In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Joshua … went up from Gilgal all night, and the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah”, and in chapter ten and verse eleven of the book of Joshua, we learn how “they fled from before Israel” where we read,
And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
The verse reads, “And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “and the following happened and occurred”, “as they fled” or “during the time they, the five kings of the Amorites and their armies were running away, put to flight and departed hastily to escape” “from before Israel” which means “from the front and presence of Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and were in the going down” or “and were descending down a slope or steep place” “to Bethhoron” which means “toward Bethhoron or Beth-Choron whose name means house of hollowness ad was the name of two adjoining places in Palestine” the following occurred. Joshua or the writer began to share what happened as the five kings of the Amorites and their armies were attempting to escape from the armies of Israel and descended down a steep place toward “Bethhoron”.
The verse goes on to say, “that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died:” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “that the LORD” which means “that Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “cast down great stones from heaven” or “hurled, flung and threw massive and rocks from the sky” “upon them unto Azekah” which means “on them, the armies of the Amorites, to Azekah whose name means ”, “and they died” or “and they, the armies of the five kings of the Amorites, became lifeless, without breath and inanimate”. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God threw large rocks from the sky upon the armies of the Amorites till they reached “Azekah”, and the stones killed them.
Finally the verse says, “they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” Joshua or the writer concluded this verse with the words, “they were more” which means “there existed a greater and more intense amount of people” “which died with hailstones” or “who were killed and executed by the use of hewn stones of fire” “than they whom the children of Israel slew” which means “compared to the number of people that the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob killed and executed” “with the sword” or “by the use of a sharpened weapon”. Joshua or the writer ended this verse by sharing how the “massive rocks” or hewn stones thrown by Jehovah God from the sky killed more of the Amorite army than the people of Israel did with their sharp weapons.
When we consider the words in this verse, we see how the armies of the Amorites hurriedly attempted to escape the army of Israel, however, Jehovah God threw massive rocks from the sky down on them, and the result was that more of them died from the huge stones than from the sharpened weapons used by the Israelites. God was involved, and no army is able to prevail against Him. This same God desires to have a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us who shall guide us into the truth and fight our battles for us in a greater and more victorious way than we can accomplish ourselves.
Next time we learn how Joshua says, “Sun, stand you still upon Gibeon; and you, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon”, 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".
