_THE BATTLE OF BETHHORON._
JOSHUA x.
Out of the larger confederacy of the whole Canaanite chiefs against
Joshua and his people recorded in the beginning of chap. ix., a
smaller number, headed by Adonizedec, undertook the special task of
chastising the Gibeonites, who had not only refused to join the
confederacy, but, as it was thought, basely and treacherously
surrendered to Joshua. It is interesting to find the King of
Jerusalem, Adonizedec, bearing a name so similar to that of
Melchizedek, King of Salem, in the days of Abraham. No doubt, since
the days of Jerome, there have been some who have denied that the
Salem of Melchizedek was Jerusalem. But the great mass of opinion is
in favour of the identity of the two places. Melchizedek means King of
Righteousness; Adonizedec, Lord of Righteousness; in substance the
same. It was a striking name for a ruler, and it was remarkable that
it should have been kept up so long, although in the time of
Adonizedec its significance had probably been forgotten. Jerusalem was
but five miles south of Gibeon; the other four capitals, whose chiefs
joined in the expedition, were farther off. Hebron, eighteen miles
south of Jerusalem, was memorable in patriarchal history as the
dwelling-place of Abraham and the burial-place of his family;
Jarmuth, hardly mentioned in the subsequent history, is now
represented by Yarmuk, six miles from Jerusalem; Lachish, of which we
have frequent mention in Scripture, is probably represented by Um
Lakis, about fifteen miles south-west of Jerusalem; and Eglon by
Ajlan, a little farther west. The five little kingdoms embraced most
of the territory afterwards known as the tribe of Judah, and they must
have been far more than a match for Gibeon. Their chiefs are called
"the five Amorite kings," but this does not imply that they were
exclusively of the Amorite race, for "Amorite," like "Canaanite," is
often used generically to denote the whole inhabitants (as in Gen. xv.
16). The five chiefs were so near Gibeon that it was quite natural for
them to undertake this expedition. No doubt they reckoned that, by
making a treaty with Joshua, the Gibeonites had strengthened his hands
and weakened those of his opponents; they had made resistance to
Joshua more difficult for the confederacy, and therefore they deserved
to be chastised. To turn their arms against Gibeon, when they had
Joshua to deal with, was probably an unwise proceeding; but to their
resources it would seem a very easy task. Gibeon enjoyed nothing of
that aid from a great unseen Power that made Joshua so formidable;
little could they have dreamt that Joshua would come to the assistance
of his new allies, and with God's help inflict on them a crushing
defeat. "The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, He
maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the
Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations."
The case was very serious for the Gibeonites. As Gibeon lay so near
Jerusalem and the cities of the other confederates, it is likely that
the appearance of the enemy before its walls was the first, or nearly
the first, intimation of the coming attack. In their extremity they
sent to Joshua imploring help, and the terms in which they besought
him not to lose a moment, but come to them at his utmost speed, show
the urgency of their danger. To appeal to Joshua at all after their
shameful fraud was a piece of presumption, unless--and this is very
unlikely--the treaty between them had promised protection from
enemies. Had Joshua been of a mean nature he would have chuckled over
their distress, and congratulated himself that now he would get rid of
these Gibeonites without trouble on his part. But the same generosity
that had refused to take advantage of their fraud when it was detected
showed itself in this their time of need. Joshua was encamped at
Gilgal on the banks of the Jordan; for the arguments that suppose him
to have been at another Gilgal are not consistent with the terms used
in the narrative (_e.g._, ver. 9, "_went up_ from Gilgal all night").
From Gilgal to Gibeon the distance is upwards of twenty miles, and a
great part of the way is steep and difficult.
Encouraged by the assurance of Divine protection and favoured by the
moonlight, Joshua, by a marvellous act of pluck and energy, went up by
night, reached Gibeon in the morning, fell upon the army of the
assembled kings, possibly while it was yet dark, and utterly
discomfited them. It would have been natural for the routed armies to
make for Jerusalem, only five miles off, by the south road, but either
Joshua had occupied that road, or it was too difficult for a retreat.
The way by which they did retreat, running west from Gibeon, is
carefully described. First they took the way "that goeth up to
Bethhoron." As soon as they had traversed the plain of Gibeon, they
ascended a gentle slope leading towards Bethhoron the upper, then fled
down the well-known pass, through the two Bethhorons, upper and
nether, making for Jarmuth, Lachish, and other towns at the bottom of
the hills. In the course of their descent a hailstorm overtook them,
one of those terrific storms which seem hardly credible to us, but are
abundantly authenticated both in ancient and modern times, and "they
which died with hailstones were more than they whom the children of
Israel slew with the sword." The Israelites, exhausted, no doubt, with
their night march and morning exertions, seem to have been outstripped
by the flying army, and in this way to have escaped the shower of
hail. By the time the five kings, who had had to fly on foot, reached
Makkedah at the foot of the mountains, they were unable to go farther
and hid themselves in a cave. As Joshua passed he was informed of
this, but, unwilling to stop the pursuit of the fugitives, he ordered
large stones to be rolled to the door of the cave, locking the kings
up as it were in a prison, and no doubt leaving a guard in charge.
Then, when the pursuit had been carried to the very gates of the
walled cities, he returned to the cave. The five kings were brought
out, and the chiefs of the Israelite army put their feet upon their
necks. The kings were slain, and their bodies hanged on trees till the
evening.
Thereafter Joshua attacked the chief cities of the confederates, and
took in succession Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, and
Debir. Nothing is said of his taking Jerusalem; indeed it appears from
the after history that the stronghold of Jerusalem on Mount Zion
remained in Jebusite hands up to the time of David. Many of the
inhabitants were able to escape destruction, but substantially Joshua
was now in possession of the whole southern division of the land,
from the Jordan on the east to the borders of the Philistines on the
west, and from Gibeon on the north to the wilderness on the south. It
does not appear, however, that he retained full possession; while he
was occupied in other parts of the country the people returned and
occupied their cities. The clemency of Joshua in not destroying the
inhabitants proved the source of much future trouble.
In all the subsequent history of the country, the victory of Gibeon
was looked back on, and justly, as one of the most memorable that had
ever been known. For promptitude, dash, and daring it was never
eclipsed by any event of the kind; while the strength of the
confederate army, the completeness of its defeat, and the
picturesqueness of the whole situation constantly supplied materials
for wonder and delight. Moreover, the hand of God had been
conspicuously shown in more ways than one. The hailstorm that wrought
such havoc was ascribed to His friendly hand, but a far more memorable
token of His interest and support lay in the miracle that arrested the
movements of the sun and the moon, in order that victorious Israel
might have time to finish his work. And after the victory the capture
of the fortified towns became comparatively easy. The remnant that had
escaped could have no heart to defend them. Joshua must have smiled at
the fate of the "cities walled up to heaven" that had so greatly
distressed his brother spies when they came up to examine the land.
And as he found them one by one yield to his army, as though their
defence had really departed from them, he must have felt with fresh
gratitude the faithfulness and lovingkindness of the Lord, and
earnestly breathed the prayer that neither his faith nor that of his
people might ever fail until the whole campaign was brought to an end.
In some respects this victory has a special significance. In the first
place, it had a most important bearing on the success of the whole
enterprise; its suddenness, its completeness, its manifold grandeur
being admirably fitted to paralyse the enemy in other parts of the
country, and open the whole region to Joshua. By some it has been
compared to the battle of Marathon, not only on account of the
suddenness with which the decisive blow was struck, but also on
account of the importance of the interests involved. It was a battle
for freedom, for purity, for true religion, in opposition to tyranny,
idolatry, and abominable sensuality; for all that is wholesome in
human life, in opposition to all that is corrupt; for all that makes
for peaceful progress, in opposition to all that entails degradation
and misery. The prospects of the whole world were brighter after that
victory of Bethhoron. The relation of heaven to earth was more
auspicious, and more full of promise for the days to come. Had any
hitch occurred in the arrangements; had Israel halted half-way up the
eastern slopes, and the troops of Adonizedec driven them back; had the
tug of war in the plain of Gibeon proved too much for them after their
toilsome night march; had no hailstorm broken out on the retreating
enemy; had he been able to form again at the western foot of the hills
and arrest the progress of Joshua in pursuit, the whole enterprise
would have had a different complexion. No doubt the Divine arm might
have been stretched out for Israel in some other way; but the
remarkable thing was, that no such supplementary mode of achieving the
desired result was required. At every point the success of Israel was
complete, and every obstacle opposed to him by the enemy was swept
away for the time being as smoke before the wind.
In the next place, the tokens of Divine aid were very impressive.
After the experience which Joshua had had of the consequences of
failing to ask God for direction when first the Gibeonites came to
him, we may be very sure that on the present occasion he would be
peculiarly careful to seek Divine counsel. And he was well rewarded.
For "the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had
avenged themselves upon their enemies." It does not need to be said
that this miraculous incident has from first to last given birth to an
immensity of perplexity and discussion. It will be observed that the
record of it does not come in as part of the narrative, but as a
quotation from a pre-existing book. Concerning that book we know very
little. From its name, Jashar, "The upright," we may believe it to
have been a record of memorable deeds of righteous men. In form it was
poetical, the extract in the present case being of that rhythmical
structure which was the mark of Hebrew poetry. The only other occasion
on which it is mentioned is in connection with the song composed by
David, after the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 18). "David"
(as the Revised Version puts it) "bade them teach the children of
Israel the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of
Jashar." As to the origin and nature of this book we can only
conjecture. It may have been a public record, contributed to from time
to time by various writers, under conditions and arrangements which at
this distance of time, and under the obscurity of the whole subject,
we cannot ascertain.
Then as to the miracle of the sun and the moon standing still. It is
well known that this was one of the passages brought forward by the
Church of Rome to condemn Galileo, when he affirmed that the earth and
the moon revolved round the sun, and that it was not the motion of the
sun round the earth, but the rotation of the earth on her own axis
that produced the change of day and night. No one would dream now of
making use of this passage for any such purpose. Whatever theory of
inspiration men may hold, it is admitted universally that the inspired
writers used the popular language of the day in matters of science,
and did not anticipate discoveries which were not made till many
centuries later. That expressions occur in Scripture which are not in
accord with the best established conclusions of modern science would
never be regarded by any intelligent person as an argument against the
Scriptures as the inspired records of God's will, designed especially
to reveal to us the way of life and salvation through Jesus Christ,
and to be an infallible guide to us on all that "man is to believe
concerning God, and the duty that God requires of man."
A far more serious question has been raised as to whether this miracle
ever occurred, or could have occurred. To those who believe in the
possibility of miracles, it can be no conclusive argument that it
could not have occurred without producing injurious consequences the
end of which can hardly be conceived. For if the rotation of the earth
on its axis was suddenly arrested, all human beings on its surface,
and all loose objects whatever must have been flung forward with
prodigious violence; just as, on a small scale, on the sudden stoppage
of a carriage, we find ourselves thrown forward, the motion of the
carriage having been communicated to our bodies. But really this is a
paltry objection; for surely the Divine power that can control the
rotation of the earth is abundantly able to obviate such effects as
these. We can understand the objection that God, having adjusted all
the forces of nature, leaves them to operate by themselves in a
uniform way without disturbance or interference; but we can hardly
comprehend the reasonableness of the position that if it is His
pleasure miraculously to modify one arrangement, He is unable to
adjust all relative arrangements, and make all conspire harmoniously
to the end desired.
But was it a miracle? The narrative, as we have it, implies not only
that it was, but that there was something in it stupendous and
unprecedented. It comes in as a part of that supernatural process in
which God had been engaged ever since the deliverance of His people
from Egypt, and which was to go on till they should be finally settled
in the land. It naturally joins on to the miraculous division of the
Jordan, and the miraculous fall of the walls of Jericho. We must
remember that the work in which God was now engaged was one of
peculiar spiritual importance and significance. He was not merely
finding a home for His covenant people; He was making arrangements for
advancing the highest interests of humanity; He was guarding against
the extinction on earth of the Divine light which alone could guide
man in safety through the life that now is, and in preparation for
that which is to come. He was taking steps to prevent a final and
fatal severance of the relation between God and man, and He was even
preparing the way for a far more complete and glorious development of
that relation--to be seen in the person of His Incarnate Son, the
spiritual Joshua, and made possible for men through that great work
of propitiation which He was to accomplish on the cross. Who will take
upon him to say that at an important crisis in the progress of the
events which were to prepare the way for this grand consummation, it
was not fitting for the Almighty to suspend for a time even the
ordinances of heaven, in order that a day's work, carrying such vast
consequences, might not be interrupted before its triumphant close?
There are commentators worthy of high respect who have thought that
the fact of this incident being noticed in the form of a quotation
from the Book of Jashar somewhat diminishes the credit due to it. It
looks as if it had not formed part of the original narrative, but had
been inserted by a subsequent editor from a book of poetry, expressed
with poetic licence, and perhaps of later date. They are disposed to
regard the words of Joshua, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and
thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon," as a mere expression of his
desire that the light would last long enough to allow the decisive
work of the day to be brought to a thorough conclusion. They look on
it as akin to the prayer of Agamemnon ("Iliad," ii. 412 _sq._) that
the sun might not go down till he had sacked Troy; and the form of
words they consider to be suited to poetical composition, like some of
the expressions in the eighteenth psalm--"There went up a smoke out of
His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled
by it. He bowed the heavens also, and did come down: He rode upon a
cherub, and did fly."
But whatever allowance we may make for poetical licence of speech, it
is hardly possible not to perceive that the words as they stand imply
a miracle of extraordinary sublimity; nor do we see any sufficient
ground for resisting the common belief that in whatsoever way it was
effected, there was a supernatural extension of the period of light,
to allow Joshua to finish his work.[13]
[13] It seems hardly necessary to notice an explanation of the
phenomenon that has been made lately--to the effect that it was in
the morning, not the evening of the day, that Joshua expressed his
wish. It was to prevent the allied kings about Gibeon knowing of
his approach that he desired the sun to delay his rising in the
east, a desire which was virtually fulfilled by that dark, cloudy
condition of the sky which precedes a thunderstorm. The natural
sense of the narrative admits neither of this explanation of the
time nor of the miracle itself.
One other notable feature in the transaction of this day was the
completeness of the defeat inflicted by Joshua on the enemy. This
defeat went on in successive stages from early morning till late at
night. First, there was the slaughter in the plain of Gibeon. Then the
havoc produced by the hail and by Joshua on the retreating army. Then
the destruction caused as Joshua followed the enemy to their cities.
And the work of the day was wound up by the execution of the five
kings. Moreover, there followed a succession of similar scenes at the
taking and sacking of their cities. When we try to realize all this in
detail, we are confronted with a terrible scene of blood and death,
and possibly we may find ourselves asking, Was there a particle of
humanity in Joshua, that he was capable of such a series of
transactions? Certainly Joshua was a great soldier, and a great
religious soldier, but he was in many ways like his time. He had many
of the qualities of Oriental commanders, and one of these qualities
has ever been to carry slaughter to the utmost limit that the occasion
allows. His treatment of the conquered kings, too, was marked by
characteristic Oriental barbarity, for he caused his captains to put
their feet upon their necks, needlessly embittering their dying
moments, and he exposed their dead bodies to the needless humiliation
of being hanged on a tree. But it must be said, and said firmly for
Joshua, that there is no evidence of his acting on this or on other
such occasions in order to gratify personal feelings; it was not done
either to gratify a thirst for blood, or to gratify the pride of a
conqueror. Joshua all through gives us the impression of a man
carrying out the will of another; inflicting a judicial sentence, and
inflicting it thoroughly at the first so that there might be no need
for a constant series of petty executions afterwards. This certainly
was his aim; but the enemy showed themselves more vital than he had
supposed.
And when we turn to ourselves and think what we may learn from this
transaction, we see a valuable application of his method to the
spiritual warfare. God has enemies still, within and without, with
whom we are called to contend. "For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places." When we are fighting with the enemy within our own hearts
leniency is our great temptation, but at the same time our greatest
snare. What we need here is, courage to slay. We content ourselves
with confessions and regrets, but the enemy lives, returns to the
attack, and keeps us in perpetual discomfort. Oh that in this battle
we resembled Joshua, aiming at killing the enemy outright, and leaving
nothing belonging to him that breathes!
And in reference to the outside world, want of thoroughness in warfare
is still our besetting sin. We play at missions; we trifle with the
awful drunkenness and sensuality around us; we look on, and we see
rural districts gradually depopulated; and we wring our hands at the
mass of poverty, vice, and misery in our great crowded cities. How
rare is it for any one to arise among us like General Booth, to face
prevailing evils in all their magnitude, and even attempt to do battle
with them along the whole line! Why should not such a spirit be
universal in the Christian Church? Who can tell the evil done by want
of faith, by languor, by unwillingness to be disturbed in our quiet,
self-indulged life, by our fear of rousing against us the scorn and
rage of the world? If only the Church had more faith, and, as the
fruit of faith, more courage and more enterprise, what help from
heaven might not come to her! True, she would not see the enemy
crushed by hailstones, nor the sun standing in Gibeon, nor the moon in
the valley of Ajalon; but she would see grander sights; she would see
men of spiritual might raised up in her ranks; she would see tides of
strong spiritual influence overwhelming her enemies. Jerichos
dismantled, Ais captured, and the champions of evil falling like
Lucifer from heaven to make way for the King of kings and Lord of
lords.
Let us go to the cross of Jesus to revive our faith and recruit our
energies. The Captain of our salvation has not only achieved salvation
for us, but He has set us a blessed example of the spirit and life of
true Christian warriors.
"At the Name of Jesus
Satan's legions flee;
On then, Christian soldiers,
On to victory.
Hell's foundations quiver
At the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise!"