John Calvin Commentary Joshua 10:29

"And Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:" — Joshua 10:29 (ASV)

Then Joshua passed, etc. We now have a description of the taking of the cities from which the enemy's army had been raised. In this, God displayed His power no less wonderfully than in the open field, especially when the speed is considered.

For although those who had fled here in fear might have produced some degree of panic, still, when the fear was calmed, they might have been useful for defense; the garrison had been increased by their numbers.

Therefore, when Joshua takes all the cities in a short period and gains possession of the smaller towns, God's presence was conspicuously manifested in a success no less incredible than unexpected.

For if they had only shut their gates when attacked—since Joshua had not brought either ladders to scale the walls or engines to throw them down—each siege might have involved considerable fatigue and delay. Therefore, when he takes one city the following day, and another the very day after attacking it, these continued, easy, and rapid victories are evidently beyond human power.

Not without cause, then, at the end of the chapter, is God's goodness expressly celebrated, as it had been made clear that He was fighting for Israel when Joshua, in one campaign, took and vanquished so many kings with their territories. Indeed, Joshua could never have passed so quickly from city to city, even merely to inspect them, if a passage had not been divinely opened by the removal of obstacles.

The miracle was increased when the king of Gezer, who had come to help others, doubtless with full confidence in the outcome, was suddenly routed with almost no effort and did not even delay the Israelites' advance. Those who were slain in the cities represent, as in a mirror, those whose punishment the Almighty holds suspended while He actually takes vengeance on others.

For though they pride themselves on the reprieve thus afforded them, their condition is worse than if they were immediately dragged to death. It looks as if it would have been a terrible calamity to fall on the battlefield; and making their escape, they seek safety within their walls.

But what awaited them there was much more dreadful. Their wives and children are butchered in their sight, and their own death is more ignominious than if they had perished sword in hand. Therefore, there is no reason to envy the reprobate the short time which the Lord sometimes grants them, because when they have begun to promise themselves safety, sudden destruction will come upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Meanwhile, let us learn not to abuse God's patience when He defers executing His judgment. Instead of indulging in self-complacency when we seem to have been delivered from any danger, or when means of escape from it present themselves, let us reflect on the words of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 24:2), that while the basket of early figs had at least some flavor, the other was so sour that they could not be eaten.