Five Kings In A Cave
Devotions for Growing Christians
Five Kings In A Cave
Joshua 10:16-27 – “During the battle the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah. When Joshua heard that they had been found, he issued this command: ‘Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks... The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear… for the Lord your God has given you victory over them.’
So Joshua and the Israelite army… completely crushed the enemy… Then Joshua said, “Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me... ‘When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, “Come and put your feet on the kings’ necks…’ Then Joshua killed each of the five kings.”
"Five kings in a cave" sounds like it might be the winning hand in a new card game. But we’re not talking about games here, we’re talking about strategy for winning battles in spiritual warfare.
Divide and Conquer
In the battle story of Joshua 10, the armies of Israel literally sealed five kings inside a cave as part of the overall strategy for conquering the land of Canaan.
Under God’s command, the first step in conquering Canaan was to divide the land by defeating the central cities of Jericho and Ai. Next, the military plans called for a southern campaign, and then a northern campaign to complete the "divide and conquer" strategy.
Five kings of major city-states in southern Canaan formed a coalition to fight against the Gibeonites. The men of Gibeon, through a deceptive strategy, had tricked Israel into signing a mutual defense treaty with them (Joshua 9). So Joshua and the Israeli army were required to go to Gibeon’s aid, and join the battle against the five kings. With God's intervention (including the well known sun-standing-still miracle), Joshua not only successfully defended Gibeon, but defeated the armies of all five kings in one battle!
The kings thought they could escape by hiding in a cave while their armies continued to fight. But Joshua ordered his men to seal the mouth of the cave with large stones while his army chased the fleeing enemy troops.
When the opposing armies were defeated, Joshua brought the kings out of the cave. Joshua had his chief military commanders place their feet on the necks of the kings -- a gesture of complete subjugation in that day. Then Joshua killed the kings and hung them on trees, so that all could see that the enemies of God's people had been defeated. That evening, Joshua put the bodies of the five kings back into the cave, and it became their grave.
Why All the Killing?
Before we move on, we should discuss this question: “Why all the terrible killing in the book of Joshua? Why would God allow, and even command, all this bloodshed?” Deuteronomy 7:1-5 and 20:16-18 explain why God directed His people to kill the Canaanites, who were the inhabitants of the Promised Land. These passages (and others) clearly show that God did not want His people to be contaminated by their immoral pagan traditions. In fact, God used the Israeli army to clear the Promised Land of its idolatrous people and their evil practices.
It’s important to note that God showed great mercy and patience with the Canaanites. In Genesis 15:13-16, God told Abraham that his descendants, the Israelites, would remain in Egypt for four generations because "the wickedness of the Amorite [Canaanite] nations will not be ready for punishment until then." For hundreds of years, God waited for them to turn to Him. But, typical of mankind (then and today), the Canaanites would not change and refused to respond to God. Their judgment time had come.
God chose the Israeli army to judge the Canaanite nations. Unfortunately, the various tribes of Israel did not completely clear the enemy from the Promised Land. Some of the evil practices of the pagan nations remained in the Land, and they gradually penetrated and contaminated God's own people.
It’s a great lesson for us today. Many Christians are not effective in spiritual warfare because they are heavily influenced by our decadent culture, and too many of the world's principles govern their lives (Ephesians 6:11-13).
Open Sins and Root Sins
Now what about the lessons from the five kings in the cave? All enemy activity in the book of Joshua represents some form of spiritual opposition in the life of the believer today. The strategy for spiritual warfare that’s illustrated here involves dealing effectively with the root sins in our hearts.
The five kings, who were the root of the problem, were hidden in a cave. Meanwhile, the enemy armies they commanded were out in the open. In a similar way, the open sins in our lives are manifestations of the root sins that are hidden in our hearts (Mark 7:21-23).
Think of the open and obvious sins of jealousy, criticism, gossip, or even revenge. The hidden "king in the cave” is the root sin of pride (2 Timothy 3:3-4). And consider the many open sins of cheating in financial matters. The hidden "king in the cave" is the root sin of the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10).
Pride and the love of money are only two of many "hidden king" root sins. Maybe the most hidden root sin of all is idolatry. We don't like to admit it, but when anything in our lives becomes more precious or important than God, the root sin of idolatry lies hidden in our hearts.
Strategy for Spiritual Warfare
In spiritual warfare, what strategies should Christians use against the root sins that are hiding in our hearts? Just like Joshua, we identify the root sin in our lives, and then destroy the open sin. Root sins are not easily eliminated, and must be kept in check while we deal with the open sins.
As Joshua called for the five kings to be brought out into the open, so the Lord Jesus wants us to acknowledge and bring out the hidden sins of our hearts before Him, and He will help us to deal with them.
The Place of Death
The biblical solution to all root sins is to let the Lord expose our hearts and let Him deal with these sins. But we have to get to the point where we’re willing. We can’t peacefully coexist with any "hidden kings.” We must allow the Lord to shine the light of His Word into the inner recesses of our hearts, expose the root sins, and clean them out! In the words of David, "Search me, O God, and know my heart...see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 39:23-24).
An additional spiritual picture is seen when Joshua had the leaders of the people put their feet on the necks of the enemy kings to declare victory. The Lord promised victory to the Israelites in Joshua 10, and the Lord has promised victory to us as well!
The Lord Himself dealt the death blow to the hidden sins in our hearts. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). But we must "walk by the Spirit" and not allow sinful desires to take root in our hearts (Galatians 5:16).
What a blessing it is to realize that our Lord Jesus settled the whole problem of sin on the cross. All sin has been judged, and the Lord Himself has promised to help us deal decisively with that sin every day of our lives. The believer who has realized this truth can say with Paul, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
If we’re determined to keep the root sins from ruling our lives, we must live out the truth that we have died to sin and risen with Christ - daily! You also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires” (Romans 6:11-12). As we follow this principle for godly living, we will increasingly experience the great promise of Romans 6:14: "Sin is no longer your master.”
- Dave Reid
(Updated 2021, Ron Reid)