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

 

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