Yehoshua 11: Sleigh the Horses

“But the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; tomorrow at this time I will have them all lying slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots’” (verse 6).וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַל־תִּירָא מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי מָחָר כָּעֵת הַזֹּאת אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן אֶת־כֻּלָּם חֲלָלִים לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־סוּסֵיהֶם תְּעַקֵּר וְאֶת־מַרְכְּבֹתֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ(Joshua 11:6)The 11th chapter begins with Joshua’s conquest of the north following his conquest of the south in the previous chapter. God sends Joshua to battle with the directive in verse 6. Radak wonders why God only asked Joshua to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots in this battle and not any other. He answers simply that this battle was the first that the Israelites faced against chariots and horses. The first two battles—Jericho and Ai—were walled cities. The next battle was an intervention on behalf of the Gibeonites with no open field warfare it seems. He then asks why only the chariots were destroyed and the horses maimed. What about other animals of war—like camels or donkeys? He answers that question by focusing on the fact that horses at that time were primarily used for war. Camels and donkeys had other peaceful uses. God did not want the Israelites to start using the advanced weapons—the tank of the ancient world—and forget that God was the one who was helping them succeed. As King David writes in Psalm 20: “They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.”אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים וַאֲנַחְנוּ בְּשֵׁם ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר(Psalms 20:8) This answer focuses on God’s role in defeating the enemy armies, but perhaps God is trying to show the opposite. There is another poem that involves horses and chariots: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God. They said: I will sing to God, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.” (Exodus 15:1).אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַה׳ וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַה׳ כִּי־גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם(Exodus 15:1) God defeated the Egyptian chariots and horses. At that time the people were mere slaves coming out of Egypt. Now they are a powerful fighting force on the brink of taking over the land. This time, God gives the people the directive to defeat the chariots and horses. God is not concerned the people will stop believing in God’s assistance. Instead, God wants the people to see how far they have come since the Exodus.