The Five Kings

"So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it." Joshua 10:5

The pilots were starting to descend into Manchester airport when they heard a loud bang and the aircraft shuddered and yawed slightly to the right. The passengers also noticed the commotion and subsequently the flight attendants called on the intercom and said the right engine was 'smoking.' The pilots took a quick glance at the engine instruments and decided that the right engine was having problems. There is a checklist for engine fires and they quickly accomplished each item, shutting down the right engine. In their minds this was not a serious problem since they had two engines and the airplane was quite capable of flight on the one remaining engine. They continued to descend in preparation for landing. Several miles from the runway they became aware that they were slightly low and attempted to increase power on the 'good' left engine. As they advanced the power that engine started to shake and would not produce power. Too late they realized that in their haste they had been operating under a false mindset, assuming the right engine was bad when in reality, the left engine was the real problem. So now, with little time remaining, they desperately attempted to start the right engine. Too late, as they touched down about a half mile from the runway. The aircraft was destroyed and twenty passengers, plus the two pilots, perished. Though this accident occurred back in the early 70's the issue of false 'mindset' is a recurring theme in pilot training. Pilots learn that they must frequently re-evaluate what they know (check the facts with new information), the use of all available resources to verify a plan of action, participate in open communications between involved partners, and active development of alternate plans.

Our perceptions of reality are often shaded by preconceived notions formed with insufficient or even false information. Though you may not be entrusted with operating an aircraft and passengers, as a believer, the stakes are just as important. As pilot ought to review known facts, a believer will need to frequently review the scriptures in order to know how we might act in a particular situation. As a pilot will use all available resources, so also a believer ought to avail himself of the wisdom that comes first from consistent exposure to the preaching of the Word, then the wisdom that comes from other believers and also from a few good, solid books. Just as a flight crew will communicate freely, believers, especially husbands and wives, should freely discuss issues facing them during the week. Just as flight crews must consider possible 'what-if' scenarios, so also families ought to consider alternate plans for the future.

As we look at Joshua chapter 10 we want to look at these five kings and their mindset. First, we know that unbelievers are always going to have a false mindset since the scriptures state that they are under bondage from sin. Believers also struggle with sin and therefore will struggle with false mindsets but, unlike the unbeliever, we have the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. So from what I know about my own struggles with depravity and what I have learned about warfare I have made a few inferences from this section of Scripture. My first assumption is that these kings were no different than myself except they had absolute power over their realms. It probably won't make you feel good to consider this but the difference between the most evil person you can think of and yourself is merely a matter of God's grace. The difference between yourself, before conversion, and these kings is that the Lord, by his common grace, prevented you from gaining enough power or wealth to do that greater evil - God allowed these kings to have the power to do that which was according to their own desires. In essence though, even when God's common grace kept you from performing that greater evil, your sin is no less an offense to God than the acts of a mass murderer (though I am sure that we are all grateful that you are not a mass murderer!). So we ought to be careful not to be self-righteous when we think about these kings. They are just as guilty of sins as any other unbeliever, either in the past, present, or future. In the providence of God these kings were allowed to become powerful monarchs yet at the same time retained responsibility for all their grievous sins.

Application: You are to be eternally grateful that the Lord has, by common grace, restrained sin in this world. The fact that the Lord has restrained sin in your life is an even greater cause for gratefulness, and thanksgiving! It is tempting to look at unbelievers with disdain - better to look with pity and prayers for their deliverance - you are not so much unlike them except for the grace of God.

So we see that the kings mindset was formed by a desire to defend themselves and their property. They were aware that a key trade route ran through their territory. Presently they controlled access through a major trade route and they were made rich through tolls, taxes, and tribute demands to those who wished to trade with Egypt and beyond. Throughout their history they had been frequently attacked and sometimes conquered by other invading foreigners who saw this same potential source of revenue and power. If they were conquered they knew it meant the loss of their families, all earthly comforts, and probably death.

Faced with reports from those who had witnessed the destruction of Jericho and Ai they would certainly send out spies to evaluate the enemy. Because of their mindset they would interpret the spies reports without considering the power and promises of God. No doubt, their spies reported the relative poverty of the invaders and the large number of women and children living with their army. Invading armies must always have supply lines from a base of operations with food and provisions moving toward the battle line along with craftsmen to repair and replace broken weapons and spent ammunition - spears, arrows, stones for slings, etc. In the eyes of worldly men, the Sons of Israel were operating with several major disadvantages since they had no homeland and could not expect reinforcements from home to help. They were also a foraging army, they did not have supply lines back to their homeland but collected food along the way. Large numbers of fighting men will eat a lot of food so the Canaanites knew that if they could stall the attack for even a week the invaders would run out of food and have to retreat to 'greener' pastures. In contrast to the apparent poverty of the Israelite invaders, circumstances looked favorable for the kings as they would be fighting near their cities with ample sources of food and replacement arms. They also had their fortified cities of relative safety to fall back on and fight another day if a particular battle went poorly.

Obviously, the five kings were thinking they were self-sufficient and powerful. They trusted in the strength of their armies and the apparent weakness of their enemies. This was the ultimate false mindset. Due to their depraved mindset, they fell into the trap of pride and self-sufficiency that many fall into today - unconverted 'kings' scoff at the strange God who seemed to favor the people of God. Certainly, the Canaanite gods had no involvement with the world of men and generally had no interest in saving anyone except those with the mightiest armies. Too late, many will see that the gods of this world have no power to save.

If they had considered the witness of Abraham in the days of old, more recently the parting of the Jordan River and the defeat of Jericho, they might have thought more highly of the God of the Israelites. And if they had taken a higher view of God, they might have re-evaluated the situation and reconsidered their plans of resistance - the only rational plan for life would have been total submission to the rightful kingship of Jehovah, the God of Abraham.

Application: Submission to God is the only rational choice for your family, for your comfort, and for your life.

"It may be that you are struggling hard for the rewards of this world. Perhaps you are straining every nerve to obtain more money, or place, or power, or pleasure. If that be your case, take care. You are sowing a crop of bitter disappointment. Unless you mind what you are about, your latter days will be to lie down in sorrow.

Thousands have trodden the path you are pursuing, and have awoke too late to find in end in misery and eternal ruin. They have fought hard for wealth, and honor, and office, and promotion, and turned their backs on God, and Christ, and heaven, and the world to come. And what has their end been? Often, far too often, they have found out that their whole life has been a grand mistake. They have tasted by bitter experience the feelings of the dying statesman who cried aloud in his last hours, "The battle is fought: the battle is fought: but the victory is not won." (Ryle, J.C., Holiness. Charles Nolan Publishers, Moscow, ID Pg 77-78)

In conclusion I ask you to please consider your mindset. Are you informing your life through the scriptures or are you looking at the world for a true understanding of reality? Are you using all the resources that the Lord has graciously given you to 'work out you salvation with fear and trembling' (Philippians 2:12)? For example, are you consistently coming to church to hear your pastor preach the Word? Are you participating in the Lord's Table week by week? Are you spending time in prayers of adoration, thanksgiving, and confession? Are you working toward having open communication with other believers through frequent fellowship? Are you developing those few believing friends who will encourage and challenge you in your walk with Christ? The Lord has provided ways to correct our false perceptions of reality - the question remains whether you prefer a worldly life of comfortable illusion or a life with a vastly more satisfying relationship with the One who called Himself, the Way, the Truth, and the Light (John 14:6).

Robin