Not only is it a bad day at black rock for Adoni-Zedek, God holds the sun still at Joshua's request so as to make it the longest bad day ever. Adoni-Zedek and the four kings hide out in a cave, which the Israelites seal with rocks until the battle is over and the combined Canaanite forces are wiped out. Instead of waiting for the kings to starve to death in the cave, Joshua sends for the five kings and has them brought before his army. He has his commanders put their feet on the necks of the kings (the acme of insult in the ancient world), beheads them, hangs their bodies on five trees for a day, and then buries them in a cave. What a humiliating way to end someone's life!
Why is the humiliation so significant? Those of you with study Bibles will find a notation that Adoni-Zedek means "Lord of Righteousness", or "My Lord of Righteousness". That's a fair understanding of the Hebrew. Now, although "Lord" is a title that is often used of kings in the OT (especially of David), there is a hint that this is a divine title. Adoni is also a title that is used for God. Remember that the predecessor of Adoni-Zedek only called himself Melchizedek, which means "king of righteousness" (this is the king of Salem who blessed Abram, Gen 14.18). But here, the current king of Jerusalem (Salem) is no longer content with merely being a king, but must title himself "LORD". How proud can you get?
Can you imagine the affront to his power to have one of his neighbors choose to make a deal with the enemy? If no Godfather would put up with that kind of nonsense, then you can bet that no god (little g) would tolerate it either. Besides which, the turf the Israelites possess plus Gibeon cuts Canaan in half. So, pride offended, Adoni-Zedek acts.
But God, the Father of all humanity, reduces this proud man to the status of a humiliated man suffering a humiliating death. The Gibeonites, though many and strong, humbled themselves and survived. But a proud ruler exalted himself in front of the people of God and found humiliation instead of glory.
Just before the end, Moses warned Pharaoh to humble himself before God (Ex 10.3). Aid comes to Daniel because he humbles himself (Dan 10.12). And both James and Peter counsel us to humble ourselves before God so that he can exalt us (James 4.10, 1 Pet 5.6). So will we actively humble ourselves, or passively suffer humiliation?
P.S. - There is going to be a "Lord of Righteousness" who will rule over Jerusalem and every other place, but he doesn't appear in this part of the story. When he does appear, not only will he be a better king - he will be a better priest as well (Heb 7). This Adoni-Zedek will deliver his people to glory, not to death. Oddly enough, this mighty king knows more about humility than any other leader humanity has ever known.
Grace and peace,
Ron
