Four Lessons in Spiritual Warfare
Text Joshua 10:1-28 Time 06 09 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)
We have looked now at the first nine chapters of the sixth book of the Bible, Joshua. We have had a little break from it and tonight I want us to go back to it and to Chapter 10 verses 1-28. In this chapter once again there is fighting between God's people and the Canaanites or Amorites who they have been commanded to destroy. Things are slightly more complicated at this point as they have been tricked into entering into a covenant with the Gibeonites to protect them and it is a call from Gibeon for help that leads to their battle with the Amorite kings. Nevertheless, here is another reminder of the spiritual battle that we are facing if we are true believers and valuable lessons with regard to going about the task.
There are four main things here.
1. Learn about your enemies from the five Amorite Kings who attack Gibeon
There are three things to notice in verses 1-5
1. Alarm. Notice what alarms our enemies
We read (1, 2) Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.
So two things alarm the people - the defeat of Ai as well as Jericho and the peace treaty that the Gibeonites had entered into. This meant that Israel had taken the central plateau. They had driven a wedge between north and south. Unbelievers are alarmed both when they see Christian arguments winning outright favour or if they feel that others are being influenced by such thinking. If we make any progress at all, our enemies grow agitated.
2. Alliance. Notice that they often band together in an effort to defeat us
We then read how Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to four other Amorite kings Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon saying "Come up and help me attack Gibeon, ... because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." Here the decision is to attack Gibeon rather than the Israelites - to punish them but note the tendency to make alliances.
3. Attack. Expect them to attack us or those who are sympathetic to us or related to us
Verse 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites - the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon - joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it. We can always expect an attack - if not on us then on those we are allied to. Here it is the Gibeonites. For us, we may find family and friends are attacked simply for being associated with us not for actually being believers.
2. Learn about the battle from the needy Gibeonites and the way Joshua comes to save them
We come next to verses 6-8 and again there are three things.
1. Request. As soon as trouble came the Gibeonites call on Joshua as we should call on Jesus
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "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."
2. Response. As soon as Joshua knew the need he came with all his might as Jesus does to us
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.
3. Reassurance. Joshua came reassured that he would be successful - just so Jesus come to us
8 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." What God had said to Joshua at the beginning of the campaign, he says again. We do not need fresh revelation but a reminder of what we already know.
3. Learn about victory - The Amorites defeated by surprise and by miracles
Two things give Joshua and the Israelites victory here. On the one hand there is the tactics used and on the other the miraculous intervention of God. We too need such things to be victorious.
1. Tactics are important
We read in verse 9 that After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. This is part of the reason why they were victorious. As we will note, this is not the only factor but it is a factor. We need to learn the best ways of opposing those who beny the faith and hwo criticie the things we hold to.
2. The work of God is even more important
Some three miracles seem to have occurred during the battle that brought about the victory. Here God himself is seen to be a warrior who fights on Israel's behalf.
1. Confusion
10 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel. This is how Joshua and the Israelites were able to defeat(ed) them completely (the Amorites) at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
2. Hailstones
We read further that (11) As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them, and here is the interesting thing more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
3. The solar stand still
And then in verses 12-14 we read that On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
Now there are at least two reactions to this. On the one hand, some say this is absolutely impossible. There is no way that this can have happened. It is impossible.
On the other, some are so prepared to believe it that they will tell you the story of how NASA computers actually discovered the lost day of Joshua 10.
The story goes something like this - a NASA computer was programmed to calculate planetary positions in the future and the past. While running the program into the past, scientists were amazed when the computer "came to a halt" and put up a red signal that something was wrong. There appeared to be a day missing in space in elapsed time. After some discussion, it was suggested that this missing day might be the time when Joshua made the sun stand still. The computer indicated that "the elapsed time missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes," not a whole day. Someone then produced a Bible and found that it said "about a day." That removed an inconsistency but there was still 40 minutes of time to be accounted for. Someone then remembered II Kings 20, where Isaiah made the shadow of the sun return backward 10 degrees to impress the dying Hezekiah. "10 degrees is exactly 40 minutes ... Isn't that amazing?"
The story originally appeared in "Mary Kay's Kollum" (by Mary Kathryn Bryan) in the Spencer, Indiana Evening World, October 10, 1969. Other papers picked it up. The story credited a "Mr. Harold Hill" as its source. He was described as a "consultant in the space program" and "President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Md".
Someone checked and found that Hill's company had a contract to maintain two small diesel engines that powered backup electrical generators for a building at The Goddard Space Flight Centre. When someone at Goddard enquired he found no evidence of the story and wondered if someone had passed it on in an attempt to wind up Hill. At the time computer programs were very expensive and only predicted future planetary positions for space missions for the next few years. NASA had absolutely no reason to calculate past planetary positions. The story also assumes greater accuracy than was then possible. There is no hint of this story in any science journals. When Hill himself was asked to verify the story he claimed to be unable to find the source that he had used.
The story probably comes from a 1936 book by a man called Harry Rimmer called The Harmony of Science and Scripture. He credits a very similar story to "a book by Prof C A Totten of Yale, written in 1890." He also asserts, without documentation, that "Sir Edwin Ball, the great British astronomer, found that 24 hours had been lost out of solar time." Totten turns out to have been a "Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Yale" who wrote on Joshua 10. Presumably Hill had read this story at some point and thinking he was helping Christ's cause modernised it a little to give it credibility. Not a good idea. As one sceptic comments these stories have "all the characteristics of modern "urban folk tales", such as the "alligators in the sewer" stories." They lack internal logic.
We do not need to go looking for evidence that Joshua 10 is true. We simply accept it by faith. Given that we do not know how it was done exactly that has to be the way forward. It is not even entirely clear whether the darkness was extended or the light. The important thing is that God miraculously intervened and that is a reminder of the importance of looking to God.
The lesson is that God will give us victory over our enemies. All we need to do is to look to him. He is unlikely to do anything miraculous but he does wonderful things to this day. Prayer is essential in spiritual warfare.
4. Consider the sequel - the enemy completely defeated and crushed and Israel's commanders encouraged
The rest of the story is in verses 15-28. A number of things happen. Again the story is full of lessons.
1. How good when our enemies are completely defeated
In verses 15-20 we read how Joshua and his army returned ... to the camp at Gilgal. We are told that the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. When Joshua learned of this he ordered that large rocks be rolled up to the mouth of the cave, and men posted outside to guard it. Meanwhile the rest of the Amorites had to be pursued and attacked from the rear not allowing them reach their cities, for said Joshua the LORD your God has given them into your hand. And (20) So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely, although a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities.
Sometimes great victories are won for the gospel. Be thankful when such things happen.
2. How good when God's people are encouraged
21-25 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and for that period no one even uttered a word against the Israelites. Joshua then commanded the cave be opened and the five kings brought to him - the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. Joshua then got the kings to lie down and got the army commanders who had come with him to put their feet on the necks of the(se) kings. (25) Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."
Joshua takes the opportunity then to show his commanders where this is all heading. This is the future he says. Take courage from it; be strengthened. Don't be afraid. This is what God is going to do with all your enemies. Yes, it was only a symbolic action but it wa s real symbolism.
3. How good when our enemies are crushed
26-28 Finally, Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles. They were left hanging on the poles until evening. At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles bodies were not to be hung up overnight. They then threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which the writer says are there to this day. Finally there is a footnote - That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Some days we do see stunning victories over sin and over the devil. Be glad when we do.
