In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it”, and in chapter ten and verse thirty-nine of the book of Joshua, we learn how, Joshua “took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof” where we read,
And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
The verse reads, “And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and he took it” which means “and he, Joshua, captured, seized and occupied it, Debir”, “and the king thereof” or “and the royal ruler and leader of Debir”, “and all the cities thereof” which means “and each, every and the whole of the dwelling places and towns”: “and they smote them” or “and they, the people of Israel, struck, hit, beat and killed them, the people of Debir” “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 utterly destroyed” or “and completely exterminated and annihilated ” “all the souls that were therein” which means “each, every and the whole of the living beings who were dwelling and living within Debir”. “Joshua” and the people of “Israel” captured “Debir” and their royal ruler, beat and killed them with sharpened instruments of war and completely annihilated every living being who inhabited “Debir”.
The verse continues, “he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “he left none remaining” which means “he, Joshua, did not leave or allow a single person to remain alive and breathing”: “as he had done to Hebron” or “similar and in like fashion that he, Joshua, performed and acted toward Hebron whose name means ‘association’ and was a city in south Judah approximately twenty miles south of Jerusalem and approximately twenty miles (30 km) north of Beersheba and near where Abraham built an altar”, “so he did to Debir” which means “also and indeed he, Joshua, performed and acted toward Debir whose name means ‘sanctuary’ and was a town in the mountains of Judah west of Hebron and given to the priests and a city of refuge” “and to the king thereof”or “and toward the royal ruler and leader of Debir”: “as he had done also to Libnah” which means “in similar and life fashion that he, Joshua, acted and performed even so and indeed toward Libnah whose name means ‘pavement’ and was a royal city of the Canaanites in the southwest captured by Joshua; allocated to Judah and made a Levitical city; site unknown” “and to her king” or “and to her, Libnah’s, royal ruler and leader”. Joshua and the people of Israel did not allow a single person to remain alive within “Debir”, and in like manner to the way they destroyed “Lachish”, even so did they toward “Debir” and their royal ruler.
When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how “Joshua” and the people of “Israel” continued to defeat foes who were occupying cities and dwelling places which Jehovah God gave to them in the promise land. “Debir”, their dwelling places and towns and their royal ruler were all annihilated by the people of “Israel” by the help of Almighty God. In like manner, God knows we all have an enemy to our souls, sin, and that sin must be eradicated before we can have a personal relationship with a “Holy God”. Sin leads to death, (See Romans 6:23) and for this reason God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He raised Him from the dead after three days, and when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will lead and guide us into all truth and help us to defeat every area of sin within us that is in opposition to Him.
Next time we learn how, “Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings”, 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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