Teaching by Josh Clark
Week 4: The Lord Fights for His People (Ch 9-12)
1. Gibeonite Deception (Ch 9)
- V 1 "Heard of this" - indicator of new military campaign beginning
- Observations of the Gibeonites interaction
- Gibeonites know the Israelites are commanded not to make covenants with the people in the promised land because they will teach them their wicked practices, thereby, leading them into idolatry (Deut 7:1-2; 20:10-18)
- They claim the reason they came to Joshua and the Israelites is because they heard what God had done in Egypt and to the two kings beyond the Jordan.
- The Gibeonites are spared because of the consistency of the people's word. The Gibeonites are treated like a people who the Israelites are permitted to make a treaty with (Deut 20:10-11)
- Lesson from the Gibeonites
- Fear of consequences tempts us to hide, manipulate, or control the outcome. Faith responds with trust in the character of God.
- Lesson from the Israelites
- Goodness and life are found in seeking the Lord's counsel.
2. Southern Campaign (Ch 10)
- V 1 "Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem" - My Lord is righteousness
- "Melchizedek, king of Salem" (Gen 14:18-20) - King of Righteousness
- V 6 Gibeonites request to Joshua is the same as Adoni-Zedek: "come up to me/us" and "help me"
- The one key difference is Gibeon asks for rescue while Adoni-zedek asks for aid in destroying Gibeon.
- V 24 Joshua summons the chiefs and tells them to "put their feet on the necks of these kings".
- Gen 3:15
- V 42 "And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel."
3. Christ Connection
- Dawn - a time where God exposes and judges evil symbolizing His victory over darkness.
- Ex 14:24; 1 Sam 11:9; Isa 37:36; Ps 46:5
- Matt 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1
4. Northern Campaign (Ch 11)
- V 4 "like the sand that is on the seashore"
- V 6 Comparison of Joshua 8 (Ai) and Joshua 11 (Northern Campaign):
Joshua 8 (Ai):
- "Do not fear" (8:1a)
- Reason: "For I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land." (8:1b)
- God announces victory before the battle begins. (8:1)
- Specific military instructions: "You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho... except its spoil and livestock you shall take... Set an ambush..." (8:2)
- Joshua obeys immediately. "So Joshua arose..." (8:3)
- The LORD gives Israel victory. (8:18-29)
Joshua 11 (Northern Campaign):
- "Do not be afraid" (11:6a)
- Reason: "Tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel." (11:6b)
- God announces victory before the battle begins. (11:6)
- Specific military instructions: "You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire." (11:6c)
- Joshua obeys immediately. "So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly..." (11:7)
- The LORD gives Israel victory. (11:8-15)
- V 18 "Joshua made war for a long time" fulfills Ex 23:29-30
- V 20 "For it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts" - Like Pharaoh, God handed the kings and the people over to their desires and hardened their hearts.
- V 21-22 Joshua conquers the Giants that caused the wilderness generation to rebel (Num 13:22, 33)
5. God's Great Victories (Ch 12)
- V 1-6 Kings defeated to the East of the Jordan River
- V 7-24 Kings defeated to the West of the Jordan River
