Category: Joshua

Joshua 22 - 24 and Psalm 9

3/15/2012

         Today we finish not only our reading of the book of Joshua but also the fifth unit of the Bible, the one on the approach, entrance and conquest of the Promised Land (Numbers 11 –Joshua 24). For an entire month we have studied this subject, and today we see more evidence of Israel’s transformation.
         Notice first that their entire transformation is based on Yahweh’s faithfulness: “Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers.
And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their
enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their
hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:43-45). We can
understand Israel’s reaction in these three chapters and in the whole fifth unit of the Bible in context with Yahweh’s grace.
         Now we are ready to delve into these last chapters. Notice that Joshua
congratulates the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for their
obedience and faithfulness: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the
LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded
you. You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God” (Joshua 22:2-3). Notice that we have read about five years of the conquest of the land, and this group has not registered one complaint about leaving their families on the other side of the Jordan River while they participate in the conquest of the Promised Land for the benefit of their brothers. By their actions they have extinguished any of the doubts Moses had about them in Numbers 32. Therefore, they are returning to their new homeland in victory: “So Joshua blessed them and sent them away,
and they went to their tents… He said to them, ‘Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers” (Joshua 22:6, 8).
         Immediately something happened that almost started a civil war: “And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size” (Joshua 22:10). “And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them” (Joshua 22:12).
         Before we launch criticisms at the two groups for this crisis, we ought to let them speak. Notice first that the concern of the nine and a half tribes is the relationship of all Israel with Yahweh’s holiness. They remember the lesson of Midian and Baal-peor about Yahweh’s devastating holiness (Numbers 25; Joshua
22:17; happily, they have internalized Moses’ historical instruction and produced it when they most needed it!) They remember that the sin of just one man can curse the whole nation just like Achan’s sin caused the defeat of the Israelite army (Joshua 7; 22:20). They do not stand in enmity against their brothers on the other side of the river; instead, they invite them to come and live with them within the borders of the Promised Land if they desire (Joshua 22:19). But in their zeal for Yahweh’s holiness, they do not want a sin on the part of the two and a half tribes to cause a plague on the entire nation.
         The two and a half tribes answer with a declaration of faith that expresses the exclusivity of their worship of Yahweh: “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD!” (Joshua 22:22) They are as zealous as their brothers for Yahweh’s holiness. Their concern is that the enormous geographical breach that forms the Jordan River would form a breach between them and the rest of the tribes, leaving them outside the worship of their God, separated from their brothers
just like their neighbors: the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Edomites. Phineas and the delegation of the nine and a half tribes are satisfied (Joshua 22:30-34).
Diplomacy zealous for Yahweh’s holiness has saved the nation from civil war.
         In chapters 23 y 24, Joshua gives a farewell address to Israel similar to that of Moses in the whole book of Deuteronomy but much shorter, without prophecy and without naming a successor. He includes a historical summary of Yahweh’s grace (Joshua 24:2-13), blessings and curses for obeying or disobeying the covenant (Joshua 23) and therefore, an exhortation to obey Yahweh in the present (Joshua 24:14-15).
         The people respond by confirming Joshua’s words and their obedience to the covenant in recognition of Yahweh’s devastating holiness (Joshua 24:16-24). They
reconfirm the covenant before Yahweh in Shechem (Joshua 24:25-28), the same
place where Yahweh first promised the land to Abraham (Genesis 12:5-7).
         And thus the book of Joshua, the feats of this generation and the fifth unit of the Bible all close with the reaffirmation of the covenant and the burial of three leaders: Joshua, Eleazar and the bones of the patriarch Joseph (Joshua 24:29-33). These serve as three monuments to Yahweh’s faithfulness across the generations and testimony to the fact: “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Joshua 21:45).

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Joshua 18 - 21

3/14/2012

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         Now the Israelites have subjugated the land to the point that the tabernacle can be established in a secure place, in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1). But not everything
is going well: “There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose
inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the people of Israel, ‘How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?’”(Joshua 18:2-3)
         What is the reason for this negligence? In part it may be the lifestyle that
they have accepted. They have spent almost their entire lives in the desert. They have grown accustomed to living in tents, not in permanent houses. They know how to raise livestock; the vast majority of them probably have never planted anything. They may be content wandering with their tents in the newly conquered land, shepherding their livestock and feeding from the produce that grew naturally from the orchards and fields that the Canaanites planted in years past. But this is not Yahweh’s vision for their lives. Just as His tabernacle is established in one place, so they will establish themselves also.
         They don’t abandon the pastoral life (Joshua 21:42), but notice how they are given cities. They will root themselves in this new land. They will learn to work it so that it produces its fruits. And the Levites will live among them all, fulfilling their
responsibilities of teaching and guiding the people in Yahweh’s law. Continual movement might allow carelessness in the education and application of Yahweh’s law; a sedentary life will permit more opportunities to develop their knowledge of the law and assure that all the members of society live orderly and in obedience to God.

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Joshua 13 - 17 and Psalm 47

3/12/2012

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         According to Caleb’s testimony in Joshua 14:10, the conquest has lasted five years. But it is still incomplete: “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess’” (Joshua 13:1). But the success of the conquest does not depend on only one man but on Yahweh. In naming all of the Promised Land that still had not submitted to the Israelites, Yahweh promises, “I myself will drive them out before the people of Israel” (Joshua 13:6). Joshua’s role therefore changes to land distribution: “Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you” (Joshua 13:6).
         Today it’s hard to read through the list of cities and descriptions of the borders between the tribes, but we want to try to appreciate what they meant to the Israelites who lived at that time. To them it certainly wasn’t boring; it was a concrete, genuine gift from the hand of God.
         Imagine the list of the cities of Judah from Joshua 15:20-62, but with the names of the cities and the villages from your place of origin, or from the place where you live now. (In my case that would be the city of Monroe, the largest town in the area where I live, and it would include many smaller communities nearby like
Jersey, Youth, Walnut Grove, Oxford, Social Circle, Good Hope, Gratis, etc., places with no great reputation but very important to the people whose homes and families are located here.) Go through them in your mind if not in your car, appreciating each one: their hills and valleys, their advantages, their economic possibilities, their pretty sights, their pleasant corners, their places that need to be developed, others that have been destroyed and need to be rebuilt, their infrastructure or lack of it…
         Now imagine that Yahweh has given all this territory, every square inch of it, to you and your family along with your distant relatives. Besides sharing the same ancestors several generations back, you have suffered years in the desert together, you have crossed the Jordan River miraculously together, you have fought Canaanites together for five years and have seen Yahweh’s hand repeatedly in your
protection and your victories. Together you worship Yahweh and go to the tabernacle to present your offerings; you’ve celebrated the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and many more together; you have learned together to keep all of Yahweh’s laws concerning your economic exchanges, your family interactions, how to determine purity or contamination, and you’ve begun to teach your children Yahweh’s marvels that you’ve seen with your own eyes. Many, many things tie you together, much more than blood and a family history. And now Yahweh tells you all, “These places are yours. Subjugate them; enjoy them; make them produce. Work, rest and relax here… Wouldn’t names like Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth and Hazor-hadattah mean much more to us if we could understand our own participation in them like this?
         That’s how we need to understand the distribution of land, Caleb’s
enthusiasm to conquer his inheritance and the concern that some tribes have not
subjugated their allotment. It is a blessing; it is a wonderful opportunity; it is dominion; it is Yahweh’s fulfillment of His promise by grace, received by His chosen people with thanksgiving.

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Joshua 9 - 12 and Psalm 119:65-72

3/11/2012

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         After reading about the Israelites’ attention to discipline in the case of Achan and their confirmation of the covenant, we’re disappointed to read about the Israelites’ failure to discern the Gibeonites’ deception. The cleverness of the Gibeonites is impressive. Their declaration of “faith” in Yahweh sounds similar to Rahab’s in Joshua 2:10-12: “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth” (Joshua 9:9-10). They present “evidence” that their story is true. But the Israelite leaders fail; their blame is summed up in the sentence,
“But [they] did not ask counsel from the LORD” (Joshua 9:14).
         The people’s murmuring against their leaders is interesting. In the previous
books, they murmured against Yahweh for the lack of conveniences or preferences
and were punished; this time, they murmur over their leaders’ lack of discernment… and they are not punished. But they cannot wage war against the Gibeonites; their alliance was confirmed in the name of Yahweh, and although it was established through deceit, the leaders must have remembered: “If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2). To resolve the situation, Joshua curses them to the status of servants to draw water and cut wood for the tabernacle… but at the same time, what better place is there for a Canaanite at this time than to be near Yahweh’s Presence and protected by His name? Let’s hope they learn to have faith like Rahab.
         As you read Joshua 10 –12 about the battle provoked by the Gibeonite alliance with Israel, the conquest of the south and then the north of the Promised Land, notice the following:
         1) Yahweh fought: “The LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword” (Joshua 10:11). “And the LORD gave it [Libnah] and its king into the hand of Israel” (Joshua 10:30). “And the LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel” (Joshua 10:32). “And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:42).
         2) Just like the Egyptian plagues, Yahweh did it with the intention of destroying those who walked in rebellion against Him: “For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:20). “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you” (Deuteronomy 9:4).
         3) Israel fought in complete obedience to Yahweh: “And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every man they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:14-15).
         4) The conquest was a long process, not of months but of years: “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings” (Joshua 11:18).
         Finally the conquest ended and the distribution of the inheritance began: “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments.
And the land had rest from war” (Joshua 11:23). They begin to experience the fulfillment of the promise given centuries earlier to a man who owned no land: “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7).

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Joshua 7 - 8

3/10/2012

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         Just as the recognition of the ritual of war from previous readings informed our understanding of the reading yesterday, our understanding of Joshua 7 – 8 depends on earlier readings, too.
         Specifically, we must remember Yahweh’s perfect and destructive holiness. Remember, for example, the tension and anguish on whether Yahweh’s holiness could tolerate dwelling among the Israelites after their idolatry with the golden calf in Exodus 32 – 33. Remember also the deaths of Nadab and Abihu on their ordination day for presenting strange fire before Yahweh in Leviticus 10. Remember how their lack of respect for Yahweh’s holiness not only brought about their own death but put at risk the entire nation by contaminating the tabernacle.
Remember the seriousness with which the Israelites must celebrate the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 to eliminate all the contamination of all Israel’s sins once each year. Remember too, that the purpose of the Levites is not only to help the priests but to serve as a buffer between Yahweh’s holiness and His people: “That there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary” (Numbers 8:19). Recall how Korah’s rebellion caused a rupture in that buffer and led to the death of more than 14,700 in Numbers 16. Reflect once more on how Moses and Aaron could not enter the Promised Land: “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel”
(Numbers 20:12). Remember how 24,000 died in the idolatry at Baal-peor until Phineas made atonement for the people. In today’s reading, we see that Yahweh is no less holy in the book of Joshua. His holiness is equally perfect, intolerant of sin and consuming as in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
         That is the reason for the seriousness of what is announced at the beginning of today’s reading: “But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel” (Joshua 7:1). The covetousness of one man put the entire nation at risk; in truth, the Israelites should be thankful that only 36 men died in the first battle of Ai. For that reason, Joshua pleads desperately in intercession for Israel, Yahweh urges them to an immediate resolution of the issue, and the entire nation participates in Achan’s execution. They cannot tolerate even one moment longer under Yahweh’s righteous wrath for their offense against His holiness.
         Therefore it is also appropriate that we end the reading with the fulfillment of the renovation of the covenant on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim as Yahweh commanded in Deuteronomy 11:26-32 and all chapter 27. After condemning Achan’s sin, after being restored with Yahweh and walking in obedience with Him in the second battle of Ai, the Israelites reconfirm the covenant with Yahweh. And they do it completely: “There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them” (Joshua 8:35).
         May our reaction to the sin in our lives be just as decisive in repentance and immediate in our recommitment to Yahweh and obedience to Him.

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Joshua 5 - 6 and Psalm 149

3/10/2012

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         The battle of Jericho seems strange at first glance. The Israelites cross the
Jordan River and enter the Promised Land… to circumcise themselves? Who would begin a military conquest by inflicting themselves with a surgery that will require a few days of recovery? Then they stop to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
But, won’t that give their enemies more time to prepare for battle?
         These and other details of Joshua 5 – 6 seem unusual and counterproductive if we look at them from a modern military perspective. But if we remember Numbers 31 and the lesson about war as a ritual, a holy act commanded by Yahweh
and fulfilled in obedience just like the offering of a sacrifice, then the details of this battle make more sense.
         First, the battle is not directed by Joshua and the Israelites but by Yahweh, represented by the man with a drawn sword in his hand (Joshua 5:13-15). Joshua,
the leader of the entire army of Israel, responds in the appropriate way – not by suggesting a strategy, or by standing at the side of this man and drawing his sword, too – but by prostrating himself on the ground in worship and removing his sandals from his feet in complete submission.
         Second, just like the battle against Midian in Numbers 31, they bring the tabernacle vessels, in this case the Ark of the Covenant, to demonstrate Yahweh’s Presence as a Warrior fighting against His enemies. This is not so much a battle of Israel against Jericho as it is Yahweh against Jericho. Instead of using the forces of nature to destroy them as He did against Sodom and Gomorrah or against Egypt, He uses the army of His holy nation.
         Third, the Israelites treat Jericho like a whole burnt offering sacrificed to Yahweh: every living thing in the city was destroyed by the sword, both people and animals and then the entire city was consumed in flames. In obedience to the rules in Numbers 31, everything that passed through the fire was made clean and in this case, put into the treasury of the tabernacle.
         If we recognize the ritual aspect of the battle, the salvation of Rahab and her family becomes even more breathtaking. According to the law, they should have been destroyed with the rest of the city. More than just a favor returned, their lives are saved from Yahweh’s just wrath, protected by His mercy. Even in the midst of His just judgment, Yahweh once again preserves a remnant whose faith rests in Him, just as He did for Noah and his family, for Lot and his family, for all the
Israelites when they passed through the Red Sea and for Joshua and Caleb when
they left the wilderness and entered the Promised Land. Through Rahab and her family we see again that faith in Yahweh’s word is the appropriate response of His genuine believers as the hour of burning judgment approaches.

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Joshua 1 - 4 and Psalm 114

3/8/2012

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         What a tremendous difference between the first attempt to enter the Promised Land in Numbers 13 –14 and the second attempt in Joshua 2 – 4!
         In the first attempt, the spies’ testimony filled Israel with fear; in the second, it filled them with confidence. Now it’s the Canaanites who are fearful: “And they said to Joshua, ‘Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us’” (Joshua 2:24).
         In the first, they asked, “Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3) This time, everyone marches forward, following the path opened in the Jordan River miraculously by Yahweh’s Presence.
         The first attempt ended with a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. In the
second, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh say to Joshua, “Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous” (Joshua
1:18).
         In the first, the name Hormah recalls the shame of defeat and the prohibition of entering the Promised Land. After the second, Gilgal has a monument of 12 stones taken from the dry path through the Jordan River, a testimony from the 12 tribes of Yahweh’s power (Joshua 4:24).
         What a difference 40 years of discipline in the desert make, of discipline that yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it! (Hebrews 12:11)
         There is also another surprising event, the conversion of a Canaanite. The
prostitute Rahab not only saved the lives of the two spies but also declared her faith in Yahweh and surrendered herself to His protection: “And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house” (Joshua 2:11-12).
         Her faith is the same kind as that of Zelophehad’s daughters in Numbers 27. Remember that they requested their father’s inheritance when the Israelites had not gained even a centimeter of the Promised Land; they asked for it by faith in the future fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises. Rahab seeks refuge in Yahweh from the future judgment that will consume her city even though not a single arrow has been fired against it, and the Israelites have not even crossed the Jordan River swollen over its banks. Either in the reception of His promises or in protection from His jfuture udgment, these women exercise faith in Yahweh’s word and are rewarded. What stunning examples in comparison with Numbers 13 – 14!

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Joshua 22 - 24 and Psalm 9

Joshua 18 - 21

Joshua 13 - 17 and Psalm 47

Joshua 9 - 12 and Psalm 119:65-72

Joshua 7 - 8

Joshua 5 - 6 and Psalm 149

Joshua 1 - 4 and Psalm 114

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