Divine Intervention & Victory

Joshua 10:1-15 (ESV): 

1As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,2he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors.3So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,4“Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.”5Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.6And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.”7So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.8And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.”9So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal.10And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.11And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.12At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”13And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the

nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.14There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.15So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. 

How many of you have experienced God’s miraculous protection or deliverance? One story that truly fascinated me was about the protection God provided to John Paton when he went to serve as a missionary to the most fierce cannibals on the Island of Tanna, South New Hebrides, in the nineteenth century. 

The story was about one night when hostile natives surrounded the mission station, determined to burn the Patons and kill them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night, asking God to deliver them. When daylight arrived, they were astonished to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present, but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station. 

What an incredible display of God’s power in protecting and delivering His people from their enemies! As we continue studying in the Book of Joshua, we will see in our text, Joshua 10, how the Lord shows His mighty power by protecting His people and granting them victory over their enemies. Last Sunday, we studied together how the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the leaders of the Israelite nation. They pretended to be from a distant nation that wanted to forge a peace treaty with the Israelite nation. What motivated them to do what they did is clearly explained in Joshua 9: 9-11: 

9 They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 

11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet 

them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ 

If we focus on the words in verses 9-10, the Gibeonites recognized that Israel was serving the most powerful God and that He was granting them victories over their enemies. So, instead of being destroyed as a nation, they chose to serve the nation of Israel. However, their decision to form this peace covenant would anger other Canaanite nations because they saw it as a serious betrayal. Why? If we backtrack in Joshua 9:1-4, we will understand why. 

1As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 

2they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel. 3But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 

4they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 

You see, being in the same geographical territory with these other nations that were forming alliances to fight against Israel, King Adoni-Zedek, the King of Jerusalem, was alarmed by the peace treaty because it weakened their alliance, since the Gibeonites were quite a strong country. Listen to the words of Joshua 10:1-2: 

1As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

2 he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 

In chapter 9, when the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the 

leaders of Israel, we didn’t get these descriptions about them: “Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors.” So, these enemies decided to attack them first to punish them for their betrayal. 

This sets the stage for God not just to show up and help His people; He would demonstrate His powerful presence in an incredible way. When the Gibeonites were attacked, they had to ask Joshua and his army to come and rescue them. 

During this battle, no one would be able to deny God’s intervention. To follow the story, allow me to emphasize three essential scenarios: 

I THE COALITION OF THE ENEMIES (vs. 1-6) 

God’s people must be prepared to face different kinds of wars. Some conflicts are smaller, like the conquest of AI, while others are larger, such as the conquest of Jericho or the kind of war described in our main text—the coalition of five Canaanite nations. As we mentioned earlier, as soon as the neighboring Canaanite nations heard about the peace treaty the Gibeonites made with Israel, they were furious. The king of Jerusalem, King Adoni-Zedek, called on the other kings to form an alliance, believing they would have a better chance against God and Israel if they fought together. However, instead of attacking Israel directly, their goal was to first isolate the Gibeonites and destroy them. 

When these five nations attacked the Gibeonites, who had a covenant with Israel, they sent an appeal to Joshua about their situation. So, Joshua and the Israelite warriors had to honor their commitment to protect them. There is an important lesson here for all of us. You see, every decision we make in life will have direct consequences. For Israel, they are now beginning to pay the price for their mistake. It is truly admirable that Joshua and the nation of Israel honored their commitment, even though they were deceived into entering it. 

But more than Joshua and the nation of Israel's commitment, we should also highlight God’s dedication to Joshua and Israel. Although Joshua and Israel

entered this covenant through deception, God was still willing to uphold the covenant and help them succeed in battle. This clearly demonstrates His remarkable grace toward His people! 

Do you sometimes hesitate to seek the Lord’s help because 

you feel unworthy? I hope that we will have the courage to call on the Lord for help, even when we feel unworthy. Here’s a great passage for you: Lamentation 3:22-23 (ESV) 

22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

The prophet Jeremiah received these words about God’s unconditional love and faithfulness during a time of Israel's stubbornness and disobedience. The reminder is that God will never stop loving His people, and His great faithfulness will be renewed every morning. Does this teach that God is tolerating our sins when He remains faithful and good to us in the midst of our unfaithfulness? Absolutely not! The apostle Paul has responded to this wrong thinking by saying these words: 

Romans 2:4 (ESV) 

4Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 

If you analyze these words, it becomes clear that God's goodness is not a license to keep on sinning; instead, His kindness and patience are designed to lead sinners to repentance. God is truly worthy of our trust! 

II THE CONFIDENCE OF GOD’S PEOPLE (vs. 7-9) 

As Joshua responded to the appeal of the Gibeonites, he went with confidence because of the promise God gave him and his army in verse 8 – “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” 

Remember the mistake Joshua and his men made in the previous chapter – “So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD” (JOS. 9:14). Clearly, they made the mistake of entering into the covenant without consulting the Lord. In this chapter, it is different. They went to help the Gibeonites with a clear assurance that God would be with them. Once again,

Joshua would hear this assurance that he doesn’t have to fear their enemies because their victory has already been given to them. Now, if you examine the words that God gave them in verse 

8, He simply reiterated the promise He made to Joshua when God called him to lead the nation of Israel in Joshua 1:5-6, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” 

I love that God is willing to repeat Himself in giving His promises to His people. I understand that God often doesn’t need to give us a new promise; He just needs to remind us repeatedly because we are often forgetful of His promises. I trust that we are doing our best not to be as forgetful of God’s wonderful promises to us. Remember, God gave a very strong warning about forgetfulness in Deuteronomy 8:11-16 (ESV): 

11 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 

13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 

14then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 

15who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 

16who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 

Listen, it’s clear that it’s easier to forget the Lord when everything is going well in our lives. When we are living in abundance, in good health, and everything is running smoothly at home and work. Don’t miss verse 14—forgetfulness is often triggered by our sense of pride. When we begin to think that everything we

are enjoying is the result of our own doing, then pride and 

forgetfulness set in. So, keep looking up; keep attributing your blessings to their true source, who is the Lord. 

The same applies to Joshua, his army, and the Gibeonites. 

They won't win their battle because of their fighting skills, but because God grants them the victory. Therefore, they needed to continue trusting in the Lord. This leads me to my final point. 

III THE CONQUEST THROUGH DIVINE INTERVENTION (vs. 10-15) Lastly, once the Israelites arrived at the battle, God would not be a passive spectator; He would be an active participant. Let me give you at least the three things God Himself will do to defeat their enemies: 

A. God would throw them into panic – “And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah” (v. 10). 

The Bible clearly states that the coalition of Canaanite nations lost their confidence to fight as soon as they saw the Israelites join the battle. They literally panicked, not because Israel was a great army or better armed than them, but because of the Lord. This truth immediately reminded me of one of the verses we covered during one of our Zoom prayer meetings. 

Psalm 20:7 (ESV) 

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 

Here’s our truth: when we face struggles in life, our victory won't come from the strength of our weapons or military power, but from the Lord. 

B. God would throw them hailstones – “And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword” (v. 11).

Imagine this scene: during the battle, as the enemies are fleeing the field, God strikes them down with hailstones. Now, don’t miss this—these hailstones killed more enemies than the swords of the Israelites’ army. One commentator even pointed out that these were discriminating hailstones because they only killed Israel’s enemies. 

C. God would cause the Sun to stand still – “At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’ And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day” (vs. 12-13). 

This part of the battle is truly spectacular. While they fought, it became clear that Joshua and his army needed more time to defeat their enemies, so Joshua called on the Lord to prevent the Sun from setting and to extend the daylight. Without a 

doubt, Joshua showed incredible faith in asking the Lord for this request. Before we proceed, I want to acknowledge that many skeptics of the Bible have criticized this passage, claiming it conflicts with science because, as we all know, the sun does not move and the slowing of Earth’s rotation around the sun could cause catastrophic effects on Earth. Let’s clarify. Saying that the sun stood still is not really a contradiction because it’s clear that the passage is using descriptive language. We use similar language when we say that the sun rose or set. Besides, the truth of the matter is God being the creator of the universe can do whatever He wants to do, including overriding the laws of nature. It is clearly a miracle of God. Charles Spurgeon once said: 

“How He did it is no question for us. . . . It is not ours to try and soften down miracles, but to glorify God in them.” 

This was truly an incredible miracle, with God overriding the laws of nature. However, when we read verse 14, the emphasis is not so much on the sun standing still, but on the truth that God listens to Joshua’s prayer – “There has

been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel” (v. 14). 

Do you understand how God wants us to respond to His 

answers to our prayers? Do you believe that God still answers the prayers of His people? Often, we don’t value prayer that much because we don’t believe that God continues to answer our prayers. Here is a great verse to highlight this morning: 

Psalm 34:17 (ESV) 

17When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 

Listen, when you find yourself in deep trouble, I trust you will remember to call on the Lord for help. He still hears the prayers of His people. In this passage, we should also remember that Joshua is the type of Jesus, interceding to the Father for our complete victory. Here’s a great passage to close this sermon with: Hebrews 7:24-25 (ESV) 

24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost[a]those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

Jesus, who now lives in heaven as our intercessor, will continue to go to the Father on our behalf so that we remain victorious over Satan and sin, and never lose our salvation.