going through this spiritual warfare facing the enemies that we all contend against. That brings us to our text in Joshua. We studied in the beginning the Lord’s exhortation to be strong and courageous as Joshua obeyed the Lord and the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. Their first objective was to take Jericho and they marched around the city and the walls came down. There was a great victory and the Lord spared Rahab. In their confidence they went to attack Ai and lost as Achan had kept some of the spoil for himself. They failed to go to the Lord first. They corrected, repented and the Lord gave them a strategy and they repented and overcame Ai. Ultimately they were deceived by Gibeon and made a treaty with them without inquiring of the Lord and praise God, He redeemed that the Gibeonites became servants and worshipers in the temple of the Lord. In all of this lead up to the conquest of the Promised Land we can pull our first principle.
- A godly conqueror learns from failures.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this because you guys know this. How many of us are so quick to find ourselves discouraged, defeated, distressed, despairing, when we mess up or when things don’t go according to plan. We are called to learn from others’ mistakes first which is why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10 – “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Learn from others’ mistakes. Romans 15 has similar encouragement.
If you’re anything like me and most people, we typically don’t learn from others’ mistakes. We learn from making our own. We like to learn the hard way because we’re prideful stubborn people who think we know best until we’re shown otherwise. The Lord loves us enough to show us otherwise, doesn’t he? The Lord loved His people enough to show them multiple times that they should never neglect seeking His face and guidance first. Praise God the Israelites learned from their mistakes and we can as well.
1a. Satan’s goal is for you to wallow in defeat.
Through his lying tongue, he will get you to focus on his failure and spiral downward further, leading to a mindset of being a loser or worthless. Church, let me remind you that your value and worth has nothing to do with your accomplishments. You have value and you are loved because you are a child of God. Period. You have value because He gives you value. If we begin to have an identity outside of that and based on performance, we are falling into the scheme of the enemy. A conqueror knows who they are conquering on behalf of – the Lord. Who they represent – the Lord. Who’s name we go forth in – the Lord’s. Therefore, if I mess up, the Lord will lift me up and give me the strength to overcome.
- A godly conqueror is able to discern and identify the enemy.
Joshua 10:16-19 – These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”
As we go through life, we have to learn to recognize sin when it manifests. The easy ones are the overt, outward expressions – when we have a clear, objective of going against the Lord, those are easier to recognize. It’s harder to recognize the inner sons of pride and fear. Those are the ones we need to stick in a cave. The Lord sees everything and He’s able to help us to identify the things that need to be put to death. Hebrews 4 says, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Sin will be exposed and the Lord always brings things into the light. The good news is that if you are sincerely seeking to mature and be refined, then the Lord sees all the parts that you can’t see, so ask Him to show you. Be prepared when you pray that prayer because there will be situations that squeeze you so you can see what comes out when that pressure is applied so you can take what comes out and trap it in a cave so you’re at a place where you can roll back the stones and put that sin to death.
2a. Satan’s goal is for you to ignore the enemy.
We can rationalize and think sin is no big deal. When the Lord shows you sin He’s giving you an opportunity to deal with it. How many of you know that when you ignore the Lord, the next time He gets your attention it will be a little bit louder and more intense pressure until the Lord loves you enough to come along and squish you. He loves us and He wants us to be conquerors.
- A godly conqueror receives encouragement.
Joshua 10:22-27 – Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.
Did you notice in the midst of dealing with these kings that Joshua called forth the leaders of the Israellites to put their feet on the necks of the kings. Scripture says, “The Lord will subject all things under Himself, putting all things under His feet.” That is a show of authority. Israel is subjecting these kings to their authority. These kings are representative of sins and our enemies. The things trapped in a cave that we’ve seen and we know about. It’s hard to cut stuff out of your life that has been a part of you for a long time. Sin is comforting in some ways. That’s the allure and difficulty of it. That’s why Joshua echoes the Lord’s encouragement to his leaders and passing on the message. (Discipleship). You have the power, authority, strength, and ability to do this. A godly conqueror will accept this encouragement. It’s one thing to identify a sin and put it in the cave and it’s another thing to roll the stone away and put it to death. Sometimes in our life we put our sin in a cave and we put a sign on the cave that says “Don’t go in the cave!” “Stay away from the cave!” We need to let brothers and sisters come alongside us and ask us questions about the cave and help us slay the dragons in those caves.
3a. Satan’s goal is to get you to isolate yourself.
It’s hard and hurts to put yourself out there especially when you’re failing. If we, can by God’s grace, engage with the community God puts us in and stop making excuses and get out of our own way, which I recognize this issue is a whole ball of wax. There are social anxieties and history of hurt and people are evil and broken that we now have that baggage that we contend against. I don’t want to minimize that. By God’s grace He will help us overcome those things to be encouraged. If Satan can’t succeed in getting us to isolate, he’ll just try to speak lies. We need to put on the armor of God! Discouragement, fear, and lies are all schemes of the enemy meant to overcome the encouragement that God and His people give us as we walk together to step on the necks of the enemies when he Lord delivers them into our hands.
After these 5 kings are put to death, the Lord leads His people on a warpath. They start at Gilgal in the east and respond to the Gibeonites and defeat all their enemies. The enemies fled, the Lord dropped hailstones, and then Israel kept going and they took out all the cities one by one. Interestingly, Jerusalem was not one of the cities that the Israelites conquered. We don’t know why, but they went back to Gilgal. Ultimately, Jerusalem is conquered by King David and becomes the city of David. As they are going through this conquest there are 6 times in the rest of Joshua 10 that the phrase “they left none remaining” is used. The names of the cities that were conquered have very interesting meanings.
Makkedah= “blaspheme/curse” addresses critical words of death. We are called to be life speakers.
Libnah= “whiteness” as in the whiteness of leprosy, death, or decay
Lachish= “obstinate/rebellion”
King Horam= “high spirited/lofty” representing pride
Gezer= “divide” representing disunity
Eglon = “calf” in scripture is representative of false worship
Hebron= “confederation/fellowship” representative of conformity to worldliness
Debir= “to speak” in particular speaking lies or sins of the tongue
Each city relates to some sort of sin. They left none remaining
- A godly conqueror is intolerant of sin.
Let’s step outside of ourselves. It’s one thing to put sins to death in yourself. It’s a whole other thing to not put yourself in a context that is promoting and proliferating sin. The reality is that as soon as we step out the front door, we’re in that context. You all have different opportunities to impact the sin of those around you. There are many times that I can speak a word, not self-righteously, but a word of encouragement to help people to overcome something and I don’t, or I laugh along at a joke when I shouldn’t because it’s inappropriate. We are intolerant so that people know and understand that we’re standing for something and we can have the opportunity to share the gospel. It doesn’t mean that we’re dour and doom and gloom with people we come across. It means we don’t tolerate sins. This tolerance was one of the issues in Revelation. John writes, “I have this against you, you tolerate that woman Jezebel” (representative of sexual sin and the emasculation of men). We are intolerant of sin.
4a. Satan’s goal is to get you to turn your eye away.
It’s very easy just to go along with it and then you know how it works, then we’re in sin. We can’t write it off or accept it.
Joshua 10:43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
- A godly conqueror rests and remembers.
They return to Gilgal. As soon as the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they took 12 stones and set them up in Gilgal to remind them of God’s power and presence. Gilgal is the place that they performed circumcision for the first time in 40 years, renewing that covenantal promise. It was also the place where they celebrated the first Passover in the Promised Land. They return here after they renew the covenant at Mounts Gerizim and Ebol. It was where they were deceived by the Gibeonites. We should remember the failures as well so we learn from them. There’s a home base from which Israel watched their military exploits and campaigns and to which they returned to heal, recover, and rest and seek the Lord within the community He had at Gilgal.
We have this same thing. It’s not a building. It’s the church, that is the people, who should be a place you can go for rest, recovery, and community. Now, sadly sometimes it’s not because we’re broken people and we make mistakes. Several of us tragically have deep hurts due to people in the church. That’s a travesty. That’s what the enemy is trying to do – causing division and disunity and operating in your own strength – just me and God – that’s all I need. Yes, God is all you need. That’s not a false statement, but the way the Lord operates is through His people operating in community as a body. Because whereas God is all you need, God uses more than just you to accomplish His work. We operate in community. It is so critical that we find this community! It’s why we encourage you to be involved in seed groups and have a regular time of rest and worship in community. “They returned to Gigal.” This is worship. I hope that you value the time that you have each week to worship your king. Perhaps one day we’ll teach a series on worship. Worship is everything we do, but there is a special place in the Lord’s economy for lifting our voices, hands, and hearts and minds to our king and praising His name. There’s 150 songs of worship in one book in the Bible and there are others. By God’s grace, we need to learn how to rest, remember, and worship our king so that we are energized for the next battle.
5a. Satan’s goal is for us to neglect rest.
It’s so much easier to put a value on the work I do for the Lord than my time of worship of the Lord. Can anyone else relate to that? I have to do this thing, because if I don’t do it no one else will or can (pride). I’m going to do this thing so well for the Lord (pride). But…(pride). If we do not have at the very minimum the same value of worship of our king, of resting and remembering what He has done, of magnifying Him, that we do for the work that He has us doing, there’s something off in that equation. Evaluate that. Ask the Lord why.
Joshua 11:1-5 – 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.
- A godly conqueror will be opposed with overwhelming odds.
This is a very special valley in the northern hill country that all the people came together to battle. This is the same valley that is mentioned in Revelation as the valley where Armageddon will take place. If you go there in Israel, you’ll see it’s huge, a massive opening in the land, perfect for horses and chariots. Chariots being the ancient world’s version of tanks. The historian Josephus says there were 300,000 infantry, 20,000 chariots, and 10,000 cavalry that were aligned against the people of Israel. There’s no way to corroborate that, but that’s what Josephus says. A very great number, like the sand on the seashore. As we go through life, you best be expecting a fight. Right? This life is no cake walk. The more victories that we amass in the strength of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit, you can be certain that the battles that we fight will become more intense and the enemy that we face will become more intimidating and threatening. We need to have the proper expectations that we are going to face trial and hardship.
6a. Satan’s goal is for us to have an expectation of ease.
He whispers to us that “We deserve this.” “That is not fair.” “You should be angry about that!” The enemy is trying to subvert the message that we will face trials and replace it with an attitude of entitlement and ease. It’s what this culture does because it’s ruled by Satan. Expect overwhelming conflict throughout your life. Are you a complainer? Do things always have to be my way? 2 Corinthians 4 says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” Our God preserves and delivers! Theologically speaking, if we believe we’re going to be with God for eternity then death should hold no sway over us. In Deuteronomy 20 says, “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you,” Our God is with us. We don’t need to be afraid or entitled.
Joshua 11:6-10, 15 – 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. And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 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.
- A godly conqueror humbly follows orders.
Even in the face of overwhelming difficulties. This was the first time Israel faced horses and chariots – escalation – stronger and greater enemy. Charge! Psalm 20:7-8 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” Isaiah 31:1 says, “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!” Why did the Lord tell Joshua to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots? It’s the greatest military technology of the day. They needed to be burned and hamstrung because Israel had the Lord. Trust in the Lord alone. Be humble and trust and obey.
7a. Satan’s goal is to inflame our pride and do it in our own strength.
Israel lost to Ai because they didn’t consult the Lord. They had overwhelming forces and the advantage. Time and time again, the Lord shows the Israelites and us that we need to depend on Him and not rely on our own understanding.
Joshua 11:18 – Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
- A godly conqueror takes the time to do the job right.
Sometimes the battle keeps going on and on and on. Best estimates are that this conquest took place in 5-7 years. After the big battles, Israel had to go and subjugate all the cities in the land, lay siege to some of them. It was long and hard, but the Lord gave them victory. So much of what we do doesn;t happen until the fullness of time comes and the Lord sets that time. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Isaiah 28:16 says, “Whoever believes will not be in haste.” Victory doesn’t come easily or quickly. We’re running a marathon, not a sprint. We accomplish what the Lord allows us to accomplish rightly. We don’t rush things. On the flipside, we don’t quit either. Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
8a. Satan’s goal is to get you to rush or give up.
Most of us tend toward one of these extremes when things get hard.
Joshua 11:21-22 – And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain.
- A godly conqueror will face increasingly difficult opponents.
Anakim in the Hebrew literally means “long-necked”. These are the giants. The Israelites in Numbers 13 were the most afraid of the giants. Isn’t it interesting that the Lord had them face the giants last? Look at the progression. Their first battle they marched around the city and the walls came down. That was like t-ball. Then God gives them a strategy, like coach pitch. Next, we have the southern campaign, where we’re in little league. Then they face the horses and chariots, and now we’re in high school ball, getting more serious and we have confidence in the Lord and in our military abilities. Now, the giants are the big leagues, ready for the special forces. As we become more mature we will face increasingly difficult spiritual battles and temptations. Be prepared, it’s how the Lord works.
9a. Satan’s goal is to get you to be afraid of the bigger obstacle.
We cannot shrink back. We know that maturity will bring difficult situations and circumstances,
Joshua 11:23 – 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. [Chapter 12 is a list of kings that the Israelites conquered.]
- A godly conqueror enjoys the victory from the Lord.
Did you know that you’re allowed to be happy and joyful as a follower of Jesus? Sometimes we get the impression from folks that you’re not allowed to be happy about what God is doing, that everything has to be dark and depressing. Too many Christians go through life without joy. Joylessness is not what God wants for us. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Let’s not conflate happiness with joy. But it does mean that when we do have a victory, we can celebrate that and praise God and worship Him from a heart of joy, and peace, and contentment.
10a. Satan’s goal is to sap your joy.
This joylessness will rob you of worship and thanksgiving.
Amen. There are the 10 principles of a godly conqueror. By God’s grace, we’ll continue to learn, mature, grow, and be refined, to rest, and to fight in Jesus’ name as more than conquerors.