Joshua 13:1: Joshua 15:63; 1 Chronicles 11:4
There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed…
As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.
And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): The Jebusites were one of the seven nations of the land of Canaan who were to be dispossessed and destroyed.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Whether Jebus had its name from the Jebusites, or the Jebusites from it, cannot be ascertained―though after the death of Joshua it appears to have been partly conquered by the tribe of Judah, yet the Jebusites kept the stronghold of Zion till the days of David, by whom they were finally expelled.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Mount Zion was a place of so much strength, that, from the days of Joshua to the time of David, the Israelites could never take it. They occupied Jerusalem: but Mount Zion was too strong for them; insomuch that the Jebusites who inhabited it laughed them to scorn, vaunting, that if there were none left but blind and lame to defend the fortress, the Jews should never be able to prevail against it.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): The Jebusites who, from the long respite which had been given them, seemed to have struck their roots most deeply―this furnishes no excuse for the people, for had they exerted themselves to the full measure of their strength, and failed of success, the dishonour would have fallen on God Himself, who had promised that He would continue with them as their leader until He should give them full and free possession of the land, and that He would send hornets to drive out the inhabitants. Therefore, it was owing entirely to their own sluggishness.
ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Israel had suffered the Jebusites to remain among them contrary to the Lord’s command, and therefore they became a snare to them as the Lord had said, Judges 1:21; Deuteronomy 7:16-18.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Why did He not show Himself strong on their behalf? Because they had failed in their duty, for, instead of finishing the work which the Lord had given them to do, they became slack and took their ease.
JOHN CALVIN: A moderate delay might have been free from blame; but a long period of effeminate ease, in a manner, rejected the blessing which God was ready to bestow.
CHARLES SIMEON: Now this is an habit which we are all too apt to indulge, and which has a most injurious effect wherever it prevails―it was four hundred years before the Jebusites were driven from Jerusalem. Had all the tribes proceeded with united vigour to fulfil the divine command in its utmost extent, they would not so long have had to lament that their remaining enemies were as “scourges in their side, and thorns in their eyes,” Joshua 23:13. And who does not find, that corruptions gather strength by indulgence, and that graces decay for want of exercise?
ROBERT HAWKER: Much corruption remains in that heart where grace dwells.
J. R. MILLER (1840-1912): The Jebusites still held a hilltop in the heart of the country, never having been dislodged―and there are Jebusites in every Christian heart. For example, there is worldliness, which has its Jebusites everywhere. It is so intrenched there, too, that it seems impossible to dislodge it. There are many other such citadels of evil, which rear their proud towers and defy conquest. Sometimes it is a secret sin which lives on amid the general holiness of a life, refusing to submit to the sway of the grace of God. Sometimes it is a remnant of the old nature—pride, willfulness, weakness, selfishness, or bitterness. “We all have our faults,” we confess with penitence, and under this veil we manage to tuck away a large number of dear idols that we do not want to give up.
CHARLES SIMEON: In the mortification of sin we particularly resemble the Israelites of old. Because the armies of Canaan were no longer formidable to them, they overlooked the scattered remains which still occupied many strongholds, and considered them as unworthy of their notice. And is it not thus with too many amongst ourselves? We are not any longer tempted to the commission of gross, open, scandalous iniquities; and therefore we rest satisfied with the victories we have gained, instead of prosecuting them to the utter extirpation of our indwelling corruptions. Look at many professors of religion: they will not be guilty of palpable dishonesty: yet will harbour covetous and worldly desires: they will not commit whoredom or adultery: yet will indulge much impurity in their imaginations―Do not these things shew, how lukewarm we are in the prosecution of our best interests? Were we in earnest, as we ought to be, we should account sin our only enemy, and the extirpation of it would be the one labour of our lives.
J. R. MILLER: We ought to give attention to these unsubdued parts of our life, that every thought, feeling, and temper may be brought into subjection to Christ. It is perilous to leave even one such unconquered stronghold in our heart. It may cost us dearly in the end.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): We are saved, but we are not completely delivered from tendencies to sin, neither have we reached the fullness of holiness.
A. W. PINK: The fact must be faced that “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” No matter what be your growth in grace or the extent of your progress in spiritual things, you are not as completely conformed to the image of Christ as you should be, nor have you as fully possessed your possessions as it is your privilege to do…The antitypical Canaan is ours. It is the “purchased possession,” bought by Christ’s precious blood. That inheritance is to be enjoyed now: by faith, by hope, by fixing our affection upon things above. As we do so, we experimentally “possess our possessions.”―But there are powerful foes seeking to keep us from enjoying our heritage! True, but we may obtain victory over them, as Israel did over theirs. And we shall, in proportion as faith is in exercise, and as we walk obediently.
CHARLES SIMEON: “Look then to yourselves, that ye lose not the things that ye have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward,” 2 John 8—the promise and oath of Jehovah are on your side.
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): “Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion,” 2 Samuel 5:7. David’s exploit reads us anew the lesson that to the Christian soldier there is nothing impossible, with Jesus Christ for our Captain…For our own personal struggle with sin, and for the Church’s conflict with social evils, this story is an encouragement and a prophecy.
C. H. SPURGEON: Though there is very much land to be possessed, yet plunge into the war without fear, for, “He has said, I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee,” Hebrews 13:5. We are able to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, since the Lord our God will be with us.
