First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner1 Man of Courage The Day the Sun Stood Still Joshua 10 Destruction of the Amorite Coalition via Two Miracles

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner2 Satan’s Strategies Israel Coalition of Kings - WAR People of Gibeon - Ruse Review

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner3 God’s People WILL Face Opposition Josh 10:1 – 5 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard (1) that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and (2) that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." 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.

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner4 Joshua Keeps His Covenant Josh 10:6-9 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us." So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The LORD 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." After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. Military Threat: Coalition of kings in opposition to Israel. Potential: Outnumbered and surrounded

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First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner6 Joshua Keeps His Covenant Josh 10:6-9 God’s promise: The victory will be yours - suggests that Joshua had inquired of the Lord and had received this answer and promise. Joshua’s initial tactic: Difficult and dangerous all-night journey 25 miles, 4,000 feet climb on steep and difficult terrain (no road) - No committee on covenant alternatives The Result: This meant, with no opportunity to rest, his fighting men would be tired. They would certainly need the sovereign strength of the Lord. Why Should Joshua Care?

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner7 Why Should Joshua Care? Josh 10:6-9 Why not let the coalition destroy them and rid him of the embarrassment? There were at least two reasons he could not do that: First, as a man of integrity who honored his word, Joshua did not consider that an option. They had given their word and were duty bound to honor it. Second, this now provided a unique military opportunity. Rather than a long, drawn out campaign against one city at a time, this gave them the opportunity to defeat and destroy several armies at once.

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner8 God Delivers by a Miracle - Hail Josh 10:10-12 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner9 God Delivers by a Miracle - Hail Josh 10:10-12 Hail. An ancient memory... the 7th plague God sent upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to free Israel – but it didn’t hail in Goshen on the Israelites (Ex 9:22-29)Ex 9:22-29 Hail. An ancient vision... the 7th bowl plague God sends upon those who persecute Christians (100# each) (Rev 16:21)Rev 16:21 Q: What is the lesson of the hailstorm? A: "The earth is the Lord's." A: "Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty."

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner10 God Delivers by a Miracle - Time Josh 10:12-14 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner11 Interpretations of the Longest Day A.Some say the words in this 10th chapter are poetic—symbolic These hail stones don’t seem poetic… shouldn’t we take God lengthening the day in the same way? B. Some say that Joshua did not ask for a longer day but rather for a release from the day’s heat But in the text, the hailstorm came before Joshua’s prayer, so this conclusion doesn’t really add up C. Some believe a miracle of refraction of the sun’s rays made it just seem as if the sun and moon were out of their regular places. (a miracle is a miracle) D. Some believe the sun, or more accurately the earth and moon, actually did stop or slow down There are Egyptian, Chinese, Aztec & Hindu reports of a long day. God did something to prolong daylight, but we do not know how

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner12 Miracles The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. Easy Hard

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner13 Our Balance Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

First Baptist - KellerKen Gardner14 Discussion Time Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!