"When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph, and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots---a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel." (Joshua 11:1-5) The expression "as numerous as the sand on the seashore" indicates that the number was so great it was no use trying to calculate it. It's plain to see that the Israelites are vastly outnumbered. They are also facing enemies with better technology; the Israelites do not have horses and chariots.
In the face of such formidable foes, Joshua and his soldiers and the entire congregation of Israel must have experienced a sinking feeling in their stomachs. They must have felt anxiety and dread. We know this because the Lord instructs them not to be afraid and, as we've said before, the Lord isn't wasteful. He's not going to waste time or words encouraging anyone not to be afraid unless they are afraid. "The Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel.'" (Joshua 11:6a)
We have a tendency to think of fear as a lack of faith, but we were created with an instinct for self-preservation. If the Lord had not given us an instinct to protect ourselves, we would not survive for very long because we would rush foolishly into dangerous behaviors without a thought for our safety. Faith is not necessarily the absence of fear; it is the willingness to obey the Lord in spite of the fear. It's believing He will do what He says He will do. In this life we sometimes face obstacles that appear insurmountable but the Lord will tell us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Faith is obeying Him and believing He will make a way through the obstacle even though we don't yet know how He's going to do it.
As the Israelites defeat these northern kings, they are to destroy the chariots of war and temporarily disable the war horses. The Lord says, "You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots." (Joshua 11:6) A horse can make a full recovery from a hamstring injury but it takes time and rest. There are other places in the Old Testament where we'll find the Israelites using this method of temporarily disabling the horses of their enemies. If the Israelites cannot take the horses with them, or if they have been commanded by the Lord not to take anything that belongs to the enemy, they'll render the horses unfit for war for a period of time.
Having been encouraged by the Lord that by the next day they will achieve complete victory over this coalition of armies, the Israelites surge forward to attack. "So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the waters of Merom and attacked them, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots." (Joshua 11:7-9)
This enemy army, "as numerous as the sand on the seashore", may have expected the Israelites to flee the land of Canaan at the sight of all the soldiers assembled against them. They certainly didn't expect the Israelites to boldly rush in to face them down. But that's exactly what Joshua and his men do because they are obeying the Lord's orders. When the Lord makes the battle plan, and when man obeys the Lord's plan, success is guaranteed. Victory may not look possible, but if the Lord promises victory then it's as good as ours.
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