A HOLY TEAM EFFORT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."

Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

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

Joshua 10:1-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Chapter 9, we saw where the people of Gibeon successfully convinced Joshua and the Israelites that they were from a distant land when the truth was that they lived no more than twenty miles away. You’ll recall that Joshua made a treaty of peace with them, one that would ensure that Israel would not attack them. But after Joshua discovered that he had been deceived, he made the Gibeonites life-long servants of the Lord as wood cutters and water carriers.

As Chapter 10 begins, we see where the treaty established by Gibeon caused concern with the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek, because Gibeon was “an important city, like one of the royal cities…larger than Ai (with) all its men (being) good fighters”. So we read where Adoni-Zedek “appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon” telling them to "Come up and help me attack Gibeon…because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." So the “five kings of the Amorites — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon — joined forces” and “moved up with all their troops”, taking “up positions against Gibeon” and attacking the city.

The Gibeonites, under siege by five armies, called out for help, sending “word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal”. Their message was as follows:

"Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."

Given the treaty he had sworn to, Joshua left “Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men” and marched toward Gibeon. While on the way, the Lord spoke to Joshua, telling him, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." Once again, the Lord gives Joshua and Israel great confidence as they near battle. They know ahead of time that they will be victorious…not by their own might…but the might of the Lord. Together, they made an unstoppable holy team with nothing beyond their doing and victory certain.

After traveling all night to Gibeon from Gilgal, a great strategy used by Joshua, the Amorite armies were taken by surprise. As Israel attacked, the Lord “threw (the enemy) into confusion and Israel defeated them”, pursuing them “along the road going up to Beth Horon” and cutting them down “all the way to Azekah and Makkedah”. As if Israel’s vicious attack wasn’t for the Amorite armies, the Lord also got involved, hurling “large hailstones down on them from the sky”. And scripture places an emphasis on the fact that more of the enemy forces died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. In other words, although the battle was a team effort between the Lord and Israel, the majority of the credit for victory was placed where it should be…on the Lord. And to further highlight the divine power present that day, the Lord made the “sun (stand) still, and the moon (stop), making the day unique…in fact, there had “never been a day like it before or since”…a day when the Lord listened to a man because Joshua had asked for the sun and moon to stop and the Lord answered his call.

As we look at this scripture passage, we need to remember one very important thing about life: We never go into anything on any given day without God being fully ready to go with us. In fact, as we go forth to carry out the cause and call of Christ to make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey all He commanded, we need to know we don’t go alone. For Jesus, our Lord, said, “And lo I am with you even until the end of the age”. (Matthew 28:16-20)

Ministry you see is a holy team effort with us being instruments of God’s work and will. He tells us what to do and then is there to help guide and help us to ensure His will is done. We have an awesome assurance that we will have victory every time as long as we partner with God to lead us there. Just as Joshua and the Israelites had full confidence that they would defeat the Amorite army, so too do we have the assurance that we will be successful as well in whatever the Lord calls us to do. Why? Because He is with us just as He was with Israel.

Friends, there is no reason for us to ever fail or fall in anything we do…that is as long as we ensure that everything we do is what God wills for us to do. For it’s then and only then that we know He is right there with us, the key member of the holy team that will never find defeat and always find victory. Thanks be to God.

In Christ,

Mark

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