Joshua 10:16-18 "But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. (17) And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. (18) And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them"
Joshua 10:22-25 "Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the
cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. (23)
And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave,
the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, and the king of Eglon. (24) And it came to pass, when they
brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of
Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come
near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put
their feet upon the necks of them. (25) And Joshua said unto them,
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."
I used several verses of Scripture today because there is a great lesson
contained in them. I ask you to read these verses and even go back to read the
entire 23rd Chapter of the book of Joshua. It was because of these five kings
that the Lord sent great hailstones upon the enemies of Israel. And it was
because of these five kings that the Lord caused the Sun and Moon to stand
still until the victory was won. I love to look at the meanings of the names of
people and places especially in the Old Testament. They were not just random
names, but rather held great significance. And so it was for these five kings
and the nations in which they lived. I won't speak directly concerning each
individual nation, but the collective meaning of these nations refers to a state
of mind that can infect even the child of God. These five nations carry the
meaning of someone finding peace in associating themselves with the things of
the world which tend to lift up self even when living like there is no
consequence to sin whatsoever. Paul speaks of a false sense of peace when the
conscience becomes seared like with a hot iron because of sin in our lives.
There was a remedy that the people had to experience by dealing with these
things in life. If a person allows themselves to continue associating with the
things of the world, there is a false sense of peace and the state of mind of
thinking that he is above reproach. Sin can cause a person to think way too
highly of themselves and the result is frolicking (yes an old fashioned word)
in the worldly activities that will eventually bring a person down. What is the
remedy? Joshua told the people, "Come near, put your feet upon the necks
of these kings." We know Jesus dealt with sin on the cross when He laid
down His life. The shedding of His blood paid the price for our sin debt and
secured our home in heaven. But we must deal with our daily actions that grieve
the Holy Spirit and transgress against our Lord. We must as it were "put
(our) feet upon the necks" of those things which could bring us down. We
cannot allow it to continue; rather, we must deal with it by the power of Jesus
Christ. The blood never loses its power to enable us to deal with sin issues in
our lives. Lord, help us to walk closer to you each day!
The Blood Will Never Lose It's Power
By Andrae' Crouch
The blood that Jesus shed for me Way back on Calvary
The blood that gives me strength From day to day
It will never lose its power
It reaches to the highest mountain
It flows to the lowest valley
The blood that gives me strength From day to day
It will never lose its power
It soothes my doubts and calms my fears And it dries all my tears
The blood that gives me strength From day to day
It will never lose its power