- 2 weeks ago
- #mlcc
- #church
- #churchonline
Commitments shape every lasting relationship, yet external pressures constantly test whether we treat them as mere interests or unbreakable vows. In Joshua 10, an ancient leader faces a rash promise under fierce attack, forcing a decision that demands great personal cost and divine intervention. What happens when faithfulness collides with inconvenience, deception, and exhaustion, and how might God respond today?
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/longest-day-ever
#mlcc #church #churchonline
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/longest-day-ever
#mlcc #church #churchonline
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Melody Hartline, according to Reader's Digest 1996, she works at a jewelry store.
00:08And so when a couple comes in to get their wedding rings, she would then ask,
00:14okay, what would you like engraved on your wedding ring?
00:16What would you like to put on the wedding ring to help you remember something on the wedding ring?
00:21This would-be bride came in, and so Melody asked her,
00:25what do you want engraved on your fiancé, your husband-to-be, on his wedding ring?
00:31She said, ah, we're not really romantic people.
00:33As a matter of fact, we're marrying on my fiancé's birthday so that he won't forget our wedding anniversary.
00:40So we're really not very romantic people, and it really doesn't matter what, you know,
00:44I don't think I don't even want, and then she said, Melody said,
00:46are you sure you don't want something written on the inside of the wedding band, his wedding band,
00:50so when he looks at it, he will remember something really important?
00:54So she thought about it for a second.
00:56She said, you know, there is something I'd like for you to engrave on the inside of my husband-to-be's wedding band,
01:03so when he sees it, that he'll remind him of something very important.
01:06She said, this is what I want you to engrave.
01:07So when he looks on the inside of his wedding band, I want him to see this.
01:11Put it back on.
01:13She was trying to help her future husband along to remember to keep his commitment that he was making to her.
01:25That really is the heart of all meaningful relationships, is a commitment.
01:30It's a commitment.
01:32And commitment is vital to the success of any endeavor.
01:35You know, we have talked about being interested in something before and being committed to something,
01:40and there is a great difference between interested in something and committed to something.
01:45Ken Blanchard writes lots of books and stuff.
01:48He made this comment I thought was very fitting for this idea of the difference between interest in something and committed to something.
01:55He said this,
01:56There's a difference between interest and commitment.
02:00When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient.
02:05Did you catch that?
02:06When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
02:12That's the difference between interest in something and committed to something.
02:16I can guarantee you, if Teresa only had an interest in me, I probably would be dead a long time ago.
02:23She is committed to me.
02:24I have such funny quirks, and if you've ever lived with me, which you haven't, and be thankful that you haven't.
02:30If she only had an interest in me and was not committed to me, I'd be dead a long time ago.
02:37See, divorce is not an issue in our family.
02:39Murder is an issue, but divorce is not.
02:41So she would have killed me a long time ago and made it look like an accident so that she couldn't have collected insurance.
02:46I understand that.
02:47I know.
02:47But the problem is we run through life a lot, and we have interests in things, but we really aren't committed to them.
02:56And when things come and get in the way of our interests, the things are no longer convenient for us to do, we drop out.
03:03We stop.
03:04We don't do it.
03:05We don't carry through.
03:06But when we are committed to something, when we truly say, no, I'm going to move heaven and earth to make sure this gets done, that's a commitment.
03:15You want results.
03:16You want action.
03:18In the text that we're going to look at today in Joshua chapter 10, Joshua does not need to be reminded, put it back on.
03:25He doesn't need to be reminded of his commitment here.
03:28See, Joshua is committed to the vow that he made to the Gibeonites, and he will move heaven and earth to make sure this vow is held up.
03:37He will not let this word fall to the ground, a promise he made to a people.
03:42He will make sure that it happens.
03:44He is absolutely committed to the vow that we saw in chapter 9 of Joshua.
03:49Remember chapter 9.
03:51The Gibeonites who live within the land of Israel, the promised land of Israel, realized that God had given to the nation of Israel that land, and they were terrified.
04:01They knew their lives were in jeopardy.
04:03So I don't know how they found out about the provision in Deuteronomy chapter 20 where Israel could make peace with a nation who was far away if the nation desired it.
04:12But they were not to make peace with the people living with inside the promised land, those seven Canaanite nations.
04:18I don't know how Gibeon found out about that, but they did.
04:21So they feigned that they came from a great distance.
04:24They put on clothing that was all torn up, and they took food that became moldy and crumbly because it looks like they were on a long journey.
04:30The wineskins that they had all burst as if it was a long time that they were underway.
04:35So they come to Israel.
04:38Israel looks at all these things and said, they truly must be a people that are far away.
04:42And Gibeon is saying, keep us alive, please.
04:45We've heard what God is going to do to the nations around here.
04:48We believe God is with you.
04:50Please, we want to stay alive.
04:52And so Israel, seeing what they saw on the appearances, and without asking God, make a vow to the Gibeonites, we promise to keep you alive.
05:02We promise.
05:03We make a vow in the name of the Lord God that whatever happens, you will stay alive.
05:09That's chapter 9 that we saw right there.
05:12We found out at the end of the chapter that Gibeon is found out.
05:15Joshua curses them.
05:16They become servants and slaves to the nation of Israel forever.
05:21But this vow that was made to Gibeon, Joshua now is confronted with that in chapter 10.
05:27What's he going to do with it?
05:29Is it serious to him?
05:31Is it not so serious?
05:33Can it be ignored or does it have to be upheld?
05:36He has to decide what he's going to do here in chapter 10.
05:39That's what we find right now.
05:40This is where we're located at.
05:42You notice in verses 1 through 5, we see a challenge to the vow comes up.
05:49There's an outside influence that's challenging the vow that Joshua and Israel made with the Gibeonites.
05:58And in this challenge to the vow, we're introduced to five kings that are going to be right here.
06:02Let me read verses 1 through 5 to you.
06:04As soon as Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,
06:15doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king,
06:18and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them.
06:23He feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities,
06:28and because it was greater than Ai and its men were warriors.
06:32So Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron,
06:37Piram, king of Jarmuth, to Japhia, king of Lachish,
06:41and to Dabra, king of Eglon, saying,
06:43Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon.
06:47For he has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.
06:51Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
06:55the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon,
06:58gathered their forces and went up with all of their armies,
07:01and they camped against Gibeon and made war against it.
07:04So what we see right here is now, this vow to keep the Gibeonites alive now,
07:09they're going to survive, is now coming under challenge.
07:12It was the intent of the five kings to completely destroy Gibeon.
07:15You know why?
07:16Because they were traitors in their eyes.
07:18They were traitors to the Canaanite cause.
07:20They sold out to Israel just so they could stay alive.
07:23It's time to wipe them off the face of the earth, the five kings say.
07:26Get rid of them.
07:27And now the vow to keep them alive is going to come back to Joshua,
07:31and he's going to have to make a decision.
07:32What's he going to do here?
07:33Because Gibeon is now threatened.
07:36Their life is threatened.
07:38What's going to happen?
07:40When we come to chapter 10, it really picks up where chapter 9, verse 2 lets off.
07:45Remember chapter 9, verse 1 and 2 talked about the Canaanite confederation,
07:49how they heard about what was going on,
07:50and they confederated together to fight against Israel.
07:52And then we see verses 3 through 27 is kind of like a parenthesis of this story of Gibeon.
07:58Now we're picking back up at the end of chapter 9, verse 2 of, again, this confederation,
08:04verses 1 through 5.
08:07Joshua had already driven a wedge between the north and south Canaan,
08:10a great military tactic, divide and conquer.
08:12Now he's moving on, and the kings, these five kings are saying,
08:15we've got to put a stop to Israel and to Gibeon because they're traitors.
08:18For that great city, that royal, like one of the royal cities, we are told,
08:22Gibeon had made peace with Israel.
08:24Yeah, it was by deception, that's true.
08:27But Israel made a vow to them to keep them alive.
08:30And this enraged the king of Jerusalem.
08:33He wanted to slaughter them.
08:34So he sends a request to the four other kings, gather them together, and they come to Gibeon.
08:37And what we find ourselves at the end of verse number 5 is that they're encamped at Gibeon.
08:42They're besieging the city.
08:44Now Joshua is confronted, what's he going to do with this challenge?
08:50You know, I was just putting this together.
08:52I was thinking, that's kind of like us, isn't it?
08:56How many times daily are our vows challenged?
09:02So many things are trying to come up, whether it's in a vow to your work,
09:05or a vow to your spouse, or a vow to your church, or your vow to God, whatever it may be.
09:10How many times daily are we attacked, challenged?
09:14Am I going to keep that?
09:16Am I going to let it go?
09:16Is it only an interest to me, or am I committed to this?
09:19There seems to be that in our life, every day, each one of us is challenged whether we're going to keep our vows.
09:24Are we going to hold them seriously, or are we just going to ignore them?
09:28Are we going to keep our promises that we made?
09:33Joshua had what it took.
09:34Look at verses 6 through 15.
09:35Let's read it out.
09:36This is now the challenge has come up from an external source, the five kings.
09:41And they are challenging a vow to keep Gibeon alive that Joshua and Israel made with them.
09:47Now, Gibeon besieged sins in verse number 6 for help.
09:54And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying,
09:58Do not relax your hand from your servants.
10:02Come up to us quickly and save us and help us.
10:05For all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.
10:10So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
10:15And the Lord said to Joshua, great words here.
10:18Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands.
10:22Not a man of them shall stand before you.
10:24So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal.
10:30And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon,
10:35and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them as far as Aska and Machedah.
10:41And they fled before Israel.
10:42While they were going down the way of the ascent of Beth-horon,
10:45the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Ezekah, and they died.
10:50There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with a sword.
10:56At that time, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel,
11:01and he said in the sight of all Israel,
11:04Son, stand still at Gibeon, and moon in the valley of Ajalon.
11:08And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
11:14Is not this written in the book of Joshua?
11:16The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.
11:22There has been no day like it before or since when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man,
11:26for the Lord fought for Israel.
11:29So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
11:34The challenge has come whether Joshua and Israel is going to keep their vow.
11:38Are they committed to what they have said, or do they have a general interest in Gibeon?
11:42Are they going to let the five kings come and destroy the city, or are they going to act on behalf of the vow that they made,
11:47the promise that they made to Gibeon?
11:49So here we now see the courage that Joshua has to keep that vow.
11:53Gibeon now appeals to Israel to keep their vow and to deliver them from their enemies.
11:58The challenge has come, and now Joshua rises up and says,
12:01Listen, we have to keep what we've promised.
12:04We've promised them in the name of the Lord.
12:06We have to abide by what we have said.
12:08We cannot go back on our promise.
12:09We cannot go back on our vow.
12:10And Gibeon reminds them of that covenant.
12:12You promised to keep us alive.
12:14We cannot survive these five kings.
12:17These five kings are too powerful for us.
12:19We are warriors like a royal city we are, but we cannot stand against five kings.
12:24You must save us alive.
12:25Please come quickly.
12:28And on the way, Joshua already has made a decision to go help Gibeon.
12:32On the way, God intercedes and says,
12:34Listen, Joshua, I want to tell you something.
12:36Don't be afraid.
12:37Not a man's going to stand against you.
12:41I've given them completely into your hand.
12:43What a great encouragement as they're going out to battle these five kings.
12:47God's going to fight for them.
12:49God is there with them.
12:50He's going to encourage them and strengthen them to fulfill all things that he has said.
12:55Don't be afraid.
13:00In chapter nine, we were introduced to the deceit of Gibeon.
13:03I think you would agree with me.
13:05That's a bad thing.
13:08Then we saw also that Israel had a rash vow.
13:11In other words, they didn't inquire of the Lord.
13:13They made a decision based on appearances.
13:16So we have a deception, which is a bad thing.
13:19We have a rash vow, which is a bad thing.
13:21Two bad things took place in chapter nine.
13:24A commitment, a vow was made to giving to keep him alive,
13:27even though it was a rash vow, not based on the wisdom of the Lord.
13:30A vow was made.
13:31Two bad things.
13:32And yet we see right here that God takes these two bad things,
13:38the deception and the rash vow, and he makes something good out of it.
13:44Imagine Joshua would have to go from city to city to city, five cities,
13:50besiege each city, fight against each city individually,
13:54prolonging the battles that they would have to fight.
13:57But God brought all the five kings together on one location.
14:02So there could only be one battle instead of five.
14:06So God takes something that's horribly wrong, deceit and a rash vow,
14:10and make something great out of it, make something good out of it,
14:13to his glory, to his honor.
14:17You know, most of us know intellectually Romans 8, 28.
14:21We know it intellectually.
14:23We're familiar with the verse.
14:25We've quoted it at times.
14:27It goes like this.
14:28And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.
14:33For those who are called according to his purpose,
14:36or some translations say God causes all things to work together for good.
14:40We know that intellectually.
14:41And yet, when we are in the midst of a trial,
14:45I wonder if we really know it experientially.
14:48Because when we're right in the midst of a trial,
14:50and we're seeing that I can't even go one step further in this trial,
14:53we wonder, is this verse really true when we're in the midst of it?
14:57How can God take something that's horribly wrong in the situation I find myself in
15:01and make something good out of it?
15:03How could he possibly do that?
15:05It's terrible.
15:06I can't seem to go on.
15:07So when we're in the midst of it,
15:09it's a very difficult thing to comprehend Romans 8, 28.
15:13We almost want to say, well, it really isn't what it says.
15:16It's a nice thing that's a general principle.
15:18It may or may not happen in my life.
15:20No, it really is either the Word of God, or it's not the Word of God.
15:23It's either a promise that God's going to take all things and work them together for good
15:27to those who love him or are called according to his purpose, or it's not the truth.
15:31And yet, in the midst of a trial, we doubt whether or not it's true.
15:35When we get out on the other side, we perhaps see clearer, but in the very midst of it, we're not sure.
15:42I remember the first time Troy and I, where's Troy at?
15:45I see, did he leave?
15:48Ah, caught him.
15:49Okay, he was here.
15:51Everyone knows he's not anymore.
15:53Okay, all right.
15:55Okay.
15:57Yeah, he's probably clearing the parking lot.
15:59Troy and I, the first time we tried to climb Mount Adams, Troy got me the right gear.
16:03I mean, he got everything I'm supposed to have.
16:04He got the right boots for me to climb the mountain, and he knew the route, and so we were going
16:09up the route, and we kind of got a little bit off the route on the way up, and we made
16:12it to the Fall Summit.
16:14And by that time, it's 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
16:15It's a September day, so it's not going to stay light real long.
16:18So we're at the Fall Summit.
16:19We can't quite go to the top.
16:21We don't have time.
16:22But we decided we better turn around and go down so we can get to the base camp before
16:25it gets dark, because we don't want to get stuck on the mountain at dark.
16:29So we turn around, and we start heading back down, and we kind of take a course here,
16:31a course there.
16:32And we finally find the right course, and we get down.
16:34We're about three miles away from the base camp.
16:37It's where the trail was really well defined.
16:40Well, even though Troy got me the right boots, there was one thing I had failed to do before
16:45I climbed Mount Adams.
16:46I forgot to cut my toenails.
16:48Anyone who has climbed, knowing that the ascent is not too bad, but the descent coming down
16:56off the mountain, if you've got long toenails, they press against the front of the boots.
17:00I was three miles away from the base camp.
17:03Troy, for whatever reason, got a burst of energy.
17:05He took off ahead of me.
17:06We're on a defined trail.
17:07He knew I couldn't get lost.
17:08Yet every step I took was painful.
17:12I'd lift up my foot, and I knew the second I placed my foot on the ground, it's going
17:16to hurt.
17:18It's dark already.
17:20I'm alone.
17:21I'm thinking to myself, I can't possibly take another step.
17:25It hurts too much.
17:27Every step I take is painful.
17:28I can't take another step.
17:30And then another thought comes to my mind, well, wait a second.
17:32You don't want to get left on the mountain at night by yourself, do you?
17:35So every step I lifted my leg and put my foot down was painful.
17:43I was exhausted.
17:45I was in pain, alone, and I was unsure really how far I was to the car.
17:50Every corner I was hoping that was base camp, and it wasn't, and I had to go on.
17:54And that's how we are in the midst of a trial.
17:57We pick our foot back up, and we know as soon as we put it back down, it's going to hurt.
18:01And we wonder, is Romans 8.28 real?
18:05Is it real?
18:07Or is it just one of those platitudes that the Bible seems to spit out that doesn't really
18:10have any reference to real life?
18:13In the midst of the trial, it's hard to determine sometimes.
18:18When we are in the midst of all things, sometimes we can't see how God's going to take this and
18:24make something good.
18:26When we're in the midst of all things, I wonder how often we abandon vows that we have made
18:31because it seems to be too painful to go on.
18:35Is our faith great enough to believe in spite of the pain of our present circumstances?
18:44Joshua says, listen, I've got to save Gibeon.
18:48I promised him that.
18:49So what he does is he marches now 15 to 20 miles.
18:53It's a forced march with all of his warriors.
18:55It's at night and it's uphill most of the way.
19:01So here he is at his base camp thinking, okay, I've got to react.
19:05I'm challenged now to keep the vow that I made and I have to have the courage to do that.
19:10He sets out on a forced march 15 to 20 miles, brings Israel to Gibeon so they can rescue
19:15the city.
19:16He takes his vows very seriously, even when he knows it's going to cost him something.
19:26It's night.
19:28You're supposed to be sleeping at night, not a road march.
19:32Any of you in the military have probably been on a road march at night that you wish you weren't.
19:36You wish you were in your bunk sleeping.
19:37Again, Joshua says, listen, I know this is going to cost me something.
19:42Not only am I going to be tired after 15 to 20 miles uphill in the dark, I have to pull
19:46my sword out when I get there and fight for the city that we vowed to protect to keep alive.
19:51It's going to cost me something to do this.
19:53But Joshua took his vow so seriously, said, I don't care what the costs are.
19:56I am committed to keeping this.
19:58Results are the only actions I can see.
20:03When we look at vows, idea of vows in the Old Testament,
20:07what we need to understand is nowhere do we find that it is a mandated religious duty.
20:12In other words, there is nothing written that says once a month, you have to make a vow to God.
20:16It's your duty to do that.
20:17We don't find that in the Old Testament.
20:19What we do find that if you decide you want to, free willing, voluntary vow to God,
20:25if you decided that you want to make a vow to God, you must keep that vow, whatever it is.
20:30Don't neglect to pay your vow.
20:33God takes no pleasure in fools.
20:34Pay what you vow.
20:35So you could if you wanted to, but you didn't have to in the Old Testament.
20:40And when we get to the New Testament, we don't see an awful lot about vows mentioned at all.
20:44We do see Jesus talking about how people were abusing vows.
20:48People were saying, hey, listen, I vowed this piece of property to God.
20:52I call it Corban.
20:53And Jesus said, wait a second.
20:54By doing that, you're not honoring your father and your mother.
20:56You have a responsibility to them.
20:58Don't say, I'm going to devote this to God.
21:00When in reality, you're just setting it aside so you can give it at a later date.
21:03You're making a vow, then something that's being abused.
21:06And Jesus said, don't do that.
21:07When we look at Acts, Paul places a vow upon himself, but it's really vows are not talked
21:13a lot about in the Old Testament or even in the New Testament.
21:16We really don't see that idea of vows very much at all.
21:21But a vow, whether Old Testament or New Testament, it's an oath that is binding.
21:26It is something to say, I vow, I promise, this is binding.
21:31I will move heaven and earth to make sure I keep this.
21:33I am committed.
21:34That is a vow.
21:35It's like an oath.
21:37When was the last time you ever heard somebody in church say, I vowed a vow to God this week?
21:43I made a vow to God.
21:47I haven't heard anyone ever say that.
21:49I've never heard anyone say, you know, I vowed to God this week, I'm going to do this.
21:54The only time human beings ever vow is when they're lost at sea, trapped on a mountain
21:59somewhere, in a disaster.
22:02Oh God, I promise I'll go to church.
22:04I make a vow whenever the doors are open, I'll be there.
22:06That's the only time human beings ever seem to make a vow.
22:09And I'm wondering, I mean, I never, we don't really talk about making vows in the church
22:13at all.
22:13I mean, we don't really ever see that.
22:14I mean, the only vow I think that we talk about in the church as a teenager is a vow of the
22:18Nazarite.
22:22Some of you will get that later.
22:25Nazarite had long hair.
22:27So I think that's the only vow some of our teenagers ever make is a vow of the Nazarite.
22:30We don't ever really talk about vows in the church.
22:33I mean, I think we have a general idea with some vows.
22:36I mean, we know wedding vows.
22:38We know wedding vows.
22:39We understand that.
22:39That's a vow.
22:40It's a commitment.
22:41You know, when I enlisted into the army, I stood there and I raised my right hand and
22:45I say, I promise to defend this country.
22:48Against all domestic and foreign invaders.
22:51I promise that was a vow I made to the military.
22:54When I enlisted, that's a vow.
22:56An employment contract is a vow that you have made to your employer.
23:00I promise I will work this many hours.
23:02This is in my contract.
23:04I promise I'll take this amount of break.
23:06I'll have this many days off you.
23:07I guarantee you out of the year, I'll be this many days unless I'm sick in the hospital.
23:12An employment contract is a vow.
23:15We know that the monks make monastic vows where they go into a monastery.
23:19We understand that one.
23:21What about this one?
23:21When you bowed your knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and you said, Jesus, I know that I'm
23:27a sinner.
23:28I know that there's nothing I can do to earn my salvation.
23:31I'm completely dependent on what you did on the cross and your shed blood.
23:35And I believe that you paid my penalty for my sins.
23:38I trust you as my savior.
23:41When you make that profession of faith, you are saying, I vow to be your disciple, Jesus.
23:47I vow to follow you.
23:49I'll follow you wherever you go.
23:51That is a vow to God we make when we come to faith.
23:54This isn't this one-sided thing.
23:55Oh, boom, I'm saved.
23:56Hallelujah.
23:57Great.
23:57Now I can just live any way I want to.
23:59No.
23:59When you come to faith in Christ, you are making a vow to follow him, to be a disciple.
24:04It is a vow that we make.
24:05We don't talk about it an awful lot.
24:08The question for us this morning is Joshua was very serious about the vow that was given,
24:13even though it was a deception and it was a rash vow.
24:17He said, the vow has been made.
24:18I will keep it.
24:20It has been made in the name of God.
24:21I will keep it.
24:22And I wonder, do we, as Joshua, do we take our vows as seriously as he did?
24:28The commitments that we have made to either our spouses, our employment, to our God, to
24:33our church, to the military.
24:35Do we take these vows seriously?
24:37I mean, are we like Joshua?
24:38I'm committed.
24:39I'll move heaven and earth to make sure this gets done.
24:42Or is it just something we're interested in?
24:44Fred Smith writes a lot about leadership.
24:48He talks about the story that he saw in a donut shop in Texas.
24:51In fact, the name of the Grand Saline, Texas.
24:54Some of you may know where that's at.
24:56He was in a donut shop and there was a husband and wife sitting there at the table eating donuts
25:00and Fred was eating his donuts too.
25:01And so he says that the husband and wife are finished.
25:04The husband gets up to go pay.
25:06He expects the wife to get up and follow the husband out of the place to the lease of the
25:09cash register and then to the car.
25:10She doesn't move.
25:12So the husband pays the bill and he comes back to the table and Fred's watching this.
25:16He's right next door to him.
25:17He's watching this.
25:18He leans down.
25:19The husband leans down.
25:20The wife puts her arms around the husband's neck.
25:22He grabs her and lifts her up.
25:24And he noticed, Fred notices at that time that she's wearing a full body brace.
25:29She has her arms around his neck.
25:31He's holding onto her.
25:31He's backing out to the car and pulling her basically along.
25:35She can't even walk.
25:36He gets her to the car.
25:38He props her.
25:39So he's holding her with one arm.
25:40He opens up the door.
25:41He sets her gently down into the car, lifts her leg up, swing her legs back into the car
25:45and shuts the door.
25:46And the waitress inside said everyone was absolutely silent as they watched this event take place.
25:54And then she almost reverently responds.
25:57He took his seat, his vows seriously.
25:59When it costs us something, it is so easy to abandon anything we have committed.
26:10God acts on behalf of Israel, yes.
26:13He acts on behalf of his people to bring them into the promised land.
26:17That's true.
26:17That is the direct action that God is doing here.
26:19But the indirect action is that God is actually helping Joshua fulfill his vow to Gibeon.
26:25The direct act is, yes, bringing the people into the promised land.
26:28That's a direct act.
26:29But the indirect act is by these two miracles that God did, he is helping Joshua fulfill his
26:34vow to Gibeon.
26:35The two miracles we already saw about.
26:37The first one was these, these hailstones, these stones that just came out of the sky and
26:41they just kept falling.
26:42They were from God.
26:43They were really large.
26:44We told, we are told that they killed more people than the sword did that day.
26:49And the interesting thing about that, you can picture in your mind, Israel is chasing
26:53the enemy.
26:54The enemy is fleeing away from Israel.
26:57Israel is pursuing the enemy.
26:58And all of a sudden out of the sky comes these large stones, either hailstones, ice or stones.
27:03I mean, it just says hailstones.
27:04Shoot, they come crashing down out of the sky.
27:06Who do they hit?
27:09Just the enemy.
27:12Just the enemy.
27:13Israel wasn't attacked with these stones.
27:15Only the enemy got hit by the stones.
27:17I guess you could say these are the first smart bombs.
27:23God directs them, right down on top of the enemy.
27:26Misses Israel completely.
27:27Boom, run on the enemy.
27:28And more die because of the hailstones than the sword, we were told.
27:31That's the first miracle.
27:32These smart bombs, artillery out of heaven from God.
27:35The second one was this.
27:37It's midday.
27:38They've been fighting since morning.
27:40They marched all night, 15 to 20 miles, come to Gibeon.
27:42They now then attack the enemy, enemy against the flea.
27:45Hailstones come down, smart bombs from God.
27:48And then Joshua says, listen, God, if they escape now, they're going back to their cities,
27:53back behind their walls.
27:55And we're going to have to go from city to city to city to attack them.
27:58God, please do something now so that we can act upon what you have given to us.
28:02So God stops the sun in midday.
28:08It ceased for about a whole day.
28:10We are told the sun didn't go down about a whole day, 23 hours, 22 hours, 20.
28:14I don't know.
28:15About a whole day is what the text says.
28:16I have no law.
28:17I have no idea.
28:17But many people with a scientific mind automatically say, stop, wait.
28:25How is that possible?
28:26Did the earth stop rotating where the sun just stood?
28:30And if the earth stopped rotating, that's not possible because all these things would
28:34take place.
28:35Earth would tear itself apart.
28:36Or did the sun follow the earth as it went?
28:38No, because we know the sun is stationary.
28:40The scientific mind said, this is not possible.
28:43It can't happen.
28:43And I say, they don't know our God.
28:48If God is omnipotent, can do all things, then he certainly can stop the sun.
28:54If he wanted to, he could stop the rotation of the earth and still make everything okay.
28:58He's all powerful.
29:00I mean, if you really think about it, God could right now at this time, remove all oxygen from
29:05this earth.
29:06And he could make all living creatures who breathe not need oxygen to survive.
29:11At that, it's like that, if he wanted to.
29:14So to make it sun stop in the middle of the day, that's no big deal to me.
29:17God can do all things.
29:18I don't have a problem with that at all.
29:21This long day that God made was in direct answer to the prayer of Joshua.
29:24It said that a man asked and God responded.
29:27What a great thing.
29:31And now God is helping Joshua keep his vow to the Gibeonites.
29:35Directly, he's taking the promise out.
29:37I understand that.
29:37But indirectly, he's helping Joshua with this vow that he made.
29:40God is empowering Joshua to keep his vow.
29:44Important principle.
29:46God is actively working so that Joshua can keep the vow that he made.
29:50He's there.
29:52And we were told this whole event is recorded in this book called Jasher.
29:56Book of the Upright, the Book of the Righteous.
29:58It could be a collection of Hebrew poetry that talks about all the exploits of Israel and their
30:04kings, all the great things they did in the name of the God or in the name of Israel,
30:07whatever.
30:08It's probably what this book is all about.
30:09It's mentioned one other time in 2 Samuel 1.18.
30:12Other than that, we don't know an awful lot about it.
30:14It's not an inspired canonical book.
30:16It doesn't belong in the scripture.
30:17But this section right here appears that in the poetry form, it's brought over from that
30:22book and placed in the inspired word.
30:24So God inspires it at that point by placing it here in this text.
30:30Joshua had marched all night.
30:31Joshua had pulled out his sword and began the fight.
30:36Joshua had chased the enemy down before the hailstones came.
30:41Joshua did all these things.
30:42And you ask yourself, yeah, why did he exert so much energy?
30:49I mean, think about it.
30:49What did God promise him?
30:51Don't be afraid.
30:52I've given them into your hand.
30:56No man can stand against you.
30:57In other words, he promised him success.
30:59He promised him victory.
31:01Why did Joshua exert so much energy here when God had already promised him?
31:06Hey, wouldn't it have been a whole lot easier?
31:08I think we'll stay in the camp at Gilgal.
31:10God, just do your smart bomb thing and rain down upon the enemies and just destroy them
31:14all right here.
31:14You promised that you would give them into our hands.
31:17Not a man would stand against us.
31:18God, I think it'd be a whole lot easier if I just sat here in Gilgal.
31:21Why did he exert so much energy?
31:25God said he would overthrow the enemy and give them into their hands.
31:28Why?
31:30Reason is this.
31:32God's promises to us, as promised to Joshua, God's promises to us are given not to make
31:37us lazy, but rather to encourage and motivate us to action.
31:44When God promises, I promise this is going to take place in your life.
31:48He's not saying sit on your backside and let it happen.
31:51He's saying, now you actively go out with this promise that I have given to you and you
31:56do your responsibility.
31:57I promise I'm going to do this.
31:59You act.
32:03Our vows that we make, whether to the military, to the, to our spouses, to our employers, to
32:13our God, these vows that we make are promises to be kept and they ought to motivate us to
32:19action, to keep these promises, no longer interest, but true commitments.
32:24That's what vows are.
32:25And in the text, we see two things.
32:27Joshua keeps the vow that he made to Gibeon, although it cost him something.
32:32And God interceded and did two miracles so that, yes, they could take the promised land,
32:38but indirectly so that Joshua could keep his vow.
32:41God interacted.
32:44God performed a miracle.
32:49Vows are promises to be kept.
32:53An emergency room nurse tells this story.
32:55She said one morning at about 8.30, she was in the emergency room and she noticed a man
32:59about 80 years old sitting there.
33:01He had a bandaged thumb and she came up to him, sir, can I help you?
33:04He said, yeah, I've come to have the stitches removed.
33:07He said, but I need to be at an appointment at nine o'clock.
33:10Can you please hurry?
33:12And she knows that it would take at least an hour probably to get this suture, this ditch
33:16is taken out.
33:18So she, after a period of time, she notices that she's breaking from, she has a break between
33:23two patients.
33:23She goes over and takes a look at the guy's thumb.
33:25She takes the bandage off.
33:26It's healed.
33:26There's no infection.
33:27It's not red.
33:27It looks great.
33:28So she goes to the doctor and said, can I have permission now to take stitches out of
33:31this man's thumb?
33:33Doctor said, fine, here are the equipment to do it.
33:34Go ahead and do it and then re-bandage it.
33:36So the nurse comes up to him and while she's beginning to take the stitches out, she starts
33:40a conversation with him.
33:44She said, you know, I noticed that you're in a hurry.
33:46You keep looking at your watch.
33:47You got an appointment at nine o'clock.
33:48Where do you need to go?
33:49He said, I need to go to the nursing home to have breakfast with my wife.
33:53Well, she goes, oh, well, you know, how's your wife's health?
33:56I mean, how's she doing in the nursing home there?
33:59He said, well, she'd been there for a while and she's had Alzheimer's and she hasn't recognized
34:05me for over five years.
34:08So they continued talking and she finished dressing his bandage and said, you know, won't you be
34:13a little bit worried if we're kind of late?
34:15And he replied, well, she really doesn't recognize me at all.
34:20She doesn't know me when I show up.
34:21She doesn't know.
34:22She wouldn't even know if I was late.
34:25And she said, the nurse said, and you still go every morning for breakfast at nine o'clock,
34:30even though she doesn't even know who you are.
34:33And the little old man took the nurse's hand and he patted and he smiled and he said, she
34:38doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.
34:41Are we serious about our vows?
34:46Are we serious about the promises that we make to one another, to God, to our employers?
34:52Are we serious as Joshua was at all costs to keep his vows?
35:00So God wants us to keep our vows.
35:02And like Joshua, that's why I started this morning with this impression.
35:06There are some of you that need a miracle today.
35:12And I prayed specifically because I don't know.
35:14Maybe today, who knows?
35:15Maybe God will perform a miracle for you.
35:22He acted on Joshua's behalf so that he could fulfill his vow to the Gibeonites.
35:28I believe he will strengthen us to keep our vows as well.
35:32Let's go ahead and pray together.
35:33Father, I pray that you would do a great work in our hearts.
35:40There are things that are outside of our control.
35:43We have very little control over, if any at all.
35:47And it puts us in circumstances and situations where we hurt inside.
35:53We don't even want to pick our foot up and put it down because we know how much it's going to hurt.
35:57So, Father, I ask again.
36:01I ask for a miracle.
36:04I ask, please, that you would strengthen us to keep our vows.
36:09That you would perform a miracle that vows made could be kept.
36:13That you would do something great to glorify your name.
36:16And we just turn to you in hope and prayer and desire that you would do something great.
36:22Let us be known like Gideon as people who keep our vows, even when it costs us something.
36:31Pray in Jesus' name.
36:32Amen.
Comments