Oh, were you hoping we were done with the Old Testament? No way! Ha ha.
We have a little more context going into this story now that we have read Joshua 9. We're only going to read part of Joshua 10 so feel free to read the whole chapter on your own if you want to see a cool story about the sun standing still. We are going to follow up from Joshua 9 with the consequences of their decision to let the Gibeonites live without praying about it. Please read the passage below and answer questions or add your own feedback.
God please guide us as we read your Word. Please help us to see what you want us to see in it. Thank you for this group and the privilege to learn about you together and to share what we hear from you. Amen.
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.”
We have a little more context going into this story now that we have read Joshua 9. We're only going to read part of Joshua 10 so feel free to read the whole chapter on your own if you want to see a cool story about the sun standing still. We are going to follow up from Joshua 9 with the consequences of their decision to let the Gibeonites live without praying about it. Please read the passage below and answer questions or add your own feedback.
God please guide us as we read your Word. Please help us to see what you want us to see in it. Thank you for this group and the privilege to learn about you together and to share what we hear from you. Amen.
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.”
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites—the
kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces.
They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon
and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:
“Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help
us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined
forces against us.”
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.
Here are some questions to think about as you reflect on this chapter. Feel free to pick one to answer as a comment for all of us to see, ask a question of your own or tell us your thoughts.
I’d love to hear your take!
Here are some questions to think about as you reflect on this chapter. Feel free to pick one to answer as a comment for all of us to see, ask a question of your own or tell us your thoughts.
- What did you see in the passage for the first time?
- What surprised you?
- What bothered you?
- What did you learn about God?
- What did you learn about loving God?
- Did anything in your life come to mind as you read?
I’d love to hear your take!
brooke
I agree with you, Kimmi, there is a lot of detail that is easy to get bogged into! When I look at this passage from an overall point of view it says to me that no matter how impossible or scary situations may seem(could you imagine having 5 kings and their troops coming after you...ahhh!!!)God is bigger than all siutations and will protect you as His child. Not only will He protect us, but sometimes he throws more surprises our way (the hailstones killing even more of the men...that would really hurt)! This is a great reminder that in ALL situations we must pray, ask Him specifically for his protection and help and let Him take the rest. Worry and fret does us no good...in fact, fear does not come from the Lord so why should we fear anyways?! Prayer and trust, prayer and trust!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat observations Laura! In addition to what you said, I was struck by the consequences the Israelites had to face--having to fight a war to defend the Gibeonites only because they didn't seek the Lord in chapter 9. But God faithfully fought the battle with them and for them. We may have to face the consequences of our decisions, but it's never too late to turn to God, He will still fight for us.
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