What is the meaning of Joshua 10:31? And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish • The verse picks up immediately after the fall of Libnah (Joshua 10:29-30), showing unstoppable momentum in the conquest promised in Joshua 1:3. • “All Israel” stresses national unity; the people obey Joshua just as earlier they pledged in Joshua 1:16-18 and as Moses desired in Deuteronomy 31:7-8. • Moving “on” demonstrates faith that the LORD would continue to drive out the inhabitants “little by little” (Exodus 23:30; Deuteronomy 7:22). • Lachish lay in the Shephelah, a strategic ridge route; its capture would cut Canaanite lines of communication, fulfilling the charge to “leave no survivor” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). • The journey also illustrates spiritual progression: after every victory God calls His people forward, never settling short of full inheritance (Philippians 3:13-14 finds a New-Testament echo of this principle). They laid siege to it and fought against it • Israel does not rely on past miracles alone; they employ ordinary military means under divine direction, just as they circled Jericho (Joshua 6) and set an ambush for Ai (Joshua 8:3-8). • A siege implies patience and perseverance; even so, “the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel on the second day” (Joshua 10:32), highlighting God’s swift intervention when His people act in faith. • The pattern repeats what Joshua had heard from Moses: “The LORD your God Himself fights for you” (Deuteronomy 20:4). Israel engages, yet victory is unmistakably the LORD’s (Psalm 44:3). • The verse also prepares for the coalition’s retaliation in Joshua 10:33, showing that each step of obedience may provoke fresh opposition—yet God remains sovereign over every battle (Joshua 10:42). summary Joshua 10:31 records more than troop movements; it witnesses continuing obedience, corporate unity, and God’s faithful advance of His promise to give Israel the land. The people move when God says move, lay siege when strategy demands, and trust the LORD to finish what He starts (1 Thessalonians 5:24). |
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