Joshua 10 - explained

OK- so I heard this sermon last night from Beth Moore and boy did it get me fired up!! So I’m going to share it with you:
(read the post below, Joshua 10, before you read this one)
So there are a lot of names in this post below from Joshua 10. But basically- Joshua made a covenant (promise) to these Gibeonites that they would protect them. Well, in Joshua 9, you see that the whole covenant (promise) was based on a lie. The Gibeonites lied to the Israelites/Joshua and tricked them. Want to know how Joshua didn’t know it was a trick?? Why didn’t God warn him? Because in 9:14 it says, "(the men of Israel) did not inquire of the LORD". They made this God promise- in His name, and never even consulted Him on it! Ok, that’s the first thing to note. Moving on . . .
So because of their promise to these people, they now had to fight this fight that wasn’t even theirs! They had to get up their army, leave their families and march “all night” (v 9) into battle. And the place they marched to was up hill, for roughly 25 miles, and at about a 4,000 ft assent terrain! Want to talk about TIRED when they got there!
Things they could have possibly been thinking/feeling:
1-this is unfair!
2-how stupid are we to have gotten into this mess?!
3-whose fault is this really?!
4-bitterness towards each other, Joshua, God, the Gibeonites

But what do you see God saying in verse 8? “Do not be afraid . . . I will give them into your hand”. You see, Christ came to this earth to get us out of the messes we make- but He will require our cooperation! These men had to march, all night, uphill- they had to put in the effort. But God promised to come through!
God doesn’t say, “you got yourself into this mess . . .” (you finish the line).
No- He shows up! And He shows up in a MIGHTY way!! (Consider Jeremiah 32:17- “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”)
I LOVE how God decided to show up on this day. Verse 10, He throws the enemy into utter confusion. Then verse 11- He hurls HUGE hailstones from the heavens!! Can you imagine the preciseness of those hailstones! I mean, these men were in sword to sword combat! God knew where His mark was and He hit it dead on- every time. It says “more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites”!!!! Dang that makes me want to shout!!
And if that wasn’t enough . . . Joshua- in an unfamiliar land, fighting with all of his men and all of his might, weary from an all night march and an all day battle- he recognizes that they need more daylight- in this unfamiliar terrain, their enemy could gain advantage over them in the dark. He looks up towards the sky and he cries out- LORD!!! LORD- stop the sun!! Hold it there just a little longer- let us finish what you have brought us here to do . . . (my interpretation of vs 12).
And ya know what?? He did. God stopped the sun, dead in the sky. And kept it there for about another days worth of time. “There has NEVER been a day like it before! SURELY the Lord was fighting for Israel!!” (vs 14).
Read Psalm 47:1-8 right now.
Don’t you know- don’t you just Know that those men were singing and dancing and celebrating the WHOLE way home!! High from their victory in the LORD, weary no more!! It started out looking bad. It started out because of a foolish mistake they made. They left their wives, their children, their lives- to go fight this stupid battle that wasn’t even theirs to fight. They didn’t want to go. They wanted to stay home and let those lying Gibeonites deal with their own problems.
Oh but don’t you know . . . don’t you KNOW that they were SO glad they went!!! They wouldn’t have missed that for the World!! To see those hailstones come flying through the sky with God-perfect precision!! To see the sun- stop, before their very eyes, and hang in the sky until their mission was complete. To see their enemy, fall at their hand with the strength of the Lord in their swords.
Friend- you don’t want to miss what God has for you!! He wants to show up Mightily in your life!! He wants to fight your enemies and deliver them into your hands. He wants to pull you from the muck and mire and set your feet on solid rock! (Psalm 40:2)
But He does require our cooperation. But I can promise you this- because His word says so- when we give our 100%, God will pour out His blessings upon us, more than we can ever think to ask or imagine! (Eph 3:20)
My God is GOOD!! And I’m going to be singing and shouting that the whole way through that swim on Sunday! My God can do ALL things!
I want to get out of that water, look back at what just happened and say- Look at what My God did!