The Bible Story Part 154

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THE BATTLE WITH THE FIVE KINGS.

_How Joshua Won a Great Fight_.

Now it came to pa.s.s, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem 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; that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto j.a.phia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, "Come up to me, and help me, and let us smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel."

Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, "Desert not thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country are gathered together against us."

So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people {306} of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, "Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hands; there shall not a man of them stand before thee."

Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly; for he went up from Gilgal, marching all the night. And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and he slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pa.s.s, as they fled from before Israel, while they were in the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great hailstones from heaven upon them, and they died: they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel,--

"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon."

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

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And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

And it was told Joshua, saying, "The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah." And Joshua said, "Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: but stay not ye; pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your G.o.d hath delivered them into your hand."

And it came to pa.s.s, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. Then said Joshua, "Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings to me out of the cave."

And they did so, and brought forth those five kings to him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. And it came to pa.s.s, when they brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war which went with him, "Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings."

And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

And Joshua said unto them, "Fear not, nor be {308} dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight."

And afterward Joshua smote them and put them to death, and hung them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

And it came to pa.s.s at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

THE LAST ADDRESSES OF JOSHUA TO THE PEOPLE.

_Words of Warning and Advice_.

And it came to pa.s.s after many days, when the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old; that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old and well stricken in years: and we have seen all that the Lord your G.o.d hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your G.o.d, he it is that hath fought for you.

"Therefore be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their G.o.ds, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them; but be loyal to the Lord your G.o.d, as ye have done unto this day.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

AN OLD TOMB AT TIMNEH, CALLED THE TOMB OF JOSHUA From a photograph of the Palestine Exploration Fund and used by special permission.

This is a good example of the rock-hewn tombs of Palestine. It is tradition only which calls it the resting place of the great captain.

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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"For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath stood before you unto this day.

One man of you shall chase a thousand; for the Lord your G.o.d, he it is that fighteth for you, as he spoke unto you. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your G.o.d."

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before G.o.d.

And Joshua said unto all the people, "Thus saith the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, 'Fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the G.o.ds which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.' And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the G.o.ds which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the G.o.ds of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other G.o.ds; for the Lord our G.o.d, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in an the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we pa.s.sed; and the Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land: therefore we also will serve the Lord; for he is our G.o.d."

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And Joshua said unto the people, "Ye are not able to serve the Lord; for he is a holy G.o.d; he is a jealous G.o.d; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. If ye forsake the Lord, and serve foreign G.o.ds, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good."

And the people said unto Joshua, "Nay; but we will serve the Lord."

And Joshua said unto the people, "Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him."

And they said, "We are witnesses."

THE DEATH OF JOSHUA.

_The Great Captain Is Laid at Rest_.

And after many years of fighting, and many victories, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the Lord, that he had wrought for Israel.

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The Judges

After the death of Joshua there followed a long period of unrest and fighting. The land was by no means conquered. Many times the Israelites were opposed by the neighboring people, and all but wiped out of existence. But each time a hero arose who overthrew the oppressor, and became the leader or judge, as the office was called, of the people. These leaders were not all of the highest character, but they served to hold the nation together, and to preserve it from extinction, during this period of trouble and unrest.

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EHUD