D. Joshua’s Southern Campaign (10:1-43)

The treaty with the Gibeonites precipitated events that led to the breaking of Canaanite resistance in the South. To understand the Canaanite reaction to the news of Ai’s defeat and Gibeon’s treaty with Joshua, we must understand the geography of the hill country. Gibeon and its neighboring cities occupied the Plateau of Benjamin (as it is called now), a relatively flat rectangle immediately to the north of Jerusalem, about a hundred square miles in area. Control of this plateau is essential to control of the entire hill country. With Gibeon now allied to Israel, control of the plateau and thus of the hill country belonged to Israel. The Canaanite kings had to conquer Gibeon before Joshua could reach the area with his forces. Otherwise the Canaanite cause was lost.

The Canaanite coalition did reach Gibeon and besieged it. But the Gibeonites were able to get word to Joshua to ask for his assistance. Joshua’s response underscores again the seriousness of the oath taken in God’s name. Joshua might have delayed his response until Gibeon and its neighbors had been destroyed by their fellow Canaanites. Instead, he responded quickly, in good faith to the obligations he had undertaken.

Joshua’s response actually was more vigorous than required by any treaty. He brought the Israelite army up from Gilgal by an all-night forced march. In this way he surprised the Canaanites besieging Gibeon and routed them. Militarily, it was in Joshua’s interest, too, not to have to recapture the plateau.

In this battle also, God took the initiative. In the engagement before Gibeon, God confounded the Canaanites, and the battle turned into a rout. As the enemy fled, God sent hailstones, killing more than the Israelites did with the sword.

God’s direct intervention in the battle reminds us again of the nature of miracle. It would be possible to construe the hailstorm as a fortunate coincidence for Israel, who then interpreted it as God’s intervention. But the one who takes seriously God’s control over all his creation and his interest in the affairs of individuals and of nations cannot understand this event in that way. God, who reserves the storehouses of the hail for the day of war and battle (Job 38:22-23), opened them on that day.

God’s intervention in this battle is the clearest notice in all of the book of Joshua that the judgment upon Canaan was God’s doing and no one else’s. God did use Israel as an instrument of judgment. But even more, he judged directly. Israel did not cause the collapse of Jericho’s wall. Israel did not propose the successful strategy against Ai. And now God’s hail killed more Canaanite soldiers than did Israel’s swords. God’s right to rule includes the right to use his methods when the day of judgment dawns. (See comments on ch. 6 regarding the ban.)

The record of the sun and the moon standing still raises unanswerable questions (vv.12-14). The omnipotent God could do such a thing. But how could it be done without tremendous disruptions throughout the world? Why would such a cataclysmic event be necessary after God had already used the hail on the fleeing enemy? Not all miracles can be understood, either in purpose, in scope, or in mechanism.

The five kings had led the southern coalition against God’s people. As a sign of their utter defeat and submission, Joshua had his captains put their feet on these kings' necks. Then Joshua executed them; the cave where they had taken refuge became their tomb, a memorial to the great victory God had given Israel.

Joshua now began a series of actions throughout southern Canaan. He captured a number of the important cities, though the author seems to be careful to refrain from saying that Joshua burned any of these cities. This would be in keeping with God’s promise that Israel would dwell in cities they had not built (Dt 6:10).

In view of the later notices concerning the land that remained, we must remember that this was a military campaign and not yet the settlement of the tribes. Some of these cities apparently had to be retaken later. But this campaign made it impossible for surviving Canaanites to prevent Judah and the other southern tribes from settling when the time came. Joshua’s southern campaign, following God’s decisive victory at Gibeon, secured the hill country, the Negev, the shephelah (lowland), and the slopes. These were the areas the southern tribes occupied first when the settlement process began. Joshua’s southern campaign had cleared the way.