October 25 We Will Study Joshua 10

October 25 we will study Joshua 10. Discussion questions are:

1. Is there a particular day you remember in your own life when you and God celebrated a great victory together? 2. Why would God tell Joshua to not be afraid? (vs. 8) 3. What are the 3 miracles God performs at the battle in chapter 10? (panic, hailstones, extended time) a. What specifics do you notice in the effort the army of Israel put forth? i. Vs. 9 – march all night ii. Vs. 11 – chase the enemy & wield the sword b. What does it teach us when this chapter combines the miracles of God and the efforts of human beings? 4. When we are engaged in spiritual warfare, do you think God intends for us to remember His assistance in physical warfare like the story in Joshua 10? a. How do we impart that faith to our children? 5. Do Hezekiah’s words in II Chronicles 32:7-8 suggest familiarity with the book of Joshua? 6. What is the significance of God declaring victory in vs. 8? a. How does God do that in other parts of the Bible like Revelation? b. How do you use God’s telling us that the outcome of the war has already been decided? 7. What scriptures can you recall that announce God’s dominion over His rival? 8. What is the boldest modern day prayer you ever heard? 9. Agree/disagree: “Most 21’st Century Christians live their lives as if God did not exist. They make plans and decisions all day every day with no thought of their dependence on God for the outcome of those plans and decisions. They make purchases, borrow money, decide serious health issues, give advise to their children, attempt to work out marriage problems without ever even consulting God.” 10. If you believe “the battle belongs to the Lord”, how should that belief affect your life? Sermon: The Original Daylight Savings Time

A forgetful fellow was ready to leave the house and head to work when he noticed it was raining. Being forgetful he had managed to leave all his umbrellas at the office so he grabbed his wife’s umbrella. She stopped him and said, “You can’t take my umbrella because you will forget and leave it at the office.” Frustrated, he grabbed the newspaper, held it over his head, and ran to the bus stop. When it was time to leave the bus he absent-mindedly grabbed the umbrella of an old Quaker gentleman and left with it. At the end of the day, for once he remembered and grabbed all 9 of his umbrellas that had piled up at his office. Getting on the bus with his arms loaded with umbrellas he happened to sit next to the same old Quaker gentleman who recognized him and said, “Sir, I see that thou hast had a successful day.” What day in your life is the day you will never forget? Maybe it was the day you finished school or the day your child was born. Maybe it was 9-11 or the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Maybe it was the first time you set eyes on the love of your life. In my case it was the day I stepped off Noah’s Ark and preached my first sermon at Central. Seriously, when you think about days you will never forget is there one day with a spiritual element to it? Is there a day when you and God celebrated a great victory together? Let me show you a brief video of one such day.

(BAPTISM VIDEO)

The Bible is full of those kinds of days – days when Satan lost big time and the angels in Heaven sang. Today we are studying about one such day in the life of Joshua – a day he would never forget. And in the course of studying the day Joshua would never forget we hope to learn some lessons that we should never forget.

Israel has crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land. They have conquered the unconquerable Jericho as well as the city of Ai. Now 5 kings of powerful city states including Jerusalem band together to stop Israel by attacking the city of Gibeon who had surrendered to Israel in exchange for Israel’s guarantee of protection. The story begins in Joshua 10.

Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and completely destroyed Ai and killed its king, just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now their allies. 2 He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this because Gibeon was a large town—as large as the royal cities and larger than Ai. And the Gibeonite men were strong warriors.

3 So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: Hoham of Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon. 4 “Come and help me destroy Gibeon,” he urged them, “for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.” 5 So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon.

6 The men of Gibeon quickly sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don’t abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.”

7 So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon. 8 “Do not be afraid of them,” the LORD said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”

9 Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. 10 The LORD threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the LORD destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.

12 On the day the LORD gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the LORD in front of all the people of Israel. He said,

“ Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”

13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.

Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar ? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. 14 There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the L ORD answered such a prayer. Surely the L ORD fought for Israel that day!

15 Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

Joshua leads the army of Israel in an all night 25-mile march with full armor on. They march uphill 4000 feet in order to be at Gibeon in time to defend them from the invading 5 armies. To say the least they were tired when they arrived at Gibeon. The army of Israel accomplished a trip that usually took 3 days in 1 day. Arriving at Gibeon they see a huge army in front of them. Joshua must have been concerned because God reassures him, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you….” Joshua needed to know that he was not going into this battle alone.

A father watched his little boy playing in his sandbox as he attempted to lift a rock that was just too heavy for him. He tried and tried but could not lift it. Frustrated, he sat down on the edge of his sandbox with his chin on his hands. His father came out and said, “What’s the problem, son?” The boy said, “I can’t lift that rock.” The father asked, “Did you use all the strength available to you?” “Yes”, replied the boy. “No you haven’t.”, said the Father, “You haven’t asked me to help you.”

Over and over the Bible reminds us of that simple truth. The Bible says, “It is not in man that walks to direct his own steps.” The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” What does the Bible mean when it says, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the L ORD .” – Proverbs 21:31 What does the Bible mean when it says, “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” – Psalms 20:7 It doesn’t mean you don’t need to fight. It doesn’t mean you can content yourself to pray and never exert any effort yourself. One of two great messages in the book of Joshua is that what God wants to give you have to be willing to take. The other great message is no matter how strong or weak we are the battle belongs to the Lord. Consistently the Bible teaches that the Lord ultimately decides the outcome of any battle. Centuries later a king named Hezekiah faces a much stronger opponent in warfare. Borrowing the language of Joshua Hezekiah encourages the people with these words of faith: “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the L ORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.” – II Chronicles 32:7-8 Do you understand that that principle is as true for your spiritual battles as it was for Israel’s military battles? Whatever your battle – alcoholism, drug addiction, issues in your home life, issues of personal integrity – whatever your battle you have the Lord your God to help you and to fight your battle for you!

What I hope you go away from here today remembering is not just that God fights for you but how God often does that fighting. Here are 3 ways God fights for us:

GOD FIGHTS FOR US BY REMINDING US THAT THE OUTCOME HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDCED

In vs. 8 God tells Joshua, “I have handed them over to you….” The battle hasn’t yet started and already God is announcing the winner! If you’ve ever read the book of Revelation, hopefully that is the message you came away with. While there is much in that book that is mysterious to us, it’s hard to miss the great message of the book – the battle belongs to the Lord! While the clean up skirmishes still linger, the outcome of the war has been clear since the day Jesus came out of the grave!

Imagine you are writing a mystery novel and you want it to be so intriguing that there appears to be no way for the good guys to win. And imagine God gets involved in helping you write the novel and says to you, “Put in as many complications as you can imagine. Put the hero of the novel in the most impossible situation you can dream up. Don’t worry about painting the hero into a corner because I will write the last chapter of the book. You can’t make it so complicated that I can’t fix it.” That book is your life and mine! More than once I have wondered how in the world God could ever get me out of the mess I’ve made of situations in my life. But always, at the end of the day, God comes through and always I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus my Lord. Surely God in his grace will do the same for me on the great day of accounting when I stand before him, imperfect and with an embarrassing track record. The battle belongs to the Lord!

Have you noticed in your study of this book that Joshua keeps going back to Gilgal? After he defeats Jericho he goes back to Gilgal. After he defeats Ai he goes back to Gilgal. After he defeats Gibeon he goes back to Gilgal. Why does he do that? Because at Gilgal there was a pile of stones that reminded him that God had given Israel the Promised Land. He kept going back to the place of God’s promise to him. That’s why the Lord’s Supper is so important to us. That’s why we have the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. We need the reminder! The Lord’s Supper reminds us of just how much God is on our side. If God loves us that much, surely He will see us through whatever struggles we have along the way on our journey to eternity.

God fights for us by reminding us that the outcome has already been decided. Secondly,

GOD FIGHTS FOR US BY REVEALING TO US HIS DOMINION OVER HIS RIVAL

Did you notice in today’s text the 3 clear interventions of God in the battle? Vs. 10 says God threw the enemy army into a panic. Imagine trying to get troops to get in rank when they are in a panic. Vs. 11 says God hurled huge hailstones down on them. Picture that scene. Huge hailstones falling while 2 armies fight. But the hailstones only strike the soldiers in one army. If you are a soldier in the army of Israel you have to be grinning as you charge into battle in the midst of a hailstorm and not one chunk of ice strikes you but it demolishes your enemy. The Canaanite people worshipped the various gods of nature. So Jehovah God shows them clearly who the real God is by having their own gods destroy them. God still does that you know. Every day in countless ways Jehovah God is revealing to us the weaknesses of the gods of money, sex, materialism, racism, humanism, and a thousand other gods that Americans worship. When people who worship those gods have their worlds collapse around them you are supposed to notice that your world still stands. Your God is alive. The third intervention by God is in vs. 12, which says God made the sun stand still. Critics have a field day with the comment about the sun standing still pointing out that it is the earth that moves, not the sun. Joshua is simply using the same observational language we use when we speak of the sun setting and rising. At those times of the day the sun isn’t doing anything different from what it did at high noon. It’s the movement of the earth that gives the appearance of the sun setting and rising. But this event is not poetry. God did extend the length of that day so that Israel would have more sunlight to finish the battle. Did you know that most every ancient culture has a record of an extra-long day? Just like most of them have a record of a worldwide flood. The Chinese during the reign of Emperor Yeo, who lived in Joshua’s day, report the strange occurrence of an extra long day. Herodotus, a Greek historian, wrote an account of an extra long day, left to us by the Egyptians. The Aztecs in Mexico have a record of the sun standing still in a year denoted as 7 Rabbits. That is the same year that other historical records show Joshua defeating the Philistines and conquering Palestine. The Incas of Peru, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Persians, the Polynesians all refer to the sun standing still. In other words history says there was once a day that lasted longer than 24 hours.

God fights for us by reminding us that the outcome has already been decided. God fights for us by revealing to us his dominion over his rival. Thirdly,

GOD FIGHTS FOR US BY REWARDING US WITH INCREDIBLE ANSWERS TO BOLD PRAYERS What made Joshua a great warrior? Was it not his faith to ask for unprecedented gifts from God? They are in battle and they’ve already had two miracles. God threw the enemy army into confusion then rained hailstones down on them. And what does Joshua do? He asks again! He asks for something no one has ever asked for before – he asks for more daylight to finish the battle!

Let me make a shocking characterization of 21’st Century Christians. Most 21’st Century Christians live their lives as if God did not exist. They make plans and decisions all day every day with no thought of their dependence on God for the outcome of those plans and decisions. They make purchases, borrow money, decide serious health issues, give advise to their children, attempt to work out marriage problems without ever even consulting God. They go to church and sing, “There is a God. He is alive.”, but they live as if He were not alive. Let me ask you a question, what victory are you asking for that absolutely requires divine intervention for it to happen? Are you so ingrained into that time worn issue of whether or not miracles have ceased that your prayers have become anemic little poems of praise that require little faith to mouth? Is the greatest request you’ve ever made to God, “Carry us back to our respective places of abode.”? Is that about the limits of your faith? Who was it that once said, “You have not because you ask not.”?

Look at how this story is summarized in vs. 42, “Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.” Isn’t it about time you enlisted in the Lord’s army? If you’ve already enlisted, isn’t it about time you began depending of the Lord rather than your own strength?

One great day He is coming back you know. Revelation says it will look like this, “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” – Revelation 19:11-16

Make a decision today. Decide than when He comes back in victory that you will be glad to see him. Decide today to enlist in the Lord’s army. Decide today that as a soldier in the Lord’s army you will depend on him in every battle for victory.

We’ve learned today about the day the sun stood still and God extended a day to last more than 24 hours. But even on that extra long day the sun eventually set. And some day the sun will set on your life. Some day you will hear your last invitation song. Some day you will have your last opportunity to repent and be washed in the blood of Christ through the process of baptism. This could be that day for you. Do not leave here today without being right with God.