Preliminary Thoughts on Joshua
2005 December 24th for 2006 January 20th
Come to think of it, I donÕt really know
much about the book
of Joshua. This is the beginning
of the history, specifically the post-Moses history, of the Israelites,
a time
when the struggles with Egypt and the desert were past, the new law
from God
was fresh, and life began to get down to the ÒnormalÓ
that it would be for a
few thousand years up to the advent of Christ.
Actually, little of what will be related here or
through the
remainder of the Old Testament would be considered
ÒnormalÓ or ÒroutineÓ but I
do expect it will be representative of the human condition.
Joshua led the famous assault on Jericho, one of
the first
Bible stories that children learn in Sunday School.
We will see what really happened at Jericho, from a grown-up
perspective. This is the time when
the Israelites cross into and start taking over the Promised Land, an
undertaking that I expect we will find is pretty bloody.
Jericho is part of that campaign. Later,
the tribes which are settling on
the west of the Jordan, the land about to be conquered, will receive
their
assigned territories within that region.
So now, we continue with the ongoing story of God
and his
people, led now by MosesÕ successor, Joshua, and AaronÕs
successor, Eleazar.
Joshua 1
2005
December 28th for 2006 January 23rd
God spoke to Joshua, ÒMoses my servant is
dead. Now then, you and all these people,
get
ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to
them
– to the Israelites.Ó The
boundaries of this land are then re-iterated.
His instructions are to Òbe strong and
courageousÓ and to
Òbe careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave
you.Ó ÒDo not be terrified;
do not be
discouragedÉÓ This behavior
was to
guarantee GodÕs presence.
Joshua then gave the order that the people would
start
crossing the river in three days and he reviewed the special deal that
the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and those in Manasseh had, that they could
stay on
this side and leave their families and flocks and other possessions,
but that
all the fighting men had to go across with the other tribes and enter
into any
battles that would occur.
The people collectively answered that they would
do as
Joshua commanded, just as they had done for Moses (!), but that he,
Joshua,
should be careful and stay with God, as Moses had.
ÒWhoever rebels against your word and does not obey your
words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death.Ó
So Joshua had the powers, responsibility, and the
charge
from God, of a king.
Joshua 2
2005
December 29th for 2006 January 24th
Joshua sent two spies to look over the land they
were about
to enter, especially Jericho.
The two spies went and stayed in the house of a
prostitute
named Rahab. This may have been
the only place they could have stayed, not knowing anyone else in town. Word of their presence came to
officials and officers were sent to RahabÕs house to kill the
Israeli spies.
She hid them under stuff on the roof, however, and
lied to
the officers saying that they had been there previously but had left. When it was time to shut the gate for
the evening, she urged these officers to go after the men out in the
open. A search party was dispatched and
the
gates were closed.
That night Rahab told the spies that all of her
country was
afraid of Israel and that she knew that their god was God.
ÒWe have heard how the Lord dried up
the water of the Sea of Reeds for you when you came out of Egypt, and
what you
did to Sihon and Og.Ó
The forty years had allowed time for word to
spread.
Rahab the prostitute knew all this and knew that
God had
given Jericho to the Israelites as well, these were the spies after all. She made a deal with them, if she would
protect them and get them out of the city alive right now, they would
not kill
her or her family in the coming siege.
The spies agreed to this, life for life, but there
were
conditions. She had to identify
her house with a scarlet thread tied in the window and whomever it was
she
wanted saved had to be in the house.
Anyone outside of her specially marked house was on their own
and would
certainly be slaughtered. She
agreed to this and, her house being strategically placed on the city
wall, let
them out down a rope on the outside.
They hid in the hills for three days until the
search
parties, having searched along the road, returned empty handed. The Israeli spies then returned to the
camp and reported to Joshua, ÒThe Lord has surely given the
whole land into our
hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.Ó
Joshua 3 – 4
2005
December 28th for 2006 January 25th
The day arrived for the people to cross the Jordan. They set out from Shittim and camped at
the bank of the river. The
officers went out among the people giving instructions.
The ark of the covenant would go in
front and they would all follow it but would stay a considerable
distance (1000
yards) behind.
ÒThen Joshua told the people,
ÔConsecrate yourselves, for
tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.ÕÓ
Joshua commanded the priests who would be carrying
the ark
to advance to the river and stand in the water. Then
he addressed the people and told them that what they
were about to see was a sign that God would cause them to prevail over
all of
the peoples they were about to go up against. He
also commanded that each of the twelve tribes pick one
person to go ahead too as a witness.
This was a time of year when the Jordan was
running at flood
stage. When the priests touched
the water, however, it stopped flowing and Òpiled up in a heap a
great distance
away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan.Ó The river dried up and they carried the
ark into the middle and stood there with it.
The twelve men, one from each tribe, then went in
and picked
up twelve stones (large enough to be carried on the shoulder) from the
bottom
of the middle and carried them on to the other side where they set them
up as a
memorial to this miracle.
While the priests continued to stand there, all of
the
people Òhurried over.Ó This
included the fighting men from Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, per the deal
with
Moses about them going over to fight too, though they would ultimately
be
living back on the east side.
Forty thousand fighting men crossed over.
As soon as they had all crossed, God told Joshua
and Joshua
commanded that the priests and the ark were to come out.
As soon as they were on shore, the
damming of the river stopped and it resumed flowing at flood stage,
flowing
normally past the new twelve-stone monument.
This was the tenth day of the first month. ÒThat day the Lord exalted Joshua in
the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life,
just as
they had revered Moses.Ó
This was the same God who had carried the people
across the
Sea of Reeds similarly and the stone monument, which was still there at
the
time of this writing, was a reminder to tell the story to the children
who
wondered what had happened there.
They camped on the other side Òat Gilgal on
the eastern
border of Jericho.Ó
Although it is difficult to explain this damming
of the
Jordan except supernaturally, the story reads with great realism. It does not appear to be merely a
ÒHebrew Fairly Tale.Ó Joshua
is
re-established as the commander of the people, in touch with God. Physical objects, stones from the
bottom of the middle of the river, are carried out to become a monument. The number of fighting men who cross is
counted. The ark, the centerpiece
of worship, is central to the event.
When one crosses the Grand Canyon at the
suspension
footbridge at the bottom of the Corridor Trail, rocks like this can be
heard
tumbling over each other on the bottom in the torrent below. To cross unflooded and bring some of
those rocks out would be impressive indeed!
Joshua 5 – 6
2006
January 4th for 26th
For some reason, the covenant of circumcision had
not been
followed with the children born in the desert, that is, the men who
were
fighting age now. At GodÕs command
Israel was circumcised again all on the same day near a place with a
Hebrew
name that sounds like Òhill of foreskins.Ó
ÒThen the Lord said to Joshua, ÔToday
I have rolled away the
reproach of Egypt from you.Ó This
was at a place called Gilgal (sounds in Hebrew like
ÒrollÓ). On the evening of
the fourteenth day of
the month they celebrated the Passover.
The following day they ate produce from the new land and the
manna
stopped, forever.
Following this, Joshua was near Jericho and
encountered a
man with a drawn sword. On
challenging this man, friend or foe, he learned that this was the
Òcommander of
the LordÕs army who then said, ÒTake off your sandals,
for the place where you
are standing is holy.Ó
Thus Joshua learned the details of how he was to
conquer
Jericho in his own Òburning bushÓ experience.
Every day for six days, the priests picked up the
ark and
marched all the way around Jericho with trumpets blasting in front and
a rear
guard behind. On the seventh day
they marched similarly around the city seven times, shouting and
yelling, upon
which the walls fell down and the attackers rushed in.
The order was to slaughter everything
that breathed except in RahabÕs house, and to carry all of the
precious metals
and other such treasures into the Òtreasury of the LordÕs
houseÓ as an
offering, another sign of Òdevotion.Ó
The entire city was Òdevoted to the
LordÓ in this way.
Rahab and everyone in her house were carried out
of the
battle then the IsraeliÕs finished the city off.
Joshua then pronounced a curse against ever rebuilding it:
ÒAt the cost of his firstborn son will he
lay its
foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its
gates.Ó
Joshua was now a superstar in the region.
Joshua 7
2006
January 4th for 27th
Joshua sent out spies to the next town, Ai, near
Beth Aven,
east of Bethel. The spies came
back and said that there were so few men there and it was so poorly
defended
that they should not bother the whole army, just send a detachment down
to take
it. Three thousand were sent.
The detachment was promptly routed and thirty-six
were
killed. Joshua, on hearing the
news, fell face down before God until evening then cried out in
despair,
thinking that this was because they wanted too much.
ÔWhy did you bring us here just to let us be defeated? If only we had been satisfied with what
we already had.Õ
God told Joshua to stand up, asking him why he was
on his
face. The reason for this route
was disobedience. One of the men
at Jericho had taken some of the plunder for himself.
They were commanded to consecrate themselves and stand
before God the next day.
The next day the tribes were examined by lot (Urim
and
Thummim no doubt) and Judah was taken.
In the clans of Judah, Zerahite was taken. In
that clan the familiy of Zimri was taken. From
Zimri, one man at a time came
forward and Achan son of Carmi was taken by lot.
Joshua commanded Achan to tell what he had done. His reply:
ÒIt is true! I
have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This
is what I have done: When I saw in the
plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,
two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty
shekels, I
coveted them and took them. They
are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver
underneath.Ó
Runners were sent and found AchanÕs tent as
he had
said. They took everything he
owned, including the illegal plunder, from his tent.
ÒThen Joshua, together with all Israel,
took Achan son of
Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters,
his
cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had to the Valley
of Achor
(disaster). Joshua pronounced
sentence and Achan and his family and everything he owned was stoned
and burned
and after that a large pile of rocks was piled up on the remains.
This sounds like ÒattainderÓ to me. In modern law, as we have seen in our
own Constitution, people are held accountable for their own crimes, but
not
their entire families. This is a
different culture.
Nonetheless, thirty-six other fighters had been
killed
unnecessarily. It was a serious
crime and this story is hard to explain in any way apart from
GodÕs conscious
interaction with these people.
ÒThen the Lord turned from his fierce
anger.Ó
Joshua 8:1 - 29
2006
January 5th for 30th
God commanded Joshua to go back to Ai with a few
rules
changes: Take the whole army this
time, you can take plunder and livestock this time (unlike at Jericho),
and
conduct the siege with an ambush and pincer movement.
Joshua went off and gave the necessary orders.
Thirty thousand men went around to the west side
of the city
undetected while Joshua stayed in camp to the north across a valley
with the
main army. Early in the morning
Joshua started an advance and the men of Ai noticed and came out to
confront
them. Joshua then fell back and
the men of Ai pursued, thinking that this was the same as the last
battle where
they had routed the Israelites and killed a few. They
called every man out of the city to join in the
pursuit.
When they were all committed to this race towards
the
desert, Joshua turned and held out his Javelin. This
was the signal for the ambush to come into the
city. The ambush from the other
side captured the undefended city quickly and set it on fire. Meanwhile Joshua advanced, and the men
of Ai, looking back seeing smoke pouring out of their city, realized
they were
trapped.
The army of Israel crushed the men of Ai. Every one was killed. Then,
they went back into the city and
killed everyone there, bringing the king out and hanging him on a tree
until
evening. This amounted to twelve
thousand men and women killed.
They then took the livestock as plunder.
Joshua burned Ai into a ruin and a heap of stones
was
erected over the kingÕs body.
Joshua 8:30 - 9
2006
January 6th for 31st
Joshua built an altar according to the law of
Moses, of
uncut stones, at Mount Ebal and the people divided and stood half Mount
Ebal
and half on Mount Gerazim as they had done previously under Moses. Joshua read every word of the entire
law to them, to everyone including women, children, and aliens.
There is no indication that this was a command of
God that
Joshua build such an altar at this time and place.
The other thing that Moses repeatedly said in this context
was that no random altars would be built Òon the high
placesÓ but only where
God chose and commanded. This is
even more confusing juxtaposed against the following story.
The conquests of Israel under Joshua were well
known
throughout the region and all of the kings were banding together to
Òmake war
against [them]Ó, that is, defend themselves.
The people of Gibeon who lived nearby were afraid
for their
lives and Òresorted to a ruseÓ.
They packed up donkeys with food and materials that were old and
worn
and dressed so that they looked like they had been on a very long
journey. The bags were cracked and mended,
the
bread was moldy, the clothes were torn, sandals broken, and so forth. They then came to Joshua and his
advisors and asked for a treaty.
The Israeli leaders asked why they would bother to
come so
far, buying into the cleverly laid deception, and their reply was that
IsraelÕs
reputation had gone a long way and they wanted to be on the side of the
people
of this powerful God.
The Israelites did not inquire of God before they
made their
decision; they just gave them the treaty, swearing oaths by their God. Three days later they learned the truth
and were furious. In addition, the
people of Israel were furious with their leaders. They
could not break their oaths, however, so at length they
agreed that the people of Gibeon would be put to slave labor for the
IsraeliÕs,
carrying their water and cutting their wood. This
would save their lives per the sworn treaty but they
would still be effectively conquered.
The Israeli leaders went to Gibeon and gave them these terms, to
which
they agreed, happy to have saved their own lives.
The key point made in this story is that the
Israelis did
not consult with God before making this major decision.
This demonstrates that God is not
invasive in his peopleÕs affairs but is patient and waits to be
asked. It is unclear how they managed to
make
the mistake of not consulting with God.
WasnÕt Joshua just as renown in this respect as Moses? Not quite. Anyway,
even Moses made similar mistakes.
Joshua 10:1 – 28
2006
January 9th for February 1st
This is the story of the five kings who were next
on
JoshuaÕs list:
of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek;
of Hebron, Hoham;
of Jarmuth, Piram;
of Lachish, Japhia; and
of Eglon, Debir.
Adoni-Zedek, having heard what had happened at
Jericho, Ai,
and now about the treaty with Gibeon, was alarmed.
He rallied the other kings to attack Gibeon because of their
alliance with Israel.
Gibeon, under siege, sent to Joshua the message,
ÒDo not
abandon your servants. Come up to
us quickly and save us!Ó
God told Joshua, ÒDo not be afraid of them;
I have given
them into your hand.Ó
Joshua marched his army all night from the camp at
Gilgal
and took the kings by surprise at sunrise. They
fled in confusion and the Israelites pursued them in
all directions, killing most of them. In addition, ÒAs they fled
before Israel on
the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large
hailstones down
on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than
were
killed by the swords of the Israelites.Ó
Zeus!
And as if that werenÕt enough, Joshua
called on God to make
the sun and moon stand still so they would have more time to avenge
these
enemies. The result:
ÒThe sun stopped in the middle of the sky
and delayed going
down about a full day. There has
never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened
to a
man. Surely the Lord was fighting
for Israel!Ó
Considering that they were up all night before the
battle,
this was indeed a long day!
Joshua and the troops returned to their camp at
Gilgal but
the five kings had hidden in a cave at Makkedah. When
Joshua learned of this he had his men pile up stones at
the entrance to the cave then gave the command to pursue and kill all
the
guards. They killed nearly all of
them but a few made it back to their fortified cities.
When this was over they took down the
stones and pulled the kings out.
Joshua had his generals put their feet on the kingÕs
necks then
declared, ÒDo not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Be strong and courageous. This is
what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going
to fight.Ó Joshua then killed the
kings himself and hung them from trees until evening.
At sunset they cut the kings down, threw them in the cave,
and sealed it back up with the stones.
Before going home, Joshua also attacked and
destroyed
Makkedah, leaving no survivors and doing to the king there as he had
done to
the king of Jericho.
I do not have an explanation for the stopping of
the sun in
the sky. In our current cosmology
something like this would involve either stopping the entire earth in
its
rotation or putting up an artificial sun for a day (or something that
even we
do not understand, not out of the question I donÕt guess). I suppose there are also psychological
explanations, Òtime flies when youÕre having fun.Ó But, it would be much easier with our
technology to generate
a hailstorm than to lengthen a day by that much in this fashion.
I am vaguely aware of some who propose scientific
explanations for this event, but imagine that I would be skeptical of
their
claims. The earth has a great deal
of energy stored in its rotation.
Stopping and restarting it without breaking or spilling
anything, well,
at the very least it seems an impractical approach.
As IÕve said at other locations in the
Bible, I believe that
the people who experienced and wrote about this believed that this was
what
happened. I do not claim to know
what actually happened or why it was perceived in this way.
As to the brutality with which the kings of the
area and
their subjects are being slain here, (what did they ever do to us?) I
am
reminded of the Sunday School quip, ÒThis was before God was a
Christian.Ó
I am inclined to think, based on my training in
this, that
God had good reason for choosing and preserving the Israelites in this
way and
for dispensing with the indigenous Palestinians in this way. To Joshua, their sin was not being part
of the chosen people, of previously occupying the land now given them
by his
God, and of practicing competing false religions.
Our theology today is somewhat different.
In any case no one lives forever.
Whether one lives a long time, dies in peace, and is buried
with honor, or comes to an end in their prime in ways such as Joshua
was
dispensing here, is up to God.
Discussion questions:
Should our theology today be different due to
events like
this?
Does our unchanging God choose for some people and
against
others in this way and fight with or against them today as he did with
Joshua? In particular, is the deal
with the nation of Israel today (though, today, the nation itself is
largely
atheist or agnostic) or, as some think, their Christian heirs, the
AmericanÕs
(though today America is far from homogeneously Christian by
anyoneÕs measure)
the same as it was for the nation of Israel under Joshua?
Does this God bring hailstorms and keep the sun in
the sky
extra like he used to when we desperately (?) need it, or has he given
us B-52s
and A-Bombs so we can take care of ourselves better in our own age?
Joshua 10:29 – 11: 23
2006
January 10th for February 2nd
Joshua and the army continued from Makkedah to the
other
cities and villages in the region.
In each one, he treated the people and the king as he had at
Jericho. ÒHe left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed,
just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.Ó
The list of locations is: Libnah;
Lachish, even though they were helped by Gezer;
Eglon, Hebron, and Debir. It must
be that these places had new kings since, in the last chapter, the
kings of
these places had been killed already.
ÒSo Joshua subdued the whole region,
including the hill
country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes,
together
with their kings.Ó ÒJoshua
subdued
them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to
Gibeon.Ó
They then returned to camp at Gilgal.
The king of Hazor, Jabin, put together an alliance
of
northern kings to fight against Israel.
ÒThey came out with all their troops and a large number
of horses and
chariots – a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.Ó
God told Joshua not to be afraid that they would
all be
slain. In addition, ÒYou are to
hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.Ó
Joshua did this, killing all of their kings with
the sword
and burning all their cities. The
people of Israel took all of their treasures and livestock as plunder
but no
human being was left alive in the region, save the Gibeonites who had
made the
treaty by trickery.
Joshua also went after the Anak (the giants) in
the hill
country. ÒNo Anakites were left in
Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any
survive.Ó
Goliath, whom David will fight in a later
generation, was
from Gath.
After this there was no more war for a while.
Here is given the theology of all this conquest of
annihilation: ÒFor it was the Lord
himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that
he might
destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had
commanded Moses.Ó
This, then, is a judgment from God similar to the
Flood of
Noah. How unfortunate indeed to be
among the un-chosen people, regardless of personal character.
Joshua 12
2006
January 11th for February 3rd
This chapter is a list of all the defeated kings
on both
sides of the Jordan. On the east
there was Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan. These were conquered under Moses.
Under Joshua, thirty-one kings were conquered on
the west
side of the Jordan. They are
listed not by name but by city:
Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish,
Eglon,
Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, Adullam, Makkedah, Bethel,
Tappuah,
Hepher, Aphek, Lasharon, Madon, Hazor, Shimron Meron, Acshaph, Taanach,
Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam in Carmel, Dor, Goyim, and Tizrah. I donÕt remember seeing all of these in
the accounts of the battles; perhaps this is why they are summarized
here.
Joshua 13
2006
January 12th for February 6th
ÒWhen Joshua was old and well advanced in
years, the Lord
said to him, ÔYou are very old , and there are still very large
areas of land
to be taken over.ÕÓ God
outlined
for him everything he had not done, giving a list of what lands were
yet to be
conquered. There were lands in
every direction, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, Sidon,
Lebanon, and
other places in the mountains.
Was this an accusation or just a to-do list?
There were also peoples who had not been driven
out under
Moses, such as those in Geshur and Maacah, who were still living among
the
IsraeliÕs at the time of this writing.
The inheritance to the east of the Jordan is then
enumerated
by tribe, for Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
Interestingly, a few key events of the conquests under Moses are
reiterated such as the slaying of Balaam.
It is also mentioned again that Manasseh is a half tribe. You just canÕt live some things down.
Joshua 14
2006
January 16th for February 7th
We now turn to the division of the land west of
the
Jordan. The various rules are
re-iterated: ÒTheir inheritances
were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the Lord had
commanded
through Moses.Ó Also reiterated,
ÒThe Levites received no share of the land but only towns to
live in, with
pasturelands for their flocks and herds.
Before casting the lots for the division, there
was the
matter of Caleb to be attended to.
Caleb, now 85 years old, approached Joshua and
retold his
story. He had been one of the
twelve spies when they first scoped out the land for conquering under
Moses
more than 40 years ago. The other
spies, however, were afraid and caused the whole assembly to be afraid,
the
result being that there was an insurrection, no attack on the promised
land was
made, and Moses led them back into the desert until that generation,
including
Moses himself, was dead. All, that
is, except for Joshua, now commander in MosesÕ place, and Caleb,
now standing
before Joshua, they being the two spies who had given good reports in
GodÕs
favor.
At 85, Caleb claimed, ÒI am still as strong
today as the day
Moses sent me out; IÕm just as vigorous to go out to battle now
as I was then.Ó
He asked for the hill country, the very land he
had spied
out, as God had promised. Joshua
blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron.
ÒSo Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the
Kenizzite ever
since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel,
wholeheartedly.Ó
Joshua 15
2006
January 16th for February 8th
Now we are into the nitty-gritty of the allotment
of lands
to the tribes settling west of the Jordan. This
chapter is devoted to the allotment to Judah. First,
the boundaries are spelled out
in great detail, details like, ÒFrom the hilltop [previously
well described]
the boundary headed toward the spring of the Waters of
Nephtoah,ÉÓ
After the survey description, the text breaks off
into
another story about Caleb. First,
Caleb himself went against some indigenous Anakites, Sheshai, Ahiman
and Talmai
and the people in the area of Debir.
Then he said, ÒI will give my daughter Acsah in marriage
to the man who
attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.
CalebÕs brother Othniel did this, so his,
letÕs see, his
niece was given to him as a wife.
Later, Acsah wanted Othniel to ask Caleb for a field (presumably
because
men do such deals), but the next verse says, ÒWhen she got off
the donkey,
Caleb asked her, ÔWhat can I do for you?Õ
She replied, ÔDo me a special favorÉÕÓ She then asked for some lands.
Her father Caleb gave them to her. It
appears that she just went and cut the deal herself and
that some of the explanatory details have been abbreviated out of the
text
here. Perhaps this is remarkable
because a married woman was making deals with her famous father without
her
husbandÕs involvement. Maybe she
just took advantage of a chance meeting.
No morale is given, however, these events are just reported.
The chapter concludes with a list of all the towns
in the
inheritance of Judah, a list of 112 towns and after each sub-list of
towns it
says, ÒÉ towns and their villages.Ó
The towns, therefore, are listed by name, but every town has
some
villages associated with it. My
guess is that these towns were a few hundred people and the villages a
few
dozen, but this is just my guess.
Earlier, it was cities that were conquered and these towns
presumably
were associated with those cities.
The chapter ends with an interesting verse, one
that implies
to me that this grand operation of taking over the Promised Land has
loose ends
that would be hard to explain in a strict theological context (i.e.,
God deals
perfectly with every minute detail), ÒJudah could not dislodge
the Jebusites,
who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with
the
people of Judah.Ó
How does this inability to eradicate Jebusites
square with
the command to annihilate all the previous inhabitants?
How could God, who sovereignly commands
these actions and gives these victories let this slide?
Joshua 16 – 17
2006
January 16th for February 9th
Next, the inheritance for Joseph is detailed. Manasseh already had theirs and these
survey notes are for the land given to the other half tribe, Ephraim. Apparently there were also some towns
(with villages) within Manasseh that were set aside for Ephraim.
As with Judah, there were some local people not
displaced,
in this case, ÒCanaanites living in Gezer.Ó
They were required to do forced labor (like the Gibeonites),
however.
Within Manasseh there was a case of a man,
Zelophehad, who
had no sons, only daughters. They
were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These
women went to Eleazar and Joshua and reminded them
that ÒThe Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among
our brothers.Ó In this way, these
daughters received
land among the other sons of Manasseh, in fulfillment of the story we
saw way
back somewhere in Deuteronomy. The
tribal identity of this group of sisters was indeed strong.
Not all of the land allocated to Manasseh had been
cleared
of inhabitants, but eventually the Israelites grew strong enough to
subject
these occupants to forced labor too.
There was an exchange between Manasseh and Joshua. They complained that they and the
Ephraimites, all of Joseph, were too numerous to fit into the
allotments given
to them. Joshua told them that if
they felt this way, Ògo up into the forest and clear land for
yourselves there
in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.Ó
The people of Joseph replied that these peoples were strong,
as indicated by their iron chariots.
Joshua countered that Òthough the Canaanites have iron
chariots and
though they are strong, you can drive them outÓ and that was the
end of the
discussion.
Joshua 18
2006
January 17th for February 10th
Joshua called together the whole assembly and they
set up
the Tent of Meeting at Shiloh. The
land was conquered but seven tribes still did not have their
inheritance. ÒHow long will you
wait before you
begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your
fathers,
has given you?Ó Joshua asked them.
So, he had three men from each tribe sent out into
the lands
to survey them and write down about the cities that were there and when
they
reported back with this information, ÒJoshua then cast lots for
them in Shiloh
in the presence of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the
Israelites according to their tribal divisions.Ó
Benjamin was first and received an allotment
between Joseph
to the north and Judah to the south that is outlined in all the same
level of
detail with which the other parcels have been described.
This land contained 26 towns and their
associated villages.
Joshua 19: 1 - 31
2006
January 18th for February 13th
As the land assignments for the last of the tribes
are done
by lot, Simeon came up next. Since
Judah had more land than they needed, some of JudahÕs land was
transferred over
to Simeon. This allotment included
seventeen towns and their villages.
Next was Zebulun, for which survey notes are given. Their territory included twelve towns
and their villages.
It is noted at the end of each allocation that the
inheritance was Òclan by clanÓ, meaning possibly that
further lots were cast to
place the clans of each tribe within their territories in a similar
way, but
which (mercifully) was not recorded here.
Next was Issachar with a territory that included
sixteen
towns and their villages.
The fifth lot went to Asher who received a
territory
encompassing twenty-two towns and their villages.
Joshua 19:32 – 20:9
2006
January 19th for February 14th
Joshua is continuing to throw lots to divide the
remaining
territory among the remaining tribes.
Each report has surveyorÕs notes but now weÕre
getting to the point
where it is possible to say things like, Òfrom Heleph and the
large tree in
Zaanannim, É came out at Hukkok.
It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and Judah,
the Jordan
on the east.Ó It is therefore
becoming possible to identify parcels with respect to previously
defined ones.
The sixth lot went to Naphtali who got territory
containing
nineteen towns and their villages.
The seventh lot went to Dan who had trouble
settling the
allotted territory. They had to
attack a city named Leshem which they took and occupied, and renamed
ÒDan.Ó
When this was all done, a special allotment was
made for
Joshua himself. He was given a
city in Ephraim that he had asked for, Timnath Serah.
ÒHe built up the town and settled there.Ó
The cities of refuge are then specified. These are places where a person can
flee if he kills another person accidentally. He
is to go to the city, stand at the gate, and make his
case before the elderÕs there.
This is kind of like a Grand Jury hearing. He
is then protected from the avenger of blood until he
formally stands trial or until the death of the current High Priest
after which
the case is closed and he may return home. We
have seen this before.
The accidental death must, of course, be without
malice
aforethought.
Three cities are designated on each side of the
Jordan making
six in total.
Joshua 21
2006
January 20th for February 15th
When all of the lands had been parceled out,
Òthe Levites
approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the
other
tribal families of Israel at ShilohÓ reminding these leaders
that God had
promised them not lands, but towns within the lands and the
pasturelands
surrounding these towns. The idea
appears to be that the Levites would not have a territory of their own
but that
they would be spread out among the other tribes as priests and
ministers.
Lots were thrown and the Levites were assigned
clan-by-clan,
first the Kohathites, then the Gershonites, and finally the Merarites. (It is interesting that this is also
the rank order in which Moses and Aaron dealt with them.)
Each received a few dozen towns and
pasturelands in the territories of the various tribes, all of which are
listed
and named here. Some of these
towns were the Òcities of refuge for one accused of
murderÓ which were
specified previously. It doesnÕt
look like all of the cities of refuge went to Levites, just two or
three of
them which, out of six, is still more than their random share.
As the chapter ends, the land assignments have
ended and the
following concluding statement is given:
ÒSo the Lord gave Israel all the land he
had sworn to give
their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side,
just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not
one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all
their enemies over to them. Not
one of all the LordÕs good promises to the house of Israel
failed; every one
was fulfilled.Ó
At this point, we have either forgotten all of the
things
that Joshua did not do which were spelled out a few chapters back, or
that list
of non-achievement doesnÕt count against the completeness of
GodÕs promises
summarized here.
Joshua 22
2006
January 21st for February 16th
Years ago I was in a booklet-led
read-through-the-Bible
program with daily readings. In
each little daily commentary there was a section, ÒChrist
RevealedÓ that was
based on the theory that every verse of the Bible somehow reveals
Christ. Similarly, I can often find
something
interesting to say or relate about the material in any given chapter. Wading through these later chapters of
Joshua, however, which are little more than long lists of town names
Òand their
villagesÓ, most of which no longer exist and nearly none of
which are known to
us now, with both of these plans, to find ÒChrist
RevealedÓ or something
interesting to discuss otherwise has become a stretch.
TodayÕs chapter is a little more
interesting.
The wars, the occupations, and the assignments of
land were
over. Joshua called everyone
together and told the tribesmen from the east, the Reubenites,
Gaddites, and
those from the half tribe of Manasseh, that their duties to Moses and
to him,
Joshua, were completed and that they could go home now.
They could return with their share of
the plunder, Ògreat wealth – with large herds of livestock, with
silver,
gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing.Ó They were to divide the plunder among
themselves.
So the two and a half tribes from the east went
home and
when they crossed the Jordan, they Òbuilt an imposing altar
there by the
Jordan.Ó When the (rest of the)
Israelites heard of this, they all marched out to go to war against
their
brothers to the east. The priest
Phinehas (EleazarÕs son) went, not to investigate, but to accuse
the two and a
half tribes of splitting off from the rest of Israel by putting up
their own
altar, their own place of worship and sacrifice, against GodÕs
command. This, they feared, would set God
against Israel, would be considered an act of unfaithfulness. The cases of Peor and Achan were cited,
where God had acted destructively against the disobediences.
The leaders of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh made their
case. They had not set up the
Òimposing altarÓ as a rebellious place of worship and
sacrifice, but as a
reminder to the nine and a half tribes on the west of the Jordan that
the
Jordan did not divide the country, that the people on the east side
were still
Israelites and had their part in the God of Israel too.
ÒIt is to be a witness between us and
you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at
his
sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants
will not be able to say to ours, ÔYou have no share in the
Lord.ÕÓ
They claimed they were only afraid of being left
out due to
the geographic and riparian separation.
They would still have to cross the Jordan to go to the place of
worship.
This was pleasing to Phineas and the other
leadership and
when they went back to Canaan and reported to the rest, all were
pleased and
satisfied and quit talking of civil war.
ÒAnd the Reubenites and the Gadites gave
the altar this
name: A Witness Between Us That The Lord
Is God.Ó
Joshua 23
2006
January 20th for February 17th
Moving ahead now to the day when Joshua is old and
knows he
will soon Ògo the way of all the earth,Ó he calls a major
assembly and gives a
farewell speech. The speech is
very similar to the farewell speech of Moses but not nearly as long, at
least
not in its recorded form here.
First Joshua reminds them of what happened in his
administration. As promised, God
drove out all the people between the Jordan and the Mediterranean; then
he
commanded Joshua to divide up that land among the tribes who did not
already
have an inheritance. This
totality, then, was the Promised Land and its conquest was now complete.
Joshua reminds the people that none of
GodÕs promises had
failed; he said that they knew in their hearts that all was
accomplished. He then reminded them to
stay with God
and only God, not to invoke or worship any of the competing gods in the
region
and not to intermarry or associate with any of those foreigners who do
follow
those other gods.
Passages such as these are the basis for Biblical
interpretations that support racial and national exclusivity. Somehow, such interpretations always
come from those who think they are on the side of God.
Summarizing the charge of Moses, Joshua charges
them to do
this and to continue to enjoy GodÕs presence and protection. If they stray, all of the curses that
God has brought on the conquered peoples here would also be applied to
Israel. These are curses that
these very Israelites have witnessed and carried out.
We have seen throughout this book that God was
generally
with Israel and generally against the enemies of Israel but we have
also seen
that things went wrong for Israel and that when major problems
occurred, the
interpretation was given that they had not listened to God. When major things went right, the
interpretation was given that God was with them, consulted or not.
It is more than I have the mental strength and
acumen to
explore here, but these matters of spirit (Spirit) are important
throughout all
human endeavors. To think that the
only God, that is, the only Supreme Being was on your side would be
great moral
encouragement. A feeling of Òmoral
high groundÓ is an important spiritual component to any human
undertaking. The relationship was one of
commander
and servant however. Do I believe
that Joshua went into the tent of meeting and came out telling the
people to do
as he ordered Òbecause God said so?Ó
No, I believe that Joshua and Eleazar heard from God what they
were to
do and went, pretty much, and did as commanded, within the limitations
of their
abilities, whatever they were.
Understanding why God ordered what he did to be
done in the
way he ordered it done is another matter.
Joshua 24
2006
January 23rd for February 20th
Joshua calls a final assembly of all Israel and
tells the
entire story of the faith beginning with Abraham: ÒLong
ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of
Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other
gods.Ó He then goes through the
move to
Canaan, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Moses and Aaron and the miracles of the
Exodus
from Egypt. This is followed by a
summary of all the battles on both sides of the Jordan, the blessings
of Balaam
who was hired to curse them, up to Jericho and the cities of the other
conquered peoples.
ÒSo I gave you a land on which you did not
toil and cities
you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and
olive groves
that you did not plant.Ó
Joshua then charges them to Òthrow
awayÓ all other gods and
worship only the real God. The
people say they will not forsake the real God who has done all of these
things
for them. Joshua challenges them
again with his famous statement (which is usually quoted partially),
ÒBut if
serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves
this day
whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond
the River,
or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
But as for me and my household, we will
serve the Lord.Ó
Notice that the competing gods were not just those
of these
local peoples now destroyed, they were also the gods worshipped by
their own
forefathers, right down to Abraham (Abram) before his call by the true
God.
The people swore that they would follow the real
God and
this was witnessed. Joshua set up
a huge stone at the place as a witness that this had all occurred. The stone was a witness that they had
heard all the words of God and would be a witness if they were ever
untrue to
this God.
Joshua died and was buried in the land of his
inheritance.
ÒIsrael served the Lord throughout the
lifetime of Joshua
and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything
the Lord
had done for Israel.Ó
JosephÕs bones, which had come from Egypt
with the people of
the Exodus, were Òburied at Shechem in the tract of land that
Jacob
bought.Ó This was on the
inheritance of JosephÕs descendants.
So ends the five hundred year story of Joseph.
Eleazar also died and was buried in a place that
was
allotted to his son Phinehas in the territory of Ephraim.
The generation after Moses and Aaron was now,
itself,
history.
Concluding Thoughts on Joshua
2006 January 24th for February 21st
In our church, we donÕt have many sermons
preached from the
book of Joshua. This form of God
showing himself to and through his people is not something that we want
to
broadcast these days. A downside to
this is that we donÕt get much in the way of explanations of how
we should view
this material in a modern theology.
This is not the sort of material on which a
military
conscientious objector would base his thesis.
I guess there are several ways to look at the
conquering God
of Joshua and Moses. One way that
makes sense is that military conquest and annihilation of enemies was
one of
the few concepts of absolute, overwhelming power that the people of the
time
would understand. Also, it is
clear that God, having actively entered conscious human history with
Abraham
(save a few prior individuals – Abel, Enoch, Noah,
MelchizedekÉ), then
having built a rather sizable nation from AbrahamÕs descendants,
is
establishing himself in the neighborhood (the Òknown
worldÓ of the time) in a
way that everyone could understand unmistakably, if they so chose.
(This is always the issue too, Òif they so
choose.Ó)
This is a God of benefit and blessing for those
whom he has
chosen and whose response is to be obedient to him.
When this God decides to lay out curses on friends or
enemies, however, they can be serious.
It bothers me that the people who were the enemy of Israel had
no choice,
no other option but annihilation, except deception and subterfuge,
which led to
mere slavery (as with the Gibeonites).
This is the supreme God of the universe after all; he can do as
he
pleases. The modern term ÒActs of
GodÓ alludes to this. He saves and
destroys at his own discretion, his own pleasure. Today
we are more accustomed to free will, individual
choice, the right to leave a bad job and go to work for the competition
if it
seems best. The people of JoshuaÕs
day were wholly tribal. If you
were a Hebronite, that was what you are and all you could be. If you were of the tribe of Benjamin,
that was your unchangeable identity.
When God chose some against others; that was similarly final. This doesnÕt help my discomfort with
the lack of choice the Hebronites had, but it does illuminate it
partially.
I think there is a ÒnewsgatheringÓ
dimension to this. The book of Joshua
spans several
decades, but most of the words here are describing only a few years, or
even
months, of battles, conquests, and division of wealth.
Most of the time during those decades
the Òland rested from warÓ, as they say.
There were seasons and years of planting and harvesting,
handling flocks
and subsisting in blessing, observing all the routine festivals and
worship
events. The only thing that made
the evening news, however, was the blood, gore, and real estate deals. These would have been the remarkable
events. Who would have cared to
hear about the routine and ongoing blessings of the living, present
God, aside
from us today?
Christians today doubtless preach Joshua (when
they do at
all) as lessons in obedience and listening for God, demonstrations of
GodÕs
power when he is Òfor usÓ and warnings against choosing
to go bad, when choice
is available. To see this explored
fully, see anyone elseÕs commentary on Joshua.
As for me, I am compelled to struggle with the
reconciliation of that unchanging God of Joshua with the God, the very
same
God, that I worship today.
© 2005 – 2006 Courtney B. Duncan