Burunche’s Blog

Joshua 12:1 – 24 “Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites struck down and whose lands they took beyond the Jordan to the east, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the Arabah eastward:

Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth and southward below the slopes of Pisgah. Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites had struck them down and given their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites): the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; the king of Debi; the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; the king oMadon, one; the king of Hazor, one; the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one; and the king of Tirzah, one. So, there were thirty-one kings in all.”

Reading this list is a bit tedious, but Joshua wanted to make sure that his people knew exactly how many kings he had conquered. We know for sure that Og King of Bashan and Sihon king of the Amorites definitely fell to the Israelites because it was their land that Moses gave to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half – tribe of Manasseh.  But Joshua didn’t take over leadership until the Israelites were crossing the Jordan.

The big question is this: did Joshua actually defeat all those thirty – one kings? Certainly, Ai, Bethel, and Jericho fell before Joshua and his men. We really can’t be sure about some of these other kings because later the Israelites had to fight battles in several of those places, Hebron being a prime example. Did Joshua really conquer all these kings, or is this another example of a stylized conquest account?

Perhaps Joshua really did conquer these kings; however, if the people under these kings were not totally annihilated, they may have survived to plague the Israelites later. Perhaps Joshua conquered some leaders but left others. In addition, while some cities may have been conquered, others might later have come into prominence. The important thing is that Joshua never quit, even when he was quite elderly.

APPLICATION: One of the biggest temptations as one ages is to relax and stop working or learning new things. But is this God’s plan for our lives or ours? God allows us to live so that we will learn and gain experience and go on to use what we have learned to help others. Retirement is NOT in the Bible! Deuteronomy 34:7 describes Moses this way: ^“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” In the New Testament, the Apostle John was probably in his nineties when he was exiled to Patmos and recorded the visions captured in the Book of Revelation.

Even if Joshua was in his twenties when the Exodus took place, he was at least in his sixties by the time the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Add another twenty years to conquer these thirty – one kings, and Joshua is probably now in his eighties. What can we learn from Joshua?

1. Joshua did everything he could to fulfill God’s purpose for his life, often against overwhelming odds.
2. Joshua made every effort to get the Israelites to carry out God’s plans for the conquest of Canaan, even when the Israelites weren’t as enthusiastic.
3. Joshua never quit.

As we age, we may need to re – invent ourselves; however, this does not mean that we must back off and quit. Some of the healthiest older patients I have cared for as a doctor were those who have been passionately involved in all kinds of activities. One of my favorite stories concerns my grandmother. When my grandmother was in her middle eighties, she was still living out on the farm, maintaining her flower garden, and caring for her chickens, selling free – range eggs to a long list of regular customers. Grandma regularly drove herself into town to the Senior Citizens meetings. Was she a member? Are you kidding! Grandma didn’t consider herself a senior citizen; she was going in to town to play the piano “to cheer up the old folks.” Some of the “old folks” to whom Grandma was referring were thirty years younger than she was! As we age, may we remember Moses and Joshua and may we continue to find ways to be helpful and useful.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to continue to look for new ways to be helpful and useful. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on February 27, 2022 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.