1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,240 Well, if you have a copy of God's Word, we're going to be in 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,720 Joshua chapter 10, so turn there. 3 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,400 And while you're turning there, let me say it's a joy to be with 4 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:10,160 you guys. Obviously, I've known of the 5 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,000 church and it's it's great just to get a chance to get out here 6 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,120 and to see what's going on. I've known Ashoka Michelle a 7 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,520 long time and you guys got some wonderful people in getting 8 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,760 Ashoka Michelle. And so it's just great to see 9 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,240 you guys again. Heard you rush the floor last 10 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:26,360 night. Is that true? 11 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,320 Yeah, OK. I want that same kind of energy 12 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,360 right now while I preach. I am thankful to be here on a 13 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:35,920 day after the, the the devil's lost. 14 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:37,280 And so that's a, that's a good thing. 15 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,480 That's the key to the sermon today. 16 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,280 The devil always loses. And so we'll be encouraged by 17 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,320 that. But it really is a joy to be 18 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,520 with you, thankful for your partnership in the gospel. 19 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,480 It's always a privilege to open God's Word with God's people, 20 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:52,600 and particularly this is a a wonderful. 21 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:53,720 Text that we're going to look at today. 22 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,160 Now it's a it's a fascinating text and it, it might be even a 23 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,240 bit of a tough text to hear, possibly even understand. 24 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,720 Some have used this passage to sell books where they have 25 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,680 wildly missed what's going on here in the text. 26 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,040 But though this is a tough passage, if we can recognize 27 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,680 what's going on here, we will see that in a fallen world, in a 28 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,480 tough world, in a broken world, this text is glorious. 29 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,920 And it speaks to us of things we must come to know and let shape 30 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,440 who we are, because it's a text by way of narrative that will 31 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,920 help us see that the the people of God have real enemies. 32 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,280 We just prayed about that. Enemies that we bring on 33 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,480 ourselves by our own sins, but also enemies without who plot 34 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,360 against us because we live in a fallen world. 35 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:39,800 And it's vital for us to remember that when we come to 36 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,160 the Bible, when we come to places like Joshua, we are 37 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,680 coming to real stories. This is a real story that we 38 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,640 have a spirit inspired account of. 39 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,400 These are real happenings. This is not a cartoon. 40 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,680 This is not a fable. And through it all though, this 41 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,240 morning we're going to see the promises of God for his people. 42 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,320 Because in the background of this text, really all over this 43 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,000 text are the promises we find in places like Genesis 12 and 44 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,840 Genesis 15, promises that God has made to Abraham. 45 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,800 And it says this in Genesis 12/3. 46 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,760 He says, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors 47 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,560 you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will 48 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,040 be blessed. Then Genesis 1513 through 16 49 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,000 says this. And the Lord said to Abram, know 50 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,400 for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in the land 51 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,120 that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be 52 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,800 afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the 53 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:34,840 nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out 54 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,040 with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your 55 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,160 father's in peace. You shall be buried in a good 56 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,160 old age, and they shall come back here in the 4th generation. 57 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,640 For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. 58 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,880 Brothers and sisters, that's where we have come this morning. 59 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,840 And God's redemptive plan in Joshua chapter 10, the iniquity 60 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,440 of the Amorites is complete, as we're going to see the kings of 61 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,280 the Amorites take their stand against God's man and against 62 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,080 God's people. Now Leviticus 18 deals details 63 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,280 for us. What are the sins of the 64 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,000 Amorites? What is their iniquity? 65 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,640 They have defiled the land by idolatry. 66 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:14,520 They have indulged in what can only be called repulsive, 67 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:17,280 sexually immoral practices. They've actually sacrificed 68 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,280 their own children to a fake God named Molech. 69 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,040 And yet God's promises ring true. 70 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,000 He will protect his own, and he will even bless the nations that 71 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,680 bless his people. And he's going to do so through 72 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,520 a mediator warrior. So then this morning, as the 73 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,560 spiritual descendants of Abraham, I want to turn our 74 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,520 attention to the Word. As we do, I want us to remember 75 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,400 God is patient. He has given 400 years to the 76 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:43,680 amorite. He is patient. 77 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,760 He is slow to anger. He is abounding in steadfast 78 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,320 love. But he will by no means clear 79 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:55,920 the guilty time comes when he will no way and no way excuse 80 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,640 their sins of idolatry, of sexual immorality, and of child 81 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,120 sacrifice. He will deal with it. 82 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,680 I'm going to see that here in Joshua 10. 83 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,760 And so let's read the Word. And then after we read again, 84 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,600 I'll pray a brief prayer. The author writes this as he's 85 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,040 carried along by the Holy Spirit. 86 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,320 And as soon as Adonizedek the king of Jerusalem, heard how 87 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,480 Joshua had captured AI and devoted to destruction, doing 88 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,160 the AI and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, 89 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,840 and how the inhabitants of Gibeon made peace with Israel 90 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,440 and were among them, he feared greatly because Gibeon was a 91 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,720 great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was 92 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,400 greater than AI, and all its men were warriors. 93 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,920 So Adonizadet king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, 94 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,920 to Parum, king of Jarmouth, and to Jaffe a king of Lakish, and 95 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,920 to the Beer king of Eglon, saying, Come up to me and help 96 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,840 me, and let us strike Gibeon, for it has made peace with 97 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:49,800 Joshua and with the people of Israel. 98 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:52,640 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, 99 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:54,920 the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmouth, the king of Lakish, 100 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,960 and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with 101 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,480 all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war 102 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,960 against it. And the men of Gibeon sent to 103 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,400 Joshua the camp in Gilgal, saying, Do not relax your hand 104 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,760 from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save 105 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,680 us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell 106 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,520 in the Hill Country are gathered against us. 107 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:16,840 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war 108 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,040 with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 109 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,440 And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have given 110 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,960 them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand 111 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,400 before you. So Joshua came upon them 112 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,800 suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 113 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,960 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck 114 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,880 them with a great blow at Gibeon, and chased them on the 115 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,840 way of the scent of Beth Iran, and struck them as far as Azaca 116 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,560 and Makeda. And as they fled before Israel, 117 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,600 while they were going down the ascent of Beth Iran, the Lord 118 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,720 threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azaca, 119 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,520 and they died. There were more who died because 120 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,160 of the hailstones and the sons of Israel killed with the sword. 121 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,920 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord 122 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:58,840 gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel. 123 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,360 And he said, in the sight of Israel sun stand still at Gibeon 124 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,840 moon in the valley of Azerlan. And the sun stood still, and the 125 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,440 moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. 126 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,360 Is this not written in the book of Jashar? 127 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,800 The sun stopped in the midst of the heaven, and did not hurry to 128 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,720 set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it 129 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,320 before or since when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for 130 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,920 the Lord fought for Israel. So, Joshua? 131 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:28,960 Returned and all Israel with him to the camp of Gilgal. 132 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,560 These 5 kings fled and hid themselves in the caves of 133 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,880 Makeda. And it was told to Joshua, The 134 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,200 five kings have been found hidden in The Cave of Makeda. 135 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,160 And Joshua said, Roll large stones against the mouth of The 136 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,440 Cave and set men to guard it. But do not stay there 137 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,720 yourselves. Pursue your enemies, attack 138 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:46,440 their rearguard. Do not let them into their 139 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,520 cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand. 140 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,520 Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with 141 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:54,120 a great blow until they were wiped out. 142 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,040 And when the remnant that remained of them had entered 143 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,200 into the fortified cities, then all the people returned safe to 144 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,800 Joshua. In the camp of Makeda, not a man 145 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,920 moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel. 146 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,800 And Joshua said, Open the mouth of The Cave and bring those 5 147 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,600 kings out to me from The Cave. And they did so. 148 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,840 And they brought those 5 kings out to him from The Cave. 149 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,320 The king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmouth, 150 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,240 the king of the Quiche, and the king of Eglon, when they brought 151 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,640 those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of 152 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:25,800 Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with 153 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,480 him, Come near and put your feet on the next of these kings. 154 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,720 And they came near, and they put their feet on their necks. 155 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,880 Joshua said to them, Do not be afraid or dismayed. 156 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,080 Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all 157 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:41,440 your enemies against whom you fight. 158 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,240 And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he 159 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,320 hanged them on five trees, and they hung on the trees until 160 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,000 evening. But at the time of the going 161 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,760 down of the sun, Joshua commanded. 162 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,800 And they took them down from the trees, and they threw them into 163 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,320 The Cave where they had hidden themselves. 164 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,200 And they set large stones against the mouth of The Cave, 165 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,800 which remain to this very day. Let's pray and ask for God's 166 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,040 help as we turn to His word, Father. 167 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,600 But we know these things have been written down for us upon 168 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:15,040 whom the ends of the ages has come. 169 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:17,640 So Father, would you help us now? 170 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:21,560 Father, now would you show us yourself? 171 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,320 You show us our sin and then would you show us our Savior? 172 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,880 Father, now please sanctify us in the truth. 173 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,679 We know your word is true. We pray this in Jesus name, 174 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,799 Amen. As I mentioned a minute ago, I 175 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:39,640 grew up with three brothers, no sisters. 176 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,480 My poor mom basically lived in in a male dormitory and we love 177 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:45,760 to fight. We fought all the time. 178 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,320 We were big WWF wrestling fans. I don't know if there's anybody 179 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,400 in here like that. They say confession is good for 180 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,200 the soul, but we grew up in a Christian home as well. 181 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,600 So not only did we love wrestling, we loved reading 182 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,840 stories like the one we just read, and also the Samson story 183 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,720 and the David and Goliath story and on and on. 184 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,160 I could go. At that point in our lives, we 185 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,840 cared a little bit less about Isaac trying to find a wife. 186 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,080 But when you bring together young boys who are WWF fans and 187 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,280 stories like this, we grew up wondering things like this. 188 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,480 What would have happened if Samson had fought Goliath? 189 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,680 What would happen if Joshua and the Pharaoh got into hand to 190 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,280 hand combat? And if we had ever been given 191 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,040 toy action figures of these characters like we were Hulk 192 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,440 Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, we would have pitted them 193 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,840 against one another with our boyish imagination. 194 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,320 You know, years ago, a pastor alerted to me, alerted me to an 195 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:37,680 article about manufacturers who were just trying to capture on 196 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:41,320 that sort of imagination. They were producing little Bible 197 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:45,080 action figures like Samson and Goliath and Joshua and David, 198 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:48,200 with the Jesus action figure expected to be the runaway 199 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,320 bestseller. And one of the things this 200 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,640 article posed to the toy maker as what happens if these toys 201 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:56,200 get mixed in with the other toys? 202 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,760 What do you do if a child pits Spider Man against Jesus in a 203 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,440 showdown and the maker of the toy simply answered? 204 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,120 In that case, I would hope that the parents would step in and 205 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:13,280 put Jesus in a safe place. To this that pastor lamented the 206 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:17,880 world emperor of Revelation 19. The sovereign of all the 207 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,080 universe having to be protected by parents from leftover Spider 208 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,560 Man action figures. Think about the irony of that 209 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,320 statement. And I'm afraid if we, 210 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,560 particularly for those of us who have grown up in the church, 211 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:34,200 watching things like Hanna Barbera cartoons and, you know, 212 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,320 going to Vacation Bible School and seeing flannel graph cutouts 213 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,640 of cartoon characters of the Bible and then later on having 214 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,240 vegetables, vegetables of all things, portraying biblical 215 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,840 characters. We can sometimes miss the 216 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,320 reality of what is going on in the scriptures and then we can 217 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,360 certainly miss what is going on in a story like this one. 218 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,040 I mean, we don't have to look forward to see we do not live in 219 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:56,200 a fairy tale. World. 220 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,840 This ain't Disney. Sadly. 221 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,400 Disney ain't Disney anymore. But we live in a real world, a 222 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,880 fallen one. We have real enemies that seek 223 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,160 to destroy us, to enslave us. Many of these enemies are 224 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,080 internal enemies of our own sinful appetites that want to 225 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,840 lead us to destruction. Sins like lust and greed and 226 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,120 selfishness and foolishness and anger and obsession with the 227 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,840 approval of others. But we also have external 228 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,360 enemies because of the fall and because of the curse of sin, 229 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:27,160 things like sickness and disease and conflict and war. 230 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,080 And behind it all there are principalities and powers. 231 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,720 And there is an accuser that the Bible tells us once nothing more 232 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,160 than to sift us like wheat. And I'm afraid if we view 233 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,680 biblical truth through the lens of a cartoon or through the lens 234 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,840 of figurines, we're going to miss exactly what is going on 235 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,600 here in Joshua 10. We're going to miss how serious 236 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,240 the war is. But more than that, we're going 237 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,640 to fail to understand that God fights for us and he does so 238 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,680 through a mediator who has come to defeat all of our enemies. 239 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:58,120 And that's what I want to focus in on this morning. 240 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,680 The Lord fights for his people, and He does so through a go 241 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:06,520 between man, through a mediator warrior, for through someone who 242 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,880 will speak to God on behalf of the people and who will fight 243 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:11,480 for God on behalf. Of the people. 244 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,280 Now here's the context of where we are in Joshua chapter 10. 245 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,760 Joshua and God's chosen people, Israel, they've come out of 246 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,120 slavery in Egypt. They are continuing the conquest 247 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:24,560 of the promised land. They're told they're to rid the 248 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,280 land, the rid the land of sin and idolatry. 249 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,720 God has given them some major victories over cities like AI 250 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,560 and Jericho. But we've also seen the people 251 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:35,760 have been disobedient. At least some of the Israelites 252 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,480 have been disobedient, like a man named Akin. 253 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,720 And then in Chapter 9, we see that the Gibeonites who rightly 254 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,440 fear Israel, they make a peace treaty with her. 255 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,400 And now we're going to see God's people act decisively in order 256 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,080 to honor that treaty. And more than that, we're going 257 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,840 to see the Lord himself act decisively in order to keep it. 258 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,200 And that leads us to the first part of the text. 259 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,800 I want to break this down, really just four scenes that we 260 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:01,600 see in these verses. And the first one is this. 261 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,560 We see the plot against Israel. Look at verse one again. 262 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:09,880 As soon as Adonizedek the king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua 263 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,920 had captured AI and devoted it to destruction, doing the AI and 264 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,600 its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how 265 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,080 the inhabitants of Gibeon made peace with Israel were among 266 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,960 them, he feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like 267 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,200 one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than AI 268 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,640 and all its men were warriors. So Adonizedek, the king of 269 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,400 Jerusalem, he sends to Hohem, king of Hebron, to Pyram, king 270 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,160 of Jarmouth, Jaffa, king of Lakishin, Dabir, king of Eglon, 271 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,880 saying come up to me and help me and let us strike Gibeon for it 272 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,320 has made peace with Joshua, with the people of Israel. 273 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,160 And then these 5 kings you see there at the end of verse 5, 274 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,960 they gather their forces and they go up with their armies and 275 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,520 they make war against Gibeon. Reports come to the king of 276 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:52,160 Jerusalem, Adonizedek, that Israel is laying waste to the 277 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:53,720 land. They've sacked AI, they've 278 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,960 sacked Jericho, and now they've made a peace treaty with this 279 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,800 impressive city, Gibeon. And so Adonizedek fears greatly. 280 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,080 He knows Israel poses a threat to him. 281 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,400 He knows Israel poses a threat to his possessions and 282 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:11,040 ironically it is the King of Jerusalem who is rallying a evil 283 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,920 access if you will, of Amorite kings to come up against Gibeon 284 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:16,800 and then ultimately against Israel herself. 285 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,960 Interestingly, this is the first time the word Jerusalem shows up 286 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,800 in the Bible, though the city itself had appeared under 287 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,520 another name in Genesis 1418, it being that being the city of 288 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,400 Salem. Fascinatingly, there in Genesis 289 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:34,280 14, there is a king of Salem with a similar name. 290 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,760 His name is Melchizedek, which means the king of Righteousness. 291 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,480 But now there's a new king. His name is Adonizedek, or the 292 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,160 Lord of Righteousness. The author is showing us by way 293 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,240 of contrast how the iniquity of the Amorites is complete. 294 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,000 There once reigned a true ruler of righteousness in Salem who 295 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,600 blessed Abraham, but now there's a false ruler of righteousness 296 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,840 who seeks to do Abraham's descendants harm. 297 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,560 And this defection of Gibeon, A Amorite group itself, this 298 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,320 defection of Gibeon to Israel's side, is causing great fear, and 299 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,160 that's for good reason. We see here in the text, Gibeon 300 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,240 is an impressive city. It's larger than Bethel and AI. 301 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,480 It's closer to Jerusalem, so it's geographically strategic. 302 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,520 It's a royal city, meaning it also has a king, and it's famous 303 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,640 for all of its men being courageous in battle. 304 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,440 And yet they still readily and easily bowed the knee to Israel. 305 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,600 And so this fake ruler of righteousness is afraid. 306 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,040 Take notice, though, of what happens in the text. 307 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,640 Adonized a deck. Instead of taking the route of 308 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,800 Rahab, who turned to Israel's God, who turned to Yahweh in 309 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,160 faith, And instead of going the route of Gibeon, who's now 310 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,320 sought a peace treaty with Israel, instead of realizing 311 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,440 that those who bless Abraham's people will be blessed, instead 312 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,160 Adonized a deck plots against them. 313 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,960 Instead of joining Israel and their God, he seeks to to kill 314 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,080 them. He seeks to, to to move against 315 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,120 their allies by rallying these other 4 kings. 316 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,240 We see here something of what Paige read for us already this 317 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,080 morning. We see something of Psalm 2. 318 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,160 The nations are raging and the peoples are plotting in vain. 319 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:13,760 The kings of the earth are setting themselves and their 320 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,840 rulers against, are taking counsel together against the 321 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,200 Lord and against his anointed. But as we heard Paige read He 322 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:25,440 Who Sits. In the heavens laughs these 5 323 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:26,760 kings. They're taking their counsel 324 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,000 together, setting themselves up against Israel. 325 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,280 So take a moment to realize how significant it is that they fear 326 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:37,040 Israel. It demonstrates for us just how 327 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,960 powerful our God is. Israel is not some impressive 328 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,560 Kingdom, yet Israel is a group of slaves who have been 329 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,120 wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and more than that is 330 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,760 now. 5 kings and five peoples against one. 331 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,920 And yet they are formidable enough that they strike fear in 332 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,840 the five. And the question is why? 333 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:00,480 And the answer is pretty simple, because Yahweh is on their side. 334 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,760 Brothers and sisters, we learned something for our own 335 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,400 application this this morning for. 336 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,839 For for thinking through our own spiritual warfare in the 337 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,720 heavenly places, we know this morning that evil powers are 338 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,760 plotting against us. And yet as they plot against us, 339 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:20,359 our God in heaven laughs. Greater is he who is in US than 340 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,400 he who is in the world. That leads us to the second 341 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,680 scene of the text. We see the power of the Lord. 342 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,800 Look at verse 6. And the men of Gibeon sent to 343 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,200 Joshua the camp to Gilgal, saying, Do not relax your hand 344 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:35,120 from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save 345 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:37,840 us and help us for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell. 346 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:39,440 On the Hill. Country are gathered against us. 347 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,440 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war 348 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,760 with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 349 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,120 And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have given 350 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:50,240 them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand 351 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,440 before you. So Joshua came upon them 352 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,960 suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 353 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,920 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck 354 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,720 them with a great blow at Gibeon, and chased them by the 355 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,400 way of ascent of Beth Iran, and struck them as far as Izaca and 356 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,040 Makeda. And as they fled before Israel, 357 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,200 they were going down the ascent of Beth Iran. 358 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,480 The Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as 359 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,000 the Zaka, and they died. There were more who died because 360 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,360 of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the 361 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,800 swords. There's a fascinating play on 362 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,840 words here. There's this urgent appeal made 363 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,600 from Gibeon. It's in the form of an emphatic 364 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,640 imperative. It could maybe even be better 365 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:28,680 understood. Not just please come save us, 366 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,120 but you must come save us. And the reason this is a play on 367 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:35,840 word is that the person they call to come save them is a man 368 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:40,840 whose name means the Lord saves, Yeshua, Joshua the Lord saves. 369 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,320 And the verb usage in verse 6 for help us is set in contrast 370 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:49,120 to the verb usage in verse 4 when Adonizedek is maliciously 371 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,240 calling on the other 4 kings to come help him. 372 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:54,480 This again is setting the contrast to highlight the 373 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,480 iniquity of the Amorites. We see the contrasting intents 374 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,200 of these two people. Israel comes to save the 375 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,120 Gibeonites, while the Amorite kings are seeking to do their 376 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:06,520 own people harm. So Gibeon says to Israel, hey 377 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,080 guys, that pact we made, it's time to make good on that pact. 378 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,120 They know that they cannot withstand the onslaught of the 379 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:16,400 five and they call for a formidable ally to come help 380 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,400 them in the fight. Years ago, I was a teenager at a 381 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:21,800 minor League Baseball game here in. 382 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:23,840 In. Zebulon, NC. 383 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,720 And they were these drunk guys in the stands who are mad at us 384 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,400 because we wouldn't stand up and do the wave. 385 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,120 So they were being belligerent. We thought they're so 386 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,520 belligerent right now that a fight's about to happen. 387 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,440 And I think I was like 14. I started to get pretty nervous 388 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,080 about it. These are older guys. 389 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,680 And then I just remembered what sitting next to me is my uncle, 390 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:44,320 who was an undercover cop in Atlanta. 391 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:48,160 He could bench press 500 lbs and as soon as he sat up there, as 392 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:49,520 soon as he stood up, they sat down. 393 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,960 Like this is what we do. If we're wise in combat, we get 394 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,520 a formidable ally to help us. That's exactly what Gibeon has 395 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,440 tried to do here and again for our own application this 396 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:02,760 morning. Thankfully, brothers and 397 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:07,320 sisters, for those of us who have been made right with God, 398 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,280 for those of us who have found peace with God through the 399 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,440 gospel, we've already sung it this morning. 400 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,280 We understand the right man is on our side. 401 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:17,520 The Lord of hosts is with us in the battle. 402 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,360 Now. Israel is helping Gibeon in the 403 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:23,600 fight. Joshua acts in accord with his 404 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,640 treaty. Immediately notice the urgency 405 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,240 to keep his word. They March up all night from 406 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,440 Gilgal. He hurries to help Gibeon. 407 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,360 And on his way, the Lord again, for at least the third time in 408 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:36,320 the book, reassures him. Do not fear. 409 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,640 God reminds them of His power, His presence, and his promises. 410 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,400 He says, I have already given them into your hand. 411 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,600 In fact, God speaks here in the past tense of how he's going to 412 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,280 deal with the Jerusalem coalition. 413 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:49,600 He has already determined the outcome. 414 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,000 He says to them, hey, this is exactly what is going to happen. 415 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,800 And so Joshua attacks early in the morning, but in keeping his 416 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,040 promises of the outcome, it is the Lord who is the subject of 417 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,000 all the verbs in verse 10. It is the Lord who throws the 418 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,120 enemy into a panic. It is he who strikes them with a 419 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:07,320 great blow. It is he who chases them down. 420 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,200 It is he who strikes them as far as Makeda. 421 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,600 This is the Lord's doing. He is the decisive actor in this 422 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,920 play. Moses has already had the people 423 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,040 sing a generation ago that the Lord is a man of war, and that 424 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:22,600 is true and notices weapons. But in one sense the Lord brings 425 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,200 rocks to a sword fight. And yet these aren't small 426 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,400 pebbles. His artillery are large 427 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,640 hailstones from heaven. These massive stones rain down 428 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,640 on the enemy as the divine warrior now decimates the 429 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,120 Jerusalem. 5 We see something vital for our own spiritual 430 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,680 warfare here. Yes, Israel. 431 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,640 Will still need to obey and fight. 432 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,160 They have hard work to do and so do we in our own in our own 433 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,320 spiritual battles. We have to put on the armor of 434 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,600 Ephesians 6 in order to take on the enemies and to dominate our 435 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:57,320 own sin, but be strengthened in the faith, friends, Israel along 436 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,360 with us. We fight from victory, not for 437 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:02,240 victory, because the outcome has already been determined. 438 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,000 Which leads us to the third scene. 439 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,360 We see the prayer of the mediator warrior. 440 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:12,200 Look at verse 12. At that time Joshua spoke to the 441 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,160 Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the 442 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:15,600 sons of Israel. And he said, in the sight of 443 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:19,240 Israel, sun stands still at Gibbean and moon in the valley 444 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:20,960 of Ashlon. And the sun stood still, and the 445 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,320 moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. 446 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,080 Is this not written in the book of Joshua? 447 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,280 The sun stopped in the midst of the heaven and did not hurry to 448 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,560 set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it 449 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,920 before or since when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for 450 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,880 the Lord fought for Israel. So Joshua returned in all Israel 451 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,120 with him and to the camp at Gilgal, and these 5 kings fled 452 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,880 and hid themselves in The Cave at Makeda. 453 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,320 These staggering events are happening at the exact same time 454 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,560 as the previous verses, and this is an astounding miracle of 455 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,400 cosmic proportions. Essentially, the sun stays up in 456 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,480 the sky for twice as long as normal so that the enemy can be 457 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,640 illuminated for Israel to exact its vengeance upon them. 458 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:06,560 Some obviously do not believe in the supernatural. 459 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:08,360 They would say this could not have happened. 460 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,240 Friends, if we believe that God created the heavens and the 461 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:16,520 earth, this is not impossible. He who made the laws of nature 462 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,680 can do as He desires with the laws of nature. 463 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:24,520 If He upholds the universe by the word of His power, then the 464 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,240 one who made science can make science do as He requires. 465 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,320 These verses, far from disproving the Bible, highlight 466 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,440 its own honesty and factuality. In fact, the author references 467 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,040 another work. He does exactly what we all have 468 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,320 to do in papers. He says, don't just take my word 469 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,480 for it. Look at the book of Jashar. 470 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,040 Now this was a non canonical book. 471 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:47,600 It's also mentioned in Second Samuel. 472 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,880 Most scholars believe it's a poetic retelling of the accounts 473 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,320 of the heroes of Israel. Men like Joshua. 474 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:58,400 Men like David. Yet verse 14, when the dust 475 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,320 settles, what is astounding is not that God has acted by 476 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,720 throwing massive stones out of heaven on the enemy. 477 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,840 What is astounding is that he has done so based upon the 478 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,880 appeal and interceding of a man of flesh and blood. 479 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,920 This isn't some fake illusion. This is not David Blaine making 480 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,360 you think he's levitating. It's not David Copperfield 481 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:21,120 making a jet plane disappear. This is not an illusion. 482 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,360 And the text marvels at this, says up to the point of this 483 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,480 writing, there has been no day like it. 484 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,080 We're at the voice of a man. The entire solar system stops. 485 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:33,480 Previous miracles like the stopping of the waters of the 486 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,040 Jordan, the victory of Jericho, both of these have happened 487 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:37,840 because of God's own divine initiative. 488 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,000 But here the tide turns and it all happens because of the 489 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,000 intercession of one man on behalf of his people. 490 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,920 For God hears and acts based upon the voice of his mediator. 491 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,280 And that leads us to the final part of the text. 492 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:53,680 We now see the plight of the enemy. 493 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,080 Look at verse 17. And it was told to Joshua, these 494 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:00,960 5 kings have been found in The Cave at Makeda. 495 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,200 And Joshua said, roll large stones against the mouth of The 496 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,480 Cave and set men by it to guard them, but do not stay there 497 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,040 yourselves. Pursue your enemies, attack 498 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:09,440 their rear guard. Do not let them enter their 499 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,400 cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand. 500 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,320 Joshua, the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a 501 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,360 great blow until they were wiped out, when the remnant they 502 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,040 remained of them and entered the fortified cities, and all the 503 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,840 people returned safe to Joshua. At the camp at Makeda, not a man 504 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,440 moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel. 505 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:29,400 So. The keys, the kings flee from 506 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,280 the battle, and Joshua has his men imprison them in The Cave 507 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:37,440 they have sought refuge in, and Joshua here gives it an emphatic 508 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,080 command. Again, his troops are not to 509 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:40,960 stop. There's another play on words 510 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,240 here in the Hebrew. He basically says to them, in 511 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,360 contrast to the sun and moon, do not stand still, and just as the 512 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:50,840 sun cannot make it down into its safe place, do not let your 513 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,920 enemy make it to their resting places either. 514 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,400 And so the men of Israel pursue the enemy. 515 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,040 And it now uses the same language of the men of Israel as 516 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,320 it is used for God in verse 10. They strike them with a great 517 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,800 blow until they are wiped out. And Israel's victory is so 518 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,880 decisive, they return to the camp in complete peace. 519 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,360 Literally no one would even move their tongue against the 520 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:15,320 Israelites. Similar to what happened in 521 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,400 Exodus 11/7, on the night when the death Angel passed over, it 522 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,160 said that on that night, not even a dog would sharpen its 523 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,640 tongue against Israel. That's how safe it had become. 524 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:27,280 Not even a dog would bark at them. 525 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:34,120 A cat maybe, but not a dog. Now, friends, I want us to see 526 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:37,680 the end of these kings. And as we prepare to read these 527 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:43,600 verses, these are stark verses, want you to realize as we read 528 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,760 these, this is exactly what the Lord is going to do to our 529 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,040 enemies in your struggles with principalities and powers that 530 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,400 are seeking to destroy you. This is what their end will be. 531 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:01,800 Verse 22 Then Joshua said, open the mouth of The Cave, bring 532 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:03,480 those 5 kings out to me from The Cave. 533 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,160 And they did so. And they brought those 5 kings 534 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:07,960 out to him from The Cave. The king of Jerusalem, the king 535 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,560 of Hebron, the king of Jeremoth, the king of Location, the king 536 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:13,240 of Eglon. And they brought those kings out 537 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:14,880 to Joshua. Joshua summoned all the men of 538 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,880 Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone out 539 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,080 with him, Come near and put your feet on the necks of these 540 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,240 kings. And they came near, and they put 541 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,720 their feet on their necks. Joshua said to them, Do not be 542 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,240 afraid or dismayed, be strong, courageous. 543 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,480 For thus the liberal do to all your enemies against whom you 544 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,720 fight. And afterward Joshua struck them 545 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,520 and put them to death. And he hanged them on five 546 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:38,760 trees, and they hung on the trees until evening. 547 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:41,880 But at the time of the going down to the sun, Joshua 548 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:43,920 commanded, they took them down from the trees and threw them 549 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:45,480 into a cave where they had hidden themselves. 550 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,080 And they set large stones against the mouth of The Cave, 551 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:54,040 which remain to this very day. Joshua now deals with these who 552 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,160 have plotted against him, who have attacked his ally. 553 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,960 It's captivating the scene. He brings them out, He takes the 554 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,440 chiefs of the men of war, and he has them put their feet on the 555 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,080 next of these kings. This is an intentional act. 556 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,240 It's to symbolize the finality of victory, the decisiveness 557 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,160 they have. They have dominated so severely, 558 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,840 they have won in such a way that they have now made their enemies 559 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:20,280 their own footstool. And there's more going on than 560 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,640 even just that. There's echoes of Genesis 315 561 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:27,040 here, the promise that someday somebody born of the seed of the 562 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,200 woman of the seed of Eve would crush the serpent's head. 563 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,560 In the midst of this act, Joshua gives the men of Israel the same 564 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:37,480 reminder that God had given him, the same assurance that God had 565 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,360 given him in the battle. He says, do not be afraid, but 566 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:45,000 be strong and courageous, for the Lord will do this to all of 567 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,760 your enemies. And the final act is told with a 568 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:54,840 certain directness, is it not? Joshua deals with them, those 569 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:56,480 who had threatened his life, threatened his people, 570 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,040 threatened his allies. Joshua runs them through with a 571 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,280 sword, and then he hangs them up on five trees. 572 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,720 The hanging of the bodies on the trees is a symbolic way to show 573 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,760 the cursed fate of these 5 kings. 574 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,560 Deuteronomy tells us cursed as anyone who has hung on a tree. 575 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:15,960 The Bible is filled with Irene is now. 576 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,680 The bodies of these kings are taken and thrown into the very 577 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:23,760 place where they had sought refuge earlier they thought 578 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,640 would bring them. Safety has ended up as their own 579 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,800 tomb. And to the day of this riding, 580 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,760 this new rock sealed tomb is still there. 581 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,520 And it's at this point that the sun finally goes down on what 582 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,920 has been an extraordinary day, day that is so vividly 583 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,440 illustrated. The promises made to their 584 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:45,080 forefather Abraham. The iniquity of the Amorites is 585 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,120 complete and God's judgment is upon them. 586 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,160 So then I want to give four quick applications for us in the 587 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,000 New Covenant. The first one is this. 588 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,920 We face enemies, enemies within, enemies without. 589 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,000 We are in a war. Our battle is not against flesh 590 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,160 and blood. Our battle is against 591 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,720 principalities and powers who have aligned themselves against 592 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,720 us. Our battle is with our own sin. 593 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,240 We must make war with our sin. We must make war on our enemies 594 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,200 because they will certainly make war on us. 595 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:17,680 Let me just say a quick word about idolatry, the things in 596 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,960 your life that may be more precious to you than the Lord. 597 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,000 Be careful like these kings, that you don't end up thinking 598 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,440 that the very things that are give you refuge and safety. 599 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,000 Or maybe to say it for us this way, the things that you think 600 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,800 are going to bring you happiness and fulfillment, be careful that 601 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:35,880 those things don't end up being your own spiritual tune. 602 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:38,800 That leads to our second application. 603 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,600 Put on the armor of God. We need to know the truth. 604 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,440 We need to walk in holiness. We need to meditate on the 605 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:45,760 gospel. We need to stand firm in the 606 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,040 faith. You need to be strong in the 607 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:50,760 Word, vigilant in prayer. I would commend reading 608 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:55,960 Ephesians 6 later today. Think about putting on the armor 609 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:59,000 of God as we enter into this fight and enter into this battle 610 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:03,040 #3 entrust yourself and your enemies to the Lord. 611 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,040 We are to be active and responsible in our fight, and 612 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,960 yet we can rest at night knowing God is sovereign. 613 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,480 The text shows us that God fights for His people. 614 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,080 He will one day make every wrong right. 615 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,280 Ultimately, our only chance is. Full reliance upon Him and the 616 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,480 recognition that we cannot do this in our own power. 617 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,600 We are utterly dependent upon God to act in accord with who He 618 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,680 is and who and what He has said and what He has promised to us 619 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,280 in His Word. And then fourth application, 620 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,640 victory is coming. Do not fear, be strong and 621 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,400 courageous, for the Lord will do to all of our enemies what He 622 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:45,440 has done here, His past acts or previews of future grace for us. 623 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,000 They are a guarantee that our enemies within, our enemies 624 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,000 without, will one day be fully and finally dealt with. 625 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,760 It may not be in this life, but victory is coming. 626 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,520 And how do we know that's true? How do we know that our biggest 627 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:05,600 enemies will be dealt with? Sin within, powers without, as 628 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:10,400 we know that because we have an even better mediator warrior in 629 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,840 this text they say that they've never seen anything like this 630 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,320 God listening to the voice of a man. 631 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:24,560 But we have, we have heard of a man who bears this same name, 632 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,200 who will be on a boat and the winds and the waves will pick up 633 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,200 against it, and he will say to them, Be still, and creation 634 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,760 itself will listen to this man. Who is this man? 635 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,760 They ask that even the winds and the waves obey him. 636 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,480 We have heard of a man who stands before a grave containing 637 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,480 his friends. All those around are saying 638 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,400 there is no hope, it is over. This man is dead. 639 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,280 And this Joshua, this mediator, turns to his father, he turns to 640 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:56,440 the heavens, and he says this, I know that you always hear me. 641 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:01,360 And then he speaks to a corpse. Lazarus, come forth. 642 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:06,800 And he does, sadly, the nation's Rage Against them, the kings and 643 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,840 the rulers will take their stand against them, even Israel's 644 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,240 leaders themselves. Yeah, this is exactly how he 645 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:15,600 solves our sin problem. This is exactly how he takes on 646 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:18,240 our enemies. He does so as the true king and 647 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,080 Lord of righteousness, who has never sinned yet at the. 648 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:22,880 Cross. He becomes sin for us, so that 649 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:24,680 in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 650 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,560 He bears in His own body the judgement do our eternal enemies 651 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:32,040 of sin, and then He hands over to us in the great exchange a 652 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,600 righteousness that is not our own, if only we will turn to Him 653 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,160 by faith. If you're here this morning and 654 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,080 you're not a Christian, the only way that you can be made right 655 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:43,120 with the Holy God is by turning to this one in faith, by 656 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,360 trusting in him and him alone, if that's. 657 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,080 You There are plenty of people here who would like to talk to 658 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,480 you after the service about what it looks like to repent of your 659 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:53,800 sins and put your faith and your trust here and in here alone. 660 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,160 Brothers and sisters, for us on that cross, as he is drowning in 661 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,240 his own blood, He is. He is praying the Psalms. 662 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,200 He is praying for deliverance while Pagan occupiers of the 663 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:06,840 land stand around and make fun of him and the sun darkens and 664 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,679 goes down at midday. The earth shakes as he deals 665 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:12,679 with the curse by becoming a curse for us, as Paul reminds 666 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:15,560 the Galatians, cursed as anyone who has hung on a tree. 667 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,800 In that moment, the true king of righteousness now becomes the 668 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,120 king on the tree. And it looks as though he has 669 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,800 been rejected. It looks as though he has been 670 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,080 defeated. It looks as though God does not 671 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,040 hear him, and yet we're told in the book of Hebrews he cries 672 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,040 with loud cries to the one who is able to save him from certain 673 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,000 death. And on that first Easter 674 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,120 morning, he was. Heard. 675 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,360 Brothers, sisters, don't just marvel the fact that the sun 676 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:41,239 stayed up in the sky for a whole day. 677 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,880 Marvel at the fact that the sun went down at midday because the 678 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:49,000 Lord of Creation bowed his head and death and did so for sinners 679 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,840 like you and me. Don't just marvel at Joshua's 680 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:55,000 total victory of putting dead kings in the tomb covered by a 681 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,720 stone. Marvel that centuries later a 682 00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:00,880 dead king walked out of a stone stone covered tomb. 683 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,520 There certainly has been no day like it. 684 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,440 Friends, we live in a world where we don't just have issues, 685 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:11,760 we have enemies. And we need something more than 686 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:16,360 therapeutic niceties to fix it. We're like the giving nights. 687 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:17,680 We need a warrior to come quickly. 688 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,040 We need a man whose name means the Lord saves. 689 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:23,640 And we have him. His name is Yeshua, Joshua, 690 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:28,200 Jesus. And there's a day coming when at 691 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:32,480 the voice of a man, the entire eastern sky is going to split 692 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,000 open. And on that day he is going to 693 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,120 enact total victory over his enemies, including the last of 694 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,040 these, death itself, as he will speak to the tombs. 695 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,280 And once again, God will listen to the voice of a man. 696 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,680 On that day, Revelation 6 tells us that what happened here in 697 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,000 Joshua 10 will happen again to our enemies. 698 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,120 It tells us that the kings of the earth will flee to the 699 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,120 caves. It says that they will beg for 700 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,400 the rocks to fall on them so they can hide themselves from 701 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,560 the wrath of the Lamb. Paul also speaks of this final 702 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:02,800 day when he writes to the Corinthians. 703 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,520 He says this. Then comes the end when he 704 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,480 delivers the Kingdom to God the Father, after destroying every 705 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:09,960 rule and every authority and power. 706 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,320 For he must reign until he has put all things, all his enemies, 707 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:15,760 under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed 708 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,040 is death, for God has put all things in subjection under his 709 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,640 feet. Brothers and sisters in a broken 710 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:24,960 fallen. World Do we believe that day is 711 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,640 coming? Or in some ways, are we just 712 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,440 watching Veggie Tales and trying to make ourselves feel better? 713 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,880 Do we really believe? What Paul tells the church at 714 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:39,240 Rome that soon the God of peace will crush Satan under your 715 00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:42,520 feet. Friends, we should believe that 716 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:46,680 because the gospel is true, we are not just playing with action 717 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:49,960 figures. The right man is on our side. 718 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:54,440 The Lord of hosts is with us in the battle. 719 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:58,960 Let's pray and ask for the Lord to imprint these things upon our 720 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:04,520 minds and our hearts. Father, we we can say with the 721 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,560 psalmist, may it be true of us, some trust and Chariots and some 722 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:12,240 trust in horses, but we we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 723 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:17,440 Father, I pray for these brothers and sisters. 724 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:24,000 Father, I pray that you would be near and dear Father, I pray 725 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,160 where we need to be convicted. And Father, would you convict 726 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:28,200 us? And Father, will we need to be 727 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:29,760 encouraged? Would you please encourage us? 728 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:39,240 Father, make make in our lives this hope that we know is true. 729 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:44,440 Make it secure. Father, give us unwavering 730 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,040 confidence in your word and in your promises. 731 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,760 May we understand every single day as we wake up and we put our 732 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:54,040 head on the pillow that Jesus wins. 733 00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,960 And someday, Father, he's coming back to set all things right. 734 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:02,800 May we live in light of that truth now. 735 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:08,440 And Father, would you, through US, help us to share that 736 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,840 message with others. Father, we live in a very broken 737 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:13,480 world. People need to know the hope of 738 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:15,040 the gospel. Father, would you use these 739 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:17,320 brothers and sisters? And Father, would you give them 740 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:22,080 favor in their evangelism? Father, as they move forward as 741 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,680 a church and as they continue to to build what the Lord is 742 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:29,320 building here, Father, would you, would you please help them 743 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:35,400 to speak this message to one another on days when some of the 744 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:36,800 Saints are wavering in their hope? 745 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,640 Father, would you help other brothers and sisters speak the 746 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:46,360 gospel to their lives? Father, we, we want your glory, 747 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:50,400 so we need your help. Would you help us now even as we 748 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:55,400 get a chance to observe the victory that we see in the 749 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,480 Gospel through baptism? Father, would you strengthen us 750 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,920 in the faith as we get a chance to observe that there has been 751 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:02,040 one who has taken from the Kingdom of darkness now unto the 752 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:05,240 Kingdom of the Beloved Son. Would you give us great faith 753 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:08,240 and great hope? We pray these things in Jesus 754 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:08,560 name, Amen.