Yoshua — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 6: Udanganyifu wa Wagibeoni & Siku NdefuJoshua Intensive — Unit 6: Gibeonite Deception & the Long Day

Pacha wa dhambi katika maisha ya Mkristo ni udanganyifu. Akani katika sura ya 7 alikuwa dhambi ndani ya kambi; Wagibeoni katika sura ya 9 ni udanganyifu unaofika kutoka nje ya kambi ukiwa umevaa kama jibu la maombi. Israeli yule yule aliyejifunza katika Yoshua 7 kutoshambulia akiwa na mali za wizi hemani, sasa anapaswa kujifunza katika Yoshua 9 kutotia sahihi mkataba bila kumwuliza BWANA. Mitego miwili tofauti kwa jeshi lile lile katika vita vile vile — na kinga pekee dhidi ya yoyote kati yake ni ile ile: muulize BWANA kabla hujatenda.Sin's twin in the Christian life is deception. Achan in chapter 7 was a sin inside the camp; the Gibeonites in chapter 9 are a deception arriving from outside the camp dressed up like an answer to prayer. The same Israel that learned in Joshua 7 not to attack with stolen goods in the tent now has to learn in Joshua 9 not to sign a treaty without asking the LORD. Two different traps for the same army on the same campaign — and the only protection from either one is the same: ask the LORD before you act.

Kesheni. Ombeni kwanza.Be alert. Pray first.

Wayne anasimulia habari ya mume na mke ambao yeye na mkewe waliwahi kuwakaribisha katika nyumba ya mchungaji huko Briarwood alipokuwa akichunga kanisa huko. Walikuja wakihitaji msaada, na msaada walioomba haukuwa msaada waliokuwa wakiutaka kweli. Pia anakumbuka, kutoka miaka mingi aliyokaa kati ya jamii za wenyeji asilia, kuona msaada wa fedha ukifika katika nyumba moja na mkuu wa familia akazitumia fedha hizo kununua pombe badala ya chakula. Msaada unafika. Kujificha ni kuzuri. Habari inaonekana kuwa ya kweli. Na baadaye tu ndipo gharama inaonekana — kwa watoto, kwa ndoa, kwa ushuhuda. Huo ndio umbo hasa la Yoshua 9. Wagibeoni hawatoki kwenda vitani. Wanafika kambini huko Gilgali wakiwa na magunia yaliyochakaa, viatu vilivyotiwa viraka, viriba vya divai vilivyopasuka, na mkate wenye ukungu, nao wanamwomba Yoshua mkataba.Wayne tells of a couple he and his wife once kept at the parsonage in Briarwood when he was pastoring there. They came needing help, and the help they asked for was not the help they actually wanted. He also remembers, from years among native communities, watching a relief allotment land in a household and the family head spend the money on liquor instead of food. Help arrives. The disguise is good. The story checks out. And only later does the cost show up — on the children, on the marriage, on the witness. That is exactly the shape of Joshua 9. The Gibeonites do not march out to fight. They show up at the camp at Gilgal in worn-out sacks, patched sandals, cracked wineskins, and moldy bread, and they ask Joshua for a treaty.

Sehemu hii inapitia mfululizo wa sura hizi mbili. Kifungu cha I kinaeleza tahadhari tatu za Wayne kutoka katika mahubiri yake juu ya Yoshua 9: keshe dhidi ya mashambulizi baada ya ushindi (kielelezo cha siku ya kuchinja nguruwe); keshe dhidi ya udanganyifu (vyura wawili wa Aesopo na kisima; Mathayo 10:16); na keshe kuomba kwanza (Yakobo 1:5). Kifungu cha II kinapitia kujificha kwenyewe na mkataba ambao Yoshua hakupaswa kuutia sahihi. Kifungu cha III kinasimama kwenye Yoshua 9:14 — mstari wa huzuni zaidi katika sura hii: "wala hawakutaka shauri kinywani mwa BWANA." Maelezo ya Wayne hapa ni makali: kwa kweli Mungu alikuwa ametoa utaratibu — Urimu na Thumimu katika kifuko cha kifuani cha kuhani mkuu — ambao kwa huo Yoshua angeweza kupokea jibu lisilo na shaka. Hakuutumia. Kifungu cha IV kinafuatilia mfululizo wa kushangaza wa ukombozi: jinsi Mungu anavyowachukua Wagibeoni kutoka kuwa waongo langoni hadi kuwa watumishi wenye heshima katika nyumba yake mwenyewe, pamoja na Rahabu. Kifungu cha V kinafungua sura ya 10 kwa muungano wa wafalme watano wanaokuja dhidi ya Gibeoni na mawe ya mvua kutoka mbinguni. Kifungu cha VI kinasimama kwenye Siku Ndefu — "Wewe jua, simama juu ya Gibeoni." Kifungu cha VII kinahitimisha vita vya kusini kwa miguu juu ya shingo za wafalme na sentensi inayopita kimya kimya katika kitabu chote: "BWANA, Mungu wa Israeli, aliwapigania Israeli" (Yoshua 10:42). Hitimisho linarudi kwenye chumba cha gereza huko Meksiko ambapo tapeli mmoja aitwaye Jaime Guerrero anaomba sala asiyoimaanisha na kugundua, kwa mshangao wake mwenyewe, kwamba Bwana anamshikilia kwayo.This unit walks the two-chapter arc. Section I lays out Wayne's three alerts from his sermon on Joshua 9: be alert to attacks after victory (the hog-killing illustration); be alert to deception (Aesop's two frogs and the well; Matthew 10:16); and be alert to pray first (James 1:5). Section II walks through the disguise itself and the treaty Joshua should not have signed. Section III stands at Joshua 9:14 — the saddest line in the chapter: "They did not ask counsel of the LORD." Wayne's note here is sharp: God had actually provided a procedure — the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of the high priest — through which Joshua could have received an unambiguous answer. He did not use it. Section IV traces the surprising redemption arc: how God takes the Gibeonites from liars at the gate to honored servants in His own house, alongside Rahab. Section V opens chapter 10 with the five-king coalition that comes against Gibeon and the hailstones from heaven. Section VI stands at the Long Day — "Sun, stand still upon Gibeon." Section VII closes the southern campaign with feet on the necks of kings and a sentence that quietly threads the whole book: "the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel" (Joshua 10:42). The Closing comes back to a Mexican prison cell where a con man named Jaime Guerrero prays a prayer he does not mean and discovers, to his own surprise, that the Lord holds him to it.

1. Keshe Dhidi ya Mashambulizi Baada ya Ushindi1. Be Alert to Attacks After Victory

Jambo la kwanza la kuona katika Yoshua 9 ni wakati wake. Ujumbe wa Wagibeoni haufiki baada ya kushindwa. Unafika baada ya Yeriko na Ai — mara tu baada ya ushindi mkubwa zaidi miwili wa vita hivi hadi sasa. Shetani hapigi farasi aliyekwisha kufa. Mashambulizi ambayo Wayne ameyafuatilia katika miaka arobaini ya huduma ya kichungaji hayaji kamwe wakati ule wa udhaifu ambao kila mtu anautarajia. Yanakuja asubuhi baada ya uamsho. Wiki baada ya maombi kujibiwa. Simu inayokuja mara tu baada ya mazishi ambapo BWANA alikutana nawe. Adui anasubiri kambi ilegee.The first thing to notice about Joshua 9 is the timing. The Gibeonite delegation does not arrive after a defeat. It arrives after Jericho and Ai — right after the two greatest victories of the campaign so far. Satan never beats a dead horse. The attacks Wayne tracks across forty years of pastoral ministry never come at the moment of weakness everyone is expecting. They come the morning after the revival. The week after the prayer is answered. The phone call right after the funeral where the LORD met you. The enemy waits for the camp to relax.

Wayne anatumia kielelezo kutoka utotoni mwake ili kufafanua jambo hili. Anakumbuka "siku ya kuchinja nguruwe" alipokuwa mvulana. Wanaume walikuwa wakienda zizini na kumpiga mmoja wa nguruwe kichwani kwa shoka. Angepiga kelele na kuanguka chini amekufa. Kisha "alichomwa" — alikatwa karibu na moyo ili damu imtoke vizuri. Kisha alikokotwa mbali na kukatwakatwa. Lakini hiki ndicho kilichomshangaza Wayne: nguruwe waliobaki hawakujali hata kidogo. Waliendelea tu kula kana kwamba hakuna kilichotokea. Wanaume walirudi na kurudia utaratibu ule ule. Nguruwe wengine waliendelea kama kawaida. Wayne anaandika: "Mara nyingi tumeona kwamba nguruwe wote isipokuwa mmoja walipokuwa wamechinjwa, yule aliyebaki hakujali kana kwamba hakuna kilichotokea. Tunaweza kuelewa hili kwa sababu ni viumbe visivyo na akili. Lakini je, wanadamu?"Wayne uses an illustration from his boyhood to make the point. He remembers "hog killing day" when he was a boy. The men would go down to the pen and knock one of the hogs in the head with an ax. He would squeal and fall over dead. Then he was "stuck" — cut at the heart so he would bleed freely. Then he was dragged away and butchered. But here is what struck Wayne: the remaining hogs took no notice. They just kept eating as if nothing had happened. The men returned and repeated the procedure. The other hogs went right on as usual. Wayne writes: "Often we have noticed that when every hog but one had been slaughtered, the remaining one was as indifferent as if nothing had taken place. We can understand this because they are unintelligent creatures. But what about human beings?"

William Moses Tidwell analichukua jambo hilo hilo na kulinoa zaidi. Tuseme uliona njia nyembamba kati ya miamba miwili ya milima, na ukawatazama wanaume mia moja wakijaribu kuruka kuivuka. Kama wote wangeanguka na kupondwa futi mia mbili chini, je, wewe ungejaribu? Lakini unafanya hivyo hasa. Tuseme kulikuwa na tauni ya mauti katika hospitali fulani, na karibu wote walioingia walikuwa wakifa ndani ya saa chache. Je, ungeingia? Lakini unafanya hivyo hasa. Unaona maelfu ya wanadamu wenzako wakiangamia katika aina nyingi za dhambi, lakini wewe unaendelea kujitosa. Unasema, "Nitapita salama." Hapana, hutapita. "Msidanganyike." Huwezi kutenda mabaya ukapita salama.William Moses Tidwell takes the same point and sharpens it. Suppose you saw a pass between two mountain ledges, and you watched one hundred men try to leap across it. If all fell and were crushed two hundred feet below, would you try it? But you are doing it. Suppose there were a plague of death in a certain hospital, and practically all who walked in were dying within a few hours. Would you walk in? But you are doing it. You see thousands of your fellow beings perishing in many forms of sin, yet you plunge on. You say, "I will get by." No, you will not. "Be not deceived." You cannot do wrong and get by.

Ujumbe wa Wagibeoni ndio ule kuruka katika njia nyembamba ya mlimani. Jeshi lililokuwa limetoka tu kutazama miji miwili ikianguka kwa mkono wa Mungu sasa linaketi na wageni wanaodai kutoka nchi ya mbali na kwa utulivu linaandaa mkataba bila kulipeleka swali hilo kwa Mungu. Siku ya kuchinja nguruwe inaendelea ndani ya sura ile ile ambamo kambi inakula mkate wenye ukungu.The Gibeonite delegation is the leap into the pass. The army that had just watched two cities fall by the hand of God now sits down with strangers from a long-claimed distant country and calmly carves out a treaty without bringing the question to God. Hog-killing day is going on inside the very chapter where the camp is eating moldy bread.

2. Keshe Dhidi ya Kudanganywa2. Be Alert to Being Deceived

Tahadhari ya pili ni tahadhari dhidi ya udanganyifu wenyewe. Yesu anatumia wazo hilo hilo katika Mathayo 10:16: "Tazama, mimi nawatuma ninyi kama kondoo kati ya mbwa-mwitu; basi iweni na busara kama nyoka, na kuwa wapole kama hua." Busara na upole vinapaswa kuwa ndani ya Mkristo yule yule. Wayne anaeleza kwamba katika mstari wake huu mmoja Yesu hatuachii tuchague kati ya hua wajinga wanaodanganyika kirahisi na nyoka wakatili. Anataka vyote viwili kwa wakati mmoja.The second alert is the alert against deception itself. Jesus uses the same word in Matthew 10:16: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." The shrewdness and the innocence are supposed to be in the same Christian. Wayne notes that in His one verse Jesus does not let us choose between gullible doves and ruthless snakes. He requires both at once.

Aesopo anaichora onyo hilo hilo katika kiwango cha viumbe wadogo. Vyura wawili waliishi katika dimbwi moja. Dimbwi lilipokauka kwa joto la kiangazi, waliliacha na kuondoka pamoja kutafuta makao mengine. Walipokuwa wakienda walipita karibu na kisima kirefu, chenye maji tele, na mmoja wa vyura akamwambia mwenzake, "Tushuke tukae katika kisima hiki; kitatupa makazi na chakula." Yule mwingine akajibu kwa tahadhari zaidi, "Lakini je, maji yakitupungukia? Tutawezaje kutoka tena katika kina kirefu namna hii?"Aesop sketches the same warning at the level of small creatures. Two frogs lived in the same pool. When the pool dried up under the summer's heat, they left it and set out together for another home. As they went along they passed a deep well, amply supplied with water, and one of the frogs said to the other, "Let us descend and make our abode in this well; it will furnish us with shelter and food." The other replied with greater caution, "But suppose the water should fail us. How can we get out again from so great a depth?"

Hilo ndilo swali ambalo Yoshua alipaswa kuwauliza Wagibeoni na hakuliuliza. Tutatokaje katika jambo hili ikiwa itabainika kwamba ninyi si wale mnaosema mlivyo? Wakristo wanahitaji utambuzi mwingi kabla ya kuanza jambo kubwa katika maisha yao. Utambuzi ni kuomba tu swali la chura wa pili kabla hujatia sahihi mkataba.That is the question Joshua should have asked the Gibeonites and did not ask. How will we get out of this if it turns out you are not who you say you are? Christians need a lot of discernment before they undertake something major in their lives. Discernment is just praying the second frog's question before you sign the treaty.

3. Keshe Kuomba Kwanza3. Be Alert to Pray First

Tahadhari ya tatu ndiyo jibu la zile mbili za kwanza. Omba kabla hujaamua, si baada ya kutia sahihi. Yakobo 1:5 iko tayari kwa ajili ya wakati huu hasa: "Lakini mtu wa kwenu akipungukiwa na hekima, na aombe dua kwa Mungu, awapaye wote kwa ukarimu, wala hakemei; naye atapewa." Mungu si bahili wa hekima. Hakusubiri uugundue mtego peke yako. Anatoa kwa ukarimu. Anatoa bila kukukaripia kwa kuomba. Gharama ya kuomba ni sala moja; gharama ya kutoomba, katika Yoshua 9, ni mkataba usioweza kuvunjwa na watu ambao baadaye wanabainika kuwa majirani wa karibu kabisa.The third alert is the answer to the first two. Pray before you decide, not after you have signed. James 1:5 stands ready for exactly this moment: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." God is not stingy with wisdom. He is not waiting for you to figure out the trap on your own. He gives liberally. He gives without scolding you for asking. The cost of asking is one prayer; the cost of not asking, in Joshua 9, is an unbreakable treaty with people who turn out to be next-door neighbors.

Omba kwa ajili ya mambo makubwa. Omba kwa ajili ya mambo madogo. Wayne wakati mwingine hujikuta akiomba apate mahali pa kuegesha gari na msaada wa kuepuka matatizo badala ya kutoka ndani yake. Kanuni ni rahisi: ni nafuu sana kuomba kabla hujatenda kuliko kuomba baada ya uongo kutiwa sahihi. Sentensi nzima ya huzuni ya Yoshua 9:14 — inayokuja katika Kifungu cha III — ndiyo hasa unayojiokoa nayo unapoomba kwanza.Pray for big issues. Pray for small issues. Wayne sometimes catches himself praying for parking spaces and for help avoiding messes rather than getting out of them. The principle is simple: it is much cheaper to pray before you act than to pray after the lie is signed. The whole sad sentence of Joshua 9:14 — coming up in Section III — is exactly what you save yourself from when you pray first.

Kujificha huku ni kazi ya ustadi mkubwa wa kuigiza. Wagibeoni wamesikia yaliyotokea Yeriko na Ai. Wanajua kwamba Israeli wameagizwa wasifanye agano lolote na wenyeji wa nchi (Kumbukumbu la Torati 7:1–2). Pia wanajua kwamba Israeli wameruhusiwa kufanya amani na miji iliyo mbali sana (Kumbukumbu la Torati 20:10–15). Gibeoni wenyewe uko umbali wa maili sita tu hivi kutoka Ai. Kwa hiyo wanatengeneza umbali. Wanachukua magunia ya zamani na kuyararua. Wanatia viraka viatu vyao. Wanapasua viriba vyao vya divai na kuvifunga. Wanaoka mkate, kisha wanauacha mpaka unavunjika na kuwa na ukungu. Wanapakia vyote hivi juu ya punda na kutembea siku tatu barabarani, kisha siku tatu kurudi, mpaka wanaonekana kama watu waliotembea kwa wiki nyingi. Kisha wanafika Gilgali na kumwambia Yoshua, "Watumishi wako wametoka nchi iliyo mbali sana, kwa sababu ya jina la BWANA, Mungu wako; maana tumesikia habari zake" (Yoshua 9:9).The disguise is a piece of theatrical genius. The Gibeonites have heard what happened at Jericho and Ai. They know Israel is under orders to make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–2). They also know that Israel is permitted to make peace with cities very far away (Deuteronomy 20:10–15). Gibeon itself is only about six miles from Ai. So they manufacture distance. They take old sacks and tear them. They patch their sandals. They split their wineskins and bind them up. They bake bread, then let it sit until it crumbles into mold. They load all of this onto donkeys and walk three days down the road, then three days back, until they look like men who have walked for weeks. Then they arrive at Gilgal and tell Joshua, "From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame" (Joshua 9:9).

Maneno yao ya kwanza ndiyo sehemu ya ujanja zaidi. Wanamsifu BWANA kwa kujipendekeza. Wanataja matendo yake makuu — aliyoyafanya Misri, aliyowatenda Sihoni na Ogu ng'ambo ya mashariki ya Yordani. Hawataji habari yoyote ya Yeriko wala Ai, kwa sababu hilo lingewafichua kuwa watu wa karibuni na wa jirani. Wanajifanya kuonekana kama wapagani wa mbali waliosikia habari ya zamani na wamekuja kutoka mbali sana kufanya amani na Mungu wa Israeli. Yoshua na viongozi wanautazama mkate wenye ukungu, wanauonja, wanatazama viriba vilivyopasuka, na maandiko yanaandika hukumu kwa maneno machache yanayolaumu vikali: "Ndipo watu wakatwaa baadhi ya vyakula vyao, wala hawakutaka shauri kinywani mwa BWANA" (Yoshua 9:14).The opening line is the cleverest part. They flatter the LORD. They name His mighty acts — what He did in Egypt, what He did to Sihon and Og east of the Jordan. They cite no rumor of Jericho or Ai, because that would give them away as recent and local. They make themselves look like distant pagans who heard a long-ago story and have come a great distance to make peace with Israel's God. Joshua and the leaders look at the moldy bread, taste it, look at the cracked wineskins, and the text records the verdict in three damning words: "the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD" (Joshua 9:14).

Kisha kinakuja kiapo. Yoshua na wazee "akafanya agano nao, kuwaacha hai; na wakuu wa mkutano wakawaapia" (Yoshua 9:15). Siku tatu baadaye, ukweli unajulikana. Wagibeoni hawatoki nchi ya mbali. Wanatoka kwenye kilima kinachofuata — miji minne iliyokusanyika kuzunguka Gibeoni, mwendo wa chini ya siku moja kutoka kambini. Mkutano wote unawanung'unikia viongozi. Jibu la viongozi linashangaza: "Sisi tumewaapia kwa BWANA, Mungu wa Israeli; basi sasa hatuwezi kuwagusa. Tutawatenda neno hili, na kuwaacha hai; isije ghadhabu ikawa juu yetu, kwa sababu ya kiapo kile tulichowaapia" (Yoshua 9:18–20).Then comes the oath. Joshua and the elders "made a covenant with them to let them live, and the rulers of the congregation swore to them" (Joshua 9:15). Three days later, the truth comes out. The Gibeonites are not from a far country. They are from the next ridge over — four cities clustered around Gibeon, less than a day's march from the camp. The whole assembly grumbles against the leaders. The leaders' answer is striking: "We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. This we will do to them: we will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them" (Joshua 9:18–20).

Soma kilichotokea hapa. Makubaliano yalikuwa mkataba unaofunga. Yalikuwa matakatifu kwa sababu yalikuwa yamethibitishwa kwa kiapo katika jina la BWANA, Mungu wa Israeli. Wagibeoni walikuwa wamesema uongo. Mkataba ulipatikana kwa udanganyifu. Kwa kipimo chochote cha sheria ya kisasa mkataba huo ni batili waziwazi. Lakini jina la BWANA lilikuwa limetajwa. Kiapo kilikuwa kimeapwa mbele zake. Kukivunja kungeleta ghadhabu ya Mungu juu ya Israeli. Kwa hiyo Israeli wanakishika kiapo. Wanakishika kwa miaka mia nne iliyofuata — tutamwona Sauli akikivunja katika 2 Samweli 21 na miaka mitatu ya njaa ikiipata nchi. Mungu wa Israeli hatadhihakiwa, hata kwa viapo vibaya vya watu wake mwenyewe. Yoshua hakuweza kuirudisha ahadi yake; hakuweza kujinasua kutoka katika mkataba. Aliweza tu kuwakemea Wagibeoni kwa ukosefu wao wa uaminifu na kuwadai utumishi wa kudumu unaofuata katika Kifungu cha IV.Read what just happened. The agreement was a binding contract. It was sacred because it had been ratified by an oath in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. The Gibeonites had lied. The treaty had been procured by deception. By any modern legal standard the contract is void on its face. But the LORD's name had been invoked. The oath had been sworn in His presence. To break it would bring down the wrath of God on Israel. So Israel keeps the oath. They keep it for the next four hundred years — we will see Saul break it in 2 Samuel 21 and three years of famine fall on the land. The God of Israel will not be mocked, even by the bad oaths of His own people. Joshua could not withdraw from his pledge; he could not extricate himself from the treaty. He could only rebuke the Gibeonites for their dishonesty and require of them the perpetual service that follows in Section IV.

Yoshua 9:14 huenda ndiyo sentensi ya huzuni zaidi katika kitabu hiki. Ni fupi, karibu kama jambo dogo tu katika mtiririko wa simulizi, lakini inaeleza kila kitu kinachofuata. Wayne anaiwekea mstari kwa sababu ameiona ikieleza kila kitu kinachofuata katika maisha ya watu pia. "Ndipo watu wakatwaa baadhi ya vyakula vyao, wala hawakutaka shauri kinywani mwa BWANA." Waliuchunguza mkate. Waliionja divai. Waliviangalia viatu. Hawakuomba.Joshua 9:14 may be the saddest sentence in the book. It is short, almost incidental in the flow of the narrative, but it explains everything that follows. Wayne underlines it because he has seen it explain everything that follows in human lives too. "The men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD." They examined the bread. They sampled the wine. They looked at the sandals. They did not pray.

Hili si kushindwa kwa akili. Viongozi wa Israeli walikuwa watu wenye uzoefu. Mkate kweli ulionekana kuwa na ukungu. Viriba kweli vilikuwa vimepasuka. Viatu kweli vilikuwa na viraka. Ushahidi ulielekeza mahali hasa ambapo Wagibeoni walitaka uelekeze. Viongozi walikuwa hodari kabisa katika kuchunguza ushahidi unaoonekana. Kushindwa kulikuwa kwamba ustadi si sawa na utambuzi, na ushahidi unaoonekana si sawa na shauri la BWANA. Kuna mambo mengine ambayo unaweza kuyajua tu kwa kumwuliza Yule ambaye tayari anajua.This is not a failure of intelligence. The leaders of Israel were experienced men. The bread really did look moldy. The wineskins really were cracked. The sandals really were patched. The evidence pointed exactly where the Gibeonites wanted it to point. The leaders were perfectly competent at examining physical evidence. The failure was that competence is not the same as discernment, and physical evidence is not the same as the counsel of the LORD. There are some things you can only know by asking the One who already knows.

Kinachofanya kushindwa huku kuwe kukali zaidi ni kwamba Yoshua alikuwa na njia ya moja kwa moja, iliyotolewa na Mungu, ya kuuliza. Wayne anasisitiza jambo hili: Mungu alikuwa ametoa utaratibu ambao kwa huo mwongozo wa Mungu ungeweza kujulikana bila shaka yoyote. Mungu alikuwa amewapa Israeli vitu vilivyoitwa Urimu na Thumimu. Vitu hivi vitakatifu viliwekwa katika mfuko ndani ya kifuko cha kifuani cha kuhani mkuu. Kiongozi wa kijeshi wa Israeli alipotaka kujua mapenzi ya Mungu juu ya jambo fulani, angeenda kwa kuhani mkuu, ambaye angeuliza kwa Urimu na Thumimu kwa niaba yake na kuleta jibu lililo wazi la ndiyo au hapana (taz. Hesabu 27:21; 1 Samweli 23:9–12; 28:6). Yoshua alikuwa na nafasi hiyo. Eleazari kuhani mkuu alikuwa papo hapo kambini. Njia ya kuuliza ilikuwa ikingoja mlangoni pa maskani. Yoshua hakuitumia tu. Aliutazama mkate na kutia sahihi mkataba.What makes the failure even sharper is that Joshua had a direct, divinely-provided way to ask. Wayne emphasizes this point: God had provided a procedure whereby the direction of God could be unambiguously determined. God had given Israel a set of objects called the Urim and Thummim. These sacred objects were kept in a pouch in the breastpiece of the high priest. When the military leader of Israel wanted to know God's will on a matter, he would go to the high priest, who would inquire of the Urim and Thummim on his behalf and bring back a clear yes-or-no answer (cf. Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 23:9–12; 28:6). Joshua had access. Eleazar the high priest was right there in the camp. The mechanism for asking was waiting at the doorway of the tabernacle. Joshua simply did not use it. He looked at the bread and signed the treaty.

Matumizi ya kiuanafunzi yanafikia kila kipindi cha maisha ya mwamini. Wayne anaeleza kwamba siku hizi wakati mwingine tunaomba na kuhisi kana kwamba hatupati jibu lililo wazi, na hivyo tunaogopa kufanya uamuzi. Lakini hilo si tatizo lile lile alilokuwa nalo Yoshua. Yoshua alikuwa na njia iliyo wazi na akaipita bila kuitumia. Jaribu letu mara nyingi zaidi ni kuacha kuuliza kabisa na kuutumainia mkate wenye ukungu ulio mezani. Wayne ameuona mtindo huu katika ndoa ambapo mchumba alionekana mkamilifu kwenye karatasi na maombi hayakufanyika kamwe. Ameuona katika mikataba ya biashara ambapo hesabu zilionekana sawa na maombi hayakufanyika kamwe. Ameuona katika maamuzi ya huduma ambapo milango ilifunguka wazi na maombi hayakufanyika kamwe. Mtindo ni ule ule kila wakati: mkate wenye ukungu uko mezani, hoja inashawishi, na kambi inatia sahihi mkataba. Siku tatu baadaye, majirani wanabainika kuwa wale watu uliodhani ulikuwa ukiwaepuka.The discipleship application reaches into every season of a believer's life. Wayne notes that today we sometimes pray and feel as though we do not get a clear answer, and so we are afraid to make a decision. But that is not the same problem Joshua had. Joshua had a clear mechanism and bypassed it. Our temptation is more often to bypass the asking altogether and trust the moldy bread on the table. Wayne has seen the pattern in marriages where the candidate looked perfect on paper and the prayer never happened. He has seen it in business deals where the spreadsheet checked out and the prayer never happened. He has seen it in ministry decisions where the doors swung open and the prayer never happened. The pattern is always the same: the moldy bread is on the table, the case is convincing, and the camp signs the treaty. Three days later, the neighbors turn out to be the people you thought you were avoiding.

Dawa si ushahidi bora zaidi. Dawa ni maombi ambayo Yoshua aliyaruka. Yakobo 1:5 tena: "Mtu wa kwenu akipungukiwa na hekima, na aombe dua kwa Mungu." Mungu aliyetoa Yeriko bila upanga kuinuliwa, Mungu aliyetwaa Ai mara ya pili baada ya Akani kuzikwa, Mungu aliyemwambia Yoshua katika wakati ule kama wa kichaka kinachowaka moto avue viatu vyake kwa sababu mahali pale palikuwa patakatifu — Mungu huyo angemjibu Yoshua kuhusu Wagibeoni mara moja kama Yoshua angeuliza. Yoshua hakuuliza. Sehemu yote iliyobaki ya sura hii, na sehemu kubwa ya historia ya Israeli baadaye, ni gharama ya swali moja ambalo halikuombewa.The remedy is not better evidence. The remedy is the prayer Joshua skipped. James 1:5 again: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God." The God who gave Jericho without a sword being swung, the God who took Ai the second time after Achan was buried, the God who told Joshua at the burning-bush moment to take off his sandals because the ground was holy — that God would have answered Joshua about the Gibeonites in a heartbeat if Joshua had asked. Joshua did not ask. The whole rest of the chapter, and a great deal of Israel's history afterward, is the price of one un-prayed question.

Yoshua anawahukumu Wagibeoni kuwa watumishi wa kudumu: "Basi sasa mmelaaniwa, wala hapatakoma kuwa mtumwa kwenu, wenye kupasua kuni na kuteka maji kwa ajili ya nyumba ya Mungu wangu" (Yoshua 9:23). Kwa kusikia mara ya kwanza hii ni laana. Wanashushwa hadi kazi ya mikono ya hali ya chini kabisa ya maskani. Lakini Wayne anasimama hapa kidogo. Ameona kwamba hii si mara ya mwisho tunayosikia habari za Wagibeoni katika Maandiko, na kinachowapata baadaye ni mojawapo ya mifululizo mikubwa ya ukombozi iliyo kimya katika Agano la Kale. Wayne anaorodhesha mambo manne ambayo Mungu anayafanya na waongo hawa katika karne kadhaa zinazofuata:Joshua sentences the Gibeonites to perpetual service: "Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves — woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God" (Joshua 9:23). At first hearing this is a curse. They are reduced to the lowest manual labor of the tabernacle. But Wayne pauses here. He has noticed that this is not the last we hear of the Gibeonites in Scripture, and what happens to them next is one of the great quiet redemption arcs in the Old Testament. Wayne lists four things God does with these liars over the next several centuries:

1. Wapasuaji wa kuni na wateka maji. Kazi iliyolaaniwa inabainika kuwa kazi ya hekalu. Hawafanyi kazi za nyumbani za mkulima wa Kiisraeli. Wanashughulikia kuni na maji kwa ajili ya nyumba ya Mungu Mwenyewe. Kila sadaka ya kuteketezwa katika maskani kwa miaka mia nne iliyofuata inahitaji kuni zao. Kila kuosha kwa makuhani kunahitaji maji yao. Uongo uliopaswa kuwaua unaishia kuwaweka ndani ya ibada ya Israeli.1. Hewers of wood and drawers of water. The cursed labor turns out to be temple labor. They are not running the household chores of an Israelite farmer. They are running the wood and the water for the house of God Himself. Every burnt offering at the tabernacle for the next four hundred years requires their wood. Every priestly washing requires their water. The lie that should have killed them ends up putting them inside the worship of Israel.

2. Wanaletwa mahali pa heshima. Kufikia wakati wa ufalme uliogawanyika, Wagibeoni si tena tabaka la watumwa walio chini kabisa ya kambi. Wanaorodheshwa kama "Wanethini" (kwa maana halisi "waliotolewa") katika Ezra na Nehemia — kundi linalotambuliwa la watumishi wa hekalu pamoja na Walawi.2. Brought into a place of honor. By the time of the divided monarchy, the Gibeonites are no longer a class of slaves at the bottom of the camp. They are listed as "Nethinim" (literally "given ones") in Ezra and Nehemiah — a recognized order of temple servants alongside the Levites.

3. Maskani ilikaa Gibeoni. Daudi alipolileta sanduku Yerusalemu, maskani na madhabahu ya shaba ya Musa vilibaki Gibeoni (1 Mambo ya Nyakati 16:39; 21:29; 2 Mambo ya Nyakati 1:3). Kwa kipindi fulani, ibada kuu ya Israeli ilikuwa katika mji ule ule ulioanza kama mdanganyaji wa Yoshua. Mmoja wa mashujaa wa Daudi, Ishmaya Mgibeoni, anatajwa katika 1 Mambo ya Nyakati 12:4. Uongo ulisafiri hadi ndani ya kundi la karibu kabisa.3. The tabernacle stood at Gibeon. When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, the tabernacle and the bronze altar of Moses remained at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3). For a season, the central worship of Israel was located in the very town that began as the deceiver of Joshua. One of David's mighty men, Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, is named in 1 Chronicles 12:4. The lie traveled into the inner circle.

4. Walisaidia kujenga upya ukuta na hekalu. Israeli waliporudi kutoka uhamishoni, orodha ya Nehemia ya wajenzi wa ukuta inajumuisha "Wagibeoni" (Nehemia 3:7). Mikono ile ile iliyowahi kubeba mkate wenye ukungu ili kumdanganya Yoshua sasa inabeba mawe ili kujenga upya Yerusalemu.4. They helped rebuild the wall and the temple. When Israel returned from exile, Nehemiah's roster of wall-builders includes "the Gibeonites" (Nehemiah 3:7). The same hands that once carried moldy bread to deceive Joshua are now carrying stones to rebuild Jerusalem.

Wayne analiweka hili kando ya Rahabu. Rahabu katika Yoshua 2 aliwadanganya maafisa wa mfalme wake mwenyewe ili kuwalinda wapelelezi wa Israeli. Imani yake ilikuwa ya kweli, lakini ulimi wake ulikuwa bado haujatakaswa. Wagibeoni katika Yoshua 9 wanamdanganya Yoshua ili kuokoa maisha yao wenyewe. Kumcha kwao BWANA ni kwa kweli (wanakutaja katika 9:9, 24), lakini ndimi zao pia bado hazijatakaswa. Wote walisema uongo. Wote walifikia imani. Wote waliachwa hai. Rahabu anaishia katika ukoo wa Yesu Kristo katika Mathayo 1:5. Wagibeoni wanaishia hekaluni. Warumi 8:28 inapita katikati ya sura hii hapa: "Nasi twajua ya kuwa katika mambo yote Mungu hufanya kazi pamoja na wale wampendao katika kuwapatia mema, yaani, wale walioitwa kwa kusudi lake." Mungu hukomboa hata mianzo mibaya. Wayne ni mwangalifu hapa: hili halihalalishi uongo, wala haliudhuru kushindwa kwa Yoshua kumwuliza BWANA. Lakini linasema jambo ambalo sisi wengine tunahitaji kulisikia — kwamba Mungu yuko tayari kufanya kazi hata na watu waliofika kwenye lango la ufalme wake wakiwa na habari isiyo sahihi, ikiwa kulicha jina lake kwao ni kwa kweli.Wayne sets this next to Rahab. Rahab in Joshua 2 lied to her own king's officers to protect Israel's spies. Her faith was real, but her tongue was not yet sanctified. The Gibeonites in Joshua 9 lie to Joshua to save their own lives. Their fear of the LORD is real (they cite it in 9:9, 24), but their tongues are not yet sanctified either. Both lied. Both came to faith. Both were spared. Rahab ends up in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5. The Gibeonites end up in the temple. Romans 8:28 walks across the chapter at this point: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." God redeems even bad starts. Wayne is careful here: this does not justify the lie, and it does not excuse Joshua's failure to ask the LORD. But it does say something the rest of us need to hear — that God is willing to work even with people who arrived at the gate of His kingdom carrying the wrong story, if their fear of His name is real.

Sasa mkataba mbaya unakuwa vita. Wafalme watano wa Waamori — Adoni-sedeki wa Yerusalemu, Hohamu wa Hebroni, Piramu wa Yarmuthi, Yafia wa Lakishi, na Debiri wa Egloni — wanasikia kwamba Gibeoni umebadilisha upande na kufanya amani na Israeli. Wanaunda muungano na kuushambulia Gibeoni, wakikusudia kuufanya kuwa mfano kwa mji wowote unaojitenga kwenda kwa Waebrania (Yoshua 10:1–5). Gibeoni unatuma ujumbe wa haraka kwa Yoshua huko Gilgali: "Usiulegeze mkono wako usiwasaidie watumishi wako; njoo kwetu upesi, utuokoe, utusaidie; kwa maana wafalme wote wa Waamori wakaao katika nchi ya milima wamekusanyika juu yetu" (Yoshua 10:6).Now the bad treaty becomes a battle. Five Amorite kings — Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem, Hoham of Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon — hear that Gibeon has switched sides and signed peace with Israel. They form a coalition and march on Gibeon, intending to make an example of any city that defects to the Hebrews (Joshua 10:1–5). Gibeon sends an urgent message to Joshua at Gilgal: "Slack not your hand from your servants; come up to us quickly, save us, and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us" (Joshua 10:6).

Hapa ndipo mkataba mbaya unakuwa majaliwa ya Mungu. Kama Yoshua angemwuliza BWANA katika sura ya 9 na kuukataa mkataba, wafalme wa kusini wasingekuwa na sababu ya kushambulia Gibeoni, na Israeli wangelazimika kupigana nao mji kwa mji, katika ardhi ya Waamori waliyoichagua wenyewe. Kwa sababu mkataba upo — ingawa haukupaswa kuwepo — muungano wote wa kusini unakusanyika mahali pamoja kwa wakati mmoja, kuzunguka Gibeoni, ambapo Yoshua anaweza kupanda na kukutana nao katika ardhi aliyoichagua BWANA. Mungu hapotezi bure hata makosa ya Yoshua.This is where the bad treaty becomes the providence of God. If Joshua had asked the LORD in chapter 9 and refused the treaty, the southern kings would have had no reason to attack Gibeon, and Israel would have had to fight them city by city, on Amorite ground of the Amorites' choosing. Because the treaty exists — even though it should not exist — the entire southern coalition gathers in one place at one time, around Gibeon, where Joshua can come up and meet them at the LORD's chosen ground. God does not waste even Joshua's mistakes.

Yoshua anatembea usiku kucha kutoka Gilgali — akipanda mlima, akiwa na silaha kamili, bila usingizi — na kuuangukia muungano alfajiri. Neno la BWANA kwake kabla ya safari ni neno lile alilolisema juu ya kila sura ya ushindi: "Usiwaogope; maana nimewatia mikononi mwako; hapana hata mtu mmoja wao atakayesimama mbele yako" (Yoshua 10:8). Wakati uliopita tena. Nimewatia.Joshua marches all night from Gilgal — uphill, fully armed, on no sleep — and falls on the coalition at dawn. The LORD's word to him before the march is the word He has said over every chapter of conquest: "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you" (Joshua 10:8). Past tense again. I have delivered.

Kisha inakuja mojawapo ya sentensi zenye msisimko mkubwa zaidi katika Yoshua: "Ikawa, walipokuwa wakikimbia mbele ya Israeli, walipokuwa katika kutelemka kwa Beth-horoni, BWANA akawatupia mawe makubwa kutoka mbinguni hata kufika Azeka, wakafa; hao waliokufa kwa ile mvua ya mawe walikuwa wengi kuliko hao waliouawa na wana wa Israeli kwa upanga" (Yoshua 10:11). Mizinga katika vita hivi inatoka mbinguni, si duniani. Majeshi ya Waamori yanakimbia kushuka njia ya mlima wa Beth-horoni wakati barafu yenye ukubwa wa mipira ya mizinga inapoanza kuanguka kutoka angani. Maandiko yanakuwa waangalifu kubainisha kwamba mawe ya mvua yaliwaua Waamori, si Waisraeli. Mkono uliolenga dhoruba uliilenga kwa usahihi kamili. Waliokufa kwa mawe ya mbinguni walikuwa wengi kuliko waliokufa kwa panga za Israeli. Yoshua 6:2 inanguruma tena: "Nimekutia mkononi mwako."Then comes one of the most dramatic sentences in Joshua: "as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword" (Joshua 10:11). The artillery in this battle is from heaven, not from earth. The Amorite armies are running down the pass of Beth-horon when ice the size of cannonballs starts falling out of the sky. The text is careful to specify that the hailstones killed Amorites, not Israelites. The hand that aimed the storm aimed it precisely. More died from heaven's stones than from Israel's swords. Joshua 6:2 thunders again: "I have given."

Yoshua anaona vita vikiendelea. Pia anaona jua likienda. Jeshi la Waamori linakimbia, lakini ni alasiri, naye anajua adui anaweza kufanya nini chini ya kifuniko cha usiku. Majeshi yaliyojeruhiwa na kutawanyika hujikusanya tena usiku. Miji hufunga malango yake usiku. Kwa hiyo Yoshua anafanya jambo la ujasiri mkubwa kuliko jenerali yeyote aliyewahi kufanya. Anasimama mbele ya jeshi la Israeli na kuomba, mbele ya wote: "Wewe jua, simama juu ya Gibeoni; nawe mwezi, simama juu ya bonde la Aiyaloni" (Yoshua 10:12).Joshua sees the battle going. He also sees the sun going. The Amorite army is in flight, but it is afternoon, and he knows what an enemy can do under cover of nightfall. Wounded, scattered armies regroup at night. Cities close their gates at night. So Joshua does the most audacious thing any general has ever done. He steps out in front of the army of Israel and prays, in front of everyone: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon" (Joshua 10:12).

Na jua likasimama. "Jua likasimama katikati ya mbingu, lisifanye haraka kuchwa kama muda wa siku nzima. Wala hapakuwa na siku kama ile, kabla yake wala baada yake, ambayo BWANA aliisikiliza sauti ya mtu; kwa maana BWANA aliwapigania Israeli" (Yoshua 10:13–14). Maandiko yanakataa kulainisha dai hili. Hayasemi kwamba jua lilionekana kana kwamba limesimama, au kwamba siku ilihisiwa kuwa ndefu. Yanasema waziwazi kwamba hakujawahi kuwa na siku nyingine kama siku ile — kabla yake wala tangu hapo — ambayo BWANA aliisikiliza sauti ya mtu na kuzishikilia mbingu zisimame mpaka vita vilipokwisha. Utaratibu wowote wa kifalaki ambao Mungu aliutumia (na maandiko hayajifungi kwa mmoja), ujumbe wa siku hiyo ni ule ule: Mungu yule yule aliyeliweka jua angani siku ya nne ya uumbaji anaweza kulishikilia mahali pake linapotumikia maombi ya watu wake.And the sun stood still. "So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel" (Joshua 10:13–14). The text refuses to soften the claim. It does not say the sun appeared to stand still, or that the day felt long. It says, plainly, that there has never been another day like that day — before it or since — in which the LORD harkened to the voice of a man and held the heavens still until the battle was finished. Whatever astronomical mechanism God used (and the text does not commit to one), the message of the day is the same: the same God who hung the sun in the sky on the fourth day of creation can hold it in place when it serves the prayers of His people.

Angalia kinachofanya maombi haya yawe ya ajabu. Si kwamba Yoshua alithubutu kuomba. Ni kwamba Yoshua aliyaomba "machoni pa Israeli" (10:12). Hakunong'ona. Hakuyaomba hemani mwake na kuwaambia askari baadaye. Alisimama mbele ya jeshi lake na kulisemesha jua. Kama BWANA asingelishikilia jua mahali pake, kila mwanamume katika Israeli angemtazama jenerali wao akionekana mjinga mbele ya adui, na ari yao ingeporomoka haraka kuliko dhoruba ya mvua ya mawe. Yoshua aliweka rehani sifa yake, uongozi wake, na vita vyote juu ya sentensi moja kwa Mungu mmoja. Mungu wa Yoshua 1, aliyekuwa amesema "nitakuwa pamoja nawe," alikuwa pamoja naye.Notice what makes the prayer remarkable. It is not that Joshua dared to ask. It is that Joshua prayed it "in the sight of Israel" (10:12). He did not whisper it. He did not pray it in his tent and tell the troops afterward. He stood in front of his army and addressed the sun. If the LORD had not held the sun in place, every man in Israel would have watched their general look foolish in front of the enemy, and morale would have collapsed faster than a hailstorm. Joshua bet his reputation, his command, and the campaign on a single sentence to a single God. The God of Joshua 1, who had said "I will be with you," was with him.

Funzo la ndani zaidi hapa ni ushirikiano. Yoshua 10:14 ni mwangalifu kusema mambo mawili kando kwa kando: BWANA aliisikiliza sauti ya mtu na BWANA aliwapigania Israeli. Nusu zote mbili ni kweli kwa usawa, na zinakwenda pamoja. Mungu anawapigania Israeli, na bado Israeli wanapaswa kutembea usiku kucha. Yoshua anaomba, na bado Mungu anapaswa kuzisimamisha mbingu. Maombi si kukosekana kwa utii; utii si kukosekana kwa maombi. Siku Ndefu ndiyo kinachotokea vyote viwili vinapokwenda pamoja kwa kasi kamili. Kambi ile ile iliyosahau kumwuliza BWANA sura moja kabla sasa inamwomba jua — na inalipata.The deeper note here is the partnership. Joshua 10:14 is careful to say two things side by side: the LORD hearkened to the voice of a man and the LORD fought for Israel. Both halves are equally true, and they belong together. God fights for Israel, and Israel still has to march all night. Joshua prays, and God still has to suspend the heavens. Prayer is not the absence of obedience; obedience is not the absence of prayer. The Long Day is what happens when both run together at full speed. The same camp that forgot to ask the LORD a chapter earlier now asks Him for the sun — and gets it.

Wafalme watano wanakimbia kutoka uwanja wa vita na kujificha katika pango huko Makeda. Mwanzoni Yoshua hajisumbui kuwatoa nje. Anaamuru pango lifungwe kwa mawe makubwa na kuweka walinzi mdomoni mwa pango, kisha analituma jeshi kuwafuatia Waamori wengine waliokimbia. "Lakini ninyi msikae; fuatieni adui zenu, mkawapige walio nyuma; msiwaache kuingia katika miji yao; kwa kuwa BWANA, Mungu wenu, amewatia mikononi mwenu" (Yoshua 10:19). Wafalme watano wanaweza kusubiri katika giza la pango. Jeshi halisimami kuchukua nyara mpaka kazi imekwisha.The five kings flee from the battlefield and hide in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua does not bother to drag them out at first. He has them sealed in with great stones and posts a guard at the cave mouth, then sends the army after the rest of the routed Amorites. "Stay you not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand" (Joshua 10:19). The five kings can wait in the dark of the cave. The army does not stop for trophies until the work is finished.

Mauaji yanapokwisha, Yoshua anarudi Makeda. Anaamuru pango lifunguliwe na wafalme watano waletwe nje. Kisha anawaita maakida wa jeshi na kuwaambia, "Njoni karibu, mtie miguu yenu juu ya shingo za wafalme hawa" (Yoshua 10:24). Hii ndiyo picha inayoonekana yenye msisimko zaidi ya ushindi wa kijeshi iliyokuwepo katika Enzi ya Shaba. Maakida wanasogea mbele, wanaweka viatu vyao juu ya shingo za wafalme watano wa Waamori, na Yoshua anawasemesha kwa maneno yanayounganisha kitabu chote pamoja: "Msiogope, wala msifadhaike; iweni hodari na moyo wa ushujaa; kwa kuwa BWANA atawatenda adui zenu wote mnaopigana nao hivyo" (Yoshua 10:25). Soma maneno haya polepole. Msiogope, wala msifadhaike; iweni hodari na moyo wa ushujaa. Hayo ndiyo maneno hasa ambayo BWANA alimwambia Yoshua katika Yoshua 1:6–9, mara nne katika mistari minne, kabla tu ya kuvuka Yordani. Sasa Yoshua, akiwa na miguu juu ya shingo za Waamori, anawakabidhi maakida wake agizo lile lile. Kutia moyo kulikotoka kwa Mungu kwenda kwa Yoshua sasa kunasafiri kutoka kwa Yoshua kwenda kwa kizazi kinachofuata cha viongozi. Uanafunzi katika kitabu hiki ni maneno ya BWANA yanayoshuka katika mstari wa uongozi.When the slaughter ends, Joshua returns to Makkedah. He has the cave opened and the five kings brought out. Then he calls the captains of the army and tells them, "Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings" (Joshua 10:24). It is the most dramatic visible image of military victory the Bronze Age had. The captains step forward, place their sandals on the necks of the five Amorite kings, and Joshua addresses them in words that thread the entire book together: "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight" (Joshua 10:25). Read the words slowly. Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage. Those are the exact words the LORD spoke to Joshua in Joshua 1:6–9, four times in four verses, just before the Jordan crossing. Now Joshua, with feet on Amorite necks, hands the same charge down to his captains. The encouragement that came from God to Joshua now travels from Joshua to the next generation of leaders. Discipleship in this book is the LORD's words moving down the line of command.

Kisha wafalme watano wanauawa na kutundikwa juu ya miti mitano hadi jioni. Jua linapozama, kwa kutii Kumbukumbu la Torati 21:23, miili yao inashushwa na kutupwa katika pango lile lile walimokuwa wamejificha. Mdomo wa pango unafungwa kwa mawe makubwa — "yaliyoko hata hivi leo" (10:27). Aina ile ile ya rundo la mawe ilisimama juu ya Akani katika sura ya 7 kuonyesha dhambi iliyoshughulikiwa. Sasa rundo jingine la mawe linasimama juu ya wafalme watano wa adui kuonyesha muungano uliovunjwa. Mawe juu ya dhambi iliyoshughulikiwa. Mawe juu ya adui aliyeshughulikiwa. Jeshi la BWANA linaacha alama kila mahali ambapo kazi ya agano ilifanyika.The five kings are then executed and hanged on five trees until evening. At sundown, in obedience to Deuteronomy 21:23, their bodies are taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden. The mouth of the cave is sealed with great stones — "which remain until this very day" (10:27). The same kind of pile of stones stood over Achan in chapter 7 to mark a sin that had been dealt with. Now another pile of stones stands over five enemy kings to mark a coalition that had been broken. Stones over the dealt-with sin. Stones over the dealt-with enemy. The LORD's army leaves markers at every place where covenant work was done.

Sehemu iliyobaki ya sura ya 10 ni vita vya kusini kwa ufupi: Makeda, Libna, Lakishi (ambapo Horamu mfalme wa Gezeri anakuja kusaidia naye pia anashindwa), Egloni, Hebroni, Debiri. Mji baada ya mji, yote kwa mfululizo mmoja, yote yakifupishwa katika mstari unaonguruma neno la mwisho juu ya sura hii: "Na wafalme hawa wote na nchi yao Yoshua aliwatwaa kwa mara moja, kwa sababu BWANA, Mungu wa Israeli, aliwapigania Israeli" (Yoshua 10:42).The rest of chapter 10 is the southern campaign in compressed form: Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish (where Horam king of Gezer comes to help and is also defeated), Eglon, Hebron, Debir. City after city, all in a single sweep, all summarized in the verse that thunders the last word over the chapter: "And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel" (Joshua 10:42).

Wayne anamaliza mahubiri yake juu ya Yoshua 9 kwa habari ya rafiki aitwaye Jaime Guerrero, anayehudumu katika magereza ya Meksiko. Kabla ya kuokoka, Jaime alikuwa tapeli — mwizi wa benki wa kola nyeupe aliyefanikiwa na aliyepata fedha nyingi kwa njia isiyo ya haki. Mwishowe alikamatwa na alikuwa akitumikia kifungo cha miaka sabini gerezani huko Meksiko. Wakristo walikuwa wakija gerezani na kuleta chakula, vifaa vya usafi, mavazi, na kumjali binafsi. Alitamani vitu hivyo vyote. Alikubaliana nao kwa faida yake binafsi — kwa ajili ya kile ambacho angeweza kupata kutoka kwao — kama tu Wagibeoni. Mwishowe mchungaji mmoja alimbana na kumwongoza katika sala ya wokovu. Jaime aliiomba sala hiyo, lakini hakuimaanisha. Nia yake pekee ilikuwa kuendelea kupata vitu alivyovitaka. "Lakini," anasema sasa, "Bwana alinishikilia kwa sala ile." Akawa mtu mkuu wa imani mwenye huduma ya ajabu katika nchi yote ya Meksiko (Doug Goins).Wayne ends his Joshua 9 sermon with a friend named Jaime Guerrero, who ministers in the Mexican prisons. Before his conversion, Jaime was a con man — a successful white-collar bank robber who made a lot of money dishonestly. He finally got caught and was serving a seventy-year prison term in Mexico. The Christians would come to the prison and bring food, toiletries, clothing, and personal attention. He craved all of those things. He went along with them for personal gain — for what he could get out of them — just like the Gibeonites. Finally a pastor put him in a corner and led him in a prayer of salvation. Jaime prayed the prayer, but he didn't mean it. His only motive was to keep getting the things he wanted. "But," he says now, "the Lord held me to the prayer." He became a great man of faith with a phenomenal ministry across the country of Mexico (Doug Goins).

Sentensi hiyo inakaa juu ya Yoshua 9 na 10 kama kifuniko. Bwana alinishikilia kwa sala ile. Yoshua hakupaswa kutia sahihi mkataba na Wagibeoni. Viongozi wa Israeli wanakiri hivyo. Uongo ulikuwa wao, kushindwa kulikuwa kwa Yoshua, na mkate wenye ukungu ulipaswa kuchochea maombi ambayo hayakufanyika kamwe — au, kwa usahihi zaidi, safari ya kwenda kwenye kifuko cha kifuani cha kuhani mkuu kwa ajili ya Urimu na Thumimu. Lakini mara jina la BWANA lilipowekwa juu ya kiapo, BWANA aliwashikilia Israeli kwacho. Aliwashikilia kwacho katika sura yote ya 9. Aliwashikilia kwacho wafalme watano walipoushambulia Gibeoni na Yoshua akalazimika kutembea usiku kucha. Aliwashikilia kwacho katika mvua ya mawe na Siku Ndefu. Aliwashikilia kwacho katika vita vyote vya kusini. Aliwashikilia kwacho kwa miaka mia nne mpaka Sauli alipojaribu kukivunja na kuleta njaa. Aliwashikilia kwacho katika ukuta wa Nehemia, mikono ya Wagibeoni ikibeba mawe kuingia Yerusalemu.That sentence sits over Joshua 9 and 10 like a lid. The Lord held me to the prayer. Joshua should not have signed the treaty with the Gibeonites. The leaders of Israel admit it. The lie was theirs, the failure was Joshua's, and the moldy bread should have provoked a prayer that never happened — or, more pointedly, a trip to the high priest's breastpiece for the Urim and Thummim. But once the LORD's name had been put on the oath, the LORD held Israel to it. He held them to it through chapter 9. He held them to it when the five kings attacked Gibeon and Joshua had to march all night. He held them to it through the hailstones and the Long Day. He held them to it through the southern campaign. He held them to it for four hundred years until Saul tried to break it and brought a famine. He held them to it in Nehemiah's wall, with Gibeonite hands carrying stones into Jerusalem.

Funzo hili linakata pande zote mbili. Kesheni. Ombeni kwanza. Tumia njia za neema ambazo Mungu ameziweka karibu nawe. Usitie sahihi mkataba bila kuupeleka mkate wenye ukungu kwa BWANA. Lakini pia — ikiwa tayari umetia sahihi mkataba, ikiwa umeomba sala usiyoimaanisha, ikiwa umejikwaa ukaingia katika agano kwa njia isiyo sahihi — Mungu yule yule aliyewapigania Israeli katika wiki mbaya kabisa ya Yoshua yuko tayari kukushikilia kwa sehemu bora za kile ulichosema. Yuko tayari kuwafanya Wagibeoni kuwa watumishi wa hekalu. Yuko tayari kuwafanya akina Jaime Guerrero kuwa wahudumu wa magerezani. Yuko tayari kuzifanya wiki zetu mbaya kabisa kuwa sura zetu zinazotumika zaidi. Aliwapigania Israeli siku ile. Bado anaendelea kupigana.The lesson cuts both ways. Be alert. Pray first. Use the means of grace God has put within reach. Do not sign the treaty without bringing the moldy bread to the LORD. But also — if you have signed the treaty already, if you have prayed the prayer you did not mean, if you have stumbled into a covenant the wrong way around — the same God who fought for Israel through Joshua's worst week is willing to hold you to the best parts of what you said. He is willing to make Gibeonites into temple servants. He is willing to make Jaime Guerreros into prison ministers. He is willing to make our worst weeks into our most-used chapters. He fought for Israel that day. He is still fighting.