Joshua · chapter 10 of 24
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Joshua 10 tells that five Amorite kings attack Gibeon and Joshua goes up from Gilgal to defend it. The Lord throws the enemy into confusion and sends great hailstones, and at Joshua's request the sun and moon stand still until Israel wins. The five kings are captured in a cave at Makkedah, and Joshua conquers the cities of southern Canaan.
Gibeon has made peace with Israel, and now its Amorite neighbors punish it for that. Joshua 10 shows Joshua keeping his commitment to his allies and the Lord fighting for his people. It is the chapter of the southern campaign, with the famous day when the sun stood still, and of the gradual taking of the promised land.
Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, hears that Gibeon has made peace with Israel and is filled with fear, because Gibeon is a great city, like one of the royal cities. He summons the kings of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon, and the five go up to attack Gibeon. The Gibeonites send to Joshua at Gilgal for help, and he goes up with his whole army. The Lord tells him not to fear, for he has given them into his hand.
Joshua marches all night and surprises them. The Lord throws them into a panic before Israel, and Israel pursues them toward Azekah and Makkedah. As they flee, the Lord hurls great stones from heaven, and more die from the hailstones than by the sword of Israel. Then Joshua speaks to the Lord in the presence of Israel and commands the sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon. The sun and moon stop until the people take vengeance on their enemies, as written in the Book of Jashar. 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.
The five kings flee and hide in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua orders it sealed with large stones and the pursuit to continue. Later they bring the kings out, and Joshua tells the commanders to put their feet on the necks of the kings and says they should not fear, for the Lord will do the same to all their enemies. The kings are put to death, hanged until evening and placed in the cave. Then Israel takes Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish (with Horam, king of Gezer, defeated when he came to help), Eglon, Hebron and Debir. The summary notes that Joshua conquered the hill country, the Negeb, the lowland and the slopes, from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and from Goshen to Gibeon, because the Lord fought for Israel. Joshua returns to Gilgal.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord tells Joshua not to fear the five kings, because he has given them into his hand and none of them will stand before him. The promise comes before the night march and sustains Joshua's courage to keep his word to Gibeon.
While the enemies flee, the Lord throws great stones from heaven, and more die from them than by the sword. The text makes clear that Israel does not win by its own strength but because the Lord intervenes.
Joshua asks the sun and moon to stand still, and the text says they stopped until Israel avenged itself on its enemies. The episode is quoted from the Book of Jashar, an ancient collection of songs, and expresses the conviction that the Lord gives victory even over time itself.
There was no day like it before or since, because the Lord heeded the voice of a man. The reason given is simple: the Lord fought for Israel.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because Gibeon had made peace with Joshua and Israel. — Joshua 10:1-5
Answer: Not to fear them, because he had given them into his hand. — Joshua 10:8
Answer: He threw great stones from heaven, and more died from the hailstones than from the swords of the Israelites. — Joshua 10:11
Answer: That the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon. — Joshua 10:12
Answer: In a cave at Makkedah. — Joshua 10:16
Answer: That they should not fear or be dismayed, for so the Lord would do to all their enemies. — Joshua 10:24-25
Joshua 10 shows a leader who keeps his word even when it costs him. Gibeon was a city that had deceived Israel, but Joshua marched all night to defend it because the promise had been made in the Lord's name. In a small group you can talk about how to keep our word, even when it is inconvenient.
It also encourages bold prayer. Joshua does not only fight with strategy; he speaks to the Lord before all the people. This is not a formula for demanding miracles but a reminder that God hears his people and that victory, in the end, is his. We can trust that he will fight for us, even when the task seems too big.
Joshua 10 ends with Joshua and all Israel returning to Gilgal after mastering southern Canaan. The north remains, where another coalition of kings prepares to face them, and Joshua 11 deals with that.
The text says the sun stood still in the midst of the sky and did not hurry to set for almost a whole day. There are several readings: a literal miracle affecting the earth's motion, a prolonging of daylight by God's intervention, or poetic language describing how things appeared, as in the Book of Jashar. All affirm that the Lord fought for Israel.
It is an ancient collection of songs or poems, now lost, that the text cites as a source. It is also mentioned in 2 Samuel, in David's lament over Saul and Jonathan. Its mention shows that the author knew and quoted writings of his time.
Putting feet on the necks of kings was an ancient gesture of total victory, and Joshua uses it to encourage his commanders to trust that the Lord will do the same to all their enemies. The passage is hard and must be read in the context of God's judgment on Canaan.