In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it”, and in chapter ten and verse thirty-seven of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword” where we read,
And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
The verse reads, “And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein.” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they took it” which means “and they, Joshua and the people of Israel, captured, seized and occupied it, Hebron”, “and smote it” or “and struck, beat, hit and destroyed it, Hebron” “with the edge of the sword” which means “by the use of the extremity or end belonging to the sharpened knife or cutting instrument ”, “and the king thereof” or “and the royal ruler and leader within Hebron”, “and all the cities thereof” which means “and each, the whole and every one of the dwelling places and towns within Hebron”, “and all the souls that were therein” or “and each, at the whole and every one of the living beings who were dwelling and living within Hebron”. Joshua and the people of Israel captured Hebron and annihilated every one of the people and the royal ruler living there by the use of the sharpened weapon of war.
The verse continues, “he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “he left none remaining” which means “he, Joshua, did not allow nor permit a single person within Hebron to remain alive and breathing”, “according to all that he had done” or “in keeping with each, the whole and everything he, Jehovah God through Joshua, acted and performed” “to Eglon” which means “toward Eglon whose name means ‘calf-like’ and was a royal city in Canaan that opposed the conquest; located in the low lands of Judah”: “but destroyed it utterly” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover completely exterminated and annihilated it, Hebron”, “and all the souls” which means “and each, the whole and every one of the living beings” “that were therein” or “who were living and dwelling within Hebron”. Joshua did not allow a single person from “Hebron” to remain alive in a similar fashion that he did toward “Eglon” even as the people and location were completely annihilated.
When we consider the words in this verse, we see how it was important for “Joshua” and the people of “Israel” to completely destroy all of their enemies. These pagan cities were being judged and eliminated by Jehovah God, and in like manner He desires to do the same within us. Sin, missing the mark, wrong, error and mistakes are within every person, and those sins lead to death. (See Romans 3:23; 6:23) Sin must be eradicated from our lives to have a personal relationship with a “Holy God”, and for this reason, God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of every person. He raised Him from the dead so that we may believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to have our sins forgiven, be granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to completely remove every sin and idol that we have within us. (John 6:13; 1 John 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:9)
Next time we learn how, “Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir;”, 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".
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