Before we start this chapter we need to understand the nature if the world at that time. I’ve copied this from the study: Genesis chapter 11
As society develops, there will always be those who lead and those who are led. Consider the playground. A small group of boys forms a gang. One of them is the leader. As a gang they are quite likely to take sweets etc. from other boys. An astute boy asks ‘Can I join your gang?’ In order to join he may have to fight, or give something. But after that, he is accepted as part of the gang and he has its protection and a share in its winnings.
Early civilisation was just like that. If your tribe looked weak you would probably be raided by the stronger one from over the hill. It would be in your own interest (in fact - all your interests) to form an alliance (and maybe give some sheep or a wife to the head man). Once several tribes have grouped together they may be able to ward off an attack from any other tribe – or even be strong enough to carry out raids of their own.
As populations grew, tribes settled. With the introduction of copper tools and weapons, villages became towns and towns became cities. Chiefs became city leaders and started to call themselves kings.
They did still retain their tribal roots and they were collectively referred to by their tribal name. (Genesis chapter 10 explains where they all started.)
The only true country known at that time was probably Egypt, ruled by a Pharaoh. The Israelites were also a nation – ruled by God himself. But all the others that we have encountered so far: Ammonites, Amorites, Canaanites etc. were simply loose collections of city-states, each with its own king. They had no ruling central authority.
So far we have seen the destruction of Jericho, the sin of Achan, and finally the conquest of Ai.
Joshua 9:1-27
Read Joshua 9:1-2
1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things – the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) – 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
They didn’t attack immediately, but they formed alliances and made plans.
Read Joshua 9:3-14
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: they went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, ‘We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.’
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, ‘But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?’
8 ‘We are your servants,’ they said to Joshua.
But Joshua asked, ‘Who are you and where do you come from?’
9 They answered: ‘Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan – Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, “Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, ‘We are your servants; make a treaty with us.’” 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and mouldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.’
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the Lord.
Oh dear. Joshua had so much to learn. We feel that Moses would probably have first asked God, but we are specifically told that Joshua didn’t – or rather ‘the Israelites’ didn’t. (Does this mean that Joshua was relying on advisors?)
Were they also too proud of their successes and conceited enough to be pleased that even ‘a distant country’ wanted to make a treaty with them?
(It is fair to say that without any maps, very few people would have had any concept of the size and shape of the land they lived in, let alone where other countries might be.)
Read Joshua 9:15
15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
I still can’t help thinking that they could have tried harder to find out where they were from, before agreeing terms.
Read Joshua 9:16-21
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbours, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim.
18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, ‘We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.’ 21 They continued, ‘Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water-carriers in the service of the whole assembly.’ So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
Joshua had been tricked and could not now follow God’s instructions in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. However he could instead follow Deuteronomy 20:10-15, as if the cities were ‘at a distance’.
Read Joshua 9:22-27
22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, ‘Why did you deceive us by saying, “We live a long way from you,” while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: you will never be released from service as woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of my God.’
24 They answered Joshua, ‘Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.’
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.
27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water-carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
Well we could just leave this story and plunge into chapter 10, but the four cities involved bear closer inspection. Where were they?
These cities were to the north of Jerusalem (Still called Jebus at that time) that would eventually act as a wedge between the northern and southern tribes.
Joshua 10:1-43
Read Joshua 10:1-5
1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. 4 ‘Come up and help me attack Gibeon,’ he said, ‘because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.’
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon – joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
Read Joshua 10:6
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: ‘Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.’
What does verse 2 tell us about Gibeon and its army?
It was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.
But they had now given themselves as slaves to Joshua. Politically it would be suicide to again act as an independent city – the Israelites would think they had been tricked again. Their only hope was with Israel and its God.
Read Joshua 10:7-8
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’
This time it seems that Joshua prayed – or at least listened – to the Lord. Joshua still had to fight the battle but the Lord would ensure they would win.
Read Joshua 10:9-11
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
If the Israelites still had any doubts, discovering what the hail had done as they advanced against the Gibeonite army should have been enough to set their minds at rest – but there was still more:
Read Joshua 10:12-15
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
What do you make of that?
There will be different ideas.
- One is that scientists have proved that there is a day missing – exactly allowing for 23 hours and 20 mins in Joshua, and 40 mins when the sun went back 10 degrees for Hezekiah. That is simply not true; for more look at:
https://bible.org/question/has-%E2%80%9Cmissing-day%E2%80%9D-joshua-been-proven-scientifically
The “missing day found” story is simply a Christian urban myth. While astronomers do indeed calculate the future orbits of space objects, it is not technologically possible to somehow “locate” Joshua’s missing day by calculating backwards.
- Another idea is that the original Hebrew could be translated to mean it was an eclipse – but the longest total eclipse could only last 7½ minutes (taking two hours from start to finish).
- Or it was simply poetic language and not intended to be taken as fact
- Or it happened just as it was recounted
Personally, when faced with accounts of miracles in the Bible I simply prefer to believe them! Miracles are provided to show the glory of God – to try to explain them away is denying God’s ability to control his creation. (We seem to have recently accepted that the Israelites crossed the Jordan when it was in flood!)
We now have to go back a bit to what happened during the battle. The armies were fleeing hoping to return to their fortified home towns: Lachish, Eglon or Hebron, where they might find temporary refuge.
Read Joshua 10:16-19
16 Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, ‘Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.’
Dealing with the kings just then would have been a distraction.
Rolling stones across the entrance to a cave and posting a guard sounds familiar, but there would be no resurrection for these Kings.
Read Joshua 10:20-21
20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely, but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities. 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
There was no need to be concerned about the stragglers; they would be dealt with later. For now they could set up camp outside the city of Makkedah, and attend to some unfinished business.
Read Joshua 10:22-24
22 Joshua said, ‘Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.’ 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, ‘Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
To us, that seems an unnecessarily insolent action. But it was obviously necessary, so we need to look at it in more detail.
God had declared that for the inhabitants of the land, their time of sinful rebellion had come to an end and their time for punishment had come. Without exception they were all to be killed, and God himself would do that, but using the armies of Israel.
Kings were always treated with respect, often kept alive in defeat. But here the Captains and their men had to be shown that the nations they were to drive out had to be brought to complete subjection, and even their proudest kings – symbolising the people they ruled – must be held in complete contempt.
So in the sight of the army, the captains symbolically placed their feet on the necks of those ‘devoted to destruction’, showing that it was the men themselves, who would execute God’s sentence on those who fight against God.
Read Joshua 10:25-27
25 Joshua said to 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.’ 26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
When the Gibeonites had asked for help, the fighting men that were sent were only part of the armies of the towns that responded; so to complete the destruction in the south if the country, the Israelites turned to attack those towns and also any others that might pose a threat when they finally came to settle there.
Read Joshua 10:28-43
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army – until no survivors were left.
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned round and attacked Debir. 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
