The battle at Gibeon

When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, 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 became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying, "Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites." 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 camped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, "Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us." So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors. The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you." So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel,

"Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon."
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 midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel.

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

Joshua 10:1-15 NRSV

Grace and peace,

Ron

The Longest Day (original version)

Yesterday, we looked at the battle of the five kings from the perspective of Adoni-Zedek. But how did the Israelites see it?

Even though God had granted them success in peeling off one layer after another of the Canaanite onion, the five kings constituted a formidable foe. After the Lord encouraged Joshua ("Do not fear . . ."), the Israelites engaged them in one of the most dramatic battles ever recorded:

An all-night march
A surprise attack
A road pursuit
A barrage of hailstones
A poetic prayer
A sun frozen in time and space
A cave full of conquered kings
Victory.

It was the kind of victory that you remember your entire life. It was the kind of victory which is remembered across many lifetimes. Longer than the Battle of the Bulge, longer than the Battle of San Juan, longer than even Agincourt. And, as is the case with warriors, it was told by triumphant fathers to awed children. Good days or bad, it became part of the celebration of being an Israelite. Years later, a psalmist still celebrates the day:

"The Lord gives the command;
The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
'Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!'
When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
It was snowing in Zalmon." Ps 68.11-14 (NAS)

So, in the face of God's power, the power of earthly kings is as ephemeral as snow in desert mountains. God will bring victory to his people. And his people remember. Again and again, they relive the victory. The victors are the ones who are, after all, around to remember and relive. Those who fight God vanish from life and from memory.

Later, when the Israelites had to deal with oppression at the hands of the five kings of Philistia (Judges through 1 Sam 7), you have to believe that they were remembering the victory over five other kings, and wondering when God would act. God did. God sent a man after his own heart, and the five kings of Philistia disappear like snow on a May mountain.

But things aren't always that simple. In previous devotionals, we've talked about the reality that God doesn't always deliver victories in the way that we would want. But what is interesting is that, for his people, not only are we allowed to remember the victories which God has handed us, but we can remember the losses which he has allowed us to suffer. Losses which both test and build our faith.

But still, as faithful Israelites, we remember and hope.

Grace and peace,

Ron

Bad day at Black Rock

Adoni-Zedek. Offended and troubled by the defection of the Gibeonites to the Israelite camp, the king of Jerusalem gathers four other Canaanite kings, marches to the gates of Gibeon, and begins a siege (why attack the Gibeonites instead of the Israelites?). The Gibeonites call Joshua to come from Gilgal to help them out, and one of the most famous battles in history ensues.

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