And it came to pass when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, that he had done to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them,
Joshua 10 opens with a king in Jerusalem hearing news. Two cities are destroyed, and a third, Gibeon, has gone over to Israel. His fear does not send him to God. It sends him to the other kings of Canaan, and the Bible names Jerusalem here for the first time.
In the previous chapter Israel made a treaty with Gibeon without asking God. That mistake did not settle the land. It pulled the remaining kings into one army. Even so, the outcome stayed in God's hand.
What had just taken place did not check the threatened alliance of the Canaanite nations. It completed that alliance and aimed it at Gibeon… So Gibeon becomes the target of attack. But Jehovah carries out His purposes. This is a great and gracious consolation. There is never ground to distrust the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a snare, but we are never justified in distrusting Him.
The kings did not march on Israel's camp. They marched on the city that had changed sides. Gibeon now lived among Israel as their servants, and war followed at once.
Gibeon was no help to Israel. They became the reason the remaining kings of Canaan joined forces. Those kings wanted revenge on a city that in their eyes had turned traitor. Gibeon, now the servants of Israel, call on their masters for protection. This alliance brings immediate war. Satan resents that Gibeon has submitted to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them. But this only displays, in greater glory, the presence of the great Captain of the armies of Israel.
Jerusalem enters the Bible here, and the setting matters.
This is the first time the Bible mentions the name Jerusalem… It comes in connection with war, and the next time we find Jerusalem on fire (Judges 1:8). We may take this as a prophecy of that city's history. Yet something better is in store for Jerusalem. Adoni-zedec is here the King of Jerusalem. His name means "lord of righteousness." He stands as the counterfeit king, set against Jerusalem's true King, the true Melchizedec, King of righteousness and King of peace. He is a type of Antichrist.
Long before, another king ruled the same place under almost the same name. The title survived. What stood behind it had gone.
The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedec (the Lord of Righteousness), had a title much like that of the king before him, Melchizedek (King of Righteousness). In that day Jerusalem (peaceful possession, or possession of peace) was called Salem (Peace)… In those days people honoured the living God in Salem… But now Hebron receives the first call to fight against Israel. So by the time of this alliance of kings, the nations of Canaan had thrown off the fear of the Most High. They worshipped the sun and the moon, Baal and Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13). Their iniquity was full. Their harvest had passed, their summer had ended, and the wrath of God was about to fall on them.
Israel now has to fight to protect the very people they should have destroyed. One writer sets this failure beside the earlier one at Ai.
Note the difference of the ways of God. At Ai there is real sin. Lust is at work in the camp. So God will not go out with the army. He will not excuse sin and strengthen it by letting it pass unnoticed. At Gibeon there was false self-confidence after blessing. They did not consult God, so they are bound to their enemies. Now they must defend, and save from destruction, the very thing they ought to have destroyed or taken for themselves.
Joshua could have broken the treaty and walked away. He kept his word instead, and God met him.
Joshua seems to have understood that his hard situation came from their failure. Adding more failure, by breaking his word, was not the right way to go. Again we see God's mercy after failure when there is an upright heart. He says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you" (v. 8).
- Heard — News of Jericho, Ai and Gibeon reached Jerusalem. The king answered with fear, and fear hardened into an alliance instead of submission.
- Feared — Canaan once honoured the living God at Salem. By now the nations had thrown that fear off. Their iniquity was full, and judgement was due.
- Counterfeit — Adoni-zedek means "lord of righteousness." He is a false king in the city whose true King is the real King of righteousness and peace.
- Consequence — A treaty made without asking God left Israel defending what they were meant to destroy. Failure costs more than the moment it is made in.
- Mercy — Joshua kept his word instead of adding a second fault. God answered his upright heart: "Do not fear them." A snare is never a reason to distrust the Lord.
that they feared greatly; for Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.
Joshua's army has taken Jericho and Ai. Now a third Canaanite city, Gibeon, has joined Israel by treaty instead of by battle, and verse 2 shows what that news did to the king of Jerusalem: not repentance, but fear, with reasons attached.
Gibeon's peace with Israel had the opposite effect on the rest of Canaan.
What had just taken place did not check the threatened alliance of the Canaanite nations. It completed that alliance, and aimed it at Gibeon.
The verse explains the size of the alarm. Gibeon was no minor town.
The news of Gibeon's treaty with Israel greatly alarmed the other nations in the land. Gibeon counted as a prominent and important city. So the king of Jerusalem took the lead and enlisted four other kings to attack it.
Gibeon's history shows why it counted for so much:
Gibeon was the leading city of the four that tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them. They claimed they had come from far away (Joshua 9:3-17)… The city was later given to Benjamin and made a city of the Levites. In the days of Solomon, before the temple was built, the tabernacle stood at Gibeon. Solomon went there and offered a thousand sacrifices. There God appeared to him in a dream and gave him the desire of his heart — wisdom and understanding.
Verse 1 names the man who feels this fear. Both his name and his city carry meaning.
Here the Bible mentions the name Jerusalem for the first time… It comes up in connection with war, and the next time we find Jerusalem on fire (Judges 1:8). We may take this as a prophecy of that city's history. Yet something better is in store for Jerusalem. Adoni-zedec is here the King of Jerusalem. His name means "lord of righteousness." He is the counterfeit king, set against Jerusalem's true King — the true Melchizedek, King of righteousness and King of peace.
Adoni-zedec was not the first king of that city to carry such a title:
The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedec (the Lord of Righteousness), bore a title like that of his predecessor, Melchizedek (King of Righteousness). In those days Jerusalem (peaceful possession, or possession of peace) was called Salem (Peace), and the living God was honoured there… By the time these kings joined forces, the nations of Canaan had shaken off the fear of the Most High.
The fear of verse 2 does not stay fear. Its target is not Israel but the city that joined Israel.
Gibeon was no help to Israel. The Gibeonites became the occasion that brought the remaining kings of Canaan together. Those kings wanted revenge on a city that in their eyes had turned traitor. Gibeon, now the servants of Israel, call on their masters for protection. This alliance brings immediate war. Satan resents Gibeon's submission to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them. But this only shows the presence of the great Captain of Israel's hosts in greater glory.
Israel's treaty with Gibeon was a hasty mistake. The enemy's fear now turns it into the setting for God's purpose.
Gibeon becomes an object of attack; but Jehovah accomplishes His designs. This is a great and gracious consolation. There is never ground to distrust the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a snare, but we are never justified in distrusting Him.
Neither choice open to Israel was comfortable.
Suppose Israel did not go up, and let others cut the Gibeonites to pieces. That would free them from the consequences of their failure. But where would be the humbling they needed? Would it be upright towards God or man? To go up, on the other hand, would look like a settled approval of association with the world. Such dilemmas are common with Satan… The only way out of the difficulty is by simple dependence on God.
- Report. News of Gibeon's peace with Israel reached Jerusalem. It did not check the kings of Canaan; it completed their alliance.
- Fear. Adoni-zedec's fear was measured, not blind. Gibeon outranked Ai, and a strong city had changed sides.
- Counterfeit. Jerusalem appears here for the first time in the Bible, and it appears at war. Its "lord of righteousness" is the counterfeit of the true King of righteousness and peace.
- Attack. Submission to God's people draws fire. The kings turn on Gibeon, and that only puts Israel's great Captain on display.
- Overruled. Israel's hasty treaty becomes God's opportunity. A past failure never justifies distrusting the Lord. It calls for simple dependence on Him.
And Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piream king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,
Jericho and Ai had fallen, but it was Gibeon's peace treaty with Israel that pushed the southern kings into action. Adoni-zedec of Jerusalem calls four neighbouring rulers to war, and his own name raises the first question: why does a man titled "lord of righteousness" fight the people of God?
One writer walks through the verse name by name:
The name Jerusalem is mentioned here for the first time in the Bible... It is in connection with war, and the next time we find Jerusalem on fire (Judges 1:8). We may take this as a prophecy of the city's history. Yet something better is in store for Jerusalem. Adoni-zedec is here the King of Jerusalem. His name means "lord of righteousness."... His allies are named too, and the meaning of their names helps in a deeper study of these types. Horam (the noise of a multitude) ruled Hebron. Piram (the wild ass) ruled Jarmuth. Japhia (causing brightness) ruled Lachish. Debir (an oracle) ruled Eglon.
One writer names what holds this coalition together:
The enemies seldom appear alone. They are a mighty alliance, bound together by a shared hatred of God and of His people. Canaan swarms with kings. They are independent of each other and often at odds, yet they make peace and make common cause against the "hosts of the Lord."... Adoni-zedec, "lord of righteousness," king of Jerusalem, "the foundation of peace," is a dreadful mockery of, and enemy to, "that Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, King of Salem, that is, 'peace,' Priest of the Most High God, who met" Israel's forefather, "Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him."
Melchizedek was the priest-king of that same city who blessed Abraham generations earlier.
Another writer measures the distance between Salem's early days and the Canaan of this verse:
The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedec (the Lord of Righteousness), bore a title like that of his predecessor, Melchizedek (King of Righteousness), back when Jerusalem was called Salem (Peace). In those days the living God was honoured in Salem... But now the first call to fight against Israel comes to Hebron. By the time these kings joined forces, the nations of Canaan had thrown off the fear of the Most High. They worshipped the sun and the moon, Baal and Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13). Their sin was full, their harvest had passed, their summer had ended, and the wrath of God was about to fall on them.
Gibeon had joined Israel by a trick, and the treaty that saved the city now makes it the target. One writer draws out the comfort in that:
Gibeon becomes the target of attack, but the Lord carries out His purpose. This is a great and gracious comfort. There is never any reason to distrust the Lord, whatever the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish and hasty, and we may have been drawn into a trap, but we are never justified in distrusting Him. When we justify Him — which means taking the fault on ourselves — we gain a moral victory over our own souls. And victory over self is the direct road to victory over Satan.
The bitterest opposition does not come from strangers to God's name. One writer traces that pattern forward:
No enemies are so bitter in their hatred of God as those who once acknowledged His Name. When Christianity first spread, the Jews were its most determined opponents. They took the very truths they held and turned them into weapons against the gospel of the Son of God... In that coming abandonment of the faith, "lords of righteousness" will be the driving force of the opposition to the Christ of God within the Christian world. They will carry the good old titles and memories of a faith in God long lost, and will rule over their "possessions of peace."
The same disguise still works, and it targets where God's people gather:
But Jerusalem was held by Adoni-zedec (v.3), whose name means "lord of righteousness." In the same way, satanic deceit puts on a show of righteousness to deceive people. "Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness" (2 Cor. 11:14-15). If he can, Satan is determined to stop us laying hold of the truth about the center of gathering. That truth is this: the Lord Jesus Himself is the one center around whom His people are to gather... It is a good thing when faith displaces Satan's deception, just as Israel displaced Adoni-zedec and took possession of Jerusalem.
- Counterfeit. Adoni-zedec means "lord of righteousness" — an echo of Melchizedek, King of righteousness and King of peace. The likeness is what makes it dangerous.
- Coalition. Kings who quarrelled with each other joined forces against God's people. Hatred of God unites divided enemies.
- Cause. Gibeon was attacked because it had made peace with Israel. Coming over to God is what drew the attack.
- Comfort. Gibeon's treaty came out of a foolish, hasty choice. God still carried out His purpose through it, and past mistakes never justify distrusting Him.
- Continuation. The same pattern still runs: opposition dressed in the old language of righteousness. Faith must displace it, as Israel displaced Adoni-zedec.
Come up to me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
The king of Jerusalem calls four other kings to war. Their target is not Israel but Gibeon — the city that had just made peace with Joshua.
Commentators note that Jerusalem appears here for the first time in the Bible. Its king bears a title that belongs by right to someone else.
The name Jerusalem appears here for the first time in the Bible... It appears in connection with war, and the next time we see Jerusalem, it is on fire (Judges 1:8). We may take this as a prophecy of the history of that city. Yet something better is in store for Jerusalem. Adoni-zedec is here the King of Jerusalem. His name means "lord of righteousness." He represents the counterfeit king. He stands in opposition to Him who is Jerusalem's true King, the true Melchizedec, King of righteousness and King of peace... Because Gibeon had gone over to Israel, Adoni-zedec forms an alliance, and he heads it as leader.
One writer traces what happens when the old names of faith outlive the faith behind them:
No enemies hate God so bitterly as those who once knew His Name. When Christianity first spread, the Jews were its most determined opponents. They took the very truths they held and turned them into weapons against the gospel of the Son of God... In the coming falling away from God, "lords of righteousness" will be the driving force behind Christendom's opposition to the Christ of God. They will carry the good old titles and the memories of faith in God long lost, and they will rule over their "possessions of peace."
The choice of target shows how the enemy works.
They do not gather against Israel itself, but against Gibeon, which has made peace with Israel. Satan often edges sideways into the attack. Gibeon, false on every side, may well invite the assault of the "lord of righteousness." But Joshua remembers the oath of the Lord. He comes against the Canaanite army in haste and strikes them with a great slaughter.
Gibeon's treaty with Joshua made the city a target.
Gibeon was no help to Israel. They became the reason the remaining kings of Canaan joined forces. Those kings wanted revenge on the city that in their eyes had turned traitor. Gibeon, now the servants of Israel, call on their masters for protection. This alliance brings war at once. Satan resents Gibeon's submission to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them, but this only shows more gloriously the presence of the great Captain of Israel's armies.
The Gibeonites did not go back. One writer counts their next step as the place where they rose above their earlier failure:
Though their first step proved faulty, their second step brought them honour. They saw that peace with the people of God meant conflict with their neighbours on every side. Even so, they did not hesitate to show what they preferred. They chose peace, and the place of servants to Israel, over going back to their old standing with their former friends.
The alliance with Gibeon was a hasty mistake. What God does with that mistake is the comfort here:
Gibeon becomes a target of attack, but Jehovah carries out His purposes. This is a great and gracious consolation. There is never ground to distrust the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a snare, but we are never justified in distrusting Him. When we justify Him, we take the fault on ourselves — in such cases that is what justifying Him means. That wins a moral victory over our own souls. Victory over self is the straight road to victory over Satan.
Another writer puts it in terms of what conflict itself means for a believer:
What is more, this peace with the Gibeonites only brought fresh attacks on Israel. But now all is plain. Jehovah says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands." This is all that conflict means for someone who walks in the Spirit before God. There must be conflict, but conflict is only victory.
- Peace made. Gibeon's treaty with Joshua is the stated reason for the attack. Peace with God's people provokes the five kings.
- Peace resented. The attack falls on Gibeon, not on Joshua. Commentators see Satan resenting Gibeon's submission and coming in sideways.
- Peace counterfeited. Adoni-zedec's name means "lord of righteousness." He is the counterfeit of Jerusalem's true King, the King of righteousness and peace.
- Peace held. Gibeon does not return to its old friends; it accepts the conflict that came with its new standing.
- Peace defended. God carries out His purposes even through Israel's careless alliance. Being foolish is never a reason to distrust Him.
And 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 themselves together, and went up, they and all their armies, and they encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
Canaan stops retreating and starts organising. Five kings join forces, and their target is not Israel but the one city that had just made peace with Israel.
The threat that had been hanging over Israel now takes shape.
What had just happened did not check the threatened coalition of the Canaanite nations. It brought the coalition about, and aimed it at Gibeon… So the king of Jerusalem turns to the kings of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon, saying, "Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon." This is the shape that it takes. Gibeon becomes an object of attack; but the LORD accomplishes His designs. This is a great and gracious consolation. There is never ground to distrust the Lord, whatever the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a trap, but we are never justified in distrusting Him.
The choice of target shows how the enemy works.
They do not gather directly against Israel. They gather against Gibeon, which has made peace with Israel. Satan often, as it were, sidles up to the attack.
Gibeon had thrown in its lot with God's people. The neighbours it left now come for it.
Gibeon was no help to Israel. They became the occasion for the remaining kings of Canaan to combine. Those kings wanted revenge on the city that in their eyes had turned traitor. Gibeon, now the servants of Israel, call on their masters for protection. This alliance brings immediate war. Satan resents Gibeon's submission to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them, but only to display the presence of the great Captain of the hosts of Israel all the more gloriously.
The ringleader is the king of Jerusalem. His name and his city both matter here.
This is the first time the Bible names Jerusalem… Adoni-zedec is here the king of Jerusalem. His name means "lord of righteousness." He represents the counterfeit king in opposition to Him who is Jerusalem's true King, the true Melchizedek, King of righteousness and King of peace. He is a type of the Antichrist… Because Gibeon had gone over to Israel, Adoni-zedec forms an alliance, which he heads as leader. He gives the names of his allies. The meaning of their names helps in a deeper study of these types. Horam (the noise of a multitude) was king of Hebron. Piram (the wild ass) was king of Jarmuth. Japhia (causing brightness) was king of Lachish. Debir (an oracle) was king of Eglon.
The counterfeit title carries its own warning:
No foes are so bitter in their hatred of God as those who once recognised His Name.
The verse calls them "the five kings of the Amorites." That name carries a history.
By the time the kings combined, the nations of Canaan had shaken off the fear of the Most High. They worshipped the sun and the moon, Baal and Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13). Their iniquity was full, their time was over, and the wrath of God was about to fall on them… The word of the LORD demanding that Israel destroy the nations of Canaan is terrible to consider. Always remember, then, the iniquity of the Amorites. Their day had gone by; they were too wicked to be allowed to live.
Israel's treaty with Gibeon now costs them a war. It also puts them in a strange position.
In Gibeon there was false self-confidence after blessing. They did not consult God, and so ended up bound to their enemies. They now have to defend the very thing they ought to have destroyed or taken for themselves, and to keep it from being destroyed. They are not beaten. Yet while they conquer others, Gibeon forces them to be strong to their own harm, and to preserve what would be a thorn in their side in weaker times.
Yet five armies in one place is not a disaster for Israel. God arranged it.
When these five kings united to attack Gibeon, Gibeon sent a message to Joshua. They urged him to come and rescue them from these kings (v.8). It was certainly God who was behind all this, for in this way Joshua could defeat five kings at once.
- Fear gathers. Gibeon's peace with Israel does not check the Canaanite kings. It drives them into a league against the city that changed sides.
- Fear strikes sideways. The armies camp against Gibeon, not Israel. Satan "sidles up to the attack," going for the new ally rather than the whole nation.
- Fear wears a good name. Adoni-zedec means "lord of righteousness," a counterfeit of Jerusalem's true King. No foes hate God more bitterly than those who once recognised His Name.
- Fear cannot outrun judgment. They are "the Amorites," a people too wicked to be allowed to live. Their day had gone by.
- Fear serves God's plan. Israel's careless treaty binds them to defend what they should have destroyed. Yet God was behind the whole alliance, so Joshua could defeat five kings at once. We may have been foolish, but we are never justified in distrusting Him.
And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, saying, Withdraw not thy hand from thy servants come up to us quickly, and save us and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered against us.
Gibeon, a Canaanite city, had tricked Joshua into a peace treaty by pretending to come from far away. Now the bill arrives: a desperate message from Gibeon under siege. The question is uncomfortable. When your own mistake creates a crisis for someone else, do you walk away or march in?
The kings of Canaan did not attack Israel. They attacked Gibeon, and only because Gibeon had made peace with Israel. One commentator draws the encouragement out of that tangle:
Gibeon becomes an object of attack; but the Lord accomplishes His designs. This is a great and gracious consolation. There is never ground to distrust the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a snare, but we are never justified in distrusting Him.
The siege answers Gibeon's new loyalty, and another writer sees a deeper enemy behind it:
Gibeon was no help to Israel. Instead they caused the remaining kings of Canaan to band together. Those kings wanted revenge on a city that in their eyes had turned traitor. Gibeon, now the servants of Israel, call on their masters for protection. This alliance brings immediate war. Satan resents Gibeon's submission to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them. But this only shows the presence of the great Captain of Israel's armies in greater glory.
Either answer to the plea carries a danger.
Suppose Israel did not go up, and let others cut the Gibeonites to pieces. That would free Israel from the consequences of their failure. But where would the needed humbling be? Would it be upright towards God or man? To go up, on the other hand, would look like a definite allowance of association with the world. Such dilemmas are common with Satan.
Joshua's answer settles the matter by refusing to fix one wrong with another:
Joshua seems to have understood that his difficult situation came from their failure. Adding more failure (by breaking his word) was not the right way to go. Again we see God's mercy after failure when there is an upright heart.
Israel expected Gibeon to be of use to them. The first thing the alliance produces is a demand on Israel's own strength:
This was the earliest result of peace with Gibeon. Joshua had to help them; they did not help Israel, as people had expected.
Yet the Gibeonites themselves come out of this better than they went in. Having lied their way into the treaty, they now stand by it at real cost:
Their first step proved faulty, but their second step brought them honour. They saw that peace with the people of God meant conflict with their neighbours on every side. Even so, they did not hesitate to show what they chose. They preferred peace, along with bond-service to Israel, to a return to their old footing with their former friends.
Gilgal was the camp Israel kept returning to, and the place where circumcision took place. One writer traces three movements tied to that camp:
It is not enough to be at Gilgal (Joshua 10:6), but there must also be the going up from Gilgal (verse 7), and the return to Gilgal (v. 15). Circumcision and Gilgal cannot be separated. Circumcision by itself is not enough to keep us from falling. And Gilgal without circumcision would be monasticism, because the natural man can find satisfaction in that.
So the message finds Joshua in the right camp. But the camp alone wins nothing. The march begins at Gilgal, and it has to end there too.
- Failure — The siege of Gibeon traces straight back to a hasty treaty. Consequences outlive the moment of the mistake.
- Fidelity — Joshua kept the promise, even though Gibeon tricked him into it. Breaking his word would only add a second failure to the first.
- Flip — Israel expected help from Gibeon. Instead Israel had to rescue Gibeon — the first result of that peace.
- Faithfulness — Gibeon chose bond-service under Israel over their old friends. That choice cost them, and it stands to their honour.
- From Gilgal — Being at Gilgal is not enough. The army must go up from it into the fight, and return to it afterwards.
So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, even all the valiant men.
Gibeon's cry for help reaches Joshua at his camp, and he answers it by leading out his whole fighting force. The verse names the place he starts from: Gilgal. Commentators treat that one detail as the key to all that follows.
Gilgal was the camp Israel kept coming back to. Commentators read the name as a spiritual condition, not just a place on the map.
Notice that they sent to Gilgal, the first camp of Israel. Joshua and the people were at Gilgal, and from Gilgal they went up. At Gilgal they saw the memorials of God's power, and a direct message from Jehovah encouraged them as they went out to war. We are blessed if, in our own spiritual warfare, we go out from Gilgal — the place of self-judgment and of power.
Kelly sets the camp beside the circumcision that took place there. Each one, he says, answers to something in the Christian life:
In short, then, we have seen that putting self to death in practice is what answers to Gilgal, just as the judgment of the flesh is what answers to circumcision. So the constant camping at Gilgal means coming back again and again to put self to death before God. Putting self to death would be useless if that judgment had not already taken place in the cross of Christ.
Being at Gilgal did not keep Israel out of the Gibeonites' trap. So the going up in this verse matters as much as the place.
The Gibeonites found Joshua and the men of Israel at the camp at Gilgal (Joshua 9:6) when they came up to set their trap, and we have seen the result. What is so often missing is the practical application of the cross of Christ to every detail of life in the flesh… It is not enough to be at Gilgal (Joshua 10:6). There must also be the going up from Gilgal (verse 7), and the return to Gilgal (v. 15). Circumcision and Gilgal cannot be separated; circumcision by itself is not enough to keep us from falling.
Israel's failure over Gibeon now comes back on them. Rossier shows there was no safe option once the Gibeonites called for rescue.
What is Israel to do? Whichever way they turn, there is danger. If they stay at home and let others cut the Gibeonites to pieces, they escape the consequences of their failure — but where is the humbling they need? Would that be honest towards God or towards man? If they go up, on the other hand, it will look like openly accepting a link with the world… The only way out of the difficulty is simple dependence on God, worked out in the school of Gilgal.
Israel's mistake did not cancel God's purpose. Kelly draws out what that means for anyone who has blundered into a mess.
Gibeon becomes the target of attack, but Jehovah carries out His purposes. This is a great and gracious comfort. There is never any ground to distrust the Lord, whatever the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish and hasty, and drawn into a trap, but we are never right to distrust Him. When we clear Him of blame — which in such cases must mean taking the fault on ourselves — we gain a moral victory over our own souls. And victory over self is the direct road to victory over Satan.
Joshua takes his whole army out. From that point the chapter records God speaking, God answering, and God fighting.
Jehovah speaks to Joshua (v. 8), Joshua speaks to Jehovah (v. 12), and Jehovah answers him (v. 14). Encouragement, power and victory are the precious fruits of a dependence that keeps our souls in constant dealings with Him. Now the Lord no longer had to act against them, as He did at Ai; He could fight for them (vv. 11-14). And we see them win the most remarkable victory recorded in the word of God.
The attack on Gibeon backfired:
Satan resents Gibeon's submission to the word of God and to the people of God. He gathers his forces against them — but this only shows the presence of the great Captain of Israel's armies in greater glory.
- Start at Gilgal. It is the place of self-judgment and of power, where Israel saw the memorials of what God had done.
- Go up from Gilgal. The camp alone did not keep Israel out of the trap. What is so often missing is the cross applied to the details of daily life.
- Go up humbled. Israel had been foolish and caught in a trap, yet had no ground to distrust the Lord. Taking the fault on ourselves wins a moral victory over self.
- Go up dependent. God speaks to Joshua, Joshua speaks to God, God answers — and instead of acting against them as at Ai, He fights for them.
- Return to Gilgal. Circumcision and Gilgal cannot be separated. The same camp that sent them out received them back after the most remarkable victory in Scripture.
And Jehovah said to Joshua, Fear them not; for into thy hand have I given them not a man of them shall stand before thee.
The Gibeonites tricked Joshua into a treaty. Now a coalition of Amorite kings marches against the very city he is bound to protect. God speaks into that self-made mess first, before the march and before the battle. His word is not a battle plan. It is courage.
"Do not fear them" is not a one-off encouragement for a single crisis. It is the standing word God gives His people whenever an enemy is in front of them, in every stage of their history.
This word meets the ears of the people of God every time they have to do with the enemy, whether in Egypt (Ex. 14:13), or on the borders of the wilderness (Num. 14:9; Deut. 31:6, 8), or in Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 8:1; Joshua 10:8, 25; Joshua 11:6), or even in the time of ruin that marked the kingdom of Israel (2 Chr. 20:17; Isa. 7:4), and in the period after the exile (Neh. 4:14).
The crisis exists because of Joshua's own mistake. He did not repair one failure by committing another, and God met that honesty with kindness.
Joshua seems to have understood that his difficult situation was the result of their failure. Adding more failure, by breaking his word, was not the right way to go. Again we see God's mercy after failure when there is an upright heart. He says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you."
The lesson runs further than one bad decision. Owning the fault is itself the first battle won.
There is never ground to distrust the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be. We may have been foolish, hasty, and drawn into a snare, but we are never justified in distrusting Him. To justify Him in such a case must mean taking the fault on ourselves. When we do that, we gain a moral victory over our souls. And victory over self is the direct road to victory over Satan.
The verb is past tense: God has already given them over. The fight still has to happen, but God has settled its result in advance.
Jehovah says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands." This is all that conflict means for one who walks in the Spirit before God. There must be conflict, but conflict is only victory. It is the Lord who has delivered the enemy into our hands; none can stand before us.
Israel's failure did not stop God's plan. He used it. And the victory He promises to Joshua's hand He mostly wins Himself.
Israel might have been slow to press the war. God overrules everything, and uses their failure to carry out His purpose. Now, armed with a direct promise, they prepare to meet the confederate kings. "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you." Jehovah says "into your hands," yet the hailstones destroyed more than the sword of Israel. This may not have looked as openly supernatural as the falling of the walls of Jericho. But faith sees the same hand in both.
Judging yourself leaves you leaning on God. That dependence turns verse 8 into a two-way exchange: God speaks, Joshua answers, God answers back.
This judgment of self produces dependence. That dependence shows itself in a blessed exchange with God, one the soul had never tasted before to the same extent. Jehovah speaks to Joshua (v. 8), Joshua speaks to Jehovah (v. 12), and Jehovah answers him (v. 14). Encouragement, power and victory are the precious fruits of that dependence. It keeps our souls in constant dealings with Him.
What God says to Joshua in verse 8, Joshua says to the people in verse 25. A leader passes on the courage he first received.
Encouraged himself by the word of God (v. 8), he can encourage the people (v. 25). Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron and Debir mark the stages of their victory. They take possession of their inheritance, and then "they return to the camp at Gilgal" (v. 43).
- Failure first. God speaks this verse to a man standing in a mess of his own making. His mercy meets an upright heart, not a flawless record.
- Own it. Owning the fault, not defending it, is the moral victory that opens the road to victory over the enemy.
- Given already. God speaks the promise in the past tense before anyone draws a sword. So for the one walking with God, conflict is only victory.
- His hand in yours. God says "into your hands," then kills more with hailstones than Israel kills with the sword. Faith sees the same hand in both.
- Then passed on. God's word encouraged Joshua. Joshua then encouraged the people with the very same words.
And Joshua came upon them suddenly; he went up from Gilgal all night.
Israel had made peace with Gibeon, and now five kings were closing in on that city. Verse 9 tells how Joshua answered the call: an all-night march up from Gilgal, then a surprise attack.
Gilgal was Israel's first camp in the land. What Israel saw there shaped how they went to war.
Notice that they sent word to Gilgal, the first camp of Israel. Joshua and the people were at Gilgal and from Gilgal they went up. At Gilgal they saw the memorials of God's power, and encouraged by a direct message from the Lord they went out to war. Blessed are we, if in our spiritual warfare we go out from Gilgal (the place of self-judgment and of power).
But camping at Gilgal had not stopped Gibeon from tricking Israel in the previous chapter.
Israel's safety does not consist in the mere fact of being at Gilgal. The Gibeonites found Joshua and the men of Israel at the camp at Gilgal when they went up to lay the trap, and we have seen the result. What is so often lacking is the practical application of the cross of Christ to all the details of life in the flesh. "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you." It is not enough to be at Gilgal, but there must also be the going up from Gilgal, and the return to Gilgal.
Rescuing Gibeon was not the obvious right move. Israel had made that alliance under deception, and either choice carried a cost.
The men of Gibeon send to Joshua at Gilgal saying, "Do not relax your hand from your servants." What is Israel to do? Danger is there, whatever course he takes. Suppose they did not go up, and let others cut the Gibeonites to pieces. That would free them from the consequences of their failure. But where would be the needed humbling? Would it be honest towards God or man? To go up, on the other hand, would look like clearly permitting association with the world. Such dilemmas are common with Satan. How many times he placed them in the pathway of the perfect Man! The only way out of the difficulty is by simple dependence on God, learned in the school of Gilgal.
The march followed a word from God. That word changes what conflict itself means.
This peace with the Gibeonites only brought fresh attacks on Israel. But now everything is clear. The Lord says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hand." This is all that conflict means for someone who walks in the Spirit before God. There must be conflict, but conflict is only victory. It is the Lord who has delivered the enemy into our hands; none can stand before us.
Five kings had joined forces in one campaign. That gathering had a cause behind it.
God Himself was behind all this, for in this way Joshua could defeat five kings at once.
Here is what the night march produced.
They marched all night from Gilgal and suddenly, unexpectedly, attacked the five kings and their armies. The enemy fled in confusion, for it was the Lord who fought for Israel and great numbers were slaughtered.
Gilgal shapes more than the march. It shapes the conversation running through the whole chapter.
This judgment of self produces dependence. That dependence shows itself in blessed communication with God — something the soul had not tasted before to the same extent. The Lord speaks to Joshua, Joshua speaks to the Lord, and the Lord answers him. Encouragement, power and victory are the precious fruits of that dependence. It keeps our souls in constant dealing with Him. Now the Lord was no longer forced to take sides against them as at Ai; He could fight for them.
- Gilgal first. The march starts where Israel first camped in the land. Gilgal is the place of self-judgment, and God's memorials stood there in plain sight.
- Gilgal is not enough. Camping there did not stop Gibeon's trick. There must be the going up from Gilgal, and the return to it.
- Word before march. God had already given the enemy into Joshua's hand. For one who walks in the Spirit, conflict is only victory.
- Speed under God's hand. One night march struck five kings at once. God stood behind it, and He fought for Israel while the enemy fled in confusion.
- Dependence bears fruit. Self-judgment produces dependence, and dependence opens conversation with God. He speaks, Joshua speaks, He answers — and He fights for them, not against them.
And Jehovah discomfited them before Israel, and smote them [with] a great slaughter at Gibeon; and he chased them on the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them up to Azekah and Makkedah.
Five kings marched on Gibeon to punish a small city that had switched sides. They met Israel's army instead — and behind that army, the Lord Himself, which raises the question this chapter answers: whose victory was this?
The five kings did not attack Israel. They attacked the city Israel had sworn to protect one chapter earlier. Commentators trace the crisis back to that treaty:
In chapter 10 we find Israel in a very difficult situation. It came as a direct result of their failure in chapter 9. The king of Jerusalem hears about Gibeon's peace deal with Israel. He forms an alliance with four other kings of the Amorites and attacks the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites in turn send messengers to Joshua saying, "come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us" (v. 6). What should Joshua do? Break his peace deal with the Gibeonites? Or argue that it was void because they had lied?
Yet the trap became God's opportunity. Joshua kept his word, and God turned a mistake into one decisive campaign:
It was certainly God who was behind all this, for in this way Joshua could defeat five kings at once. Notice that they went up from Gilgal, the place of self-judgment (v.7). And the Lord gave His word to Joshua: He had delivered the enemies into Israel's hand, so that none could stand before them (v.8).
Joshua did not march out hoping to win. God had told him the outcome before the first sword was drawn. That changes what a battle means:
This peace with the Gibeonites only brought fresh attacks on Israel. But now all is plain. Jehovah says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand." This is all that conflict means for anyone who walks in the Spirit before God. There must be conflict, but conflict is only victory. It is the Lord who has delivered the enemy into our hands; none can stand before us.
The march began at Gilgal. From that, the same writer draws a rule for how Israel's wars go:
But the camp is the starting point for victory, and after a triumph the way back to true strength is always to Gilgal. It is not there that the enemy attacks us, if we are faithful. Whatever moves our enemies make, the attack will come from our side.
A word of assurance did not make Joshua passive. It sent him against the enemy at once:
The power of the five kings was broken suddenly and completely. The Lord had said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you." So Joshua came upon them without warning. Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, Israel attacked the enemy, "and the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel." Faith in God gives unquenchable energy to God's people. Faith's victories come when God's people carry out His purposes.
The panic was His; the swords were theirs. One writer stresses that God chose to share the work He could have finished alone:
Everything about that day's action is felt to be Jehovah's doing! He uses His people, and in a sense it was gracious of Him to do so. He could have done it all without them, as He did at the Red Sea. But He chose to use His people, in keeping with the way He was working then... it is short-sighted and irreverent folly to miss the honour of being used in the Lord's work of that day — clearing the land of what was an ulcer and a plague spot, not only for that place but for the whole earth. That is what the Canaanites were. If there was to be a people of God at all, what other way was open than sweeping the land clean of the world-polluting Canaanites?
The place names in the verse carry meanings. Read that way, they trace the shape of the defeat:
Joshua, remembering the oath of the Lord, hurries out against the Canaanite army. He strikes them with a great slaughter and pursues them along the way of Beth-horon (the "place of wrath"), as far as Azekah ("fencing round") and Makkedah ("bowing the head"). So God defeats His enemies, and they are like cattle in the hands of the slaughterer.
- Failure: The five kings attacked because Israel had made a treaty with Gibeon. The crisis of chapter 10 grew straight out of the mistake of chapter 9.
- Mercy: God met the mess with a promise, not a rebuke: "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand."
- Starting point: The march began at Gilgal, the place of self-judgment. That camp, not the battlefield, is where victory starts.
- Energy: Being sure of the outcome did not slow Joshua down. It drove him to a sudden attack. Faith gives God's people unquenchable energy.
- Glory: The Lord threw the enemy into panic, and Israel struck. He could have acted alone, as at the Red Sea. Instead He honoured His people by using them.
And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, -- they were at the descent of Beth-horon, -- that Jehovah cast down great stones from heaven upon them up to Azekah, and they died. They were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel had slain with the sword.
Israel had come to rescue Gibeon, and by morning the enemy kings were running down the steep pass at Beth-horon. Then the battle left human hands — stones fell from the sky, and they killed more men than Israel's swords did.
The hail fell on the road where both armies were running. It struck only one of them:
What a glorious day for Israel. The combined forces flee, Joshua wields his sword with might from Jehovah. The "Captain of the host" is with him. And that is not enough. Jehovah Himself appears apart from any human instrument and so completes the victory. The Lord of creation commands and nature obeys. The hailstones strike not Israel, but the fleeing enemy. Each stone has its own special message. It tells Israelite from Canaanite. The sword of Israel and the great stones of Jehovah are both guided by the same mighty and unerring Hand. Once before God stepped in like this for His people; then the hail was mixed with fire (Ex. 9:24). Then the people were slaves; now they are conquerors.
Where did such stones come from? One writer answers from God's words in the book of Job:
And He shows that God has a store that man knows nothing about, which acts whenever it pleases God. "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?" Look at the case of the Amorites. On the way to Beth-horon they fell by the hailstones that God rained on them.
God had promised to give the enemy into Joshua's hands. Yet the sky killed more men than Israel's swords did. One writer sets this miracle beside the fall of Jericho's walls:
Jehovah says, "into your hands," yet the hailstones destroyed more than the sword of Israel. This may not have looked as supernatural as the falling of the walls of Jericho. But faith sees the same hand in both. The former event was contrary to the common law of nature. The latter was the power of God using nature beyond its ordinary limit. In each there was a direct intervention of nature's God.
God did not need Israel's army that day, yet He used it:
How truly the whole intervention of that day is felt to be Jehovah's doing! He uses His people. In a certain sense it was a gracious thing that He should. He could now, as at the Red Sea, have done everything without them. But He would employ the people of God according to the dispensation... it is short-sighted and irreverent folly to overlook the honour of being used to do the Lord's work of that day.
This was not just a battle. One writer places the day among the times God handled the punishment of evil Himself:
The sword of Joshua was really the sword of the Lord. The victories of the great Captain of Israel were really the judgment of God. So we see the Lord God Himself directly step in. He casts hailstones down from heaven in the battle of Gibeon... It had been so in earlier days of judgment, for "vengeance belongs to God." God is the Judge... It was the Lord Himself who let out the waters of Noah. It was the Lord Himself who rained fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Israel's own failure had led to this battle. Joshua kept his word to Gibeon and marched anyway:
God did not abandon His people. He responded to humiliation and self-judgment. He graciously stepped in and granted a remarkable victory. And He did it in such a way that the glory was all His: "there were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword."
One writer reads this day as a preview of a battle still to come:
In the days of Joshua, Jehovah cast down great stones from heaven upon the enemy. In Deborah's time the very stars in their courses fought against Sisera. So will it be in the day to come. His thunderbolts will do fearful damage among the enemies of His people (Joshua 10:11; Judges 5:20). Heaven itself will open, as it were, and pour down destruction upon them.
- Stored — the hail was not lucky weather. It came from a store God keeps "for the day of battle and war."
- Aimed — every stone told Israelite from Canaanite. One Hand guided both Israel's sword and heaven's stones.
- Shared — God could have done it all alone, as at the Red Sea, yet He honoured His people by using them.
- Undeserved — the victory followed Israel's own failure, and God shaped it so the glory went to Him, not to them.
- Coming — God still keeps this weapon in reserve. What fell at Beth-horon previews the judgment He will yet pour out.
Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah gave up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon!
Joshua speaks here in the middle of a battle he did not choose. He is defending Gibeon, the people who had tricked him. It raises two questions at once: why does a man dare to command the sky, and why does God listen to him?
One commentator starts further back, with self-judgment. He then traces the exchange it opened between God and Joshua.
This judgment of self produces dependence. That dependence shows itself in blessed fellowship with God — fellowship the soul had not tasted before to the same extent. Jehovah speaks to Joshua (v. 8), Joshua speaks to Jehovah (v. 12), and Jehovah answers him (v. 14)… The God of earth and heaven, the God of all creation, can declare in public that Israel is the object of His special favour. Yes — these very people who were beaten before Ai and deceived by Gibeon.
The order of the verse matters. Before Joshua said anything to the sun, he said something to the Lord.
In this act of Joshua we see the dependence, the boldness, and the power of faith… He spoke to Jehovah; here is dependence. Having learned the mind of Jehovah, he speaks with boldness in front of Israel. And God, at the word of a man, stops the sun and the moon in their course. This is the power of faith; that is, God responds to the faith He gives. And one of the most instructive points for us is this. Before Joshua told the sun and moon to stand still, he went first to God. There was prayer and dependence before the power.
Joshua addressed the sun and moon, but he was not speaking to them as powers. The One he honoured was the One who made them.
But notice the beauty of the truth. It was to Jehovah that Joshua spoke, not to the creature, for Him alone did he honour. How wonderfully free from all creature worship, even when God was about to use creation in such a marvellous way!… It was a memorable day in every way. The unbeliever sneers at it, no doubt, but it is the joy of every believer. I grant you that men of science have their difficulties, as they usually do with what is above them… Let us not try to measure God by difficulties. Let us measure difficulties by God.
The sun gets all the attention. But Joshua named the moon too, and that is the stranger half of what he asked for.
The earth stopped turning. Scripture speaks of the sun and moon just as we do, and as Joshua must have done… It is remarkable that he asked not for the stopping of the sun alone, but of sun and moon. That was the necessary effect of something he knew nothing about. Yet he asks for just what God's power, acting in the simplest way, would produce. Untaught by God, Joshua would have said, "Sun, stand still." Taught by God, he asks for sun and moon to do so… Suppose the moon had kept its normal apparent course while the earth stood still. That would have put the moon truly out of its place.
A common objection says it cannot have happened, because nature does not work that way. One writer answered with two questions of his own.
How sad to find people speaking of God as if He must be subject to any of these laws. We are told that with Him "nothing will be impossible." Again, we asked: "Was the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ not completely against that law of nature called the attraction of gravitation? And will the resurrection and rapture of the saints, when the Lord comes, not be completely against all the laws of natural philosophy?"
Commentators differ over how the long day happened — some suggest a slowed rotation, others a poetic description of a battle that ran on. One writer weighs those proposals and refuses them all.
These are the attempts of man, by which he tries to explain the supernatural by the natural. The occurrence is a miracle.
The nations of Canaan prayed to the sun and moon. That day they watched both obey an Israelite.
When Joshua told the sun to stand still, he was carrying out the purpose of God. God's power is almighty, and both sun and moon obey His command. The idolaters might cry to the sun and the moon for help, and to Baal and Ashtaroth. But Jehovah the Most High would show His people that the powers of heaven are only His servants.
No day like it has come since. One writer reads it as a picture of something still ahead.
There was no day like it, nor ever after, because the Lord listened to the voice of Joshua. The Lord fought for Israel… This is a prophetic type of the coming day of the Lord.
- Dependence first. God speaks, Joshua speaks, God answers. Fellowship restored after failure is why Joshua could ask at all.
- Prayer, then power. Joshua spoke to the Lord before he spoke to the sky; boldness came after he had learned God's mind.
- Worship kept clean. He commanded the creation but honoured only the Creator.
- The moon proves it. Asking for both sun and moon fits what God's power would do — a detail Joshua could not have known on his own.
- A day the world could see. The God of nature overruled the gods Canaan worshipped. One writer reads that day as a preview of the day of the Lord.
And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day.
Israel is chasing the Amorite army, and daylight is running out before the victory is complete. The verse says the sun stopped for about a whole day, and it points to an outside record, the Book of Jashar, to back the claim.
A critic called this too violent a disturbance of the globe just to defeat an army. One writer answers that God had a public purpose:
But the object was not simply a means of defeating the army. It was a public testimony before the world that God stepped in for His people, would answer Joshua, and put honour on him. And the sacred writer says of it: "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."
The verse names both lights. The moon adds nothing to a day already full of sunlight. One commentator says that asking for the moon too shows God guided Joshua:
The earth stopped turning, and Scripture speaks of the sun and moon just as we do, and as Joshua must have done. We know well it is the earth which turns round, and yet we say "the sun rises, sets," and so on. It is remarkable that he asked for both sun and moon to stop, not the sun alone. That is the necessary effect of something he knew nothing about... Untaught by God, Joshua would have said, "Sun, stand still." Taught by God, he asks for sun and moon to do so. That is just what God's power would do, acting in the simplest way.
Behind the command stands a settled conviction about whose war this was:
He knew that judgment was God's work, and he would put it into His hands. He knew that God fought for Israel, and he would put the battle upon Him... He spoke to the heavens, commanding the sun and the moon. Wonderful! The Spirit, recording such a moment, pauses to admire it.
Another commentator points to the faith behind the words, and warns against hunting for how it was done:
He prayed that the daylight would last, and the night be held back, until he had won what he was chasing the enemy for. He got the answer he sought by the miraculous power of his faith. Looking into the natural means behind this supernatural effect can give no valuable results. Faith speaks its command in the sense Joshua gives the words. God gives His answer in the sense in which He understands them.
A woman told one writer that the account could not be true, because it breaks the laws of nature. He answered:
How sad to find people speaking of God as if He must be subject to any of these laws. We are told that with Him "nothing will be impossible." Again, we asked, "Was not the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ entirely contrary to that law of nature called gravity? And when the Lord comes, His people will rise and be caught up. Will that not also be entirely contrary to all the laws of science?" The fact is that if we leave God out of our calculations — God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present — there is no knowing how far into doubt and unbelief we may go.
Others have tried to reduce the day to poetry — a vivid way of describing one long, hard-fought battle. One commentator calls that an attempt of man to explain the supernatural by the natural. What the verse describes is a miracle.
The verse points to a song in an older book. One commentator asks why so vast a sign was needed for so plain a lesson:
How can it be emphasized enough for us that it is really the Lord who fights for Israel? All this magnificent display across the face of the heavens, to bring home to us what seems perhaps so simple a truth! So the quotation from the book of Jashar is fittingly a song, and the appeal is to the joyful experience of the "upright" (Jashar). Songs like these are easily remembered: the heart holds on to what it has welcomed this way.
One commentator reads the day as a preview of something still ahead:
There was no day like it, before or after, because the Lord listened to the voice of Joshua. The Lord fought for Israel. This is a prophetic picture of the coming day of the Lord.
- Voice — A man spoke and heaven obeyed. The reason given is simple: the Lord fought for Israel.
- Testimony — The point was not extra fighting hours. It was a public sign to the world that God had stepped in for His people.
- Taught — Joshua asked for sun and moon. That is what a stopped earth needs, and he could not have known it.
- Trust — The objection that this breaks natural law forgets that the God who made the laws is not bound by them.
- Tomorrow — One commentator reads that day as a preview of the day of the Lord, when He fights for His people again.
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened to the voice of a man; for Jehovah fought for Israel.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal.
Joshua 10:15 ends the account of Israel's greatest day of battle in an odd way. There is no monument and no march forward — the army walks back to the camp where it started, and the chapter turns on why.
This verse ends a quotation taken from an older record. One writer shows that it carries the second of two great facts, and that both facts return at the end of the chapter.
The quotation from the Book of Jasher (the book of the upright) ends at the fifteenth verse. It records two great facts, and both are stated again at the close of the chapter. The first great fact is this — "The LORD fought for Israel," which explains the people's success. The second is this — "And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal." This gives the key to Israel's inner state. It shows that the LORD could be with them in His might.
The name Gilgal carries the weight here. It was Israel's first camp in the land, and several key events of their entry happened there.
A place west of the Jordan, 'in the east border of Jericho,' where the Israelites camped after crossing the river. Here they set up the twelve memorial stones taken out of the Jordan. Here the Israelites were circumcised. This is a picture of the putting off of the body of the flesh — that is, of separation from the system in which man in the flesh lives. Here the reproach of Egypt was 'rolled away', and that is how the place got the name 'Gilgal'… Gilgal was not only the starting point in taking possession of the land. It was also the place to which Joshua returned again and again: it was the place of strength.
After a win like this, the obvious move is to push the camp forward. One commentator asks why Israel did the opposite, then answers his own question.
What is the force of Gilgal always coming up again? Why was the camp pitched there and not anywhere else? We might have expected the camp to be pushed forward. Israel had won their victories, so why do they always take the trouble of going back to that point?… The reason is most important. The old man has been judged in the cross. Because that is settled, we are always to rest on it, and always to dwell on what has been done there.
This verse is the last step of a three-part movement in the chapter. Each step counts, and simply being at the camp is only the first.
What is so often lacking is the practical application of the cross of Christ to all the details of life in the flesh. It is not enough to be at Gilgal (Joshua 10:6). There must also be the going up from Gilgal (verse 7), and the return to Gilgal (v. 15). Circumcision and Gilgal cannot be separated. Circumcision on its own is not enough to keep us from falling. And Gilgal without circumcision would be no more than a life of religious self-denial, for the natural man can find satisfaction in it.
The timing matters. This return came after a victory, not after a defeat.
And when is a better time to call this to mind, when is a better time to go back to Gilgal, than after the victory? Victory may puff up. It is hard to handle a day of praise with modesty. It is harder to use a victory than to gain it, as people have said… They laid the honours they had won on the altar of God, or at the feet of the Lord. They remembered their circumcision and renounced themselves. They were now an army of circumcised conquerors. Their victory was His.
Returning to Gilgal is not about beating yourself up. Kelly warns that such effort, cut loose from the cross, produces the opposite of humility.
Putting self to death would be useless unless the judgment had taken place in the cross of Christ… Take the man who does not have Christ crucified as the expression of his own total ruin, his judgment, and his means of deliverance by grace. He always thinks himself so much the better for his efforts in this way. Sometimes there is no more subtle trap than a man confessing a fault. He seems greater in his own eyes after he has done so than before. He claims a certain credit of lowliness for himself because he has owned himself wrong.
- Base. Gilgal was Israel's first camp in the land — the place of the memorial stones, and where the reproach of Egypt rolled away. It was their starting point and their place of strength.
- Out. They went up from Gilgal to fight; the victory belonged to the LORD, who fought for Israel.
- Back. Verse 15 records the return. That return is the key to Israel's state, and the reason the LORD could be with them in His might.
- Why. Winning puffs up. It is harder to use a victory than to gain it, so they laid the honours at the Lord's feet and renounced themselves.
- Ground. The return works only because of the cross. Self-judgment without Christ crucified makes a man think better of himself, not less.
And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
The long day of fighting is over. The armies of Canaan are broken and running. The five kings who started the war slip away and hide in a cave. The verse raises the question the rest of the chapter answers: can anyone hide from a judgment God Himself has set in motion?
The kings are not described as falling in the fighting, and commentators note where they were during it.
The kings of the five cities were clearly not at the front of the battle. They were directing the fighting from a distance. They escaped together to a cave where they expected to stay hidden (v.16). But someone saw them and told Joshua. He ordered his men to roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and to keep guards there (vs.17-18).
The cave they picked for shelter became their prison.
Joshua does not stop to deal with the five while the armies are still running. Holding them and pressing the pursuit are treated as one decision.
The five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave. Joshua kept them there as prisoners while the judgment of the Lord overtook their armies. The victory over the multitudes of Canaan was not to be used in a half-and-half way. Success should only be the reason for fresh effort. In their energy for the Lord, Israel chased them and killed them until not one enemy was left.
The danger at this moment is not the enemy's strength but Israel's satisfaction with a partial win.
We have to see that the victory that the Lord has gained is followed up, and that the foe is not merely in retreat, but in rout. Many a victory has been lost by slackness of pursuit. The enemy must be pursued to his stronghold; and after all may escape.
One writer turns the cave into a picture of our fight with Satan.
It is a great thing to know enough to call Satan by his name. It is a great thing to face him knowing exactly who we are fighting. It is a great thing to draw him out of the dark cave where he has taken shelter, and then, in the light of day, to convict him and put him under the doom that awaits him.
The sentence passed at Makkedah is a foretaste, not the final act.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out, and judgment falls on them. Our spiritual enemies cannot be killed yet. This is only faith looking ahead, a picture like the one we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its sentence on them, because it sees in advance the sentence God will pass. So it brands them with their shame.
The hiding place is at Makkedah, and the name itself is part of the lesson.
Verse 28 adds that "on that day" — the long day we have read about — Joshua took the city of Makkedah and destroyed its king and its people. The name Makkedah means "bowing the head." The five proud kings were forced to bow their heads there. But from Israel's side, when she took the city, is this not a picture of learning to bow our own heads willingly to the great God of creation?
One head is forced down. The other bows by choice.
What fell on these Amorites points to a judgment still ahead.
We only have to read God's word in the Book of Revelation to know that judgments more terrible and more wonderful are still to fall on this earth. There we learn that the Jews have turned their backs on the Christ of God, and that those in the Christian world who claim His name are already doing the same. In the coming day of the Lord they will be forced to drink the Lord's cup of trembling, just like these Amorites of old. And when the great day of His wrath has come, who will be able to stand?
- Hide — the five kings ran the war from a distance and expected the cave to hide them. Someone saw them, and Joshua's stones sealed them in.
- Hold — Joshua sealed the cave and kept fighting until no enemy was left. Then he brought the kings out and set his captains' feet on their necks.
- Haul out — faith's work is to name the enemy, drag him out of the dark, and pass in the open the sentence God will one day carry out.
- Head bowed — Makkedah means "bowing the head." Proud heads were forced down there, and the same place invites us to bow to God by choice.
- Hereafter — what fell suddenly on these rulers points forward to a coming day, when the question is who will be able to stand.
And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings have been found, hid in the cave at Makkedah.
Five kings ran from the battle and hid in a cave, and word of their hiding place came straight to Joshua. The detail looks small, but it carries the chapter's picture of what happens to power that sets itself against God: found, sealed, humbled, judged.
The kings were not in the thick of the fighting. They were managing it from a safe distance, and their retreat was meant to keep them out of sight.
The kings of the five cities were clearly not at the front of the battle. They were directing operations from a distance. They escaped together to a cave where they expected to stay hidden (v.16). But someone had seen them, and the news reached Joshua. He ordered his men to roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and to keep men on guard (vs.17-18).
Their hiding place is what fails. Joshua knows where they are before anyone touches them.
Joshua does not stop to deal with them. He seals them in and keeps up the chase, and one writer reads that choice as a pattern for Christian warfare.
The five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave, where Joshua kept them prisoners, while the judgment of the Lord overtook their armies. The victory over the huge numbers of Canaan was not to be used in a half-hearted way. Success should only be the reason for fresh effort. In their energy for the Lord, Israel chased and killed until no enemy was left. This is the spirit of true Christian warfare. The ground already won becomes the starting line for the next advance. Every success, seen rightly, is only a spur to further conquest.
Joshua traps the kings long before he kills them. One writer takes that gap as a picture of where the believer stands now.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out, and judgment falls on them. Our spiritual enemies cannot be killed yet. This is only faith running ahead of the event, a picture like the one we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its own sentence on them, seeing in advance the sentence God will pass, and so marking them with the shame that is theirs.
The name of the town where the cave lay carries its own lesson, and it lands on Israel as much as on the kings.
Verse 28 adds that "on that day" (the long day we have read about) Joshua took the city of Makkedah and completely destroyed its king and its people. The name Makkedah means "bowing the head." The five proud kings were forced to bow their heads there. But from Israel's side, when she took the city, does this not point to the truth of bowing our own heads willingly to the great God of creation?
The same writer sets this sealed cave beside another sealed cave in Scripture. The two stones are rolled away with opposite results.
When the stones were rolled away the kings were still there. Though they were alive, they could not free themselves. In contrast, the Lord Jesus had died, and His body was put in a cave with a stone rolled over its mouth and soldiers guarding it. But when the stone was rolled away, His body was not there!
When the kings are brought out at last, Joshua turns the moment into a lesson for his officers. One writer carries that lesson on to the Christian's own last battle.
"These kings," these chiefs, these rulers had to bow to Israel. While Joshua fixed this fact in Israel's mind, he repeated the great call that had been the driving force of their energy: "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight." There is a real lesson here for the Christian soldier. In his victories he finds only the confirmation of the sure promises his God made at the start of the campaign. He also finds in them the anticipation of that final conquest of Satan which is near at hand, for "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." (Rom. 16:20.)
- Found. The kings ran the war from a safe distance and picked a cave they thought would hide them. Someone saw them, and Joshua heard.
- Sealed. Joshua shut them in and kept fighting. Ground already won is a starting line for the next advance, not a reason to stop.
- Deferred. Joshua held them alive before he judged them. Faith sees its own enemies the same way: not yet destroyed, but already sentenced.
- Bowed. Makkedah means "bowing the head." Proud heads went down there by force; the better lesson is to bow willingly.
- Emptied. Open this cave and the captives are still inside. Open Christ's tomb and He is gone.
And Joshua said, Roll great stones before the mouth of the cave, and set men before it to keep them.
Joshua's men have broken the armies of five Canaanite kings, and the kings themselves have fled into a cave at Makkedah. Instead of dragging them out, Joshua seals them in and posts a guard — because the fight outside is not finished.
The men in the cave were not ordinary soldiers. One writer points out where they were while their armies fell, and what Joshua did the moment he heard where they were hiding.
Clearly the kings of the five cities were not at the front of the battle. They were directing operations from a distance. They escaped together to a cave where they expected to stay hidden (v.16). But someone saw them and told Joshua. He ordered his men to roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and to keep men on guard (vs.17-18).
The order has two parts: stones across the mouth, and men standing guard. Both hold the kings without settling their case, and they leave the army free for the fighting still ahead. A victory won is not the same as an enemy finished.
We have to follow up the victory the Lord has gained. The enemy must not be simply in retreat, but in full flight. Slack pursuit has lost many a victory. We must chase the enemy to his stronghold — and even then he may escape.
Another writer turns the same point into a rule for Christian living. Ground already won is the starting line for the next advance, not a place to sit down.
The five kings fled and hid in a cave. Joshua kept them prisoners there, while the Lord's judgment caught up with their armies. Israel was not to use the victory over the crowds of Canaan in a half-hearted way. Success should only be the reason for fresh effort. In their energy for the Lord, Israel chased and killed until not one enemy was left. That is the spirit of true Christian warfare. It makes the ground already won the starting line for the next advance. Every success, seen rightly, is only a spur to further conquest.
The kings were shut in long before they were dealt with. One writer reads that delay as a picture of how faith treats its spiritual enemies now.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out, and judgment falls on them. Our spiritual enemies cannot be killed yet. This is only faith looking ahead — the same picture we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its own judgment on them. It sees in advance the judgment God will pass, and so brands them with the shame that is theirs.
A cave is a hiding place, and an enemy gains by staying out of sight. The strength here is knowing exactly who you are fighting.
It is a great thing to know enough to call Satan Satan. It is a great thing to meet him sure of who we are fighting. It is a great thing to draw him out of the dark cave where he may have taken refuge, and in the light of day to convict him and put him under the doom that awaits him.
Stones over a cave mouth and guards outside appear again later in Scripture. That time the outcome was the opposite.
When the stones were rolled away the kings were still there. They were alive, but they could not set themselves free. By contrast, the Lord Jesus had died, and His body was put in a cave with a stone rolled over its mouth and soldiers guarding it. But when the stone was rolled away, His body was not there!
- Hidden. The five kings ran the war from a distance and then hid in a cave. But someone saw them and told Joshua.
- Sealed. Large stones and a guard held the kings in place. They were alive, but they could not free themselves.
- Pursued. Trapped leaders did not stop the chase. Slack pursuit has lost many a victory, and a half-finished win is how an enemy escapes.
- Brought out. Faith drags the enemy out of the dark and names him. Our spiritual enemies are not destroyed yet, but faith already passes on them the verdict God will carry out.
- Emptied. The same stones and guards later sealed another cave — and when that stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty.
And ye, stay not, pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities; for Jehovah your God has given them into your hand.
The five kings who led the attack are hiding in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua seals the cave, leaves a guard, and sends the army straight back to the chase. The reason he gives is not Israel's strength but what God has already done.
Joshua does not tell the people to pursue and then hope for success. He tells them to pursue because the outcome is already settled. God had told him so before the fighting began.
"Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you," the Lord had said to Joshua, who therefore came upon them suddenly. Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, Israel attacked the enemy, "and the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel." Faith in God gives unquenchable energy to God's people, and faith's victories are the result of God's people carrying out His purposes.
The order treats the day's success as unfinished business. Joshua will not let Israel rest on the day's gains. He tells them to spend the win.
The five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave, where Joshua kept them prisoners, while the judgment of the Lord overtook their armies. Israel was not to make only half use of the victory over the crowds of Canaan. Success should be the occasion of fresh effort. In their energy for the Lord, Israel pursued and killed until not a foe remained. Such is the spirit of true Christian warfare: it takes the present advantage as the starting line for the next advance. Every success, rightly understood, is only a spur to further conquest.
A retreating enemy is not a beaten enemy. So Joshua aims the army at the rear guard — the stragglers trailing at the back of the fleeing column.
We have to follow up the victory the Lord has gained, and leave the foe not merely in retreat, but in rout. Slack pursuit has lost many a victory. We must chase the enemy to his stronghold; and even then he may escape.
Joshua's worry is the walled cities. A man who gets inside one will have to be fought again. That is what happened at Hebron, later in the same chapter.
Israel's conquest was so fast that they had no time to hunt out every hiding place. The men who had fled came back. They resettled old Hebron and rebuilt its defences, so Israel had to take the city a second time. And in Christian warfare victory must be thorough. It is not enough to disperse and scatter foes: the stronghold must be utterly destroyed. Spiritual foes, if baffled or even defeated, are not easily wiped out. We must hunt out their hiding places, or the enemy recovers his strength and comes back to the war with fresh energy.
Joshua left only a small guard at the cave and sent everyone else after the enemy. That chase decided how much of Canaan's army survived the day.
Joshua left these few behind while Israel went on chasing their enemies and destroying them before they could enter their cities. So the extra long day allowed a sweeping victory, and only a few escaped to find refuge in fortified cities (v.20). Five of those cities, however, now had no king.
Joshua dealt with the kings themselves once the chase was over. Commentators read that order of events as a picture of the believer's own fight.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out, and judgment falls on them. Our spiritual foes cannot be killed as yet; and this is only the anticipation of faith... Faith can pass its judgment upon them, foreseeing the divine judgment that is to come.
This verse is a hinge in the chapter. From here on, Israel does not stop until the land is theirs and the army is home.
From this time nothing stops Israel's victorious progress (v. 19); they must strike the enemies until none remain. The five kings are taken and hung on five trees... God's word had encouraged Joshua himself (v. 8), so he can encourage the people (v. 25). They take possession of their inheritance, and then "they returned to the camp at Gilgal."
- Given, then go. God had already handed the enemy over. The order to pursue only carries out what He had settled.
- Spend the win. A victory is a starting line, not a resting place. Use it for the next advance.
- Don't slacken. Pursuit is what turns retreat into rout. Slack pursuit has lost many a victory.
- Finish the strongholds. A scattered enemy re-gathers. Israel had to take Hebron twice because the men who fled got home.
- Seal the cave. Held foes are not pardoned foes; faith can already pronounce the sentence that God will carry out.
And it came to pass when Joshua and the children of Israel had ended smiting them with a very great slaughter, until they were consumed, that the remnant which remained of them entered into fortified cities;
The long day at Gibeon was given so the battle could be finished. This verse records that finish — and one loose end. A few of the enemy escaped behind city walls. So what does a complete victory take?
Only a few of the enemy got away. One commentator ties that to the long day just before this verse.
These few were left while Israel continued to pursue their enemies and destroy them before they could enter their cities. So the extra long day served to enable a sweeping victory, with only a few escaping to seek refuge in fortified cities (v.20).
God did not need Israel's army. One writer says that using it anyway was both grace and honour.
How clearly that day's intervention is felt to be Jehovah's own doing! He uses His people, and in a certain sense it was gracious of Him to do so. He could have done it all without them, as He did at the Red Sea. But He chose to use the people of God in the way that fitted that age. Thank God, we have a better calling than this, a heavenly one. Still, in its own place, it is short-sighted and irreverent folly to overlook the honour of being used in the Lord's work of that day. That work was clearing the land of what was an open sore and a plague spot, not only for that place, but for the whole earth. And that is what the Canaanites were.
Many readers find the total slaughter hard. One writer does not soften it. He points instead to what the Amorites had become.
When we weigh the terrible command of Jehovah that Israel destroy the nations of Canaan, we must always remember the wickedness of the Amorites. Their day had gone by. They were too wicked to be allowed to live.
Israel kept striking until the enemy was finished. One writer treats that as a model for the Christian's own fight.
Israel was not to use the victory over the crowds of Canaan in a half-hearted way. Success should be only the occasion for fresh effort. In their energy for the Lord, Israel chased and killed until not one enemy was left. This is the spirit of true Christian warfare. Today's gain becomes the starting line for the next advance. Every success, rightly seen, is only a spur to further conquest.
The verse leaves a loose end: survivors safe behind walls. Later in the same chapter, Hebron had to be taken a second time. One writer draws a warning from it.
Israel's conquest moved so fast that they had no time to hunt out every hiding place of the men who fled. So those men came back, filled old Hebron again, rebuilt its defences, and it had to be taken a second time. In Christian warfare, victory must be thorough. It is not enough to scatter enemies. The stronghold itself must be destroyed. Spiritual enemies are not easily wiped out, even when they are blocked or beaten. Their hiding places must be hunted out. If not, the enemy gets his strength back and returns to the war with fresh energy. No sitting still and no rest is allowed in this fight. Spiritual energy and watchfulness must never stop, or the same wars will have to be fought over and over again.
After the victory, Israel went back to camp. One writer finds an important lesson in that return.
Joshua defeated all his enemies, because Jehovah, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. This time they were faithful; they made no peace. What business had the Canaanites in Jehovah's land? ... But after the victory, Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal ... whatever our victories and our conquests may be, we must always return to the place that suits us before God, where self is wiped out ... There is a time to act and a time to be still, waiting on God so that we may be fit to act. Activity, the power that goes with us, success — everything tends to draw us away from God.
- Cause: the Lord fought for Israel. He could have won it alone. He used their swords instead, and that was their honour.
- Gift: the long day was practical, not for show. It bought the hours Israel needed to cut the enemy down before they reached shelter.
- Ground: the judgment was total because the wickedness was total. The Amorites' day had run out.
- Reach: Israel chased the enemy until none were left in the field. Each victory became the base for the next, never a place to sit down.
- Result: what hid behind walls came back and rebuilt, so strongholds must be hunted out and taken. Then the victors return to camp, where self is judged and strength comes back.
and all the people returned to the camp to Joshua, at Makkedah, in peace; none moved his tongue against the children of Israel.
The fight against five Amorite kings is over. The verse raises two questions: why was the victory so complete, and why does the record note a silent tongue?
Israel comes back whole because the fight was never theirs alone.
Jehovah says to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands." This is all that conflict means for one who walks in the Spirit before God. There must be conflict, but conflict is only victory. It is the Lord who has delivered the enemy into our hands; none can stand before us.
Even the weather took sides. One writer points to the hailstones of that day, and to the Hand that aimed them.
The Lord of creation commands and nature obeys. The hailstones strike the fleeing enemy, not Israel. Each stone carries its own special message and marks a difference between Israelite and Canaanite. The sword of Israel and the great stones of Jehovah are both guided by the same mighty and unerring Hand.
Makkedah was a temporary camp. There Joshua deals with the five captured kings, and draws a lesson for every battle still ahead.
After the people had returned safe and sound — in peace — to Makkedah, their temporary camp, Joshua had the five kings brought out. He told the captains of the men of war who went with him to put their feet on the necks of these kings. In this way he showed as strongly as possible that the power of Canaan was now under the Lord's army. While Joshua fixed this fact in Israel's mind, he repeated the great exhortation that had been the driving force behind their energy: "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight." A real lesson for the Christian soldier lies here. In his victories he finds the sure promises confirmed that his God made at the start of the campaign. He also finds a foretaste of that final conquest of Satan which is near at hand, for "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
The town where the army regathered carries a meaning that matches what happened there. Proud heads were forced down; but the name points past the enemy to something better.
The first is Makkedah, which means "bowing the head." There we have seen the five kings forced to bow those proud Amorite heads. Only divine power could humble them. As a place where Israelites live, the name has a better meaning: the thing itself is a choice blessing, and it leads on to many others. How good it is when the stiff neck first gives way, and man the rebel is subdued into loyalty! when God becomes God indeed, and man too, as he humbles himself, rises from the level of the beast to real manhood.
The same silence covered Israel when they came out of Egypt. One writer shows what that kind of rescue says about the God who gave it.
When the Lord does His work, He does it in a way worthy of Himself. When Israel came out of Egypt, they did not come out like people ashamed of themselves. They came out armed, with full hands. They came out as the host of God should. Not a dog dared to move his tongue against them, nor was there one weak person among their tribes.
That silence marked a line God Himself had drawn between two peoples. The same line still runs through the human race.
There is "no difference" among men in the matter of guilt. There is "no difference" in the giving out of God's saving grace. But there is a difference, deep and eternal, between God's saved ones and all others. As light from darkness, day from night, and life from death, so you can tell the saved apart from all who are unsaved. Today Christ is the dividing line between those who are rushing to eternal doom and those on whom no judgment can ever fall.
But Makkedah is not where the campaign ends.
The campaign over, Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal. And Gilgal must always be our camp; there is no other. We must return there after our victories. Makkedah may serve to witness the destruction of the power of the enemy. But Gilgal witnesses the judgment of self — the power of the cross of Christ on what we are.
- Fought — The Lord handed the enemy over. For the one walking with God, conflict itself turns into victory.
- Gathered — The people came back whole, in peace. Beaten kings lay under the feet of Joshua's captains.
- Bowed — Makkedah means "bowing the head": proud necks broken, and the rebel's stiff neck giving way at last.
- Silenced — No tongue moved against Israel, just as when they left Egypt. God does His work in a way worthy of Himself, and draws a lasting line between His saved ones and all others.
- Returned — Makkedah shows the enemy's power destroyed. Gilgal shows self judged, and Gilgal is the camp to keep coming back to.
And Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me those five kings out of the cave.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And they did so, and brought forth to him those five kings out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.
Five allied kings had fled the battle and hidden in a cave at Makkedah. At Joshua's word his men drag them out and name them one by one, and the hiding place becomes the place of judgment.
One writer points out where these kings were while their armies fought, and how their cave turned into a trap:
The kings of the five cities were clearly not at the front of the battle. They were directing it from a distance. They escaped together to a cave where they expected to stay hidden. But someone saw them and told Joshua. He ordered his men to roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and to keep guards there.
The kings were still inside when the stones came away. The same writer sets this beside another sealed cave:
When the stones came away, the kings were still there. They were alive, but they could not free themselves. The Lord Jesus is the opposite. He had died, and His body lay in a cave with a stone rolled over the mouth and soldiers guarding it. But when the stone came away, His body was not there!
Joshua brings the kings into the open before he judges them. One commentator reads this as a pattern for the believer's own spiritual enemies:
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out, and judgment falls on them. Our spiritual enemies cannot be killed yet. This is faith looking ahead, a picture like the one we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its judgment on them now, seeing in advance the judgment God will pass, and so marking them with their shame.
The same writer turns this into something the believer can do now:
It is a great thing to know enough to call Satan Satan. It is a great thing to face him knowing exactly who we are fighting. It is a great thing to drag him out of the dark cave where he has taken shelter, and, in broad daylight, to convict him and put him under the doom that awaits him.
The first king named is the king of Jerusalem. One writer sees in him an opposition that outlasts this battle — and a victory that outlasts it too:
In Joshua 10 we learn that an unbending enemy of God's purpose and people had settled himself in the city. This king, Adoni-zedec, became the leader of an alliance of kings, the sworn enemies of anyone who was not an enemy of God's people... And just as Joshua made the captains of his army put their feet on the necks of Adoni-zedec and his allies, so the Lord will give His saints complete victory over Antichrist and all their enemies. He will lead them, as the true Joshua, into the rest that remains for the people of God.
The kings stayed shut in the cave while Israel finished the pursuit. That order matters:
Joshua kept the five kings prisoners in the cave while the judgment of Jehovah overtook their armies. The victory over the crowds of Canaan was not to be used in a half-hearted way. Success should only be the occasion for fresh effort... This is the spirit of true Christian warfare. The ground already won becomes the base line for the next advance, and every success, rightly seen, is a spur to further conquest.
One writer sees Joshua teaching Israel to take the enemy seriously and to trust God at the same time:
He did not play down the strength of the enemy before the men of Israel. He said to them, "Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings"... At the same time he fully realized both the power of the world and the strength of Jehovah. Two things suit us when we fight the enemy: fear and trembling about ourselves, and full assurance about God, which leaves no room for alarm, for we know that Satan and the world are beaten enemies.
- Hidden. The five kings ran the battle from a safe distance, then hid in a cave. Their shelter became their prison.
- Held. Joshua left them locked in until the pursuit was over. The victory was not half-used; it became the base line for the next advance.
- Hauled out. The stone came away and the kings were still there, alive but helpless. At the tomb of Jesus the stone came away and the body was gone.
- Named. Faith drags the enemy out of the dark and calls him what he is. It passes judgment now on a doom that is certain later.
- Headed. The king of Jerusalem led the alliance. The true Joshua will give His people the same complete victory and lead them into rest.