Through the Bible – Day 76

_1-2The kings west of the River Jordan heard about Joshua's victories, and so they got together and decided to attack Joshua and Israel. These kings were from the hill country and from the foothills to the west, as well as from the Mediterranean coast as far north as the Lebanon Mountains. Some of them were Hittites, others were Amorites or Canaanites, and still others were Perizzites, Hivites, or Jebusites.

₃The people of Gibeon had also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. ₄So they decided that some of their men should pretend to be messengers to Israel from a faraway country. The men put worn out bags on their donkeys and found some old wineskins that had cracked and had been sewn back together. ₅Their sandals were old and patched, and their clothes were worn out. They even took along some dry and crumbly bread. ₆Then they went to the Israelite camp at Gilgal, where they said to Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a country that is far from here. Please make a peace treaty with us.”

_7-8The Israelites replied, “But perhaps you really live near us. We can't make a peace treaty with you if you live nearby.”

The Gibeonites said, “If you make a peace treaty with us, we will be your servants.”

“Who are you?” Joshua asked. “Where do you come from?”

They answered:

₁₄The Israelites tried some of the food, but they did not ask the LORD if he wanted them to make a treaty. ₁₅So Joshua made a peace treaty with the messengers and promised that Israel would not kill their people. Israel's leaders swore that Israel would keep this promise.

_16-17A couple of days later, the Israelites found out that these people actually lived in the nearby towns of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim. So the Israelites left the place where they had camped and arrived at the four towns two days later. ₁₈But they did not attack the towns, because the Israelite leaders had sworn in the name of the LORD that they would let these people live.

The Israelites complained about their leaders' decision not to attack, _19-21but the leaders reminded them, “We promised these people in the name of the LORD God of Israel that we would let them live, so we must not harm them. If we break our promise, God will punish us. We'll let them live, but we'll make them cut wood and carry water for our people.”

₂₂Joshua told some of his soldiers, “I want to meet with the Gibeonite leaders. Bring them here.”

When the Gibeonites came, Joshua said, “You live close to us. Why did you lie by claiming you lived far away? ₂₃Now you are under a curse, and your people will have to send workers to cut wood and carry water for the place of worship.”

₂₄The Gibeonites answered, “The LORD your God told his servant Moses that you were to kill everyone who lives here and take their land for yourselves. We were afraid you would kill us, and so we tricked you into making a peace treaty. But we agreed to be your servants, ₂₅and you are strong enough to do anything to us that you want. We just ask you to do what seems right.”

₂₆Joshua did not let the Israelites kill the Gibeonites, ₂₇but he did tell the Gibeonites that they would have to be servants of the nation of Israel. They would have to cut firewood and bring it for the priests to use for burning sacrifices on the LORD's altar, wherever the LORD decided the altar would be. The Gibeonites would also have to carry water for the priests. And that is still the work of the Gibeonites.

₁King Adonizedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured and destroyed the town of Ai, and then killed its king as he had done at Jericho. He also learnt that the Gibeonites had signed a peace treaty with Israel. ₂This frightened Adonizedek and his people. They knew that Gibeon was a large town, as big as the towns that had kings, and even bigger than the town of Ai had been. And all the men of Gibeon were warriors. ₃So Adonizedek sent messages to the kings of four other towns: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. The messages said, ₄“The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon!”

₅When these five Amorite kings called their armies together and attacked Gibeon, ₆the Gibeonites sent a message to the Israelite camp at Gilgal: “Joshua, please come and rescue us! The Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together and are attacking us. We are your servants, so don't let us down. Please hurry!”

₇Joshua and his army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal. ₈“Joshua,” the LORD said, “don't be afraid of the Amorites. They will run away when you attack, and I will help you defeat them.”

₉Joshua marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon and made a surprise attack on the Amorite camp. ₁₀The LORD made the enemy panic, and the Israelites started killing them right and left. They chased the Amorite troops up the road to Beth-Horon and kept on killing them, until they reached the towns of Azekah and Makkedah. ₁₁And while these troops were going down through Beth-Horon Pass, the LORD made huge hailstones fall on them all the way to Azekah. More of the enemy soldiers died from the hail than from the Israelite weapons.

_12-13The LORD was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites that day. So about midday, Joshua prayed to the LORD loud enough for the Israelites to hear:

₁₅After the battle, Joshua and the Israelites went back to their camp at Gilgal.

₁₆While the enemy soldiers were running from the Israelites, the five enemy kings ran away and hid in a cave near Makkedah. ₁₇Joshua's soldiers told him, “The five kings have been found in a cave near Makkedah.”

₁₈Joshua answered, “Roll some big stones over the mouth of the cave and leave a few soldiers to guard it. ₁₉But you and everyone else must keep following the enemy troops, because they will be safe if they reach their walled towns. Don't let them get away! The LORD our God is helping us get rid of them.” ₂₀So Joshua and the Israelites almost wiped out the enemy soldiers. Only a few safely reached their walled towns.

₂₁The Israelite army returned to their camp at Makkedah, where Joshua was waiting for them. No one around there dared say anything bad about the Israelites. ₂₂Joshua told his soldiers, “Now, move the rocks from the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings to me.”

₂₃The soldiers opened the entrance to the cave and brought out the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ₂₄After Joshua had called the army together, he forced the five kings to lie down on the ground. Then he called his officers forward and told them, “You fought these kings along with me, so put your feet on their necks.” The officers did, ₂₅and Joshua continued, “Don't ever be afraid or discouraged. Be brave and strong. This is what the LORD will do to all your enemies.”

₂₆Joshua killed the five kings and told his men to hang each body on a tree. Then at sunset ₂₇he told some of his troops, “Take the bodies down and throw them into the cave where the kings were found. Cover the entrance to the cave with big rocks.”

Joshua's troops obeyed his orders, and those rocks are still there.

₂₈Later that day, Joshua captured Makkedah and killed its king and everyone else in the town, just as he had done at Jericho.

₂₉Joshua and his army left Makkedah and attacked the town of Libnah. ₃₀The LORD let them capture the town and its king, and they killed the king and everyone else, just as they had done at Jericho.

₃₁Joshua then led his army to Lachish, and they set up camp around the town. They attacked, ₃₂and the next day the LORD let them capture the town. They killed everyone, as they had done at Libnah. ₃₃King Horam of Gezer arrived to help Lachish, but Joshua and his troops attacked and destroyed him and his army.

₃₄From Lachish, Joshua took his troops to Eglon, where they set up camp surrounding the town. They attacked, ₃₅captured it that same day, then killed everyone, as they had done at Lachish.

₃₆Joshua and his army left Eglon and attacked Hebron. ₃₇They captured the town and the nearby villages, then killed everyone, including the king. They destroyed Hebron in the same way they had destroyed Eglon.

₃₈Joshua and the Israelite army turned and attacked Debir. ₃₉They captured the town, and its nearby villages. Then they destroyed Debir and killed its king, together with everyone else, just as they had done with Hebron and Libnah.

₄₀Joshua captured towns everywhere in the land: in the central hill country and the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert and the region that slopes down towards the Dead Sea. Whenever he captured a town, he would kill the king and everyone else, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded. ₄₁Joshua wiped out towns from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, everywhere in the region of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon. _42-43The LORD fought on Israel's side, so Joshua and the Israelite army were able to capture these kings and take their land. They fought one battle after another, then they went back to their camp at Gilgal after capturing all that land.

₄₃Jesus was still speaking, when Judas the betrayer came up. He was one of the twelve disciples, and a mob of men armed with swords and clubs were with him. They had been sent by the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses. ₄₄Judas had told them beforehand, “Arrest the man I greet with a kiss. Tie him up tight and lead him away.”

₄₅Judas walked right up to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” Then Judas kissed him, ₄₆and the men grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

₄₇Someone standing there pulled out a sword. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

₄₈Jesus said to the mob, “Why do you come with swords and clubs to arrest me like a criminal? ₄₉Day after day I was with you and taught in the temple, and you didn't arrest me. But what the Scriptures say must come true.”

₅₀All Jesus' disciples ran off and left him. ₅₁One of them was a young man who was wearing only a linen cloth. And when the men grabbed him, ₅₂he left the cloth behind and ran away naked.

₅₃Jesus was led off to the high priest. Then the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses all met together. ₅₄Peter had followed at a distance. And when he reached the courtyard of the high priest's house, he sat down with the guards to warm himself beside a fire.

₅₅The chief priests and the whole council tried to find someone to accuse Jesus of a crime, so they could put him to death. But they could not find anyone to accuse him. ₅₆Many people did tell lies against Jesus, but they did not agree on what they said. ₅₇Finally, some men stood up and lied about him. They said, ₅₈“We heard him say he would tear down this temple that we built. He also claimed that in three days he would build another one without any help.” ₅₉But even then they did not agree on what they said.

₆₀The high priest stood up in the council and asked Jesus, “Why don't you say something in your own defence? Don't you hear the charges they are making against you?” ₆₁But Jesus kept quiet and did not say a word. The high priest asked him another question, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the glorious God?”

₆₂“Yes, I am!” Jesus answered.

₆₃At once the high priest ripped his robe apart and shouted, “Why do we need more witnesses? ₆₄You heard him claim to be God! What is your decision?” They all agreed that he should be put to death.

₆₅Some of the people started spitting on Jesus. They blindfolded him, hit him with their fists, and said, “Tell us who hit you!” Then the guards took charge of Jesus and beat him.