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.
And it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came forward and put their feet on their necks.
After the long day of battle at Gibeon, soldiers brought the five kings out of the cave at Makkedah and set them before Israel. Joshua does not kill them at once; first he calls the officers of his army forward to stand on their necks.
Joshua called all Israel together to watch. No one there could miss the message: the rulers of Canaan were finished.
After the people had returned safe and sound — in peace — to Makkedah, their temporary camp, Joshua ordered the five kings to be 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 the clearest possible way he showed that the Lord's army had conquered the power of Canaan. "These kings," these chiefs, these rulers had to bow to Israel.
The captains trod on more than five men. They trod on the stubborn pride those men stood for.
The stiff-necked, proud kings of the world must have their stubborn pride humbled before the God of heaven and earth… The kings were then put to death and hanged on five trees until evening. Let us remember these were leaders in satanic worship, and when the day of God's judgment comes there will be no sparing those who have sold themselves to Satan.
The captains did not earn this moment. One thing alone gave them the right to stand where they stood.
Are they to walk across the ruins of Jericho's threatening walls, and plant their feet on the necks of the kings of Canaan? It is because of redemption.
God did not need these men. The whole day had been His work, yet He handed the moment of triumph to them.
How clearly everything that happened that day is felt to be Jehovah's 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 employ the people of God, in keeping with the way He was working at that time.
Joshua did not pretend the kings were nothing. He made his men look straight at the strength they had been up against, and then told them not to be afraid of it.
He did not make the enemy's strength look small to the men of Israel. He said to them: "Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings." Then he added: "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous." He spoke like this because he saw at the same time both the power of the world and the strength of Jehovah. Two things are fitting for us when we fight the enemy: fear and trembling about ourselves, and full assurance about God. That assurance leaves no room for alarm, because we know that Satan and the world are defeated foes.
Commentators read the scene as a preview. The defeat of Adoni-zedek and his allies points to an enemy still to come.
Joshua made the captains of his army put their feet on the necks of Adoni-zedek and his allies. In the same way 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.
Writers apply the same pattern to the Christian's fight today. Past victories point ahead to the final one.
There is an important lesson here for the Christian soldier. His victories only confirm the sure promises of his God, made at the start of the campaign. They also point ahead to 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)
- Redemption first. No one earned the right to stand on a conquered king's neck. It rested on redemption.
- Victory given. The day was Jehovah's doing. He could have acted alone, as at the Red Sea, but He chose to use His people.
- Pride broken. Proud, stiff-necked rulers had to bow before the God of heaven and earth. God's judgment spares no one who has sold himself to Satan.
- Courage taught. Joshua showed his men the enemy's real strength and told them not to fear. We tremble at ourselves and trust God completely.
- Victory ahead. Commentators see a preview here. The saints will triumph completely under the true Joshua, and God will soon crush Satan under our feet.
And Joshua said to them, Fear not, neither be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus will Jehovah do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
Joshua has captured five kings who attacked Gibeon. He now calls his officers to put their feet on the kings' necks, and tells them what that moment means for the war still ahead.
Joshua wanted this act seen. It said as plainly as possible that Canaan's power now lay under the Lord's army, and it tied that victory back to what God promised at the start.
The people came back safe and sound — in peace — to Makkedah, their temporary camp. Joshua then ordered 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 he could that the Lord's army had subdued the power of Canaan... A significant lesson for the Christian soldier lies here. In his victories he finds the confirmation of God's sure promises, made at the start of the campaign. He also finds in them a foretaste of that final conquest of Satan, which is near at hand: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." (Rom. 16:20.)
The men under those feet were kings. Their rank is the point of the picture, and their end was not softened.
When his men brought the five kings out, Joshua told the captains of Israel's army to put their feet on the necks of these kings (v.24). The kings of the world are stiff-necked and proud. Their stubborn pride must be brought down to humiliation before the God of heaven and earth. So Joshua told his men not to fear, but to be strong and courageous. In the same way the Lord would bring down all the pride of their enemies before them (v.25). The kings were then put to death and hanged on five trees until evening. Remember that these men were leaders in satanic worship. When the day of God's judgment comes, God will spare no one who has sold himself to Satan.
Joshua does two things at once. He makes his men look hard at the strength under their feet, and then tells them not to be afraid.
He did not make the enemy's strength look small in the eyes of the men of Israel. He told them to come near and put their feet on the necks of these kings. Then he added, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous." He grasped the power of the world and the strength of the Lord at the same time. Two things suit us when we fight the enemy: fear and trembling about ourselves, and full assurance about God, which shuts out all alarm. We know that Satan and the world are defeated foes.
Joshua can encourage his men because God encouraged him first. The strength he hands on came to him from God's word.
God's word encouraged Joshua himself (v. 8), so he can encourage the people (v. 25). Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron and Debir are their stages of victory. They take possession of their inheritance.
The promise covers all your enemies, not only these five. One writer follows that line forward to Antichrist, the last foe of God's people, and to the true Joshua who brings them into rest.
This king, Adoni-zedec, became the leader of a group of allied kings. They were sworn enemies of anyone who was not an enemy of God's people... Joshua made the captains of his army put their feet on the necks of Adoni-zedec and his allies. In the same way the Lord will give His saints complete victory over Antichrist and all their enemies. As the true Joshua, He will lead them into the rest that remains for the people of God.
- Received. God's word encouraged Joshua first (v. 8). Only then could he encourage his men.
- Realistic. Joshua makes his captains look straight at the power under their feet. Fear and trembling about ourselves, full assurance about God — both belong together.
- Reduced. These are royal necks. Proud rulers must bow before the God of heaven and earth, and the day of judgment will spare no one who has sold himself to Satan.
- Repeated. The promise covers all enemies, not just five. Each victory confirms what God promised at the start, and drives the fight on.
- Rest. The picture points ahead. God will crush Satan under the feet of His people, and the true Joshua will lead them into the rest that remains.
And afterwards Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
A long day of battle is over, and five defeated kings have been dragged out of the cave where they hid. This verse tells what Joshua did with them, and why the trees and the evening matter.
Before the execution, Joshua had his officers stand on the kings' necks. One commentator explains what that gesture declared.
The people had returned safe and sound — in peace — to Makkedah, their temporary camp. Joshua then ordered the five kings to be 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 expressed as strongly as possible that the power of Canaan was now subject to the Lord's army.
These men had led a whole system of worship. Their death points to a larger judgment still to come.
The kings were then put to death and hanged on five trees until evening. Let us remember these were leaders in satanic worship. When the day of God's judgment comes, there will be no sparing those who have sold themselves to Satan.
The verse records two acts, not one. Joshua put the kings to death, and only then hung their bodies on trees. One writer explains what the hanging meant.
When a crime brought the death penalty, only certain crimes called for hanging the body. Hanging showed that the person was dying under the curse of God. It was intended as a public disgrace and a warning to others. But that disgrace was not to be continued beyond the day of hanging. Galatians 3:13 shows that this applies mainly to the Lord Jesus. At Calvary He was made a curse for us, and He bore the most dreadful disgrace for our sakes. But this awful course was confined to that one day. When His great work of atonement was finished, those who loved Him took the body of the Lord Jesus and laid it in a grave.
Joshua did not improvise here. One writer traces his action back to something he had already learned in God's presence.
The five kings are taken and hung on five trees. Joshua sees his way in this more clearly because of an earlier page in his history, learned in the presence of God. Joshua has got into the way which suits God's holiness. Encouraged himself by the word of God, he can encourage the people.
There is a further question behind the whole campaign: who has any right to this land?
Joshua defeated all his enemies, because Jehovah, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. This time they were faithful, they made no peace. What had Canaanites to do in Jehovah's land? Has Satan any right to the land of promise? This is the light in which Joshua always beholds the land of Canaan.
A believer's enemies cannot be put to death the way these kings were. One writer explains what faith can still do with them now.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out and judgment executed upon them. Our spiritual foes cannot be killed yet. This is only the anticipation of faith — a picture like the one we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its own judgment on them. It sees ahead to God's judgment that is coming, and so brands them with their shame. It is a great thing to know enough to call Satan Satan. It is a great thing to meet him knowing for sure whom we are fighting. It is a great thing to draw him out of the dark cave where he may have hidden, and, in the light of day, to convict him and put him under the doom that awaits him.
Witherby carries the same line forward, from Joshua's battlefield to the Christian's.
There is a significant 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 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" (Romans 16:20).
Commentators differ in emphasis. Some stress the coming judgment on the world; others stress the believer's present fight.
- Cave — the kings hid; hiding delayed judgment but did not cancel it. Faith drags the enemy out into the light and names him.
- Neck — feet on the necks of the kings declared Canaan's power broken, a foretaste of Satan crushed under the feet of God's people.
- Tree — hanging marked a man as dying under God's curse. That same curse fell on Christ at Calvary, in our place.
- Evening — the disgrace lasted one day only. Once atonement was finished, those who loved Christ took His body down and laid it in a grave.
- Land — Canaan is the Lord's, and His enemies have no right there. Joshua takes the way that suits God's holiness.
And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave where they had been hid, and laid great stones before the cave's mouth, [which remain] to this very day.
Five kings hid from Joshua in a cave near Makkedah, and by sunset that cave was their grave. Why did the timing matter, and what did the sealed cave say to everyone who passed it later?
The sunset is not a stray detail. One writer traces Joshua's conduct here to a lesson he had already learned in God's presence.
The five kings are taken and hung on five trees. Joshua sees his way to this more clearly, from an earlier page in his history learnt in the presence of God. Joshua has got into the way that suits God's holiness (vv. 26, 27).
The way they died carried a meaning beyond the execution itself. Deuteronomy 21 attached both disgrace and a curse to a body hanged on a tree.
Death by hanging on a tree carries not only shame, dishonour and disgrace. It carries a curse too, as Deuteronomy 21:23 says: "a hanged man is cursed by God." Joshua followed these divine instructions from Deuteronomy 21. He killed the five kings of the Amorites, who had hidden in a cave at Makkedah, and hanged them on five trees.
The law itself sets the deadline and gives the reason. One commentator quotes it, then looks past Makkedah to Christ.
"His body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day... You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance." This may not call for lengthy remark, but it surely calls for solemn reflection and deep thankfulness at God's grace. Man heaped the deepest shame and suffering on Jesus, and God turns it into the purposes of redeeming love. For who does not know that Jesus took this place of the curse on the cross, to bear our judgment in the sight of God? He too knew what it was to be hanged on a tree — knew what it was to be made a curse for us.
The kings had run to the cave to escape. They were shut in, brought out, humbled, executed — and then put back where they started, with the stones now permanent.
The kings were then put to death and hanged on five trees until evening. Let us remember these were leaders in satanic worship. When the day of God's judgment comes, there will be no sparing those who have sold themselves to Satan. The sun went down at last on that long day. They took the bodies from the trees and returned them to the cave, and large stones again covered it permanently (v.27).
One writer sees the kings as a picture of our own spiritual enemies.
But the kings are in the caves of Makkedah. Now they are brought out and judgment is carried out on them. Our spiritual foes cannot be killed yet. This is only the anticipation of faith: a picture like the one we saw at Jericho. Faith can pass its judgment on them, foreseeing the divine judgment that will come, and so branding them with their infamy.
The practical edge of that picture is knowing your enemy and refusing to leave him in the dark.
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 contending with, to draw him out of the darkness of the 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.
One question settles whether Israel makes peace with these kings: who owns the land?
This time they were faithful, they made no peace. What had Canaanites to do in Jehovah's land? Has Satan any right to the land of promise? This is the light in which Joshua always sees the land of Canaan (Joshua 10:27).
- Cave — the five kings ran to a hiding place, and that hiding place became their tomb. No cave keeps an enemy hidden.
- Tree — hanging carried shame and a curse. The same law points to Christ, who took the place of the curse on the cross.
- Sunset — the law set a deadline at nightfall, and Joshua kept it. He had learned in God's presence what suits God's holiness.
- Stones — the sealed cave stands as a verdict already passed. Faith brands its enemies with the doom that is coming.
- Land — Joshua made no peace. The question behind every step was simple: has Satan any right to the land of promise?