Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked…Stacey
Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 10 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
10:1-5 – A ripple effect – now the king of Jerusalem has heard about Israel’s conquests and the treaty with Gibeon. So, he convinced the other Amorite kings (Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon) to join him in attacking Gibeon.
10:6-7 – Gibeon requested help from Israel and Joshua marched.
Would you come to the aid of someone who deceived you?
10:8 – The Lord assured Joshua that the Amorites’ land was Israel’s.
10:9-10 – Israel defeated the Amorites at Gibeon and chased them until they fled.
10:11 – The Lord killed more Amorites with huge hailstones than were killed in battle.
10:12-13 – Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun and the Lord did so for a full day.
Why this interruption in the chase of the Amorites?
10:14-15 – It was declared that the Lord is fighting for Israel, then they returned to their camp at Gilgal.
10:16-21 – The Amorites hid in a cave and Israel blocked the entrance with rocks and attacked them from the rear, killing almost every man.
10:22-24 – They brought the five kings out of the cave and subdued them.
10:24 – What is significant about putting their feet on the necks of the kings? Public humiliation.
10:25 – Joshua tells Israel to be strong and courageous. He explains that the Lord will do this for all of the enemies that Israel fights.
10:26 – Joshua killed the kings and hung them from five trees until sundown.
10:27 – At sunset, Israel took down the bodies, threw them in the cave where they hid, and piled rocks at the mouth.
10:28 – Joshua took Makkedah, leaving no survivors. He did to the king of Makkedah what he’s done to the king of Jericho. What was that? I don’t recall reading anything specific about how the king of Jericho was treated. Do you think this means he was treated differently than other kings? 6:21 says Israel destroyed everyone living in Jericho. Wouldn’t that include the king?
10:29-30 – Israel conquered Libnah, leaving no survivors.
10:31-33 – The next day, Israel conquered Lachish and Gezer (a kingdom that came to Lachish’s aid), leaving no survivors.
10:34-35 The same day, Israel conquered Eglon, leaving no survivors. How tired was Israel at this point? Or do you think that God was doing most of the work?
10:36-39 – Israel conquered Hebron and Debir. There is no mention of when. I wonder why not.
10:40-43 – The Lord fought for Israel and conquered the entire region in one campaign! WOW! Then Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal. This happened in a very short period of time. And, yes, the Lord did most of the work.
• The book of Joshua teaches us many things including the fact that we must pursue a relationship with the Lord for ourselves rather than leaning on others’ relationships with Him. Joshua followed Moses as leader of Israel, after all. What have you learned and applied to your life from today’s reading that will help you persevere in your relationship with Christ?
• How do you observe God proving to Israel that He is with Joshua as He was with Moses in today’s text? How does it apply to your own life and relationship with Him?
• What attributes of God do you see in this book?
• What verse of scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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