Joshua 21:43-44
Jos 21:44 He had also procured them rest round about, as He had sworn to their fathers, inasmuch as not a man of all their enemies stood against them. The expression “gave them rest,” etc., points back to Deu 12:9-10, and refers to all the divine promises of the Pentateuch which assured the Israelites of the peaceable possession of Canaan, such as Exo 33:14; Deu 3:20, etc. No enemy had been able to withstand them, as the Lord had promised Joshua (Jos 1:5). “The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.” It is true the Canaanites were not all exterminated; but those who were left had become so powerless, that they could neither accomplish nor attempt anything against Israel, so long as the Israelites adhered faithfully to their God, or so long as Joshua and the elders who were his contemporaries were alive (Jdg 2:6.), because the Lord had overwhelmed them with fear and terror before the Israelites. ▼▼“If any one should raise a question as to their actual peace, the solution is easy enough. The tribes of Canaan were so alarmed and broken down with their fear, that in their opinion nothing could serve their purpose better than to purchase peace from the children of Israel by the most obsequious servility. Clearly, therefore, the land was subdued and their home at peace, since no one disturbed them, or attempted anything against them; there were no threats, no snares, no violence, and no conspiracy.” - Calvin.
Copyright information for
KD