“For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without merch, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
I remember going to help my brother in Danny’s garage. We were working on restoring an old 1932 Ford coup, the kind you would see in the movie American Graffiti. We secured an old 1932 Ford coup body and most all of the other parts. Danny would have us bondo the old body to cover up the dents. We would sand and sand and sand until we thought the dents were gone. We would go home after a long day of sanding feeling satisfied. The next time we would walk into the garage there would be all these red circles all over the body. These represented unfinished areas that still had work to be done. We felt like the work was never going to get done.
Joshua and Israelites were on the war path and nothing was going stop them. Chapter 10 was single campaign to take out 5 Amorite kings and chapter 11 is another campaign to take out more. A group of people immerge from the wilderness and ransack Jericho, Ai and five Amorite kingdoms in a single campaign. Fear spread like wildfire. The kingdom of Gibeon used that fear to save their lives by tricking the Israelites into a treaty. This treaty was not a good thing for the rest of the kingdoms in the area. They hear of this and quickly gather forces to go to war against the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites send word to Joshua and here they come running to avenge their allies. The bible tells us that this army was “as numerous as the sand on the seashore” (vs 11:4).
The Lord tells Joshua in verse 6 to not be afraid because God has given them into your hands and tomorrow you will see them slain. Joshua does just that and puts to death everyone in his path just as the Lord directed him.
A funny thing about this. You would think that some of these kings would have done what the Gibeonites did and attempt for a treaty so they could live and not die. In verse 20, it tell us that the Lord hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel. In other words, fear would have taken its course and many kings in their path would have just surrendered. It was the Lord working out His plan to “exterminate them without mercy.”
I sit here today and can recall some things I still just don’t understand. Like people walking out of my life. Great jobs I applied for that I did not get. A great wife and family that I don’t deserve. An extended family that all seems to get along. I can go on and on. The point is that God has a plan for your life. All he needs is your complete surrender. Joshua surrendered his will, did just what the Lord told him to do, and all of his enemies were taken care of. He still had to go war but the Lord gave them the victory. He told Joshua before the battle, “I have given them into your hands”. You don’t have to understand how but we can all witness the hand of God. We read about it in Joshua and you can see it in your life today and days to come also.
I didn’t understand constantly bondoing that old Ford coup but Danny sure did. It came out looking super fine. We don’t always get to know why we are going through some things. I have been there many times. During those times I just keep pressing forward under the direction of Almighty God. Maybe the Lord has been hardening some hearts around you to direct you into what He wants for you instead of what you want.
Prayer: Father, days I feel like I don’t get it and I am hopelessly lost. I pray that during those days I press into you and keep moving forward under your direction no matter how crazy it may seem. I bow my knee an submit to you Lord in everything I do today and forever. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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