Mark 7:1-23, Religious Activity vs. Internal Righteousness

In Mark 7:1-23, the “religious police” represented by the Pharisees and scribes, came from Jerusalem like private investigators trying to find fault with Jesus. Over and over in all these stories in which Jesus confronts the religious leaders, Jesus reveals their hypocrisy. Externally they were super over the top religious, but internally in their hearts, they were just trying to please other people instead of God. Yet the only worship and belief that pleases God comes from our hearts when we sincerely believe in Him and show that belief in the love that flows from the inner person. Before Moses the lawgiver let them enter the land God was giving them, he gave them the “shema” prayer, which said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your might”. When the prophet Samuel went to the house of Jesse looking for the next King of Israel, God told him, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam.16;7). Therefore Israel during the time of Christ should have known that God cared very little for superficial appearances and external legalism. In Isaiah 1:11-15, God sent the prophet to Israel over 700 years before Christ to tell them that God cared nothing for their sacrifices, nothing for their offerings, and nothing for their prayers because God knew their heart was rebellious, unrepentant, and that they were involved in idolatry.

In Matthew 6:1-7, Jesus told His disciples to not be like the religious hypocrites who make a “big show” of giving alms, praying, and fasting. Instead Jesus’ disciples should be sincere giving alms in secret as for the Lord instead of trying to impress men. In the same way, in Mark 7 the Pharisees made a big show of a religious ceremony of washing themselves ritually before eating. This tradition of the religious leaders presumably was derived from the Mosaic Law found in Exodus 30:19-21. Levitical priests were to wash their hands in a special laver at the Temple. It was to be a ritual cleansing for priests to signify consecration in approaching the Holy place in the Temple. Almost fifteen hundred years later, the Pharisees had developed a tradition of this cleansing before eating wherever they were, and expected all Jews to comply (not just priests). It had become an outward expression of piety that they made a big show of to impress people with how holy they were. They were vainly trying to map out holiness with an external formula that would set them apart from sinners and Gentiles. In their economy, to be Jewish one washed his hands and feet according to a formula, and to undermine their tradition would be to redefine holiness. They would pour special water from a jug onto both hands with the fingers pointing up so that the water ran off their arms. Then the water was poured with their hands down. Then for an extended time each hand was scrubbed with the fist of the other hand, and all done in public so everybody could see. This was ceremonially cleansing the person and had nothing to do with just cleaning dirty hands before they ate. Therefore in Mark 7:5, the Pharisees accuse and interrogate Jesus about eating with “impure hands”. Their questions prompt the lengthy teaching of Jesus about what is clean spiritually, and the importance of a sincere heart relationship with the Lord. External observance of man-made traditions is no substitute for inner holiness.

Mark 7:6-13, Exposing the Hypocrites

Jesus began His admonishment with severe language directed at the Pharisees, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites”. Originally the Greek word for the actors in the Greek tragedies was “hypocrites”. The Greek word meant “play actor”, and was the term used for stage actors with skill at impersonating other personalities. Jesus gave it the negative connotation that it has today that the Pharisees were not actually h...

Mark 6:30-52

In Mark 6:30, we read that the disciples were returning from a mission trip, and they were worn out, and didn’t even have time to eat. Therefore, Jesus told them to get in the boat to cross over to a “lonely place”, meaning a desolate place with no towns. Nevertheless, the multitudes of people saw where they were going, and in their desperation for Jesus they ran around the north side of the lake to intercept Him. When Jesus went ashore and saw the needy crowd, “he felt compassion for they were like sheep without a shepherd”. The people had questions, but no answers, distress but no relief, guilt but no deliverance, tears but no consolation, and sin but no forgiveness. To relate them to sheep was the perfect metaphor because sheep are the most helpless and needy animals, and to relate Jesus to the Good Shepherd perfectly fits His role of providing everything that humanity needs. Being late in the day in a deserted area, Jesus took the opportunity to teach his disciples a lesson in faith. How do you meet the needs of sheperdless sheep (Mark 6:34)? Where do you go to get the resources to feed and minister to the people that God gives you the opportunity to help? In order to learn the answer, Jesus tested His disciples by saying, “Where are we to buy bread that these may eat?” Jesus knew what He was going to do, but Philip, Andrew, Simon, and the disciples were clueless. They basically said that they did not have the money to buy the food which was nowhere to be found anyway, and it was too late to travel to get any—meaning it can’t be done. The disciples functioned as straight men whose concerns multiplied the magnitude of the miracle. Andrew did come up with a lad who had the paltry sum of five barley loaves and two fish (Jn.6:9), but what could you do with that? Why is this kid and the 5 loaves even in the story? In the hands of the boy the 5 loaves were nothing, but when we place them in the hands of God incredible things can happen. Jesus would take what little His disciples had and show them that with their obedience and faith He could use whatever resources they provided to produce what they needed to take care of the people. Jesus then instructed His disciples to have the crowd sit down on the grass in groups of 50 (Luke 9:14). By using His disciples, Jesus gave each of them a basket full of fish and bread to take to the groups of 50. Since it says there were 5,000 men (Mathew 14:21), it is safe to say that with women and children there could have been 20,000 in the crowd. Therefore divide the 20,000 into groups of 50 and then divide by the 12 disciples, and you see that each disciple had to make at least about 33 trips back and forth between Jesus and the crowd to fill everyone up. How many trips back and forth did it take before Simon Peter and the disciples figured out the answer to, “Where do I go, in whom do I trust, and how do I get the resources I need to minister to the people?” This would be a great lesson to look back on when they went out to fulfill the Great Commission of taking the Gospel to the world. After everyone ate their fill, the twelve baskets were still full of food—God provided an abundance.

The People’s Reaction

The people of Israel had been taught that Moses predicted the Messiah in Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Now the crowd saw Jesus as that Messiah. Moses had said that God would send a great prophet like Moses in the sense that he would deliver his people, do many miracles, and speak the Word of God. Therefore when the people witnessed Jesus’ miracles and teaching, they decided it was time for Him to also deliver them. John 6:15 says that Jesus knew the people were intending to take Him by force to make Him king. This would cause a sharp divide between the crowd and Jesus, which would continue into the next day and result in a heated exchange that theologians call The Bread of Life Discourse. Jesus’ immediate reaction was to withdraw from the crowd to keep thi...

Mark 5:21-43—The Miracle on the Way to do a Miracle

In the church today, many use the name of Jesus and come to His house and think they know Him. In Mark 5:21-43 we see a contrast between a pressing crowd of people who have come to Jesus for their selfish reasons, and a poor pathetic ceremonially unclean woman who has a pure heart and childlike faith. Jesus would ask what seemed like a ridiculous question, “Who touched Me?” since they were in a pressing crowd in which all were touching Him; but the woman alone was uniquely touching Him. Another surprise is that Jesus, being omniscient, didn’t seem to know who had touched Him in faith and been healed. Upon further review, we discover that Jesus had a habit of asking questions designed to elicit a public profession of faith. If you have sought after Jesus and found Him as the woman in verse 25 did, you also need to answer the same question that she did. Therefore, if you have “touched Him” and received peace, make your open confession of faith as she did.

The woman of verse 25 also needs to be contrasted to the important synagogue official, Jairus. This man Jairus is mainstream, a leader, respected, wealthy, religious, and he was there first before the woman. It was on the way to this man’s house to help him that Jesus would encounter the woman. The woman could not have been more different from Jairus, She was broke, outcast, destitute, unclean, and excommunicated from the synagogue. Nevertheless, they had something in common–both had an all important need that only Jesus could fill. They appear as different as night and day, but in their need for Jesus they are alike.

What Does it Feel Like to be Contaminated?

In the first century Israel that Jesus was born into, the civil, criminal, and ceremonial law of the land all came from the Mosaic Law. In Leviticus 15:25-27, Moses commanded that if a woman had a discharge of blood for an extended period of time she was to be quarantined, and anyone touching her would also be considered “unclean”. Today, we understand how contagious germs and disease can be, but the traditions of Israel developed this law into a type of uncleanness associated with sin. The woman was considered unclean ceremonially and religiously, and therefore shunned and isolated. She could not come into the Temple or the local synagogues, nor even be in the presence of “righteous people”. This excluded her from normal social relations, religious relations, and it made her unemployable. What would this feel like? Most of us have felt the sting of being rejected, shunned, and excluded, but this would be far worse. I remember in grade school certain kids were said to have “cooties”, and everyone would move away from them. What if it was for real and permanent like the woman in Mark 5:25?

In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus had travelled to the Gentile area of Decapolis on the east side of the Sea of Galilee where His disciples hoped to get some rest, but instead Jesus had restored a wild man that no one could tame, and then gotten right back in the boats to return to the west side of the lake. In Mark 5:21-43, He will heal a woman no physician can cure and restore to life a girl when all hope is gone.

The Interconnected Miracles

As soon as Jesus’ boat touched ashore, a great multitude of needy people gathered around Him. The author began the story of a specific important man that was in the crowd who had a particularly urgent need– his daughter was dying. This important man “fell at Jesus’ feet” in all reverence and submission. Verse 23 explains the urgency of his request—his daughter and his belief that Jesus can save her. Jesus attempted to follow him to His house, but the crowd was pressing in on Him so as to impede His progress. As Jesus moved through the crowd, everyone was grabbing Him and touching Him. At that time a specific woman who is distinguished from the rest of the crowd came up behind Jesus and just touched His ...

Mark 4:35—5:20, The Perfect Storm and the Demoniac

By harmonizing the three Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we can see that Jesus and His disciples had been through a whirlwind of activity before the events of Mark 4:35. They were very tired, but the only way to get away from the crowds was to get in a boat and go across the Sea of Galilee to the east side that was at that time under Gentile control—surely over there they could get some rest! Jesus ordered the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other (east) side of the lake. Exhausted, Jesus lay down in the boat and fell asleep. I think the boat, and His disciples in the boat served as an image of those living in fellowship with Jesus, being obedient to Jesus, and being separated from the world by Jesus. Amazingly when they obeyed Jesus and rowed out into the middle of the lake, a fierce storm hit the lake threatening to capsize the boat and kill all of them. The storm came up in the very path of their obedience, and if they had not obeyed Jesus they would have been safe on the shore with the crowd. The disciples were professional fishermen and expert sailors, which makes this miracle all the more dramatic. The professionals were terrified, but the carpenter from Nazareth was sleeping peacefully. In the next two connected stories, we will learn that Jesus is not only sovereign over demonic forces, but He is also sovereign over nature. Jesus was tired, but we will see a deeper significance that His sleep is a sign of trust in God, which served as a dramatic contrast to the disciples’ fear.

Being ordered by God to go out into the storms of life is a reoccurring theme in the Bible. Abraham was ordered to Canaan, but when he got there a famine wiped out all the food supply. Jacob was sent to Mesopotamia where his uncle tricked and cheated him for 20 years. Joseph was sent to Egypt where he spent years in a dungeon. David was obedient to God by fighting Goliath, but afterward spent years in the wilderness threatened by King Saul. The Apostle Paul was sent by the Holy Spirit to Philippi (Acts 16:9-10) where he was imprisoned. In all these cases and more, it appears to God’s people that He is indifferent to their circumstances and their lives are in danger. In this story of Mark 4:35-41, we can see that God does care, and Jesus was testing and building their faith. Jesus had said they were going to the other side, and no storm would prevent God’s will.

In Mark 4:38, the disciples show their fear and doubt about Jesus’ care by waking Him with, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus got up and actually commanded the storm to stop, which it did. Then in verse 40 we see the point when Jesus rebuked the disciples with, “How is it that you have no faith?” They may have expected Jesus to say “Wow, close call, thanks for waking Me”, but instead they got admonished for their lack of faith. We the students realize that to learn this kind of faith, we must have the experience of the storms of life. Then in verse 41, we see that their previous fear shifted to the awe of the awesome power of the person (Jesus) in the boat with them. So my question to you is, IS IT SAFER TO BE IN THE BOAT WITH JESUS IN A STORM, OR IN THE CALM W/O HIM? We must come to the inescapable conclusion that we are safer anywhere with Jesus than without Him.

Mark 5:1-20, The Gerasene Demoniac

Jesus and His disciples had just survived a terrible storm so we can imagine the relief they felt to get on dry land on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. They probably thought Jesus was taking them away from the crowds to a quiet peaceful place, but not so fast! They were in Gentile territory, and they would find an alien world of demons, pigs, tombs, and hostile Gerasenes—but God reigns there also. Jesus and His disciples got out of the boat, and they were immediately confronted by a demon possessed man who lived in the tombs with the dead people.

Mark: The Beginning of the Gospel The original title of the Gospel of Mark was based on the first phrase “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark used no commas so we don’t know if he was using Christ as a proper name or a description, but for our […]

Mark 2:13-28:  Opposition and Sabbath Controversy

In Mark 2:1-12, four men in Capernaum lowered a paralytic down to Jesus to be healed. To their amazement Jesus said, “Son your sins are forgiven”. It would be like you going to the doctor when you are sick and the doctor said your sins were forgiven. Of course Jesus took care of the paralytic’s spiritual need of forgiveness before He healed the guy’s physical need. Now in Mark 2:13-28 we read that the religious leaders were appalled that Jesus would have anything to do with sinners. Their criticism is like someone going to the doctor and he says “As soon as you get well I’ll treat you”. They were supposed to be helping people, but instead they were just separating themselves from the needy people. The religious leaders Jesus had the most trouble with, was the Pharisees. The name Pharisee came from a Hebrew word meaning Separatist, and they were well named because they separated themselves from sinners and could only be in the presence of supposedly righteous people. Therefore, when Jesus called sinners to follow Him and even dined with them it was outrageous and caused a scandal amongst the religious establishment.

Because of His unique teaching and His miracles, Jesus’ fame was spreading amongst the people, but now Mark will show the opposition to Jesus from the religious leaders rising just as rapidly. Disputes will break out, and Jesus will purposefully confront the religious establishment.

Mark 2:13-17 “I came to call the sinners”

Jesus left Capernaum and was walking around the Sea of Galilee when a large crowd came out to Him, so He began teaching them. As He was walking with the crowd He saw a scumbag tax collector whom everybody despised, but Jesus called out to him to “Follow Me!”, and he did. The tax collector was so excited that he hosted Jesus at his house to eat and invited many other tax collectors and known sinners to be there as well. Now it’s one thing to preach to sinners, but it’s quite another to befriend them and hang out with them; so when the Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating and drinking with scumbags, they objected and condemned Him. The tax collector was named Levi, also better known as Matthew who would become one of the 12 Apostles and write the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus’ call to Levi is great news to us admitted sinners because it means our past sins, and even a bad reputation is not a barrier to a personal relationship with Jesus. In a way, Levi made a greater sacrifice in leaving his profession than Peter and the fishermen. They could still fish, but Levi was done with his profession.

The Pharisees’ objection brings up that question I asked earlier, “Does a doctor wait for sick people to get well before he helps them?” We see a stark contrast between Jesus and the Pharisees, because Jesus seeks sinners out, calls them, and ministers to them while they are sick spiritually. Then as Levi exhibited, their lives are changed. The Pharisees were a part of an institutional religion that taught that we have to obey the Law and be good in order to be acceptable by God, but Jesus presented Himself as God’s search for sinners. Therefore, Jesus answered the Pharisees objection with a wise statement, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Clearly biblical Christianity differs from all other religions, because all religions are man’s search for God, but Christianity presents itself as God’s search for humans. The Pharisees would look for the Messiah among priests, but He was among sinners.

Mark 2:18-22, Questions Asked and Answered

In this section the Pharisees come and ask Jesus why He and His disciples were not super religious like them. They observed many religious traditions like regular fasting and washing ceremonies that Jesus did not observe. In this passage they ask specifically about fasting,

Mark: The Beginning of the Gospel

The original title of the Gospel of Mark was based on the first phrase “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark used no commas so we don’t know if he was using Christ as a proper name or a description, but for our purposes the two titles give us a description of who Jesus is, and Mark’s book will develop these two titles. Jesus is the anointed one of God sent into the world to atone for our sins, and Jesus is God in the flesh who alone could make a perfect sacrifice of infinite value.

Mark tells us in 1:2-3 that Jesus came in fulfillment of prophecy written by Isaiah who promised that the messenger, John the Baptist, would “make ready the way of the Lord”. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness similar to the prophet Elijah’s appearance and ministry inviting people to be baptized in accordance to the repentance of sin in order to be prepared for the Messiah. Mark actually quotes from three Old Testament Scriptures in Isaiah, Exodus, and Malachi. By quoting these three scriptures, Mark certifies that the Torah, the Major Prophets, and the Minor Prophets all confirm his story about Jesus. John’s baptism was unique at the time because the local synagogues baptized only proselytes and those who were previously defiled (like cured lepers). By calling all of Israel out to be baptized he was implying that all Israel was defiled.

John’s message is given in verse 7-8 by announcing the coming of someone “mighty”, and much greater than John. This is interesting if you compare what Jesus said about John in Matthew 11:11, “there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist”. Jesus was saying that among mortal men John was the greatest, but John said that compared to Jesus he was not worthy to untie his sandals (as a common servant would do). Comparing the work of John and Jesus, John’s work prepared hearts, but Jesus actually changed hearts. Those who came to John were seeking, but Jesus would actually give them what they need for eternal life.

The Unique Baptism

After He was about 30 years old, Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized by John the Baptist. Since Jesus alone needed no repentance, John tried to prevent it in Matthew’s account, but Jesus insisted because this was to be His introduction to the world. Jesus had lived in eternity in heaven as God, was born of humble circumstances, and now after 30 years He would be introduced by John in front of a crowd of repentant sinners. John identified Him as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn.1:29), and then God the Father in heaven identified Jesus as His Son by speaking, “Thou art My Son, in thee I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11). The crowd then saw the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus. The Kingdom of God did not come with sirens blaring or bombs bursting, but in an obscure place in front of confessing sinners, while Jesus was introduced by an unlikely non-establishment character who was like Elijah. Perhaps our clearest picture of the Trinity was here at the baptism of Jesus where we see Jesus in the flesh, see the Holy Spirit descend upon Him, and then hear the voice of God the Father in heaven—all at the same time. As soon as the Spirit came upon Jesus, He immediately led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.

The Temptation of Christ

In order for Jesus to fully experience in His flesh the full impact of human temptations, and to prove that He was indeed sinless, the Spirit actually “impelled” Him to go out for forty days to be tempted by Satan. It is shocking that the Holy Spirit actually delivered Jesus into the hands of Satan for this clash in the wilderness. The appearance of the Son of God on a fallen planet earth was a direct confrontation with Satan in Satan’s realm. In this confrontation, we the audience get confirmed experiential proof that Jesus was sinless. Jesus felt the hunger, the pain, the thirst, and the fear of death,

Joshua 13-19:  Dividing Up the Land to Each Tribe

After all the battles in the southern campaign in Joshua 9-10, and the northern campaign in Joshua 11-12, we find the conclusion, “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel…thus the land had rest from war”. How long had it been since the Exodus from Egypt? It took about two years to go past the Red Sea, then to go to Mt. Sinai to get the Law, then to Kadesh Barnea. Then the first generation wandered in the wilderness for 38 more years until they died out. Caleb stated in Joshua 14:7 that he was 40 years old at Kadesh Barnea, so when they crossed the Jordan River he would have been 78. Now in 14:10, Caleb said he was 85, therefore the southern and northern war campaigns of Joshua took 7 years. Now with the land taken in Joshua 13-19, it is time to divide up the land between the tribes of Israel, but wait a minute—HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM. Even though there were no more Canaanite armies left to fight, and all the major military threats were removed, there was still a whole bunch of scumbag Canaanites in the land (if you doubt the scumbag brand read Leviticus 18:27). Joshua 13:1-7 describes two large swaths of land that remained to be taken. In these chapters about dividing the land we find a repetition of “very much of the land remains to be taken and possessed” (13:1,13; 16:10; 17:12,13). The seeming contradiction between Joshua 11:23 and 13:1 can be explained though not excused. Joshua and his army did take control of the whole land, and he did destroy or capture the key cities, but Israel did not take every city or slay every Canaanite. Joshua’s plan was to divide up the land and then command each Israeli tribe to wipe out the leftover Canaanites in their own territory. What should they have done? We have the perfect example of Caleb in Joshua 14 and 15. Joshua apportioned Hebron to Caleb and his family, so Caleb went there and attacked and wiped out the large people known as the Anakim. These sons of Anak were the ones that terrified the spies of Israel back 47 years before when Israel refused to go into the land for fear of them (Nu.13-14). Caleb, being a man of faith, attacked the sons of Anak and wiped them out, but unfortunately most of Israel did not follow his example. Therefore, the “did not destroy” theme is repetitive throughout the allotment process of Joshua 13-19. The consequences of leaving the Canaanites there would be realized a few generations later in the book of Judges. The evil of the Canaanites greatly influenced Israel’s 2nd and 3rd generations in a bad way. It would be like buying a house from the Mafia today, but they wouldn’t move out, so you just raise your kids in the environment of the Mafia with all the crime, depravity, and violence. Do you think that might be a bad influence on your children?

Why did they fail to obey God to wipe out the evil Canaanites? I can think of many reasons: 1. They had fought a long and tough war and were ready for peace, 2. The remaining battles would be against a large tough foe, so the risks were great. They had a lack of faith and took the easy way, 3. In Joshua 16:10 and 17:13 we read that the Canaanites agreed to become forced laborers. The enticement of free or cheap labor overcame them. In other words, Israel got lazy, fearful, and greedy. The failure of Israel to take all the land speaks to the age-old debate about the interaction of the sovereignty of God vs. the free will of man. Canaan was a free gift of God, yet to occupy it Israel had to obey and cross the river and fight for it.

Genesis 48-49, Jacob’s Prophecy

At the end of his life Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, made some amazing predictions about the future inheritances of the descendants of his 12 sons. When Joshua divided up the land 450 some odd years later, it fulfilled everything Jacob had said over 450 years before.

Joshua 10—The Most Doubted Miracle in the Bible

In Joshua 10:1-11, Israel soon learned about the trouble their treaty with Gibeon caused. In chapter 9, Gibeon had fooled Israel by pretending to be a foreign nation outside of Canaan that had come into the land to form an alliance and sign a peace treaty. Joshua had made the deal with Gibeon, and now considered it a mutual defense pact. In ancient Jerusalem, some 400 years before King David took the city in 2 Samuel 5, the Canaanite King of Jerusalem found out about the Gibeonites joining the Israelites. Gibeon was an important fortified city only 9 miles away that threatened their existence. Therefore the King of Jerusalem feared a domino effect if all the other Canaanites didn’t come together to oppose Gibeon. He rallied the kings of four other city-states that were all south of Jerusalem. They united and attacked Gibeon, and with the odds 5 to 1 against them, Gibeon sent word to Joshua (their new best friend) for help. While this confederation of great kings assembled their armies, God must have had a good laugh, because He was using these events for good to accomplish His will. Most people would have considered helping the tricky Gibeonites a burden, but not Joshua. Even though they had tricked Joshua into the treaty, Joshua saw a great opportunity to catch all 5 of the Canaanite kings out in the open. Instead of having to assault 5 fortified walled cities, now Joshua had them where he could attack them altogether out in the open. God gave Joshua His approval by assuring Joshua “Do not be afraid, for I have given them into your hands”. When we as students read Joshua 9, we wondered how the Gibeonite deception could possibly be a good thing, but now it is apparent that by the providence of God even lies and mistakes can be used for good.

Joshua marched about 25 miles uphill at night, and surprised the enemy from behind. No Canaanite would have expected the Israelis to be able to march a large army that far at night, much less immediately attack a larger force. The Canaanites panicked and scattered in retreat. The terrain was a two mile descent falling 700 feet, so they were fleeing down a difficult steep decline. We know that God was fighting for Joshua because v. 11 says that God caused a shower of hailstones that killed more of the enemy than the Israelis—the battle is the Lord’s. From Joshua’s standpoint, he must wipe them all out before they can reach the safety of their fortified cities. Joshua felt like time was running out, and he would not have enough daylight left to win a total victory. Therefore Joshua prayed a very unique prayer that had never occurred before or since, “Oh sun stand still in Gibeon and Oh moon in the valley of Aijalon”. We know this was phenomenological language because the sun and moon don’t move, but the earth is rotating around its axis, which makes it appear that the sun and moon move. Even today we all say the sun comes up and the sun sets, even though we know the sun doesn’t move. Joshua’s prayer was for God to extend the daylight until the victory was totally won. In verse 13 there is an indication that what happened was God slowed down the rotation of the earth thus extending the daylight hours, “the sun did not hurry to set”. In order that we will know for sure, the author adds “There was no day like it before it or after it.” We thought the miracle of the hailstones was big, but extending the time of daylight was HUGE! I have searched all the commentaries and writings of theologians I could find, and it is apparent to me that no miracle in the Bible is as doubted as this one. The traditional biblical view is that it was a miraculous event caused by the intervention of God, but in the last 150 years most theologians have sought out different ways to explain it. The first is the poetic view that this request was in the form of a poem, so it is invoking poetic metaphor to magnify the power of God who won the victory.

Joshua 8-9: The Fall of Ai and the Salvation of Gibeon

After the great victory at Jericho Israel had great momentum in their quest to conquer Canaan, but gloom and despair replaced their confidence after the defeat at Ai. God had put a ban on looting, but Achan had stolen gold and silver and put it in his tent. Therefore God had allowed Israel to suffer the defeat at the hands of the inferior forces of Ai. Nevertheless, Achan’s crime was judged, restitution was made, and Israel’s favor with God was restored. Now in Joshua 8, God would lead the way, and the people of Israel would follow God’s Word. Israel had underestimated the enemy, so now God was sending an overwhelming force to annihilate Ai. In verse 2 we are surprised to hear that God was lifting the ban on taking personal wealth from Ai. It was as if God was proving He wasn’t depriving them. Think of the irony for the now punished thief Achan. If he had just suppressed his greedy desires at Jericho, he would have realized his dreams of wealth in God’s good time at Ai. A wise theologian said, “Aim for the things of the world and you will miss heaven, but aim for heaven and God will throw in the world also”.

The strategy to capture Ai was brilliant. God used Israel’s previous defeat to them to set up His victory. Once again a small Israeli force would approach the front of Ai, and when the army of Ai came out to attack them, a hidden large army behind the hills at the rear of the city would rush into the city and burn it. Another Israeli force flanked the army of Ai, and the Canaanites were easily destroyed. Twelve thousand men, and women were killed, and the king was hanged on a tree. Joshua made the city like a heap of rubble so that it was desolate and disappeared forever.

Joshua 8:30-35, The Sequel—A Spiritual Pilgrimage to Mt. Ebal

After the victory at Ai, surely they would strike while the iron was hot, but no, Joshua led Israel on a pilgrimage to worship God and reaffirm their covenant. In Deuteronomy 27:1-8, Moses had instructed them to go to Mt. Ebal and set up large stones on which they would write the Law. They would also build an altar and sacrifice to the Lord there. Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim are at the geographic center of Canaan (now Israel), and from either peak most of the Promised Land can be seen. The two mountains are separated by a narrow valley. Joshua positioned half the people on the slope of Mt. Ebal and half on Mt. Gerizim, then the Ark of the Covenant surrounded by priests was in the valley between. In Deut. 27-28, Moses had given them the blessings if the people obeyed the Law, but also the curses if the people disobeyed the Law of God. The huge amphitheater formed by the mountains made it possible for all the people to hear Joshua read the law along with all the blessings and curses, and the people said, “Amen” (Deut.27:26).

The Deception of Gibeon

In Joshua 9:1-2 we see the reaction of all the tribes of the Canaanites to the victories of Israel over Jericho and Ai. Previously these Canaanite tribes had been rivals and enemies, but now the enemy of their enemy became their friend. The whole country was aroused by Israel’s victories, and began raising armies to get organized in an all out war against Israel. Powerful confederations developed in both the north and the south with Israel’s forces like a wedge between them. Many years later, David would write Psalm 2, which explained such alliances as more than just fortunes of war. There is also a spiritual war going on in which rivals have a common cause against God’s people. In Ps. 2:1-2, David wrote, “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed”. Israel’s strategy would be to drive south and destroy the southern Canaanite armies, and then turn north to confront the northern tribes.

While the rest of the Canaanite tribes organized to fight against God,