Josh (01-04-09)A
Jan 4, 2009
“The Day the Sun Stood Still” Joshua 10:1-15
In Ch 10 in a terrible bloody battle Joshua conquers the 5 Amorite kings from the South
And so very interesting / this Ch contains the account / of what’s called “the long day of Joshua” … & is a question which is asked by skeptic & saint alike .. to this day
did the sun / day truly stand still
BUT .. the question we ought to ask isn’t .. whether God made the sun stand still or not .. but rather could .. He make it stand still if He so desired / of course He can
Jer 32:17 & v27
v17 Ah Lord God .. behold You have made the heavens & the earth by Your great power & by Your outstretched arm nothing is too difficult for You
v27 behold .. I am the Lord .. the God of all flesh is anything too difficult for Me
Of course we believe what Luke 1:37 tells us
“that nothing will be impossible with God”
So to argue whether God stopped the day or made it go slower .. or whatever He did to help Joshua & Israel … ( which brilliant men try to resolve ) I simply have no problem believing
for truly “nothing would be impossible or too difficult for our God”
So whether this truly happened or not is not even an issue for me
( what is at issue is this )
v1-6 share a great lesson as we see the 5 Canaanite kings become scared by the alliance Joshua made with the Gibeonites / Ch 9
so they unite together to declare war on Gibeon who immediately v6 sent a call for Joshua to help them .. ( as he promised )
v6 then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying .. do not abandon your servants .. come up to us quickly & save us & help us .. for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us
When danger struck the Gibeonites they immediately believed Joshua’s promise to protect them .. & called on him for help …
That is what we need to do when we find ourselves facing the battles of life .. ( as we see )
The Gibeonites turned their burden over to Joshua .. & trusted him to keep his word as he promised .. & he did
Oh that everyone of us would follow the Gibeonites example … when they knew they were headed for trouble they came to Joshua = “Jehovah is Savior” & obtained from him his promise of protection
Joshua came up from Gilgal & did war against these kings .. as one of the most brutal battle in all of history takes place here in Ch 10
v7-15 in which .. God intervened on behalf of His promise .. & His people
delaying nightfall & lengthening the day in order that victory would be complete & final & then .. to top it off v11 God rained large hailstones upon their enemy from Heaven
Do not forget that these kings & their people were given .. 420 years to make up their minds / to repent whether they would turn to God .. or not
God had made it known that He was giving the land to Israel & that He would save anyone who would turn to Him
YES .. He would save anyone who would turn to Him
Remember the harlot Rahab had said
for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you” ( Josh 2:10 )
she believed .. & if she believed & was saved anybody could have believed God
However .. these folk chose not to believe as they had rejected God’s mercy ( & once God’s mercy is rejected ) then His judgment will sooner or later .. come
God’s message has never changed He loves the world / you & gave His Son if you will believe on Him you will not perish
( but the question is )
Will you perish if you don’t believe & the answer is clearly .. yes
& this is what is happening to these folk they just refuse to believe God
as He waited 420 years for them to finally repent
Now the outcome may not sound nice to you & you’d like to have it otherwise .. but this is the way it is written .. in the Word of God & therefore .. so be it [1]
The result of this battle is described in v16-21
v21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace .. ( & we see that ) no one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel
From this battle forward .. the people of God were finally established in the land of Canaan as a people to be feared / respected ( supported by God’s supernatural power )
( you know church ) we too are to come to that place .. where I believe that we the church ought to feared as well … that we are made up of people who are uncompromising in our testimony courageous in our faith .. holy in our lives where folks fear to come thru these doors lest they too become saved
There should be .. an awe & reverence that is demanded from each of us in the fear of the presence of our God in this place
Oh that we might have the awe of God in the hearts of the people & the preacher
Note .. from the 5 kings how they reacted
toward Israel & Joshua v17 “the 5 kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah”
Why would they have hidden themselves they had a great & powerful army
It was because of Gilgal … where all of Israel had a change of heart & it is because of our Gilgal / Calgary where we are to have a change of heart
You see .. it was for them .. at Gilgal
· where they went thru the waters
a sign of their death to self
· Gilgal where they were resurrected
symbolically .. rising from death
to a new life
· Gilgal was their place of repentance
where they cast off their old lives / repent
· ultimately it was at Gilgal where their Captain came to them with His sword drawn / protection ( 5:13-15 )
Gilgal wasn’t just a place of beginning but was also their place of continuing
just as our walk with Christ thru Calvary isn’t a one time act .. but a permanent attitude of faith day by day .. AND .. day after day
John 14:23
Jesus answered & said to them if anyone loves Me .. they will keep My word ( it is an ongoing commitment )
& My Father will love them & We will come to them & make Our abode with them
Our walk with Christ is not about where we began .. but it is all about how we finish
Now I must close with this truth .. it is tough but it is truth none the less note here how Joshua v24
had his chiefs of the men of war .. come & put their feet on the necks of these kings
& then ultimately v26 he had the kings hanged from 5 trees till evening
Wouldn’t you say that is a little rough these poor follows .. hiding in the caves pulled out & forced to lie down & have their enemies put their feet on their necks & then hang them
( what’s the point )
Listen there will be no victory in your life until you declare an all out war on sin
Why not send them back to their cave until they have learned their lesson isn’t Joshua a bit cruel
Let me get personal with you
· are you not glad your sins are forgiven
· are you not glad to know that there is
now no condemnation for those of us
who are in Christ ( Rom 8:1 )
· are you not glad to know that you are on
your true / sure / secure road to heaven
But on the other hand does it not sadden you to know that there is sin in your life
Could it be that within you are sins that have never been humiliated by putting your foot on its neck & has not been put to death once & for all
No .. you have put it in “the cave of your heart” but never slain it
And perhaps you wonder why your testimony isn’t as radiant & your walk with Christ as effective as you had hoped it would be
And every once in a while it rushes out of the cave & before you know it you are in the midst of a sin you must have confessed a hundred times
The problem is you refuse to kill it we are to come against everything that has not yet been judged / condemned / confessed before our God
Christian .. we are in a war & most of us think our walk with Christ is completed .. true Christ has died for it all but we need to do a bloody battle against our sin so our walk with Christ can be as wonderful as He wishes
& for that to happen .. there must be war
As we finished reading thru our Bible this week I pray that you have embarked again this year in reading thru your Bible & that you have joined a small group in studying thru the GodBook N.T. material .. we are now in Matthew
Last Tuesday we read in Psalm 149 that Israel God's chosen people .. are privileged in praising Him in the assembly of the faithful .. just as we are. They also have a part, according to v7 of executing God's judgment & vengeance vs. His enemies just like we see here in Joshua
Reading thru the Bible like we do gives us insights into God's character / plan / ways. Isn't it awesome to see how the O.T. & N.T. compliment each other in their messsage of God & His love, grace & mercy
Verses:
Jer 32:17 & v27
Luke 1:37
John 14:23
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[1]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (2:25-26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.