In the closing chapter of the Book of Joshua … God is rehearsing some of His “Mighty Acts” (a phrase used of the Lord four times in Scripture, all in the Book of Psalms) done for the people of Israel.

Including verse 12 … “And I (the Lord) sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.” Joshua 24:12

The verb “sent” used here is “shalach” in Hebrew, and is 3 times in the King James Bible translated “soweth!” God scattered hornets everywhere, ahead of Israel as she marched into the land of Canaan! God the Farmer … Jesus, in Matthew 13, is The Sower supreme!

Our Lord sowed swarms of them, I suspect. How do you defend yourself in the face of this type attack?

And the specific noun employed for “hornet” is unusual, to say the least! “Tzsirah” is only used a few times in all Scripture, each being rendered “hornet” as here. But it comes from a root word meaning “to be diseased of skin,” and 6 times means “leprous!” It’s an indication of the “results” of the hornet stings apparently. Swollen, pocked, blemished, itching, irritable skin … that part exposed to the stings anyway.

Wow!

One needs not much “help” understanding how these creatures “drove out” the wicked inhabitants of the land. “Garash” means “troubled, divorced, expelled,” and the like.

Then God issues a disclaimer.

Victory came to the Jews … “Not with their sword, nor with their bow.” But by the Hand of the Lord! Seems like God deserves proper honor and praise for His creative deliverance of Israel, truly!

And how many times, perhaps not always literally but at least spiritually, has God “gone ahead” of us?

Scattering our detractors?

And how few times have we thanked Him for His Acts on our behalf.

Remember today Proverbs 21:31, a retelling of the heart of our Text verse. “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.”

The old song is right … “God will take care of you!”

He did Israel.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell