Joshua 10:16-28
Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, he said, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."
So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely—almost to a man—but the few who were left reached their fortified cities. 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me." So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight." Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.
At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
One question today we will explore. I was thinking just now why did Joshua summon his people and execute the five kings in front of them, in the meanwhile also encouraging them with the same words that God encouraged him with in the beginning of the book?
The first part is an easy part to answer. As the leader of Israel, Joshua had to set an example to the people with regards to obeying God. As a leader, his life was placed at the forefront and subjected to scrutiny. Often, this is the expectation that God has of His leaders. Consider this:
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.
At the end of the day, leaders need to give an account to God of the men that they watch over. As such, one aspect of this is setting a good example for the people to see so that they can emulate. Paul is not mincing his words when he said to follow him as He follows Christ. Understanding this alone should make us think about a few things. Firstly, for those as leaders, are we setting a good example and obeying God in entirety? Secondly, for followers, are we getting the message through the lives of our leaders? Even as I lead, I think about the lives of the leaders that I served with and try to emulate and follow them. I wonder if people ever take a look at their leaders and think about why they serve so hard? Are we going to wait till our leaders share their burden with us before we can capture it? If we ever need to come to that, then I really think that that is pathetic for us as followers to reach this stage. But by no means am I saying that leaders should not share their burden verbally cos this is an important part of communication. All I'm saying is that as followers, we need to open up our eyes bigger and be an adult to understand the hearts of people, instead of pretending they are not there and continue to live in our own world.
I want to make an additional point. But I think I may have to reflect more on that point before I talk about it here. But let's pray that we can capture the heartbeat of our leaders' vision, especially those who are leading the church at the higher up.
So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely—almost to a man—but the few who were left reached their fortified cities. 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me." So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight." Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.
At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
One question today we will explore. I was thinking just now why did Joshua summon his people and execute the five kings in front of them, in the meanwhile also encouraging them with the same words that God encouraged him with in the beginning of the book?
The first part is an easy part to answer. As the leader of Israel, Joshua had to set an example to the people with regards to obeying God. As a leader, his life was placed at the forefront and subjected to scrutiny. Often, this is the expectation that God has of His leaders. Consider this:
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.
At the end of the day, leaders need to give an account to God of the men that they watch over. As such, one aspect of this is setting a good example for the people to see so that they can emulate. Paul is not mincing his words when he said to follow him as He follows Christ. Understanding this alone should make us think about a few things. Firstly, for those as leaders, are we setting a good example and obeying God in entirety? Secondly, for followers, are we getting the message through the lives of our leaders? Even as I lead, I think about the lives of the leaders that I served with and try to emulate and follow them. I wonder if people ever take a look at their leaders and think about why they serve so hard? Are we going to wait till our leaders share their burden with us before we can capture it? If we ever need to come to that, then I really think that that is pathetic for us as followers to reach this stage. But by no means am I saying that leaders should not share their burden verbally cos this is an important part of communication. All I'm saying is that as followers, we need to open up our eyes bigger and be an adult to understand the hearts of people, instead of pretending they are not there and continue to live in our own world.
I want to make an additional point. But I think I may have to reflect more on that point before I talk about it here. But let's pray that we can capture the heartbeat of our leaders' vision, especially those who are leading the church at the higher up.
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