So far
we learned that Joshua led the Israelites across the river to the Promised
Land. The Israelites, by faith and
obedience destroyed the city of Jericho by marching around the city wall 7
times as God commanded. No one was
spared except Rahab and her household. We
learned that God gives victory in the battles He calls us to fight. We learned that all the spoils were to go to
God, but Achan kept some for himself which angered God. Because of that sin, God allowed the army of
Ai to defeat Israel. We then saw Joshua
defeat Ai. We saw the deception of the
Gibeonites resulting in Joshua making a treaty with them.
Joshua 10:1-15 – The Sun Stands Still
The
king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had destroyed Ai and Jericho and that he
had made a treaty with Gibeonites. Gibeon was a big important city with good
fighting men. The king asked the 5 kings
of the Amorities to come and help him attack Gibeon. Gibeonites sent word to Joshua for help. Joshua sent his entire army. (Joshua
10:1-7) God again told Joshua, “Do not be afraid of
them; I have given them into your hand.
Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” – Joshua 10:8.
The
Gibeonites went to Joshua for help.
Joshua had made a promise to them and he could not disappoint them
now. Who do you go to in time of
trouble? Joshua’s name means “the
Lord is my Savior”. We have a Savior and
we can always go to him when we need help.
He has promised to help and will not disappoint us.
What
promises have you made?
Do you
keep your promises?
What
about the promises you made to your spouse at your wedding?
When
Joshua arrived, the enemy was taken by surprised. The Lord kept His promise. The Lord sent confusion on them and Israel
defeated them. They, of course fled and
as they fled God hurled large hailstones on them from the sky. (Another miracle
of God) This killed more of them than
Israel did by their swords. (Joshua
10:9-11)
The
hailstorm signified that God’s hand was in the battle. It showed that God’s work is greater than any
man.
Joshua
wanted God to be glorified. He wanted a
complete victory and needed more time.
He didn’t want the enemy to escape.
If night came, they might scatter and find hiding places. So Joshua called upon God to stop the
progress of time. Joshua prayed to the
Lord in the presence of Israel, “O sun, stand still
over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
till the nations avenged itself on its enemies.” – Joshua 10:12-13. The sun
stopped in the sky and didn’t go down for a full day. “There has never been
a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” –
Joshua 10:14.
Here is
another miracle that shows God’s awesome power.
God extended the daylight hours so Israel could have a complete victory
over the enemy. God heard Joshua’s
prayer to reverse the natural order. He
extended the hours of the day long enough so that Israel could finish the
battle.
God
kept His promise of victory for Israel.
God listened to Joshua as he prayed and praised God. He will keep His promises to you. He will listen to you. Praise God in all He is doing in your life and
praise Him so others can hear. That is a
great witness for God.
There
are several obvious miracles of God in this chapter; He stopped the sun and the
moon by freezing the laws of physics; He threw confusion into the enemy; He
hurled hailstone down from heaven killing the enemy.
What
miracle has God done for you?
How do
you give God the praises He deserves?
Do you
praise Him in secret or for others to hear?
Principle: The Lord’s power is not limited.
Lessons we learn:
We are
to be honorable and keep our promises.
God
keeps His promises.
We
should continue to pray in all things.
God
hears our prayers.
God
answers our prayers sometimes in a miraculous way.
God is
sovereign and His power is limitless.
Joshua 10:16-43; 11:1-23 – More Victories
The 5
kings fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah.
Joshua sent men to guard the cave so the kings could not return to their
cities as Joshua and Israel kept pursuing the enemy. Then the kings were brought to Joshua and
killed and then hung on trees. At
evening they were taken down and put in the cave where they had been hiding and
large rocks were placed at the mouth of the cave. Joshua took Makkedah and its king and totally
destroyed everyone leaving no survivors. (Joshua
10:16-28)
Principle: We must
control, confront and conquer our enemies.
What do
you have hidden in your cave?
Do you
have some king in your life that needs to be killed?
The
evil kings in your heart need to be put to death so they will not rise up to
try to destroy you again and again.
These kings may be immorality, impurity, sensuality, lust, idolatry,
jealousy, anger, disputes, drunkenness, carousing. They need to be killed! We need to pull out those kings and nail them
to the cross. God’s way of victory is
through crucifixion. “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus.” – Rom 6:11.
Joshua
continued conquering the cities in southern Canaan. He conquered Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon,
and Debir as the Lord handed them over to Israel. He conquered from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and
from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon destroying everything and leaving no
survivors as the Lord commanded. They
were all conquered because God of Israel fought for Israel. Then Joshua and Israel returned to their camp
at Gilgal. (Joshua 10:29-43).
Joshua 11 tells us that word of
Israel’s victories spread and now the northern kings wanted a fight with
Israel. These kings joined together to
make war, but again the Lord told Joshua, “Do not be
afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to
Israel, slain.” – Joshua 11:1-6. God had hardened the hearts of these kings to
wage war against Israel so He might destroy them totally. Again, Israel completely destroyed all these
cities as the Lord commanded. Joshua
took the entire land and didn’t make treaties. He destroyed the Anakites from the hill
country. Joshua destroyed the entire
land as the Lord directed Moses and gave it as an inheritance to Israel
according to their tribal divisions. (Joshua 11:1-23).
The
Anakites if you remember in Numbers 13
were to people the Israelites came across when they explored the land of Canaan
they found that the Anakites who lived there were giants and very
powerful. I am sure by defeating them,
it gave them much more trust in God and His Word that He is with them and would
deliver them and they should not be afraid.
What
questions or doubts do you struggle with as you see all this violence and
destruction in these chapters? Canaan was a heathen nation. They were evil and wicked. They knew about God, but corrupted and
perverted His truth. They were beyond
saving. God ordered their destruction
because of the corrupting influence they would have if their false religious
system was allowed to survive. God didn’t
want His people to be fall into their evil ways so they had to be destroyed.
Joshua 12 – The List
We see
in this chapter there is a list of all the kings and territories defeated by
Israel. There were 33 kings
defeated. Moses defeated the 1st
2 kings Sihon and Og. Joshua defeated 16
kings in the south and 15 kings in the north.
I like
to make lists. Then when I cross
something off, I see what I’ve done and feel good about my accomplishment. This list helped the Israelites remember what
God had done for them. I think this list
was also given to us to show that these events are real. It shows God keeps His Word and is a Promise
Keeper.
Principle: We can defeat our enemies by relying on the
Lord.
What
are the spiritual enemies you are facing?
How
much do you obey God’s Word in your daily life?
Do you
take God at His Word and believe Him?
When
are you tempted to compromise your Christian faith?
Next
week we will continue to study more in the book of Joshua. See you here.
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