In the book of Joshua, we read about an alliance of five kings who were summoned to help the King of Jerusalem fight against the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites were very anxious and alarmed to see such a strong alliance of king-nations gathering together against them, and so they sent word to Joshua, the leader of Israel, saying the following:
“Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us” (Joshua 10:6).
The Lord was with Joshua and fought for him, so the battle was won: “The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon” (Joshua 10:10).
Now notice what Joshua did with the five captured kings. He instructed his chief fighters:
“‘Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. And Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.’ And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.”
These five kings were hung on trees, and God’s Word had decreed that anyone hung on a tree must not be left on it overnight, for whoever is hung on a tree is under God’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).
The hanging of the five men on the trees was God’s assurance to the soldiers that He was for them, that He would fight their battles, that they would be victorious over all enemies whom they fought. The impression of those men hanging on the trees no doubt stayed with them, giving them the courage that they would be triumphant in their battles.
Like the Gibeonites, we, too, have many things that can cause us to be anxious and fearful. But we turn to the Lord and call upon His Name. Jesus is our Joshua; He bids us come and put our foot on the neck of that which caused us anxiety, and He assures us that it is defeated. Then He shows us a King hanging on a tree. Jesus is our King hanging on the cross, under the curse of God (Galatians 3:13). His death on the cross is the assurance that God is for us, that He will defeat every enemy, that we will be more than conquerors in life because Jesus loved us unto death. Let the impression of Jesus on the cross, and Jesus risen from the dead, stay with you, focus on it, and as you do, it will give you courage in the face of fear. We are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).