The Conquest of Canaan Continues, Part 1

Joshua chapter 10 is where we're at in our study. Joshua chapter 10. Joshua faces his biggest battle. It's against five nations. And the big battle is huge because of what happens on the inside, not so much of what happens on the outside. In other words, Joshua A man of integrity fought the battle and won it on the inside in order that he might win the victory on the outside. Joshua had to keep his word. Joshua had to maintain his commitment. And that was the biggest battle he had to face. And that became a great testimony for this man, Joshua.

And like it is with Joshua, so it is with us. Unless there's integrity on the inside, there is no victory on the outside. It must begin with our comm to follow God no matter what. And because he was so committed to his God. So committed to keeping his word to his God, to the Gibeonites, God blessed his life. He walked securely. He would not be shaken. Listen to what Psalm 15 says about the man of integrity. It says, O Lord, who may abide in thy tent, who may dwell on thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.

He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend. in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord. He swears to his own hurt, and does not change. He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. He who does these things will always walk securely. He who does these things will live a life of great stability. Why? Because he's secure, or she's secure.

In their walk with the Lord. You see, there's something about a life that is totally committed to God all through it that God blesses. Look at Daniel.

Look at Joseph. These were men of great integrity. Joshua was like those men. They were men who kept their word. They were men who were true to their God. In fact, the Bible says of Daniel in Daniel 6, verse number 4, these words: Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground.

of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs. But they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful. And no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. There was nothing about the man. There was nothing in the man. That they could accuse him of. Joshua was that kind man. Joseph was that kind of man. Those are the kind of people who win the battle inside. And because they've won the battle of integrity on the inside, they become victorious warriors on the outside.

So many times we lose our battles because on the inside there's deceit. On the inside, there's guile. On the inside, there's all kinds of things that we want to hold from others. A secret life, another life that doesn't match what's on the outside. If you live that kind of life, you will constantly go down to defeat in whatever battle you face. And Joshua was a man who had to keep his word to the Gibeonites. He was a man who was true to his God. He made a vow to God. And he would keep that vow. And you know what?

God would bless him supremely. And that's what Joshua 10 is all about. Last week, we looked at the commencement of the battle. We looked at the fact that these five nations had come against Gibeon because Gibeon to them had become a traitor. Gibeon had sided with the Israelites. And the other five kings. Led by Adon, the Lord of right, the king of Jerusalem, they went against Gibeon to destroy them. And Gibeon came to Joshua and they made a plea. Oh, you need to come save us and you need to come save us now.

You see, the five kings were upset because Gibeon was was a was a mighty army, it says in the first couple of verses of chapter 10.

They were strong warriors, and they had sided with the Israelites. who had become great victorious warriors there in the land of Canaan. These five nations rallied together to destroy Gibe and his people. And so they came and they went to Joshua. They would make that plea to him. And Joshua, because he was a man of his word, he had made a peace treaty with them. Even though they were the enemy, he kept his word. And he says he took his men. They traveled all night. They went from Gilgal to Gibeon between twenty and twenty-five miles.

It was all rough terrain in the middle of the night. All up to get where they needed to be. And the Bible says very clearly in chapter 10 these words.

It says The Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not one of them sh stand before you. You see, when Joshua made his move because of his commitment to God, God spoke to him. And God told him of the assurance of the victory. You see, in your Christian life, you need to understand that there is always, always. The work of diligence bas on a walk of dependence The walk of dependence and the work of diligence go hand in hand to win the battle. That is, you walk dependently upon God, trusting Him for everything.

But at the same time, fulfilling your responsibility diligently and not becoming slack in your efforts. And here was Joshua doing what he knew to do. Being committed to his word, and God spoke to him in a great and mighty way. Paul said it this way over in Colossians chapter 1, verse number 29. He said this, and for this purpose also I labor. Paul says, I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works in me. Paul says, I am striving, I am agonizing, I am doing all that I can, but I do it because I'm walking dependently upon my God.

Energized through his power. It's the walk of dependence coupled with the work of diligence. And that was Joshua. That's the kind of man he was. And so the commencement of the battle happened because these five kings went against Gibe, and Joshua went to battle. And you know what God did? Look what God said to Joshua. God is so good. Verse 8. And the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them. For I have given them into your hands. Not one of them shall stand before you. Joshua, listen, Joshua goes to work, right?

He knows, listen, he knows that he's already made a vow to God. He's made a commitment to God. He's made a peace treaty with his people, and he is their protector. He keeps his word. And because, listen, so important: because he keeps his word and goes to work, God speaks. God speaks. God speaks words of encouragement to Him. Our problem is that we wait for God to speak before we move. We wait for God to tell us to move. Joshua just moved. He went to do the right thing because he had already made the commitment.

He knows what he needs to do as the leader of Israel. So he makes that move. He goes. And as he goes, God says, Joshua, guess what?

Don't fear him. You got nothing to fear. You're going to crush him. You're going to destroy him. Don't worry about a thing, Joshua. Go get him, baby. You're on your own, baby. Go on. You can take him. Because God is going to encourage the warrior who is committed to his word and follows through on his commitment to God. God always encourages that person. If you've ever wondered why God hasn't encouraged you, it's because you've reneged on your commitment to God. When you stand strong for God and follow through on your word to Him, God will always use His word.

To encourage you to keep on going and to show you that He will be with you through thick or thin. And Joshua found that out. He says, God says to Joshua, do not fear them.

I love that. You know, for God to say that, there had to be a tinge of fear in Joshua, right? Now, you got to note that if you go back and you read about the conquest at Jericho, God said the exact same thing to Joshua. Before they fought Jericho. And if you go back and read about their battle at AI, God said the exact same thing before they fought that battle. And if you read ahead to chapter 11, you'll realize that before they fight against the northern nations, God says the exact same thing again.

Because God knows how difficult it is for us to maintain that level we need to have. To win the victory. And God constantly encourages those who are committing to do the right thing. And God just wants to encourage Joshua to make sure he doesn't quit. So he understands that he is the man of victory. And to be the man of victory, you need to have a word from God. He says, don't fear. Which leads us to number two, the amazement in the conflict.

The amazement in the conflict. I love this. It says in verse 11, And it came about as they fled from before Israel while they were at the descent of Beth-Haron that the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azik. And they d. I love that. And they died. They died. Why? Because God threw large stones upon them, large hailstones upon them. That's what God did. Folks, this is a great thing. There are four miracles in Joshua. We've seen two. These are the next two. The party of the rivers Jordan, right?

That was one miracle. The walls come tumbling down at Jericho. That's miracle number two. Miracle number three are the stones that fall.

From the heavens, and miracle number four is the day, the long extra day, where the sun stood still. Both of those two, those last two, are here in Joshua chapter 10. Now think about this. Joshua has seen all kinds of miracles. Can you imagine being Joshua? I mean, you were in Egypt, right, in slavery, and you saw the ten plagues. Those were, we've studied those, and we went through the book of Exodus. Can you imagine what Joshua saw? Joshua saw the parting of the Red Sea. Joshua was able to see that as they went through the wilderness, all the great miracles that God did when he caused water to flow from a rock.

Man at a fall from heaven. He saw a miracle every single day he was in the wilderness. This man was so used to miracles, he could call upon God at any time and expect God to do something great. Because he believed he served a great and awesome God. And Joshua asked for no miracle. Joshua just went to battle. And as he was going to battle, these stones would fall out of heaven. And the great thing about that is that Israel was exempt from the stones hitting them. Folks, this is amazing. Here they are in battle, and Israel is not ever touched by one hailstone.

Out of heaven. Now, think about this. You ever seen hail? They might be the size of a pea or a marble. I think one of the largest ones that ever was found was in 1970 in Kansas, where it was 17 and a half inches in circumference, which weighed almost two pounds. Now think about that. The book of Revelation 21, verse number 16, says that God will throw large hailstones out of heaven that weigh a hundred pounds. Think about that. When the bold judgments are enacted, we know that when the first trumpet blows, Revelation 8, verse number 7, when the first trumpet blows, it's hail.

And fire mixed with blood falls from heaven. And so we know that hail is a judgment of God. And when you get to Revelation chapter 16, when it's just about all done with the bold judgments, these big, huge boulders come falling down on people and absolutely crushing them. Destroying them. And you know what the amazing thing is about that in Revelation 21? Listen to this. I'm sorry, Revelation 16, verse number 21. And huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

Now, instead of repenting from their sin, what do they do? They got mad at God because these big hail that would fall down upon their head. Listen to what God says to Job in Job chapter 38, verse number 22.

When Job is wondering why all these things are happening to him. He's questioning about the devastation upon his life. You ever done that? You ever questioned God about the tragedy and devastation in your life? Job did. Can you blame him? I can't blame the guy. Listen to what God said to Job. He says, verse 21, You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great. Have you entered the storehouses of the snow? Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?

God says, you know, you know, Job, I know you have lots of questions, but you're questioning me, and you have no idea who I am.

You have no idea what I know, and you have no idea what I'm going to do. Do you know where snow comes from? Do you know the storehouses of snow? Do you know whether there's storehouses of hail? And I reserve them for the day of judgment and the day of distress and the day of my wrath. Isaiah 28, verse number 2. Says this, Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent, as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction. Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, he has cast it down to the earth with his ha.

You see, God was the source of the hailstones. And God was in charge of how big they were. And God was in charge of where they would land. And he made sure they would only land on the enemy and not on the Israelites. And you know what? This is nothing new for Israel. They understand this. Remember the plagues? Remember the ten plagues? Listen to this. Exodus 8: The plague of the flies. I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in which my people dwell, that no swarm of flies shall be there. He says, God does, that the flies will be everywhere except where Israel is.

And then it says in Exodus 9, verses 4 and 6. The LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall nothing die of all that is the children of Israel. All the cattle of Egypt died, but the cattle of the children of Israel Did not die over in Exodus chapter 10, verse 2. The plague about darkness in the land of Egypt. There was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days, but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. You believe that? And then it says over in Exodus 12, verse number 13, about the slain of the firstborn, those under the blood were exempted from the tragic death.

The blood should, I'm sorry, I quote, The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you. And Israel was spared, but Pharaoh and his people were not because they didn't believe God. You see, Israel was used to the exemption clause. They were used to being spared. And so when they're running after these nations that have come against Gibe, and the hail begins to fall, and nothing's happened.

To them. Can you imagine the scene? Man, that is great. You can't help but laugh and have pity on those poor people who are running and they can't dodge the hailstones. But what goes even way beyond that is the fact that Joshua didn't want it to end. So he prays and asks God to have the sun stand still and for the moon not to move. Why? Because he wanted more time to destroy the enemy. The Bible says very clearly.

Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel. He stood in the sight of all Israel. So Joshua is praying in front of all of his people. This is the public prayer of Joshua. Oh, son, stand still. Of Gibeon, an old moon in the valley of Hail. So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped. Until the nation avenged themselves in their or of their enemies. And the Bible says in verse 14 that the Lord fought for Israel.

Now, folks, this is a miracle. You know all the laws of physics. Maybe you don't. I'm not going to enlighten you about the laws of physics. This is not a physics class. This is not a science class, okay? And people for years have tried to explain this miracle, that this really didn't happen. Folks, I got to let you know something. It happened just like the Bible said it did. How do I know that? Colossians chapter 1, verse number 17. Colossians 1, verse number 17 says very clearly. The Christ, he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Folks, God holds everything together. You can say whatever you want to say about science and how Everything revolves around everything else and what happens up in the sky. I got to let you know something: God holds it all together. I don't care what you learned in what class. And Hebrews 1. 3 says, God holds it together with the word of his power. God speaks a word and it happens. Just like it did in creation in Genesis chapter 1. And yes, those were six literal days. They were not periods of time, nor were they ages.

They were six literal days that God did what He did. God doesn't need time to do what only He can do. And folks, if God wants the sun to stand still, Or, if God wants the earth no longer to rotate and not cause chaos upon the earth because of that, guess what? God can do that. Because God is God, He's in charge. We got to stop playing games with the word of God. The word of God says, This is what happened.

Let me tell you something. It happened. And here was a man, Joshua, who was so, listen, he was so consumed with the work of God. He was so consumed about being God's warrior, he didn't want to stop. And so he asked that everything would just. Stop so the day could be longer. And the Bible says, What's it say?

Very clearly. It says, And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. They had another whole day to do battle. Now, you think about that. They had been up all night traveling uphill to where they needed to be, some 20 to 25 miles. They fight all day. The sun's about to go down. Joshua doesn't want that to happen, so he asks for the sun to stay up, and it does, so he can fight a whole nother day. He's looking for more opportunities, more time to do the work of God.

Now, you think about that in your life. And how that applies to you. It's no wonder this man was a man of victory. It's no wonder this man is emulated in the scriptures. It's no wonder God chose this man to follow Moses. I mean, after all, this is what this guy wanted, this is what he was about. He was about the work of God, and nothing was going to stop him in that work for God. Even so much so that he asked that the day could be extended. Could they use a rest? I'm sure they could. I'm sure they could.

And Joshua prayed publicly, not privately, because he wanted everybody to know, guys, guess what? It's not going to end today. It's going to end tomorrow because I'm asking for a longer day. He wanted them all to know it. Can you imagine the warriors fighting with him? Joshua, you to be kidding, man. We're worn out, man. We are poor. We're just tired, man. We need a drink of water. We need some food. We need some time. Joshua says, we got no time. The only time we got is the time to do the will of God.

Let's do it. And they followed. And the Bible says that the Lord fought for Israel. Let me tell you something.

God always fights for those who are strongly committed to Him. He does. He really truly does. And I think this is a time for you and me to do some reflection, some introspection, say, where is my walk with God? Where's my relationship with him? Am I strong for God? Am I the kind of warrior for God that Joshua was? That I want to keep on going? I want to win the battle no matter what? Because I want God to be honored and God to be glorified. Listen to what A. W. Pink says about this passage. He says, Not only was Joshua's ordering of the sun to stand still a glorious exhibition of his faith, And implicit confidence in God, but it also manifested a zeal in the service of God.

There must be unwearied efforts put forth by us in our spiritual warfare. We are not to rest satisfied with part victories, but must continue fighting until complete success Is our. And that was Joshua. That 's how he fought. And that's why the day was so amazing. It was amazing because of the work of God supernaturally intervening through the hailstorm and through the sun that would stand still. But it was also amazing because you got one man so committed, so faithful. So true to God that he didn't want to stop until the work was done.

And, folks, that's the way we need to be. If we want to be like the man of victory, Joshua.