seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Joshua 5:Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
a. Joshua 5:1 Another textual tradition we
This is a left over from the previous chapter. Left overs are frequent in the Bible. Normally I would just include it in the verses that come next. In this case, however, the topic of the next paragraphs is totally different... and this verse is so powerful. It says the hearts of their enemies melted in fear. How vivid is that?!
I remember when we sent troops into Kuwait. Before we sent troops in, we showered the area with pamphlets. It was a propaganda attack. When our troops arrived, the enemy just gave themselves up to us. They thought our troops were cannibals and that we ate our captives.
Now, since this is not the first time a river has dried up so the Israelis could pass, I'm pretty sure it made the late news [or late cryer]. God drying up a river is some major propaganda. The enemy had to have heard about what happened to the Egyptian pharaoh forty years before. I've seen pictures of the giants living in Canaan. I'm pretty sure seeing a few hundred thousand short people at the borders might have intrigued or annoyed them. The idea of God stopping rivers for them,however, that would be like adding a ringer to the fight. That changes everything.
This is from the easy English site.
The Israelites were now in the promised land. The people in Canaan were afraid. They were afraid because God was doing things for the Israelites. They were afraid about what God would do to them. This was a good time for the Israelites to attack. But God had other plans! The Israelites were not yet ready. They had further things to do.
This is a quote from a foxnews article that caught my eye years ago.... it's not biblical but IMHO it does show what happens when fear grips enemy troops. They start to wonder if it's really worth standing up against the attacker.
Their decision to give up was not unexpected, or unprompted; for months, Iraq has been bombarded with messages from the Americans, urging its soldiers to refuse to fight.
At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called on Iraq's military to "do the honorable thing, stop fighting that you may live to enjoy a free Iraq, where you and your children can grow and prosper."
At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called on Iraq's military to "do the honorable thing, stop fighting that you may live to enjoy a free Iraq, where you and your children can grow and prosper."
This is from GodVine.
The Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward - It has already been remarked that the term Amorite is applied sometimes to signify all the nations or tribes of Canaan. It appears from this verse that there were people thus denominated that dwelt on both sides of the Jordan. Those on the east side had already been destroyed in the war which the Israelites had with Sihon and Og; with those on the west side Joshua had not yet waged war. It is possible however that the Amorites of whom we read in this verse, were the remains of those who dwelt on the east side of the Jordan, and who had taken refuge here on the defeat of Og and Sihon.
Hearts melting in fear.... That's quite graphic.
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