Joshua 10
Thank you for joining me in another incredible study in Joshua. I pray that through our fellowship together in the Word of God places something powerful on your heart. I pray the Word may strike you, that it is causes change. I pray that we see this moment in time like a workout. We push our bodies that through the pressure, the breaking down of old muscles, that new muscle may form. I pray the Spirit wash over you fresh in this study, new parts of your life being formed. I pray your imagination is stretched that you may draw close to the Lord. I pray that this awesome and sometimes gruesome account of Joshua’s conquest direct us to our current conquest over sin, brokenness, and death. May our eyes be directed to Jesus, our Savior, who has already won the battle for us.
Joshua 10 is devoted to the conquest of Southern Canaan and the battle that is waged for it. As you read through this chapter, think of the persecution and the battles that the church is currently facing. Maybe even skip to the end of my notes so you can see what to look for! Each of us are playing an important part of the battle the church is currently facing. It is going to take strength, courage, and obedience to stand for Jesus in a time when the world wants us to sit quietly in our homes. We need to remember, especially now, who is fighting our battle. Do you have the passion of Joshua to complete the Lord’s work both in you and your community?
Let us get into the text of chapter 10.
V. 1 Weird to think that Israel had not always controlled Jerusalem, and yet here is an enemy king reigning over the prized city of Israel.
Vv. 1-2 A lot to fear. Israel has defeated Jericho and Ai and in the process destroyed them. Now the great city Gibeon has allied themselves with Israel. This scares the existing Canaanites.
Vv. 3-5 10 Canaanite kings gather their forces and look to wipe out Gibeon for turning to this new force in the land.
V. 6-7, 9 Gibeon calls on their new ally quickly, not wasting any time to cry out with the armies of 10 cities bearing down on them. Joshua packs up and comes to their rescue. He marches all night so he can surprise them.
V. 8 God is going before them into battle. It is an interesting turn from the last chapter, where Joshua is tricked into this alliance without permission from God. Now God is protecting this ally and the Israelites.
Vv. 10-11 God is surely with Israel, throwing the Canaanites into a frenzy, causing them to retreat, and even killing more than the Israelites by throwing stones down from the heavens! What a scene!
Vv. 12-15 In the midst of the Lord fighting on the behalf of Israel, Joshua asked God to stop the Sun in the sky so that the battle could continue. Some days, I wish I could get God to do that for me.
Vv. 16-21 The five Amorite kings hide in a caves like cowards. Joshua blocks off the cave so they are stuck inside. Meanwhile, the armies of the Canaanites are obliterated.
Vv. 22-28 Joshua makes an example of the kings who had come against Gibeon and the Israelites. After declaring that God fights on their behalf and to be strong and courageous, he struck and killed the enemy kings. Afterwards, he hung them until the sun went down, where at sunset he threw the remains in the cave they hid in.
Vv. 29-43 We get to see the conquering of all of the kingdoms of southern Canaan. The credit is given to the Lord, that it was the Lord who strengthened them and granted them victory.
Here are some key takeaways from this study:
Sometimes, God works with our mistakes: Joshua and the leaders of Israel made a mistake in chapter 9 by making an alliance with Gibeon without asking God. Without God’s discernment, the Israelites were fooled by actors of Gibeon into a friendship. God desired that all the Canaanites be removed from the land, but now Gibeon will have to stay. This will allow foreign gods and immorality to seep into Israelite society. But we see that God honors this alliance in this instance. As Gibeon is attacked, God declares that he will be with Joshua in defending this new ally. It shows that God will work with our mistakes. He uses evil for good. Disobedience to bring about obedience. And bad leadership to redirect our loyalty not to any human leader, but to the Lord’s guidance for leadership.
The sun stands still: Joshua is fighting the armies of 10 kings. That means there is a lot of work to get done for one day of fighting. So Joshua asks God to make the sun stand still. And it does! For those skeptics out there, I am not here to debate whether or not this actually happened, the geophysics of it and how it could be possible. But there is a certain significance to this moment that we need to take into account. We see the passion of Joshua, working in step with our Warrior God, casting kings and armies out of the Promised Land. Out of that passion, he does not ask for night to come that he may rest until tomorrow, but rather let us go to battle for the Lord today. This is a consistent theme in Joshua. When he sees that the Lord is doing something, he wakes up early or doesn’t want to go to bed. How many of us are checking our watches in church or Bible study? Or who sets their timer for prayer and morning devotional? We almost can’t wait to move on from God! I pray we are a people who, when we are part of the Lord’s doing, pray that the sun may stand still that the work may continue.
The victory is the Lord’s: We see Joshua is credited with conquering all of Southern Canaan. What a great notch in your belt, right? It would be easy enough to say, because Joshua was the perceived leader of the army he would get credit for the victory. But those present and those reading know that it was God who led them into battle and it was God fighting for them that granted the Israelites victory. We are praying that something powerful would come out of this coronavirus. That a great victory may be granted on behalf of the church. When that victory comes, do not forget who granted that victory. It wasn’t any pastor’s leadership or the elder’s wisdom. Victory will not come from human means in any way. This virus should be used to direct us away from dependence on human means. Victory will be granted to those dependent on the Lord, so when the victory come give the Lord all praise, honor, and glory.