Thurs.’s Devo - Battle of the Kings

Read: Joshua 9:3-10:43; Luke 16:19-17:10; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 13:4 The Israelites were three days journey from the large town of Gibeon which was larger than Ai and full of strong warriors. It would surely be Israel’s next target and the men of Gibeon had heard that the Lord had given Israel all the land and were told to kill its inhabitants so they resorted to deception. They sent men with old wineskins, worn out clothes and moldy bread to the camp of Israel. They told Joshua that they were from a very far land and had heard of their might and their God. They wanted to make a treaty of peace and protection with Israel. The Israelites looked at their evidence but did not ask the Lord about it. Instead, they made a treaty with them and they went back to their town. The king of Jerusalem, King Adone-zedek heard about the treaty and enlisted the help of four other kings to attack Gibeon together. The men of Gibeon immediately sent for Israel to help fight with them. Israel was irate when they learned that Gibeon was so close and that they had been tricked by them but they had sworn in the Lord’s name and they had no choice but to help them. Joshua took his best warriors and set out for Gibeon. The Lord told him not to be afraid because He would give them victory. They rode all night and took the enemy by surprise. They chased them down the road where the Lord destroyed those that go away with a terrible hailstorm from heaven. Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still over Gibeon and the moon would stand still over the valley of Aijalon. (Let this sink in…the sun moves and the moon moves. Joshua didn’t tell the earth to stop rotating around the sun. The truth is it is the opposite.) The five kings hid in a cave where Joshua had the entrance filled with rocks. After the battle, Joshua brought them out and told his commanders to put their feet on the kings’ necks and they obeyed. Joshua told his men to not every be afraid or discouraged because God was going to do this to all their enemies. Then Joshua killed the kings and impaled them on poles where they hung till evening. When the sun went down he had the bodies thrown into the cave they had hidden in and they sealed the opening with rocks. Joshua led his army to the towns of every king that had attacked them and they took their towns then returned to Gilgal. In Luke, yesterday we read where Jesus addressed the Pharisees about wealth. He had made the point that their money did not make them righteous. Righteousness came from God and it manifested out of a heart who was given over to God. He went on to tell the story about a man named Lazareth. Lazareth in the Greek means Eleazar which was the name of the high priest during Moses’ time and the high priest during David’s time. In this story, Jesus depicts Lazareth as a poor man who laid at the gate of a rich man and ate his scraps. The dogs would lick his open sores. Both men died, but Lazareth was carried by angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man went to the place of the dead where there was an uncrossable chasm between them. The rich man cried out to Abraham to let Lazareth give him a drop of water but Abraham told him no one could cross the chasm separating them. So the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazareth to his family to tell them about the place of torment he was in. Abraham told him that they had the words of Moses and the prophets and they could read them. But the man persisted that if someone was sent from the dead, they would believe. Abraham answered that if them wouldn’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they would wouldn’t believe if someone rose from the dead. Jesus was talking about them. They were the rich man and He was the one who would rise from the dead and they still wouldn’t believe. Jesus told his disciples one day that all will be tempted but just be sure you are not the tempter. Live in forgiveness and you won’t become the tempter. They asked Jesus how to increase their faith and he told them to not just do what they were told but to go beyond serving as a duty. Seek the kingdom first and all these things will be added. Lord, help us to not be tempted with wealth or the things of this world. Help us to live for the kingdom.