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Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan.
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And join the Journey.
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Family. We used church candy for our new church plant the Garden, and the response blew me and my team away. At our new church plant the Garden, we ran simple invite ads through none other than church candy. And hundreds of people responded.
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Seriously.
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People who had never even heard of us, who had never met me or heard me preach. They saw an ad on Facebook or Instagram. They showed up to a launch party or launch team training. Some of them have joined our team. Here's the best part. A good amount of them have started giving and tithing, which means the ads.
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Have paid for themselves.
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Our church plant is growing and it's.
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Because we chose the right partner.
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We didn't have to figure out marketing strategies or spend hours tinkering with ad settings. Church candy handled it all and it worked. You might not be planting a church, but if you're a pastor who wants to see more new faces on Sunday, and by the way, I've never met a pastor who doesn't want to see.
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More new faces on Sunday.
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It's time to check them out. How about you go to churchcandy.com Manny and book a discovery call, Let their team show you what's possible when the right people hear about your church family.
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Welcome to day 138. We're in Joshua chapters 11, 12 and 13. It's good reading. Like, it's solid reading. If you've done the reading, then I'm going to make sure to give you some context clues, a couple of nerdy nuggets, and I'll always leave off with a timeless truth. If you haven't done the reading yet, go do the reading. If you've been tracking with us through the book of Joshua so far, then you gotta keep reading. You gotta do the reading today. Joshua 11, 12 and 13. With no further ado, let's dive in. So one of the things that I wanna do as much as I can, I don't have a map here with me. I've got maps, like, loaded into my logos app. I love using log and if you have logos, make sure, like, you can actually type in, like the conquest of Canaan, like in logos and maps will actually show up. So what we have, once we get into chapter 11, we've had the sun stand still moment to kind of. Or I want to orient you, want to give you some context clues. The people have defeated the southern kings. Okay? There's a coalition of five kings that come against Joshua and the people of Israel in the south. Where they have entered into the land is like right into the middle of the land. And so now that they've won the south, they're going to turn their attention north, which is exactly what we get in chapter 11. It says, when Jabin, king of Hazor, heard this, Hazor is a major city in the north, heard this, he sent word to Joab, king of Madon, that's the north, king of Shimron, and at Shaph, that's the north. And to the northern kings who were in the mountains, the Arabah, south of Kinaroth, depending on what translation you have. This is actually the Sea of Galilee. Okay. This is the Galilee region. I guess I'm maybe getting into a nerdy nugget in logos. Like, I can kind of click on that. In my Bible, it kind of appears as K I, N N E R E T H. But anyway, Kinaroth. Now in Greek, this is actually Gennesaret. So we're going to actually see this word in the New Testament. And this is the Galilee region. So this is, this is north. I've been to Israel multiple times. Like four, five times maybe. So my geography of the land is actually because I've been on a tour bus just driving through the entire land, like from the Mediterranean all the way to the Jordan, all the way to the, you know, Golan Heights in the north, all the way down south to the Dead Sea. Like, I mean, I, I, when, when things like, when names like this start to appear, I have, like, places in my mind. Hopefully one of these days we'll start taking trips to Israel with the Arma community. So nothing helps you more. A map is super helpful, but actually driving around and actually seeing this stuff really gives you all the context clues that you need. Okay, so these northern kings are now have allied against Joshua, and Joshua is going to be successful, okay, against these northern kings. So it says this in verse 10. At that time, Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms. Everyone in it, they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. And he burned Hazor itself. There's actually tons of archeological proof that this 1000% happened. Exactly how the Book of Joshua describes it. And there's still, like, proof, like, to this day, in. In Hazor. Okay, so that's just kind of like context for. For what's happening. They've split the land. So where they've entered in, they've essentially have a divide and conquer strategy. They've split the land right in the middle. And they turned south from Jericho, and now they're turning north from Jericho to take possession of the land. So Joshua 11:22, we'll kind of get into some nerdy nuggets. Well, we'll start reading in verse 21 at that time. So once the northern kings are defeated, we get this. At that time, Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. This is the Anakin. These are the giants. These are the descendants of the Nephilim. Okay, Destroyed the Anakites from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah. And from the hill country of Israel, Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. No Anakites were left in Israelite territory. I love how the Bible does this. Totally destroyed, utterly annihilated. Nobody left behind. Only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive. Wait a second. So then they weren't totally destroyed. Okay, Only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did the Anakites or the giants survive. Now, as soon as I say only in Gaza, Gath, in Ashdod did any of the Anakim, the giant Anakites, survive. Alarms should be going off in your head because of that middle city, Gath. Okay, so if alarms aren't going off in your head, let me help the alarms go off in your head. This is. I'm going to read from 1st Samuel, chapter 17, verse 4. A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits in a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze, weighing 5,000 shekels on his legs. He wore bronze greaves and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was a weaver's rod. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so who's gonna have to deal with a giant on Anakim from Gath? Probably. Oh, man. Almost 400 years later, our guy David. Okay, Our guy David, probably 369 years later, somewhere in that range, 350 to 400 years later, David is going to have to deal with them. So I love how it says, you know, verse 22, such an interesting verse. No Anakites were left in Israelite territory. Only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive. Do, do, do, do. Okay, so the text is setting us up for drama here in First Kings, chapter 17, verse 4. Okay? The other link that we'll eventually see is that Jerusalem is not taken, okay, in the conquest of the land. And Jerusalem's not going to get taken until David takes it. So David is actually going to extend the borders of Israel or establish the borders of Israel based on the actual land allotments that were given to the people of Israel. So it's not. So David's a big deal in terms of military conquest. Because Joshua, we're going to see this as we keep going on. Joshua doesn't take all, all, all, all, all, all of the land, okay? I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole. So. Nerdy nuggets. Okay, once we get into chapter 12, let me read the next verse. Before we skip to 12:1, let me just read the last verse of chapter 11. It says. So Joshua took the entire land just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war. So big verse, okay? We've been looking forward to that verse, man, since. Since way back in Genesis when Abraham promised, promised this land to, To Abraham. Okay? So we've been waiting for this verse for a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. So I want to tackle something. I want to tackle two things, okay? What we're going to get in chapter 12 is just a list of all the kings that were. That have been defeated, okay? 31 kings in all. I think it's 16 kings in the south and 15 kings in the north, I think. Don't quote me on that. It may be the other way around. It may be 16 kings in the north, 15 kings in the south. Really? Just. I don't, I don't. 31 kings in all. And you may be thinking to yourself, that's a lot of kings, okay? Like, the land of Israel is like the size of New Jersey. So what. What is going on? How do, how do 31 kings, like, live in this confined space? Well, there's independent king city states. Remember, you got tons of different little nations that all live in this area. I'm trying to find like a list. You know, you got the Girgashites and the parasites and the Hivites and the Jebusites and the Amorites and the Ammonites and the like. So, yeah, you just got These, okay, these are the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites. Like, you know, you just get. These are not huge people groups. And there's lots of these people groups that are all Canaanites, okay, But they're all independent, kind of independently franchise little Canaanite groups. Okay, so yes, there are 31 kings, but that doesn't mean, like 31 huge, massive kingdoms in secular ancient literature, okay? Chapter 12 would be the most gory, gruesome, gross, humiliating stuff. Like in Babylonian and Assyrian texts, like, when you get like a list of kings that have been conquered, it's like, it is just brutal content to read. It's like corpses that have been just left out dead for weeks. I mean, it's just so gross. Like, and although God is enacting judgment, like on Canaanite groups, he is not humiliating or devaluing the humanity of any of these people. There's no dehumanization that's happening, which is a stark contrast, I think. So often we ask the question, like, well, in this, like, is it okay that God is just like killing all these people? And we'll get to that question like today. But so often we don't ask the question, okay, in context, how is this different? And the context is that when you read accounts of kings that had been conquered by other people groups, they are so grotesque and so detailed that it is absolutely just gut wrenching. And they're not like, there's actually a part here where Joshua just makes sure that bodies aren't left, like, displayed like after sunset. So there's like all this, like, yes, there's war and it's real, but it's still like the sanctity of human life is still respected in a massive way, even in the literature, in the style of literature. When you Compare Joshua chapter 12 to its equivalence in the ancient world, it is just night and day. Okay? This is just a list of kings. One, you know, the king of AI one, the king of Jerusalem one, the king of Hebron, one. Like, this is not typical for the ancient world. So kudos to the God of Israel who restores the sanctity of life and does not have to dehumanize in order to bring judgment. Okay, next kind of caveat is this genocide? Okay, are. Are the people of Israel just permitted to, like, go into the land of Canaan and commit genocide? So let me give you two big thoughts surrounding that. Here's the first thought. The first thought is that a lot of the language Here, like, utterly destroy can be really understood as hyperbolic. And I'll give you an example of like, what I mean by hyperbolic. So there are times where the text is going to say, you know, utterly destroy them. Don't make treaties. Well, if they're utterly destroyed, how can we make treaties, Utterly destroy them, don't intermarry. Wait a second. If, if we utterly destroy them, how would we even intermarry?
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So utterly destroy.
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And we see it here like all the land was, you know, no Anakites were left in Israelite territory, but Goliath and Gaza and Gath and you know, and then Ashdod. But you know what I'm saying, we won't talk about that. So the first is that, ah, there's some hyperbolic languages being used. Like now the Bible's not trying to trick you. The Bible, like no one is. No one sees hyperbolic language as problematic in this culture. So the Bible's not trying to hide the fact that hyperbolic language is being used. Okay? It's not like a dirty little secret. It's fine, actually, that hyperbolic language is being used. Second, God has been insanely patient with these Canaanites. So let me take you to Genesis 15:16, like to help your conscience. This is God talking to Abraham. He says, in the fourth generation, your descendants will come back here. That here is the land of Canaan. For the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. What God is saying to Abraham is, is, hey, man, verse 13 of Genesis 15. Then the Lord said to Abraham, know for certain that for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country. So he's saying it's going to take hundreds of years for the sin of the Amorites to reach its full measure. That I'm not just in killing them and wiping them out until I let their sin accumulate for another couple, another 400 more years. Just think about how loving and gracious and kind and patient this kind of God is that he's the kind of God that says, ah, it wouldn't be fully just if I let you right now, Abraham, go down and kill them. No, no, we have to let their sin reach full measure so that when I do act, it'll be completely just okay. So for anyone who's just kind of like, ah, I can't wrap my mind around the fact that this is genocide. God is not reactionary. So when God wants to do something, he goes, oh, I'll just do that in 400 years when it is just okay. God knows the Exact moment when something becomes just. Here's the other issue is that they are evil. So number one excavations from all over Canaan proves that not only did they sacrifice babies. And just thinking about this, having a son is just so crazy. Not only did they sacrifice their children, they burned them alive. Okay? They believed in beast. They fully practiced bestiality. Yeah, just the abuse of babies and children. Boiling children, burning children. The bones that we have from this area, from archeology, there's burn marks on bones, there's burn marks in teeth. I mean, this is just complete and utter evil. I think that there's an irony in that. God gets. God gets condemned on either side, okay? So when God does not act justly, the complaint of the atheist is, how dare God not act injustice? How dare God not stop Hitler? How dare God not stop evil? But then when God does not does step in and intervene and say, all right, enough's enough, we gotta punish evil. We then go, how dare God kill everybody? It's just like, okay, so wait, do we want a God who punishes sin and brings about justice, or do we not want that? Well, the reality is we don't know what we want because we're not omniscient and we don't know everything. And we have to come back to a place of humility and say, you know what? I think the Lord's wise and I trust him. So. Which leads us right into our timeless truth. The two issues that we have with God is how can God kill these people, but simultaneously, how can God not bring justice? We are never actually happy with God, unfortunately. We really don't want. We really don't want a God who doesn't punish evil. We don't. If we're wise, I think we'll say, you know, I think that God allowed this to happen. The conquest of the land. And God doesn't play favorites. So when the people of Israel get to a place where they're evil, God's going to raise up the Assyrians, he's going to raise up the Babylonians to punish the people of Israel in the same way that Israel is punishing the Canaanites. So God does not play favorites. God operates on principles, not on favoritism.
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Family. The wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold, literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical location, Barnes and Noble, or you can go to a Books a Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually sexy help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is gonna be a New York Times bestseller.
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I really do.
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I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today.
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All right, back to the episode. Okay, guys, I hope that was helpful. I tried to give you as much context as I could. I think I gave you a solid amount of nerdy nuggets, threw in a little theology in there that I think is helpful. And then, of course, we end it with a timeless truth. So if you're on a streak, guys, we only got two days left for the entire book of Joshua. So you got day 139 and 140. So stick around as we continue our trek to the book of Joshua. And if you're not on a streak, let's start one. Come on, let's get that. Dave Ramsey's got a debt snowball. We got. I don't know, we got a theology snowball or something. I don't know. Anyway, all right, I'll see you guys tomorrow. I love you. I'm proud of you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow as we keep conquering Canaan through the. Through the book of Joshua. I'll see you right here tomorrow. Peace.
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Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show@thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram at the Bible Department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.