In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. 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. But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn”, and in chapter eleven and verse fourteen of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey” where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and all the spoil” which means “and each, every and the whole of the plunder, booty and prey” “of these cities” or “belonging to these dwelling places or towns which belonged to the kings and people assembled by Jabin”, “and the cattle” which means “and the beasts, animals and livestock”, “the children of Israel” or “the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the proper name for the One True God” “took for a prey” which means “seized, despoiled, plundered and gathered” “unto themselves” or “to their own selves”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring of “Israel” seized and despoiled for their own selves the booty, gain and livestock of the defeated “cities” which were assembled by “Jabin”.
The verse continues, “but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “but every man they smote” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover each, the whole and all of the male human beings they, the offspring of Israel, beat, hit, struck and killed” “with the edge of the sword” or “by the use of the extremity or end belonging to the sharpened knife or cutting instrument”, “until they had destroyed them” which means “till such time that they, the offspring and progeny of Israel exterminated, annihilated and devastated them, the men of the cities they defeated”, “neither left they any to breathe” or “no and not in any manner did they, the offspring and progeny of Israel, allow or permit a single one of the people to remain alive and breathing”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring of “Israel” not only struck and killed the people within these defeated cities by the use of sharpened instruments, but also completely annihilated them without allowing any to remain breathing.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Joshua or the writer how the offspring of “Israel” were able to gather the plunder and livestock which were in the dwelling places of the people who were solicited by “king Jabin” to go to war with “Israel”. These locations were defeated by “Israel”, and their belongings were now in the possession of the “offspring of Israel”. God gave “Israel” these “cities”, and now they were the beneficiaries of His complete destruction. God loves Israel, and He loves us. He proved His love when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, and thereby He made the way through faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and teach us when to seize that which He has provided for us.
Next time we learn, “as the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua”, 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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