In the book of Joshua, we learned how the men of Gibeah told Joshua and the people of Israel, “now, behold, we are in you hand: as it seems good and right unto you to do unto us, do. And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose”, and in chapter ten and verse one of the book of Joshua, we begin to learn what happened, “when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard” where we read,
Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
The verse reads, “Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “now it came to pass” which means “at this time it happened and occurred”, “when Adonizedek” or “at the time and moment Adonizedek whose name means my lord is righteous and was a Canaanite king slain by Joshua” “king of Jerusalem” which means “the royal ruler and leader Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split” “had heard how Joshua” or “had been given the faculty for hearing, perceiving, discerning and understanding that Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “had taken Ai” which means “had captured, lay hold of and seized Ai, Aija or Hai whose name means heap of ruins and was a city lying east of Bethel and beside Bethaven near Jericho and the second city taken on the invasion of Canaan”, “and had utterly destroyed it” or “and had completely banned, exterminated and mutilated it, Ai”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Adonizedek” who was the royal ruler and leader belonging to “Jerusalem” “heard” that “Joshua” seized and completely annihilated “Ai”.
The verse goes on to say, “as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “as he had done to Jericho” which means “even like and similar to the way he, Joshua, had fashioned, accomplished and performed against Jericho whose name means its moon and was a city five miles (8 km) west of the Jordan and seven miles (11.5 km) north of the Dead Sea and the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan” “and her king” or “and her, Jericho’s, royal ruler and leader”, “so he had done to Ai” which means “even in likeness to the way he fashioned, accomplished and performed to Ai whose name means heap of ruins” “and her king” or “and her, Ai’s, royal ruler and leader”; “and how the inhabitants of Gibeon” which means “and in which way and manner that the dwellers, abiders and ones who remain in the land of Gibeon whose name means hill city and was a Levitical city of Benjamin, modern 'el-Jib', which lies five miles or eight km from Jerusalem” “had made peace with Israel” or “had formed and caused an amends, calm and tranquility with Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and were among them” which means “and existed in the midst and middle of them, the people of Israel”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Adonizedek” also was aware of how Jehovah God through “Joshua” the people of Israel had utterly destroyed “Jericho and Ai” and how the people of “Gibeon” made a covenant of calm and tranquility with them even though they were in the midst of Israel.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how another royal ruler, “Adonizedek” began to be concerned about the conquering of Israel. He was made aware of the conquests of “Joshua and Israel” over “Jericho and Ai”, and he knew about the peace treaty that was made with the men of “Gibeah”. We shall see how “Adonizedek” responds to this information in our next few verses, but for now let us be mindful that the reputation of Jehovah God through the people of Israel was being expanded. God wants everyone to know of His reputation for defeating sin and death, and because we all have sinned and come short of His glory, (See Romans 3:23) God sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live in a manner that not only pleases Him, but also spreads His reputation throughout the world.
Next time we begin to learn how Adonizedek and his people, “feared greatly”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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