Joshua 10:28-43
“And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.” (Joshua 10:28-33)
Though the treaty with Gibeon had been in direct contradiction with God’s command, once the treaty was made, it could not be undone without breaking another command, so recognizing their sin Israel honored the treaty. God blessed their decision, using the treaty to bring all the Amorite kings together and defeating their main armies outside the walled fortresses. This left all five Amorite cities with only minimal forces to defend them. Rather having to mount prolonged seiges against those cities, Israel was able to take each in about a single day, executing everyone in the cities.
Seeing how fast they were progressing. Horam King of Gezer decided he’d better try to stop them while he still had some help, and came to assist Lachish. His efforts were no more successful than any of the others.
“And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.” (Joshua 10:36-39)
They made a swing around all the Amorite cities, totally annihilating the peoples of the various Amorite cities in a single sweep. They did not leave even a vestige of the previous governments to cause future problems.
“So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. ” (Joshua 10:40-42)
In this single sweep Joshua was able to take all the land south of Gibeon and Bethel, all the way to Kadesh Barnea, where they had sent out the spies forty years before, and as far west ass Gaza on the Mediteranean shore. The hailstorm and God’s causing the sun and moon to stand still for about twelve hours gave Israel a victory that could not otherwise have been achieved.
“And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.” (Joshua 10:43)
After completing the conquest of the southern part of the land, Israel returned to Gilgal, where they had camped when they first crossed Jordan.
“And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.” (Joshua 10:28-33)
Though the treaty with Gibeon had been in direct contradiction with God’s command, once the treaty was made, it could not be undone without breaking another command, so recognizing their sin Israel honored the treaty. God blessed their decision, using the treaty to bring all the Amorite kings together and defeating their main armies outside the walled fortresses. This left all five Amorite cities with only minimal forces to defend them. Rather having to mount prolonged seiges against those cities, Israel was able to take each in about a single day, executing everyone in the cities.
Seeing how fast they were progressing. Horam King of Gezer decided he’d better try to stop them while he still had some help, and came to assist Lachish. His efforts were no more successful than any of the others.
“And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.” (Joshua 10:36-39)
They made a swing around all the Amorite cities, totally annihilating the peoples of the various Amorite cities in a single sweep. They did not leave even a vestige of the previous governments to cause future problems.
“So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. ” (Joshua 10:40-42)
In this single sweep Joshua was able to take all the land south of Gibeon and Bethel, all the way to Kadesh Barnea, where they had sent out the spies forty years before, and as far west ass Gaza on the Mediteranean shore. The hailstorm and God’s causing the sun and moon to stand still for about twelve hours gave Israel a victory that could not otherwise have been achieved.
“And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.” (Joshua 10:43)
After completing the conquest of the southern part of the land, Israel returned to Gilgal, where they had camped when they first crossed Jordan.
With God all things are possible, even stopping the sun and moon to accomplish His perfect will. Thanks for the great post and reminder of His omnipotence and goodness.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Laurie