The Conquest Of Canaan

by Micky Galloway

“Now it came to pass after the death of Moses …, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua …, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spake unto Moses. From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest … Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:1-9).

Seven nations were living in the land when the Israelites came to conquer the land; the Hittite, Girgashite, Amorite Perizzite, Hivite and the Jebusite (Deuteronomy 7:1; Exodus 3:17; cf. Genesis 15:18). The name “Canaanite” was used to describe collectively all these tribes. However, Moses lists the name “Canaanites” to describe one of the distinct “nations” they would find.

Joshua sent spies into the land to spy out the city of Jericho (Joshua 2:1). The spies learned that the people of Jericho were afraid of the Israelites. “…the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you…” (Joshua 2:9-11).

Jericho was logically the first city to conquer. It was one of the oldest cities in the world. It lay directly in the path between Israel’s camp at Gilgal and the central portion of the land of conquest. God miraculously gave the city of Jericho into the hands of the Israelites. Yet, there were conditions upon which the city would be given. They were to march around the city once each day for six days and on the seventh day march around seven times, the people were to shout and the priests blow on the ram’s horns. The walls then fell down flat and every man could enter the city straight before him to destroy the inhabitants. It is interesting to note that Joshua placed a curse on the city. It was not to be rebuilt. However, a man named Hiel rebuilt the walls. His oldest son died as he began the task, and his youngest son died as he finished (Read Joshua 6:26 and I Kings 16:34).

The next city of the conquest was the smaller city of Ai. They sent in a smaller army and to their surprise they were defeated and thirty six of their soldiers died. There was sin in the camp. God would not be with them until they purged the sin from among them. Joshua 7:12 says, “Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you.” Achan had taken part of the spoils of the city that were to be placed in the treasury of Jehovah. Consequently, God would not be with them. Achan was stoned for his sin, and the people prepared for battle again. They defeated Ai and the neighboring city of Bethel (Joshua 8:17).

The Israelites were now able to move freely into the central hill country of Canaan. They came to the twin peaks of Gerizim and Ebal on either side of Shechem. They read their law here and inscribed a copy of it on stone. They now claimed the central portion of Canaan. The nations of Canaan planned unsuccessful attacks to stop the insurgence of the Israelites. At one point in battle, the sun stopped, and the day was prolonged so Joshua could kill the Amorites before they could get back inside their walled cities (Joshua 10:13).

Joshua and his army of Israelites pushed through all the major cities of the south. He killed all five of the Amorite kings. He destroyed Libna, Lachish, the king of Gezer and Lachish, Eglon, Hebron and Debir (Joshua 10). “So Joshua smote all the land, the hill-country, and the South, and the lowland, and the slopes, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because Jehovah, the God of Israel, fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:40-42).

Next the kings of the north led by Jabin, King of Hazor formed a coalition. Many of the Canaanite forces were involved in this united effort against the Israelites. However, Joshua did not wait for them to attack. With God’s encouragement, he made a surprise attack against this confederacy and defeated all of them. The people fled north in three directions. Joshua then turned and took the city of Hazor which had been the largest city in the land.

In Joshua 11:23 we read, “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Jehovah spake unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.” The remaining chapters of the book of Joshua primarily describe the division of the land among the tribes of Israel. As Joshua calls the people together before his death, he urges them to be faithful. He affirmed that God had given them ALL the land He had promised to their fathers. “So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And Jehovah gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; Jehovah delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45).