Week 5: The War Against Five Kings

Book of Joshua chapters 9-10

Objective: 

• The war against five kings

Resources:

• Book of Joshua - Fr Tadros Malaty Commentary (English)
• Catena Bible Commentary
• Fr Dawoud Lamie Bible study (Arabic)
• Fr Luka Maher Bible study (Arabic)
  

Reading:

• Book of Joshua chapters 9-10

Key verse(s):

• "And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you." Joshua 10:8

Comments:

Chapter 9

• Alliance of Kings (verses 1-2)
  • Do not be disturbed if the wicked agree against you, no matter how strong or numerous they seem. They are nothing compared to the power of God that is with us. Present your needs before God and supplicate to Him, so you remain steadfast and no one will be able to overcome you.
• The Deception of the Gibeonites (verses 3-13)
  • Carefully assess whether the idea or situation presented to you brings you closer to God and provides comfort and peace. Verify this through prayer. If it aligns with these qualities, it is from God. If it contradicts them, it is from Satan, regardless of how logical it may seem. This is because Satan uses deceptive thoughts to mislead you and draw you away from God."

• The Gibeonites as Servants to the Israelites (verses 14-27)

   

Chapter 10

• The Battle of the Five Kings Against Gibeon (verses1-7)
  • The five kings intended to defeat Joshua, but God turned their alliance into a blessing for Joshua, leading to his victory. This illustrates that God can turn evil plans into opportunities for good and triumph
• The Victory of Joshua and the Heavenly Assistance (Verses 8-14)
  • "Sun, Stand still over Gibeon; and moon, in the valley of Aijalon. so the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies." Joshua 10:12-13
  • God supports you in unexpected ways. Trust Him fully, follow His commandments, and do not be afraid of the enemy’s strength.
• Pursuit of the Enemies and Killing Their Kings (verses 15-27)
• Conquest of the southland (verses 28-43)
• The Lord is a man of war vs the Lord is king of peace
  • God dealt with the people in the Old Testament based on their level of righteousness. In the Old
    Testament, people were not satisfied by simply responding to violence with the same
    degree of violence, but their revenge was brutal. However, in the New Testament,
    people were ready to understand and accept the commandment of forgiving.
  • God created us in His image and because He is righteous, we also ought to be righteous.
    God dealt with people gradually to make them reach that level of righteousness.
  • Based on this, God doesn’t change, but the people do, and the Old Testament
    commandment doesn’t contradict the New Testament commandment.

  • In Old Testament, wars were common between nations due to lack of political systems
    and God used these wars as a way of judgements. God allowed and commanded war to
    happen as a judgement on the Canaanites due to their sins.

    Based on these, God is fair and just judge who will wait on the sinners to return back to
    him, but also will judge those who don’t repent.

Review/recap questions:
**Servant may add more questions

• What was the mistake the Israelites made by making peace with the Gibeonites?
• What did Joshua do with the 5 kings?
•  Mention a verse that shows how God changed the normal nature to give the Israelites a chance to win the war
  with their enemies?

Homework:
**Servant may add more questions

• "Israel was allowed to make treaties (covenant) with cities that were far from them.” True or false?
•  So the _________ stood still, and the __________ stopped, till the people had revenge upon their _________.