Laying Claim to the Promised Land 2
In part one of this series, we saw God commission Joshua to take the Israelites over a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River and prepared them for conquering the land of Canaan. (See part 1).
6.War:
The first battle in Canaan would be against the city-fortress of Jericho:
Now Jericho [a fortified city with high walls] was tightly closed because [of the people’s fear] of the sons of Israel; no one went out or came in. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty warriors. Now you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do this [once each day] for six days. Also, seven priests shall carry seven trumpets [made] of rams’ horns ahead of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall cry out with a great shout (battle cry); and the wall of the city will fall down in its place, and the people shall go up, each man [going] straight ahead [climbing over the rubble].” Jos. 6:1 – 5. AMP
Joshua and the priests and the Israelites did exactly what God instructed, and the outcome manifested precisely as Jehovah predicted. (See Jos. 6:6 – 21.)
The people ransacked the city, killed all living things, and brought any precious metals into the treasury of God’s house. Any paganistic items were to be destroyed. The exception to the extinction of the people of Jericho was Rahab and her family:
Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and everything that she had; and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers (scouts) whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Jos. 6:25 AMP
Finally, the Israelites burned Jericho to the ground.
However, one Israelite man by the name of Achan, did not follow God’s instructions:
But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully and violated their obligation in regard to the things [off limits] under the ban [those things belonging to the Lord], for Achan…took some of the things under the ban [for personal gain]. Therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites. Jos. 7:1 AMP
(Make a note. We’ll come back to this.)
Joshua now sends men to spy out the next city, (Ai), that his army was meant to conquer. They came back and told Joshua that the people were small in number, and to only sent a small fraction of the army to conquer them.
However, the people of Ai routed the small army, killing 36 soldiers, and the Israelites fled from the city. Chastened, they began to doubt God’s promise of total victory. Joshua fell on his face to ask Him why He allowed this to happen. Jehovah answers Him:
Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Jos. 7:11, 12. NLT
God tells Joshua that all the people must present themselves to Him on the following day, and that He would point out the guilty party. When they got to Achan, he confessed to stealing clothing, silver, and gold.
Achan and his family were put to death. Severe? Yes. There are no gray areas when it comes to obeying God. An example had to be made to the thousands of Israelites, to encourage discipline and obedience.
And the Lord’s righteous anger was abated. He tells Joshua to attack Ai once more with an ambush and annihilate it, promising that they will conquer them:
“Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king.” Jos. 8:1, 2. NLT
And so, they did, impaling the king of Ai on a pole as well.
Joshua built an altar to give thanks to God for their victory, and he copied the laws from Deuteronomy upon the rocks of the altar and read them to all the people. Their covenant with God was restored…
Five of the kings of the pagans living in Canaan formed a coalition to fight against Israel. However, one small tribe of ‘Hivites’ deceptively approached Joshua dressed in tattered clothing and carried moldy bread to make themselves appear as paupers. They told him that they came from a distant land to make a peace treaty. (See Jos. 9:1 – 6.)
Moreover, the Hivites claimed to come because of the fame of their God, His deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and for Jehovah’s favor in their conquest of Canaan. They said that they wanted to serve Israel.
So, the men [of Israel] took some of their own provisions [and offered them in friendship], and [foolishly] did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant (treaty) with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation [of Israel] swore an oath to them. Jos. 9:14, 15. AMP
Not good. Three days later the Hivites were found to be close neighbors and were specifically ordered by God to be destroyed.[1] The Israelites were angry with Joshua for entering into this treaty, so he confined the Hivites to labors associated with the Tabernacle.
The five-king coalition became angry at the Hivites and attacked their homeland, called Gibeon (thus, the Hivites are also called Gibeonites). They turned to Joshua for help. Joshua turned to God, who said:
“Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”
Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy…the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven… Jos. 10:8 – 11. NLT
During the day of Israel’s victory over the coalition, Joshua prayed to God to stop the motion of the sun and the moon, so that there would be extended light for finishing his battle. And He did![2]
Joshua and his army went on to kill all five kings and annihilated all their armies. (See Jos. 10:40) In so doing, all the southern region of Canaan was defeated.
In response, the northern region of Canaan formed a coalition as well, amassing a large army of 330,000 (according to the historian Josephus).
God speaks to Joshua:
“Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” Jos. 11:6 NLT
Jehovah fights for His children, leading them on to total victory! The entire land of Canaan is now theirs:
So, Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war. Jos. 11:23 NLT
Joshua apportioned the land to each of the tribes of Israel, except for the tribe of Levi, who were given cities to live in. (See Jos. Chapters 12 – 22.)
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Dt. 20:17
[2] Jos. 10:13
Building Better Americans 152
Laying Claim to the Promised Land
Book of Joshua
Introduction:
We have just finished the Torah, the first five books of the ‘Old Testament,’ (as it is named in the Christian Bible), which is the first section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). The book of Joshua begins the second section of the Tanakh, called Nevi’im (Prophets). The last section is the Ketuvim (Writings).
There is a little controversy about the authorship of the book of Joshua, as he, like Moses, writes of his own death. So, someone else must have written that ‘epilogue’.
The book of Joshua approximately spans the years of 1406 B.C. to 1375 B.C.
Who was Joshua, or Joshua Bin Nun to be more exact? He was a mentee of Moses and his soldier.[1]
1.Joshua’s commission:
After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.
I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Jos. 1:1 – 9. NLT
After Joshua’s divine commission, he ordered the ‘officers of the people’ (administrators), to tell the Israelites to be prepared to cross the Jordan river in three days.
2.Scouting out the land:
Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as scouts secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho [the walled city].” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there. Jos. 2:1 AMP
Joshua is trying to get the lay of the land of Canaan, so that he can get a better sense of the approach for his conquest. Well, someone, (we don’t know who, probably a nosy neighbor of Rahab’s), informed the king of Jericho about the two Israeli scouts (spies).
The king sent his men to tell Rahab to bring the spies out. But she had hidden them upon her rooftop. She told the king’s men that the scouts had been by earlier, but she didn’t know where they were from, and that they had left at dusk.
Rahab returned to the hidden men and said:
“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” Jos. 2:9 – 11. NLT
Rahab asks the spies for a favor for her having hid them:
“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” Jos. 2:12, 13. NLT
They answer her in the affirmative and instructed her to leave a scarlet rope hanging from a window, and when the Israeli army comes, they will be spared. Then they returned to Joshua and reported to him:
“The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” Jos. 2:24 NLT
3.Crossing the Jordan River:
The following day, all the Israelites camped on the bank of the Jordan River. Three days later, the officers instructed the people in what they were to do next:
“When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.” Jos. 3:3, 4. NLT
Only the priests could carry the Ark of the Covenant. It would be certain death for anyone else to touch it.
Jehovah gave specific instructions to Joshua for the priests:
The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’” Jos. 3:7, 8. NLT
Then Joshua addressed all the Israelites, telling them that they will know the ‘living God,’ by His presence, when He drives out all the Canaanites before them, and that will first be preceded by the Ark of the Covenant that would lead them across the river via a miracle:
“When the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, [come to] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from above will be cut off, and they will stand in one mass [of water].” Jos. 3:13 AMP
And indeed, it was so. All the tributaries leading into the Jordan were blocked, standing up in great walls of water when the priests stood in the midst of the river, which then became dry land for all of Israel to cross over.
4.Leaving God’s footprints:
…the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’” Jos. 4:1 – 3. NLT
Joshua speaks to the people once more:
“We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Jos. 4:6, 7. NLT
After all the people crossed the Jordan River, the priests crossed over with the Ark, and the tributaries filled the river again.
That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses. Jos. 4:14 NLT
5.Preparing for battle:
God told Joshua to have all the males of this second generation of Israelites to be circumcised. When it was done and the people were healed, God revealed His purpose to Joshua for this ritual:
“This day I have rolled away the reproach (derision, ridicule) of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal (rolling) to this day. Jos. 5:9 AMP
This second generation is being consecrated to have the stain of the Egyptian captivity which covered the first generation due to their disobedience, lifted off them, and are sealing them into a renewal of the Abrahamic covenant.
Given that the people were now consecrated, they were able to celebrate Passover. And on that day, when they ate some of the produce from the Promised Land, the daily flow of the manna from heaven ceased.
And then, the last phase of their battle preparation was sent by God Himself:
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. Jos. 5:13 – 15. NLT
The identity of this ‘commander of the LORD’S army’, can only be deduced to be an angel, and Joshua is revering it (but not worshiping it); or, it could be a theophany (a visible manifestation of God – note the similarity of the exchange about taking off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground, to that of Moses at the burning bush).[2]
However, because we cannot see God’s face and live[3]; thus, he would have to be the pre-incarnate Christ. Regardless, we see that the power of God Himself is with His children.
Now it begins…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Ex. 17:9 – 14; 24:13; 32:17; 33:11. Nu. 13:16; 14:6, 10, 30, 38; 26:65; 27:12, 18, 21 &22; 32:12 & 28; 34:17. Dt. 1:38; 3:28; 31:1, 3, 7, 14 & 23; 32:44.
[2] Ex. 3:5.
[3] Ex. 33:20