When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place; What is man that You think of him, and a son of man that You are concerned about him? - Psalm 8:3-4
Hello again. I trust you all had a great week. This morning’s sermon is titled “Defending the Gibeonites”. It is an offshoot of the story we read last Sunday. In case you have forgotten, let’s go over what we learned then…
An envoy from the nearby city of Gibeon came to Joshua’s headquarters at Gilgal posing as foreigners from a distant land. Without consulting God, Joshua and the leaders of Israel entered into a peace treaty with them, vowing not to kill them in exchange for their servanthood. A few days later, after hearing that these “foreigners” were in fact Canaanites, Joshua led his people to Gibeon to find out the truth. Upon arrival, Israel discovered that they had been tricked into making a peace treaty with their enemies. Nevertheless, because they had sworn the oath on God’s Name they were obligated to honor it.
With this in mind, let’s now move into chapter 10. Joshua and the Israelites have returned to their camp at Gilgal. The Gibeonites are no longer fearful of being attacked, because they have made a binding peace agreement with Israel…
I. 5 KINGS ATTACK GIBEON (Joshua 10:1-5)
Reports of Israel’s conquest continued to spread throughout Canaan. When the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, heard how Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai and made peace with Gibeon he became very fearful. Gibeon was a great city, like a royal city, and its alliance with Israel infuriated the king. How could the mighty Gibeonites betray their own countrymen by submitting themselves to Joshua? Adoni-zedek sent messengers to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon asking them to join him in a coalition to attack the traitorous city of Gibeon. So all 5 of these Amorite kings and their armies gathered together and laid siege upon the Gibeonites.
The city of Gibeon was less than 10 miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. Its surrender to the Israelites was cause for great alarm. Joshua and his forces were making steady progress in their military advance through central Canaan. Despite this grave threat, the alliance of Amorite kings seemed more intent on destroying the Gibeonites than on preparing to face Israel. Their behavior exemplifies the bitter and blinding nature of betrayal, even among non-believers.
Another interesting note… the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, shared a similar name as the former king of Salem, Melchizedek (Genesis 14:8). Salem eventually became known as Jerusalem - both refer to the same city (Psalm 76:2). Adoni-zedek means “lord of righteousness” while Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”.
II. ISRAEL DEFENDS GIBEON (Joshua 10:6-14)
The Gibeonites had come under attack and sent word to Joshua desperately calling for help. According to the terms of their treaty, Israel was obligated to defend the Gibeonites. So Joshua and his army marched all night long from Gilgal to Gibeon, a distance of about 20 miles. Along the way God assured Joshua that these 5 kings would not stand before him. Israel arrived in the early morning hours and immediately joined the battle. The LORD brought confusion upon the Canaanite coalition and they were soundly defeated at Gibeon.
These 5 allied armies began to retreat toward the Valley of Aijalon as Israel relentlessly pursued. Along the way, God rained down large hailstones from heaven upon them so that more died from the hailstones than from Israel’s sword. Joshua asked God to make the sun and moon stand still in the sky so that his army would have more time to destroy their fleeing enemies and prevent them from escaping. God answered by miraculously causing the sun and moon to stop “for about a whole day”. This additional daylight allowed Israel to strike down many more Amorites than otherwise possible and chase them as far south as Azekah and Makkedah.
The account of Israel’s victory over the 5 Amorite kings and the sun and moon standing still in the sky was also recorded in the extra-biblical Book of Jashar. Though there are a few modern books with this title, the original text referred to here has been lost. There are also several accounts of a “long day” in the histories of other ancient cultures that may or may not point to this same event. The Canaanites worshiped the sun and moon, but God demonstrated His power over them by temporarily stopping the earth’s rotation.
III. VICTORY AT MAKKEDAH (Joshua 10:16-28)
During their retreat, the 5 Amorite kings sought refuge in a cave near Makkedah. The Israelite army found them hiding inside and asked Joshua what to do. Joshua instructed them to roll stones in front of the cave’s opening and set a guard there so that they could not escape. After capturing the kings, Israel continued its pursuit. Ultimately, some of the fleeing Canaanites escaped to their fortified cities and survived, but a great number of them were killed. When the chase finally ended, the Israelites returned to Joshua who’d apparently remained at Makkedah.
Joshua ordered that the 5 kings be brought out of the cave to stand before him. He then had all the leaders of Israel’s army come forth one by one and put their feet on the necks of these defeated pagan kings as a means of humiliating them. Joshua told his men to be strong and courageous because God was with them. Afterwards, he killed the kings and hung their bodies on 5 trees until evening. At sunset, he ordered their corpses to be taken down and thrown into the very cave where they’d previously hidden. Stones were then rolled over the mouth of the cave where the king’s bodies were left.
Joshua then set his sights on the city of Makkedah and struck it down as well. He destroyed all of the city’s inhabitants and executed its king also. He left no survivor. Including Makkedah, 6 Canaanite kings were slain in all during this campaign and their armies were largely decimated. Israel had won a great victory.
CONCLUSION
From this point forward, the particular details of individual battles that occurred during the Conquest of Canaan are rather limited. For the most part, the upcoming verses and chapters provide an extensive list that contains all of Joshua’s remaining victories and exploits. We will study these next week. So let me close with this…
Though the stories themselves are very different, I can’t help thinking of another famous cave in scripture. It was the tomb where Jesus’ body was taken after His crucifixion. A stone was rolled in front of it and a guard was posted there also. In sharp contrast, these 5 Amorite kings went into their cave alive but were brought out to their deaths while Jesus was laid dead in His tomb and came out alive!
In today’s passage, we saw that God has power of nature and creation. He temporarily made the sun and moon stand still. But let us also remember that He has power over sin and death. Jesus rose from the dead as the firstfruits of all who have or will trust in Him for their salvation. In Christ we have the assurance of resurrection and eternal life. Will you accept Him today?
Hello again. I trust you all had a great week. This morning’s sermon is titled “Defending the Gibeonites”. It is an offshoot of the story we read last Sunday. In case you have forgotten, let’s go over what we learned then…
An envoy from the nearby city of Gibeon came to Joshua’s headquarters at Gilgal posing as foreigners from a distant land. Without consulting God, Joshua and the leaders of Israel entered into a peace treaty with them, vowing not to kill them in exchange for their servanthood. A few days later, after hearing that these “foreigners” were in fact Canaanites, Joshua led his people to Gibeon to find out the truth. Upon arrival, Israel discovered that they had been tricked into making a peace treaty with their enemies. Nevertheless, because they had sworn the oath on God’s Name they were obligated to honor it.
With this in mind, let’s now move into chapter 10. Joshua and the Israelites have returned to their camp at Gilgal. The Gibeonites are no longer fearful of being attacked, because they have made a binding peace agreement with Israel…
I. 5 KINGS ATTACK GIBEON (Joshua 10:1-5)
Reports of Israel’s conquest continued to spread throughout Canaan. When the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, heard how Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai and made peace with Gibeon he became very fearful. Gibeon was a great city, like a royal city, and its alliance with Israel infuriated the king. How could the mighty Gibeonites betray their own countrymen by submitting themselves to Joshua? Adoni-zedek sent messengers to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon asking them to join him in a coalition to attack the traitorous city of Gibeon. So all 5 of these Amorite kings and their armies gathered together and laid siege upon the Gibeonites.
The city of Gibeon was less than 10 miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. Its surrender to the Israelites was cause for great alarm. Joshua and his forces were making steady progress in their military advance through central Canaan. Despite this grave threat, the alliance of Amorite kings seemed more intent on destroying the Gibeonites than on preparing to face Israel. Their behavior exemplifies the bitter and blinding nature of betrayal, even among non-believers.
Another interesting note… the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, shared a similar name as the former king of Salem, Melchizedek (Genesis 14:8). Salem eventually became known as Jerusalem - both refer to the same city (Psalm 76:2). Adoni-zedek means “lord of righteousness” while Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”.
II. ISRAEL DEFENDS GIBEON (Joshua 10:6-14)
The Gibeonites had come under attack and sent word to Joshua desperately calling for help. According to the terms of their treaty, Israel was obligated to defend the Gibeonites. So Joshua and his army marched all night long from Gilgal to Gibeon, a distance of about 20 miles. Along the way God assured Joshua that these 5 kings would not stand before him. Israel arrived in the early morning hours and immediately joined the battle. The LORD brought confusion upon the Canaanite coalition and they were soundly defeated at Gibeon.
These 5 allied armies began to retreat toward the Valley of Aijalon as Israel relentlessly pursued. Along the way, God rained down large hailstones from heaven upon them so that more died from the hailstones than from Israel’s sword. Joshua asked God to make the sun and moon stand still in the sky so that his army would have more time to destroy their fleeing enemies and prevent them from escaping. God answered by miraculously causing the sun and moon to stop “for about a whole day”. This additional daylight allowed Israel to strike down many more Amorites than otherwise possible and chase them as far south as Azekah and Makkedah.
The account of Israel’s victory over the 5 Amorite kings and the sun and moon standing still in the sky was also recorded in the extra-biblical Book of Jashar. Though there are a few modern books with this title, the original text referred to here has been lost. There are also several accounts of a “long day” in the histories of other ancient cultures that may or may not point to this same event. The Canaanites worshiped the sun and moon, but God demonstrated His power over them by temporarily stopping the earth’s rotation.
III. VICTORY AT MAKKEDAH (Joshua 10:16-28)
During their retreat, the 5 Amorite kings sought refuge in a cave near Makkedah. The Israelite army found them hiding inside and asked Joshua what to do. Joshua instructed them to roll stones in front of the cave’s opening and set a guard there so that they could not escape. After capturing the kings, Israel continued its pursuit. Ultimately, some of the fleeing Canaanites escaped to their fortified cities and survived, but a great number of them were killed. When the chase finally ended, the Israelites returned to Joshua who’d apparently remained at Makkedah.
Joshua ordered that the 5 kings be brought out of the cave to stand before him. He then had all the leaders of Israel’s army come forth one by one and put their feet on the necks of these defeated pagan kings as a means of humiliating them. Joshua told his men to be strong and courageous because God was with them. Afterwards, he killed the kings and hung their bodies on 5 trees until evening. At sunset, he ordered their corpses to be taken down and thrown into the very cave where they’d previously hidden. Stones were then rolled over the mouth of the cave where the king’s bodies were left.
Joshua then set his sights on the city of Makkedah and struck it down as well. He destroyed all of the city’s inhabitants and executed its king also. He left no survivor. Including Makkedah, 6 Canaanite kings were slain in all during this campaign and their armies were largely decimated. Israel had won a great victory.
CONCLUSION
From this point forward, the particular details of individual battles that occurred during the Conquest of Canaan are rather limited. For the most part, the upcoming verses and chapters provide an extensive list that contains all of Joshua’s remaining victories and exploits. We will study these next week. So let me close with this…
Though the stories themselves are very different, I can’t help thinking of another famous cave in scripture. It was the tomb where Jesus’ body was taken after His crucifixion. A stone was rolled in front of it and a guard was posted there also. In sharp contrast, these 5 Amorite kings went into their cave alive but were brought out to their deaths while Jesus was laid dead in His tomb and came out alive!
In today’s passage, we saw that God has power of nature and creation. He temporarily made the sun and moon stand still. But let us also remember that He has power over sin and death. Jesus rose from the dead as the firstfruits of all who have or will trust in Him for their salvation. In Christ we have the assurance of resurrection and eternal life. Will you accept Him today?