Conquest Joshua 5: Conquest through Obedience Conquest through treaty Conquest through war

Conquest through obedience 5:13 – 8 The people of Israel succeed through reckless obedience They also succeeded through selfless disregard It was an all or nothing proposition

Joshua 6 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the L ORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.

4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.”

19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the L ORD and must go into his treasury.”

Joshua 7 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the L ORD ’s anger burned against Israel.

5 …They (Ai) chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the L ORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

25 …Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the L ORD turned from his fierce anger.

Joshua 8 Then the L ORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

Conquest through obedience Complete obedience Reckless obedience

Conquest through treaty 9 – 10:24 The people of Gibeon succeed through treaty They succeeded through the human instinct to survive It was all about life or death

Joshua 9 3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

5 The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.

22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the L ORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

Joshua 10 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.

7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The L ORD 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.”

Conquest by treaty Self preservation Survival

Conquest through war 10:25 – 12 The people of Israel succeed through cruel, bloody wars They succeeded by the sword It was a bloody proposition

Joshua Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The L ORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day.

40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the L ORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon.

Joshua 11 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, 2 and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west;

3 to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. 4 They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the L ORD had commanded. 13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed.

23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the L ORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

Joshua 12 2 Sihon king of the Amorites, 4 And the territory of Og king of Bashan,

9 the king of Jericho 24 the king of Tirzah …thirty-one kings in all.

Putting it all together In life we succeed by being obedient to God Oftentimes that obedience does not make sense in this world Obedience is not easy, but it has its rewards in the kingdom and the world

Putting it all together In life we succeed by looking for creative solutions Allies, treaties, assistance Sometimes we have to be wise and cunning Creative solution: Jesus made a treaty with the world

Putting it all together In life we succeed by fighting bloody wars Literal wars when we send our young to give their lives Spiritual wars struggling to defeat the enemy within We fight and slay the demons within

We listen to God to discover what we do today: Reckless obedience Intelligent, thoughtful, creative solutions Strength to fight our battles