Topic: Wednesday Evening Bible Study
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
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Strategy – a plan, method or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result
The Word of God gives us two things to help us win in life:
- Warnings
- Strategies
Proverbs 24:16 NKJV (16) For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Proverbs 24:16 TPT For the lovers of God may suffer adversity and stumble seven times, but they will continue to rise over and over again. But the unrighteous are brought down by just one calamity and will never be able to rise again.
What makes every believer in the Bible a success is that even though they might get knocked down, they get right back up. What made all of those people who appear in Hebrews 11 noteworthy was not the fact that they were perfect but it was because when they got knocked down they got back up.
That is where our success comes from because of Jesus and what He did for us, we can get back up.
Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV “BE ANGRY, AND DO NOT SIN”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, (27) nor give place to the devil.
This verse is made up of three phrases:
- Be angry and sin not
- Do not let the sun go down on your wrath
- Do not give place to the devil
There is an anger that is a Godly anger that we need to mention and talk about. We need to get angry at the works of the devil. (Example: sickness and poverty in the Body of Christ) These things are illegal on God’s property.
The object of this verse is not to get rid of the wrath; it is to stop the sun from going down on it.
We are not to tolerate the works of Satan in our lives and nothing should stop us from winning.
We fight until we win. We don’t fight until circumstances say we have to stop. We stop the circumstances so we can finish the fight and then let the circumstances take care of themselves.
When circumstances arise, and they will, we are not to give back any territory to the devil.
Galatians 3:13 NKJV (13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”),
God has removed from His people the Curse of the Law.
- Curse of sin and spiritual death
- Curse of sickness
- Curse of poverty
Joshua 10:1-15 NKJV 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, (2) 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. (3) 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, (4) “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.” (5) 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. (6) And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.” (7) So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. (8) And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” (9) Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. (10) So the LORD routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. (11) And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. (12) Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” (13) So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. (14) And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. (15) Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
These kings were not afraid of Israel; they were afraid of the God of Israel. Satan is not afraid of you; he is afraid of Jesus Who already defeated him.
Second only to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, this is probably the greatest miracle in the Bible.
The parting of the Red Sea was a great miracle but it only impacted that one part of the world.
When Joshua stood and commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, it affected the entire earth and actually affected it forever.
(What is humorous about this is that sun was actually standing still. What Joshua really wanted was for the earth to stop rotating and the moon to stop its orbit. God knew he would understand astrology someday so He did it anyway.)
God stopped the earth from rotating for almost twenty-four hours and yet gravity still worked.
Think about the people on the other side of the earth and the sun never came up for them. That was a long night.
Joshua commanded the sun to stand still because he had a battle to finish.
Background Information:
These kings were afraid of the children of Israel because they had defeated the city of Jericho. Remember how well-fortified Jericho was as the walls were thick enough that six chariots could race side by side around the wall. They then defeated the city of Ai.
Five kings’ names represent five ways that Satan comes to distract us in order to defeat us:
- Adoni-zedek – King of Jerusalem
- Hoham – King of Hebron
- Piram – King of Jarmuth
- Japhia – King of Lachish
- Debir – King of Eglon
- Adoni-zedek – King of Jerusalem – means Lord of righteousness
Satan will always come at you with some form of religion in order to deceive you. Through a minister, or scriptures, etc. to get you to drop your guard. Adoni-zedek was Satan’s counterfeit for Melchizedek, the priest and King of God.
- Hoham – King of Hebron – means voice of a multitude
Satan will come to you and tell you that you are the only one that is experiencing this situation and everyone else is normal.
If you have the Word on a matter, it does not matter what the multitudes are doing, you go with God.
There will be times when you have to stand on the Word of God when no one stands with you. You will have to know that when you are on the Word, God stands with you and will defend you.
- Piram – King of Jarmuth – means wild ass or donkey
This represents confusion and instability. Satan will endeavor to bring confusion and then try and force you to make a decision during that time of confusion. Never make a decision during that time; wait until the confusion is gone.
When in that time of confusion, pray for clarity and wisdom and then make whatever decision that you need to make.
Satan will try and get you to act in that time of confusion.
God will always give you time for confirmation.
- Japhia – King of Lachish – means bright or dazzling
Satan will always try and make the world and the world’s way more dazzling and attractive.
He tries to make Christianity seem boring and un-attractive.
The world may be dazzling but there is NOTHING behind it.
- Debir – King of Eglon – means oracle, Satanic or false doctrine
These things are his attempts to present you with something diametrically opposed to the Word of God.
These kings represent the onslaught of the enemy that comes against us at times. The children of Israel had defeated one army at a time up to this point.
Joshua 10:15-27 NKJV Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. (16) But these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. (17) And it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” (18) So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them. (19) And do not stay there yourselves, but pursue your enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.” (20) Then it happened, while Joshua and the children of Israel made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they had finished, that those who escaped entered fortified cities. (21) And all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace. No one moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. (22) Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.” (23) And they did so, and brought out those five kings to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. (24) So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and put their feet on their necks. (25) Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” (26) And afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees until evening. (27) So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hidden, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
The moment the kings were buried, the sun went down.
How did Joshua know that this was going to happen; what promise was he standing on?
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 NKJV “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, (23) his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
Someone who is worthy of death was someone guilty of a sin that required death and it was required that they hang on the tree. However, their body had to be removed before the sun went down because if they stayed on the tree after darkness came on the earth, the curse that they were being punished for would come back upon the land.
The curse of the people was removed because of the death of the one that was being hanged on the tree.
Joshua hanged the king of Jericho and Ai on a tree.
Joshua knew that his battle would not be over until those men were hanged and placed in a cave for burial and then the sun could go down.
The sun was not going to go down because there were promises that were at stake.
If necessary God will suspend nature for one who dares to believe the Word of God and place it in His mouth. He did it for Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and even Jesus.
Joshua could not speed up the battle but he could cause the sun to stand still so that the battle could be won.
God’s Word will be fulfilled if He has to speed up the battle or slow down nature God will see that it comes to pass.
Fast forward to Galatians 3:13 and Jesus hanging on the cross:
When someone was crucified it was normal for that person to live a day or two on the cross because none of their crucial organs were wounded. Once they passed out, the Roman soldiers would come and break their legs so they would suffocate and die.
Jesus was placed on the cross at 9:00 am and that means He had to die in the next nine hours and be buried before the sun went down. He did not take just one person’s curse as a normal criminal would, He had the curse of sin for all mankind on Him and if He was not buried by sundown, the curse would have come back on the land and the people.
Jesus did not die because of the nails, the cross, the thorns or anything else. He died when He was ready to die.
Joshua brought the leaders of the tribes and had them put their feet on the necks of the kings. Joshua himself did not do this; He had the leaders do this.
Ephesians 1:19-23 NKJV and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (22) And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 2:4-7 NKJV But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is the Head of the Church and the Church is the head of the enemy.