March 25, 2025 -All Things for God of God's People

JOSHUA 10:1-12:6

Chronological Bible Readings

Joshua 10:1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. 4 “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Joshua made a treaty with the people of Gibeon without inquiring of God. But here we see God is about to use this big mistake for the good of His people because they have been called according to His purpose. This treaty alarms the king of Jerusalem so he reaches out to the kings of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon to get them to attack Gibeon all together because none of them could beat them on their own. They all respond and attack which means that the Israelites now have to get involved to honor their agreement.

Joshua 10:7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

God tells Joshua to go and not be afraid because he will deliver the enemies into his hand and He does most of the work to defeat those who went up against Gibeon. He defeated multiple nations of people in one battle. Had Joshua not made this treaty, the king of Jerusalem would not have been frightened enough to call all these people together. This battle not only effectively saved them from multiple smaller battles over time but also showed God's hand a power in giving them victory after a tiring all night march by confusing them and sending a hailstorm.

God does the same thing for us. Even when we do something stupid and ignore God in our decisions, He who is faithful will always use even our mistakes for the good of His people.