Joshua 10:16-11:23

Joshua 10:16-11:23

The battle that was raging when the sun stood still was a two-part battle. The first battle was Joshua’s defense of Gibeon. After the five nations that had aligned decided to strike Gibeon, Israel had come to their defense due to the covenant they had made and God’s direction. God gave them victory over these nations. Joshua knew, however, that the battle was not over. They still needed to strike at these nations on their soil. They had done well in striking down the brunt of their military forces, but there was still more to conquer. So when he received word that the kings had hid from Joshua and the Israelites, Joshua trapped them in their cave. He then sent forces to their cities and destroyed each one. Afterwards, he brought all five kings before him and executed all five of them.


Israel was now up to seven great victories in the Promised Land. They had successfully taken over seven large cities/nations and were on the verge of being able to settle in the land for good. There were still battles to be fought and land to be won, but Israel was on the right track. For the most part, they were remaining obedient to God (minus a few setbacks), and God was truly blessing them. He had promised that they would gain this land, and He was providing them with the victories that they needed. Before Israel left the area where this two-part battle occurred, they successfully conquered one other city, Makkedah. This was the place where the five kings had fled, so Joshua destroyed this city as well.

God’s presence and Israel’s obedience only becomes more evident as Joshua 10 continues. Joshua led Israel into six more battles (the battles that are listed anyways). As they had done in places like Jericho, the cities were destroyed, the kings were executed, and they did with the spoils as God had commanded. There were no disobedient situations like they had had with Achan in the conquest of these lands. It seemed as if Israel had finally understood what God expected from them, and as a result, they continued to see God’s blessings poured out on them. By the end of Joshua 10, Israel had conquered much of the land in the southern part of the Promised Land.

The conquest continued in Joshua 11, and Israel moved to the northern lands. As some of the southern kings had done, many of the northern kings joined together as one to fight against Israel. They had seen what Israel had done from the time they left Egypt, and the most recent events had them worried. So they aligned together for war and prepared for battle against Israel. God once again assured Joshua that Israel would be given the victory and that they had nothing to worry about. So Joshua led Israel to war once again, and they did many of the same things. They destroyed the cities, many of which they burned to the ground, they executed the kings, and did with the spoils as God commanded. Again, it seemed as if Israel had finally grasped the idea of what it meant to be obedient. As a result, they had conquered most of the land in a very short time span. The end of Joshua 11 says that at that time there was a time of rest from war. It was time to divide the land up according to each tribe’s inheritance. So for at least a time, the land was able to rest from war and enjoy a more normal, less hectic life.

Matt