Bible in a Year March 9: Joshua 8:24 – 11:9

 

March 9: Joshua 8:24 – 11:9

Another day of hard reading.

After messing up and making a treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites seemed to learn their lesson and always inquired of the Lord before taking action. It’s actually kind of amazing that God didn’t punish them for that act of disobedience – perhaps because they were deceived.

I know the Israelites did as they were told, and earlier we read that God was eradicating all the people of the land because of their despicable practices, but I have to wonder what effect all the killing had on the Israelite soldiers. Especially when they killed women, children, and animals.

Why would God have them hamstring the horses and burn the chariots? Couldn’t they use them in future battles? There are a few reasons suggested in various commentaries. First, cutting the hamstring of a horse causes it to be ineffective for military use or other useful work. This would prevent an enemy to use them against the Israelites in the future. Another suggestion was that the Israelites were not trained to use horse and chariots, so it was easier to destroy them than take the time to become proficient. A third reason, and perhaps the best, was that without this type of help in battle the Israelites would learn to depend on the Lord and give him credit for their success.

Suffice it to say that the first months in the Promised Land were full of messy battles. Why do you think God made the Israelites fight for the land instead of just wiping out the populations with disease or having the other people groups just fight each other?

TOMORROW’S TEXT: Joshua 11:10 – 14:15