What is the meaning of Joshua 10:1? Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard • Adoni-zedek ruled the fortified hill-city later called Zion (Genesis 14:18 hints at an earlier king, Melchizedek, from the same site). • His very title, “king of Jerusalem,” signals that the city was still in Canaanite hands when Israel entered the land (Joshua 15:63). • “Heard” shows that news of God’s acts through Israel traveled quickly; Canaanite rulers tracked each victory (Joshua 9:1-2). • Fear rather than repentance marked his response, setting the stage for the coalition in Joshua 10:3-5. Joshua had captured Ai • The defeat of Ai is recorded in Joshua 8:1-29. • After the setback caused by Achan’s sin (Joshua 7), God granted Israel a fresh victory, confirming His promise in Deuteronomy 11:24. • Canaanite kings realized that Jericho’s fall was no fluke; Israel could conquer walled cities repeatedly. Devoted it to destruction • Ai, like Jericho, was placed under the ban—total destruction of people and property except what God specified (Deuteronomy 7:2; Joshua 8:26-27). • The ban underscored that the land belonged to the LORD and that Israel’s victories were acts of divine judgment, not mere territorial expansion (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). • Adoni-zedek interpreted this as an existential threat: if Ai’s gods could not save it, neither could Jerusalem’s. As he had done to Jericho and its king • Jericho’s king was executed and the city burned (Joshua 6:21-24); the same fate met Ai’s king, whose body hung until sunset (Joshua 8:29). • The pattern proved Joshua followed God’s commands consistently, giving Canaanite rulers no hope of negotiating terms other than surrender (Hebrews 11:30 reminds us that Jericho’s fall was an act of faith). • For Adoni-zedek, this meant Joshua would not relent once a city was placed under judgment. Gibeon had made peace with Israel • Gibeonites resorted to deception, yet Israel honored the oath made in the LORD’s name (Joshua 9:3-27). • Gibeon was a “great city, like one of the royal cities” (Joshua 10:2), so its alliance shifted the regional balance. • The treaty illustrated God’s mercy toward those who sought refuge—an echo of Rahab’s deliverance (Joshua 6:25; James 2:25). Living near them • Gibeon and its towns lay only a day’s march from Jerusalem (Joshua 9:17; 10:6). • Their proximity placed Adoni-zedek’s territory next on Israel’s path and exposed him to attack should he leave Gibeon unchallenged. • The Gibeonites’ new role as woodcutters and water carriers (Joshua 9:27) meant they served the LORD’s sanctuary—another sign that Canaan’s spiritual center was shifting. summary Joshua 10:1 records the moment a powerful Canaanite king realized that Israel’s God was unstoppable: Jericho had fallen, Ai had been wiped out under the ban, and a major neighbor, Gibeon, had defected to Israel. Adoni-zedek’s alarm explains the hostile coalition that follows. The verse testifies to God’s faithfulness in granting victories exactly as promised and highlights the choice facing every nation—resist and perish or seek peace on God’s terms. |
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