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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
J O S H U A
CHAP. X.
We have in this chapter an account of the conquest of the kings and
kingdoms of the southern part of the land of Canaan, as, in the next
chapter, of the reduction of the northern parts, which together
completed the glorious successes of the wars of Canaan. In this chapter
we have an account,
I. Of the routing of their forces in the field, in which observe,
1. Their confederacy against the Gibeonites,
2. The Gibeonites’ request to Joshua to assist them,
3. Joshua’s speeds march under divine encouragement for their relief,
4. The defeat of the armies of these confederate kings,
5. The miraculous prolonging of the day by the standing still of the
sun in favour of the conquerors,
II. Of the execution of the kings that escaped out of the battle,
III. Of the taking of the particular cities, and the total destruction
of all that were found in them.
Makkedah,
Libnah,
Lachish,
and the king of Gezer that attempted its rescue,
Eglon,
Hebron,
Debir,
And the bringing of all that country into the hands of Israel,
And, lastly, the return of the army to the head-quarters,
| The Combination Against Gibeon. | B. C. 1450. |
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1 Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem had
heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as
he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her
king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with
Israel, and were among them;
2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city,
as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai,
and all the men thereof were mighty.
3 Wherefore Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king
of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king
of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for
it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of
Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and
went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon,
and made war against it.
6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal,
saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us
quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the
Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together
against us.
Joshua and the hosts of Israel had now been a good while in the land of
Canaan, and no great matters were effected; they were made masters of
Jericho by a miracle, of Ai by stratagem, and of Gibeon by surrender,
and that was all; hitherto the progress of their victories had not
seemed proportionable to the magnificence of their entry and the glory
of their beginnings. Those among them that were impatient of delays, it
is probable, complained of Joshua’s slowness, and asked why they did
not immediately penetrate into the heart of the country, before the
enemy could rally their forces to make head against them, why they
stood trifling, while they were so confident both of their title and of
their success. Thus Joshua’s prudence, perhaps, was censured as
slothfulness, cowardice, and want of spirit. But,
1. Canaan was not to be conquered in a day. God had said that by
little and little he would drive out the Canaanites,
He that believeth will not make haste, or conclude that the promise
will never be performed because it is not performed so soon as he
expected.
2. Joshua waited for the Canaanites to be the aggressors; let them
first make an onset upon Israel, or the allies of Israel, and then
their destruction will be, or at least will appear to be, the more just
and more justifiable. Joshua had warrant sufficient to set upon them,
yet he stays till they strike the first stroke, that he might provide
for honest things in the sight, not only of God, but of men; and they
would be the more inexcusable in their resistance, now that they had
seen what favour the Gibeonites found with Israel.
3. It was for the advantage of Israel to sit still awhile, that the
forces of these little kings might unite in one body, and so might the
more easily be cut off at one blow. This God had in his eye when he put
it into their hearts to combine against Israel; though they designed
thereby to strengthen one another, that which he intended was to gather
them as sheaves into the floor, to fall together under the flail,
Thus oftentimes that seeming paradox proves wholesome counsel, Stay
awhile, and we shall have done the sooner.
After Israel had waited awhile for an occasion to make war upon the
Canaanites, a fair one offers itself.
1. Five kings combine against the Gibeonites. Adoni-zedec king of
Jerusalem was the first mover and ring-leader of this confederacy. He
had a good name (it signifies lord of righteousness), being a
descendant perhaps from Melchizedek, king of righteousness; but,
notwithstanding the goodness of his name and family, it seems he was a
bad man, and an implacable enemy to the posterity of that Abraham to
whom his predecessor, Melchizedek, was such a faithful friend. He
called upon his neighbours to join against Israel either because he was
the most honourable prince, and had the precedency among these kings
(perhaps they had some dependence upon him, at least they paid a
deference to him, as the most public, powerful, and active man they had
among them), or because he was first or most apprehensive of the danger
his country was in, not only by the conquest of Jericho and Ai, but the
surrender of Gibeon, which, it seems, was the chief thing that alarmed
him, it being one of the most considerable frontier towns they had.
Against Gibeon therefore all the force he would raise must be leveled.
Come, says he, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon.
This he resolves to do, either,
(1.) In policy, that he might retake the city, because it was a strong
city, and of great consequence to this country in whose hands it was;
or,
(2.) In passion, that he might chastise the citizens for making peace
with Joshua, pretending that they had perfidiously betrayed their
country and strengthened the common enemy, whereas they had really done
the greatest kindness imaginable to their country, by setting them a
good example, if they would have followed it. Thus Satan and his
instruments make war upon those that make peace with God. Marvel not
if the world hate you, and treat those as deserters who are
converts to Christ.
2. The Gibeonites send notice to Joshua of the distress and danger
they are in,
v. 6.
Now they expect benefit from the league they had made with Israel,
because, though it was obtained by deceit, it was afterwards confirmed
when the truth came out. They think Joshua obliged to help them,
(1.) In conscience, because they were his servants; not in compliment,
as they had said in their first address
(ch. ix. 8),
We are thy servants, but in reality made servants to the
congregation; and it is the duty of masters to take care of the poorest
and meanest of their servants, and not to see them wronged when it is
in the power of their hand to right them. Those that pay allegiance may
reasonably expect protection. Thus David pleads with God
(Ps. cxix. 94),
I am thine, save me; and so may we, if indeed we be his.
(2.) In honour, because the ground of their enemies’ quarrel with them
was the respect they had shown to Israel, and the confidence they had
in a covenant with them. Joshua cannot refuse to help them when it is
for their affection to him, and to the name of his God, that they are
attacked. David thinks it a good plea with God
(Ps. lxix. 7),
For thy sake I have borne reproach. When our spiritual enemies
set themselves in array against us, and threaten to swallow us up, let
us, by faith and prayer, apply to Christ, our Joshua, for strength and
succour, as Paul did, and we shall receive the same answer of peace,
My grace is sufficient for thee,
2 Cor. xii. 8, 9.
| The Sun and Moon Stand Still. | B. C. 1450. |
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7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war
with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
8 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have
delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them
stand before thee.
9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from
Gilgal all night.
10 And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them
with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way
that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto
Makkedah.
11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and
were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the LORD cast down
great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died:
they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the
children of Israel slew with the sword.
12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD
delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he
said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon;
and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the
people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this
written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the
midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that
the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought
for Israel.
Here,
I. Joshua resolves to assist the Gibeonites, and God encourages him in
this resolve.
1. He ascended from Gilgal
(v. 7),
that is, he designed, determined, and prepared for, this expedition to
relieve Gibeon, for it is probable it was before he stirred a step that
God spoke to him to encourage him. It was generous and just in Joshua
to help his new allies, though perhaps the king of Jerusalem, when he
attacked them, little thought that Joshua would be so ready to help
them, but expected he would abandon them as Canaanites, the rather
because they had obtained their league with him by fraud; therefore he
speaks with assurance
(v. 4)
of smiting Gibeon. But Joshua knew that his promise to let them live
obliged him, not only not to slay them himself, but not to stand by and
see them slain when it was in the power of his hand to prevent it,
He knew that when they embraced the faith and worship of the God of
Israel they came to trust under the shadow of his wings
(Ruth ii. 12),
and therefore, as his servants, he was bound to protect them.
2. God animated him for his undertaking,
(v. 8):
Fear not, that is,
(1.) “Doubt not of the goodness of thy cause and the clearness of thy
call; though it be to assist Gibeonites, thou art in the way of duty,
and God is with thee of a truth.”
(2.) “Dread not the power of the enemy; though so many kings are
confederate against thee, and are resolved to make their utmost efforts
for the reduction of Gibeon, and it may be will fight desperately in a
desperate cause, yet let not this discourage thee, I have delivered
them into thy hand;” and those can make neither resistance nor
escape whom God has marked for destruction.
II. Joshua applies himself to execute this resolve, and God assists him
in the execution. Here we have,
1. The great industry of Joshua, and the power of God working with it
for the defeat of the enemy. In this action,
(1.) Joshua showed his good-will in the haste he made for the relief of
Gibeon
(v. 9):
He came unto them suddenly, for the extremity was such as would
not admit delay. If one of the tribes of Israel had been in danger, he
could not have shown more care or zeal for its relief than here for
Gibeon, remembering in this, as in other cases, there must be one law
for the stranger that was proselyted and for him that was born in the
land. Scarcely had the confederate princes got their forces together,
and sat down before Gibeon, when Joshua was upon them, the surprise of
which would put them into the greatest confusion. Now that the enemy
were actually drawn up into a body, which had all as it were but one
neck, despatch was as serviceable to his cause as before delay was,
while he waited for this general rendezvous; and now that things were
ripe for execution no man more expeditious than Joshua, who before had
seemed slow. Now it shall never be said, He left that to be done
to-morrow which he could do to-day. When Joshua found he could not
reach Gibeon in a day, lest he should lose any real advantages against
the enemy, or so much as seem to come short or to neglect his new
allies, he marched all night, resolving not to give sleep to his eyes,
nor slumber to his eye-lids, till he had accomplished this enterprise.
It was well the forces he took with him were mighty men of valour, not
only able-bodied men, but men of spirit and resolution, and hearty in
the cause, else they neither could nor would have borne this fatigue,
but would have murmured at their leader and would have asked, “Is this
the rest we were promised in Canaan?” But they well considered that the
present toil was in order to a happy settlement, and therefore were
reconciled to it. Let the good soldiers of Jesus Christ learn
hence to endure hardness, in following the Lamb whithersoever he
goes, and not think themselves undone if their religion lose them
now and then a night’s sleep; it will be enough to rest when we come to
heaven. But why needed Joshua to put himself and his men so much to the
stretch? Had not God promised him that without fail he would deliver
the enemies into his hand? It is true he had; but God’s promises
are intended, not to slacken and supersede, but to quicken and
encourage our endeavours. He that believeth doth not make haste to
anticipate providence, but doth make haste to attend it, with a
diligent, not a distrustful, speed.
(2.) God showed his great power in defeating the enemies whom Joshua so
vigorously attacked,
Joshua had a very numerous and powerful army with him, hands enough to
despatch a dispirited enemy, so that the enemy might have been
scattered by the ordinary fate of war; but God himself would appear in
this great and decisive battle, and draw up the artillery of heaven
against the Canaanites, to demonstrate to this people that they got
not this land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own
arm save them, but God’s right hand and his arm,
Ps. xliv. 3.
The Lord discomfited them before Israel. Israel did what they
could, and yet God did all.
[1.] It must needs be a very great terror and confusion to the enemy to
perceive that heaven itself fought against them; for who can contest
with, flee from, or fence against, the powers of heaven? They had
affronted the true God and robbed him of his honour by worshipping the
host of heaven, giving that worship to the creature which is due to the
Creator only; and now the host of heaven fights against them, and even
that part of the creation which they had idolized is at war with them,
and even triumphs in their ruin,
There is no way of making any creature propitious to us, no, not by
sacrifice nor offering, but only by making our peace with God and
keeping ourselves in his love. This had been enough to make them an
easy prey to the victorious Israelites, yet this was not all.
[2.] Besides the terror struck upon them, there was a great slaughter
made of them by hail-stones, which were so large, and came down with
such a force, that more were killed by the hail-stones than by the
sword of the Israelites, though no doubt they were busy. God himself
speaks to Job of treasures, or magazines, of snow and hail, which he
has reserved for the day of battle and war
and here they are made use of to destroy the Canaanites. Here was hail,
shot from God’s great ordnance, that, against whomsoever it was
directed, was sure to hit (and never glanced upon the Israelites mixed
with them), and wherever it hit was sure to kill. See here how
miserable those are that have God for their enemy, and how sure to
perish; it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands, for there is no
fleeing out of them. Some observe that Beth-horon lay north of Gibeon,
Azekah and Makkedah lay south, so that they fled each way but, which
way soever they fled, the hail-stones pursued them, and met them at
every turn.
2. The great faith of Joshua, and the power of God crowning it with the
miraculous arrest of the sun, that the day of Israel’s victories might
be prolonged, and so the enemy totally defeated. The hail-stones had
their rise no higher than the clouds, but, to show that Israel’s help
came from above the clouds, the sun itself, who by his constant motion
serves the whole earth, by halting when there was occasion served the
Israelites, and did them a kindness. The sun and moon stood still in
their habitation, at the light of thy arrows which gave the signal,
(1.) Here is the prayer of Joshua that the sun might stand still. I
call it his prayer, because it is said
(v. 12)
he spoke to the Lord; as Elijah, though we read
only of his prophesying of the drought, yet is said
to pray for it. Observe,
[1.] An instance of Joshua’s unwearied activity in the service of God
and Israel, that though he had marched all night and fought all day,
and, one might expect, would be inclined to repose himself and get a
little sleep, and give his army some time to rest–that, like the
hireling, he would earnestly desire the shadow, and bid the night
welcome, when he had done such a good day’s work–yet, instead of this,
he wishes for nothing so much as the prolonging of the day. Note, Those
that wait on the Lord and work for him shall renew their
strength, shall run and not be weary, shall walk and not faint,
Isa. xl. 31.
[2.] An instance of his great faith in the almighty power of God, as
above the power of nature, and able to control and alter the usual
course of it. No doubt Joshua had an extraordinary impulse or
impression upon his spirit, which he knew to be of divine origin,
prompting him to desire that this miracle might be wrought upon this
occasion, else it would have been presumption in him to desire or
expect; the prayer would not have been granted by the divine power, if
it had not been dictated by the divine grace. God wrought this faith in
him, and then said, “According to thy faith, and thy prayer of
faith, be it unto thee.” It cannot be imagined, however, that
such a thing as this should have entered into his mind if God had not
put it there; a man would have had a thousand projects in his head for
the completing of the victory before he would have thought of desiring
the sun to stand still; but even in the Old-Testament saints the
Spirit made intercession according to the will of God. What God
will give he inclines the hearts of his praying people to ask, and for
what he will do he will be enquired of,
Now, First, It looked great for Joshua to say, Sun, stand
thou still. His ancestor Joseph had indeed dreamed that the sun and
moon did homage to him; but who would have thought that, after it had
been fulfilled in the figure, it should be again fulfilled in the
letter to one of his posterity? The prayer is thus expressed with
authority, because it was not an ordinary prayer, such as is directed
and supported only by God’s common providence or promise, but the
prayer of a prophet at this time divinely inspired for this purpose;
and yet it intimates to us the prevalency of prayer in general, so far
as it is regulated by the word of God, and may remind us of that honour
put upon prayer
(Isa. xlv. 11),
Concerning the work of my hands command you me. He bids the sun
stand still upon Gibeon, the place of action and the seat of war,
intimating that what he designed in this request was the advantage of
Israel against their enemies; it is probable that the sun was now
declining, and that he did not call for the lengthening out of the day
until he observed it hastening towards it period. He does likewise, in
the name of the King of kings, arrest the moon, perhaps because it was
requisite for the preserving of the harmony and good order of the
spheres that the course of the rest of the heavenly bodies should be
stayed likewise, otherwise, while the sun shone, he needed not the
moon; and here he mentions the valley of Ajalon, which was near to
Gibeon, because there he was at that time. Secondly, It was
bold indeed to say so before Israel, and argues a very strong assurance
of faith. If the event had not answered the demand, nothing could have
been a greater slur upon him; the Israelites would have concluded he
was certainly going mad, or he would never have talked so
extravagantly. But he knew very well God would own and answer a
petition which he himself directed to be drawn up and presented, and
therefore was not afraid to say before all Israel, calling them to
observe this work of wonder, Sun, stand thou still, for he was
confident in him whom he had trusted. He believed the almighty power of
God, else he could not have expected that the sun, going on in its
strength, driving in a full career, and rejoicing as a strong man to
run a race, should be stopped in an instant. He believed the
sovereignty of God in the kingdom of nature, else he could not have
expected that the established law and course of nature should be
changed and interrupted, the ordinances of heaven, and the constant
usage according to these ordinances, broken in upon. And he believed
God’s particular favour to Israel above all people under the sun, else
he could not have expected that, to favour them upon an emergency with
a double day, he should (which must follow of course) amaze and terrify
so great a part of the terrestrial globe with a double night at the
same time. It is true, he causeth the sun to shine upon the just and
the unjust; but for this once the unjust shall wait for it beyond
the usual time, while, in favour to righteous Israel, it stands
still.
(2.) The wonderful answer to this prayer. No sooner said than done
(v. 13):
The sun stood still, and the moon staid. Notwithstanding the
vast distance between the earth and the sun, at the word of Joshua the
sun stopped immediately; for the same God that rules in heaven above
rules at the same time on this earth, and, when he pleases, even the
heavens shall hear the earth, as here. Concerning this great
miracle it is here said,
[1.] That it continued a whole day, that is, the sun continued
as long again above the horizon as otherwise it would have done. It is
commonly supposed to have been about the middle of summer that this
happened, when, in that country, it was about fourteen hours between
sun and sun, so that this day was about twenty-eight hours long; yet,
if we suppose it to have been at that time of the year when the days
are at the shortest, it will be the more probable that Joshua should
desire and pray for the prolonging of the day.
[2.] That hereby the people had full time to avenge themselves of their
enemies, and to give them a total defeat. We often read in history of
battles which the night put an end to, the shadows of which favoured
the retreat of the conquered; to prevent this advantage to the enemy in
their flight, the day was doubled, that the hand of Israel might
find out all their enemies; but the eye and hand of God can find
them out without the help of the sun’s light, for to him the night
shineth as the day,
Ps. cxxxix. 12.
Note, Sometimes God completes a great salvation in a little time, and
makes but one day’s work of it. Perhaps this miracle is alluded to
where the day of God’s fighting against the nations is said to be
one day, and that at evening time it shall be light, as
here. And,
[3.] That there was never any day like it, before or since, in
which God put such an honour upon faith and prayer, and upon Israel’s
cause; never did he so wonderfully comply with the request of a man,
nor so wonderfully fight for his people.
[4.] This is said to be written in the book of Jasher, a
collection of state-poems, in which the poem made upon this occasion
was preserved among the rest; probably the same with that book of
the wars of the Lord
(Num. xxi. 14),
which afterwards was continued and carried on by one Jasher. Those
words, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the
valley of Ajalon, sounding metrical, are supposed to be taken from
the narrative of this event as it was found in the book of Jasher. Not
that the divine testimony of the book of Joshua needed confirmation
from the book of Jasher, a human composition; but to those who had that
book in their hands it would be of use to compare this history with it,
which warrants the appeals the learned make to profane history for
corroborating the proofs of the truth of sacred history.
[5.] But surely this stupendous miracle of the standing still of the
sun was intended for something more than merely to give Israel so much
the more time to find out and kill their enemies, which, without this,
might have been done the next day. First, God would hereby
magnify Joshua
(ch. iii. 7),
as a particular favourite, and one whom he did delight to honour, being
a type of him who has all power both in heaven and in earth and whom
the winds and the seas obey. Secondly, He would hereby notify to
all the world what he was doing for his people Israel here in Canaan;
the sun, the eye of the world, must be fixed for some hours upon Gibeon
and the valley of Ajalon, as if to contemplate the great works of God
there for Israel, and so to engage the children of men to look that
way, and to enquire of this wonder done in the land,
2 Chron. xxxii. 31.
Proclamation was hereby made to all the neighbouring nations. Come,
behold the works of the Lord
(Ps. xlvi. 8),
and say, What nation is there so great as Israel is, who has God so
nigh unto them? One would have supposed that this would bring such
real ambassadors as the Gibeonites pretended to be from a very far
country, to court the friendship of Israel because of the name of the
Lord their God. Thirdly, He would hereby convince and confound
those idolaters that worshipped the sun and moon and gave divine
honours to them, by demonstrating that they were subject to the command
of the God of Israel, and that, as high as they were, he was above
them; and thus he would fortify his people against temptations to this
idolatry, which he foresaw they would be addicted to
(Deut. iv. 19),
and which, notwithstanding this, they afterwards corrupted themselves
with. Fourthly, This miracle signified (it is the learned
bishop Pierson’s notion) that in the latter days, when the light of the
world was tending towards a light of darkness, the Sun of
righteousness, even our Joshua, should arise
(Mal. iv. 2),
give check to the approaching night, and be the true light. To which
let me add that when Christ conquered our spiritual enemies upon the
cross the miracle wrought on the sun was the reverse of this; it was
then darkened as if it had gone down at noon, for Christ needed not the
light of the sun to carry on his victories: he then made darkness his
pavilion. And, Lastly, The arresting of the sun and moon in this
day of battle prefigured the turning of the sun into darkness, and the
moon into blood, in the last great and terrible day of the Lord.
| The Five Kings Slain. | B. C. 1450. |
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15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp
to Gilgal.
16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at
Makkedah.
17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid
in a cave at Makkedah.
18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the
cave, and set men by it for to keep them:
19 And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite
the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities:
for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
20 And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel
had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till
they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them
entered into fenced cities.
21 And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at
Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the
children of Israel.
22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out
those five kings unto me out of the cave.
23 And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him
out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the
king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto
Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said
unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come
near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came
near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
25 And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be
strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all
your enemies against whom ye fight.
26 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged
them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until
the evening.
27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the
sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the
trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and
laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this
very day.
It was a brave appearance, no doubt, which the five kings made when
they took the field for the reducing of Gibeon, and a brave army they
had following them; but they were all routed, put into disorder first,
and then brought to destruction by the hail-stones. And now Joshua
thought, his work being done, he might go with his army into quarters
of refreshment. Accordingly it was resolved, perhaps in a council of
war, that they should presently return to the camp at Gilgal
(v. 15),
till they should receive orders from God to take possession of the
country they had now conquered; but he soon finds he has more work cut
out for him. The victory must be pursued, that the spoils might be
divided. Accordingly he applies himself to it with renewed vigour.
I. The forces that had dispersed themselves must be followed and
smitten. When tidings were brought to Joshua where the kings were he
ordered a guard to be set upon them for the present
(v. 18),
reserving them for another day of destruction, and to be
brought forth to a day of wrath,
Job xxi. 30.
He directs his men to pursue the common soldiers, as much as might be,
to prevent their escaping to the garrisons, which would strengthen
them, and make the reduction of them the more difficult,
Like a prudent general, he does that first which is most needful, and
defers his triumphs till he has completed his conquests; nor was he in
such haste to insult over the captive kings but that he would first
prevent the rallying again of their scattered forces. The result of
this vigorous pursuit was,
1. That a very great slaughter was made of the enemies of God and
Israel. And,
2. The field was cleared of them, so that none remained but such as got
into fenced cities, where they would not long be safe themselves, nor
were they capable of doing any service to the cities that sheltered
them, unless they could have left their fears behind them.
3. None moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel,
v. 21.
This expression intimates,
(1.) Their perfect safety and tranquillity; some think it should be
read (from
Against any of the children of Israel did not a dog move his
tongue; no, not against any one man of them. They were not
threatened by any danger at all after their victory, no, not so much as
the barking of a dog. Not one single Israelite (for the original makes
it so particular) was brought into any distress, either in the battle
or in the pursuit.
(2.) Their honour and reputation; no man had any reproach to cast upon
them, nor an ill word to give them. God not only tied the hands, but
stopped the mouths, of their enraged enemies, and put lying lips to
silence.
(3.) The Chaldee paraphrase makes it an expression of their unalloyed
joy for this victory, reading it, There was no hurt nor loss to the
children of Israel, for which any man should afflict his soul. When
the army came to be reviewed after the battle, there was none slain,
none wounded, none missing. Not one Israelite had occasion to lament
either the loss of a friend or the loss of a limb, so cheap, so easy,
so glorious, was this victory.
II. The kings that had hidden themselves must now be called to an
account, as rebels against the Israel of God, to whom, by the divine
promise and grant, this land did of right belong and should have been
surrendered upon demand. See here,
1. How they were secured. The cave which they fled to, and trusted in
for a refuge, became their prison, in which they were clapped up, till
Joshua sat in judgment on them,
It seems they all escaped both the hail-stones and the sword, God so
ordering it, not in kindness to them, but that they might be reserved
for a more solemn and terrible execution; as, for this cause, Pharaoh
survived the plagues of Egypt, and was made to stand, that God might in
him show his power,
Exod. ix. 16.
They all fled, and met at the same place, Providence directing them;
and now those who were lately consulting against Israel were put upon
new counsels to preserve themselves and agreed to take shelter in the
same cave. The information brought to Joshua of this is an evidence
that there were those of the country, who knew the holes and fastnesses
of it, that were in his interests. And the care Joshua took to keep
them there when they were there, as it is an instance of his policy and
presence of mind, even in the heat of action, so, in the result of
their project, it shows how those not only deceive themselves, but
destroy themselves, who think to hide themselves from God. Their refuge
of lies will but bind them over to God’s judgment.
2. How they were triumphed over. Joshua ordered them to be brought
forth out of the cave, set before him as at the bar, and their names
called over,
And when they either were bound and cast upon the ground unable to help
themselves, or threw themselves upon the ground, humbly to beg for
their lives, he called for the general officers and great men, and
commanded them to trample upon these kings, and set their feet upon
their necks, not in sport and to make themselves and the company merry,
but with the gravity and decorum that became the ministers of the
divine justice who were not herein to gratify any pride or passion of
their own, but to give glory to the God of Israel as higher than the
highest, who treads upon princes as mortar
(Isa. xli. 25),
and is terrible to the kings of the earth,
Ps. lxxvi. 12.
The thing does indeed look barbarous, thus to insult over men in
misery, who had suddenly fallen from the highest pitch of honour into
this disgrace. It was hard for crowned heads to be thus trodden upon,
not by Joshua himself (that might better have been borne), at least not
by him only, but by all the captains of the army. Certainly it ought
not to be drawn into a precedent, for the case was extraordinary, and
we have reason to think it was by divine direction and impulse that
Joshua did this.
(1.) God would hereby punish the abominable wickedness of these kings,
the measure of whose iniquity was now full. And, by this public act of
justice done upon these ringleaders of the Canaanites in sin, he would
possess his people with the greater dread and detestation of those sins
of the nations that God cast out from before them, which they
would be tempted to imitate.
(2.) He would hereby have the promise by Moses made good
Thou shalt tread upon their high places, that is, their great
men, which should the rather be speedily fulfilled in the letter
because they are the very last words of Moses that we find upon record.
(3.) He would hereby encourage the faith and hope of his people Israel
in reference to the wars that were yet before them. Therefore Joshua
said
(v. 25):
Fear not, nor be dismayed.
[1.] “Fear not these kings, nor any of theirs, as if there were any
danger of having this affront now put upon them in after-time revenged
upon yourselves, a consideration which keeps many from being insolent
towards those they have at their mercy, because they know not how soon
the uncertain fate of war may turn the same wheel upon themselves; but
you need not fear that any should rise up ever to revenge this
quarrel.”
[2.] “Fear not any other kings, who may at any time be in confederacy
against you, for you see these brought down, whom you thought
formidable. Thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies; now that
they begin to fall, to fall so low that you may set your feet on their
necks, you may be confident that they shall not prevail, but shall
surely fall before you,”
(4.) He would hereby give a type and figure of Christ’s victories over
the powers of darkness, and believers’ victories through him. All the
enemies of the Redeemer shall be made his footstool,
Ps. cx. 1.
And see
The kings of the earth set themselves against him
(Ps. ii. 2),
but sooner or later we shall see all things put under Him
(Heb. ii. 8),
and principalities and powers made a show of,
And in these triumphs we are more than conquerors, may tread upon
the lion and adder
(Ps. xci. 13),
may ride on the high places of the earth
and may be confident that the God of peace shall tread Satan under
our feet, shall do it shortly and do it effectually,
See
3. How they were put to death. Perhaps, when they had undergone that
terrible mortification of being trodden upon by the captains of Israel,
they were ready to say, as Agag, Surely the bitterness of death is
past, and that sufficient unto them was this punishment which
was inflicted by many; but their honours cannot excuse their lives,
their forfeited devoted lives. Joshua smote them with the sword, and
then hanged up their bodies till evening, when they were taken down,
and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden themselves,
v. 26, 27.
That which they thought would have been their shelter was made their
prison first and then their grave; so shall we be disappointed in that
which we flee to from God: yet to good people the grave is still a
hiding-place,
Job xiv. 13.
If these five kings had humbled themselves in time, and had begged
peace instead of waging war, they might have saved their lives; but now
the decree had gone forth, and they found no place for
repentance, or the reversal of the judgment; it was too late to
expect it, though perhaps they sought it carefully with
tears.
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28 And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the
edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed,
them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain:
and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of
Jericho.
29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him,
unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
30 And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into
the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword,
and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it;
but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
31 And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto
Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:
32 And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel,
which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of
the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to
all that he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua
smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
34 And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel
with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:
35 And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of
the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly
destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto
Hebron; and they fought against it:
37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword,
and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the
souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to
all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all
the souls that were therein.
38 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and
fought against it:
39 And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities
thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and
utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none
remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to
the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
40 So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the
south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings:
he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed,
as the LORD God of Israel commanded.
41 And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and
all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.
42 And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one
time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
43 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp
to Gilgal.
We are here informed how Joshua improved the late glorious victory he
had obtained and the advantages he had gained by it, and to do this
well is a general’s praise.
I. Here is a particular account of the several cities which he
immediately made himself master of.
1. The cities of three of the kings whom he had conquered in the field
he went and took possession of, Lachish
(v. 31, 32),
Eglon
(v. 34, 35),
and Hebron,
The other two, Jerusalem and Jarmuth, were not taken at this time;
perhaps his forces were either so much fatigued with what they had done
or so well content with what they had got that they had no mind to
attack those places, and so they let slip the fairest opportunity they
could ever expect of reducing them with ease, which afterwards was not
done without difficulty,
2. Three other cities, and royal cities too, he took: Makkedah, into
the neighbourhood of which the five kings had fled, which brought
Joshua and his forces thither in pursuit of them, and so hastened its
ruin
(v. 28),
Libnah
(v. 29, 30),
and Debir,
3. One king that brought in his forces for the relief of Lachish, that
had lost its king, proved to meddle to his own hurt; it was Horam king
of Gezer, who, either in friendship to his neighbours or for his own
security, offered to stop the progress of Joshua’s arms, and was cut
off with all his forces,
Thus wicked men are often snared in their counsels, and, by opposing
God in the way of his judgments, bring them the sooner on their own
heads.
II. A general account of the country which was hereby reduced and
brought into Israel’s hands
(v. 40-42),
that part of the land of Canaan of which they first got possession,
which lay south of Jerusalem, and afterwards fell, for the most part,
to the lot of the tribe of Judah. Observe in this narrative,
1. The great speed Joshua made in taking these cities, which, some
think, is intimated in the manner of relating it, which is quick and
concise. He flew like lightning from place to place; and though they
all stood it out to the last extremity, and none of these cities opened
their gates to him, yet in a little time he got them all into his
hands, summoned them, and seized them, the same day
(v. 28),
or in two days,
Now that they were struck with fear, by the defeat of their armies and
the death of their kings, Joshua prudently followed his blow. See what
a great deal of work may be done in a little time, if we will but be
busy and improve our opportunities.
2. The great severity Joshua used towards those he conquered. He gave
no quarter to man, woman, nor child, put to the sword all the
souls
&c.), utterly destroyed all that breathed
(v. 40),
and left none remaining. Nothing could justify this military
execution but that herein they did as the Lord God of Israel
commanded
(v. 40),
which was sufficient not only to bear them out, and save them for the
imputation of cruelty, but to sanctify what they did, and make it an
acceptable piece of service to his justice. God would hereby,
(1.) Manifest his hatred of the idolatries and other abominations which
the Canaanites had been guilty of, and leave us to judge how great the
provocation was which they had given him by the greatness of the
destruction which was brought upon them when the measure of their
iniquity was full.
(2.) He would hereby magnify his love to his people Israel, in giving
so many men for them, and people for their life,
Isa. xliii. 4.
When the heathen are to be cast out to make room for this vine
divine justice appears more prodigal than ever of human blood, that the
Israelites might find themselves for ever obliged to spend their lives
to the glory of that God who had sacrificed so many of the lives of his
creatures to their interest.
(3.) Hereby was typified the final and eternal destruction of all the
impenitent implacable enemies of the Lord Jesus, who, having slighted
the riches of his grace, must for ever feel the weight of his wrath,
and shall have judgment without mercy. Nations that forget God
shall be turned into hell, and no reproach at all to God’s infinite
goodness.
3. The great success of this expedition. The spoil of these cities was
now divided among the men of war that plundered them; and the cities
themselves, with the land about them, were shortly to be divided among
the tribes, for the Lord fought for Israel,
v. 42.
They could not have gotten the victory if God had not undertaken the
battle; then we conquer when God fights for us; and, if he be for
us, who can be against us?
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