⁶ But the Lord said to Joshua, ^(A)“Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall ^(B)hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

⁴ David took from him one thousand chariots, ^[a]seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David ^(A)hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots.

⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(A)“Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; ^(B)not a man of them shall ^(C)stand before you.”

⁹ And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

^28 (A)and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ^(B)stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?”

And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

⁹ So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

The Folly of Not Trusting God