Please read Joshua 10:1-28 for today’s lesson.
At this point in the narrative, the nation of Israel is strong; they have heard the reading of God’s law, spent time in worship and renewed their covenant with God.
Now, we find that during the Israelites time of renewal, numerous kings in the area had banded together against Israel and were going to come against Gibeon (the nation who had made a peace treaty with Israel). Naturally the Gibeonites were afraid, and so they called out to the Israelites to honor the treaty, come to their rescue, and fight these five kings.
It’s very important to know that making a peace treaty with God and His people, coming under the New Covenant of grace, will mean instant hostility from the world. It will bring many battles. You will discover people who might have previously been your friend will now be against you.
This has happened since the beginning when Cain turned against his brother Abel, and it should not surprise us when it happens to us today. “Brothers and sisters, do not be surprised when the people of the world hate you” (1 John 3:13).
Question 1. Have you experienced a situation like the Gibeonites did where, for your aligning yourself with Jesus and His people, the world has treated you as an enemy? Please share your experience here:
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Karen writes, "It is amazing to me how we can talk about any spirituality and people have open hearts and ears an then at the mention of the name of Jesus, they get offended. I have been attacked and criticized for my faith."
Kelly writes, "It's interesting to have this question in the modern culture we live in now. The Lord saved me from Homosexuality among other sins yet Homosexuality has now become an accepted way of life protected by the constitution of the United States. In other words another Sin has now become the Law of the Land. It seems since this has happened Christians were immediately targetted with hate and attacks for our stand against Sin and our stand on the God given meaning of marriage and family."
For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of these Gibeonites. Numerous kings (nations) had banded together to attack Gibeon and overthrow it. The Gibeonites were afraid. They did not see a way to win, apart from the help of God and His people.
And so the Israelites honored their treaty with Gibeon and sent help to them. But if you read this passage you know that the battle was not the Israelites, it was the Lord’s. It was won by God and not by man, the proof being that the sun stood still for 24 hours and God rained down hail from heaven in order to win the victory for Israel and Gibeon.
Look into your life just now. Do you see difficulties that seem larger than your ability to handle? Looking at your future, you know you will face battles in life that are beyond your ability and your strength, and would no doubt cause despair if you dwelled on all that could happen.
That’s why this chapter of Joshua is so very important. When the Israelites watched the 5 kings band together to fight them, when they felt they had no way to win, they simply followed the Lord and He fought the battle for them. God has miraculous ways to fight on your behalf, to win every battle for you, to strengthen you and encourage your heart. “My body and my mind may become weak, but God is my strength. He is mine forever” (Psalm 73:26).
Friend, as a believer in Jesus, God intends to make you “more than a conqueror through Him Who loved you” (Romans 8:37). When you see things coming together that seem to be against you, remember that God is for you. Notice how, from Romans 8:31-32, the cross of Jesus Christ is the proof that God is for you! “So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can defeat us. 32 He did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things” (Romans 8:31-32).
“It was to Israel’s advantage to be still for a while, so that the forces of these little kings might unite in one body and then all be destroyed together more easily at one fell swoop. God had this in mind when he put it into their hearts to combine forces against Israel. Although they intended to strengthen one another, God intended them to gather as sheaves onto the floor and then to be threshed together” (Micah 4:12—Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Joshua 10).
And so through God’s miraculous assistance (sun and hail), the Gibeonites were delivered from certain devastation and destruction. No matter that there were five kings gathered together against them, God is able to deliver, He is able to save. “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” (2 Corinthians 1:10 ESV).
Question 2. Do you see the hope of putting your faith in God to deliver you from all troubles and problems in life? How will this help you face these things in the future?
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Franklin writes, "I hadn't noticed before or remembered that God also had the sun stand still and used hail against these enemies and had His armies up againt the five kings, God was really "bringing the thunder" here. I know nothing is impossible for my Lord when He does such amazing acts like these. That's encouraging to be reminded that God has handled much more complicated situations than just my situation!"
Carol writes, "I do know that if I give over my troubles to God, He will handle them. It is hard sometimes to wait on His solution but I tell myself He has it. If it is meant to be it will. In the past I may have forced the issue but now I wait. Now I wait to see what happens. I am learning to trust in the Lord. It is hard but I am trying."
Kelly writes, "When I read how God led these 5 Kings to join together in one place to be destroyed at one time in one swoop my mind immediately goes to the Cross. We know that it was God's plan all along since before time to put Jesus to death for our sins Isaiah 53:11. Not only was it His will to put the Lord to death the means in which that was to happen was the will of God as well.
Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Just as these kings were led by God to band together in order to destroy them at one time in one swoop, God led our enemies, Sin, Satan, Death and the World to band together to destroy the Lord and they all united at the Cross. Yet in that place and in one miracalous swoop the Lord Jesus defeated them all when He died on the Cross for our sins. God caused the sun to stand still that He may rain down hail on the Israels enemies just as He caused His Son to hang still on the Cross as He hailed down the fury of His wrath upon Him as He became sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21, that we may now claim victory over every enemy in our life."