Sermon Tone Analysis
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Our passage this morning shouldn't make sense to you.
Not because the language is complicated, or because it's hard to visualize the events it describes.
It shouldn't make sense to you, because the battle we've been reading about for the past two weeks between Israel and the Amorite kings was a glorious victory for Yahweh.
Yahweh threw the Amorites into confusion, and Israel's enemy panicked.
Joshua and Israel cut down their enemies for miles as they ran away, while Yahweh threw enormous hail stones from the heavens to kill thousands of the Amorites.
Joshua, seeing the daylight hours fading, commanded the sun to stop moving, and Yahweh heeded.
This was a day, literally, like no other-- when Yahweh openly, obviously, gloriously, fought for his people.
In today's passage, AJ gives us a third angle on this day's happenings.
Today, we read about the fate of these five Amorite kings who dared to attack Yahweh's people.
Starting in Joshua 10:16, and I'll read half-way through verse 21:
(16) and these five kings fled,
and they hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah,
(17) and it was reported to Joshua, saying,
"Five of the kings were found hidden in the cave at Makkedah,"
(18) And Joshua said,
"Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave,
and set by it men to guard them,
(19) while you, may you not stay.
Pursue after your enemies,
and attack them from the rear.
May you not allow them to go to their cities
because Yahweh your God has given them into your hand."
(20) And then, as soon as Joshua and the sons of Israel finished striking them a very great blow until they perished, the survivors survived from them, and they went into the fortified cities,
(21) and all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace.
No one threatened his tongue against the sons of Israel, against [any] man,
So let's pause here.
Even with the sun stopping, and Yahweh throwing hail stones, some of their enemy got away, and made it to the safety of their fortified cities.
But the day's victory was complete.
Verse 21 is a little confusing, maybe.
In most battles, some enemy soldiers are killed, and some are just wounded.
You struck down your enemy with your sword, and it was a killing blow.
You move on to the next soldier.
Sometimes, you don't quite kill your enemy.
You leave them dying.
They are out of the fight, just hanging on for life as they slowly, inevitably die.
What verse 21 is saying, is that everyone was completely dead.
No one hanging on for life saw the Israelites go by, and had just enough strength to curse them.
They are all dead.
Picking the story back up, reading through verse 25:
and Joshua said,
"Open the mouth of the cave,
and bring out to me those five kings from the cave,"
(23) and they did thus,
and they brought out to him these five kings from the cave--the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Yarmut, the king of Lakish, the King of Eglon--,
(24) and then, as soon as these kings were brought out to Joshua, Joshua called to all the men of Israel,
and he said to the commanders of the men of the camp, the ones who had gone with him,
"Come near.
Put your feet on the necks of these kings,"
and they came near,
and they put their feet on their necks,
(25) and Joshua said to them,
"May you not be afraid,
and may you not be shattered.
Be strong and courageous,
because in this way Yahweh shall do to all your enemies who you are fighting,"
In verse 25, Joshua uses the same language Yahweh used toward him, after the crushing defeat at Ai.
He says, "May you not be afraid, and may you not be shattered" (Joshua 8:1).
Back in Joshua 8, we understood why Joshua was shattered.
He had led the Israelites into battle against Ai, but Yahweh didn't go with him because of Israel's--and Achan's-- sin.
The end result was a crushing defeat.
So we understood why Joshua would have a hard time trusting Yahweh after this, and why he'd be tempted to just quit.
But returning back to Joshua 10:25:
1) Why would the commanders of Israel's army be afraid and shattered by these kings?
These kings were found cowering in a cave, after fleeing in battle.
Their armies are decimated.
And Joshua has them at sword point, under his control.
Why would they fear an enemy whose neck is under their foot (Psalm 110:1)?
2) Why would Joshua make the commanders put their feet on these kings' neck?
Why do the commanders need reassurance that Yahweh will kill all their enemies?
When Saddam Hussein was found hiding after the second Gulf War, I still remember the pictures.
He was filthy, with dirty, unkept beard and hair.
This was the man who ruled as dictator of Iraq for decades.
The man who many people legitimately lived in fear of.
Who was still scared of Saddam when they found him, when they saw him?
Who was falling apart in fear-- who was shattered?
No one.
So what is it about these kings that's so terrifying?
Why, on this day of all days, does Joshua have to reassure the commanders of the army that they can defeat these kings-- that they don't need to be shattered, or afraid, of them?
Let's keep reading, and we will find a couple more questions to add to the outline.
Starting back up in verse 26, reading through verse 28:
(26) and Joshua struck them down after thus,
and he killed them,
and he hanged them on five trees,
and they were hanging on the trees until evening,
(27) and then, at the time of the going of the sun, Joshua commanded,
and they brought them down from on the trees,
and they threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves there,
and they set great stones against the mouth of the cave until exactly this day,
(28) and it was Makkedah that Joshua captured on that day,
and he struck it with the mouth of the sword, and its king.
He kheremed them,
while every person that was in it he did not leave behind a survivor,
and he did to the king of Makkedah, just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
In these verses, we find ourselves with the same questions we've had throughout the book of Joshua.
Why does Joshua kherem-- kill everyone-- in the cities of these Amorite kings?
Why does he keep hanging the kings of these cities after killing them, and treat their bodies so brutally?
Today, I'm going to try to answer this.
AJ gives us a clue, to help us answer this.
And this clue is like a thread we can run all the way back, to near the beginning of Genesis.
The clue is this: these kings are Amorites.
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