Joshua 11

Joshua 11 - Conquest of the Northern Cities

Before we begin our study of Joshua 11, perhaps we need to consider the objections by many atheists and others to the slaughter of men, women and children by the Israelites in Canaan - was this "genocide" or was it God's judgment upon those living in Canaan?

1. First, if the Canaanites were allowed to live, they would draw Israel away from worship of Yahweh to worship idols, Baal, practice temple prostitution, commit child sacrifices and all the rest that was so prevalent in Canaan. That would fit in perfectly with Satan's plan and, in fact, we find in later years, his plan succeeded, which resulted in the removal of the northern kingdom of Israel.
2. Second, the Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. They had passed the point of redeemability, and were ripe for judgment.
3. Third, God wanted to ensure the Israelites did not contaminate the seed line with the Nephilim, born of intercourse between fallen angels and human women. I list several web sites at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html on this topic.
4. I direct you to a further study of this subject which does not include reference to the Nephilim at:
   Yahweh War and the Conquest of Canaan - The Charge of Genocide by Rick Wade: www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.6479729/k.8890/Yahweh_War_and_the_Conquest_of_Canaan.htm

Below are images of Joshua's campaigns and maps of the areas.

Above image from Sermon/Study Guide: Joshua by Steve Hixon: www.hixonstudies.com/studyguides/joshua_sg00.asp

Source of above image: http://souljournaler.blogspot.com/2010/06/examining-scripture-xxxvi-divide.html

(1)When King *Jabin of **Hazor heard ***what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of ****Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of *****Acshaph;

• *Jabin means "intelligent." Jabin was a title like "Pharaoh" and "Caesar" rather than a person's name. The same name or title occurs in Judges 4:2.
• **Hazor:
  
  •   
  • Historians believe that Hazor was the most powerful of all of these cities being located along the main trade route. The main highway to travel from Egypt to Europe or the western part of Asia ran through Hazor; so, this city was probably rich through trade along this route. This was the largest walled city of Canaan. Jericho covered about 6 or 7 acres while Hazor covered about 200 acres. Apparently the Israelis did not occupy this site because in Judges 4 it is a powerful Canaanite stronghold again.
  • Hazor has now been more thoroughly excavated than almost any other ancient site. Keller indicates that no fewer than 21 stages of development can be distinguished in the city Hazor, indicating that at least 21 cities occupied that same area, each one erected over the rubble of the previous cities.
• ***what had happened: The southern and central campaigns: Joshua 10:40-43. Along with the defeat of Pharaoh, the defeat of Og and Sihon and their kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan River.
• ****Madon was a Canaanite city on a hill overlooking Lake Tiberias. It is the mountain from which Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
• *****Acshaph means “a place of sorcery”.

(2) all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee; the kings in the Galilean foothills; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west;

(3) the *kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the land of **Mizpah.

• *kings of Canaan:
• The Canaanites were an evil, depraved people who engaged in child sacrifice. Is there any real difference between the Canaanites sacrificing their children to their gods and the muslims sacrificing their children to Allah and calling them martyrs? Listen to Muslim mothers hoping for more children to die for Allah. And, how about mothers aborting their children because they were "an inconvenience"? Canaan, because of its sin, was to be devoted to destruction. And Israel was to be the instrument of God for the carrying out His judgment.
• **Mizpah: This place name means “watch tower”. This was a very common name and its location is uncertain, possibly related to verse 8.
• Now, we see all of the people that God had promised to give Israel are gathered against Israel. They could all be classed as Canaanites. Each had their own tribal names like Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite and Hivite.
• 24 cities are mentioned, but Jabin contacted virtually everyone who had not yet been conquered by the Israelites.
• The important thing to remember here is that these groups were not all part of the same family. They were different "nations" with different backgrounds that happen to live in the same area. History teaches us that these groups constantly fought amongst each other. The only reason they were uniting was to fight a common enemy.

(4) All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde.
And with all their horses and *chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.

• This is a much superior force than the armies of the southern kingdoms and much larger and vastly superior to Joshua's forces. When we win battles against Satan, he brings out his "big guns" in an attempt to defeat us and our testimony.
• Such an army should be able to easily defeat Joshua's forces, but they were to discover, as others both before and since have done, that "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong" (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
• The size and might of this assembly only made its overthrow the more notorious and demonstrated more evidently that it was the Almighty who fought for Israel.
• *chariots: Chariots were the ultimate military weapon of that day. In the light of Judges 4:3, it is highly probable that the chariots commanded by Jabin were of iron and armed with terrible scythes like the Persian scythed chariots below, to cut down men as they drove along. They were effective only on relatively flat ground with plenty of room to maneuver such as a large valley, not in the area Joshua fought them.
  
• Deuteronomy 20:1,4: “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! ... For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’
• Judges 4:3: Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.

(5) The kings *joined forces and established their camp around the water near **Merom to fight against Israel.

• *joined forces: The reason they were willing to fight together is, they knew individually they had no chance against Israel.
• **Merom was a shallow lake about 5 miles west of the Sea of Galilee in a mountainous area about 4,000 feet in elevation which was drained in the early 1950's. It was not a location where chariots could be used in battle - chariots couldn’t maneuver in the hills. It was probably a chosen as a good place to gather and develop strategy before attacking the Israelites in a valley area. Below is a picture from Wikipedia of the drained area in modern times - an area where chariots couldn't well function:
  

(6) Then the Lord said to Joshua, “*Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must *cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

• *Do not be afraid. Would you be afraid if you were facing an overwhelmingly large well-equipped army determined to exterminate you? Is this command starting to sound familiar? This is YHWH’s battle and victory, not Israel’s. But, Joshua must act quickly - God helps and directs but expects the Israelites to act.
• *cripple their horses and burn their chariots: "Hough" (Hock) in the KJV, means hamstring or exterminate.
  
  • God did not want His people to come to rely on horses and war chariots in the future.
  • Some like to think that the horses were just crippled, but a blow with a sword that severed the key tendon would also have severed the artery. Partial hocking would have required much more time and patience. It was this hocking of the horses that deprived the enemy of their chance to escape. They fled on foot and were no match whatever for the hardened soldiers of Joshua.
  • Deuteronomy 17:16: “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’
  • 2 Samuel 8:4: David captured 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.
  • 1 Chronicles 18:4: David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.
  • Psalm 20:7: Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
  • Psalm 33:16-17: The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory - for all its strength, it cannot save you.
  • Proverbs 21:31: The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

(7) So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked *suddenly.

• *suddenly: Joshua got there quicker than the Canaanites had expected and caught them unprepared and by surprise. Joshua doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do. He surprises the alliance. He does it in the mountains where the chariots are useless. God must have alerted Joshua to get there quickly before they had a chance to organize and develop a plan. How did Joshua know the alliance had gathered there?
• Taken by surprise, and hemmed in between the mountains and the lake, the chariots and horses would have no time to deploy and no room to act effectively; and thus, in all probability, the unwieldy host of the Canaanites fell at once into hopeless confusion. Israel’s sudden attack and the tight quarters made the chariots and horses more of a liability to the Canaanites. There apparently were routes of escape, and the Israelites were able to chase them down.

(8) And *the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Greater **Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was
left alive.

• *the Lord gave them victory: The victory was as result of the Captain of the Lord's army, not just Joshua. Without Him, Joshua would have been sent back over the Jordan and out of the Promised Land - if he and his army had even survived.
• Romans 8:31: What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
• **Sidon was the major city of the Phoenicians who were basically at that time Northern Canaanites. Sidon was the contemporary capital of Phoenicia, but later it was Tyre. It was from Sidon that the apostle Paul sailed for Rome (Acts 27:3-4)
  

(9) Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.

(10) Joshua then turned back and captured *Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.)

• *Hazor was destroyed first because they were the ones who had put this coalition army together against Israel. It seems that this city, though burnt, was built again and inhabited by Canaanites, who had a king over them of the same name in the times of Deborah, (Judges 4:2).

(11) The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.

(12) Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.

• It appears, that some of the cities Joshua had already destroyed all the people in, had been repopulated with other people. He now burns Hazor with fire to keep this from happening here.

(13) But the Israelites did not *burn any of the towns built on **mounds except ***Hazor, which Joshua burned.

• *burn: The only cities listed in Joshua to be burned were Hazor, Jericho and Ai.
• **mounds is the Hebrew term “tel” (as in Tel Aviv) or "ruin". The largest "tel" in Israel is Hazor.
• ***Hazor: The archaeologist Garstang found the ashes of this fire, with pottery evidence that it had occurred about 1400 B.C. An Amarna Tablet, written to Pharaoh, 1380 B.C. by the Egyptian envoy in north palestine, says, "Let my lord the king recall what Hazor and its king have already had to endure." Great layers of ashes were also found from Joshua's time in Jericho, Bethel, Lachis and Debir. Even though Joshua burned Hazor, it was later rebuilt and continued to harass Israel during the days of the judges. It was later part of Solomon's kingdom (1 Kings 9:15) and was eventually captured by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29). A vast metropolis of 40,000 people, many times the size of Jerusalem in David's day.

(14) And the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for themselves. But they killed all the people, leaving no survivors.

(15) As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.

• This is the key to Joshua's victories.

(16) So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire *Negev, the whole area around the town of **Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills.

• *Negev is the dry semi-desert region in southern Canaan. It was uninhabited except for shepherds and flocks.
• **Goshen refers to an area in the hill country of Judah, not the area in Egypt where Joseph's family was allowed to live.
• Deuteronomy 1:6-8: “When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

(17) The Israelite territory now extended all the way from *Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as **Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories,

• *Mount Halak (literally, "the bare" or "smooth mountain") is a mountain or mountain range in the central Negev. It seems to be between the wilderness of Zin and Seir. It was part of the boundary between Judah’s allotment and the nation of Edom.
• **Baal-gad: Baal was the male fertility god of Canaan. Every town had its own worship altar. Many of the towns of Canaan had the male god Baal or the female Asherah or Astarte in their names. The term “gad” apparently meant “good fortune”. In reality, Baal is none other than Satan himself.
• Verse 17 reveals the northern limits of Joshua’s conquest. More was given by YHWH, but not taken by Israel.

(18) waging war for a *long time to accomplish this.

• *long time: About 7 years. Seven years can be calculated because the scripture gives us benchmarks with Caleb’s age at various points:
  
  • Caleb was 40 years old when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and rebelled against the Lord at Kadesh Barnea
    (Joshua 14:7).
  • 38 years passed from the rebellion in Kadesh Barnea until they crossed the Jordan River (Deuteronomy 2:14).
  • Joshua 14:10 say that Caleb was 85 years old when the conquest of Canaan was over. 85-38-47=7.

(19) No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated.

(20) For the Lord *hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were
completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

• *hardened their hearts:
  
  • Maybe this is why the Arabs and Palestinians and others cannot make peace with the Jews. Maybe their evil nature is pushing them in the path of their own destruction. How long will the Jews go on letting themselves be victimized and only retaliating in a limited fashion whenever innocent citizens of Israel are killed?
  • The hardening of men’s hearts is when God gives man up to the sin that is in his heart (Romans 1:24-28).
  • God hardened the Canaanites’ hearts, not to keep them from repenting, but to prevent them from surrendering to Israel in unrepentance. The examples of Rahab and the Gibeonites demonstrate the unchanging purpose of God that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). As in the case of Pharaoh, God may be said to harden the hearts of those who harden their own.
  • Paul mentioned this in Romans, and it appears that a course of wickedness willingly pursued by a sinner will result, even in these present times, in God's disabling, darkening or hardening his mind so that, having already chosen evil, the hardened soul is incapable of intelligent decisions. Even a fool, for instance, should have known better than to rush into the Red Sea following Israel's crossing, but Pharaoh, whose heart the Lord had hardened, went right in with his whole army, only to be drowned! Just so, here it seems that the "intelligent" Jabin should already have caught on from the instances of Jericho and Beth-horon that God Himself was helping Israel. Therefore, when this "intelligent" sinner formed his coalition against Israel, he merely proved what a fool he was! Just so, today, there are men with high positions of academic, political or social power who are BLIND indeed to the simple truth of Christianity. Why? They love evil; they have already elected evil as their preferred course. And God has hardened their hearts!
    
    • 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

(21) During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of *Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns.

• *Anak: The word means "long necked" or "tall". The Anakim were a race of giants, greatly feared by the 10 spies.
  
  • Genesis 6:4: In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
  • Numbers 13:22,33: Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) ... We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
  • Joshua 15:14: Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
  • The word "giants" in the King James version is "Nephilim". These are the descendants of the second incursion of evil angels (Genesis 6:4) through one, Anak. See Bullinger's Appendix 23 and 25. The term "Anak" occurs also in Numbers 13:22, Deuteronomy 3:2 and Joshua 15:14.
  • Consider, among many others, the legend of Hercules - the product of Zeus and a human woman. They still existed in the day of David, Goliath being one of them.
  • Here, the foes of 40 years ago fall. They were no match for an army that was blessed and directed by God.
  • There seem to be three names used in the Old Testament to describe these very tall people: (1) Nephilim (Genesis 6:4); (2) Rephaim (Genesis 14:5; 15:20; Joshua 12:4; 13:12); and (3) Anakim (Numbers 13:22,28; Deuteronomy 1:28; 9:2; Judges 1:20).
  • Joshua 12:21 lists Taanach and Megiddo as being among the cities captured by Joshua, showing that many military operations carried on by Joshua must have been passed over here in silence.

(22) None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though
some still remained in Gaza, *Gath, and Ashdod.

• These were three of the five principalities of the Philistines, and were never conquered and possessed by Israel.
• *Gath:
  
  • Shuwardata, governor of Gath, is also mentioned in the following letter from a man named Milkilu, a prince of Gezer, with whom he was allied: “Let it be known to the king that there is great hostility against me and against Shuwardata. I ask the king, my lord, protect his land from the approaching Hapiru.”
  • The giant Goliath whom David fought was from Gath; so, Joshua and the children of Israel must not at this point in time have actually killed every single one of these Anakim, or giants, from the city of Gath:
    
    • 1 Samuel 17:4: Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!

(23) So Joshua *took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He
gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among
the tribes. So the land finally had **rest from war.

• *took control of the entire land:
  
  • Their power has been broken and the main cities destroyed. Once the tribes were assigned their territories, they were to remove or destroy the remaining. In Judges chapters 1-3, there were more to be removed.
  • There were two parts to an effective conquest of Canaan:
    
    • 1. Joshua defeated the main military forces of the Canaanites and captured or destroyed the major walled cities.
    • 2. Each individual tribe had to possess its allotted land by faith.
• **rest: Hebrews 4:8-10: Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
• The time of peace and rest is not the final reality. This is a “dress rehearsal” for the ultimate Sabbath rest–heaven.
• What Joshua could not yet see is that the greater Joshua, Jesus Christ, was yet to come. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God conquers our great enemy, which is the guilt and power of sin. Through his resurrection, Jesus will conquer even death itself. The reality is that the Canaanites were not Israel’s greatest foe. No, sin and death are our greatest enemies, and Jesus Christ came and defeated them both, casting them forever from that good land where we at long last will receive everything God has promised to us. If God promised an earthly inheritance to Israel–the land–he’s promised a much greater inheritance to us, an eternal Sabbath and heavenly rest. And just as Israel’s great general, Joshua, oversaw the conquest of the land and the defeat of all the Canaanites, so too greater Joshua (Jesus) has conquered death and the grave and won for us entrance into heaven itself. And there we will enter our Sabbath rest, we will be at peace forever, as we dwell in the glorious presence of the Lord Jesus himself.
• Joshua 13:1-7: When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. This is the territory that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and the Geshurites, and the larger territory of the Canaanites, extending from the stream of Shihor on the border of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron. It includes the territory of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The land of the Avvites in the south also remains to be conquered. In the north, the following area has not yet been conquered: all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the Sidonians), stretching northward to Aphek on the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites and all of the Lebanon mountain area to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath; and all the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you. Include all this territory as Israel’s possession when you divide this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
• Later, problems developed because (1) Israel did not kill all of the Canaanites and they reasserted themselves and recaptured some of their old fortresses or (2) the individual tribes never fully finished the task of conquest. There are hints of this failure in Joshua 13 and Judges 1.
• Joshua 17:13: Later, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.
• 

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. We must look to the Lord to fight our battles.
2. We must be obedient to the Lord’s commandments if we are to walk in the blessing and victory which is our inheritance in Christ.
3. While the "war tactics" is interesting from a historical aspect, it is not the focus of this lesson. The important point is that the Israelites trusted in God and He led them to victory over their enemies. The idea for us is that we can win over situations that are way too big for us to handle on our own if we are willing to turn it over to God.
4. At the end of our life, God wants us to look back at our life and say "we have made a difference for Him." The idea is that we have accomplished what God wanted to do through us. This generation of Israelites has done "just that" by conquering the land as God required them to.
5. God called Joshua to conquer the land and for the most part, and by the end of this chapter, Joshua has accomplished this assignment. God may call on you or me to be involved in some project for Him. The question is not so much the "what", but are we being loyal to what God called us to do.
6. The point for us is that in the things we do for God, the ultimate victory is guaranteed. As the battles are being won for God in our life, the point is we do achieve victory for God whether we see the end results or not. We are to be loyal to what God has called us to do and let Him worry about the results.
7. The Bible is full of stories of people winning battles that "without God's help" they never would have won. David defeating Goliath comes to mind. The point is this chapter in Joshua is not an isolated example of the Israelites taking on "something" that is bigger than them.
8. The lesson of this chapter is about trusting God with a situation that is "too big too handle" on our own. It is another way of showing our complete dependence upon God especially when whatever is in front of us is way to big to defeat on our own.
9. Remember who's the "power behind the throne" with these northern kings - Satan himself. And our battle too is - "...not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12).
10. Joshua’s confidence lay not in his own military skill, nor in the valor of his men, but in the sure promise of the One whom he served. The assault which he made upon the Canaanite northern kings was in compliance with the orders which he had received from the Lord.
11. The secret for Joshua was knowing and following everything that God had commanded through Moses in the first five books of the Bible, the Torah. In Joshua 1:8-9, God spoke to Joshua: "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." The key is to play by his rules and submit ourselves to his authority in our lives.
12. The secret of Joshua's remarkable success from the human viewpoint was his consistent obedience to the Lord (verse 15). We too will experience victory over our spiritual enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—to the extent that we do God's will as He has revealed that in His Word.
13. We read Ezekiel chapter 38 and the first few verses of 39 that show this same pattern of warfare being used in a time that lies ahead for those of us living today, in a battle better known as Armageddon. And the pattern is that the armies of those nations that do not wish to submit to the authority of God, and who will be determined that Israel must be wiped out, will move their armies into Israel (the Valley of Jezreel) to attack the forces led by Messiah. This will prove to be as foolish and full of destructive bravado then as it did long ago for the kings of (first) the south, then the north, of the Land of Canaan.
14. When we win battles against Satan, he brings out his "big guns" in an attempt to defeat us and our testimony.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html

Joshua 10

(1) *Adoni-zedek, king of **Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and ***completely destroyed Ai and killed its king, just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now their allies.

• *Adoni-zedek means "lord of righteousness". This is a title, not a person's name. Among the Tell Amarna tablets that we covered much earlier in our study are some very interesting letters from Adoni-zedec to the king of Egypt. In these letters, the wars brought upon him by the Abiri (i.e., Hebrews) is graphically described: “Behold, I say that the land of the king my lord is ruined,” “The wars are mighty against me,” “The Hebrew chiefs plunder all the king's lands,” “Behold, I the chief of the Amorites am breaking to pieces.” Then he implores the king of Egypt to send soldiers to help him, directing that the army should come by sea to Ascalon or Gaza, and thence march to Wru-sa-lim (Jerusalem) by the valley of Elah.
• If Adoni-Zedek (the false Lord of Righteousness) represents the Antichrist, it is interesting to find that he leads many nations against Joshua (Yeshua - Jesus) and the children of Israel. In fact, the book of Joshua parallels in many ways Paul's epistle to the Ephesians and the Revelation to John.
• **Jerusalem:
• This is the first mention of the city name. The last part, "salem," means peace. The first part means "settlement" or "inheritance." Ancient records show that this is the same Jerusalem we know today. In the time of the judges, the city had the name Jebus or Jebusi. The Jebusites were not removed from the city until the time of David. There is no mention of the defeat of Jerusalem in Joshua. In fact, we don't read of Jerusalem's fall until King David comes along many centuries later.
• Adoni-zedec operates out of Jerusalem. In the end-times, the Antichrist will also operate out of the Holy City:
• 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4: Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
• ***completely destroyed: This refers to the Hebrew concept of “holy war” called the herem. This meant that a city (i.e., Ai) was dedicated to God; it became so holy that everything that breathed, including men and animals, must be killed. We see this same kind of situation at the battle of Jericho.

(2) He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this because Gibeon was a large town—as large as the royal cities and larger than Ai. And the Gibeonite men were **strong warriors.

• The defection of the Gibeonites was cause for great alarm for three reasons:
  
  1. It was discouraging to see such a large city with an excellent army surrender to the enemy.
  2. Without Gibeon the southern coalition was severely weakened.
  3. They constituted a fifth column that would fight with Israel in time of war. Though it had no king, Gibeon was “like one of the royal cities”; it was just as strong and influential as any city-state.
• **strong warriors: There is a wordplay between “Gibeon” and “strong warriors,” which is literally gibborim. Boling defines gibborim as “men trained in combat and prosperous enough to afford armament, squire, and leisure time for such activity.”

(3) So King *Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: Hoham of **Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of ***Lachish, and ****Debir of Eglon.

• *Adoni-zedek means "lord of righteousness". Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18 - king of Salem) means "king of righteousness".
• **Hebron is one of the major cities. It’s about 20 miles south from Jerusalem in what is known as the Jerusalem range of mountains, and it’s at the southern end of the Jerusalem range of mountains. Then over toward the coast from Hebron are Lachish, and Jarmuth and Eglon.
• **Lachish: The Wellcom Archaeological Expedition in the 1930's found there a great layer of ashes coinciding with Joshua's time.
• ***Debir: An expedition in the 1920's found a deep layer of ashes, charcoal and lime from Joshua's time.
• These sites are all located in the southern hill country of Judah and Benjamin. They were all of Amorite descent. All of them appear in the ancient Amarna tablets except for the city of Hebron which was also called “Kiriath-arba”.
• If these 5 kings can attack and take Gibeon - while Joshua is off at Gilgal - not only will they regain dominance and control of the area - but they’ll weaken and demoralize Israel - handing them a strategic defeat. They’ll prove that Israel can’t be trusted when it comes to alliances and ultimately show-up Israel’s God - in Whose name the alliance was made.

(4) “Come and help me destroy Gibeon,” he urged them, “for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.”

(5) So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon.

• Gibeon was a strategically important city and cities in the area could not afford for them and their warriors to go over to the Israeli
  side.
• The kings come out of their fortified cities and mountains (Jerusalem was a mountain) to fight on the plains. These kings played right into God’s hand. First of all, they gave up their great defensive positions - the walls and ability to hide behind them. Their soldiers poured out of the city walls to fight Joshua in another place. So the advantage of their defenses were abandoned. By leaving the cities to fight elsewhere, the enemy left their cities wide open to attack. It was this principle by which Joshua could easily defeat these walled cities.
• One can also compare this section to the book of Revelation. During that future great destruction of the earth, there will be some people that acknowledge God and turn to Him. That is "represented" by the Gibeonites in the last chapter. The rest of the world admits that God is behind the attack, but still refuse to submit their lives to Him. One of the purposes of Revelation is to show that no matter how much effort God shows about the destruction of the earth, some people refuse to submit to Him and change their lifestyles.
• In the end times, the Bible informs that the Antichrist will also
  form a confederation with 10 Kings:
• Revelation 17:12-13: The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give him their power and authority.

(6) The men of Gibeon quickly *sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don’t abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.”

• *sent messengers to Joshua: These pagan Gentiles call to Joshua (Yeshua-Jesus) to save them as Gentiles today appeal to the real Yeshua.
• Israel’s covenant with Gibeon promised military protection.

(7) So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon.

• Humanly speaking, this was the perfect opportunity for Joshua to get rid of the Gibeonites. Why shouldn’t Joshua just ignore the very people who had deceived them? Why not let the coalition destroy them and rid him of his mistake? There were at least two reasons he could not do that:
  
  1. First, as a man of integrity who honored his word, Joshua did not consider that an option. They had given their word and were duty bound to honor it.
  2. Second, this now provided a unique military opportunity. Rather than a long, drawn out campaign against one city at a time, this gave them the opportunity to defeat and destroy several armies at once.

(8) “*Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I **have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”

• *Do not be afraid of them: As Joshua looks at this situation, it is obvious that his first reaction was one of FEAR because the Lord tells him here – do not be afraid. How does the Lord help Joshua overcome his natural fear - by telling Joshua that the battle is already won. Same goes for us. We should have nothing to fear if we're in His will. This comes up again in chapter 11.
• **have given: Notice this is in the past tense. The battle was already over and won before it even started.
• The fact that God now gives this promise might suggest that Joshua had inquired of the Lord and had received this answer and promise. With all these kings coming together, there was surely a certain amount of concern in Joshua’s heart. The situation was urgent, and God’s word of encouragement and his promise of victory were certainly needed.
• Although God assured them of the victory, they still had to prepare for the battle and form a strategy to defeat the Canaanites. Just because God has promised us victory, we shouldn't then sit on our behind and expect Him to do it all - He expects us to get up and go to work to fulfill His promise! There is no room for a lazy Christian.

(9) Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise.

• From Joshua 9:17, we know this was normally a three day journey from Gilgal to Gibeon. So, this was a "forced march". They had to have been exhausted by the time they arrived at Gibeon.
• Joshua and his men marched all night about 20 miles over steep and difficult terrain. This meant, with no opportunity to rest, his fighting men would be tired. They would certainly need the sovereign strength of the Lord. By marching under cover of darkness, Joshua was able to take the enemy by surprise and this created disorder in the enemy's camp.
• With God's encouragement, Joshua does not hesitate -  he doesn't even wait till morning! Once God gives us our marching orders, we are to move!
  
  

Above image from www.foundationsforfreedom.net/References/OT/Historical/Joshua/Joshua06-12/Joshua10-e_12-43_Pursuing_More.html
Notice that the five cities are south of Gibeon. Gibeon controls the central highlands and the conquest route to south. Along with defeating Jericho and Ai, Israel’s alliance with Gibeon gives Israel control of the central area and an opening to attack the south - where these 5 cities are.

(10) The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

• This campaign secured a foothold in central Canaan and opened up the way for Joshua's southern campaign.

(11) As the Amorites retreated down the road from *Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible **hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.

• *Beth-horon:
  
  • That is, "the House of Caves," of which there are still traces existing. There were two contiguous villages of that name, upper and lower. Upper Beth-horon was nearest Gibeon--about ten miles distant and approached by a gradual ascent through a long and precipitous ravine. This was the first stage of the flight. The fugitives had crossed the high ridge of Upper Beth-horon, and were in full flight down the descent to Beth-horon the Lower. The road between the two places is so rocky and rugged that there is a path made by means of steps cut in the rock. Down this pass, Joshua continued his victorious rout. Here it was that the Lord interposed, assisting His people by means of a storm, which, having been probably gathering all day. The Oriental hailstorm is a terrific agent; the hailstones are masses of ice, large as walnuts, and sometimes as two fists; their prodigious size, and the violence with which they fall, make them always very injurious to property, and often fatal to life. The miraculous feature of this tempest, which fell on the Amorite army, was the entire preservation of the Israelites from its destructive ravages.
  • The Battle of Beth Horon was fought centuries later between Jewish forces led by Judas Maccabaeus and a Seleucid Empire force under the command of Seron.
  • The Battle of Beth Horon was also a battle fought in 66 AD between the Roman army and Jewish rebel forces in the First Jewish-Roman War. The Battle of Beth Horon was the worst defeat the Romans suffered at the hands of rebels.
• **hailstorm:
• More people who died from the hailstones than those by sword. Revelation 16:21 speaks of great hail, each stone being about 75 pounds! Hailstones have been reported to weigh as much as 75 pounds when they fell in Arabia some years ago. Notice that the hail stones only fell on the enemy - not one fell on an Israelite! So, this was no ordinary hailstorm.
• Job 38:22-23: “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)
• Exodus 9:19,25: Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’” ... It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed.
• Revelation 16:21: There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
• Baker’s Bible Atlas describes the scene: “Attacked the enemy and then pursued them through the mountain passes guarded by the two Beth-horons in the Valley of Ajalon. After relieving the Gibeonites, he chased the enemy from Upper Beth-horon (1730 feet above sea level) to Lower Beth-horon, 1 3/4 miles down the valley, where a providential hailstorm contributed to the disastrous defeat of Israel's foes” (Baker’s Bible Atlas, page 89).

(12) On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, *Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”

• *Joshua prayed: There is a huge contrast between 9:14 and 10:12. Joshua is praying this time! He understands that although God is sovereign and He’s made certain promises, He still expects us to pray and makes sure we get the message whenever we don’t. God answers prayer. He unfolds His providence in answer to prayer.
• Joshua didn't make a selfish request. He asked the Lord for help in fulfilling the specific task God had assigned to him. If you are seeking the Lord's will, and that seems to require stopping the sun or moving a mountain, ask Him boldly—and don't be surprised if and when God does it.

Above image from www.foundationsforfreedom.net/References/OT/Historical/Joshua/Joshua06-12/Joshua10-e_12-43_Pursuing_More.html

(13) So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The *Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it **did not set as on a normal day.

• *Book of Jashar: Or, "The Book of the Upright". Only other mention of this book is in 2 Samuel 1:18. In the Targum, it is "the book of the Law". Joseph mentions it as a book in the temple. The Syriac would translate "a book of praises" or "book of hymns" It was apparently a collection of ballads and prose to which additions were made over the years. It was probably the "book of the song" in 1 Kings 8:53.
• **did not set as on a normal day: Or "did not set for about a whole day".
• In the late 1960's, someone circulated a story that NASA had discovered there was a missing day in the solar system. Using this passage they accounted for about twenty one missing hours and the account in (Isaiah 38:8) to account for the rest of the missing time. This story is a complete fable and has absolutely no basis in fact.
• Obviously, in these days of science we try to figure out exactly how God answered Joshua’s prayer. Those of us who believe in the truth of the Bible still have a number of options as to how and what happened. Dr. Boice says, “What is certain is that God did something to give the Jewish armies a complete and decisive victory.”
• Views concerning this phenomenon fall into two categories. The first assumes a slowing or suspending of the normal rotation of the earth so that there were extra hours that day. God did this so that Joshua’s forces could complete their victory before the enemy had a night for rest and regrouping. The Hebrew for “stood still” is a verb of motion, indicating a slowing or stopping of the rotation of the earth on its axis (which would not affect the earth’s movement around the sun). Verse 14 indicates that this was a unique day in the history of the world. The second category includes views that assume no irregularity in the rotation of the earth. One such view argues for the prolonging of daylight by some sort of unusual refraction of the sun’s rays. Thus, there were more daylight hours but not more hours in the day. Another view supposes a prolonging of semi-darkness to give Joshua’s men relief from the blazing summer sun, accomplished by God’s sending an unusual summer hailstorm. This view takes "stood still" to mean “be still” or “cease,” indicating that the sun was clouded by the storm and no extra hours were added to the day. The Maori people of New Zealand have a legend of how their hero Maui impeded the sun before it rose. According to the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, the ancient history of Mexico, night continued for extended period of time. In addition, according to ancient Chinese annals, King Yao testified that at one point during his reign the sun remained in the sky so long that many feared the world would be set on fire. The reign of Yao is said to correspond with the time of Joshua.
• It is interesting that many cultures speak of an extended day in their legends. According to Greek mythology, Apollo’s son, Phaethon, disrupted the movement of the sun for a day. Cultures on the other side of the world have legends of an extended night.
• This passage has brought much ridicule upon the Bible. Some
  believe that this proves the Bible is uninspired, because science has
  long since proven that the earth rotates around the sun and that the
  sun doesn't move.
• The Chinese, the Babylonians, The Incas, the Aztecs, the Egyptians, the Assyrians and other ancient cultures all record the existence of a long day, which occurred about this time.
• Not only did God give the Hebrew army victory, but He directly involved himself in the battle. He did this in three ways:
1. He threw the enemies into confusion. They didn’t know what was going on. The idea in the Hebrew is to “rout”. It encompasses terror and panic. They thought their world was coming to an end and in truth, it was.
2. Next God rains hailstones down onto the enemy, which certainly would have enhanced the confusion, panic and terror they were currently experiencing. Through this, God slew more of the enemy than the Israelites did. Talk about having God on your side. The Canaanites, who worshiped nature deities, must have thought that their own gods were aiding the Israelites.
3. But what came next was really something. Joshua requested God’s intervention, to continue the day so he could go on fighting in order to avenge Israel on her enemies. God did this by stopping the sun, holding time at noon for an extended period.

(14) There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!

(15) Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

• Many commentators suggest that because this verse was later repeated in the last verse that it was more than likely that verse 15 also belonged to the original quote taken from the Book of Jashar. In other words, this description of returning to the camp at Gilgal did happen but later. This understanding of what happened seem to make much sense for then they would not need to return back to the camp and could eliminate the enemy. Isn’t this Joshua’s concern in verse 19? While we tend to write books in historical sequence, God often directs the books to be written in sequence of importance.

(16) During the battle the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah.

• We have another striking similarity with the Book of Revelation. Not only does a false “Lord of Righteousness” (Adoni-Zedek) lead a group of nations against Joshua, who has come to possess the land; but also, in the midst of their defeat, the kings hide in caves in fear of the conquering Joshua (Revelation 6:15-16).
  
  • Revelation 6:15-16: Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
• While everyone else is trying to make it back to the safety of a fortified city, these 5 kings do the cowardly treasonous thing - they abandon their armies and go hide in a cave!

(17) When Joshua heard that they had been found,

(18) he issued this command: “Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.

(19) The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don’t give them a chance to get back to their towns, for the Lord your God has given you victory over them.”

• The five kings and their armies had left the safety of their fortified cities to fight Joshua and his army out in the open which gave Joshua a great advantage. He was determined to keep them from escaping to the safety of their walls which would prolong the campaign against that portion of the land.

(20) So Joshua and the Israelite army continued the slaughter and completely crushed the enemy. They totally wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified towns.

(21) Then the Israelites returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to speak even a word against Israel.

(22) Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me.”

(23) So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, *Hebron, **Jarmuth, ***Lachish, and ****Eglon.

• *Hebron means "communion" or " fellowship" and its king, Hoham, means "corrupt confusion of sound."
• **Jarmuth means "elevation," and its king, Piram is defined as "the wild donkey."
• ***Lachish means "walk as men," and the meaning of its king, Japhia, is "shining -- resplendent."
• ****Eglon means "round, as a wheel." Its king was Debir, meaning "speaker" or "an oracle."

(24) When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your
feet on the kings’ necks.” And they did as they were told.

• Psalm 110:1: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:25: For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

(25) “Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua told his men. “*Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies.”

• *Be strong and courageous: The key phrase in Joshua. How many times have we seen this so far?

(26) Then Joshua killed each of the five kings and *impaled them on five sharpened poles, where they hung until evening.

• *impaled them on five sharpened poles: Impaling was very common in those days - both of alive enemies and of dead bodies, as here. The five kings were first killed with swords and then their bodies were impaled on a stake. From Deuteronomy 21:22-23 we learn what a humiliating act this was in the eyes of the Jews. Joshua used this as a sign to ridicule this united Canaanite opposition to the Israeli advance. Even though most versions say they were “hung on a tree”, the hanging did not mean with a rope around their necks and the Hebrew word for tree and for wood is the same: ets. Rather, as was customary and pictured on several old Assyrian reliefs, this meant being killed and then their lifeless bodies hung on a pole. This act of impalement was (since time immemorial) an Oriental symbolic gesture that meant the condemned person was also cursed.
  
  Above image is an Assyrian impalement of 3 townspeople.

(27) As the sun was going down, Joshua gave instructions for the bodies of the kings to be taken down from the poles and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding. Then they covered the opening of the cave with a *pile of large rocks, which remains to this very day.

• *pile of large rocks: This is the fifth pile of rocks serving as a monument in the land.
• Remember these were leaders in satanic worship, and when the day of God's judgment comes there will be no sparing those who have sold themselves to Satan. The sun finally went down on that long day, and the bodies were taken from the trees and returned to the cave with large stones again covering it permanently.

(28) That same day Joshua captured and destroyed the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it, including the king, leaving no survivors. He destroyed them all, and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho.

(29) Then Joshua and the Israelites went to *Libnah and attacked it.

• *Libnah means "whiteness."

(30) There, too, the Lord gave them the town and its king. He killed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. Then Joshua killed the king of Libnah as he had killed the king of Jericho.

(31) From Libnah, Joshua and the Israelites went to *Lachish and attacked it.

• *Lachish: Its army had already been defeated, now the inhabitants are killed and Israel captures the city.

(32) Here again, the Lord gave them *Lachish. Joshua took it on the second day and killed everyone in it, just as he had done at Libnah.

• *Lachish was a city in the southwest part of Judah; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:9, and strong enough to resist for a time the whole army of Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18:17; 19:8; 2 Chronicles 32:1,9,21; Micah 1:13.  It was here that king Amaziah was slain, 2 Kings 14:19.

(33) During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of *Gezer arrived with his army to help defend the
town. But Joshua’s men killed him and his army, leaving no survivors.

• *Gezer was given to Solomon by Pharaoh per 1 Kings 9:16-17. Gezer means "isolated" or "cut off." Horam means "tumid or "swollen."

(34) Then Joshua and the Israelite army went on to Eglon and attacked it.

(35) They captured it that day and killed everyone in it. He completely destroyed everyone, just as he had done at Lachish.

(36) From Eglon, Joshua and the Israelite army went up to *Hebron and attacked it.

• *Hebron means "communion."

(37) They captured the town and killed everyone in it, including its king, leaving no survivors. They did the same thing to all of its surrounding villages. And just as he had done at Eglon, he completely destroyed the entire population.

(38) Then Joshua and the Israelites turned back and attacked Debir.

(39) He captured the town, its king, and all of its surrounding villages. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He did to Debir and its king just what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.

(40) So Joshua conquered the whole region—the kings and people of the hill country, the Negev, *the western foothills, and the mountain slopes. He completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.

• *the western foothills: Hebrew "the Shephelah".
• The Amorites were spread out over certain parts of Canaan. Five of their kings came forward to fight the Israelites. But in addition to this big war party were other kings and of course their armies: king of Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king of Jarmuth, king of Lachish and king of Eglon. We are not sure how many armies there were altogether but for sure it was a great number.

(41) Joshua slaughtered them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and from the region around the town of *Goshen up to Gibeon.

• *Goshen was an area in Southern Judah, not to be confused with the area of Egypt by that name.

(42) Joshua conquered all these kings and their land in a single campaign, for the Lord, *the God of Israel, was fighting for his people.

• *the God of Israel, was fighting for his people: The whole chapter is summarized with this statement.
• These verses summarize what is called the "Southern Campaign". The point is that Joshua had victory over every king that lived in the Southern part of Israel.
• When chapter 10 is done, the Israelites have not only overcome formidable opposition, but they’ve taken the central and southern sections of the Promised Land.

(43) Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

• Verse 42 reminds us that Joshua captured all these kings and their lands - not because he was some great military genius - some great political leader - clever - wise - but because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Who fights for His people? The Lord. Who fights for you? The Lord. Never doubt that.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. No mistake is final for the dedicated Christian. God can use even our blunders to accomplish His purposes.
2. God is used Joshua's mistake in signing a protective treaty with Gibeon to defeat these five city-states all at once instead of one at a time! Even when we mess up, once we've acknowledged our mistake (sin), God finds a way to make the best of it.
3. Dr. Don Campbell, in his conclusion to this chapter which he titled, "People Who Know Their God", has a focus that really provides a fitting conclusion to this study on the book of Joshua. He writes: "Most of us learn, early in our Christian experience, that we do not just face one enemy. We face evil forces that have banded together in an attempt to destroy us. Those enemies are commonly called “the world,” “the flesh” and “the devil.” The world pressures us and hammers us and tries to conform us to its mold. The flesh is the sinfulness within us which betrays us and undermines us and sabotages us, even though we want to serve God with our minds and our bodies. The devil is master strategist of the assault against us and sometimes attacks us openly, sometimes craftily, but always with an unerring sense of where our weaknesses lie." Together, the world, the flesh, and the devil make an unbeatable combination—or they would be unbeatable, if not for the saving intervention of God. Without God, victory against such an alliance is impossible. With God, victory is assured.
4. Most importantly, the key to victory was that the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. This is also true as we battle against our own spiritual enemies. We can only win as we see the Lord fighting on our behalf. He provides the victory and we walk in it. We come to realize that the victory was won at the cross, and now we need to live in light of that victory. Colossians 2:15 speaks to this idea: In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. It is in this sense that overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
5. The same living LORD stands ready to help us to overcome today. Our victories may be different in nature, but they will nevertheless also be great victories. We too can see great victories if we will cooperate with Him in quiet obedience and calm confidence just as Joshua did. The choice is ours. We can live by according to our values and depend upon our own strength, but we will pay the price. Or we can elect to faithful to Him and discover his faithfulness. He has not changed in all the countless years of human history.
6. Battles are a reality in the life of the child of God, but we never have to face them alone. Our lives will be filled with battles. However, these battles are not really physical battles, neither are they battles with other people. Our battles are spiritual battles, "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12. Therefore, our weapons must be spiritual as well. "(We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.) " 2 Corinthians 10:4.
   
   1. Hebrews 13:5: Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
   2. Matthew 28:20: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
7. The Lord didn't save you for you to be agitated and worried. He doesn't mean for you to tremble in fear when the enemies of the Lord approach. When the day of battle comes in your life, the Lord will give you peace, if you will lean on Him, Proverbs 3:5-6. As God's children, we need to remember that everything that happens in our lives had to pass first over God's desk and it received His stamp of approval (Romans 8:28.)
   
   1. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
   2. Romans 8:28: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html

Joshua 9

(1) *NOW all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains.

• *Now: Links back to chapter 8 where the Israelites had won their second battle in the Promised Land - Ai. The lesson to learn from the last chapter is the way to have victory over the sins of our lives requires, first of all, the willingness to face our sins "head on". The point is, if we are willing to tackle the sins that separate us from living the way God wants us to, the victory over those issues is guaranteed. Therefore, when we won't face our sins before God and use 1 John 1:9 for confession, we will suffer defeat.

(2) These kings combined their armies to *fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites.

• *fight as one: Even when bitter enemies are confronted by a common enemy, they will often unite to defeat the enemy before then going back to where they were before. Just look at the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union during World War II and then after. My father was exempted from service in the war because he was employed making boxes for goods going to the USSR. Then, once the war was over, the "Iron Curtain" spoken of by Churchill came down cutting off and enslaving Eastern Europe.
• These two verses introduce the wars that unfold in chapters 10-11. After hearing of Israel’s victories over Jericho and Ai, all the kings of the Land (hill-country, lowlands, and coastlands) unite to attack Israel. The defeat of the Israelites by little Ai emboldened these city-state kings to unite because they thought they had a good chance to defeat them - they did not know, however, why Ai won the first time but lost the second time!
• The new threat had caused them to bond. This we may expect soon, before the coming of Christ - Revelation 16:14:
• They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

(3) But when the people of *Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

• *Gibeon means "high place" or "hill place". It was one of the largest towns in the central part of Canaan, much larger than Ai and possibly the Hivite capital. It later became a Levitical town (18:25; 21:17). The Israelites eventually pitched the tabernacle there, and it remained at that site until Solomon built his temple (1 Kings 3:4-5; 1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29). Notice that there's no mention of a "king" of Gibeon. The "people" and the "elders" are making the decisions!
• The Gibeonites, which included a league of cities (see verse 17), concocted a clever ruse designed to deceive the Israelites and hide their true identity—a typical strategy of Satan, the deceiver. Their goal, which was successful, was to convince the Israelites they were from a country outside the land (verse 6). They evidently somehow knew that God had commanded the Israelites to totally destroy all the inhabitants of the land. Their claim was that they were impressed with the great things Joshua had done and had heard of their great god and so they wanted a treaty allowing them to live because they were not of the land of Canaan.
• The city of Gibeon was 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem and approximately seven miles from Ai. The Israelites were to exterminate all of them, as they had the people of Jericho and Ai. It was the will of God, as we read in Joshua 3:10. Deuteronomy 7:1-6 reveals the divine rationale for such extermination.
  
  • Deuteronomy 7:1-6: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
• The remains of Gibeon were excavated in 6 expeditions from 1956 to 1962, led by the University of Pennsylvania archaeologist James B. Pritchard who discovered numerous jar handles inscribed with the name "Gibeon".
• Gibeon is mentioned 45 times in the Old Testament.
• With an elevation of about 2400 feet, Gibeon towered above most other cities, making it easily defended. Dating to about 3000 B.C., Gibeon served as the fortress city at the head of the valley of Ajalon which provided the principal access from the coastal plain into the hill country. Gibeon's power was strong as archaeology has found no sign of the city's destruction.
• 1 Chronicles 16:39-40: Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the Lord. They sacrificed the regular burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the Law of the Lord, as he had commanded Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 21:29: At that time the Tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon.
• 2 Chronicles 1:5-7, 13: But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the Lord. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it. ... That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
• 1 Kings 3:3-4: Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.

(4) they resorted to *deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched **wineskins.

• *deception:
  
  • Though Satan surely knows he can never really defeat the Lord and that he is a defeated foe, he nevertheless turns to his many tricks and deceptive devices to defeat God’s purposes for and with His people.
  • It’s exactly the same word that’s used of Satan as he is first described in the opening verses of Genesis 3, where the serpent was "the shrewdest of all the wild animals.”
  • 2 Corinthians 11:3: But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
  • Ephesians 4:14: Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
• **wineskins: Wineskins were usually made from the skin of an animal, with the hair shaved off, turned inside out and the neck became the place from which the liquid was poured. When wineskins are new, they are relatively elastic and can accommodate the expansion of fermenting wine. When the skins are old, they cannot expand and they will break.
• Matthew 9:17: “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”

(5) They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy.

(6) When they arrived at the camp of Israel at *Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”

• *Gilgal: This is the Gilgal that is in more of the central part of the country near Shechem, rather than the Gilgal down by the Jordan River. It doesn’t make sense that Joshua and all of the people would go all the way back down to the Jordan River, because they are moving from the central part of the country to take the entire land; and rather than stay on the border down near the Jordan River, the other Gilgal is, no doubt, that one that you see on your Bible maps: more in the central part of the country, just south of the area of Shechem, mount Gerizim, and mount Ebal.

(7) The Israelites replied to these Hivites, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.”

(8) They replied, “We are your servants.” “But who are you?” Joshua demanded.
“Where do you come from?”

(9) They answered, “Your servants have come from a *very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt.

• *very distant country: God permitted peace with cities outside the Land:
• Deuteronomy 20:11-15: If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the Lord your God hands the town over to you, use swords to kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the Lord your God has given you. “But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.
• How did they know about this rule in Deuteronomy?
• It is possible that they really did believe in the power of the God of Israel much like Rahab. The Gibeonites were not cowards (see 10:2). They knew they could not withstand the power of God and did the next best thing in their thinking; they turned to deception through disguise.
• Not only were Joshua and the elders gullible, they were also superficial. They were flattered by this talk, and Joshua sits down and he writes a treaty. He never seems to ask the question, he never seems to say to them, “Don’t move an inch until I make sure that what you’re saying is true.” He never consults with the Lord. The decision seems so obvious to him, but he was so wrong!

(10) We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan
(who lived in Ashtaroth).

• These Canaanites mention nothing of
  the victories of Joshua at Jericho and Ai.  If they had, Joshua
  would have known that they lived closer than they claimed, because news didn't travel that fast in those days.

(11) So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell
them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.”’

(12) “This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.

(13) These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

• All the evidence presented assured Joshua that they were telling the truth.

(14) So the Israelites examined their food, but they
did not consult the Lord.

• Joshua failed to inquire of the Lord through prayer. Looking at the evidence, he supposed he could wisely discern what they were facing. He was wrong. In the depths of winter at Valley Forge, George Washington went to his knees in prayer, certain that unless God aided his bedraggled and discouraged army, all hope for the fledgling United States was lost. During the Civil War, when the fate of the nation again hung in the balance, Abraham Lincoln confessed to a friend that he was often driven to his knees to pray because he had nowhere else to go. In the passage before us, we see the danger of failing to commit their way to the Lord, the peril of prayerlessness and the peril of walking by sight - making decision on the basis of how things appear.
• Joshua is making the same mistake here that he made about Ai - the decision is very obvious and easy - no need to pray about this one! Just look at all the evidence! This is a no brainer - no need to consult God!
• Proverbs 3:5-7: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
• Psalm 37:4-6: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

(15) Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

• Why didn’t God interfere? Why didn't He contact Joshua and tell him that these were Gibeonites and not men from far outside the land?
• Exodus 34:12: “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.

(16) Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!

(17) The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

• Why would you make an agreement and then investigate the truthfulness of those with whom you made an agreement? This sounds really stupid. And, Joshua and Israel and going to have to live with this mistake.

(18) But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. The people of Israel *grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.

• *grumbled: They grumbled because they, in effect, had been prevented from getting the spoils from destroying those cities. Given that Jericho was burned to the ground and that Ai was a very small city, the goods which had thus far been taken in spoil were very small compared to the number of Israelites. So far, we have the goods and spoil of 12,000 spread out to 2,000,000. So, to find out that they were going to pass up four cities and all the wealth therein was pretty disappointing to the people as a whole.

(19) But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the
Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them.

(20) This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine
anger would come upon us if we broke our oath.

• God never punishes the Israelites for honoring this contract with them. In fact, in the next chapter (and next lesson) the Israelites come to the rescue of this group of people.
• Psalm 15:4 : Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts.

(21) Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.

• As is often the case with the consequences of sin, they would live with their decision for the rest of their lives.

(22) Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you *lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us?

• *lie:
• John 8:44: For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
• Joshua does what is common with most people who have made a mistake - he blames it on someone else. His mistake was in not consulting God. He inappropriately blames the Gibeonites. What the Gibeonites did was very reasonable under the circumstances. What Joshua did - carelessly entering into a binding treaty without consulting God - that was the real problem and the real mistake.

(23) May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”

(24) They replied, “We did it because we—your servants—were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this.

• Barnes footnotes are appropriate here: It was mere fear which drove the Gibeonites to act as they did. They sought for union with God’s people, nor for its own sake, but to save their lives. Rahab’s motives were higher. Hence she was adopted into Israel; the Gibeonites remained for ever bondsmen of Israel.
• Joshua 2:9-10: “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.

(25) Now we are at your mercy—do to us whatever you think is
right.”

(26) So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.

(27) But that day he made the Gibeonites the woodcutters and water carriers for the community of
Israel and for the altar of the Lord—wherever the Lord would choose to build
it. And that is what they do to this day.

• They honored their pledge because it had been ratified in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. To break the covenant would dishonor God’s name and bring down His wrath. In fact, such a judgment from God would later come to pass during David’s reign because Saul disregarded this agreement.
• To keep the Gibeonites’ idolatry from defiling the true faith of Israel, their work would be carried out in the tabernacle, where they would be exposed to the worship of the one true God.
• Later, the tabernacle of the Lord would be pitched at Gibeon (see 2 Chronicles 1:30, and the Gibeonites, later known as Nethinims ("given ones" = given to assist the priests), would replace the Levites in menial temple work.
• It is interesting that in later years, when the Israelites would go into idolatry, the Gibeonites would still be standing at the altar where the true God ordained that sacrifices should be made for sins. As a result of what they had seen God do for Israel, they became convinced, like Rahab, that Israel’s God was the true God. Like Rahab, they evidently became loyal believers.
• Under Nehemiah, the Gibeonites are listed as helping in building the wall of Jerusalem close to what is known as the Old Gate (Nehemiah 3:7).
• Both Rahab and the Gibeonites came to the God of Israel as sinners, Rahab as a prostitute, and the Gibeonites as liars. Both Rahab and the Gibeonites were willing at risk to forsake their former associations and be counted among God’s people.
• Gibeon becomes a priestly city; the Ark of the Covenant stayed at Gibeon often in the days of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40 and 21:29).
• 2 Samuel 21:2 indicates that Saul pursued the Gibeonites and sought to kill them off "in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah". The only ones who survived were those who fled beyond Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 9:2: The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites.
• 1 Chronicles 12:4: Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous warrior and leader among the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah;
  
  • These were David's leading warriors while Saul was trying to kill him.
• Ezra 2:43,58: The descendants of the following Temple servants returned from exile: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ... In all, the Temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered 392.
• Nehemiah 3:26: with the Temple servants living on the hill of Ophel, who repaired the wall as far as a point across from the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower.
• 2 Samuel 21:2: So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. If you make a mistake, admit it, learn from it and make your mistake work for you.
2. Beware of making snap, rash decisions based on outward appearance instead of God’s direction and will. Always be skeptical when someone wants a decision right now! Don't be rush into a quick decision.
3. Ephesians 5:15-17: So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
4. Even when we make mistakes, we are still under obligation to carry through our part of the transactions we have entered into. Where we involve ourselves and God's Word in our testimony, we have to stick by the promise made. Our word should be our bond.
5. Satan was not able to discourage the Israelites from going on in their conquest of Canaan. Neither should a mistake we have made cause us to give up. Let us confess it to God, forsake it and go ahead.
6. To sum up: the Gibeonites were in a helpless, hopeless situation. They were condemned to a death without mercy, without exception. They were outside the covenant of God. They stood condemned before God. Only because they came to Joshua (Yeshua), were they saved. Joshua looked at them and saw them as people from far away; God looks at us and sees His Son. It is because of what someone else has done that we are saved; it is because of no innate goodness within ourselves. God honored His peace treaty with the Gibeonites and He will honor His peace treaty with us. When we as freeman enter into a covenant with God, we become His slaves, just as the Gibeonites became the slaves of the Israelites. From this choice, we have fellowship with God for the rest of our life and eternity.
7. Before entering into any alliance such as taking a partner in life or going into business with another, be sure to ask for the Lord's wisdom. He will assuredly answer by an irresistible impulse - by the voice of a friend; by a circumstance strange and unexpected; by a passage of Scripture. He will choose His own messenger; but He will send a message. How many go into a marriage on an impulse, on emotion, on hope, on shear stupidity without thinking it through and without consulting the One who really knows how this is going to turn out! Years later, they realize they made a terrible mistake but now there are children who are going to be hurt no matter what happens! The relationship falls apart, anger grows and grows until only a miracle would save the marriage.
8. There will always be Gibeonites in the world, in the church and in the used car lot. As Christians, we are in constant danger of being deceived by the world, the flesh and Satan's agents. We cannot always judge situations properly; we must have God’s wisdom and discernment for every single situation.
9. Alan Redpath wrote: Never, never, NEVER trust your own judgment in anything. When common sense says that a course is right, lift your heart to God, for the path of faith and the path of blessing may be in a direction completely opposite to that which you call common sense. When voices tell you that action is urgent, that something must be done immediately, refer everything to the tribunal of heaven. Then, if you are still in doubt, dare to stand still. If you are called on to act and you have not time to pray, don’t act. If you are called on to move in a certain direction and cannot wait until you have peace with God about it, don’t move. Be strong enough and brave enough to dare to stand and wait on God, for none of them who wait on him shall ever be ashamed. That is the only way to outmatch the devil (Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Living: Studies in the Book of Joshua).
10. Some Christians are under the misconception that when we sin if we confess and seek the forgiveness of God there are no consequences to sin. Although this action does bring cleansing it does not erase the consequences of our sin. That is the great problem with a failure to consult the Lord in all matters: we must live with the consequences of our wrong actions.
11. God’s generosity preceded Israel. To a displaced, landless, poor and wandering people, the gift of the land represented a free gift of God’s pure grace. At the same time, we should note that God called his people to be active rather than passive recipients of this free gift. They would have to fight for every square inch of the land (Philippians 2:12). Of course, the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan corresponds to the Christian’s inheritance in Christ. Even though our inheritance, like that of the Israelites, is a free gift of God’s sovereign grace, we have to fight for it (Philippians 2:12). We are called to be active, not passive recipients, which, among other things, means using all of our strength and material resources to pursue God’s kingdom.
    
    1. Philippians 2:12: Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
12. Commentator Bruce Waltke notes that three times in these successive verses “the point is made that the not-so-innocent Israel must not break an oath, even though made under false colors, and so misuse God’s name. This is a truth that needs to be reasserted in an age of broken marriage vows and of broken business contracts. Moreover, I AM shows his approval of Israel’s keeping their oath by miraculously intervening on Israel’s behalf when they come to the defense of Gibeon (Joshua 10)” (Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, 521).
13. How often do you consult God about a decision? Do you ever ask yourself, “I wonder what God would do in this situation?” If you believe that the Bible speaks to all areas of life, do you live that way? One area into which God speaks has to do with your honor and integrity, your word. Are you a man or woman of your word or do you constantly break your promises? Is it serious if you don’t do as you say? What does God think about this? Joshua 9 gives us an insight into God’s thinking on the matter.
14. Sometimes, we have to sleep in the bed we made! God gives us freewill. If the crux of God’s plan was to avoid mistakes and sin, then He would make us wear blinders and beat us half to death until we agree to His will. However, that is not the key to God’s plan. Our volition is the key to His plan. The choices that we make day in and day out are the key to His plan. We do receive discipline when we do wrong, but God still allows us to choose afterwards. God allows our freewill to function and both the good choices that we make while indwelt and controlled by the Holy Spirit, as well as the bad when we accede to our old sin nature. Once we believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean that our life will be without mistake or difficulty.
15. God often gives us warnings, but we don’t always heed them. In fact, a lot of times we just ignore them. Then, we wish that we had listened and noticed the red flags God is waving in or face. I know exactly what it's like to totally ignore God's warnings - and then learn He was right and I could not have been more wrong! The Lord was trying to speak to Joshua here. Joshua shows that he has a little bit of doubt here: “Just who are you guys? Where do you come from?”
16. Israel failed to consult God before an important decision, a mistake that cost them for generations to come; there was even a 3 year famine because of it, 2 Samuel 21:1-2. How often do you consult God? Do you believe that He has advice for every facet of your life? One area in particular He speaks to in Joshua 9 is your veracity. Will you be a man or woman of your word? Or will you reap the consequences of your lies?
17. Note that when the Israelites found out the truth, they didn't kill them. They didn’t want to go back on their word, even though they gave their word based on the lies told to them.
18. The great lesson of this chapter is that when people hurt us, we are to first see them as "someone who needs Jesus" and not someone who has hurt us. What is "happening behind the scenes" is God is drawing this "lying group" close to Him because they trust in Him.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New
  Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html