The Valley of Opposition
In The Valley • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Communion:
1 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. 12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
1 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.
Heard / royal city / Good fighters
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.
Marched up
Joshua’s response shows his integrity. After having been deceived by the Gibeonites, Joshua and the leaders could have been slow about their attempt to rescue them. Instead, they immediately responded to their call for help. How willing would you be to help someone who had deceived you, even though you had forgiven him or her? We should take our word just as seriously as Joshua did.
First of all, Joshua and his men are camped it Gilgal that is a 20 mile trek, uphill about a 3,000 foot ascent just to get to the battle. It was an eight to 10 hour hike, just to get to Gibeon.
Hike then fight. No doubt the men were weary when they arrived.
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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.”
What kept the soldiers going? They believed God’s promise and knew that the victory was assured.
Q: What promises of God do you rely upon to kept you going when you were weary and about to face some form of opposition in the past?
Q: When was the last time you shared a promise of God with someone else to encourage them?
Psalm 91 is quite commonly known as the soldier’s psalm as it is said many soldiers in WWI recited this psalm daily. One story I found online said a Brigade commander in WWI gave a little card with Psalm 91 on it to his men who were in the Brigade of the same number – 91st Brigade. They agreed to recite this daily. The story goes that after they started praying this prayer they were involved in three of the bloodiest battles in WWI yet suffered no casualties in combat despite other brigades suffering as much as a 90% casualty rate.
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.
The strategy. But faith apart from works is dead, and Joshua proved his faith by using wise strategy. He ordered an all-night march and a surprise attack on the enemy army, strategy he had used before when attacking Ai.
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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.
threw them into confusion?
https://godswarplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/07-Gibeon-MAIN-MED-1.jpg
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.
God assisted the weary Jewish soldiers by killing the enemy army with large hailstones. The timely occurrence of the storm was itself a miracle, but an even greater miracle was the fact that the stones hit only the enemy soldiers. - Image of car damage?
God took His special “ammunition” out of His storehouse and used it.
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
In the presence of Israel
Q: Why are we more bold in prayer in private than in public?
Q: What prayers do you need to be praying out loud so that others can hear and help you stand firm?
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
Book of Jasher? means “upright.” It may be the same as the book called Wars of the Lord (Num. 21:14). The book of Jasher is mentioned again in 2 Samuel 1:18. The book appears to have been a compilation of Hebrew songs in honor of Israel’s leaders and exploits in battle.
The sun stood still.
This is the last miracle recorded in Joshua and certainly the greatest. Joshua prayed for God’s help, and the Lord answered in a remarkable way.
This event is questioned by those who deny the reality of miracles and look only to science for truth. “How could God stop the rotation of the earth and extend the length of a day?” - NASA Missing day debunked.
But how do you explain a miracle, any miracle? Of course, the simplest answer is the answer of faith: The Lord is God and nothing is too hard for Him.
17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Day and night belong to God.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.
Everything He has made is His servant.
“If God can’t perform the miracle described in Joshua 10, then He can’t perform any miracle and is imprisoned in His own creation, unable to use or suspend the very laws He built into it. I have a difficult time believing in that kind of a God.” - Warren W. Wiersbe
Regarding miracles Gary Richmond said, “If they were happening everyday, they wouldn’t be called miracles, they would be called regulars.
Chuck Swindoll agreed and said, Miracles aren’t regulars. They’re every once in a while, maybe once in a lifetime, maybe twice.
Finding a parking spot at the mall during the holiday season is not a Christmas day miracle. It may seem like a minor miracle, but it isn’t a miracle.
God caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua might be victorious in battle. A certain professor once said, “It is ridiculous that God would stop the entire universe for one man.” It may sound preposterous to some people, but God did it. He also sent His Son into the world to die for sinners, which was much more wonderful than stopping the sun. When God stopped the sun, He demonstrated His wisdom and power. When He sent His Son into the world to become a man and die on the cross, He displayed His love. If you were the only person that had ever been born, Christ would have died for you. The professor will say that is ridiculous also, and it is. But we have another word for it: grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).
Q: When was the last time you shared a promise of God with someone else to encourage them?
Q: What go-to Scriptures do you fall back on and keep close to your heart to remind you of God’s deliverance and favor in your life?