Sermon Tone Analysis

(Start by rereading verses 1-11)

(1) And then, as soon as Adoni-Tsedeq king of Jerusalem heard (A) that Joshua took Ai and had kheremed it, just as he did to Jericho and its king, thus he had done to Ai and to its king, and (B) that the inhabitants of Gibeon made peace with Israel-- and they were in their midst-- (2) they were very afraid

because (A) a great city [was] Gibeon, like one of the cities of the kingdom,

and (B) because it [was] greater than Ai, and all its men [were] warriors,

(3) and Adoni-Tsedeq king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Yarmut and to Yaphia king of Labish and to Davir king of Eglon, saying,

"Come up to me,

and help me

so that we may strike Gibeon

because they made peace with Joshua and the sons of Israel,"

(5) and they gathered,

and the five kings of the Amorites went up-- the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Yarmut, the king of Lakish, the king of Eglon-- they, and all their camp/army--

and they camped before/opposite Gibeon,

and they made war against it,

(6) and the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, saying,

"May you not abandon your hands from your servants.

Come up to us quickly,

and save us,

and help us,

because they are gathered against us-- all the kings of the Amorites, the inhabitants of the mountain,"

(7) and Joshua went up from Gilgal-- he and all the people of the camp with him, and all the great warriors--

(8) and Yahweh said to Joshua,

"Do not fear them,

because into your hand I have given them.

A man from them will/shall not stand before you,"

(9) and Joshua came to them suddenly--

It was all night that he had gone up from Gilgal--,

(10) and Yahweh confused/routed them before Israel,

and he struck them a great blow at Gibeon,

and he pursued them on the road going up to the house of Kharon,

and he struck them up to Azekah and up to Makkedah,

(11) and then, while they were fleeing from before Israel-- they [were] on the descent to the house of Kharon--, Yahweh threw on them great stones from the heavens up to Azekah,

and they died.

It was many more who died by the stones of hail than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

This brings us to verse 12.

The easiest way to think about verses 12-15, is that AJ here hits the pause button on the story, because there's something else he wants to add.

He could've talked about it earlier, in verses 1-11, but he wanted us to focus on Yahweh the Warrior.

He wanted us to marvel at this picture of Yahweh throwing enormous hail stones from the heavens, killing thousands of men.

He wanted us to think about how Yahweh is the More Powerful One-- more powerful than kings, more powerful than the army of Israel as a whole.

But AJ knew that once we hear verse 12, we will lose all of that.

And if he'd smooshed the two stories together, we'd find it impossible to revel in Yahweh the Warrior.

But what we are about to read is too cool to simply not include.

It's too amazing.

So AJ here adds it to the story.

So.

Verse 12, and I'll read through part of verse 13:

(12) It was at that time that Joshua was speaking to Yahweh, on the day Yahweh set/gave the Amorites before the sons of Israel,

and he spoke before the eyes of Israel,

"Sun, at Gibeon, stand still,

and moon, at the valley of Ayalon,"

(13) and the sun stood still,

while the moon stood until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.

So Joshua is pressing the attack, and the day is going great.

But there's a problem-- there's not enough daylight in the day, to kill everyone that needs killing.

These kings dared to attack Gibeon, and Gibeon is now part of Israel.

It's all part of Yahweh's one special, chosen nation.

Anyone who dares to attack God's people deserves to die.

Joshua's job is to take vengeance on them for their sinful, arrogant attack.

Now, every soldier who has ever been defeated in battle knows that the night is your friend.

The darkness will let you hide; it will let you run away in relative safety.

If you've lost, and you're running, you know that all you have to do, is hang on until dark.

Joshua sees all of this unfolding in front of him-- the attack is going well, but the day will be too short.

Too many of these enemies, vulnerable outside of their fortified cities, are going to get away.

So Joshua does something astonishing.

In the full view, and hearing, of the Israelites, he commands the sun to stop moving.

And it stops!

Many of you, maybe, get to verse 13, and you mutter to yourself, "No way."

You say to yourself, "I have a scientific, Western mindset, and I don't have time for legends and myths.

God either couldn't do this, or wouldn't.

This is ridiculous."

AJ knows that his readers/hearers will hear these words, and some of them will struggle.

Israelites weren't any less intelligent than you.

They know that the sun doesn't just stop.

So AJ reveals himself in verse 13, about as clearly as he does anywhere in his book.

He writes this:

"Is it not written in the book of Yashar?

AJ knows some of you will struggle to believe him, so he points you to one of his sources, a well-known book called the book of Yashar.

He says, "Go research this.

I'm not making this up."

This book of Yashar turns up one other place in the OT, in 2 Samuel 1. Let's turn there, and start reading at verse 17 (ESV, modified spelling so it's Yashar, not Jashar):

17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he said it[a] should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Yashar.[b]

He said:

19 "Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

20 Tell it not in Gath,

publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,

lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

21 "You mountains of Gilboa,

let there be no dew or rain upon you,

nor fields of offerings![c]

For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

22 "From the blood of the slain,

from the fat of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan turned not back,

and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!

In life and in death they were not divided;

they were swifter than eagles;

they were stronger than lions.