February 22, 2015The Longest Day

I. Predicament for GibeonII. Disarmament of the enemy III. Requirement for victory

I. Introduction

I. Predicament for Gibeon

Joshua 10:1-2 - Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and

its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land, that he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and

because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

Joshua 10:3-5 - Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, "Come up to me

and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel." So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the

king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and

went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

Joshua 10:6 - Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not abandon

your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the

hill country have assembled against us."

I Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the

excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

II. Disarmament of the enemy

Joshua 10:7-9 - So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the men of war with him and all the valiant warriors. And the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear

them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you." So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.

Joshua 10:10-11 - And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And it

came about as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord threw large

stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those

whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

Job 38:22-23 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,

Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, Which I have reserved for the time of distress,

For the day of war and battle?”

Ezekiel 13:13 - Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there

shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end.

Psalm 18:12-13 - Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.

Revelation 11:17-19 - . . . We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give

their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark

of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and

an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

III. Requirement for victory

Prayer is the requirement for victory.

Joshua 10:12-15 - Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "O sun,

stand still at Gibeon, and O moon in the valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and did not hasten to go down for

about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a

man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

Joshua 10:15 - Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.

Joshua 10:17-19 - And it was told Joshua, saying, "The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at

Makkedah." And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them, but do not stay there yourselves; pursue

your enemies and attack them in the rear.”

Joshua 10:40-41 - Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor, but

he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.

Identity of the kings in the cave who must be put to death.

5. Ungratefulness

1. Pride 2. Lust3. Hypocrisy4. Greed

Matthew 5:10-12 - Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil

against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they

persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Joshua 10:40 - Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he

utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.

Joshua 10:42-43 - And Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the Lord,

the God of Israel, fought for Israel. So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.