"That day Joshua took Makkedah." (Joshua 10:28a) It appears this happened on the same day the Israelites slew the five Amorite kings. Makkedah was one of the royal cities of the Amorites in the land of Canaan. "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." (Joshua 10:28b) Joshua is doing what the Lord told the Israelites to do: "Completely destroy them---the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites---as the Lord your God has commanded you." (Deuteronomy 20:17)
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho." (Joshua 10:29-30) What did Joshua do to Jericho's king? The account of the battle of Jericho does not specifically say but when the Lord sent the Israelites against the city of Ai, He told Joshua they would do to Ai and its king what they did to Jericho and its king. They killed the king of Ai and displayed his body on a pole until sundown, just as they did with the five Amorite kings in yesterday's passage. I think we can safely assume this was also the fate of the king of Jericho.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. The Lord gave Lachish into Israel's hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army---until no survivors were left." (Joshua 10:31-33) Lachish was one of the most prominent cities in Canaan and once it became part of the kingdom of Judah it was second in size and importance only to Jerusalem. It took Joshua two days to lay siege to and conquer Lachish, in part because the king of Gezer came to the aid of this major city in an attempt to keep it from falling into Israelite hands. But there was nothing the kings of Lachish or Gezer or anyone else could have done; the Lord had already determined to give this city to the Israelites.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish." (Joshua 10:24) It took only one day to conquer this city.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it." (Joshua 10:36-37) Hebron appears to have had a number of suburbs but Joshua took those along with the city itself.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron." (Joshua 10:38-39) The Bible does not say how long it took Joshua to take Debir but I assume it was likely done in only one day since the author took care to inform us that the battle for Lachish took two days; I think this indicates Lachish was an exception.
"So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal." (Joshua 10:40-43) After conquering the forces that came against the city of Gibeon in yesterday's passage, Joshua did not stop until he had subdued all the cities and villages listed in today's passage.
Although in our segment of Scripture today the Bible keeps saying "Joshua did this" or "Joshua did that", the author makes it clear that it was actually the Lord who enabled Joshua and his men to do these great things. Many scholars believe Joshua himself wrote the majority of the book of Joshua, and if so it's important to note that he gives the Lord the credit for the victories we've been reading about today. Joshua says he conquered all these cities and their kings because "the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel". If we are not in step with the Lord in our endeavors, we cannot count on success. But if we are operating within the Lord's will and following His instructions, to quote the Apostle Paul: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
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