This passage ends with the Israelites capturing all five kings whom God delivered into their hands. Joshua told his fighting men to put their feet on the necks of these kings and to kill them. Joshua hung their bodies up on poles until sunset, then took them down and threw them in a cave, putting rocks over the entrance.
This reminds us of the prediction made very early in the Bible, that the descendants of the serpent and the descendants of Eve would always be enemies, but notice the outcome: “I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. One of her descendants will crush your head, and you will bite his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
While our enemies are not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), the forces of evil working in people of this world and the Holy Spirit working in the people of God are always at odds. But Jesus Christ, the descendant of Eve, came to this world and went up on a cross and the serpent, the devil, bit His heel (that is, crucified His flesh). Through Jesus’ death on the cross He put His feet on the serpents’ neck and crushed his head, destroying Satan through His death.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NCV) Since these children are people with physical bodies, Jesus himself became like them. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death--the devil--15 and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.
Question 3. How is the cross of Jesus Christ your guarantee and promise of victory over all enemies, including the final enemy of death? What hope does this give you? Please share your thoughts here:
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Karen writes, "Jesus took all death on the Cross! He was a clear vessel of honor and by taking on all sin, He is the victory over all evil and the evil one! This gives me much hope as I venture in this live, maneuvering relationships and seeking to serve Jesus. I know the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but IT IS FINISHED, battle is the Lord's and was won for us all at the Cross."
Carol writes, "The cross is the ultimate sacrifice. The worst death they had possible. The lowest form of punishment and humiliation. And Jesus the one who was sinless and blameless went there for me. He couldn’t have endured much more man-made suffering than He did. This is huge. He did it for me; so this gives me strength to know that God will defeat my enemies and those of His people. There may be suffering while the battle flows on. There is no guarantee of a pain free time. But if I keep my eye on the goal, keep my eye on the Lord I will be able to endure everything the devil throws at me. Pain and suffering are only a minute in time when compared to eternity. This isn’t my life. This is, as my pastor says, a vacation that went horribly wrong."
Kelly writes, "The one thing in this lesson that realy resonates in my thoughts is the miracalous and unlikely way in which God killed the enemies of Isreal when He caused the sun to stand still for 24 hours while He rained down hail upon them. I imagine Isreal never thought these kings would be destroyed this way and if they were told this is how the battle would be won they probably would not have believed it.
Often times when I'm tempted by sin, satan and the world, I have to remind myself that my victory over these enemies is the miracle of the Cross. Since coming to Setting Captives Free and though being a Christian I wouldn't have believed that the Gospel that Saved me is the Gospel that sanctifes me. Though, as a Christian, I've been saved from the condemnation and guilt of sin, I still need to be continually saved from the enemy of indwelling sin. Yet in every way that we need to be saved from our enemies our salvation and victory comes from the unlikely miracle of the death of God on the Cross."
Let's conclude with this one thought:
"How does this relate to us? We have many things that have to be conquered, like the five kings were conquered. They were hiding in a cave, and we have sins hidden in the inner recesses of our lives, from pride to evil thought patterns. God says we have to expose our sins. We have to put our foot on them in Jesus’ name. We have the right to claim the victory of Jesus Christ in every battle that we face as believers. When we confess our sins, we are exposing them; Jesus is the One who forgives and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)."--Vines Expository Bible Notes