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Inhalation to the extreme

Last time we left the Israelites licking their wounds for being duped, yet again. Thankfully this would not last long. Though the Israelites knew that making a peace treaty with the Gibeonites was not in the will of the Lord, He still used it for the best. With that said, it is time to dive into this rich chapter.

Yet again, the chapter starts by informing us that the opposing kings of multiple cities are scared out of their mind. In this chapter five kings decided to ban together to fight against Gibeon after learning that they were in a treaty with Israel, probably hoping that defeating one city would pose less of a threat to them than both cities combined. Of course the Gibeonites were terrified to see five armies marching toward them so cried out for help from the Israelites. Joshua wasted no time and quickly came to their aid. He set out with his mighty army and with personal assurance from God that they would be successful.

Needless to say, all five armies were soon fleeing in terror before Israel while thousands fell by the sword. Just in case someone was left alive, God sent large hailstones from the sky so killing even more warriors. In the midst of this Joshua commanded the sun to stand still so they could finish the battle as God had promised they would. So the sun stood still in the sky for the whole day. Truly God was the one fighting and the Israelites were only aiding Him. Soon all five nations were completely wiped out along with two more nations. This may not sound amazing at first but when you consider how difficult it was for us to defeat Germany during World War II, completely wipping out seven nations in a matter of days is incredible. And may I point out that it would be completely impossible without the help of the Almighty God.

To end the battle Joshua took the five kings, who like valiant warriors hid in a cave while their people fought, and did to them as they deserved. Joshua kept them in the cave until they were finished wipping out all of the people. Then he had them taken out and hung them and put their bodies back in the cave.

So once again, God comes through and saves the day.

Thanks for reading,

~Elisabeth

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