God Fights For You

EXPLORING JOSHUA

God Fights For You

Joshua 10:1-43

Bottom Line: God fights for his people as he accomplishes his purposes.

INTRODUCTION

Yogi Berra was a catcher -- for the New York Yankees, considered to be one of the greatest catchers in major league baseball. He was also known for many of his sayings. You've probably heard many of them and didn't realize where they came from. For example, he once said, "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Or maybe you've heard, "It ain't over till it's over." Or, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." He was known for those things. One story that's told about him is that he was catching. It was the bottom of the ninth, two outs, and the batter comes up from the opposing team. Being a Catholic, the batter uses his bat to make the sign of the cross in the dust on home plate. And Yogi Berra -- who was also a Catholic -- is sitting there and says, "Hey, why don't we let God just watch this game?"

You know, that's good theology when it comes to baseball. Maybe we just let God watch this game. But that's terrible theology when it comes to your life and mine. We don't want to let God just watch our lives. We want to invite God into our lives and trust him with whatever we're facing.

Now, if you've been a Christian for more than five minutes, you've discovered that the Christian life is not a playground -- it's a battleground. If you want to trust Christ, if you want to live for him, if you want to have victory over sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil, it's going to be a battle. You're going to have ups and downs. You're going to have struggles that are bigger than you are. You're going to face those struggles in your marriage. You're going to face them in your finances. You're going to face them in relationships. You're going to face health battles and spiritual battles and emotional battles.

We dare not try to live our lives just muscling our way through in our own strength, because we will fail miserably. But we don't have to -- because we have a God who wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives.

I want to say to our graduates -- I'm so proud of you. Your faith has been real to you and it has been important to you. And going out into the world, wherever God leads you next, will not always be easy. But you don't go alone when you face the battles of life. You go with God on your side. You face those battles with a God who wants to fight for his people as God accomplishes his purposes through us.

That's what we discover here in Joshua chapter 10. If you're new to our church, we preach in series. Typically we'll pick a book of the Bible and just walk our way through it. Today we're in chapter 10. Some of you are panicking right now -- silently on the inside -- going, there are 43 verses. But we're not going to cover all those verses one by one. I'm going to hit some highlights, and I want to give you three ways that God shows up in your battles. Three ways that God showed up for his ancient people Israel as they were conquering the promised land. And as God showed up for them and showed off for them, these are the same three ways I believe he wants to show up and show off in your life.

I. GOD HONORS THE COMMITMENTS OF HIS PEOPLE

Some of you are great note takers. Here's the first one: God honors the commitments of his people. One of the ways God shows up in the midst of your battle is that God honors the commitments of his people.

As we come to the first verse, we're going to be introduced to a pagan king from the city of Jerusalem. It's the first time Jerusalem is explicitly mentioned in Holy Scripture. It's referred to back in Genesis, but here it's called Jerusalem. And the king is Adoni-Zedek. It means "my lord is righteous." And that's kind of an ironic title for him -- because he was anything but righteous. He was a king over this city-state of Jerusalem who worshiped false gods. He worshiped the moon, he worshiped the stars. And he's certainly not righteous because he is about to form a coalition to attack the people of Israel.

By the way, if his name sounds a little familiar -- if it has a little echo to it -- it's probably because you're thinking of another king named Melchizedek. All the way back in the book of Genesis, chapter 14, another king named Melchizedek had heard about Abraham defeating a coalition of kings in the name of the Lord. And Melchizedek came out and worshiped the Lord of Abraham and made peace. Boy, is this new king the total opposite of Melchizedek, the king of righteousness.

So why don't we begin with verse one. Joshua 10:1. If you're ready for me to read, say Amen. I'm reading from the English Standard Version.

[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.

Let's just pause there for a moment. You recall from last chapter -- chapter nine -- that the people of Gibeon, who were also pagans in the land of Canaan, fooled Joshua and the Hebrew people into thinking they were from a distant country. They just wanted to live at peace with Israel and serve Israel. And later it was discovered that they weren't from a far country -- they were right there in Canaan. They were among the people that God had said should be condemned because they had rejected him. So the Gibeonites had chosen to side with God, but they used deceptive means to get this peace treaty with Israel.

Basically, Gibeon has become a vassal state under Joshua and under the Lord God of Israel. They're serving the people of Israel -- cutters of wood and drawers of water -- and they're even serving at the altar of Yahweh. So they've made this pact with Israel. And because they've aligned with Israel, they have divided the promised land right down the middle between north and south.

And if you look at a map when you get home today, you'll discover that the king of Jerusalem is saying, "We're in trouble." We have been cut off from our western trade routes at the Mediterranean. We've been cut off from the northern city-states that could help us. If we don't fight back now, we are done. And to find out that Gibeon has sided with Israel is even worse news, because the Gibeonites are mighty warriors -- and now they're fighting with our enemy. So he is quite upset about what's happening.

[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.

So get it -- five kings in a coalition against the Gibeonites who have just signed a treaty with Israel. So what do you think the Gibeonites do when they find themselves surrounded?

[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."

Help. We entered into a peace treaty with you. You said you'd be there for us. Now's the chance for you to prove it. And the question is -- what will the response of Joshua and Israel be?

They could have taken the easy way out, the worldly way out, by saying, "Look, you guys fooled us into signing this treaty, and now you're in trouble. Why should we be pulled into your battle? You're on your own." But that is not what Joshua does. Because Joshua is a man of integrity. He says, "Even though we were deceived, we made a covenant with these people and we're going to be true to our word."

But it was more than just Joshua's personal integrity at stake here. Joshua had made this covenant in the name of the Lord. It's not just Joshua's reputation on the line. It is the Lord God's reputation on the line.

And a little background, a little history. As you read the Old Testament, keep the Abrahamic covenant in mind. That's the key to helping you understand the Old Testament. Back in Genesis chapter 12:3, God called Abraham: "Follow me. You're a pagan. I'm going to save you. I'm going to take you to a land that is not your own. I'm going to bless you with descendants. I'll make you a great nation. And I will bless the nations who bless you and curse the nations who curse you. And through your descendants the whole world will be blessed." In other words, God was saying, through you -- the Hebrew people -- the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would come.

You know what's at stake here? The reputation of God himself, who promised, if a nation blesses Israel, I'll bless them. And the Gibeonites -- like Rahab -- have recognized the one true living God. They have surrendered to him and aligned with him. And God is going to keep his word. The Amorites, on the other hand, have cursed Israel. Like Rahab and the Gibeonites, they too could have been saved if they had turned from their pagan ways and turned to the one true living God. But they refuse.

[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."

Before the battle begins, God says to Joshua: Do not fear them -- the five Amorite kings -- do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you. God declares the victory. Joshua, you don't have to go and fight for victory. You'll be fighting from the victory that I am giving you. Because you've kept my commitments, my covenant -- I'm going to show up for you.

I wonder how many of us recognize that in the Christian life we do not sit back passively saying, "God, you've got to do your thing and there's nothing I have to do." No. Joshua has to obey. He has to trust. He has to fight. He has to claim the promise of God as his own. And in our own lives we too are going to have to live day by day -- praying the promises of God's word, claiming the commands of God's word to obey, and leaning on the power of God to fill us -- if we're ever going to see victory.

But as Christians, we don't fight for victory. We fight from the victory that God has given us through the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I don't know if you've read the end of your Bible, but we win. Spoiler alert. We win -- because we're on God's side. Not because of who we are, but because of what God has done.

It was June 5, 1944 -- the day before D-Day -- when General Dwight Eisenhower wrote two letters. One was the public release announcing that the invasion of Europe had begun -- the greatest amphibious invasion in human history. The second letter, written in his own hand, was kept in his pocket. It was the letter he would read if D-Day was not a success -- accepting full responsibility for failure. Thank God he never had to read that second letter. Dwight Eisenhower did not know if the Allied forces would be victorious. Joshua, on the other hand, went into battle with the promise of heaven: because you've kept my commitment, I'm going to show up for you. You have nothing to be afraid of.

Are you claiming God's word? Are you living in obedience? Are you surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? That's when God shows up and shows off.

[10] 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. [11] 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.

God wasn't just watching this battle from heaven. And to prove that the Lord God of heaven deserved the credit -- not Joshua or the people of Israel -- God sends down hailstones from heaven. More died that way than died by the swords in the hands of the Jewish people. Only God could get the credit for what he's doing. He is fighting for his people according to his purpose. That's what walking by faith means. God, I'm going to do my part. But I trust you to do what only you can do to give me the victory.

II. GOD HEARS THE BOLD PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE

Let me give you a second way God shows up in the midst of your battle. Secondly, God hears the bold prayers of his people. God honors the commitments of his people, but he also hears the bold prayers of his people.

So we've seen what's happened. But what's about to happen is unprecedented in biblical and human history.

[12] 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."

[13] 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 middle of the sky and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. [14] 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.

Unprecedented.

Evidently, Joshua is reminded by the hailstones that the God of Israel is the Lord of heaven and earth. And so while God is up to his meteorological miracles, Joshua decides -- I'm going to ask him for another one. The enemy is seeking to flee from the army of Israel, hoping that when nightfall comes they can escape, rest, regroup, and attack the next day. And Joshua says, if only the day were longer so that we could overcome God's enemies. And he prays to the Lord and asks, stop the sun and the moon -- stretch out this day so that we can accomplish your purpose.

And some of you right now are scientifically thinking, well, the sun doesn't stop -- the earth revolves around the sun. Absolutely. Joshua is referring to the sun from his perspective. We do it all the time. Did you see the sunrise this morning? Did you see the sunset tonight? We're just speaking from our human perspective. This is not a scientific statement. But the question is -- did God answer his prayer? Well, the Bible says emphatically and unapologetically -- yes, God did.

You won't be able to discover it under a microscope or in a textbook. It is a miracle of God. If God can speak the universe into existence and name the stars one by one, he can certainly command the sun to stretch out the day so that his people can finish the battle.

And in Joshua's day, he even says, hey -- don't take my word for it. It's even written in the Book of Jashar. The Book of Jashar is not in your Bible. He's just saying, this is not the only account of this day. Go check me out if you don't believe me. That's not how myth and fable and legend work. This is a historical, miraculous event.

But notice -- when Joshua prayed "Sun, stand still" -- he wasn't praying to the sun. Did you catch that? It says he said this to the Lord. The Amorites worshiped the moon and the sun and the stars. And God was saying through Joshua -- I am the one true living God. Your gods have not shown up for you. I command the sun and the moon, and I will protect my people.

The question that the writer of the book of Joshua intended us to ask as we read this historical account is not "How is that possible?" He wants us to ask ourselves: How big is my God that he is able to do what he did?

He's a big God who answers the bold prayers of his people.

Many years ago at Fort Caroline Baptist Church, where I had the privilege of serving for 28 years before I came to -- I'm sorry, Pastor -- before I came here, we had started a chapter of Celebrate Recovery. Mark and Sharon Wingerstone are here today -- they lead our Celebrate Recovery here at First Baptist Blairsville and have done so for many, many years. So we had Celebrate Recovery. It's for anybody with any hurt, habit, or hang-up. And I met a woman named September. Beautiful lady. Godly lady. She would introduce herself at CR as, "Hello, my name is September. I'm a Christian who struggles with..." Because her identity is not in her struggle -- her identity is in Christ. She told me about her husband Chuck. She said, "Pastor, Chuck's a good man, but he's not saved. And he doesn't have any room in his life for religion. He doesn't like Christian people. He just thinks it's all a big con. He's in AA. He is faithful. He has an amazing testimony -- but he's not a Christian. But I'm inviting him to church. I'm inviting him to Celebrate Recovery." I said, "Good on you." She said, "I have prayed for him to be saved." I prayed with September many times as she wept -- wanting her husband to be saved. She finally got him to come, and I asked her, "How in the world did you pull that off?" She said, "I appealed to his ego. I said -- you've been sober for so many years. Those Jesus people, they just need to hear your story. They need to hear your testimony. Why don't you just ignore the Jesus stuff and come give your testimony?" So he came. And he would tell you -- he ignored all that Jesus stuff. Because when we gather for CR there's a time of worship through singing, a time of scripture, a time of testimonies, and we talk about the twelve steps. He said, "I ignored all that Jesus stuff. I would sit there and mock these Christians under my breath. I can't believe they believe in Jesus. And he just laughed. But he came -- because they needed him. And Chuck would later say that on one Friday night, as the time of praise and worship was going on, something clicked in his heart and he was broken. He said, 'I came to realize this Jesus is real. He's changing people's lives. I need him too.' And he got saved. I got to baptize Chuck. Amen. I got to baptize Chuck in the very church he said he had never stepped foot in. Chuck became one of the best inviters to our church. There was hardly a Sunday that went by that he would not say, "Pastor, I want you to meet so-and-so -- it's their first Sunday." He had a way about him that he could reach broken people and say, "Listen, just show up. What do you have to lose? Ignore all that Jesus stuff." And he would say, "You know what I discovered? You can try to ignore Jesus, but he's going to show up and he's going to work in your heart." And Chuck and September -- if you're watching -- I'm waiting on you to visit here at First Baptist Blairsville.

Why do I tell you that story? Salvation is nothing less than a miracle of God -- far greater than the sun stopping in the sky. And September prayed bold prayers for years. And God heard. I can't stand here today and tell you all the ways God will give you this and give you that and answer exactly how you want it when you want it. I'm not saying that. But I am saying he shows up and he shows off by hearing the bold prayers of his people. He is more apt to hear us and to act than we are to pray, sadly.

Are you struggling in that marriage? Are you praying about it? Are you struggling with an addiction? Are you bringing it on your knees to the Lord saying, "I can't fight this battle without you. You alone can give me the victory"? Are you trying to find direction for your life? Have you brought it to the Lord in prayer? And I don't mean once -- I mean keep coming back. Be persistent in your faith and in your prayers, and watch what God does.

III. GOD FINISHES THE BATTLES OF HIS PEOPLE

How does God show up? He honors the commitments of his people as they obey his word, claim his promises, and lean on his Holy Spirit. He shows up as he hears their bold prayers. Let me give you a third thought -- and this is the last one. Don't say amen. God finishes the battles of his people. God shows up by finishing the battles of his people.

So we've seen that the battle is going on. God has thrown the coalition of five kings into panic. God has hurled hailstones from heaven. God has extended the day so that Israel can complete the work. But there's still work to do.

[16] These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. [17] And it was told to Joshua, "The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah." [18] And Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, [19] but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."

God says to Joshua -- don't stop. Keep them moving. There are battles yet to fight.

Now let's skip down to verse 24.

[24] And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings." Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. [25] And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight."

Did you hear what Joshua did? He turned that moment of the subjugation of God's enemies into a sermon. And if those words sound vaguely familiar -- "Do not be afraid or dismayed, be strong and courageous" -- it is because those are the same words the Lord had said to Joshua in chapter one. Joshua is now saying, "I'm learning this lesson: God finishes the battles of his people. He has won the victory for us. It is ours to trust and obey. It is God's to give the victory."

Don't be afraid. It was during the Civil War when news came to Ulysses S. Grant that General Lee was perhaps trying to flank them. Grant's officers came rushing into his tent in a panic -- Lee has done this to others and he's now trying to do it to us. What are we going to do about Lee? And historians say that Grant basically threw his officers out of the tent in anger. He said, "I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do to us. Go back to your commands and think about what we are going to do to Lee."

And I wonder sometimes if God doesn't look down from heaven at poor little old Ricky -- who is singing the blues about his problems. Oh, my problems are so bad. Oh, my fears are so great. All this struggle. I just don't know what I'm going to do. If God doesn't sometimes say, "I am heartily tired of hearing about what Ricky's problems are going to do to Ricky. I want to hear Ricky say what God's going to do for him."

How about you? Is there a moment in your life when you need to stop singing the blues and start claiming the victory you have in Christ Jesus? Because God will finish the battles of his people. It's not on your shoulders. It is on his.

Lord, this life is yours. This marriage is yours. This church is yours. What would you have me do with what you've entrusted to me?

Now you're going to be happy -- we're going to skip all the way down to verse 42.

[42] And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

Why? Because Joshua was such a great leader? No. Because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. That is the key to this whole chapter. That is the key to the whole book of Joshua. The Lord fought for Israel -- and the Lord fights for his people.

You remember that old study called Experiencing God? Henry Blackaby taught about how to find the will of God for your life. One of the key principles -- and this is a great one for our graduates -- is this: Don't say, "Here are all my plans. Now God, just come and bless what I'm doing." He said no. You find where God is working and you join him in that. Because God's plans are already blessed. Find where he's at work. Find what God is up to. Align your life with the purpose of God, and God will fight and finish your battles for you.

God is not obligated to prop up my little kingdom. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven -- for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Jesus taught us to pray that way. When I align my heart and my life and my priorities and my purposes with God's, he finishes my battles for me.

And the reason we sometimes lose is because we're fighting our own battles our own way. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to his purpose." Do you love him? Have you been called to live out his purpose -- making Jesus Lord of your life? Are you showing your love and your surrender to his lordship in your marriage, in the temptations you're facing, in your finances, in your future career? Are you laying it before the Lord saying, "Lord, I want you to show up and show off in only the way that you can. I'm going to live according to your word. I'm going to pray bold prayers based on your word. And I'm going to trust you with the finish and with the victory"?

GOSPEL INVITATION

I can't leave you today just thinking about this Joshua. I have to leave you thinking about a greater Joshua. Yeshua of Nazareth. He's the greater Joshua. Jesus truly was the only righteous king -- the Son of righteousness. He came into this world and lived a perfect life where we have lived unrighteous, sinful lives. And as the Son of Man, he went to the bloody cross of Calvary. He exchanged that perfect life for your sin and mine -- to pay for forgiveness and to take the condemnation that our sin deserves. His dead body was placed in a tomb. And like those five kings at Makkedah, a stone was rolled in front of Jesus' tomb.

But three days later, God rolled that stone away and our Savior walked out victorious and alive forevermore. And it is this Jesus who teaches us -- trust your life to the Father and his purpose. He went to that cross and cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And he ended those six hours that Friday by crying out, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." He knew that on the other side of groaning would come glory. On the other side of death would come life.

And that life is available to you today. Not because of anything you have done. Not because you have earned it or deserved it or fought hard enough. But because God fights for his people. If you have never trusted Christ -- if you have been fighting your life's battle alone, in your own strength, on your own terms -- I want to invite you to surrender that battle today. Put your trust in Jesus. Receive his forgiveness. Let God fight for you.

And if you already know Christ -- if you've been a believer for years -- let this text be a reminder. You don't have to white-knuckle your way through this life. The LORD God of Israel fights for his people. And he fights for you. God fights for his people as he accomplishes his purposes. And friend -- you are part of those purposes.

Bottom Line: God fights for his people as he accomplishes his purposes.