Joshua 12:1-24

Introduction

"Thus the land had rest from war." These are the last words of Joshua 11 and they mark the end of the conquest narratives. Chapter 12 serves as a list of the geography and kings who have been conquered...a long list. But is there anything within this long list of destroyed cities and dead kings?

Commentary

verses 1-5
The author again lists the conquest narrative east of the Jordan. This account is described in Numbers 21:21-35.

verse 6
The author reminds us that Moses was in command when they were east of the Jordan. This verse reminds us of a few details:

1. Moses, the servant of the Lord--Throughout the book of Joshua, Moses is given this description. However, Joshua is typically called "the son of Nun" or simply Joshua (as in the next verse). Not until Joshua 24:29 does Joshua receive this honor. Therefore, "the servant of the Lord" is not an office that Moses or Joshua filled, but rather a description of a life lived in service to God.

2. Faithfulness of Reubenites, Gadites and 1/2 tribe of Mannesseh. They had already received their land, yet agreed to fight for all of the tribes. Verse 6 speaks as a reminder of their faithfulness to the entire nation, though their land already had peace.

3. Rightful claim The Jordan river will cause some conflict within the tribes during future events. Therefore, the reminder that Moses gave these tribes land east of the Jordan reminds that their claim is legitimate.

verses 7-8
In verse six, the reader is reminded of Moses' leadership role in the exodus and initial conquest east of the Jordan. Here, the author validates that Joshua has served a similar role in the remaining conquest. Joshua had this authority placed on him, and he has served faithfully in that task. Similar to verses 1-5, the author begins to lay out boundary markers for the land which Israel has conquered.

verses 9-24Next, the kings who have been defeated are laid out in the text. Some of these accounts are recorded earlier in the book, others are only mentioned at this place. After each king, the author states "one" (echad). Coupled with his closing statement, there is no doubt that 31 kings have been defeated. They have not simply been ignored or subdued, the kings have been completely defeated.

Exposition--Is it just a boring list?

When you tell someone that your church is preaching through Joshua, people usually pause and ask a question. "Are you going through all of it, or just certain sections? There is a lot of killing and war in Joshua, making it a difficult text to preach. Then we enter into a section of lists; kings and land markers. Is there any profit to these texts?

In light of 2 Timothy 3:16, do we believe all Scripture is God-breathed? Furthermore, for a fellowship that claims, "The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible" (or, at least used to) we should see that Joshua 12 has something to offer us.

While no one may quote Joshua 12 during a wedding ceremony and I doubt you'll see a wall placard declaring Joshua 12 at your local Chrisitian Kitsch...er Bookstore, I do believe this passage offers some wonderful truths. As listed in the "Commentary" section, there are wonderful principles of leadership, trust, faithfulness, and God's favor displayed in this chapter. Yet, even without mining the intricacies of every city and ruler (which would certainly prove rewarding), even the exhaustive lists have something to say...

The Book of Joshua has nothing to hide.

In reading various commentaries about Joshua, some "scholars" suggest unique dates and authorship for Joshua. They claim the book was not written until the Babylonian exile by an unknown author. The Jews were disappointed to have lost the land and therefore fabricated an entire history to keep them hopeful and unified. Their children would never be motivated to reinhabit Canaan if they were simply told, "Your mother and I once had a nice house down there, but we lost it during he deportation." However, if the Israelites could construct a story, they could then tell their children, "God gave us that land. Perhaps, someday you will get the opportunity to claim back what is rightfully ours!" According to these scholars, through oral tradition, leaders developed this entire fictitious account, some of which comprises the book of Joshua.

However, chapter 12 becomes a sticking point for this theory. One glance at chapter 12 quickly exposes that this does not read like a fairy tale. Cities are named and geography is listed in detail. Kingdoms are mentioned as overthrown. The author lays out each king, followed by "one," followed by the summation of "31" to acknowledge these kings were literally defeated. There is just far too much detail (detail, which if wrong would expose your fraud) for this story to be considered a fable. It reads as an eye witness account.

Peter encouraged his readers to make the same observation of his work (2 Peter 1:16-21). Consider the following points of comparison:

For we did not follow cleverly devised tales...

Neither Peter nor Joshua read like fairy tales. Contrary to Scientology, Joshua was not originally science fiction then adapted for life lessons.

but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty...

As stated before, the cities, rulers, topography, etc reveal that the author had intimate knowledge with the Israelites, the era, the land and the other people groups at the time Joshua was recorded. The text just lists far too many details that could be proven fictitious if the story was fabricated.

and we ourselves heard this utterance...

Isn't it interesting that Peter states his claim as an eyewitness, but he chooses not to validate it with some obscure, minute detail that only the disciples knew. He doesn't pick something casual such as Jesus' favorite food or a joke that would always crack Jesus up. Instead, he goes straight to the supernatural. Peter makes his eyewitness appeal to such breath-taking events such as the transfiguration.

Likewise, Joshua is not just a war account. It does not simply lay out patterns of battles the Israelites won. To this point, the author has not shyied away from divine details. The Jordan is split, shouting and marching fell the walls of Jericho, God revealed the secret sin of Achan and even hailstones killed the opposing army. Joshua is full of supernatural detail.

Many times, people claim the supernatural detail as their big obstacle. They'd be willing to believe the book of Joshua if not for all of the "far fetched" (or so they perceive) accounts. But to the believer, these miraculous accounts are what validates that it is the Word of God. The author is not embarrassed to acknowledge God's work in their midst. He intertwines details of cities and kings in the midst of God's marvelous works.

the prophetic word made more sure...

Scripture is also unique due to its prophecy. At times, God has revealed his foreordained plan (in detail) to man. When this has happened, we see the plans of God do not fail. Scripture is obviously not the product of man when we see God's forecast come to be.

Similarly, chapter 12 serves as the fulfillment of earlier prophecy. God began the book of Joshua telling him that Israel would be victorious. Often, as an enemy would approach, God would remind Joshua that He is with him and would grant the victory. Prophecy serves as a validation that God's Word is true and will come to pass.

men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God...

It's important to remember that the Holy Spirit oversaw Joshua 12. Scripture is not something God would later endorse, judging the books to be good enough. He was involved in the process and even willed for the lists in chapter 12 to be recorded.

Conclusion

Our faith can not be built upon fiction and fable. Paul stated, "and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." No matter how great a feel-good story the resurrection may be, or any level of "inspiration" a person may find in it, if the resurrection did not literally occur, then we still fail to be justified before God. Our faith hangs on the literal nature of the resurrection.

But did you realize the character of Christ is dependant upon the validity of the book of Joshua? Some claim the name of Christ yet scoff the accounts in Joshua. However, the story of Jericho (one regularly under attack) is directly tied into the person of Christ. Who can forget the one woman in the city who was saved due to her faith? As Rahab finds refuge with the Israelites, chapter 6 ends with her living in their midst. In the book of Ruth we read that Boaz plays the role of kinsman-redeemer. Matthew 1:5 tells us that Boaz's mother was Rahab. Of course, the following verse presents David the king. The thread running from Abraham to Jesus Christ runs through King David. The thread God chose to sovereignly tie Abraham to David runs through Rahab! If the story of Jericho is fiction, then the lineage of Christ is a farce. But Joshua 12:9 serves as a reminder that Jericho was truly overtaken by the Israelites and that Christ is the Son of David.

And when we see that our past is built upon fact, we have greater strength to see our future hope is built on fact too!