⚔️ Joshua 10 — Main Summary: From Salvation Obtained by Human Cunning → to Salvation Actually Accomplished by God ๐
AI-generated image
In Chapter 9, we saw how the inhabitants of Gibeon used a clever strategy to save themselves from destruction.
⚔️ The Main Point of Joshua 10
Chapter 10 records the destruction of the other nations in the land of Canaan.
The Alliance of the Five Amorite Kings and the Attack on Gibeon
When Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had destroyed Ai and its king just as he had done to Jericho, and that the people of Gibeon—who were stronger and more numerous than the people of Ai—had made peace with Israel, he became very afraid.
So he decided to attack Gibeon first because they had made peace with Israel. Five Amorite kings joined together and went to war against Gibeon.
๐ The people of Gibeon sent messengers to Joshua, asking him not to delay but to come quickly and save them.
So Joshua set out from Gilgal.
๐ At that time, 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 stand against you.” (v. 8)
Joshua went up from Gilgal throughout the night and suddenly appeared before them at Gibeon. He struck them down in great numbers.
Then the Lord threw large hailstones upon them, and the text records that more people died from the hailstones than were killed by the sword of the Israelites.
☀️ The Sun and the Moon Stood Still
On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites into the hands of Israel, Joshua commanded the sun and the moon to stop, so that Israel could complete the victory.
Verse 14 explains this extraordinary event:
“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.”
This seems to show that Joshua's command to the sun and moon was permitted by God.
๐ Verse 20 records in considerable detail that Joshua and the Israelites carried out a great slaughter until almost all of the enemy had been destroyed. The few survivors fled into the fortified cities.
Afterward, the five kings who had been hiding were captured and killed.
Then Joshua attacked and destroyed the cities that had been the strongholds of the allied kings:
Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir.
➡️ Verse 42 summarizes everything:
“And Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.”
After the battle was over, Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
๐ Conclusion — 1
If the main point of Chapter 9 was how the people of Gibeon used their own cleverness to save themselves,
๐ Chapter 10 shows that after they became part of the community living alongside Israel, they actually experienced salvation through the hands of God.
When the people of Gibeon desperately asked Joshua for help, he immediately went to their aid. And God promised that not a single enemy would be able to stand against him.
God did not merely allow Israel to fight; He Himself fought for Israel, destroying one by one those who threatened Gibeon.
The text repeatedly uses a very interesting expression:
→ When Makkedah and Libnah were destroyed: “as he had done to the king of Jericho.”
→ After Lachish was destroyed: “as he had done to Libnah.”
→ After Eglon was destroyed: “as he had done to Lachish.”
→ After Hebron was destroyed: “as he had done to Eglon.”
→ After Debir was destroyed: “as he had done to Hebron.”
➡️ And finally, the text returns once again to:
“as he had done to Libnah and its king,”
bringing the record back to the original reference point. ๐
๐ I think this way of recording the events may have been intended to make the conclusion in verse 40 even clearer:
“So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivor, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded.”
๐ For me, the main treasure of Chapter 10 is exactly what I wrote in the title:
๐ In a sense, the protagonists of Chapters 9 and 10 are the people of Gibeon, and their salvation seems to be one of the central themes of these two chapters.
And we see that this salvation was actually accomplished by God, who even listened to Joshua's plea and fought alongside Israel to give them the victory.
๐ Conclusion — 2
After finishing Joshua 10 and just as I was about to publish this article, another thought suddenly crossed my mind:
๐ Could the salvation of the people of Gibeon have been something God Himself had planned?
If the people of Gibeon, who were destined for destruction, had simply been left alone, they might naturally have been destroyed.
Yet it is interesting to see how Chapters 9 and 10 are so naturally focused on preserving and saving them.
The nations that were completely destroyed had also heard, since the time of Egypt, about the power and deeds of God.
But:
depending on how they responded, the outcome could be salvation or destruction;
this principle appears not only throughout the Pentateuch, but also in the blessings and curses proclaimed on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim;
and it seems that this same principle was applied to the people of Gibeon in this remarkable event. ๐
Perhaps Gibeon is more than simply a story about a city that deceived Joshua. Perhaps it is a scene that shows, in a very concrete way, how those who were destined for destruction could nevertheless find a way to salvation.
AI-generated image
๋๊ธ
๋๊ธ ์ฐ๊ธฐ