10:22-25
The five kings were brought out of the cave they had been hiding in. “Put your feet on the necks of these kings”. The kings were humiliated, though far worse was to come. This was also done as a sign to the Israelites, seeking to encourage them. They would have further battles to fight, but they need not be afraid. Instead they should trust the Lord and fight the battle1. This is a lesson to all of us as Christians as well.
10:26,27
The kings were all then killed, and their bodies exposed on poles until evening. After that they were thrown back in the cave they had been hiding in, and large rocks placed against the cave. “Which are there to this day”. This implies that the text is based on accounts which were not too distant from the actual events. All this seems very bloody to us. We should be glad that life is normally far less violent (though not always), and we should also remember that God does deal severely with sin.
10:28-33
We now read of Joshua’s taking of the southern cities. First was Makkedah, which was totally destroyed. Note that there may be some hyperbole in saying there were no survivors, however it certainly means that very many people were killed. Next was Libnah, which “the Lord also gave into Israel’s hand”. The same applies to Lachish. Horam King of Gezer attempted to help Lachish, but to no avail.
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