CHAPTER 10 May 24 
Adoni-Zedek Organizes Opposition to the Israelites
Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; and that as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them. 2The people of Jerusalem were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon saying, 4Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. 5Therefore 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 themselves together and went up, they and all their armies, and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. 6The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal saying, Don’t abandon your servants! Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country have gathered together against us. 7So Joshua went up from Gilgal, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. 8Yahweh said to Joshua, Don’t fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands. Not a man of them will stand before you. 9Joshua therefore came on them suddenly. He went up from Gilgal all night. 10Yahweh confused them before Israel, and He slew  them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11It happened that as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down great stones from the sky on them to Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the children of Israel killed with the sword. 
The Sun Stands Still
12Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!  13The sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the midst of the sky and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day. 14There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel. 15Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal. 16These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17Joshua was told saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 18Joshua said, Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them; 19but don’t stay. Pursue your enemies, and attack their rearguard. Don’t allow them to enter into their cities; for Yahweh your God has delivered them into your hand. 20It happened, when Joshua and the children of Israel had finished killing them with a very great slaughter until they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. None moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. 22Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me. 23They did so, and brought those five kings out of the cave to him: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24It happened that when they brought those kings out to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. They came near, and put their feet on their necks. 25Joshua said to them, Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for Yahweh will do this to all your enemies against whom you fight. 26Afterward Joshua put them to death, and hanged them on five trees. They hung on the trees until the evening. 27It happened at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees and threw them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. 
Joshua’s Lightning Campaign
28Joshua took Makkedah on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword, with its king. He utterly destroyed them and all the souls who were in it. He left none remaining. He did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. 29Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30Yahweh delivered it also, with its king, into the hand of Israel. He struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were in it. He left none remaining in it. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. 31Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it. 32Yahweh delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel. He took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with all the souls who were in it, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. 34Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 35They took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed all the souls who were in it that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. 36Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it. 37They took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with its king and all its cities, and all the souls who were in it. He left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls who were in it. 38Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it. 39He took it, with its king and all its towns. They struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls who were in it. He left none remaining. As he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and to its king; as he had done also to Libnah and to its king. 40So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the South, the lowland, the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Yahweh the God of Israel commanded. 41Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon. 42Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Commentary

10:8 Was this a lack of faith in 1:5? 
10:10 It was due to Joshua’s faithfulness to the Gibeonites that this great battle and victory occurred. We see how God worked through the Gibeonites’ deception and Israel’s unwisdom- to bring about a situation whereby His people could take possession of the Kingdom. He does things like this all the time; rather than turning away from human failure in disgust, He works through it; just as we should when confronted by it in ourselves and in others.
10:11 Joshua’s conquest of the Canaanite tribes looks forward to the work of his greater namesake, Jesus, at His return. Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem and the counterpart of Melchizedek, is representative of the latter day anti-Christ figure who will rule there in the last days. He leads a confederacy of Arab nations against Joshua-Jesus, and is destroyed with hailstones (:11)- an event which is the basis for the latter day prophecy of Rev. 16:21. Joshua’s men placing their feet upon the necks of their enemies (:24) is the prototype of all enemies being subdued under the Lord in the last day; and the way “the God of Israel fought for Israel” at this time (:42) is the basis of many latter day statements to the same effect. 
10:12 This is amazing faith in prayer; Joshua commanded things to happen, so sure of the prayer being heard. 
10:13 There are a number of references in Scripture to books like the book of Jashar which we no longer have available to us. Whether they were inspired or not, we don't know; but the point is, they are no longer available to us because God knows that we do not need them. By contrast, the books in the Bible have been preserved for us; God would not have inspired and preserved books like Leviticus or the Chronicles genealogies unless they were important for us in some way.
10:14 The sun standing still could mean that a different dimension of time was entered into- see on :42. But in the midst of a very literal record, it could equally well be understood literally. This would’ve meant that the entire solar system was affected; for no one part of it can stop dead in its tracks without affecting the whole planetary system. And perhaps the effects of that would have been felt even further… possible the entire cosmos stopped. All because of the fervent prayer of a man standing on planet earth. Such is the power of prayer. And further, Joshua didn’t just ask for this just in case God might hear it. He prayed the prayer of command, so intense was his faith that God would do this mighty act so that His work could go ahead. 
10:25- see on 14:8.
10:28 On that day- A huge amount happened that day and over the next two days; see on 10:42.
10:42 The events around Christ's return were prefigured by those at the time of Joshua's conquest of the land. Some of the records of his campaigns require a huge amount to have been achieved by his soldiers within around 36 hours. The comment that so much was achieved "at one time" may hint at a compression of time to enable it. "The sun stood still" may well be intended to teach that the meaning of time was collapsed by God, rather than that the sun literally stood still (:12,13). And the sun standing still over Gibeon is mentioned in Is. 28:21 as typical of the time when Yahweh will do "His strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act" in the last days. The same may be true when the shadow went back for Hezekiah. The movement of the planets need not have been altered; the meaning of time was simply suspended. This collapsing of time would also explain why it is impossible to construct a chronology of events in real time for the coming of Christ; the various prophecies of the last days just don't seem to fit together in chronological sequence. If indeed time is collapsed, this would enable all these prophecies to come true, but not in time as we know it. Babylon is to be punished with famine in one day; yet famine is a process (Rev. 18:8). In one day her judgments come, and yet also in one hour (18:10). Surely the lesson is that time is compressed. Rev. 8:12, also speaking of the last days, says that “the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise”. Could this mean that one day and one night last only two thirds of their usual length, whilst the judgments of the fourth Angel are poured out upon the land?  This collapsing of time will enable us each to be judged individually without having to wait our turn in line.