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. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
Joshua 11:6
I was reading and meditating on the book of Joshua this year. I find the above commands from the Lord interesting. God gives different commands to Joshua at different times (to circle wall of city, to burn city, to kill everyone, to destroy everything, to circumcise the people, to distribute the land, to cast lot, etc). And here is another command of the Lord.
Interestingly, in later part of the book, the chariots is mentioned by the Israelites.
The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”
So what’s the meaning of God’s command to Joshua? Logically we would think that if the Israelites could steal their enemies weapons, they could fight on the level field. But now they’re on a handicap, because their enemies possess something they didn’t.
Throughout the book of Joshua, these words come very often,”do not be afraid”. The solution to that is faith in God. Fear arises when we look at the situation around us. But faith in God will dispell fear in the midst of the situation.
By destroying the weapons, the Lord is teaching the Israelites to have faith in God, not in themselves or their own strength & wisdom. It is a lesson that they failed many times. In fact, only two people that continued to keep their faith till the end. They not only entered the promised land, but they inherited the promise.
Among the whole nations, only those who puts their faith in God will inherit His promises. But those who doubt, eventually will lose their inheritance. To receive the promise is one thing, and it’s quite another to claim and own the promise. Caleb received Hebron & Joshua received Timnath Serah. God is Faithful and He will reward those who’re faithful to Him.
May through this, you have hope. Salvation belongs to the Lord. The battle does not belong to horses or chariots.