When All the Kings Were on This Side Jordan - Joshua 9:1

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua, “read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them”, and in chapter nine and verse one of the book of Joshua, we learn about, “when all the kings which were on this side Jordan” where we read, 

And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;

The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “and it happened and occurred”, “when all the kings” or “at the time and moment each, every, the whole and every one of the royal rulers” “which were on this side Jordan” which means “who existed upon the current region or western side of Jordan whose name means descender and is the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”, “in the hills” or “within the mounds, range of hills or mountains”, “and in the valleys” which means “and within the lowlands, low country or plains”. Joshua or the writer referred to every one of the royal rulers who were located on the western side of the “Jordan” river within the risings of the plain and the lowlands.

 

The verse continues, “… and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and in all the coasts” which means “and within each, every, the whole and every one of the seashores” “of the great sea” or “pertaining to the massive and abundant large body of water”, “over against Lebanon” which means “next to Lebanon whose name means whiteness and was a wooded mountain range on the northern border of Israel”, “the Hittite” or “the descendants of Heth and the second son of Canaan who were once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey)”, “and the Amorite” whose name means “a sayer and was one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan who was dispossessed by the Israel incursion from Egypt”, “the Canaanite” or “Cana who were merchants and traders in Cana”, “the Perizzite” which means “belonging to a village who inhabited southern Canaan prior to the conquest”, “the Hivite” whose name means “villagers and were the six generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest”, “and the Jebusite” which means “and the descendants of Jebus who’s the third son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus and was the early name for Jerusalem” “heard thereof” or “were given the faculty for hearing, perceiving, discerning and understanding”.  Joshua or the writer shared how the royal rulers on the western side of the “Jordan” river which included “the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites” all “heard” about the conquests of Israel.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Joshua how the royal rulers from “Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite” perceived and understood the power and might of the people of Israel. Because God conquered “Jericho and Ai”, all of these leaders were on alert. We shall see more about their efforts in the verses ahead, but for now, let us realize God was going before the people of Israel to defeat their enemies and give them the promise land. In like manner, God will go before us when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He raised Him from the dead after three days, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and go before us by the power of His Holy Spirit so we may defeat our spiritual foes who desire to destroy us as they make a mockery of our relationship with Almighty God. 

Next time we learn how the kings, “gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".