We Have Met Our Enemy andHe is Our Neighbor

Be StrongChapter 9

Joshua 9:1 – 10:28By Warren W. Wiersbe

“It’s only those who do nothing that makes no mistakes” Joseph Conrad• Believing the Enemy (9:1-15)– The City-states in Canaan were not always friendly,

but they come together when they have a common enemy

– Israel’s danger: not the confederation of Canaanite king but deception from Gibeon• Satan as a roaring lion (I Peter 5:8) & also a deceiving

snake (II Corinthians 11:3)• We must be alert & wear the spiritual armor (Ephesians

6:10-18)

• What the Gibeonites did (3-5)– 25 miles from Gilgal– Deuteronomy 20:10-20 states that Israel must

destroy all the cities in Israel• Cities were offered peace after conquest• Gibeon knew before the conquest• Gibeon's preparation

– Foreign delegation» Clothing, food, & equipment

– Satan is a counterfeiter (II Corinthians 11:4)– Easier to identify lion than snake

• What the Gibeonites said (6-13)– Easier to tell lies than the truth– Lies• They were “from a very far country” (9:6, 9) when they

actually lived 25 miles away• Clothing & food (12)• “Your servants” when they were enemies (8, 9, 11)

– Fear vs. faith• Satan uses “religious lies” to give the impression that

they were seeking the Lord– Seekers Sneakers

• Of all the liars “religious liars” are worst (II Peter 2 & Jude)

• Why They Succeeded (v. 14-15)– Joshua and Princes were impetuous & didn’t take

time to consult the Lord• Walk by sight, not faith• Depending on senses• Logical & convinced yet wrong• Same mistake as Ai, not seeking His direction

– The will of God from the heart of God (Psalm 33:11)• Reveals to His children when He knows they are

humble & willing to obey

• “If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know” (John 7:17 TLB) - a basic principle for victorious Christian living.• Proverb 3:5-6 – not lean on own understanding• “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who

gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5)• “True faith involves exercising patience” (Hebrews 6:12)• “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16

NKJV)• “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who lives in

the land where you are going, or they will be a snare” (Exodus 34:12 NIV)

– Oath couldn’t be broken– Psalm 15:4

• Enlisting the Enemy (9:16-17)– Joshua discovered that they had blundered men of

their word• King Saul violated (II Samuel 21)

– If making mistake, admit it & make it work for you• Gibeonites:” hauling woods & water for the service of

the tabernacle– Nethinims: Labors in the temple as servants (I Chronicles 9:2,

Ezra 2:43, 58: Nehemiah 3:26)– 500 returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity (Ezra

2:43-58; 8:20)

• Defending the Enemy (10:1-28)– The king’s call to the armies (1-5)

• 5 kings against Gibeon• Joshua conquered 5 kings and armies at once• God can use our mistakes to accomplish His purpose• Success as “the art of seeing victory where other people see only

defeat”

• The Gibeonites’ call to Joshua (6-7)– Joshua’s call to the Lord (8-15)

• The Promise– “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Roman 14:23)– “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”

(Roman 10:17)– “There has not failed one word of all His good promises” (I

Kings 8:56 NKJV)

• The Strategy– All-night march & surprise attack– Large hailstones only on the enemy soldiers

• The Prayer– Extension of the day to secure a complete victory over the

enemy– Miracle by faith– “Nothing is too hard for Him” Jer. 32:17,27– Day and night belong to God (Psalm 74:16)– “Hasted not to go down” shows “a retardation of the

movement, not a complete cessation – Sun & moon were held back so the daylight was lengthened– Refraction

– “the mind which asks for a non-miraculous Christianity is a mind in process of relapsing from Christianity into mere ‘religion’ C.S.Lewis

• Joshua call to his army (16-18)– Divide and conquer– 5 kings trapped in a cave & slaying soldiers with a very great

slaughter– The kings on the ground showed that Joshua had a total

victory– Feet on kings’ necks symbolize o the past victories & coming

victories– Kings slain & hung on 5 trees until sundown– Corpses back in the cave with a pile of stones closing the

entrance• A monument speaking of the power & victory of the Lord

– Joshua a type of Jesus who defeated all His enemies & will return one day & destroy them forever

Lesson:Warning to be alert and prayerful let not the devil

deceive us nor walking by sight, not faithEncouragement : God can take over our blunders

(mistakes) and turn them into blessings“And this is the victory that overcome the world -

one faith” (I John 5:4 NKJV)