Having defeated the Amorite kings, attention now turns to the northern kings. These kings got together and gathered a massive army. The Lord assures Joshua that he does not need to fear, for the Lord will hand the army over to him defeated. "Do not fear, do not be discouraged" is a constant refrain throughout the book of Joshua.
So the Israelites attacked the army and defeated them. Note that they had to attack them. God was going to give them into Israel's hands, but Israel had to attack. Receiving God's promises is often not a matter of just sitting back and waiting, but is an encouragement to take action.
As before, there was much death and destruction.
This period of war went on for a long time (verse 13), probably about seven years. So much land was conquered and then the land had rest from war. Chapter 12 gives a long list of all the kings who were defeated by the Israelites.
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