Josh. 10:1-141Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; 2That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. 3Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. 5Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. 6And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us. 7So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. 9Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 10And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 11And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. 12Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:1‑14).
WHEN Adoni-Jedec, king of Jerusalem, heard that the inhabitants of Gideon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, he and his people were filled with fear, for the city of Gideon was great and all its men were mighty. His anger was turned against Gibeon because they had made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel. He sent word to four other kings, asking them to come up and help him to smite Gibeon. They answered his call, and the five kings gathered all their hosts together, and went up and encamped before Gibeon; and made war against it. The men of Gibeon, in their dire extremity, sent word to Joshua to come quickly to them and help them. Joshua responded to this call, taking with him all the warriors and mighty men of valor in Israel. He did not, however, go without the Lord this time, for the Lord had told him He would deliver the enemy into their hand, and not a man should stand before them. With this happy assurance, Joshua went forward, and came suddenly upon the foe. The Lord granted him a wonderful victory over the combined forces of the five kings. Many of their men were slain and many fled! When fleeing from the battle field, the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them and killed them —more dying with the hail stones than those killed by the sword. The conflict was fierce, but the Lord fought for Israel and therefore victory was theirs. While the battle raged, and before Israel had avenged themselves upon their enemies, Joshua spoke to the Lord, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” And oh! wonder of wonders, the sun stood still, in the midst of heaven, for a whole day, and the moon was stayed in her course. There was no day like that—before it or after it —that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man.
All this speaks of the mighty power of God, and how He stands by His people to bless them when in His path. He can lengthen the day, which He has made, at His pleasure, or He can send the darkness, causing men to grope and stumble in it. All things are His, and all things serve His might. Whether fire, hail, snow, vapor, stormy wind or whatever it may be, all fulfill His word. Ps. 148:8. Why then should we ever doubt God’s power, or why should we fear when we know that God is for us! True, God has His “strange work” to perform, but this is towards the enemy—not upon the people He loves.
My reader, where do you stand? Are you ranked with those who are on the Lord’s side, or are you numbered in the ranks of the enemy? Ah! if you have the Lord with you, you may defy the very hosts of hell. If He is with you, victory is assured.
ML 02/25/1906