The wrath of God against sin and sinners is perhaps the least popular topic in the Bible. It’s especially unpopular today, in this age of tolerance. People are not supposed to accuse anyone of sin or tell them they are sinners, and that’s as it should be, because people have no right to pass judgment on other people.

But there is a judge – God – and he does pass judgment against sin. Psalm 7:11-13 says,

“God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.”

 But God’s wrath is restrained by his love and forgiveness for those who come to him.

“He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:9-12

No one can say that they don’t know they are sinners. People have a sense of guilt when they sin. In Romans 1:18-20 the Apostle Paul puts it this way,

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

The people of Canaan knew they were sinners in God’s eyes and they feared God and his people because they had known for a long time that God’s wrath was coming.

Five Kings Attack

The Amorite kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon heard what Israel did to Jericho and Ai. Those two ancient cities were completely destroyed.

Then word came that Israel had enslaved the people of Gibeon. Gibeon was an important city with a fine army that should have been able to defend against Israel, but they gave up without a fight. Gibeon had also handed over to Israel the heartland of Canaan.

The five kings decided to attack Gibeon, perhaps to force them to form an alliance against Israel, but Gibeon didn’t cooperate. They sent word to Joshua and begged for protection.

Gibeon was a thorn in Joshua’s side. They were an idolatrous nation that he had mistakenly brought under Israel’s protection and now he had to send his army to defend them against their enemies.

It turned to Israel’s advantage, however, because instead of fighting each of the five Canaanite kings individually, they could take them all on at once.

The Sun Stands Still

The march from Gilgal to Gibeon was about twenty-five miles, with a 4,000 ft. rise in elevation. Joshua marched his men through the night and attacked the five kings by surprise. God threw the enemy armies into confusion and they ran for home. Israel’s men pursued them and cut them down along the roads. God helped by sending a hailstorm that killed even more Canaanites than the Israelite swords did.

It was a long day for Israel . . . and it got even longer when Joshua asked God to make the sun and moon stand still while his army finished their work.

What happened there? Did God make the earth stop spinning on its axis for twelve to twenty-four hours? No one knows. It can’t be demonstrated scientifically, but neither can other miracles God performs. The Bible only says,

“There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” Joshua 10:14

Five Kings at Makkedah

The five kings who attacked Gibeon fled when their armies ran from the fight. They hid in a cave in Makkedah and when Joshua learned they were there he ordered his men to seal the cave with large rocks. Then he spurred his soldiers on to capture the fleeing Canaanites from the rear before they could reach their fortified cities.

The Israelite army returned victorious to Makkedah where Joshua brought the five kings out of the cave. He put them on the ground and his army commanders symbolically put their feet on the kings’ necks.

“Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are to fight.’” Joshua 10:25

Joshua executed the five kings and hung their bodies on trees until sunset, then they buried them in the cave where they hid. They sealed the cave with stones, making it another monument to the fate of Israel’s enemies.

More Kings, More War

From all over the rest of Canaan kings came together to form a huge army. They gathered with their troops, chariots, and war horses at the Waters of Merom, north of the Sea of Galilee and made plans to march south and attack Israel. But before they could do anything, Joshua brought his army north and attacked them right where they were.

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel.’ . . . So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel.” Joshua 11:6-8

Israel completely decimated the Canaanite kings and their armies. Then they hamstrung the horses so they could no longer be used for war and they burned the chariots of their enemies.

Spoils of War

Joshua and the Israelites remained at war for a long time. They swept through city after city and wiped out the inhabitants. They kept the plunder and livestock as the spoils of war.

“So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:23

The Lord Hardened Their Hearts

God used the hardness of the Canaanites’ hearts to make them want to fight Israel. Their rebellion against him intensified and their hearts got harder as they plotted against Israel. War was the way by which God sought to end idolatry in the land.

“For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Joshua 11:20

God was not without mercy, but he chose not to extend mercy to the Canaanite people any longer. They had reached the limit of his mercy for them and they came under his wrath. These stories show us how much God hated idolatry and the sins that came from it.

The Lord wanted a nation made up of people who lived by his Law and worshiped only him and by the end of today’s reading Israel was firmly in control of much of the Promised Land. Next, we will see them divide the land and settle in as the nation of Israel. God’s promise to give Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s the land were finally fulfilled.

For more verses and a good article on the topic of God’s wrath, check out these links:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/gods_wrath_for_disobedience

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-truths-about-the-wrath-of-god