His answer was, "If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land 514 of the Perizzites and of the giants, if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee." Their reply showed the real cause of complaint. They lacked faith and courage to drive out the Canaanites. "The hill is not enough for us," they said; "and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron." The power of the God of Israel had been pledged to His people, and had the Ephraimites possessed the courage and faith of Caleb, no enemy could have stood before them. Their evident desire to shun hardship and danger was firmly met by Joshua. "Thou art a great people, and hast great power," he said; "thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong." Thus their own arguments were turned against them. Being a great people, as they claimed, they were fully able to make their own way, as did their brethren. With the help of God they need not fear the chariots of iron.

Israels Gud havde lovet at hjælpe sit folk, og hvis efraimitterne havde været i besiddelse af Kalebs mod og tro, kunne ingen fjende have holdt stand over for dem. Josua imødegik deres åbenbare forsøg på at undgå vanskeligheder og farer. "Du er et talrigt folk og har stor kraft," sagde han, "du skal drive kanaanæerne bort, selv om de har jernbeslagne vogne; du er nemlig stærkere end de." Han brugte deres egne argumenter imod dem. Når de var et stort folk, som de påstod, skulle de også kunne klare sig selv ligesom deres brødre. Når Gud var med dem, behøvede de ikke at frygte for fjendernes jernbeslagne vogne.