In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph. And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west. And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many”, and in chapter eleven and verse five of the book of Joshua, we learn what happened, “when all these kings were met together” where we read,
And when all these kings were met together,
they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
The verse reads, “And when all these kings were met together, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and when all these kings” which means “and at the time and moment each, every and the whole of these royal rulers and leaders” “were met together” or “existed as assembled, collected and gathered together” the following happened. Joshua or the writer referred to the time and moment every one of the royal rulers were assembled together, and the following occurred.
The verse goes on to say, “… they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “they came” which means “they, the royal rulers and leaders, proceeded forward and arrived” “and pitched together” or “abode, encamped and lay siege with one another” “at the waters of Merom” which means “in the location of the flowing waters belonging to Merom whose name means ‘high place’ and was the lake in northern Canaan at which Joshua routed the northern confederacy headed by Jabin”, “to fight against Israel” or “to make war and battle in opposition to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. Joshua or the writer shared how the royal rulers and the armies who were assembled by “Jabin” set up an encampment and siege at the flowing waters belonging to “Merom”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how all the “kings” who were assembled by “Jabin” came together to set up “camp” in the location of the flowing waters belonging to “Merom”. They were preparing for war against “Israel”, however, their battle would be with Jehovah God. God loves the people of “Israel”, and He promised them that they would receive the “promise land”. We shall see what God does with them in our next verses, but for now let us be mindful that God desires a personal loving relationship with us too. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and demonstrate over and over again how He is for us and not against us when foes assemble together in opposition to us. (See Romans 8:31-39)
Next time we learn how, “the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them”, 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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