Imagine with me, Joshua turned cold when the messenger from Gibeon sent news that the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, together with all their armies have encamped against Gibeon and are ready to fight against it. The successful alliance of Israel and Gibeon in chapter 9 had caused great distress to Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem. Out of fear, he organised a military alliance with four other kings and made war against Gibeon. More than just taking over Gibeon, this military powerhouse intended to flex their military muscle against Israel and deter them from moving forward with their conquest. Joshua had never seen anything like this. Before this, their successes were with individual cities. To see the alliance of five powerful armies, it might been a fearful sight for this small nation to bear.

This was when the Lord spoke and told the fearful Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” (v8) God knew that it was overwhelming for Joshua, so God reassured him with the same words He used before they crossed river Jordan. God told Joshua then, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (1:5) This must had been a great boost of confidence to Joshua, after their failed battle at Ai or their poor decision regarding the Gibeonites, this time God made it clear that He was with them.

What seemed to be a feat to Joshua and the Israelites, the reality was that the allied forces of the five kings gave Joshua a great opportunity to speed up the process of ending the war. Instead of picking off one city at a time, now the major kings of the southern region had gathered together just a distance away from them. By faith, Joshua marched up all night from Gilgal and conducted a sudden attack on the allied army. It was the Lord who threw them into a panic before Israel. Many were killed in the initial battle, and the rest fled west down the Valley of Aijalon.

The record of this battle showed the interplay between Joshua’s obedience and God’s faithfulness. Joshua attacked, but God threw them into confusion. Israel pursued the enemy, but God hurled the hailstones. The climax of the fight came when Joshua spoke, and God brought the sun to a stop. God heeded the cry of a mere man because Joshua obeyed God. In the end, no fighting man remained, all were devoted to destruction. This pattern of victories were repeated and grew from Makkedah to Libnah, to Lachish, Eglon, Hebron and Debir. The emphasis was on verse 42, Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. As expert a general as Joshua must have been, he was not the victor in these battles. This was God’s war, and these were God’s victories.

Dear brothers and sisters, if there are indeed any formula to becoming success in life, this pattern of victories repeated in this chapter must be it, we must obey God and His commandments. It was so at the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve had to make a choice between eating or not eating the fruit. It was so when Noah had to decide whether or not to give up everything in his life to focus on building the Ark for a unseen flood. It was so when Abraham had to choose to offer his own son to God or not. In the same way, dear brothers and sisters, God calls us to live a life of complete obedience to His Word, and we will need to take our entire life journey to learn complete surrender.

Trust God not in the things we can achieve with our own strength. Trust God with the things we see as impossible. “It is impossible that my non-Christian father can come to Christ.” “It is impossible that I can reconcile with my drug taking husband.” “It is impossible that my prodigal son can return home.” When we do life in accordance to what the Word of God calls us to do, we can trust that the Lord will provide in His divine ways for us to abide in Him. Like Joshua, in our encounter of His answered prayer, we grow in greater trust and then He can give us greater faith lessons to build greater trust. Will you trust God today?

Prayer: Dear God, forgive me when I made you too small in my eyes. God, be magnified in my life and help me to trust in You more each time. In Jesus name I pray, amen.