When the Slaying was Ended - Joshua 10:20

In the book of Joshua, we learned about Israel fighting the five kings of the Amorites and their armies, and “it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.  And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them. And stay you not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand”, and in chapter ten and verse twenty of the book of Joshua, we learn what happened, “when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter” where we read, 

And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.

The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “and the following happened and occurred”, “when Joshua” or “at the time and moment Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “and the children of Israel” or “and the offering and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “had made an end of slaying them” which means “accomplished, finished and completed striking, smiting, hitting, beating and killing them, the armies of the Amorites” “with a very great slaughter” or “through the means of an exceedingly and abundantly massive and intense blow, wound and scourging” the following occurred. Joshua or the writer referred to the time “when Joshua” and the offspring of “Israel” completed their intense and massive wounding and scourging of the armies of the Amorites.

 

The verse continues, “… till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “till they were consumed”  which means “until such time that they, the five kings of the Amorites and their armies, existed as exhausted, spent and destroyed”, “that the rest which remained of them” or “that the remainder and residue pertaining to them, the armies of the Amorites” “entered into fenced cities” which means “came in, were enumerated and lead into fortified and defensed dwelling places, strongholds and towns”. Joshua or the writer shared how the army of “Israel” fought the armies of the Amorites until they were completely destroyed, and whoever remained among the Amorite army went into fortified dwelling places and towns. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the people of Israel completely destroyed the armies of the Amorites, and although they were under the leadership of “five” Amorite kings, they still fell. Only a few of them remained, and they entered into fortified towns and dwelling places. God fought on behalf of the people of Israel, and He continues to fight for them and us today. God loves Israel, and He loves us. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for the sins of everyone, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so 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 guide us into all truth and lead us to be completely victorious over whatever He decides to conquer. (See John 16:13; Romans 8:37)

Next time we learn how, “all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace”, 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".