Growing in the Christian life is no mystery. Christians have known what it is in all ages. It’s studying the Word of God. It’s praying. It’s fellowshipping with Christian people. It’s worshipping. It’s working for God. It’s witnessing. It’s testifying. Those are the things through which you grow. And then in response to these things, people say that it takes a long time, and that it’s difficult to read the Bible regularly. There are so many interruptions. That’s right, of course. Nobody ever said it was easy, but that’s the way it’s done.

I think this is a good point to look back over this campaign and its details and see what it teaches us about the characteristics of strong leadership, which Joshua showed. There probably are other things that can be said about Joshua on the basis of other texts. But just looking at this one campaign, I see at least six things that are worth mentioning and trying to apply to ourselves.

The routed armies were led by five kings. These five kings were apparently together directing the military operations. And when they saw the battle go against them and recognized that they were in great personal danger themselves, they hid in the cave near the town of Makkedah. And they went in to hide, thinking that in the battle the rush of the troops would pass by. Then after they had passed, the kings could emerge and make their way back to the city. They could regroup their fortresses and prepare to fight another day.

In the middle of Joshua 10 there’s an interesting change in the nature of the narrative that describes the Israelite conquest of Canaan. Up to this point in the story, there have only been three real battles. There was the attack on Jericho and the destruction of that city; the attack on Ai and its destruction; and then there was the battle at Gibeon that began outside the walls of the city and continued southward as the Jewish armies pursued the retreating armies of the southern coalition. And all of that’s been given in considerable detail.