The instructions God gives to Joshua for the prosecution of war in Canaan make sense for the most part, even if some instructions seem harsh. But then, in the midst of a series of battles, a new order comes from the Lord:
"Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots." Josh 11.6
The significance of this might elude us. This rule appears to produce one more heap of destruction in the wake of the Israelite army. But see what might have been! Look at the opportunity! Horse-drawn chariots, the high-tech weapon delivery system of choice in the Bronze Age. A line of these was equal to your Cobra copter, your Aegis destroyer, your Virginia-class submarine. It would be roughly another 1000 years before Alexander the Great developed a strategy that obsolesced the chariot. So why not teach your army how to use them and turn them on the enemy so as to expedite this war and get down to eating huge clusters of grapes?
This rule is more about God than war. God did not want his people dependent on human or worldly power, but his. He is the mighty warrior. "Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel" (Josh 10.42). To rely upon horses or chariots shows a lack of faith in the power of the Mighty One of Israel.
This also could be a warning about alliances with other nations. For centuries to come, the primary source of good horseflesh would be Egypt. It doesn't take a very in-depth examination of scripture to see what God thinks about alliances with Egypt. Such alliances would be one more failure to rely upon God's strength.
But there is more to it than this. This rule has to do with justice. God did not want his leaders to oppress his people in order to maintain their leadership or their armies. When horses are not engaged in battle, they do three things (but in this case Coach Royal, none of them are necessarily good). They eat, they dispose of that which they have eaten, and they make baby horses. This is a problem, because: (1) somebody has to feed them (which means that someone is probably doing without food in order to have food to feed the horses), (2) somebody has to clean up after them (see Hercules, the Labor of the Aegean stables), and (3) more horses mean more of problems (1) and (2).
Perhaps a quote from a great warrior will explain my claim in point one above: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." - Dwight D Eisenhower
So, when God anticipates that Israel will eventually want kings, he establishes rules for them (Deut 17.14ff) which specifically prohibit keeping many horses. And it is one of the reasons that Samuel rebukes Israel for wanting a king because maintenance of a standing army to protect a king and his court requires resources which will become oppressive to a people (1 Sam 8). A modern example of this is Saddam Hussein. (Has anybody noticed what has happened to every king named in the book of Joshua?)
It takes a bold and faithful courage to fight spiritual battles on God's terms. We will be tempted to use means and resources he has prohibited, but we must trust in God's wisdom. And we must teach our children to become leaders who are not oppressive with their leadership, but who lead with a light but faithful hand.
God grant that we can be like Joshua, who was unafraid to be the leader, the head man, and courageous enough to do it without horses.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Explanatory notes (to make sense of Ron’s sense of humor):
Washington Irving was the author of the "Tales of Sleepy Hollow", which contains the story of the headless horseman.
Coach Royal (University of Texas) said, "Three things can happen when you pass and two of 'em are bad." He was referring to incompletion and interception; reception being the only good thing.
Hercules (a Greek mythical figure) was assigned twelve labors (each of which was immense). The fifth labor was cleaning out, in one day, the Aegean stables of King Augeas, who owned more cattle and horses than any other man in Greece. Evidently this had not been done for quite some time. Hercules diverted the courses of the Alpheus and Peneus rivers (in itself a Herculean labor). The labor was done, and Hercules claimed 1/10 of the livestock of Augeas as his reward.
Alexander developed the phalanx (a square of soldiers carrying 4 meter long spears moving as one) into a weapons system itself, and one that defeated chariots. When attacked by a chariot, the phalanx would open a corridor to allow the chariot in, then soldiers in the opposing interior line would lower their spears, stopping the horses, and then dispose of the charioteers.
More arcane information for those who need to know.
