Battle Stations
Text: Joshua 10: 24-26 & Romans 16: 20
Joshua 10: 24-26 -
“And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them upon five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.”
Romans 16: 20 -
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Part I
The nation of Israel, led by Joshua, had fought against five kings in one battle, as described in Joshua, chapter 10. All in all, Israel had taken and slain 31 kings and taken their kingdoms (12: 1, 24) under God’s commandment (11: 23). This victory was a rather remarkable one - providing us with a very vivid picture of several indispensable historical events - especially to the modern day Christian.
These 5 kings had encamped before the people of Gibeon, who were servants to the Israelites. Gibeon had been one of their neighboring cities, which defected (deceitfully at that) to Israel in a pact to spare themselves from their oncoming invasion. So they became the target of their old allies instead. They cried out to Joshua to save them and a great battle ensued.
A) God’s part - Not only did God deliver these kings into Israel’s hand, He fought on their behalf. As Israel launched a surprise attack on these armies, they fled. While the slaughter took place, God decided to join in and cast down “great stones from heaven” (v. 10). As the might soldiers ran, imagine the earth quaking from the violent crashes of these stones. Were they humongous like cars; squashing and rolling over the enemies of God? Were they sharp edged; slicing their victims in pieces? We don’t know - all it says is that “they were more which died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” I suppose that is all that matters…
God will move many ways and He will fight if He must, for those that are His;
Exodus 15: 3 -> Isaiah 42: 13 -> Deuteronomy 20: 4
“The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.” “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” “For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”Part 2 Coming Next......