Joshua 11:20
For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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{ "author": "Traditionally understood as Joshua, though modern scholarship suggests a compilation by later editors.", "location": "Written likely from the land of Canaan, after its conquest.", "dateTime": "Likely compiled in the period after the conquest of Canaan, possibly around the 13th-11th centuries BC.", "literaryStyle": "Narrative history with elements of divine command and fulfillment; notable for its direct accounts of military campaigns and their theological interpretation." }
After a series of decisive victories against a large coalition of Canaanite kings, Joshua and the Israelites now faced the daunting task of completely clearing the land, particularly the descendants of the giants known as the Anakim. This passage explains that the Canaanites' continued resistance and refusal to surrender or make peace was not accidental; it was divinely ordained to ensure their utter destruction, as God had commanded Moses from the beginning. The chapter concludes with Joshua taking the entire land and giving it to Israel, bringing a rest from war.
Have you ever wondered how God's perfect plan can work with people making their own choices, especially when those choices lead to destruction?
This verse says, "it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts." This sounds like God is directly causing people to be wicked. But let's look closer.
A Judgment, Not an Initiation
Scripture often describes God 'hardening' hearts as a consequence, a judgment on those who have already rejected Him. Think of Pharaoh in Egypt. God didn't make him evil; Pharaoh was already defiant, and God allowed that defiance to run its course, revealing its full destructive potential. The Canaanites had engaged in horrific practices for generations. They had pushed God's patience to its limit.
Free Will and Divine Sovereignty
God's hardening here doesn't negate the Canaanites' own choices. They chose their idolatry, their violence, their sensuality. Their hearts were already set against God. God's action is in allowing their chosen path to lead them to their foreordained destruction, fulfilling His word to Moses. It’s like a river whose course is set; God doesn't force the water, but He determines the banks and the destination, and the water flows accordingly. The Canaanites' stubbornness and fury, while their own, served God's ultimate purpose for judgment.
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The 'Why' Behind the Judgment
Their destruction wasn't random. It was a direct consequence of their "abominable wickedness." They were not innocent victims; they were justly condemned. God's judgment was both sovereign and righteous, acting through their own willful rebellion.
The language here is intense: 'devoted to destruction' and 'receive no mercy.' Why such a harsh command, and what does it reveal about God's holiness?
This verse isn't just about war; it's about God's absolute intolerance for sin and idolatry when it reaches a certain point.
No Room for Negotiation
The Canaanites had pushed God's patience too far. Their sins—idolatry, sexual immorality, child sacrifice—were deeply entrenched and pervasive. The command was clear: they were to be utterly destroyed. This wasn't a military tactic to secure land; it was a divine mandate for judgment.
The Purpose of Devotion to Destruction
The phrase "devoted to destruction" (Hebrew: cherem) means set apart for God's use, specifically for destruction in judgment. It was a way of saying these nations were forfeit. They were so thoroughly corrupted that they could not be reformed or integrated. To show them mercy would have been to compromise God’s holiness and jeopardize Israel's own spiritual purity.
Preserving Israel's Faith
God knew that a remnant of these nations, if left alive, would corrupt Israel's faith, leading them into the same destructive practices. The command was, in a profound way, an act of preservation for His chosen people, ensuring they could remain a distinct people set apart for Him.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
Refers to the sovereign God of Israel, the covenant-keeping Creator. He is the central actor in history, directing events to fulfill His redemptive purposes.
chazaq · Hebrew Verb
A theological concept describing God’s sovereign action upon the human will. It refers to God confirming a person in their rebellious state so that they continue to reject Him and face the consequences of their sin, often in judgment.
cherem · Hebrew Noun
A severe judgment where something or someone is set apart exclusively for God's holy purpose, which, in the case of the Canaanite nations, meant total destruction to prevent idolatrous corruption.
rachamim · Hebrew Noun
An attitude of compassion, kindness, and withholding deserved punishment. God is frequently described as compassionate and merciful, though His judgment against persistent rebellion is also righteous.
This verse highlights a crucial aspect of the conquest: God's sovereign hand in the Canaanites' hardened hearts, ensuring their utter destruction as commanded. It wasn't a random massacre, but a divinely orchestrated judgment on a deeply wicked people, fulfilling promises made to Abraham and warnings given to Moses.
c. 1446 BC
Israel Exits Egypt
After centuries of slavery, God delivers the Israelites from Egypt under Moses' leadership.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Wandering in the Wilderness
Due to their unbelief, the Israelites wander in the desert for 40 years, during which time Moses receives God's commands for the conquest of Canaan.
c. 1406 BC
Moses Dies; Joshua Leads Israel
Moses dies, and Joshua, commissioned by God, takes leadership of the Israelites to enter and conquer the Promised Land.
c. 1406-1399 BC— this verse
Initial Conquest of Canaan
Joshua leads the Israelites in a series of swift and decisive military campaigns against various Canaanite city-states and coalitions.
c. 1399 BC
Land Divided Among Tribes
After the major military phase of the conquest, Joshua oversees the division of the land of Canaan among the twelve Israelite tribes.
This passage also speaks of God hardening Pharaoh's heart, demonstrating a consistent pattern in Scripture where God's judgment involves enabling stubbornness for a greater purpose.
Deuteronomy 7:1-2This directly echoes the command Moses received, reinforcing that the destruction of the Canaanites, including the hardening of their hearts, was part of a divinely ordained plan.
Romans 9:18Paul reflects on God's sovereignty, stating 'he has mercy on whom he chooses, and he hardens whom he chooses,' which provides theological context for God's actions in Joshua 11.
Isaiah 6:10In this prophetic passage, God tells Isaiah to 'make the heart of this people dull,' revealing that divine hardening can be a judicial response to persistent rebellion.
calvinJoshua 11:16-23: "So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;"
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Quia a Jehova fuit, ut induraretcor eorum in occursum belli c…
clarkeJoshua 11:20: "For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses."
It was of the Lord to harden their hearts - They had sinned against all the light they had received, and God left them justly to the hardness, obstinacy, and pride of their own hearts; for as they chose to retain their idolatry, God was determined that th…
{ "author": "Traditionally understood as Joshua, though modern scholarship suggests a compilation by later editors.", "location": "Written likely from the land of Canaan, after its conquest.", "dateTime": "Likely compiled in the period after the conquest of Canaan, possibly around the 13th-11th centuries BC.", "literaryStyle": "Narrative history with elements of divine command and fulfillment; notable for its direct accounts of military campaigns and their theological interpretation." }
After a series of decisive victories against a large coalition of Canaanite kings, Joshua and the Israelites now faced the daunting task of completely clearing the land, particularly the descendants of the giants known as the Anakim. This passage explains that the Canaanites' continued resistance and refusal to surrender or make peace was not accidental; it was divinely ordained to ensure their utter destruction, as God had commanded Moses from the beginning. The chapter concludes with Joshua taking the entire land and giving it to Israel, bringing a rest from war.
After a series of decisive victories against a large coalition of Canaanite kings, Joshua and the Israelites now faced the daunting task of completely clearing the land, particularly the descendants of the giants known as the Anakim. This passage explains that the Canaanites' continued resistance and refusal to surrender or make peace was not accidental; it was divinely ordained to ensure their utter destruction, as God had commanded Moses from the beginning. The chapter concludes with Joshua taking the entire land and giving it to Israel, bringing a rest from war.
"For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses." — { "author": "Traditionally understood as Joshua, though modern scholarship suggests a compilation by later editors.", "location": "Written likely from the land of Canaan, after its conquest.",…
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