Let Not the Sun Go Down

Let Not the Sun Go Down
Study Center | Home Page | PDF Version

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says, "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."

Under capital punishment (taught in the Old Testament and also the New), a person who was guilty could be hung on a tree. However, it states here the person who was hung on a tree must be removed from the tree and buried before the sun set. This law was observed from the time it was given until the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Jesus fulfilled the law during his lifetime. The law was not just the ten commandments. The law included everything in the first five books of the Bible.

Jesus fulfilled the law throughout His lifetime and through His death. Jesus kept the ten commandments during His lifetime and fulfilled the sacrificial laws when He went to the cross and became the ultimate sacrifice, abolishing the Old Testament sacrifices.

Colossians 2:14 says, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." Jesus Christ crucified the law with Him when He cried, "It is finished."

When Jesus declared on the cross "It is finished," He was referring to the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law lasted from Moses until the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:19 says the law was given "till the seed should come..." Jesus was the seed.

Today we have been given a higher law: the law of love. As we walk in the law of love, we automatically keep the ten commandments. Galatians 5:14 says, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

You see, we have a supernatural way of keeping the law. The Holy Spirit comes into us and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by Him. As the love of God is shed abroad, we keep the law.

The book of Joshua is the parallel book in the Old Testament to Ephesians in the New Testament. The book of Joshua is a comparison to the church age, the life of faith. Canaan is a type of the faith life. Canaan is not a type of heaven.

Canaan is a type of faith life which you and I can enter into if we'll just get out of the wilderness of unbelief. Cross over the Jordan by faith and watch the water stand up. You'll walk across on dry ground with the Ark of the Covenant ahead of you, the promises of God. Every place you put your foot He has already given to you. It's a land of milk and honey.

Many of us are afraid to walk into the faith life because we don't see the milk and honey. We see the giants. Yes, the giants are there, but He's already promised you the victory before you ever go in.

I don't care how big the devil looks, or how big your problems seem, they have already been defeated. It's a supernatural battle.

When the spies entered the land, they went to Jericho and found Rahab. Rahab was the only person in the entire city exercising faith and God directed them said, "We've heard about you. Forty years ago we heard about God dividing the Red Sea for you. Since then we've known the land belongs to you."

The sinners in Canaan knew more than the children of Israel. The inhabitants of Canaan were shaking in fear. (See chapter two of Joshua.)

The book of Joshua is filled with the message of prosperity. The Bible says, "The wealth of the sinner is layed up for the just." (Proverbs 13:22) Each time Israel conquered a city, they kept the spoils of their eneimies.They conquered some cities of two hundred thousand and claimed all the inheritance for Israel when they came out of those cities. By the time the conquering was over, Israel was the wealthiest nation in the world.

Some people say, "Well, Christians shouldn't claim the wealth of the world." Listen, they stole from us in the first place. The Bible says in Psalms 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof..."

The devil took it from us. It's our rightful possession to go take it back from him. We're the rightful owners through Jesus Christ.

In Joshua 8 Israel destroyed the city of Jericho. Ai was next. Ai was a small city of forty thousand people.
After they had just destroyed Jericho, they had a setback at Ai. That's because in the beginning God told the people of Israel, "Go in and possess Jericho, but don't take a single possession."

One man, Achan, went into the city, saw a gold bar, a silver bar, and a beautiful Babylonian garment. He took them back to his tent and buried them under the ground. When the Israelites went to the city of Ai,the entire army met defeat. They were chased out of the city by a small band of soldiers who slew thirty-six of the army of Israel. Joshua inquired before the Lord. The Lord told him there was sin in the camp.

After Achan and his whole family were put to death, Israel went back to Ai and won a victory.

Joshua 8:28-29: "And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap forever, even a desolation unto this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcas down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise theron a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day."

According to Deuteronomy 21:22-23, whoever had been found guilty of a sin worthy of death was put on a tree and hanged until the sun went down. Then they cut him down and buried him.

Joshua 8:30-35 says, "Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal. As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered theron burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests and Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stronger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizirn, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them."

Moses instructed the people that when they came into the promised land, they would come to a valley between two mountains: Mount Gerizirn and Mount Ebal. He said Mount Ebal will represent the curse of the law, and Mount Gerizirn will represent the blessing of the law.

He then commanded them to divide the people. Half of the children of Israel would be on one mountain, and half on the other. The priests (the Levites) will stand in the valley with the Ark of the Covenant, and Joshua will read out the blessings and cursings of the law.

I want you to imagine three million people on the mountain and three million people on another mountain. The Levites are in the valley between with the Ark of the Covenant. Joshua is looking up at one mountain and then at the other.

On one mountain are the children of Jacob who came through his wives (Gerizirn) and on the other are the children of the handmaids (Ebat).

Joshua cried to Gerizirn, "Blessed shalt thou be in the city and blessed shalt thou be in the fields." Mount Gerizirn yelled, "Amen!" Then he said to Ebal, the cursing side, "And cursed shall thou be (if you do not obey the words of this law) in the fields." And the cursing mountain yelled, "Amen!"

When this was finished the peace offerings were made on the cursing mountain. This has all been fulfilled for us in Galatians 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse (Ebal) of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one hangeth on a tree."

This was all done after the wicked king of Ai was hanged on a tree. Jesus became the wicked king of Ai. When Jesus hung on the cross He became the curse for us. He was the serpent on the pole.

Joshua 10:1-3:
"Now it came to pass when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it: as he had done to Ai and her king,” (hanged them on a tree until the sun went down).

And how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; who they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon."

We are a type of Joshua and the children of Israel. These kings are types of battles we face each day. I want to give you the names of the five kings.

The first king is the king of Jerusalem, Adonizedec. Adonizedec is Satan’s counterfeit for Melchizedek. Remember when Abraham met Melchizedek king of Salem?
Salem was an early name for Jerusalem. Abraham met him returning from the slaughter of the kings and Melchizedek blessed him. Melchizedek was the priest of the most high God.

Adonizedec means lord of righteousness. Adoni is the Hebrew word for Lord and Zedec means righteousness. That’s one way the devil comes to you, as an angel of light. He comes disguised as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. If you get a vision of light or an angel comes to you, make sure it lines up with God’s word.

The second name is Hoham. Hoham means “the voice of a multitude.” That’s another way the devil will get to you, he’ll get everybody turning against you. He’ll get the whole world voicing their opinion against you.

The next king is called Piram. This means a "wild ass." It's used over in Genesis 16:12 of Ishmael. The word to describe this is instability. That’s where you become of a double mind, unstable. The Bible says in James 1:7-8, “For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Isaiah 33:6 says, “And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times...” The Word keeps us stable.

The next king is Jarmuth. His name means “dazzling to the eyes.” This is another way the devil comes. He dazzles. The world has an expression. “All that glitters is not gold.”

The last king mentioned is Debir. Debir means “Oracle.” This is demonology. Oracles are something witches use today in demon practice.

These five kings speak of five different ways the devil attacks, but Jesus Christ is greater than all these.

Even if the devil came to you in all five ways, if he joined all of his forces and came at you, you’re still greater. If all hell comes against you today, 1 John 4:49 says, “...greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

In Joshua 10:4-9 the kings were told, “Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath 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, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us. So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine and; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.”

Joshua and his men encamped in Gilgal, and traveled all night long. Joshua and some forty thousand men traveled up through the mountains to where the Amorites were located.

They were going to launch a surprise attack while all the men were sleeping. These men hadn’t slept the day before. Now they were going to do battle without sleep. But when you are traveling under orders from the Lord, you have supernatural energy.

Joshua and the army have been traveling all night long under the cloak of darkness.

Joshua 10:10-11:
“And the lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhorn, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhorn, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hail stones that they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.”

God even sent down giant balls of ice from heaven.

Joshua 10:12-13:
“Then spake Joshua 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 thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies... So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.”

The battle had continued all day. They fought against the five kings, and this battle lasted longer than Ai or Jericho.

In those previous battles they fought against one city, one army, but now they’re coming up against five armies and daylight is about gone.

Joshua looks and realizes the sun is about to go down. Suddenly a promise comes to him, Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Joshua realized the battle had to be won before the going down of the sun. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still because he had a promise to stand on. You can’t do anything in the Christian life without the Word to back it up first.

Notice, Joshua didn’t ask God to stop the sun and moon. He spoke to the sun. He spoke to the moon. They continued to fight and slaughtered the kings and all the men with them.

Joshua 10:14-22 continues, “And there was no day like that before it or after it, the Lord hearkened unto the voice of the man: For the Lord fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. But these five kings fled, and hid themselvesin a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, the five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them.

And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: For the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand. And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest that remained of them entered into fenced cities. And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. 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.

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. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed be strong and of good courage: for this shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.”

While the captains had their feet on the necks of the enemy, Joshua took out his sword and slit their necks. Then he hung them up on trees as the sun went down on the longest day in history.

When Joshua sat down at the end of the day and rested, the battle was over. He had won.

Look at Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: ” I have misinterpreted that scripture. I have incorrectly taught we must make sure we confess our sins before the day’s over.

However, this verse is not talking about sin. It says, “Be angry, and sin not...” What kind of anger can you have without sinning? How can you be angry and not sin? You can be angry with the devil!

Jesus could be angry without sinning. He picked up the money changers and threw them out of the temple. He came to the religious leaders and said, “You whited tombstones.” He said, "On the outside you’re pretty and white but on the inside you are full of dead men’s bones. You generation of vipers."

This is not the sweet, lovable, mild, and meek Jesus we envision. This is Jesus angry with the works of the devil. God's saying, “Keep that kind of anger until you’ve avenged of your enemy.”

Remember what it said back there, “They were avenged.” They had an anger against those five kings and they got angry.

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” and notice what the next verse says in Ephesians 4:27, “Neither give place to the devil.”

The word place here is topos in the Greek. It means ground. Neither give ground to the devil.

“Sun stand still! Moon stand still! I’m not finished with this battle yet! I don’t fight until the sun goes down. I fight until I win. Then the sun can go down.”

It doesn't matter if financial pressures are coming your way. Command the problems to stand still until you win.

Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out Joshua at the BYM Store.