#6. The Conquest of Canaan.


In our last article we devoted most of our space to consideration of the typical character of the Canaanite, and saw that in the Canaanite we have an example of Satan’s method of attempting to forestall the purposes of God, and supplant the true heirs of promise.

It will, however, be observed that, as always, the aggressor is first in the field and, for a time, apparently successful, but it is of the very essence of final victory that it shall be based upon truth and righteousness, and often therefore it is correspondingly slow, because no unrighteous advantage may be taken. A further reason for the long delay is a principle suggested in the words of Gen. xv. 16, “The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full”. But, at last, under the leadership of Joshua the time for Israel’s entry into his inheritance drew nigh, and in the approach to the land, and in some of the statements made in the record of the conquest of Palestine, we may see certain foreshadowings of the greater conflict of the ages.

There are explicit commands given by God to Joshua that forbade Israel from attacking or attempting to seize the inheritance of Esau, Moab and Ammon: “Meddle not with them” (Deut. ii. 1-5, 8-12, 18-21). We discover that Esau, Moab and Ammon found “giants” in possession of their territory, and “succeeded them”, “as Israel did unto the land of his possessions” (Deut. ii. 12).

Access to Israel’s inheritance was barred by the Amorites, and the command went forth, “Behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle” (Deut. ii. 24).

When the reader discovers that the words “meddle” of Deut. ii. 5 and “contend” of Deut. ii. 29 are the same in the original, he will therein perceive that there is a principle at work differentiating Esau, Moab and Ammon from the Canaanites. This information will prove serviceable when we come to examine the question as to who are the foes against whom the believer is authorized to contend in the spiritual conflict.

The crossing of the Jordan, the presence and power associated with the Ark and much of the precious typical teaching contained in Josh. iii.-v. cannot be touched on here, but the reader should make a point of re-reading the articles in Volume XXV which deal with this great episode. The actual taking of Jericho, however, must be given a place in this series, and we draw particular attention to one outstanding feature of the siege. We refer to the strange encircling of the city for seven days, culminating, on the last day, in the collapse of the walls, following the sevenfold encompassment of the city on that day.

The trumpets used on this occasion were not the silver trumpets specified in Numb. x. 1, 9, but ram’s horn trumpets and “trumpets of Jubilee”. The word “Jubilee” is a translation of the Hebrew word Yobel. Its first occurrence is in Exod. xix. 13 and the last in Josh. vi. 4-13. The remaining occurrences are all found in Leviticus and Numbers.

“And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month . . . . . ye shall proclaim liberty . . . . . ye shall return every man unto his possessions . . . . .” (Lev. xxv. 8-19).

The sounding of the trumpet upon the seventh day of the encircling of Jericho is prophetic:

“In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to his servants the prophets” (Rev. x. 7).
“And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever . . . . . the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come . . . . . there was seen in His temple the Ark of His testament” (Rev. xi. 15-19).

While the collapse of Jericho’s walls at the very entry of Israel into the land was prophetic of the end, that initial triumph of faith is followed by a slow-moving story in which many lessons are learned by the way. Among them we may instance three that bear upon our theme.

(1) Taking the land (Josh. x. 23).
(2) Possessing the land (Josh. xiii.).
(3) The reward of the inheritance (Josh. xiv., xv.).

These three stages need to be carefully distinguished. First, there is a great difference between “taking” the land, and “possessing” it.

“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes” (Josh. xi. 23).
“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remainest yet very much land to be possessed” (Josh. xiii. 1).

The land was “divided” (Josh. xiii. 7) before it was “possessed”, and we can find doctrinal parallels in the New Testament. For example, we read in Rom. vi. 6 that “the old man” was crucified with Christ, yet, just as God said he would drive out the enemy before Israel “not . . . . . in one year” but “by little and little” (Ex. xxiii. 27-30), so, even though the old man was crucified at the cross, and even though the believer is never exhorted to attempt what Christ alone has already accomplished on the cross, yet he is enjoined to put off the old man with his deeds, and to repudiate his former conversation (Eph. iv. 22; Col. iii. 9).

In concluding this article we would refer to the distinct line of truth devoted to the matter of reward for faithful service, in which connection the overcomer and going on unto perfection are spoken of and the running of a race and winning a prize. Col. i. 12 speaks of “the inheritance” in terms of a free, unmerited, gift, but Col. iii. 29 speaks of “the reward of the inheritance” in connexion with faithful service. This feature is found in the record of the conquest of Canaan, not at Jericho or in the taking of the land, but in connection with Caleb whose added portion was called Hebron “because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel” (Josh. xiv. 6-15).

(From The Berean Expositor Volume 32, page 244).

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