Joshua 24:10 (LSB)

Passage

But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:8 Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.

Joshua 24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

Joshua 24:10 But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand.

Joshua 24:11 And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand.

Joshua 24:12 Then I sent the hornet before you, and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "willing", "listen", "balaam", "blessed", "repeatedly", "delivered", and "hand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "willing" and "listen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Then Balak the son of Zippor king..." into verse 11's "And you crossed the Jordan and came...", so "willing" and "listen" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "willing" and "listen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.