Sunshine on the Gibbys

Yes, this is the weirdest blog title ever. It foreshadows the end of this Bible story, which centers around a sun. And this sun is special because it shines much longer than it should. For a full day, in fact, until the Israelites’ latest battle is won (Josh 10:13).

Ultimately, God’s the one responsible for this high-in-the-night-sky sun, since He’s answering the prayer of Joshua, His once-again-faith-filled servant. You see, the Jews have a plethora of enemies, and once the one from last week's post is defeated, another enters the scene. But this time, the circumstances are a bit convoluted.

Simply put, a region of Canaan wants peace, but since God’s told the Israelites that they cannot make treaties with these pagan peoples—the temptation to sin will be too alluring to resist—this minority group decides to do some serious scheming. These Gibeonites (for the sake of our memories, let’s call them Gibbys), who fear and revere the Lord, devise a way to appear not from Canaan so that the Hebrews will agree to an alliance with them

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(Obviously, this dishonesty isn’t condoned by God. Similar to Rahab’s story, the Lord sees their hearts—knows that they respect Him and want His light, they’re just so used to living in darkness that they don’t know how to behave in Light—and gives them the gift of mercy, which we are about to see … )

Representatives of the Gibbys dress in rags, pack a picnic of moldy bread and old wineskins (yummy, I know), and journey to the Jews. To further emphasize their portrayal as far-off foreigners, they flat-out lie and say that they’ve come from suupppeerrr far away. That being said, they do tell the truth about their peaceful intentions—to follow the all-powerful God whose mighty hand and outstretched arm have proven invincible—and so, offer themselves as servants to the Israelites.

Now, this is where things get juicy: the Israelites do not “inquire of the Lord” (Josh 9:14).

Not bothering to check in with the Head Honcho before making up their minds, Joshua and the other higher-ups see the stale bread and emptied reserves and ragged clothes … and walk by sight, not faith.

Lo and behold, this lack of divine consultation comes to bite them in the metaphorical butt. Because after Joshua makes a treaty with the Gibbys, five other Canaanite kings decide to attack them (the reasoning behind this, in case you’re curious, is due to the Gibbys having a powerful military. Now that they’ve sided with the Israelites, they’ve basically betrayed these other kings and made it that much harder for them to succeed in their Israel-destroying mission).

Alas, no matter how strong the Gibbys are, they are no match for five armies; but they have faith that God’s Chosen People are (see where I’m going with this butt-biting bit?). Furthermore, since the Israelites have entered into a treaty with them, they are obligated to “not abandon [their Gibby] servants” (Josh 10:6).

Now, I’m sure there’s a part of Joshua that just wants to ignore their cries for help; although, if he breaks his oath, he’s disobeying God for the second time (first, by pridefully neglecting His counsel, and then, by not fulfilling “the vows [he has] made” ). So … looks like Joshua’s gotta rescue these God-fearing Gibbys! From five armies determined to conquer his people! Yippee!

(Told you; the butt has officially been bitten.)

In all seriousness, Joshua and the Israelites are in danger of being conquered by their enemies, not because God can’t easily overcome five armies, but because the Hebrews have not invited God to conquer them … in every aspect of their life … including their logic.

The most unlikely of foes—sight—is what’s gotten them into this mess, and it’s all because they depend on their own rationale, instead of consulting their King. And really, who can blame them? I mean, it’s obvious, so clear that the Gibbys have come a long way; they look the part and are, of course, 100% truthful. No matter that peoples’ hearts are deceptive, and only the Lord is able to search every heart and test every mind (Jer 17:9-10). No. The Israelites have it under control. Don’t need God to tell them what they already know.

Readers, when we neglect to seek His True, impartial, all-knowing logic, we’re inherently setting ourselves up for failure. It's no wonder, then, that Joshua panics before the-battle-that-could’ve-been-avoided-if-only-he’d-talked-to-his-Maker-before-making-any-hasty-promises. And yet, as the Lord knows the Gibbys’ hearts and offers them mercy, He does the same for His chosen leader; God gives Joshua exactly what he needs to fight this battle:  

“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’” (Josh 10:5, emphasis mine).

Him, dear readers. What Joshua so desperately needs is Him. The Almighty is more than enough to defeat these five kings, because He has already guaranteed a victory that no one will be able to withstand.

And so, Joshua and his strongest warriors come to the Gibbys' aid, where an epic battle ensues. The Israelites work in tandem with God, so that as He’s wreaking divine, confused, hailstorm havoc upon His enemies … they remain untouched by the hail and fortified to fight (how cool is He?). Bolstered by the Lord’s promises coming to pass, Joshua prays that the sun will stay aloft—something so irrational and illogical and beyond anything anyone has ever seen—and God stills the sun for a full day (Josh 10:12-14). 

With the enemy armies unable to regroup and restrategize under the cover of darkness, they’re conquered by the Israelites …

which is only possible because the Israelites have allowed God to conquer them.

Having realized that their earthly understanding only leads to false, impulsive, and incomplete conclusions (followed by fear and mistrust and panic), the Jews have chosen to be rooted in heavenly faith, not human sight (good thing too, since this next sight is rather gruesome).

Once the five kings are captured, Joshua tells his army commanders …

“Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight’” (Josh 10:25, emphasis mine) …

And then kills the kings and hangs their bodies from poles (I did try to warn you). To be frank, I didn’t really understand this, nor think it was necessary, until God showed me a viewpoint much greater than my own:

In this time period, leaders do not kill other leaders. This is due to the logic that you might be victorious today, but what if you aren’t tomorrow? Leaders grant clemency to their fellow leaders because, if the situations are ever reversed, they want to be spared as well. So, why is Joshua signing his own death certificate (since now, if the Israelites ever lose, it’ll be his lifeless body up on a pole)?

It's pretty simple, actually: Joshua has no intention of losing (hence why he says, “this is what the Lord will do to all the enemies”). While a lot of generals probably think their forces are invincible, this particular general isn’t being haughty; he’s fighting with the Commander of the Cosmos, after all.

Confident in his actually-invincible Commander, Joshua kills these kings because he’s refusing to entertain any what if—in this case, the fear thought is, what if we lose and I’ll be killed as payback?—that pops into his head. Rather, he’s living in the even if—the realm of faith and peace and victory that surpasses all understanding—since he trusts that the Lord’s Words are true. He will never lose because He will never lose; the Father’s said as much over each and every battle they’ve faced together.

Really, to conquer the terror, angst, and unbelief that so sneakily ambushes him … Joshua needs to let himself be conquered. By the One Who’s all he needs. By His Words, His Way, and His promises that will always come to pass.

Joshua trusts that the Israelites will share in His victory, as long as they keep fighting alongside Him. As long as they keep focusing on the Son who makes the sun shine so boldly.

It makes no sense, friends, how rejecting earthly logic and understanding can dispel fear, but that’s exactly how God’s designed it. To take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, we must first be conquered by Christ Himself (2 Cor 10:5-6). Only in Him can we truly be free.