Well, I invite you to turn tonight to Joshua chapter 10. We're continuing our study in the book of Joshua. Page 219 is the text, and we'll be looking at the first 15 verses of this great, great and probably most well-known passage in the book of Joshua, of the sun standing still. Page 219. Let's give our attention tonight to the word of the Lord. As soon as Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gideon had made peace with Israel and were among them, he feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than I, and all its men were warriors. So Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, to Pyram, king of Jarmuth, and Japhia, king of Lashish, and to Debir, king of Eglon, saying, come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel. Then the five kings of the Amorites, the kings of Jerusalem, the kings of Hebron the kings of Jarmuth the kings of Lashash and the king of Eglon the king of Eglon gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it and the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal saying do not relax your hand from your servants come up to us quickly and save us and help us for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us so joshua went up from gilgal he and all the people of war with him and all the mighty men of valor and the lord said to joshua do not fear them for i have given them into your hands not a man of them shall stand before you so joshua came upon them suddenly having marched up all night from gilgal and the lord threw them into a panic before Israel who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Haran and struck them as far as Ezekah and Makit Kedah and as they fled before Israel while they were going down the ascent of Beth Haran the Lord threw down large hell stones from heaven on them as far as Ezekah and they died and there were more who died because of the hell stones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword. At that time, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel. As he said, in the sight of Israel, sun stands still at Gibeon and moon in the valley of Ijohan. And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Jasher? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day 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 so joshua returned and all israel with him to the camp at gilgal and there ends the reading of god's word well what we have before us tonight is really one of the most uh unique uh battles that is recorded probably the most important battle that is recorded in the book of of joshua through the conquest of of canaan there is more to come of course we'll see that uh in the next the next chapter and in chapter 11 and 12 but but this one is very unique the lord wants us to pay close attention to it there is no doubt it's because we have something fascinating in that it's the Lord himself who's doing the fighting. I don't know if you caught that. It's a unique moment where the Lord himself is fighting. And I think that's an important point because by the end of it, he not only controls everything, he even has control of the sun holding the luminaries in his hand to fight for Israel. And as I stood back from it, I couldn't help but to think that this battle has many important things it says to us. It's intended in many different ways, maybe to look at it from different angles, but it's important in the sense that it's a warning to the nations that the Lord fights for His kingdom. I couldn't get away from that thought. It's a warning to the nations that the Lord fights for his kingdom and that the nations really should fall and beg for mercy in whatever way they can like Rahab and Gibeon did. But lo and behold, next chapter we find that the nations gather as, listen to the language, the sand of the seashore in their fight against Joshua. So we have a great battle a battle that sends a strong warning and they don't heed it. The passage from another angle is meant to be one of the greatest encouragements to Israel that if the Lord is on her side she has absolutely nothing to fear. And that truly displays what Rahab believed and what Gibeon believed. What they said about the Lord. He is God. He is the God. and think about what they said who is god in heaven above and in the earth beneath he owns it all he's sovereign over it all he even has the son he can that can be used in the defense of his kingdom now what kind of response should that have what does that push us to and this passage i think is calling us to a confidence and a trust in the mission that he sent us on and to understand and believe that he has this kind of power sending that also important message to the nations every knee should bow and every tongue should confess well that's where we are in verse 1 we have described that this great threat arises against Israel and read an interesting fascinating detail here that Adonai Zedek was king of Jerusalem he musters up five other kings to come up against gibeon this is the first time as i've studied and seen that in this form jerusalem shows up in the scriptures so something is bigger here that i still don't think i've quite figured out happening um that's interesting because even the name adonai zedek means the lord is righteousness the lord is righteous something's going on there was another king years ago who governed in jerusalem remember the first time he showed up showed up in genesis 14 his name was melchizedek king of salem everyone agrees and accepts that satan was jerusalem the early the early name for it what do we have here i don't know i really don't know i i can say i don't i'm not quite sure i can say this that it seems to be we have an antichrist figure on the throne and that the lord is staking a claim already on this as his holy city so it's a big deal to him. It's a big deal to him. This is a pagan king who is leading and ruling in Jerusalem where righteousness had been known under Melchizedek. Whatever the case, he hears about joshua and he hears what joshua did to gibeon what has stirred up this king is what and what is surprising that we didn't quite know this about gibeon when we first uh looked at the text what what we see and what we hear about gibeon is that not only had they made peace with israel made peace with gibeon but you'll notice the language here now in chapter 10 about gibeon it was a great city it was like one of the royal cities it was greater than i because all of the men it says were mighty they were warriors this blew the mind of adonai zedek how could the strongest most powerful one of the most powerful cities of warriors in gibeon surrender to got to joshua what we read is that we're not putting up with this five kings are aligned together they're named twice here we read they gathered and they went up and i think the emphasis on naming them twice is to say gibeon doesn't hold a candle doesn't have a chance against this alliance when israel would have heard this they knew these were mighty hill country warriors coming down these were men trained for battle and they all went up with all their armies and they camped before Gibeon to make war against it this was vengeful since Gibeon had surrendered to Israel it was strategic to the end that if they could break up this agreement it would discourage Israel weaken them now that they have taken on this powerful people who now are servants to them now this is an interesting moment because is any of this really matter to joshua now the kings are fighting against themselves of canaan gibeon had deceived joshua so really if gibeon was of no consequence at all and that covenant that was made last time and by deception didn't matter, why didn't Joshua just say, let them have at it? Well, that's not what happens. Gibeon cries out to Joshua, don't forsake your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us. The kings of the Amorites dwell in the mountains have gathered against us. There's no way Gibeon can stand. They will be wiped out. Now the question I think is important, how binding was that covenant in chapter 9? A covenant by deception, and remember that the law had required that Gibeon be wiped out, but they had faked with wineskins, and come and pretending like they were people from a far country, knowing the law of Israel, studying the law of Israel, pulling off the greatest deception and pulling off a covenant with them that was directly against the word of the lord and remember that little phrase in chapter nine no one saw it the lord no one prayed to the lord well what israel understood was once that covenant was made it was not to be broken it's really amazing i said last time it was hard to sort of come up that that text really challenged me because all you could sort of come up with by the end is not only had mercy triumphed over judgment we looked at all of that but that god had overruled and all of the sinful things that had happened to accomplish a purpose that his kingdom was taking in a nation and what we saw with Gibeon was the same thing that we saw with Rahab they feared the Lord there was faith in these people and these warriors these mighty men came and bowed to the feet of Joshua what is clear here is that as God's kingdom was advancing through Canaan this kingdom march of a people he had staked a claim on these people and israel was now bound by an oath you know how much that covenantal arrangement mattered to the lord well second samuel tells us the lord had so cared for gibeon that he sent a famine on the land for three years and David could not figure out why in 2 Samuel 21. So year after year, he kept going up and asking the Lord, why are you doing this? Why have you stopped the rain? And here was the answer given. And the Lord answered, it's because of Saul. And his bloodthirsty house because he killed the Gibeonites. Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. But Israel had sworn to protect them. So you want to know how binding this covenant was. Even though the whole thing mesmerized us last week. The Lord said, Saul's bloodthirsty, he's killing them and we made a covenant. fascinating so what happens joshua rises up to protect them what do you read in verse 8 and when the lord said to joshua and the lord said to joshua don't fear this great alliance for i have delivered them into your hand it's a perfect present tense it's just it's done joshua it's over now i i stopped as i was working on saying there's a big application to this story there's important things to learn from this story remember last time when giving uh deceived israel and israel did not seek counsel of the lord there was this failure the covenant should not have been made but it was mercy triumphed over judgment but what i can't get over is this thought look at how the Lord is responding to this arrangement what are we like when people offend us what are we like when people fail us you know the Lord's commitment to his promises never change they do not change his covenant his promises do not change He is always faithful to uphold them. How many times in your failure have you wondered? Has the Lord turned His back on you? Is God angry with me? It's a beautiful moment. The Lord does not change. The Lord does not say, I've had enough. Even through all the disobedience of Israel, where there seem to be moments like that. In the end, the entire Bible and the entire Old Testament is a record that God fulfilled his purpose and promise to them. By the end of Joshua, do you know what it said? Some of Joshua's last words to Israel were this, before he died. Know in your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. Not one. All have come to pass. How many promises are there in the Bible? Boys and girls, dare to count them this week and let me know. so the lord gave israel joshua 22 all the land that he had sworn to give to their ancestors and they took possession of it and settled there the lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their ancestors not one of their enemies withstood them the lord gave all their enemies into their hands not one of all of the lord's good promises to israel failed every one of them was fulfilled. Whoa. To a people like this. And who's included in this now? Gibeon. It's really overwhelming that he would now bind himself that kind of way to that covenant. And I think what we see here, what we see here in beauty is that little covenant that was made with Gibeon was a little forecasting of the covenant of grace. A sinful people devoted to destruction. And God expected Israel to include them and to defend them. And it was a snapshot of His faithfulness to His covenant with sinners that cannot be broken. That should greatly encourage you. That should greatly encourage you. When we stand back from this life at the end of it, through all the struggle and all the failure and all the things that have happened, dealing with anyone else, they would have given up on us. Dealing with anyone else, they would have given up. The Lord is so faithful to his promise, he will keep it. Joshua's showing us that. In the midst of sin and failure, salvation belongs to the Lord. When you doubt his faithfulness and love, you should remember this. He even rose to the defense of the Gibeonites. He even rose to the defense of the Gibeonites. After a sinful covenant had been made. And he turned it into a covenant of grace. But it's even better. The Lord doesn't just give promises. He also rises to our defense. What we don't realize is that being members of the kingdom sure comes and enlists us in a great fight. There's no doubt about it. Meaning the entire kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Satan stands against us. And I think we feel that at this moment, unlike in previous times if you have spiritual eyes to see what is happening right now there are all kinds of alliances of wickedness that are coming at us the world right now is rising up against the church in ways that we have not seen at least in our lifetime and we could find ourselves soon surrounded by armies of ideologies that will make it as i prayed illegal in law and in cultural influence to be christians in this world we've been considering that last time with Dr. Godfrey's series. I want you to know something. We're powerless in this fight. You and I, we are all powerless against this. Do you know that? You can't rise up and stop this. I saw the Senate bill this week would ensure the federal government to recognize a same-sex marriage if it was valid in the state it took place and couples moved to a state that does not recognize it. They are just pushing and pushing and pushing. This stuff is getting stronger and stronger and stronger. It's a collaborative effort to eliminate all righteousness. Flaming darts of the evil one are constantly coming it's a serious warfare what are christians doing right now we're panicked that's why everyone the new big hip idea is christian nationalism we're gonna we're gonna save it it's panic response don't don't miss it the encouragement is what the lord said to joshua do not fear a man will not stand against you joshua against who the kings and kingdoms of this world in their worst form take a stand against the lord and against his anointed. And this is the surprising encouragement of this battle. There are times when we are enlisted in a fight and the Lord wins the battle through us. That's how the typical way goes. But then there are times he directly enters the fight. That's what happens here that's what makes this unique as i was studying this the powerful five coalition army is standing against joshua and the kingdom of god that's the picture that's the imagery there's no way joshua and gibeon have a chance in this there are times when we're faced with opposition we don't have the ability to fight the battle so what happens the lord intervenes in judgment verse 9 says joshua came upon them suddenly having marched all night from gilgal listen what happens so the lord routed them from before israel and killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon verse 10 is interesting the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Haran and struck them in the ESV who is not who is not the best translation it should read he what you see there is this the marvels the lord himself struck them and he chased them that's scary you imagine that remember the end of chapter 5 when joshua had come to the border of the land he came across a warrior with his sword drawn and he said, who are you? Are you for us? Are you against us? Take off your shoes, Joshua. You're on holy ground. Do you know who was fighting? The Lord was fighting. verse 11 after he chased him down the road we read the lord cast down huge hailstones from heaven on them as far as azekah and they died there were more there were more who died from the hailstones than the children of israel killed with the sword he wants to make clear who's fighting this battle this was a red sea like moment this was during the last watch of the night remember where the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed up the wheels of their chariots so they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, let's get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them. They saw it. That's the marvel of the text tonight. Do you realize when his kingdom is being threatened and the satanic forces are coming and these things are too strong for us he enters the fight what encouragement to not be afraid you don't see how he's doing this at times is he not sending confusion on these armies is he not sending confusion on the government is he not confusing their plans you know revelation when it talks about the bowls being poured out it says this is exactly what he does it's used it borrows this language and he says he says great hailstones about a hundred pounds fell from heaven on people and they curse god for the plague of the hail because the plague was so severe that's what's happening you ever think the confusion that we're seeing right now and the fact that nothing is going very well is the Lord's intervention in fighting and yet we're discouraged we're confused because he's judging there's one last thing that happens one big thing this made the fact uh the text famous on the day the lord gave the amorites over to israel joshua said to the lord in the presence of israel imagine this as soon as the battle is um happening and they're watching the lord fight and they're fighting joshua stands up not a typical prayer sun stand still and you moon over the valley of ajalon so the sun stood still in the moon stop till the nation avenged itself on its enemies as is written in the book of jasher the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day there has never been a day like it before or since a day when the lord listened to a human being surely the lord was fighting for israel then joshua returned with all the israel to the camp at gilgal well we all get caught up in how this could have happened we moderns we're going to figure this out right it's not explained you know i've always believed it was a miracle he stopped If you're going to appreciate science, you stop the rotation of the earth. Well, that's how they experienced it. They looked up. The sun stood still. It did not move. It's the prayer of Joshua that's stunning to me. It's the prayer of Joshua. It's like no other prayer. Joshua set in a command. Son, stand still. And it did. And the moon stopped. Well, some say they needed more light for the battle to win. I don't think that's the reason. I think it's much greater than that. It was a warning to the nations who had gathered against the Lord and against His anointed. He is the Lord in heaven above and on the earth beneath. He has control of everything. And He controls time. Now why is that important? He has the luminaries in His hand. All the creation is His. The first thing you could say is, He has the power to stop heaven and earth to defend His people. That's how powerful He is. You're God, Israel. You're covenant God. There was no day like it before or ever where the Lord heeded a man, a human being, and fought for Israel. Who do you think he's talking about? Joshua here is a type of Jesus. It is Christ who defends us. It is Christ who came down from heaven. It is Christ who has given all power and authority. It is Christ who has at his disposal even the sun and the moon to help his people. But I want you to remember this. There's something fundamentally different about our day than Joshua's day in this. This was a mission of death. This one who chased them along the road in holy terror and furor also came down to us. and in a remarkable reversal what did he do? He said I've not come to destroy but I have come to seek and to save that which is lost. Think about that. That's what we're involved with now. We're involved with saving people. We're involved with delivering people to all the nations of the earth. But yes, a warning is given here. A final judgment is coming. And those who fight against Him, on the last day, He will take out the sun and the moon. Remember? On that day, The sun will not give its light, and the moon will be turned to darkness before the great and terrible coming day of the Lord. And I think the great encouragement to us is to fulfill the purpose for which God gave us to be a people here, to remember his covenant promises, to trust him, to not live in fear, to believe him, to trust his word, and to know that if the Lord stands with us and the mission He gave, it will be successful. It will be successful. Who can ever bring a charge against God's elect? He's the one fighting for you. And He's the one who, and the Lord Jesus Christ came here to rescue us. And that means that the victory is certain. I think we should go forward as His kingdom on this earth fulfilling what he calls us to do and to be and when you're discouraged and when you look at this world and when you see the coalitions and when you see the evil and the wickedness and you begin to panic you remember what joshua said son stand still that's how powerful your king is and he is faithful to his covenant and he will not fail to give anything good that he has promised to us we should praise him let's pray heavenly father thank you for your word of gospel to us tonight and thank you lord for this splendid and marvelous text that shows us and displays your great power give us believing hearts trusting you recognizing the battle belongs to the lord and to see what our lord jesus christ accomplished when he came here and to be thankful thank you for your promises that you will fulfill and that you do not break your covenant of grace made with us in christ and that all the land that you have promised to give us you will indeed fulfill so give us confidence we pray in the mission that is before us in jesus name we pray amen