Joshua 11:12

Joshua 11:12 says, And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded.  God's command had not changed since He gave it to Moses, even if it wasn't carried out until after the death of Moses and those that it was first given to.  God's command will never change, and if we are His people, we are called to carry it out.  If we don't, someone else will be chosen to do so, until the return of Christ.  Our command is to defeat the enemies of God with the gospel of Christ.  Verse thirteen adds, But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.  None of the other cities around them were burned, except for Hazor.  Verse fourteen continues, And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.  Once more, the people of Israel took the spoils of the city, but they killed all the men of the city.  This was in accordance to God's command.  We today are called on to destroy all the evil in our lives, but I am not sure we can always keep any spoils that come from destroying that evil.  Verse fifteen declares, As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.  God had commanded Moses and Moses commanded Joshua.  God commanded the disciples to go into all the world and share the gospel, and that command has passed down to everyone who believes in Christ as their Savior and Lord since.  We cannot leave any of God's work undone as long as we are able to carry it out, but once we are gone, someone else will carry on God's work.  Verse sixteen says, So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;  Then verse seventeen adds, Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.  Joshua and the people of Israel continued to carry out God's command to remove all the people from the land that God had promised them.  Even though God had promised them the land, He still required them to act in faith in following His command to take the land.  God has given everlasting life to every person, but each person must accept it by faith for it to have any meaning to him or her.  God allowed one generation to wander in the wilderness until they died because of their lack of faith, and He will allow people today to reject His salvation if they choose to do so.  Verse eighteen adds, Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.  Taking the promised land did not happen overnight.  Joshua and the people of Israel were at war with the people there for a long time.  The war against evil in the world is a lifelong one for those who are followers of Christ.  We can never feel that since we have overcome some evil in our life that we have overcome all of it.  Verse nineteen states, There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.   The people of Gibeon, who tricked the people of Israel into a truce, were the only ones who were spared.  No one today who refuses to accept Christ as Savior and Lord will be spared the coming judgment of God, and there will be none spared who have attempted to trick their way into God's kingdom.  Verse twenty declares, For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.  As I have said before, I don't believe that God made it impossible for those already in the land to come to the people of Israel in peace, but that God knew that they would never put their faith in Him and accept His word to guide their lives.  Verse twenty-one says, And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.  Then verse twenty-two adds, There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.  All those in the promised land were destroyed, but some people remained outside the promised land.  Even if we rid our lives of all things that are not there in accordance with God's will, in this life there will always remain things close to us to tempt us to allow sin back in.  Verse twenty-three concludes, So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.  After defeating all the enemies in the promised land, as God had instructed Moses to do, Joshua and the people of Israel rested from war.  Unfortunately, we as followers of Christ will never be able to rest from war with the world, because this world is not our promised land, but heaven is.  Still, we can rest easy in God's promise that heaven is already our spiritual home if we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Just as with God's promise to Moses, the victory is assured.