Hearts hardened by God. I. WHEN GOD HARDENS A MAN 'S HEART IT IS BECAUSE HIS CHARACTER IS SUCH AS TO TURN GOD 'S RIGHTEOUS ACTION TO THIS RESULT . The same act of Providence which hardens one heart softens another. Prosperity will harden one in selfish, worldly satisfaction, and soften another to grateful devotion and active benevolence. Adversity will harden one in discontent and unbelief, while it softens another to penitence and trust. The... read more
Doomed to destruction. The evil men do often appears to be attributed in Scripture to the Divine will and agency ( Exodus 4:21 ; Jud Exodus 1:14 :4; 1 Kings 12:15 ; Romans 9:17 , Romans 9:18 ). Reason and conscience, indeed, confirm the view St. James gives of the history of all transgression ( James 1:13-15 ). Every man's sin is emphatically his own—born of his own inward impulse, nourished by influences to which he freely and wilfully yields himself, and its deadly issue is... read more
The extermination of the Canaanites. The terrible extermination of the Canaanitish nations remains a mystery too hard for us to understand. "It was of the Lord," we read ( Joshua 11:20 ). The history of Israel is designed to bring out in an impressive manner, by outward and visible facts, the constant intervention of God in human destinies. The history of our race is a fearful drama of blood and tears, in which ruin and devastation meet us on every hand. The Old Testament teaches us that... read more
A long time - At least five years; according to others, seven years (see Joshua 14:10, and Introduction). This and the preceding chapter contain a very condensed account of the wars of Joshua, giving particulars about leading events only. read more
See the marginal references. read more
Joshua 11:18. Joshua made war a long time For divers years together, five or six at least, according to Josephus. And this is here expressed, lest it should be thought that as all these wars are here recorded in a short narration, so they were despatched in a short time. God would have the land to be conquered gradually, for many weighty reasons; 1st, Lest the sudden extirpation of those nations should have made a great part of the land desert, and thereby have increased the number of wild... read more
Joshua 11:19-20. All other they took in battle That is, all that were taken by Joshua were taken by the sword, and therefore it is no wonder that the war was long, when the enemy was so obstinate. It was of the Lord to harden their hearts In the same sense in which he hardened the heart of Pharaoh. He did not soften their hearts through the influence of his almighty grace, but gave them up to their own animosity, pride, confidence, and stubbornness; and so ordered things, in the course of... read more
Summary of Israel’s conquests (11:16-12:24)Now that Israel controlled all the territory that was to become its homeland, the writer summarizes the entire conquest. First he summarizes Joshua’s conquest of all the area west of Jordan (i.e. Canaan itself), where nine and a half tribes were to receive their inheritance (16-23). Then he summarizes the former conquest in the time of Moses, when Israel gained control of the territory east of Jordan, where two and a half tribes had already been... read more
a long time = many days. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 11:20
To harden their hearts (cf. Exodus 4:21 ; Exodus 7:23 ). Muller, 'Christian Doctrine of Sin,' 2.412, says that "Scripture never speaks of God's hardening men's hearts, save in connection with His revelations through Moses or Christ." This passage evidently had not occurred to him when writing. His explanation of the difficulty is hardly satisfactory. We are not to suppose that the free will of the Canaanites was in any way interfered with. God no doubt left them to themselves as the due... read more