Joshua: If God is For Us Passage: Joshua 10:1-43 Calvary Baptist Church Sunday, January 28, 2018 Pastor Ben Marshall Key Goals: (Know) God is in the heavens and does as He pleases. (Feel) We can feel confidence in the power and might of God. (Do) We can live and pray with confidence in the sovereignty of God. Welcome: This past weekend, Connie and I were able to go to the Grand Canyon. If you ve never been there, you need to visit. It is incredible. We were there, and honestly, at first it felt like we were still in Michigan. We woke up in the morning to a snowstorm but went to the Grand Canyon anyway. We couldn t see very much. It was hard to see through the snowstorm and clouds. We were excited to go the Grand Canyon, but we were also excited to have some time to relax and read books. We took advantage of the snowstorm and clouds to sit in the car with the heat on and read for a while. It was actually very relaxing. But all of a sudden, as I was in the middle of a sentence, a bird crowed. I looked up and out the window toward the canyon. The strong winds that had been rocking our car had pushed away the snowstorm and the clouds, and the clouds had released the sun to shine down over the Grand Canyon. Visibility had gone from a couple hundred feet to a few miles. It was the most incredible experience. Standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon makes you feel small and insignificant. It brings to mind the greatness of God. You re left with this jaw-dropping, aweinspiring worship of God and the understanding that Only God could do this It is that same understanding that fills the Israelites in their conquest of the Promised Land: Only God could do this When the people didn t follow the Word of God and when they didn t ask counsel from God, they lost the battle at Ai and the people from Gibeon deceived them. But, when they followed His Word and His plan, they couldn t lose. Only God could do this. God is far beyond us and our ability to comprehend the whys and the hows of what goes on in this world. When we re going through hard times, we often don t understand how we re going to get through. We don t see things like God sees them, but, through His Word, we get a glimpse at the way God sees things. Everything is for His glory and His Name. God sees your singleness differently than you do. God sees your marital struggle differently than you do. God sees your doubt differently than you do. God sees your temptation differently than you do. He is not intimidated, surprised, or overwhelmed. He has a plan and He is at work. If God is for us, who could be against us (Romans 8:31)? Psalm 115:3 says, Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. He doesn t always do what we want Him to do. He doesn t have to! He doesn t always follow our plan. He doesn t have to! He doesn t always give us what we want. He doesn t have to! God does what He pleases. Do you know what He pleases? He pleases to provide a Savior, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God; to not just provide, but to be love, and to never take that love away; to call those who believe in Jesus Christ His sons and daughters; to give all His children an inheritance with Jesus Christ; to forgive us when we turn from our sins and turn to Jesus; to celebrate, with all of heaven, when a person far from God draws near to Him and receives forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Word: Let s see what we can learn about God today from Joshua 10. COALITION AGAINST ISRAEL Joshua 10:1-5 1 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the 1 All Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.
inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel. 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. There is a repeated theme of hearing through much of this chapter and the book of Joshua. The Canaanites have heard what God is doing through the Israelites. Early in the book it meant their hearts had melted. At this point in the conquest, it shows itself in a different way. We have to wonder if these kings had heard of the Israelites defeat at Ai the first time around and thought they had a chance to win this battle. The coalition of kings compared Gibeon, a mighty city, with Ai. Ai was no pushover. They must have also been a mighty city. This is contrasted with Joshua 7:3b Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few, which described Ai as small and not very great. However, if we recall the second battle with Ai in Joshua 8, the city was allied with Bethel. When Israel attacked Ai, they also attacked Bethel, which made this a mighty city with a mighty alliance. Gibeon was an even greater city than these two combined, and yet they had desired to make peace with Israel instead of war. Gibeon understood their only chance at survival had to be peace. These five kings wanted none of it. They decided to form a coalition of forces to go fight against Gibeon. They had heard of Israel and the God of Israel, and they were certainly frightened. Instead of giving up, they determined their best chance of success was to take the battle to Gibeon. TREATY WITH GIBEON TESTED Joshua 10:6-7 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us. 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. The deception of the Gibeonites caught up with Israel quickly, after they wrongly made a treaty. Gibeon was attacked and called on the treaty Israel made to protect them. What did Israel do? Would they honor the treaty? They could have taken their time and been slow in response or they could have not responded at all. This potentially would have ended their treaty because Gibeon would be destroyed by the coalition. Their response shows the integrity of Joshua as the leader of Israel. Oath taking and swearing are solemn affairs in the Old Testament. To take an oath the Hebrew words for swear and oath are from the same root: šbʿ was to give one s sacred and unbreakable word that he would follow through on what was promised. 2 Israel owned the consequences for their sin. Joshua went with all his mighty men of valor to keep the treaty intact. This treaty lasted many years, even through King Saul and King David. There was a three-year famine described in 2 Samuel 21:1 that came about because of bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death. The Israelites responded and went to battle on behalf of Gibeon. GOD GOES TO BATTLE AND ANSWERS PRAYER Joshua 10:8-15 And the LORD said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you. 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the 2 Howard, David M., Jr., The New American Commentary: Joshua, p 229.
LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword. 12 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. 15 So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. Again, as we ve seen in every battle the Israelites won, the focus was not on the battle or the Israelites, but God giving them victory. The LORD told Joshua not to fear for I have given them into your hands. God had already won the fight; Joshua and the Israelites had to fight from that victory and claim it. The surprise attack from Israel, confusion and great hailstones sent by God, and then a pursuit of the enemy over much ground shows that this certainly had to have been a large enemy force. Joshua, with a desire to end the battle that day and claim victory for the LORD, prayed a mighty but simple prayer of faith. There were no qualifiers or limiters on his prayer. He simply prayed that God would extend the day literally that the sun would cease in its course so they could finish the battle and completely destroy the enemy. He understood the power of the God of Israel, the Creator God, who is the same God we worship and serve today. God listened to Joshua and secured the Israelite victory through supernatural events that are difficult to explain outside of the sovereignty and power of God in Heaven who does what He pleases. The day was made longer by a miracle and the battle was won. Verse 14 shows God heeded, or obeyed, the voice of a man, and nothing before or since has happened like it. The original Hebrew in this passage is šāmaʿ bĕqôl, meaning to listen to or to obey. 3 This language is used only three times in the Old Testament: (1) Numbers 21:3, 4 where God listened to or obeyed the nation of Israel s plea to gain victory over the Canaanites; (2) this passage in Joshua 10:14; (3) 1 Kings 17:22, 5 where God listened to or obeyed the voice of Elijah to bring the young boy back to life. This is a special kind of response that has only been recorded three times. It is remarkable and showed that God again honored Joshua s leadership of Israel. God listened to Joshua s prayer in 10:12, and the following verses revealed how God responded. He still listens and responds to prayer today. The power of one praying person is great, not because of the person but because of our all-powerful God. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16b). Verse 15 does not chronologically fit here, but is used as a transition, closing off one section of narrative and moving to another. It is exactly the same as verse 43, which ends this chapter. 6 The five kings, confident and powerful with their armies, had fled into a cave. Joshua trapped them in the cave and then dealt with them just like he had the previous kings of Ai and Jericho. Let s pick up the story in verse 25. ABSOLUTE VICTORY FOR THE ISRAELITES Joshua 10:25-28, 42-43 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. 26 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. 27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them 3 Howard, 250. 4 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah. 5 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 6 Howard, 250.
down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. 28 As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. Joshua and the Israelites completely destroyed this coalition of kings fighting against them. Joshua encouraged the nation again with the words God had spoken to him in chapter 1 about being strong and courageous, not being afraid. How often God must remind us of that! We aren t fearless, strong, or courageous on our own, but only when we live in the truth that the One True, all-powerful God is fighting for us! Verses 29-40 describe Joshua and the Israelites as they conquered all of the hill country and southern Canaan. Joshua concluded this particular campaign only after he had subdued and destroyed the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes (v. 40). Wrap Up: There is a lot going on in Joshua 10. What are some things we can learn from this text? First, God is at work in every situation of our lives. Today, God is at work in your life. Sometimes it doesn t feel like it because we can t see it; but know this: God is always at work. God is at work in every circumstance and situation of your life. You are never alone and you are never forgotten. God s plans and ways are higher than our ability to understand. Just because we can t see it, or it doesn t feel like it, doesn t mean God is inactive. Connie and I were sitting in that car, oblivious to the way God was using the wind to push away the clouds. Only when we looked up did we see what God had been doing behind the scenes. God is always at work, even when we don t see it. Maybe the work God is doing in your life right now is having you be here this morning. God is trying to speak to you, trying to draw you to Himself, but you have been resisting. God wants to be in relationship with each one of us. Every single one of us needs Jesus Christ even more those who have believed or received Him as Lord and Savior. Second, pray with simple confidence in the sovereign plan and power of God. Joshua s prayer in verses 12-13 is an incredible depiction of simple confidence that God is in the heavens and does as He pleases. Joshua was following the Word of God and prayed that God would help him and all Israel defeat the enemy as God had spoken to them to do. This wasn t Joshua praying for what he wanted, but for the purpose and glory of God. Why don t we pray with this kind of conviction and confidence? The Bible tells us many different times how we can pray with conviction and confidence. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. The delight in the LORD comes first, and then the desires of your heart (because your desires will be the desires of God when you are delighting yourself in Him!). Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Joshua definitely showed this faith. John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Joshua was abiding in the words of God and following His plan. God responded and did what Joshua requested. James 4:2-3 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
God hears and responds to the simple prayers of faith from the righteous person following after Him. God doesn t answer every prayer just as we would or as we want Him to, but we can take confidence in knowing that He hears and responds to His sons and daughters as they abide in Him. Calvary Baptist Church of Holland Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to use and reproduce this material in any format for spiritual, non-commercial purposes. We only ask that you do not alter the content in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. Please include the following statement on any distributed material: by Ben Marshall. Calvary Baptist Church of Holland.