Transcendence 4

Four: The Sun Stands Still

News spreads fast!  All the countries far and wide were terrified of the Israelites and their God. In order to protect themselves the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon ( which were Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites ) came together, making a plan to combine their resources to make war against Joshua and Israel. The idea was that together they could conquer. Problem was they completely underestimated the power of the one true God!

Adoni-Zedek, who was King of Jerusalem, decided he would bring together four other kings because he had heard what had happened to Ai, and to Jericho. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel. He and his people were very much alarmed at this news because Gibeon was an important city, one of the royal cities. Duly noted, of course was the fact that it was larger and more powerful than Ai. Gibeonite men were known to be good fighters. So Adoni-Zedek appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. He said to them, "Come up and help me attack Gibeon because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." So these five kings joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon. Without warning they attacked it.

The Gibeonites began to fight back but they needed help. They sent word to Joshua and the Israelites in the camp at Gilgal: "Come quick, do not abandon your servants, save us! We are being attacked by all the Amorite kings from the hill country who have joined forces. Helps us!"

Joshua knew what was happening. He knew why they were attacking the Gibeonites. He acted quickly and took his entire army and marched up from Gilgal with confidence because the Lord told Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

After an all night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in great victory there in Gibeon. As some of them fled, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

On that day Joshua said to the Lord in front of the Israelites, "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon , over the Valley of Aijalon." And the All Mighty Powerful God held the sun. It actually stood still! It stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  The moon also stopped, until the nation avenged itself on its enemies as it is written in the book of Jashar. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. What a mighty and powerful God! What a miraculous sign from our Lord! Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel.

Joshua kept his faith in God strong, and after their victory he returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

(Joshua used expert military strategy against Israel's many enemies in Canaan. He had been one of the original spies and knew the topography of the land. He used night marches, ambush tactics and other strategic formations instead of long sieges, proving he was aware of advanced military techniques. But most importantly he had a mighty God showing up and showing how very powerful He is. God can stop the sun! He can do everything!)

The five kings who had come together against them had fled from the battle. They hid out but the some of the army men from Israel found them hidden in the cave at Makkedah. When Joshua found out where they were hiding he told his men, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. However do not stop fighting. Continue to pursue your enemies and attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities. For the Lord has given them unto your hands." So they continued to pursue those who had fled the battle, and only a few were able to reach their cities, most all the rest were killed. The Israelite army then returned safely to camp at Makkedah, at the mouth of the cave where the kings were being held inside.

Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me." So they brought out the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. When the kings were before Joshua he said to the army commanders who came with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they did. ( This act, stepping on the neck , was the ultimate way to humiliate a king. It was an expression of forced submission.) Joshua then told them, "Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight." (Meaning God will put their enemies beneath them, under their food!) Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening. At sunset Joshua gave the order and the kings were taken down and thrown into the cave they had been found hiding in, then rolled the large rocks to block the entrance of the cave. 

That same day Joshua and his army took the city of Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. They left no survivors.

(War after war was fought in these times of Israel's history. Some would wonder if it was necessary, these ruthless military battles, with all the killing. God was ordering destruction of nations and some with no survivors! Why? We know that God was not acting on a whim, the land had been promised to Israel more than 400 years earlier. Canaan was a vital part of God's plan from Abraham's time. Still, some may wonder why people were being killed so that the promise could be fulfilled. What is very important to understand is that those people were not mere innocent people living in the land. Canaanites were not God fearing people, they were sinners who did not deserve the land. God wanted their wickedness to be destroyed. He had told of their orgies, prostitutes, human sacrifices, butchery, sadism and so much more. They sacrificed their children to Baal, they practiced 'foundation sacrifice' - which meant they would kill one of their children and seal the body in the mortar of a wall to earn good luck in a new home, among many other terrible things! The Bible records that God had patience with decadent societies for a very long time, way too long! Judgement had to come, they weren't going to change! Israel was that judgment coming down on them and destroying them for all the evil they had done. These battles weren't ones of national or racial struggles, but rather they were wars between those who followed God and those who opposed Him. Just like in today's society, people may get by with their evil for a time, and during that time they believe they can do what they want with no repercussions, but when God decides it's time -judgment will come! For Sodom and Gomorrah it took the form of fire and brimstone. For Canaan it came through Joshua's conquering armies. Later in the Bible, we will learn that Israel will also be punished for their sins and they will be ravaged by invaders. War, death, and judgement may sound severe but God always gives more blessings than punishments. He expects obedience. He wants people to fear Him. It seems all nations on earth have fatal weaknesses, Israel's was the fact that they allowed outsiders to corrupt them. Time and time again they proved that they weren't able to settle down as mere new neighbors in a new land. Living among existing Canaanite cities was impossible for them without easing slowly into their evil way of life. They failed to carry out their original mission to clean out the land of wickedness and anything impure. Leaving traces of their sinful ways left Israelites susceptible to that sort of infection, a sinful way of life that causes God to burn with anger. The good news however, is that always, if people repent God will give an escape to punishment. He wants to bless his people! Learning to fear and trust God brings back all of His promises and blessings. Another important thing to point out here is that when Jesus comes many years later everything changes. No longer are God's people going out in war against sinning nations, but instead Jesus instructs people to go out into nations with good news. His holy crusade was never about conquering armies. Actually Jesus choose against violente means all together. In fact he chose his own suffering and death to protect people from violence.)

(Life Question: When God held the sun still he was able to show how very mighty and powerful He is. Do you believe that absolutely anything is possible with God? Most people like to understand how something could happen. With God you will never have to understand, only believe!)