The conquests of the southern and central regions of the highlands of Canaan, ensued. They did not subdue the Philistines along the coast until much later. The battles were reminiscent of the great conquests of Alexander or of the 20th century Israeli wars of occupation. Joshua was a fearless, driven leader, who subdued the land quickly and effectively.
Israel camped at Gilgal and operated from there, which ensured the safety of their women and children. After Jericho they turned to Ai.
Abraham once camped
between Ai (Heap of Ruins) and Bethel (House of God). Prophetically the house
of God had risen to full stature and Ai was about to fall into ruin.
The tactic was
elegant. Joshua sent 30,000 fighting men behind Ai and had them lay in silent
ambush. They had to wait, do nothing and draw no attention to themselves.
Then Joshua advanced
with the main body towards the city. Having been emboldened by their last
success, the fighting men of the city poured into the open and deserted the
city.
Joshua then feigned
retreat and led his forces away, which drew the army of Ai away from their fortress.
At the perfect moment
God told Joshua to point his spear to Ai, which signaled the ambushers to
attack. They sacked the deserted city and Ai was caught between two significant
forces.
Joshua kept his spear
pointed until the enemy was totally routed. 12,000 men of Ai died, before the king
of Ai was hanged. All their livestock was claimed as a prize.
The deception of Gibeon (Chapter 9)
It didn’t take
long for some to work out that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The Gibeonites tricked
the Jews into believing they were not Canaanites, but from a far off country.
Joshua promised to
not hurt them, which he honored even after their duplicity was exposed.
Sadly, Saul reneged on
that many years later and God punished Israel with a plague, for breaking their
word. He may not have liked any of the Canaanite nations, but a promise is a
promise and he saw to it that Israel upheld it – their fault for not inquiring
of the Lord.
Yet the Gibeonites
were reduced to a nation of wood hewers and water boys.
The slaughter of the kings (Chapter 10, 11)
A confederacy of kings
then rose against Gibeon, for although theirs was a royal city and bigger than
Ai, Gibeon had effectively betrayed them all through their double dealing.
A letter was recently found,
written by one Abdi-Heba (likely the same man as Adoni-Zedek), Governor of
Jerusalem. He wrote to Pharaoh, requesting aid from Egypt against the Hebrews.
Joshua came to their
aid and pursued the kings through the night then told the sun to stand still
over Gibeon and the moon over Ajalon.
Thus the day was
extended miraculously. NASA evidently have confirmed that there was such a
missing period in the computations of earth and planetary movements. Maybe it
coincided with a shift in the earth’s tilt, which has happened before.
It also involved a
rain of stones or pumice, for God fought with Israel.
The kings were
cornered in the cave of Makkedah until the enemy had been routed, then they all
came back, removed the stones they had rolled over the entrance and slew the 5
kings.
Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, took his name from Melchizedek, the priest of
Salem who met Abraham when he returned from the slaughter of kings in his day.
A second, larger
confederation comprising a larger force gathered at the River Merom, but God
fought with Israel and they too were destroyed. Only the city of Hazor was
destroyed, the rest were preserved.
However, God hardened
the hearts of the Canaanites to ensure a decisive victory and a complete
cleansing of the land.
The list of conquests (Chapter 12)
Israel fought 39 battles beyond the lynchpin of Jericho, including: Ai (Disappointment); Hebron (fear and rejection); Lachish (self-centeredness); Gezer (division); Debir (winds of doctrine); Geder ( resistance); Arad (foolishness); Libnah (religion); (Acshaph (trickery); Taanach (intimidation ); Makkedah (Crooked); Jarmuth (High-minded); Tappuah (Swelled-up); (Tirzah) mediocrity and complacence; Gibeon (pride) and Jokneam (materialism).
They also defeated 6 nations.
The picture behind the
names of the defeated kings, was of the strongholds of our minds. Anyone
who has ever been involved in deliverance ministry will tell you that there is
generally a key to other issues, as was true of Jericho.
Jericho unlocked the
entire region and after its fall the nations and cities fell like dominoes. I
do believe that once God brings you to breakthrough, issues that have so long
troubled you will also fall in quick succession.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
