Joshua’s prayer – Preaching
Preaching Outline on Joshua 10:10 – 15 – On the day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua cried out to the Lord in the presence of Israel, “Sun, stand over Gibeon! And you, O moon, over the valley of Aijalon!” The sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not set for almost a whole day.
Introduction to Joshua 10:10-15
The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, heard that Joshua had taken Ai and destroyed it completely (doing to Jericho and its king what he had done to Ai and its king). He also heard that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were in their midst.
There was great fear because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was larger than Ai, and all its men were valiant.
In response to these events, Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent messengers to Horam king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, to say to them
Come up to me and help me; let us smite Gibeon, for he has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
The five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon and fought against it.
The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, “Don’t take your hand off your servants. Come up to us quickly, and deliver us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country have gathered together against us.
He went up from Gilgal
So Joshua made up his mind, and with all the men of war and all the mighty men of valor, he went up from Gilgal. Jehovah said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand; not one of them will be able to withstand you.
So Joshua suddenly fell upon them, for he went up from Gilgal by night.
Verses 10 to 15
10 He put them to shame before Israel, and smote them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and overtook them as far as Azekah, and as far as Makkedah.
11 as they were fleeing from before Israel, and were on the way down to Bethhoron, Jehovah caused great stones to fall on them from heaven as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the rain of stones than those whom the children of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Joshua spoke to Jehovah on the day that Jehovah delivered the Amorites into the hands of the children of Israel; and he said in the presence of Israel, “Sun, stay at Gibeon, and you, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
13 The sun stood still, and the moon stood still, Until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky, and did not hasten to set for almost a whole day.
14 There was no day like it before or since, when Jehovah heeded the voice of a man; for he was fighting for Israel.
15 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
COMMENTS ON THE SUBJECT
We have felt the moment that the faithful Church is living through. It is a time of great battles, of great struggles, considering that the time we have left as a Church is short.
When we say this, we are obviously not prophesying that the Lord will come today, tomorrow or the next day. That’s not in our economy, but we know that it’s a time that only the Lord knows, because the Word says: “no one knows the day or the hour”.
Prophetic events are before us, and they are prophetic because they are occurrences in the social, geophysical, political and especially religious world, pointing to a real catastrophe, and this is part of the apostacy, part of man’s project, of sin.
The Church, at this time, needs to understand more than ever that it’s not her effort, her ability or her arguments that will give the Church victory , but her fidelity, her vigor and victory will only come in prayer.
This is a time for prayer
Prayer for everything, for every moment. Prayer that we often say for private matters; for our jobs, our illnesses, our homes, in short, for our daily needs.
However, today we are here, addressing Joshua’s prayer, when he was facing a great battle.
This prayer is all-encompassing because there was a people there. Joshua was at the head of the people, but the victory belonged to everyone, like the Church; sometimes we have our private prayers, a prayer that we say to the Lord, in worship, at home, in the street.
But Joshua’s prayer here involves a people, the people of Israel. A people in need of victory, a people alone, a people who were coming out of the desert, without weapons, who were going to fight against a population that was already established.
It can be seen that in that battle, with Joshua at the head of the people, there was a confederation of kings: the king of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jammuth, Lachish and Eglon (the map has been placed for visualization).
Look at the city of Jerusalem. Gibeon was 10 kilometers from Jerusalem.
If we look at the city on the map, we can identify Joshua’s tactical passage, when he came from the desert, where the people with him were men of war. They were in that position when the people of Gibeon came after them, they were Gentiles.
We can see one thing. There was God’s plan for this journey, and this plan would lead the people to enter the land, to have the necessary victories, so that in the future Jerusalem would be reached, conquered.
So those places were obstacles to reaching Jerusalem, which was only conquered during David’s reign.
We can see, therefore, that the important thing about prayer is that it is part of God’s plan for his people. There is a time when prayer is for the people, as was the case with Israel.
What God did: I will provide victory for my people. Gibeon was in the middle, and it was the entrance to Canaan. The Gebionites, who associated with Joshua (they associated because they knew about Joshua’s deeds), knew that the first city to be reached was Gibeon. It was the Lord’s preparation for Joshua’s entry into the victory that he was going to win, even when the people were incapable.
When they associated with the Gibeonites, they got to know the land better, because those people were already established there; the confederates were already established and knew the land well, and they were irremovable.
Now the hardest thing was going to happen. Either Israel wasn’t going to enter the land, it wasn’t going to be able to pass through and then conquer Jerusalem, making things more difficult further on, or it was going to pass through, and for that to happen, the hand of the Lord was needed.
Moment of battle
At the time of the battle, the day was still bright, and during the day things are easier for the battle.
The difficult time is evening, the moment when night falls, when you don’t have a clear idea of where the enemy is coming from.
Precisely in the battle, God began to give victory to Israel, which was not well prepared to fight those confederate kings.
What God did: he sent a rain of hail on the confederate armies, causing many to die. And the battle began.
My brothers and sisters. The Church is on the same journey, and the night is coming. The Church alone would never win this hour, and the Lord is defeating the enemies with the signs that are happening there. If the signs didn’t exist, the Church wouldn’t be able to organize itself for this last battle.
As night falls, the Lord is at work in the midst of the Church; he is baptizing with the Holy Spirit, pouring out spiritual gifts. The light is being lit, the lamps are being refilled.
The Lord has provided the light. He is bringing victory. At the crucial moment, God’s operation, the light, comes. Joshua prayed: “Sun, stand still in Gibeon, and you, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon”. It is an order from God, because the Church is not in a position to give any order, but she is in God’s purpose , her prayer is in God’s plan, using her, preparing her for the passage along the road, to the land of Canaan.
If Joshua’s intercession didn’t happen at that moment, if the sun didn’t set, night would come and the enemy would organize themselves, because they own the land.
If God hadn’t been involved, Israel would have been defeated.
My brothers, the owners of the land are there. They won’t give in, they own the earth, they are confederate kings. Five there represents the ministry of evil, the confederates, to hinder the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They are confederates, united.
There is only one way out of this situation. Prayer, so that the darkness doesn’t fall without the light being established, being the marker, the point of convergence of God’s project.
That’s the question. Joshua prayed. The Bible speaks in Zechariah of a day known to all. The Lord made a point of showing us that day, the day that stopped time. On that day, Joshua’s prayer entered Eternity. It stopped everything.
We can‘t win without the Lord sending the hail. Without the Lord bringing those who will help, the Gentile Church, those who are coming in this last hour.
Our prayer is the same as Joshua’s
Darkness cannot fall, but may the glorious light of the Lord Jesus always prevail, for a victorious Church.
” Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and you, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon,” is the victorious prayer of the Church in this last hour.
Preaching Outline on Joshua 10:10 – 15 – On the day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua cried out to the Lord in the presence of Israel, “Sun, stand over Gibeon! And you, O moon, over the valley of Aijalon!” The sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not set for almost a whole day.
More Preaching Outlines
- The Old Gate – Joshua 10:2
- Victorious life – 1 SAMUEL 2:2
- II Kings 4:23 – It’s not the new moon or the Sabbath!
