Stanger Stories: Week 3
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Last week we talked about Calling
We talked about how you need too:
Identify your calling
Test your calling
Live out your calling
We looked at the life of Gideon and how he was called by God, but before he knew that he identified it, tested it, and then lived it out
This week we are continuing our series on Strangers Stories looking at a story in Joshua that you have probably never heard of
Grab a Bible or your open your eyes, we will be in Joshua 10 today
The people VS Israel
The people VS Israel
1 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.
We enter in the middle of a war
Israel just defeated Jericho (by walking around a wall) and Ai (by using a masterful plan that the Lord gave them)
In both instances there is no way the people of Israel should have won
On paper they were outmatched, outclassed, and just simply the weaker army
Yet they continued to win
Because of this the Gibeonites came to Joshua in Chapter 9 begging that they make a covenant with them
That they become allies - the Gibeonites were the neighbors of Israel and a very powerful nation
They were able to look at all that God had done for Israel and decided they didn’t want to cross God
Because the Gibeonites did this, Adoni-Zedek, and the other four kings all came up to strike them
They decided to wipe out Gibeon because they partnered with Israel and choose to follow God
Here’s the first thing this passage will teach you
Choosing God causes friction
The people of Gibeon choose to join the Israelites, and decided to follow YHWH
Because of this we see the people of the other nations rising up against them
The same thing happens if you choose to follow God
Satan will attack you for following God/attempting to follow God
That’s why Ephesians 6:12 grounds us on who the enemy is
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We are constantly facing off against Satan and his demons
Much like the Gibeonites are here
They are not truly going up against Adoni-Zedek and the other kings, they are really going up against Satan and his armies
We must realize that today
When people attack us, or go up against us, trying to push us to bad things/away from God
We aren’t going up against them, it is Satan
That’s why we must realize that choosing God will cause friction
It will cause hardship
Run to God
Run to God
6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.”
When the people of Gibeon find out about the war coming their way they ran to Joshua
Joshua is the leader of Israel, just as Moses was
He is not only the one that is leading them into battle, but also the one that is the spiritual leader - the mediator between the people and God
In OT times people couldn’t go to God directly, they had to go to the priest who would then go to God on their behalf
So the people of Gibeon ran to Joshua
They ran in expectation that Joshua and the people of Israel would move and help them, but they also ran to Joshua because they needed God’s help
Remember Gibeon was a great royal city - all of its inhabitants were warriors
They shouldn’t need help in battle - yet they ran to the Israelites who are the weaker army
Not because they ran to Israel, but to God
Here’s what I love about this section
God told Joshua He has given them into his hand
God literally told Joshua - you have already won the battle
You already won!
That’s the second thing you need to learn
God moves when we move
The people of Gibeon ran to the Lord
Yes the obviously ran to Joshua, but that is the equivalent of running to God when problems occur
When you are following God we know friction is going to come
Because of that we must always run to God
He is our strength and shield
He is the only one that can take care of the threats that we face
The people ran to God, but that didn’t immediately save them
God told Joshua I have already given them into your hand
BUT they still had to go
They still had to fight
They still had to move
What if the battle you are fighting today, God has already defeated?
What if the struggle you are facing Jesus has already won?
The addiction you have, Jesus already defeated
He’s just waiting on you to move
He’s waiting on you to come to Him
God gave the people victory, yet they still had to go and fight
God has given you victory in Jesus - yet you still have to go Him
Israel wins
Israel wins
So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.
So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
When Israel showed up we see the people win the battle
Really when God showed up the people won
This leads to the third thing
God works miracles when we trust Him
To win this battle for Israel God did three miracles for the people
He first made the army go into a panic allowing them to win
He then struck people down with large stones from heaven
Which it says killed more people than the army
Lastly, he allowed it to be daylight for an entire day
Not allowing it to get dark so that the Israelites can win the battle
God worked miracles for His people!
God does the same thing for us also
God is the same God today as He was then
He still works miracles!
Conclusion
Conclusion
This story seems wild in the beginning!
But when you break it down you realize that it is really teaching you one simple truth
When you trust God, He will take care of you
The people of Gibeon trust in the Lord, they saw what God had done and went to Joshua seeking God
Then when they faced armies and trials, they ran to God
By doing that God took care of them!
When you face trails and problems, run to God
He can take care of you