What is the meaning of Joshua 12:14? The king of Hormah, one “the king of Hormah, one” (Joshua 12:14) • Hormah (“devoted to destruction”) had been a place of earlier disappointment for Israel. After refusing to enter Canaan the first time, they tried to fight on their own and “the Amalekites and the Canaanites … struck them and beat them down all the way to Hormah” (Numbers 14:45). • God later reversed that failure. Under Joshua, the single king of Hormah fell just as the Lord promised (Joshua 10:38-40), underscoring that victory comes only when God leads. • The notation “one” stresses individuality: no coalition was too small to merit recording, and none was too big to escape God’s judgment (cf. Deuteronomy 7:17-24). • Hormah’s defeat joins the growing list in Joshua 12, reminding Israel of the cumulative faithfulness of God: each conquered king testifies, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6). The king of Arad, one “the king of Arad, one” (Joshua 12:14) • Arad controlled key desert routes in the Negev. Years earlier its king attacked Israel and took captives, prompting the nation to vow, “If You will indeed deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction” (Numbers 21:1-3). God answered, the cities were destroyed, and the place was named Hormah—linking the two entries in Joshua 12:14. • Recording Arad’s downfall highlights God’s perfect memory. What He began with Moses, He completed with Joshua (cf. Exodus 23:27-31). • “One” king again shows the personal accountability of each ruler before the Lord. No matter how remote, every heart that opposes God must bow (Psalm 2:10-12). • Arad’s mention after Hormah traces Israel’s advance from south to north, demonstrating orderly, sustained obedience (Joshua 11:23; Psalm 44:1-3). summary Joshua 12:14 is more than a line in a list; it is a double reminder that God finishes what He starts. Hormah points to a past failure redeemed, Arad to a past promise fulfilled. Together they declare that every adversary—small or great—falls when God’s people follow Him in faith, and each victory is worth remembering because it magnifies the faithful, promise-keeping Lord. |
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