THE PATIENCE OF GOD AND HIS JUDGMENT
The Book of Joshua #14
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
1. JOSHUA’S BATTLES WERE OFFENSIVE
a. He used the element of surprise
b. A group of soldiers who mop up the remnant
2. HIS VICTORIES HAVE GONE VIRAL
(Joshua 11:1–3, NLT) “When King Jabin of Hazor heard what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Acshaph; all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee; the kings in the Galilean foothills; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west; the kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah.”
3. ONCE AGAIN GOD TELLS JOSHUA, “DO NOT BE AFRAID.”
LAP – God tells me to not be afraid when I am afraid
(Joshua 11:4–9, NLT) “All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. The kings joined forces and established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked suddenly. And the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was left alive. Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.”
a. To cripple the horse, render them useless for war but capable of farming
b. Canaanites used their horses for their idolatrous worship and warfare
(Psalm 20:7, NLT) “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.”
LAP – Trust the Lord, not chariots and horses
4. WAS GOD IMMORAL IN TELLING THE ISRAELITES TO KILL THE CANAANITES?
(Joshua 11:10–11, NLT) “Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.) The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.”
a. The Canaanites were guilty of the worst forms of immorality
b. Bestiality
c. Sacrificing their children
d. Their destruction was an example
(Joshua 11:12–15, NLT) “Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. But the Israelites did not burn any of the towns built on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned. And the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for themselves. But they killed all the people, leaving no survivors. As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.”
e. God had been enormously patient with the Canaanite’s civilization
(Genesis 15:13–16, NLT) “Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. … After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
f. The Canaanites hardened their hearts
(Psalm 19:1–4, MSG) “God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded, But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere. God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome!”
(Genesis 6:3, NASB) “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever…”
(Joshua 11:16–20, NLT) “So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills. The Israelite territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories, waging war for a long time to accomplish this. No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated. For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
g. If the Canaanites had softened their hearts in repentance God would have firmed up their decision
(Romans 1:18–20, NLT) “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Heaven is a big place
(Matthew 7:13–14, NLT) “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
There is limited space in people’s hearts for heaven
LAP – God will honor your choices
GROWTHWORK
- You will conquer your battles one day at a time
- Don’t be afraid trust in the Lord
- Be an offensive Christian
(James 4:7, NLT) “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”