Joshua 10:1–5

Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it—as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king—and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” Therefore 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 and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

The mask has slipped. Their true character is revealed. Understand this and all the battles make sense.

Why on Earth would these kings attack Gibeon? They face a formidable invading army and they decide to waste resources on a battle that gains them nothing. What’s going on here?

Hatred. That’s what’s going on here. Irrational moves, especially military ones, are often motivated by hatred. The kings hate that Gibeon made peace with Israel.

These guys are a bunch of petty tyrants.

As we watch the drama with these kings unfold, consider this dictionary plum—“pusillanimous.” Like many dictionary plums, it has a deep meaning that teaches.

This one is psychology in a can. Pusillanimous means to be mean-spirited in one’s timidness.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pusillanimous

One of the curious aspects of sin is that cowardice and meanness often go hand in hand. That’s why we found Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole. It’s why standing up to bullies often stops them cold.

As we’ve pointed out before, the LORD’s sentencing these people to destruction is appropriate. They are marinated in evil.

But here we see their evil manifested not so much as brutality, but as cowardice combined with irrational hatred.

While sin is different in different people, virtue is more consistent. Specifically, the four cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude) are remarkably correlated. People tend to have them or they don’t.

These guys don’t.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.