Joshua 10:1-15

As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” Then 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 their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

  “Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
    and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13   And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
    until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 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.

15 So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

(ESV)

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The king of Jerusalem became very worried. He heard about the defeat of Ai and of the peace treaty with Gibeon and knew that it wouldn’t be long before Israel was upon them. He was concerned that the men of Gibeon would fight alongside Israel and so he formed an alliance with four other kings of the Amorites. They combined their forces and encamped against Gibeon and declared war. A messenger was sent to Joshua asking for help.

Why did Joshua go and help them? Why not leave Gibeon to fend for itself? With the Canaanites fighting amongst themselves, Gibeon might have been wiped out and Israel would be free of their mistaken covenant. Joshua saw a military advantage in dealing with all five Canaanite groups out in the open at once rather than one fortified city at a time. And, importantly, God had declared, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands.”

Joshua and the army had to march 25 miles from Gilgal at night climbing up 4,000 feet of steep and difficult terrain. They would have arrived tired and with no time for rest. But God threw the Amorites into a panic and Israel attacked with surprise. They chased them down a narrow pass. At the same time, God rained down large hailstones that killed more of the Amorites than those who died at the hands of Israel. But the battle was not easy and Joshua knew he needed more time if he was going to fulfil what God had promised, “Not a man of them shall stand before you.” So Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stop so they would have more time. Joshua prayed in faith and God answered with a miracle. The sun stopped overhead and then took its time finishing its course across the heavens. From noon they got still a full day (about another 24 hours) to continue the battle and God fought for Israel.

Some look at this story as an example of how the Bible and science don’t agree. Science explains that the sun doesn’t move around the earth but day and night occur because of the earth’s rotation relative to the sun. So why did Joshua ask the sun to stop and not the earth? Joshua was not making a scientific declaration, he was simply using the language of observation as we still do today. We still refer to a sunrise and a sunset because of our perception from the earth’s surface. What we see is the sun moving even though we know it is the earth that is in fact spinning.

Joshua and his men must have been exhausted. They marched through the night and then fought through a 36 hour day. But they did not fight alone. They had to work incredibly hard, but God was with them and the passage says, “the LORD fought for Israel.” When you are exhausted and unsure of how you’ll carry on, if you’re walking in obedience, you can know that God is right there with you and He will strengthen you to carry on!


Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan

Joshua Takes Over: Deuteronomy 31