Introduction to Joshua
November 10, 2021 at 11:52 am | Posted in Joshua | 3 CommentsTags: Biblical courage, Biblical rest, Canaan, commentary on Joshua, conquest of Canaan, Joshua, Joshua 1, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, the promised land
The Book of Joshua begins by mentioning the death of Moses, which had just happened at the end of Deuteronomy. Most Christians today hold Moses in high esteem because of his important role in being used by God to deliver God’s people from bondage in Egypt, in promulgating God’s Law, and in leading the people through the wilderness for nearly 40 years. For the Jewish people in Joshua’s day, it’s difficult to overstate the place of prominence held by Moses, and the uncertainty and anxiety that his death would have caused. In Joshua Chapter 1 Moses’s name is mentioned 11 times! (By comparison, Joshua himself is only named four times.) Keeping this in mind, we will see that God commanded Joshua to be courageous, but he also instructed him on how to be courageous. If you ever find yourself in fearful situations (and, if we’re being honest, all of us do from time to time), then you will want to study the Book of Joshua in order to be enCOURAGEd.
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
Joshua 1:1
Joshua was born a slave in Egypt. You might have heard the well-worn preacher joke that asks who was the only person in the Bible without any parents, with the predictable response being Adam or Eve, only to be met with the punchline that it was actually Joshua, since he was the “son of Nun (“none” – insert laugh or groan here). He was possibly the firstborn son of Nun, so he might have been killed on the night of the Passover if not for the faithfulness of his parents. His original name was Hoshea – which meant salvation – another evidence of his family’s faith – but Moses changed his named to Joshua which meant “Yahweh is salvation,” the Hebrew form of “Jesus.”
Joshua’s first significant action recorded in Scripture was when he led the Israelites in defeating the Amakelites who had attacked them about two months after leaving Egypt. This leads us to believe that Joshua may have had some military training in Egypt. He became Moses’s general and he personally guarded the mini-tabernacle where Moses sometimes met with God just outside the encampment.
In addition to being a slave, a soldier, and a servant, he was also a spy. Moses sent Joshua and 11 other spies from Kadeshbarnea to check out the land of Canaan before crossing over, but only Joshua and Caleb encouraged the people to trust the Lord. They were the only two Israelites of their generation to survive the wilderness wandering.
Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
Joshua 1:2
This sets the scene for the major action in Joshua. It is the first book in the Bible after the Pentateuch, sometimes included in a grouping called the Hexateuch. Its genre is historical narrative. Some think that it was finally compiled or written during the period of the Judges to remind the people of God’s faithfulness to give them the land of Canaan, and of the consequences of breaking the covenant given to them by God and getting into idolatry.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
Joshua 1:3-4
This was an amazingly large area. Canaan is referred to as the promised land because it had been promised to the people by God – they just needed to take possession of it. This will be important to remember later on, when we see the violence employed in order to claim it. It had been promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses – to all of Abraham’s descendants. Not only was it a huge area, and a far richer land – “flowing with milk and honey” – than Egypt or other lands in the Middle East, it was also to be the place where God’s presence would symbolically reside, where the Messiah would be born, live, and be crucified.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:5-9
Fear must be present for courage to exist, but courage does not have to be accompanied by some type of struggle for conquest (war, fighting). No, sometimes it’s associated with overcoming personal fears, or being steadfast in the face of pressure to conform to ways which violate personal standards or a belief in what is right. The Biblical definition of the type of courage that God commanded Joshua to have, though, is a little more specific. In God’s economy courage is:
1. Believing and acting upon the promises of God
2. Rallying or standing together with God’s people in a unity based on Truth
3. Meditating on God’s Word in order to draw strength and hope
4. Remembering, paradoxically, to depend on God and not self
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
Joshua 1:10-13
Here we see the importance of unity. None of the tribes would be allowed to sit out the conquest and wait to see the outcome. We are are also introduced to the concept of rest. Canaan would be a land of “rest” – not relaxation and inactivity – but a resting in God, knowing that they were living out His will. Canaan is not a symbol of Heaven – it is a foreshadowing of New Testament Christians seizing the promises of God and resting in Him: “laboring to enter into rest.”
A Pointed Preamble and a Dependent Decision
October 26, 2021 at 12:52 pm | Posted in Joshua | 5 CommentsTags: assembly in Canaan, Canannite conquest, choosing God, choosing to serve God, commentary on Joshua, Joshua 24, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, Suzerainty Treaties
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
Joshua 24:1
This was the third and final of the assemblies that close out the Book of Joshua. The importance of holding this assembly at Shechem is that this is where God confirmed the great Abrahamic Covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12. Many centuries had passed between that promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in his heirs.
Joshua 24:2-13 would constitute the section of a formal covenant (especially a suzerainty covenant) known as the preamble, which was usually a recitation of the relevant history between the parties to the covenant, and that is what we have here, but it is more than that. It is a pointed preamble, highlighting the miraculous nature of God’s acts in choosing them – by His sovereign grace – and delivering them time and time again. God chose Abraham out of a land of paganism. God waited until Abraham was very old before miraculously giving him the promised son. God blessed Jacob over Esau. God parted the Red Sea. God used the pagan prophet Balaam in the wilderness. God continued to work toward the fulfillment of this promise all the way to the vicotry over the Amorites and the conquest of Canaan.
God’s people were not really a strong noble people who persevered. They were not aggrieved but hearty underdogs who pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. They were vacillating, failing, murmuring, weak-willed people who had to be miraculously rescued and preserved by God time and time again in ways that left no doubt that He was the mightiest (and only real) God of all the false gods in the world.
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:14-15
Joshua called for a decision, and he called for each and every person to make an INDIVIDUAL decision. Of course, it was the only rational decision, but still… it was a decision. Joshua had made his decision, but he said, “You make yours.” And it was not just a decision between God or no God. It was a decision between the real God and the traditional false gods (the ones that Abraham’s people worshiped back before God called him), AND between the real God and the new, cool, liberal gods which were worshiped by the Amorites and the people they had just conquered. Joshua didn’t believe this should be a hard choice, but he new that people are going to worship something.
Their initial answer sounded perfect.
And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
Joshua 24:16-17
However, instead of banging the gavel and announcing “meeting adjourned” with a big smile, Joshua popped their balloon. In Verse 14 he told them to serve the Lord, and they said, “Okay, fine,” but then in Verse 19:
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
Joshua 24:19
Grace had brought them there, but they were still, and always would be, completely dependent upon God. That is also true for you and me.
What the Old Need to Tell the Young
October 4, 2021 at 2:18 pm | Posted in Joshua | 2 CommentsTags: commentary on Joshua, elders, generational wisdom, grumpy old men, Joshua 23, Joshua's farewelll address, leaving a legacy, Sunday School lessons on Joshua
Joshua was feeling his age.
And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:
Joshua 23:1-2
His purpose for this gathering wasn’t just to tell the people that he was getting old, or to merely give a farewell address. Instead, sensing his time was growing short, he wanted to try to make sure that the legacy for which he had fought so hard survived into future generations.
And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.
Joshua 23:3
They had seen what God had done with their own eyes, and Joshua had seen it, too, but now he was passing off the scene, and he wanted to remind them that neither he, nor they, would be here forever. Therefore, there was an urgency for them, and there is an urgency for us today to pass on what we have seen and learned and experienced and personally witnessed to those who will come after us but will not have personally seen it themselves.
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.
Joshua 23:6-8
Can you hear the tone of urgency in these exhortations and warnings? When I coach little league I try to get my players to be hyper-focused in those moments while waiting for the ball to be hit into play. I want their senses heightened, and I want them to realize that this is a crucial moment, but it is hard for young children to maintain this type of focus for long periods of time. Alertness and vigilance can be exhilarating, but they are also exhausting. Part of us longs for routine, which can be enjoyed in relaxation, but that type of relaxation can be dangerous. This is true in the physical as well as the spiritual realm. A second-hand experience of God will promote laziness and laxness, but the danger of spiritual battle never really goes away. Joshua knew that a Canaanite party could be more dangerous than a Canaanite battle. The lazy lure of ecumenism or syncretism is often more enticing than the thrill of combat. We must do everything we can to make sure the next generation knows, loves, and obeys God, and knows the danger of worldly influences – and we must be urgent about it as we get older.
Look at Verse 6 again and you’ll see the standard for doing that:
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
Joshua 23:6
It’s not our traditions or our heritage necessarily. It’s the Word of God. This includes clear warnings and even threats about the consequences of leaving God.
Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
Joshua 23:11-13
Joshua was not only a skilled warrior and a skilled leader; he was also a skilled preacher. There is plenty of positivity in Chapter 23. Joshua loved to talk about God’s faithfulness – how He has kept His promises, how He has accomplished victory – but he ends with stern threats rather than a “happily ever after.”
When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
Joshua 23:16
As we get older we shouldn’t be the grumpy old men or the grumpy old women of our church, but we do need to remind younger people that, while there are tremendous blessings in obeying God, there are grave dangers in disobeying Him.
The Stones that Put Out a Conflagration
September 10, 2021 at 2:32 pm | Posted in Joshua, The Stones that Don't Cry Out | 4 CommentsTags: Achan, Biblical stoning, commentary on Joshua, Joshua 7, stoning, Sunday School lessons on Joshua
Here is the crucial lesson from Joshua Chapter 7:
Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Joshua 7:12
God loves His people, but He will not help them to sin, and He will not bless partial obedience. That’s the ultimate revelation of why His anger (prefaced in Verse 1) had been kindled: not hubris, not prayerlessness, but a failure to delineate the holy (the dedicated-to-God) from the accursed. God had not sent His people into the land of milk and honey so that He could be misidentified and confused with the other, immoral, unholy gods.
And here is His remedy:
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Joshua 7:13
The remedy was sanctification, confession, repentance.
In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
Joshua 7:14-18
Imagine the dread and fear of Achan as the net closed ever more tightly around him.
And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
Joshua 7:19
Joshua addressed Achan paternally, and required him to take an oath.
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
Joshua 7:20-21
Achan had looked left and right and ahead and behind, even down, but not up.
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
Joshua 7:22
The confession was enough to establish what happened, but the objects needed to be addressed.
And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
Joshua 7:23-25
Old Testament stoning involved pushing the convicted man off a nine-foot platform, dropping a heavy stone or slab onto his head, and then witnesses throwing rocks at him. The carnage commanded against sin in Canaan by God was not only directed at the pagans, but, here, near the beginning of this new era in salvific history, toward His own people if necessary to establish God’s hatred of that sin (see Ananias and Saphira). We will see in Joshua Chapter 8 that if only Achan could have waited, he could have helped himself to enemy spoil after the following battle.
And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
Joshua 7:26
“Achor” is a play on Achan’s name, and it meant “trouble.” Harboring sin in our churches, our homes, ourselves, will lead to trouble. Sin will complicate your life – in the worst way.
The Lord’s Kindling
August 13, 2021 at 9:49 am | Posted in Joshua | 6 CommentsTags: Achan, Ai, battle of Jericho, chiastic structure, commentary on Joshua, Jericho, Joshua 7, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, wrath of God
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
Joshua 7:1
The Lord was angry, and, as readers of Verse 1, we know why He was angry, but, remember, as the events of this chapter unfolded for Joshua and the Israelites, they did NOT know the reason why, nor even the FACT that the Lord was angry.
The verse doesn’t actually say “He was angry.” The verb used to activate the noun “anger” is “kindled.” I like to build fires; it’s one of my favorite activities. My favorite way to build a fire is with the aid of a powerful accelerant, such as lighter fluid, or gasoline, or a flamethrower, but the typical fire in Biblical times wasn’t started with an explosion; it was started by and with “kindling:” little sticks or bits of leaves or grass that gradually build into a bigger and bigger blaze. I believe that’s the idea here – not that God suddenly found Himself blazing like a bonfire caused by an explosion, but that the Holy Spirit wants us to think of it as turning up and venting the wrath that is a true attribute of His immutable, impassible, Divinely simplistic essence. You can see this idea return in the neatly symmetrical end of the chapter:
And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
Joshua 7:26
The Lord’s wrath is not described as extinguished, although it does appear to be appeased. It’s more like the pilot light was throttled back down. His wrath is always there – it’s just that on some occasions it is forcefully turned loose upon men or the world, and at other times its “fierceness” is shielded or turned away. I know that’s not popular. It’s easier to talk about the kindness and the beneficence and tender love of the Lord, but it’s important that we worship the real God of the Bible and not a Hallmark card facsimilie that suits our personal preferences.
Here’s the chiastic structure of Joshua 7:
(A) God’s anger announced (Verse 1)
(B) Consequences of anger for the people (Verses 2-5)
(C) Joshua’s confusion (Verses 6-9)
(D) God’s reasons (Verses 10-11)
(E) God’s revelation (Verse 12)
(D) God’s remedy ( Verses 13-15)
(C) God’s clarification and Achan’s confession (Verses 16-23)
(B) Consequences of sin for the perpetrator (Verses 24-25) }
(A) God’s anger appeased (Verse 26)
And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
Joshua 7:2-3
If we did not have the information from Verse 1 about the Lord’s anger being kindled, we would tend to think that the this was a case of hubris or maybe even prayerlessness on the part of Joshua and the leaders.
So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
Joshua 7:4-5
Joshua’s emotional reaction clearly shows he had no prior knowledge of God’s anger toward the people, nor of the sin that caused it.
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
Joshua 7:6-8
This type of prayer sounds almost sacrilegious to us. It sounds like offensive faithlessness and second-guessing God. But we see it often in the Bible, and one reason it may be foreign to us, is that we are so unfocused when it comes to God’s glory: His reputation in the earth.
For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
Joshua 7:9
Whether God honors or merely countenances this type of prayer, we often see it answered with a favorable result in Scripture.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Joshua 7:10-11
Remember, the conquest of Jericho was to be accomplished with maximum carnage: the death of all the living beings – including women, children, and animals. But the taking of spoil was only for the purpose of placing it in the Tabernacle treasury. During the Canaanite conquest, the people and things conquered were “accursed,” “under the ban,” (Hebrew: herem). They were supposed to be devoted entirely to the Lord and off-limits as rewards unless otherwise specified. This was not a war of plunder; it was truly a holy war, a war against sin in the most literal respect.
Fighting the Battle that Has Already been Won
July 29, 2021 at 5:04 pm | Posted in Joshua | 1 CommentTags: Biblical cliffhangers, Christophanies, Christophany, commentary on Joshua, Joshua 5, Joshua 6, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, the battle of Jericho
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
Joshua 5:13
Joshua, no-nonsense, seeing issues of allegiance and opposition only in black and white, wanted to know on whose side the soldier intended to fight.
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
Joshua 5:14
There are several things to see in this verse.
“Nay,” says the preincarnate Lord in His manifestation as military Captain. Jesus does not cater to our expectations. He has His own army – “the host of the Lord” – the warfaring angels who fight in the spiritual – and on rare occasions in the physical – realm.
“[A]m I now come.” The “am I” could be switched around to “I Am,” reinforcing the idea that this Captain is Divine. We often try to discern if God is on “our” side when we face trouble, or, worse, we simply assume it. We see ourselves as American church-goers who own Bibles, and we believe that we are the privileged and chosen, that we are entitled to God’s grace, but the Captain of Hosts says, “I’m not here to take your part. In fact, I’m not here to merely take part – I’m here to TAKE OVER.”
And what is Joshua’s response? It’s the right response – in some ways the only response: he falls on his face and worships. This is another clear sign that we are seeing a Theophany/Christophany, and not a mere appearance of the Archangel Michael.
And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:15
This reminds us of Moses’s initial encounter with God at the burning bush. Joshua stands in the land of Canaan – still enemy territory at this point – but God declares it to be holy ground because of His presence.
Everywhere we go belongs to God. He is not mildly following along, watching for His opportunity to get us out of a jam if we mess up or try to take on more than we can handle. Everything that we face in life is already more than we can handle! The sooner we recognize and admit that, the better. God is getting glory for Himself in every area – every nook and cranny of His world – and He graciously allows us to serve Him while He is at it, but we had better stay humble. Our allegiance is to Him; His allegiance is not to us. His allegiance is to Himself.
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Joshua 6:1-2
This is a microcosm of the whole Canaan conquest. The victory had already been decreed by God. It just needed to be claimed with reverence and careful obedience. The instructions for taking Jericho were detailed but relatively simple.
And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
Joshua 6:3-4
The rams’ horns were different from the metallic horns used in battle. They were normally celebration horns, but their use was both unusual and fitting since this would be a type of battle, but certainly not a conventional battle. It would be a battle in which the victory had already been decreed by God, so they could start celebrating even as it was being waged.
Bible teachers sometimes make too much of number-symbols in the Bible, but it’s obvious that the number seven is important here. In the Bible seven is the number of completion, perfection, and rest.
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
Joshua 6:5
Verses 2-5 give the instructions, and Verses 6-16 show them being carried out. This is a literary device called command-fulfillment pattern. When we get to Verse 16 we will see how it is worked into the cliffhanger device which has been a key technique throughout the Book of Joshua so far.
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord.
Joshua 6:6-7
There were soldiers and priests in the front, and soldiers in the rear, with the Ark in the center, similar to the Jordan crossing. This positioning emphasized the centrality of the Lord in everything His people undertook.
And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.
Joshua 6:8-16
If we imagine what was said next to be said in “real time,” it makes the account seem incongruous. Surely a loud shout would have followed the command to shout, so what is described next had been explained to the people before, but the Holy Spirit inserted it here as a narrative cliffhanger because it is crucially important.
And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.
Joshua 6:17-19
That is what the Lord really wants us to take away from this, not the technical details of the marching, trumpeting, silence, and shouting – although those are important – but rather the truth that God is keeping His word, and, in our joyous experience of His victory, remembering and obeying His preeminence is just as important during and afterward as it is before the battle when we are more naturally conscious that we need His help.
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Joshua 6:20
Redemption Completed and Beginning
July 7, 2021 at 10:12 am | Posted in Joshua | 2 CommentsTags: 1 Corinthians 2, circumcision, circumcision in the Bible, commentary on Joshua, Exodus 12, Isaiah 55, Joshua 4, Joshua 5, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, the promised land
And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
Joshua 4:19
This date – the tenth day of the first month – matches the date of the Passover some forty years before:
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Exodus 12:2-3
This is not a coincidence, and was surely designed by God to show that the redemption of His people, although suspended because of their unbelief, and therefore only partially accomplished during the 40 years between leaving Egypt and crossing the Jordan, was now completed as they stood on the promised-land side of the wilderness. But, remember, our redemption, while a completed act by God, is not the end of our story. In some ways, it is a glorious beginning, as we experientially put into practice the claiming of the promise that God has given us. It is the beginning of a conquest that is certain to be successful, although there will be many battles, trials, tests, and even suffering as we live it out to God’s glory.
In Joshua 5 the pagans on the Canaan side of Jordan now had an added reason to fear God and His people. Not only had they escaped from, and in a sense defeated, the pursing Egyptian army as God parted the Red Sea and drowned their enemies, and not only had they defeated two powerful Amorite kings, but now God had stopped the Jordan River to allow them to cross and start the invasion.
We might expect Joshua, the great general and the newer version of Moses, to capitalize on this fear as the Amorites fled – probably into the fortress-city of Jericho – and on the enthusiasm of the Israelites, and to charge directly into battle, but no: God had other plans.
At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
Joshua 5:2-3
I am trusting that you know what circumcision is, and that there is no need to go into the details of the procedure. However, I will admit that in our day and age, when it is a common medical procedure and not necessarily thought of by gentiles as having any religious significance, you might well be reasonably puzzled over why it features so prominently in the Bible. I have been asked about it in adult Sunday School classes where men and women are both present, and there are ways to discuss it while being circumspect (no pun intended), but we don’t really have to wonder about WHY God chose this occasion to reinstitute a procedure which apparently had not been done to any of the Israelites alive at this time, other than Joshua and Caleb, because we are told the next verses:
And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
Joshua 5:4-5
There is a distinction being drawn that is very important. The people who came out of Egypt had the physical mark of God’s covenant, but they would not obey. Their children did NOT have the physical mark of God’s covenant, yet God raised them up to claim the promise and to be obedient. Who were the “real” children of the covenant? Who were the “real” inheritors of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses? The ones who outwardly kept the ordinance, but inwardly rejected God’s Word? Or the ones who appeared to be cast off by God, but who ultimately inwardly believed His Word to the extent that they acted upon it?
We might ask a similar question about Christians: Who are the real Christians? The ones who pray the sinner’s prayer, get baptized, join the church, but don’t have any active faith and who ignore the Word? Or the ones who may not have a pedigree of religion or an appearance of religion, but whose true belief in the Word manifests itself in visible obedience? Let this be a lesson to us.
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Joshua 5:6
A careful reading of Verse 6 shows what appear to be two contradictory “swears.” God swore that His people in Egypt would see the promised land, but He also swore that, because of their disobedience, they would not see it. Only those who believe and obey get the blessing and benefit of God’s promises, but the disobedience and unbelief of His people does not stop God from honoring His Word and keeping His promises. God is going to do what He has purposed to do, but He is not bound to do it in ways that we expect or in ways that suit our liking. If God wants a certain local church to have a revival, He might do it by reviving in everyone’s hearts a unified love for Him and each other and a desire to serve Him, or He might do it by getting rid of those who are hindering the revival in their sin and gossiping and backbiting and refusal to submit to His authority. Whether through happiness or through pain – the easy way or the hard way – God’s desire will not be thwarted.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
His ways are not like our ways and His thoughts are not like our thoughts. In what ways are they dissimilar? In what ways are they are “higher” than our ways and thoughts? In both senses of “higher:” more knowledgeable, better able to see the big picture; and “higher” in noble purpose, accomplishing something more righteous and holy and loving and glorious and beautiful than what we could have imagined or hoped.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
I Corinthians 2:9
So, while we expect a triumphant entry into the promised land before fleeing pagans, the narrative pauses – for something like two weeks – while God instructs Joshua to instruct the people to physically debilitate all the boys and men – including the fighting men – with crude stones fashioned into sharp knives used to perform the ancient (and humbling!) sign of God’s covenant with His people.
And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
Joshua 5:7-8
Visible and Audible Reminders and Proofs of God’s Faithfulness
May 19, 2021 at 4:06 pm | Posted in Joshua | 2 CommentsTags: commentary on Joshua, division of Canaan, inheritance in Canaan, Joshua 21, Levite priests, Levites, spiritual leaders, Sunday School lessons on Joshua, tribes of Israel
Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.
Joshua 21:1-2
This distribution of the tribes’ inheritance in the land of Canaan had been previously emphasized pertaining to Caleb, and to the daughters of Zelophedad.
These were the 12 tribes: Reuben; Simeon; Levi (no land inheritance); Judah; Issachar; Zebulun; Dan; Naphtali; Gad; Asher; Benjamin; Joseph (no land inheritance); Manasseh and Ephraim (two tribes from Joseph’s tribe).
All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
Joshua 21:41
Chapter 21 describes the cities of the Levites in great detail, which reminds us of the importance of honoring those in spiritual leadership. Normally, we think we’re really doing something special by recognizing that they have a right to earn a living, but the Bible actually tells us to go beyond that. It tells us to HONOR them and to hold them in esteem.
It was important that the Levites be spread throughout the land, so that they could be an object lesson on seeing the land-inheritance as important, but not the PERMANENT home of the people of God. They would also be available locally to provide specialized instruction in the Word of God beyond even what families would provide to children and spouses, and what individuals would learn on their own.
Chapter 21 ends with one of the main themes in the Book of Joshua: God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises.
And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.
Joshua 21:43
God had promised them the land, and He had been faithful to keep His Word.
And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.
Joshua 21:44
He had promised them victory over their enemies, and He was faithful as they stood victorious.
There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
Joshua 21:45
He had promised them that He would keep His promises, and every Word He spoke to them in this regard came to pass.
The Deep End 
Joshua: Courage, Carnage, and Conquest
November 12, 2021 at 11:07 am | Posted in Joshua | 4 CommentsTags: Biblical Violence, Book of Joshua, commentary on Joshua, conquest of Canaan, God's immutability, immutability, Joshua, Marcionism, Sunday School lessons on Joshua
The Book of Joshua is a a book about courage, and a book about the conquest of Canaan, but it also a book that features unapologetic carnage. The idea that God would command the violent conquest of people (even abominably evil people) is a difficult subject to grapple with and grasp for modern readers and many commentators. An all-too-common attempt at rationalization is to claim that the God of the Old Testament was cruel, vindictive, barbaric, and even bloodthirsty, as opposed to the God of the New Testament Who is kind, loving, peaceful, and indulgent. This false dichotomy does not withstand even cursory scrutiny, however. The true God of the Bible (the only real God) is immutable. He did not change from a God Who deals in barbaric death to a God Who promotes a shallow, unjust peace and love, and to say that the Bible presents two different Gods is to be guilty of a heresy known as Marcionism. The Cross of Christ, if nothing else, proves that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Below are links to a series of lessons on Joshua:
1. Introduction to Joshua (1:1-13)
2. Where to Find Courage (1:1-9)
3. A Heroic Harlot’s Hidden Highlights (2:1-3)
4. Rahab’s Confession of Faith (2:9-18)
5. Lying about Spying (2)
6. A More Meaningful Kind of Social Distancing (3)
7. The Stones of Curiosity (4:5-6) *
8. Redemption Completed and Beginning (4:19 – 5:8)
9. Beware of Forsaking Formalities (5:5)
10. Fighting the Battle that Has Already been Won (5:14 – 6:20)
11. Passing over the Passover (5:5-15)
12. The Lord’s Kindling (7:1-11)
13. The Stones that Put Out a Conflagration (7:12-26)
14. A Do-Over Against Ai (8)
15. The Devil’s Favorite Children (9:1-23)
16. Watch Out for Pretenders (9:15-16)
17. Canaanite Daylight Savings Time (10)
18. Divide and Conquer (11)
19. When Recitation Time Becomes Shoutin’ Time (12)
20. Claiming Your Inheritance (13)
21. Spending Your Retirement on Your Children (14:10-12; 15:18-19)
22. Crossing Your Arms before God (16)
23. Bold Requests (17)
24. Your Lot in Life (18)
25. God Remembers and Rewards Faithfulness (19)
26. The Real Avengers (20)
27. Visible and Audible Reminders and Proofs of God’s Faithfulness (21)
28. The Wisdom of Investigating Potential Problems (22)
29. What Do You Have to Do with God? (22:24)
30. What the Old Need to Tell the Young (23)
31. A Pointed Preamble and a Dependent Decision (24)
*most-viewed post in category