1695.) Joshua 15

Revelation 5:1-5 (New Living Translation)

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?”  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.

Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it.  But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

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Joshua 15   (NRSV)

The Territory of Judah

The lot for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.

All this may seem tedious to us, but it certainly was not tedious to those who would possess this land. They would want to know every detail.

²And their south boundary ran from the end of the Dead Sea, from the bay that faces southward; ³it goes out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, makes a turn to Karka, ⁴passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Wadi of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary.

⁵And the east boundary is the Dead Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan.

“Visiting tourists covered with rejuvenating mineral mud relax during a hot summer day at the Dead Sea,” said the picture caption.  Do you suppose the ancient Israelites played around like this?  🙂

And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; ⁶and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son; ⁷and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh, and ends at En-rogel; ⁸then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim; ⁹then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim); ¹⁰and the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to Beth-shemesh, and passes along by Timnah; ¹¹the boundary goes out to the slope of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron, and passes along to Mount Baalah, and goes out to Jabneel; then the boundary comes to an end at the sea.

¹²And the west boundary was the Mediterranean with its coast. This is the boundary surrounding the people of Judah according to their families.

When completed in 2005, the Ashkelon Desalination Plant was by far the world’s largest and most advanced desalination facility. With a huge capacity of up to 330,000 m3/day and with extremely high efficiency levels, the Ashkelon plant achieved one of the world’s lowest ever prices for desalinated water. In 2010, due to the unmatched success of the plant, it was expanded by nearly 20% to 392,000 m3/day, providing clean water for more than a million people.

This plant is located on Mediterranean coastal land that was allotted to the tribe of Judah.

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Music:

HERE  is “The Lion of Judah”  performed by Paul Wilbur.

You’re the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain,
You ascended to heaven and ever more will reign;
At the end of the age when the earth You reclaim,
You will gather the nations before You.
And the eyes of all men will be fixed on the Lamb
Who was crucified,
For with wisdom and mercy and justice You’ll reign
At Your Father’s side.

And the angels will cry: ‘Hail the Lamb
Who was slain for the world, Rule in power.’
And the earth will reply: ‘You shall reign
As the King of all kings
And the Lord of all lords.’

There’s a shield in our hand and a sword at our side,
There’s a fire in our spirits that cannot be denied;
As the Father has told us for these You have died,
For the nations that gather before You.
And the ears of all men need to hear of the Lamb
Who was crucified,
Who descended to hell yet was raised up to reign
At the Father’s side.

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Caleb Occupies His Portion

¹³According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron .

“The World’s Largest Porch Swing” is located in Hebron, Nebraska. It will seat 16 adults, or 24 children, or 128 babies.

Have you been to Hebron?

Hebron, Nebraska —was hit by a tornado in May 1953.  The storm wrecked two-thirds of the town’s buildings and injured 69 people.

Hebron, Connecticut — describes itself as “a quaint Connecticut town.”  It was formerly known for its apple orchards.

Hebron, New York — marketed their local “Beauty of Hebron” potato to London in the early 1880’s;  this potato helped restock the British Isles after the Irish Potato famine.

¹⁴And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. ¹⁵From there he went up against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” ¹⁷Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

¹⁸When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”

“Since you gave me land in the desert, give me also springs of water.” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

¹⁹She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

The Towns of Judah

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families:

²¹The towns belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme South, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²²Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine towns, with their villages.

³³And in the Lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, Gederothaim: fourteen towns with their villages. ³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸Dilan, Mizpeh, Jokthe-el, ³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen towns with their villages. ⁴²Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine towns with their villages. ⁴⁵Ekron, with its dependencies and its villages; ⁴⁶from Ekron to the sea, all that were near Ashdod, with their villages. ⁴⁷Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Wadi of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coast.

⁴⁸And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹Goshen,

Goshen College is a Mennonite liberal arts school. Pictured above are the members of their praise and worship team.

Goshen.   You know!

Goshen, Indiana — is home to Goshen College and to the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, the second-largest county fair in the United States.

Goshen, New Hampshire — has a tranquil lake known for its good canoeing and bird-watching.  Local residents call the lake “the Goshen Ocean.”

Goshen, Connecticut — was incorporated in 1739.  The town was a center for the manufacture of musket rifles during the Revolutionary War.

Goshen, Massachusetts — is a tiny rural town, population 921.

Goshen, Kentucky — is known for its thoroughbred breeding farms.

Goshen, New York — has a harness racing museum.

Goshen, Oregon — was originally a stage coach stop and now serves lumber mills in the area.

Holon, and Giloh: eleven towns with their villages. ⁵²Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior: nine towns with their villages. ⁵⁵Maon, Carmel,

“Beach View:  Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.”  Photography by George Oze.

And you remember Carmel!

Carmel, California — officially Carmel-by-the-Sea, is known for its natural beauty and rich artistic tradition.  It also has a law that prohibits the wearing of high heeled shoes unless the wearer has a permit, which can be obtained at no charge from City Hall.

Carmel, Indiana — had one of the first automatic traffic signals in the country installed at the intersection of Main Street and Range Line Road.  This was in 1924.

Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten towns with their villages. ⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six towns with their villages. ⁶⁰Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah: two towns with their villages.

⁶¹In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶²Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi: six towns with their villages. ⁶³But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Whitetail deer in Jerusalem, Ohio.

O, Jerusalem!

I have read that there are towns named “Jerusalem” in 12 states.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Lion of Judah (read his mane!).    http://teezine.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/lion-of-judah-detail.jpg

LIFE at the Dead Sea.    http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/75436251.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921A343B2C87A49D8F5E77BCFAC7E2B6B2926BF57DF5714C55BDAAD46A484DE7A5F

Ashkelon desalination plant.   http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/images/9-desalination-plant.jpg

world’s largest porch swing.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hebron_porch_swing.jpg

Tzarfati.     http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/albom/pictures/45.htm

Goshen College worship team.    http://www.goshen.edu/news/pressarchive/photos/08-parables.jpg

Oze.    http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/beach-view-carmel-by-the-sea-california-george-oze.jpg

deer.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/deerherd_00.jpg

1694.) Joshua 14

Joshua 14   (NRSV)

The Distribution of Territory West of the Jordan

These are the inheritances that the Israelites received in the land of Canaan, which the priest Eleazar, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the Israelites distributed to them. ²Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. ³For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan; but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim; and no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only towns to live in, with their pasture lands for their flocks and herds. ⁵The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

We commonly think and speak of the “twelve tribes of Israel” but actually there were thirteen, because although there were twelve sons of Jacob (Israel), the descendents of one of his sons, Joseph, divided into two tribes (Manasseh and Ephraim).

–David Guzik

Hebron Allotted to Caleb

Numbers 14:24 (ESV)

“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”

⁶Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. ⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land; and I brought him an honest report. ⁸But my companions who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.

Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, was one of the twelve spies who scouted out the land of Canaan some forty-five years before when Israel first was on the threshold of the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-25).

Caleb was one of the only two spies to come back with a good report, a report of faith, believing that God had given Israel the land and would enable them to conquer it (Numbers 13:26-14:9). The other ten spies believed that Israel would be destroyed in the attempt to take Canaan, and Israel believed the ten doubting spies.

The other faithful spy was none other than Joshua. The ten faithless spies measured the giants against their own strength, but Joshua and Caleb measured the spies against God’s strength.

This was the cause of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness; God would not allow that generation of unbelief to enter in, so He waited for them to die in the desert (Numbers 14:26-38). The only ones of age at the time of the rejection who actually entered the Promised Land were Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful spies.

So, it is fitting as Judah is the first tribe to receive its allotment on the west side of the Jordan, that Caleb be the first among the people of Judah to receive his inheritance.

–David Guzik

⁹And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

¹⁰“And now, as you see, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel was journeying through the wilderness; and here I am today, eighty-five years old. ¹¹I am still as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war, and for going and coming. ¹²So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day; for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as the Lord said.”

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day,
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

Caleb’s faith in God never wavered though everyone around him doubted.  God convinced Caleb that the children of Israel should enter the Promised Land, but the people were intimidated by giants and fortified cities (Numbers 13:28-33).  Their disbelief forced Caleb to wait forty years in the wilderness before he finally entered the Promised Land.  Even after all those years, Caleb was as confident as ever in God’s power.

When God was dividing the land among the Israelites, the people were asking for the lush valleys and grassy plains.  Caleb asked for a mountain.  The Israelites had driven their enemies into the mountains, where they had built fortresses.  This did not intimidate Caleb—he asked for a challenge!  He did not trust in his own strength but in God’s presence.  Caleb longed to see God work in power, and he knew he would be less likely to rely on God if he dwelt in the easy places.  He chose a situation in which he would have to trust in God.  Caleb knew his inheritance from God was on the mountain.  He refused to allow the difficulty of gaining it to stop him from enjoying all that God had promised him.

If you always choose the easy way, asking for the peaceful valleys, you will never see God’s power displayed to enable you to take a mountain.  Seek out the mountains, and you will witness God doing things through your life that can be explained only by His mighty presence.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Climb Every Mountain” by Norwegian soprano Sissel. Let this song be an encouragement to us not to grow weaker in our work for the Lord as we grow older — like Caleb!

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¹³Then Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. ¹⁴So Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.

Today:  The West Bank city of Hebron, a frequent flashpoint of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, is home to about 400 religious Jewish settlers living in heavily guarded enclaves among some 160,000 Palestinians.  Clashes are common.

And the land had rest from war.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

“Give me this mountain.”    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/0da06-caleb-give-me-this-mountain.jpg

Caleb.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/oldtestamentwarriors.gif

mountain shopping.    http://www.gbcdecatur.org/files/MountainShopping.jpg

Hebron.    http://media.photobucket.com/image/hebron%20israel/travellersplus4/Hebron/HebronRuins1.jpg

1693.) Joshua 13

“Promised Land” photography by Rolando Polo

Joshua 13   (NRSV)

The Parts of Canaan Still Unconquered

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed. ²This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites ³(from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is reckoned as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim, ⁴in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites, ⁵and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, ⁶all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I will myself drive them out from before the Israelites; only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.

⁷Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

Each tribe was responsible to possess its own land completely.

The Territory East of the Jordan

⁸With the other half-tribe of Manasseh the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them: ⁹from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and the town that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland from Medeba as far as Dibon; ¹⁰and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; ¹¹and Gilead, and the region of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; ¹²all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the survivors of the Rephaim); these Moses had defeated and driven out. ¹³Yet the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; but Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this day.

¹⁴To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them.

The Levites are not being slighted here.  The time required to support their responsibilities at the Tabernacle and rendering service to God on behalf of the other tribes would preclude them from managing farms, fields, and livestock.  In chapter 21 we will see the towns, scattered throughout the land, that were assigned to the Levites.

The Territory of Reuben

¹⁵Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the Reubenites according to their clans. ¹⁶Their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and the town that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by Medeba; ¹⁷with Heshbon, and all its towns that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, ¹⁹and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, ²⁰and Beth-peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹that is, all the towns of the tableland, and all the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, as princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. ²²Along with the rest of those they put to death, the Israelites also put to the sword Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination.

Balaam

I was on the wrong road
And in the wrong road the Angel took her stand
To stand in my way and right my journey
I would not see her though she stood before me

My friends opened their eyes and saw
Saw her flaming sword
And flaming eyes
And terrible countenance
And said Friend do not go that way for the Angel of the Lord
Is there and will smite you
For the path you walk is the wrong path

I was angry with my friends
And berated them
And pushed them aside
Saw them foolish
Struck those who would not move from my path
Struck them as many as three times

Why do you strike us, they asked
Are we not your friends who love you
Who have guided you rightly
If your eyes are closed
Can we not be your eyes for you

In rage I lifted my arm to strike them again
To strike them down to dust
And trample them
Dust to dust

The Lord’s Angel rose in fury
And shone before my eyes
So brightly that even my closed eyes burned with brightness
The Angel made a sound like a great wind
And the dust rose and cut my face
And filled my nose and parched my tongue

Then the wind stopped and my eyes opened
The Angel stood there still
Now without a sword
And opened her arms
Beckoned me to her bosom

I came to her and wept
Wept as she held me
Wept for my blindness
Wept for the blows laid on my friends
Wept for the wrong road and all the wrong roads
Wept for the wrong turns and all the wrong turns

Held in her bosom
I asked her to forgive
To forgive me my blows and blindness
She held me
No she said
Forgive yourself

Open your eyes
Signs are there to see
Open your heart
Signs are there to follow

Open your ears
For the Word that is before any word
For the Word that is after every word
For the Word that is within every word

For the silent Word heard over forty days and nights
In the desert
For the Word in the wind
For the Word before the wind and after the wind
For the sound of the Word spoken in silence
Before the beginning

by Forrest Hainline, 2007

²³And the border of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its banks. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, according to their families with their towns and villages.

The Territory of Gad

²⁴Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of the Gadites, according to their families. ²⁵Their territory was Jazer, and all the towns of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of Rabbah, ²⁶and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir, ²⁷and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon, the Jordan and its banks, as far as the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. ²⁸This is the inheritance of the Gadites according to their clans, with their towns and villages.

The Jordan River, south of the Sea of Galilee, was part of the territory given to the tribe of Gad.

The Territory of the Half-Tribe of Manasseh (East)

²⁹Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; it was allotted to the half-tribe of the Manassites according to their families. ³⁰Their territory extended from Mahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of King Og of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty towns, ³¹and half of Gilead,

Gilead is a hilly region, a good place for grazing animals.

Remember this place!

It will be the scene of the battle between Gideon and the Midianites.

It will be the home of the prophet Elijah.

It became famous for its spices and balm:

Jeremiah 8:22 —

Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no healing
for the wound of my people?

and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the towns of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; these were allotted to the people of Machir son of Manasseh according to their clans—for half the Machirites. ³²These are the inheritances that Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.

³³But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he said to them.

_________________________

Music:

Amazing! After all the years in the wilderness, and all the years fighting for the land, at last they are at home and mostly at peace! Lots of work yet to be done, of course, but what a joy to look back and see all that God has done!  This sounds a lot like my life, and probably yours, too!  HERE  is Guy Penrod singing “Count Your Blessings” and I commend the practice to you!

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Polo.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/13-polo-promised-land.jpg

map.    http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/joshua13-21map.jpg

Balaam, the donkey, and the angel.     http://www.biblebios.com/balaam/balaam.jpg

the Jordan River.    http://bibleencyclopedia.com/placesjpeg/Jordan_River_south_of_Sea_of_Galilee,_tb040300.jpg

Gilead goats.    http://www.bibleplaces.com/images/Gilead%20goats2,%20tb%20n031701.jpg

1692.) Joshua 12

Many kings in our reading today!  Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state.  Jesus is the King of Kings, over (for example) King Harald V of Norway.

Joshua 12   (NRSV)

The Kings Conquered by Moses

Psalm 138:4-5 (NIV)

May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth.

May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.

Now these are the kings of the land, whom the Israelites defeated, whose land they occupied beyond the Jordan toward the east, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward:

²King Sihon of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and from the middle of the valley as far as the river Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead, ³and the Arabah to the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;

Jesus is the King of Kings — King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

⁴and King Og of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei ⁵and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon.

⁶Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites defeated them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The Kings Conquered by Joshua

Psalm 33:16-19 (NIV)

No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

⁷The following are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, ⁸in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):

Jesus is the King of Kings — King Bhumibol of Thailand.

⁹the king of Jericho one

the king of Ai, which is next to Bethel one

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem one

the king of Hebron one

¹¹the king of Jarmuth one

the king of Lachish one

¹²the king of Eglon one

the king of Gezer one

Jesus is the King of Kings — King Letsie III of Lesotho.

¹³the king of Debir one

the king of Geder one

¹⁴the king of Hormah one

the king of Arad one

¹⁵the king of Libnah one

the king of Adullam one

¹⁶the king of Makkedah one

the king of Bethel one

Jesus is the King of Kings — the Sultan of Brunei.

¹⁷the king of Tappuah one

the king of Hepher one

¹⁸the king of Aphek one

the king of Lasharon one

¹⁹the king of Madon one

the king of Hazor one

²⁰the king of Shimron-meron one

the king of Achshaph one

Jesus is the King of Kings, even over Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll.

²¹the king of Taanach one

the king of Megiddo one

²²the king of Kedesh one

the king of Jokneam in Carmel one

²³the king of Dor in Naphath-dor one

the king of Goiim in Galilee, one

²⁴the king of Tirzah one

—thirty-one kings in all.

These descriptions are also important because they make it clear that these things happened in real time, and in real space. These are not fairy tales that begin with “once upon a time,” this is history that begins with specific places and people and rulers.

As well, it was a way that Israel could forever remember the great things God had done for them. “Sometimes in the course of human experience it is good to sit down and reflect on what has been conquered by the grace of God.” (Redpath)

–David Guzik

“King of Kings and Lord of Lords” by Rex and Carlene Morache

Revelation 19:11-16 (New International Version)

The Rider on the White Horse

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.  Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

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Music:

HERE  is “O Worship the King!”  I love this hymn for its many names of God, its vivid imagery, its listing of many of God’s attributes.

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With this portion, we finish the first half of Joshua.  It has been an account of action: of preparation (chapters 1-5) and of conquest (chapters 6-12).  Reading it as a military campaign, we can certainly see Joshua as a great commander.  But Scripture makes it clear that his wisdom came from God.  Joshua lived his life in the full obedience that Paul advised to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:12 (NIV)

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

King of Norway.    http://www.topnews.in/files/King-Harald-Norway301.jpg

King of Saudi Arabia.    http://www.themiddleeastmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/saudi1-getty-v2.jpg

King of Thailand.    http://media.photobucket.com/image/king%20of%20Thailand/ashmorris/king.gif

King of Lesotho.    http://www.clubofmozambique.com/solutions1/sectionnews/data/international/Mhoje_kingletsie_photo_jpg.jpg

Sultan of Brunei.    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/08/22/article-1047990-050066E50000044D-762_224x305.jpg

Elvis Presley.    http://irom.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/elvis-presley-poster-311708.jpg

Jesus on a white horse.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/12-jesus-revelation1.jpg

sword and shield.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/logo3.gif

1691.) Joshua 11

Map for Joshua’s northern campaign:  the country comes together, piece by piece.

Joshua 11   (NRSV)

The United Kings of Northern Canaan Defeated

When King Jabin of Hazor heard of this, he sent to King Jobab of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ²and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, ³to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴They came out, with all their troops, a great army, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵All these kings joined their forces, and came and camped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.

The southern portion of the land has been conquered, so now the northern kings unite against Joshua. This will be a harder fight — the Israelites face a large number of soldiers and many horses and chariots.

⁶And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will hand over all of them, slain, to Israel; you shall hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.”

⁷So Joshua came suddenly upon them with all his fighting force, by the waters of Merom, and fell upon them. ⁸And the Lord handed them over to Israel, who attacked them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, until they had left no one remaining. ⁹And Joshua did to them as the Lord commanded him; he hamstrung their horses, and burned their chariots with fire.

chariots:  These advanced implements of war were not used by the armies of Israel until the time of Solomon (see 1 Kings 9:22; 10:26-29).

–notes in the NIV Study Bible

¹⁰Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and struck its king down with the sword. Before that time Hazor was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹And they put to the sword all who were in it, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed, and he burned Hazor with fire.

“The Burning of Hazor” by Avi Katz

¹²And all the towns of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took, and struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. ¹³But Israel burned none of the towns that stood on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua did burn. ¹⁴All the spoil of these towns, and the livestock, the Israelites took for their booty; but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. ¹⁵As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Music:

Now the Israelites have their own land!  They have fought for it, yes, but they also know that it is a gift from God for themselves and their descendants.  The alternate national anthem for the United States puts those very thoughts to music.  HERE  school children sing “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”

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Summary of Joshua’s Conquests

¹⁶So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland, ¹⁷from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death. ¹⁸Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.  (note:  some scholars say about seven years) ¹⁹There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all were taken in battle. ²⁰For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed, and might receive no mercy, but be exterminated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

We are told that in part, this judgment on the Canaanites was accomplished when God did harden their hearts against Israel. The hardening of men’s hearts is when God gives man up to the sin that is in his heart (Romans 1:24-28).

–David Guzik

²¹At that time Joshua came and wiped out the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their towns. ²²None of the Anakim was left in the land of the Israelites; some remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. ²³So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments.

And the land had rest from war.

“The Gift Outright”
by Robert Frost

(Perhaps you remember watching it on television:  the old poet wrapped up in heavy coat and scarf, reciting this poem from memory at John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Inauguration.)

The land was ours before we were the land’s.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people.  She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

map of the northern campaign.    http://www.easyenglish.info/bible-commentary/joshua11-12map.jpg

Katz.     http://www.avikatz.net/bible/joshua/joshua11-burning.jpg

Robert Frost and John F. Kennedy.    http://alumniconnections.com/olc/filelib/HAA/cpages/215/Library/Images/Robert%20Frost%20at%20JFK%20inauguration.jpg

1690.) Joshua 10

“Joshua speaks to the sun” by Salvador Dali (1964)

Joshua 10   (NRSV)

The Sun Stands Still

photo of the sun by the Hubble Space Telescope

When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ²he became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying, ⁴“Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.”

⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—gathered their forces, and went up with all their armies and camped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

⁶And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.”

The Gibeonites rightly looked to the people of Israel as their helpers and protectors. They were not too proud to call for help. And the Israelites honor the vow they made previously to the Gibeonites, not to kill them — or even to let someone else kill them.

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors. ⁸The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.”

⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

“The Lord hurled large hailstones down on them.”  —  by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

¹²On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”

“Joshua Stops the Sun” by Rafael, 1518 (The Rafael Loggia, Vatican)

¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in mid-heaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel.

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Music:

HERE  is “Cannons”  by Phil Wickham. “The moon and the stars declare who you are . . . “

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from Joshua, by Jerome F.D. Creach:

At stake in our interpretation of this text is nothing less than our view of God’s role in history and nature.  This does not mean that the details of Joshua 10:1-14 must be taken as historical in order to be faithful to Scriptures.  In fact, we must recognize that the notion of the sun standing still is not as unique as verse 14 indicates.  There is a very similar story in the Iliad (II.412) in which Agamemnon prays that the sun would not set until the Achaeans won their battle.  Hence, Joshua’s authors are using battle imagery and descriptive language known in other traditions, and from that point one might conclude that the story is not historical.  Nevertheless, that point should not end discussion of the larger issue, God’s involvement in human affairs.  Historicity may not have been the real issue for the author of this story, either.  He is, after all, drawing information from an ancient source; he is not claiming to have seen the sun stand still.  Rather, his main concern was that God could and did intervene within history for Israel.

Herein lies the main issue for modern Christians.  This author, like all biblical writers, thought of history and nature as parts of the created order that God controlled.  He conceived humans as part of nature and therefore subject to the movements of history over which God was master.  The modern view of things has radically changed these relationships so that humans are separate from nature, and humans shape history.  This worldview encourages an understanding of God as one who allows the world to run by natural law and of humans as those who move and shape history.  Joshua 10:1-14 calls the church to wrestle with this arrogant understanding of humanity.  For indeed the church claims that there was a day like no other, namely the day of the resurrection of the Lord (Acts 2:29-36).  That day was not brought about by human will or plan but by the act of God on behalf of broken humanity.

¹⁵Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Kings Defeated

¹⁶Meanwhile, these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

“Five kings had hidden in the cave.” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

¹⁷And it was told Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them; ¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies, and attack them from the rear. Do not let them enter their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”

²⁰When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great slaughter on them, until they were wiped out, and when the survivors had entered into the fortified towns, ²¹all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one dared to speak against any of the Israelites.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³They did so, and brought the five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴When they brought the kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the Lord will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.

The Canaanite kings were executed. Joshua wants to make it clear that there can be absolutely no accommodation with these Canaanite kings. After this pattern, we can allow no place in our lives to our spiritual enemies. All the ground belongs to Jesus, and must be taken for Him.

–David Guzik

Habakkuk 3:11-13 (NIV)

Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.

In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.

You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
Selah

²⁷At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Southern Cities Conquered

²⁹Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. ³⁰The Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it; and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and laid siege to it, and assaulted it. ³²The Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah. ³³Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors.

³⁴From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; and they laid siege to it, and assaulted it; ³⁵and they took it that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it, ³⁷and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.

³⁸Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it, ³⁹and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; just as he had done to Hebron, and, as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no one remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. ⁴²Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.

⁴³Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Dali.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/10-dali-joshua-sun.jpg

Hubble photograph of the sun.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/10-hubble-the-sun.jpg

Tzarfati.    http://www.biblical-art.com/artist_artwork.asp?id_artist=2096&alt=2&pagenum=1

Rafael.    http://www.christusrex.org/www1/stanzas/L39-Joshua.jpg

history book.    http://www.clipartguide.com/_small/1386-0804-0812-1544.jpg

sun and moon.    http://www.universaluv.com/universalUV%20website/Paintings/Sun%20&%20Moon.jpg

map of Joshua’s southern campaign.    http://www.generationword.com/images/bible_study/bs_9_ot_3/joshua_entrance_campaign.jpg

1689.) Joshua 9

More tricks today!

Joshua 9   (NRSV)

The Gibeonites Save Themselves by Trickery

Now when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—heard of this, ²they gathered together with one accord to fight Joshua and Israel.

³But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, ⁴they on their part acted with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, ⁵with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their provisions were dry and moldy. ⁶They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the Israelites, “We have come from a far country; so now make a treaty with us.”

They act cleverly, deceptively, with props and lies . . .

⁷But the Israelites said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?”

“Perhaps you live near us.” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

⁸They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”

And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”

⁹They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have heard a report of him, of all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey; go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; come now, make a treaty with us.”’ ¹²Here is our bread; it was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey, on the day we set out to come to you, but now, see, it is dry and moldy; ¹³these wineskins were new when we filled them, and see, they are burst; and these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.”

¹⁴So the leaders partook of their provisions, and did not ask direction from the Lord.

The Israelite leaders walked by sight and not by faith.

It seems to take us a long time to learn the lesson that neglect of prayer always leads to trouble, and destroys the spirit of discernment. Neglect of prayer always suggests pride in our own judgment, which is fatal. Satan as an angel of light is so plausible. The foolish virgins so resembled those who were wise. The tares sown in the field are so similar to the wheat. The voice of the hireling sounds very like the voice of the shepherd.

How can we ever match Satan and his subtle ways? Listen to me. Never, never, NEVER trust your own judgment in anything. When common sense says that a course is right, lift your heart to God, for the path of faith and the path of blessing may be in a direction completely opposite to that which you call common sense. When voices tell you that action is urgent, that something must be done immediately, refer everything to the tribunal of heaven. Then if you are still in doubt, dare to stand still. Be strong enough and brave enough to dare to stand and wait on God, for none of them that wait on Him shall ever be ashamed. Take it, all of it, to the Lord in prayer.

–from Victorious Christian Living:  Studies in the Book of Joshua
by Alan Redpath

¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶But when three days had passed after they had made a treaty with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and were living among them. ¹⁷So the Israelites set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.

¹⁹But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we must not touch them. ²⁰This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath may not come upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” ²¹The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.

Psalm 15:1, 4   (ESV)

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
    Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who swears to his own hurt and does not change . . .

²²Joshua summoned them, and said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ while in fact you are living among us? ²³Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall always be slaves, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.”

Psalm 84:10 (NIV)

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

²⁴They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; so we were in great fear for our lives because of you, and did this thing. ²⁵And now we are in your hand: do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.”

No complaint from the Gibeonites!  Essentially, they were happy with the prospect of being incorporated into Israel, and becoming servants of the Lord, even if it was in menial service.

²⁶This is what he did for them: he saved them from the Israelites; and they did not kill them. ²⁷But on that day Joshua made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to continue to this day, in the place that he should choose.

The Gibeonites after Joshua 9:

• The Gibeonites became servants at the tabernacle, just as Joshua had commanded.
• Gibeon becomes a priestly city; the Ark of the Covenant stayed at Gibeon often in the days of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40 and 21:29).
• At least one of David’s mighty men was a Gibeonite (1 Chronicles 12:4).
• God spoke to Solomon at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4).
• Gibeonites were among those who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:7 and 7:25).

These are examples of the great things God can do with people who are sinners, but come to Him in humility and love.

–David Guzik

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Music:

HERE  Selah does a hauntingly beautiful version of the traditional folksong,  “I’m Just a Poor Wayfaring Stranger.”  This song reminds me of the clever/deceitful ruse used by the Gibeonites, and the long road the Israelites had already traveled to be “just going over Jordan.”

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

rabbit in magic hat.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/9-rabbit-hat.gif

Tzarfati.    http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/albom/pictures/26.htm

oops.    http://www.faithandfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/oops.jpg

church at Las Palmas, San Isidro, Mexico.  Photograph by Lori Cannon.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/9-mexican-church.jpg

1688.) Joshua 8

After an unsuccessful encounter with Ai, Joshua sought the Lord’s guidance. The next attack worked — by means of a ruse. Homer tells of a similar trick with the Trojan Horse. Both Joshua and Odysseus achieved military success and burned their enemies’ cities.

Joshua 8   (NRSV)

Ai Captured and Destroyed

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land. ²You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king; only its spoil and its livestock you may take as booty for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city, behind it.”

³So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to go up against Ai.

Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed: This was the first key to regaining victory. They had to receive encouragement from God. Though Israel stumbled through Achan’s sin as shown in Joshua 7, they dealt with the failure and now had to move on. What is past is past. We must deal with it before God in repentance and dying to self, and then look forward to what He has for us right now. God wants us to use our failures in a good way, to use them as a foundation for great victory in the Lord. God wasn’t despondent or depressed, and He didn’t want Joshua or the nation of Israel (or us) to be either. Now it was time to get busy and set about being victorious for the Lord, because He has not abandoned them (or us).

–David Guzik

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Music:

As a church organist for more than 30 years, I am saddened when I think that so many young people in our churches are no longer familiar with some of the great hymns of the faith.  Here is one of the classics that never fails to inspire me:   “Onward, Christian Soldiers”  is sung  HERE  by a group which many DWELLING readers love — Libera.

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Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night ⁴with the command, “You shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it; do not go very far from the city, but all of you stay alert. ⁵I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us, as before, we shall flee from them. ⁶They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, as before.’ While we flee from them, ⁷you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city; for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. ⁸And when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, doing as the Lord has ordered; see, I have commanded you.”

⁹So Joshua sent them out; and they went to the place of ambush, and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai; but Joshua spent that night in the camp.

¹⁰In the morning Joshua rose early and mustered the people, and went up, with the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

Joshua was especially near his people during this crucial time of trying to regain victory. The people needed to know he was near, and they needed to follow his leadership.

If we will regain victory, we must live with and follow Jesus, who is our Joshua. He is always near to us at these crucial times in our Christian life, and always goes first to lead us into battle.

–David Guzik

¹¹All the fighting men who were with him went up, and drew near before the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. ¹²Taking about five thousand men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. ¹³So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley.

¹⁴When the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried out early in the morning to the meeting place facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them, and fled in the direction of the wilderness. ¹⁶So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel; they left the city open, and pursued Israel.

¹⁸Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai; for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city.

When the Mormons moved out West in the mid-1800’s, they came upon these unusually shaped trees and were reminded of the story of Joshua holding up his sword in this passage. So they named them “Joshua trees.” This photograph was taken by Andrew Chasteen at Joshua Tree National Park in southeastern California.

¹⁹As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city, took it, and at once set the city on fire.

²⁰So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky.

“The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of their city rising into the sky.” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. ²¹When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. ²²And the others came out from the city against them; so they were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side, and some on the other; and Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped. ²³But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.

²⁴When Israel had finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and when all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai, and attacked it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. ²⁶For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the sword, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their booty, according to the word of the Lord that he had issued to Joshua.

²⁸So Joshua burned Ai, and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day. ²⁹And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, threw it down at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant

The amphitheater provided by the valley between the two mountains is utterly natural and very resonant.

³⁰Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, “an altar of unhewn stones, on which no iron tool has been used”; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed offerings of well-being. ³²And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.

³³All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.

³⁴And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law. ³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them.

So now we, as readers and hearers of the Word of the Lord in this book, know that Joshua is doing just what he was instructed to do in chapter 1 — to “act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you.” He has led the people to take possession of the land for God. They have erected an altar and given offerings. Then they wrote out the law in permanent, visible form, and stood while it was read aloud to them. Surely a day to remember!

This short but significant passage also reminds us that Joshua’s most important duty was not to engage in warfare and conquest, but to lead Israel in faithfulness and obedience to God. It is a common temptation for Christians to believe that WHAT WE DO for God is more important than WHO WE ARE for God. Let us not be so busy getting good things done that we forget to “make every effort to enter that rest,” as we read in Hebrews 4, and to be transformed by the refreshing, renewing presence of our Lord.

Your thoughts?

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Trojan Horse.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/troytrojanhorse.jpg

Chasteen.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/8-joshua-tree-andychasteen3.jpg

Tzarfati.    http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/albom/pictures/23.htm

Mts. Ebal and Gerizim.    http://www.bibletrack.com/notes/image/Ebal-Gerizim.jpg

Psalm 119.    https://fessicsfavorites.files.wordpress.com/2005/11/psalm-119174-176.jpg?w=700

Who are you?     http://www.alumcreek.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Life-Files-Sorry-Who-are-You.jpg

1687.) Joshua 7

“Achan is stoned to death” —  by Gustave Dore (1832-1883)

Joshua 7   (NRSV)

The Sin of Achan and Its Punishment

But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.

Joshua commanded the nation in Joshua 6:18 that they should not take of any of the accursed things, those things that were associated with the demonic and debasing worship and practices of the Canaanites.

–David Guzik

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Music:

It may take a little mental re-arranging, but I bet you can apply this song to our chapter today!  HERE  is Olivia Newton-John and “Hopelessly Devoted.”

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²Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai.

³Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Not all the people need go up; about two or three thousand men should go up and attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make the whole people toil up there.” ⁴So about three thousand of the people went up there; and they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water.

The defeat at Ai showed that what mattered was not the strength of the opponent, but the help of God. Without God’s help, all would be lost.

⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7Joshua said, “Ah, Lord God! Why have you brought this people across the Jordan at all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to destroy us? Would that we had been content to settle beyond the Jordan!

from Today God Is First,
by Os Hillman

UNDERSTANDING THE ROADBLOCK

“And Joshua said, ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!’” – Joshua 7:7

Have you ever felt like you were doing what God wanted you to do, but your plans were totally frustrated? This was how Joshua felt.

The Lord had been with the people of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. They defeated every enemy because of God’s blessing and protection. They had just taken the city of Jericho. The next battle was the city of Ai. They scouted the enemy and determined it would require only 3,000 men to defeat them. They attacked, and soon the reports came back that they were being routed. Joshua could not understand this. He cried out to God asking why this was happening.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated My covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction” (Joshua 7:10-12).

Whenever we open ourselves up to sin, we become liable. God removes His protective shield from our lives in order for the sin in our lives to be purged out. He often uses the enemy of our souls to accomplish the task. If you feel you are being thwarted in some way, examine your life to see if there is any sin that is the cause of the problem. Adversity is not always due to sin, but it can be. Ask Him. He will show you. As with Joshua, God immediately answered this prayer when Joshua asked. He desires for His children to live in a right relationship with Him.

⁸O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned their backs to their enemies! ⁹The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?”

1 Kings 8:41-42 (NLT)

“In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name,  for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm.”

¹⁰The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen upon your face? ¹¹Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings. ¹²Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies, because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. ¹³Proceed to sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “There are devoted things among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”

¹⁴‘In the morning therefore you shall come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come near by clans, the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households, and the household that the Lord takes shall come near one by one. ¹⁵And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and for having done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

¹⁶So Joshua rose early in the morning, and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. ¹⁷He brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken; and he brought near the clan of the Zerahites, family by family, and Zabdi was taken. ¹⁸And he brought near his household one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

¹⁹Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

What does it really mean to give God “glory”?

Let’s begin with the very basic concept of giving glory to God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” The word “glory” comes from the Greek word (doxa), and it means thought or opinion; it relates to one’s view of or judgment about a thing. In other words, when I “do all to the glory of God,” I am to live in such a way that people have a right opinion, right thoughts, and a proper perspective of God!

But let’s take it a step further. We need to understand that it is impossible for us to give “glory to God” apart from having a relationship with Him. Remember that Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD”!

To give God glory means to give others a right opinion about Him in “whatsoever ye do.” In order to do that, we must “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Therefore, if any of us at present are walking “in darkness,” the only way back to a life that gives glory to God is to “confess our sins” (1 John 1:9). This is exactly what Joshua expressed to Achan when he confronted him about the sin which Achan had both committed and concealed. He said, “My son, GIVE, I pray thee, GLORY to the Lord God of Israel, and MAKE CONFESSION UNTO HIM” (Joshua 7:19). If you are not right with God, you can begin again to “give…glory to the Lord” when you “make confession unto him.”

from “Brother Smallwood’s Devotional Blog”

²⁰And Achan answered Joshua, “It is true; I am the one who sinned against the Lord God of Israel. This is what I did: ²¹when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. They now lie hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Deuteronomy 5:19 (NIV)

“You shall not steal.”

Deuteronomy 5:21 (NIV)

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

How clearly this story shows us the irrationality of the unregenerate human heart! Achan stole a beautiful robe:  Where would he wear it? If he went out in it and his neighbors said, “Hey, Achan, what a nice robe! Where did you get it?” — what could he say? And he stole all that silver and a gold bar. Where did he think he would spend it? And did he think no one would notice and wonder? How very foolish. How very tragic.

²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. ²³They took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites; and they spread them out before the Lord.

²⁴Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, with his sons and daughters, with his oxen, donkeys, and sheep, and his tent and all that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord is bringing trouble on you today.”

“Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks.” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

And all Israel stoned him to death; they burned them with fire, cast stones on them, ²⁶and raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place to this day is called the Valley of Achor.

from Joshua,
by Jerome F.D. Creach

The sins of one family member affected every other member, especially in the case of the head of the household, who embodied the values and actions of the entire group. This becomes clear when we recognize that Achan’s sin is a negative parallel to Rahab’s right action. When Joshua 7:15 says that the guilty one, “together with all that he has,” shall be destroyed,  it uses a phrase identical to the one that describes Rahab’s family in 6:25. Rahab’s act of harboring the spies preserves her family, while Achan’s faithless deed dooms his. Her righteousness was extended to her household, just as Achan’s disobedience caused his entire family to be implicated in his crime.

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Dore.    http://catholic-resources.org/Dore/Images/OT-050.jpg

Yahweh.    http://media.photobucket.com/image/yahweh%252Bin%20English/Frank4YAHWEH/IAmYahweh-1.jpg

We’re Number 1!    http://media.point2.com/p2a/htmltext/47b6/fc41/4060/5894e06ba15e008797e4/original.jpg

“Glory to God” banner (First Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, IL).   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/7-glory-banner.jpg

Achan hiding his loot.    http://www.godsacres.org/img.Achan.jpg

Tzarfati.    http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/albom/pictures/20.htm

statue of people holding hands.    http://everystockphoto.s3.amazonaws.com/statue_museum_fragment_232565_l.jpg

1686.) Joshua 6

by Philip Ratner (Dennis and Philip Ratner Museum, Bethesda, Maryland)

Joshua 6   (NRSV)

Jericho Taken and Destroyed

Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in.

²The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. ³You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, ⁴with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.”

⁶So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” ⁷To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

“Go forward and march around the city”  —  by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

⁸As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. ⁹And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰To the people Joshua gave this command: “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” ¹¹So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.

¹²Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

Such a ridiculous plan, really, to take a fortified city!

March around it in silence for six days.  March around it seven times on the seventh day.  Then yell!  One can hardly imagine what the Israelites were thinking as they followed the Lord’s instructions and marched around that city over and over and over again.

What seemingly meaningless, repetitive thing is God requiring of you now?  Could it be that while you are patiently persevering, He is preparing for your current obstacle to fall at your feet, to the glory of His name?  “Be strong and courageous” and wait obediently for your seventh day!

James 1:12 (NIV)

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

–from Tozer on the Holy Spirit:

According to the Scriptures, patience—the ability to wait—is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

The human, natural side of us does not like to wait for anything.  But the great God Almighty, who has all of eternity to accomplish His purposes, can afford to wait,  In our creature impatience we are prone to cry out, “O God, how long?  How long?”

And God replies, in effect, “Why are you in such a hurry?  We have an eternity stretching before us.”

¹⁵On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent.

Rahab had a past, but God gave her a future.

Hebrews 11:31 (NLT)

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

¹⁸As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. ¹⁹But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat;

“When the trumpets sounded, and the people shouted, the walls collapsed” — by Israeli artist Nurit Tzarfati

so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.

They took, after God had given (Joshua 6:2). It was clear that God gave, but that Israel had to take by obedient, persistent faith.

–David Guzik

²¹Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

Hebrews 11:30 (New Living Translation)

It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.

²²Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” ²³So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her—they brought all her kindred out—and set them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

“devoted to destruction”

verse 17:  The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.

Nothing is to be left alive.  The city itself is to be burned.  The complete destruction of the city indicates that Jericho is to be like a whole burnt offering, completely destroyed as a gift to God.  Such an offering would acknowledge that God won the battle.

²⁶Joshua then pronounced this oath, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be anyone who tries to build this city—this Jericho! At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!”

Jericho is the world’s lowest city (more than 1,000 feet below sea level), and also appears to be the oldest (with evidence of settlement dating back to 9000 BCE).  Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over 20 successive settlements of the city.

When the city of Jericho was rebuilt years later, the curse was fulfilled:

1 Kings 16:34 (NIV)

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

This completes the story of Israel’s victory at Jericho. We can learn from the things that marked their victory.

• Faith: Joshua and Israel believed the battle plan.

• Obedience: Joshua and Israel followed the battle plan exactly.

• Courage: Israel followed the battle plan despite danger.

• Endurance: Israel followed the battle plan over a period of time, even when it seemed that nothing was happening.

• Israel’s trust was in the Lord, not in human ingenuity.

–David Guzik

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Music:

I bet you have already started humming this song!  HERE  is “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho”  arranged by Moses Hogan and sung by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

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The new pastor decided to visit the children’s Sunday school. The teacher introduced him and said, “Pastor, this morning we’re studying Joshua.”

“That’s wonderful,” said the new pastor, “let’s see what you’re learning. Who tore down the walls of Jericho?”

Little Billy shyly raised hand and offered, “Pastor, I didn’t do it.”

Taken aback, the pastor asked, “Come on, now, who tore down the walls of Jericho?”

The teacher, interrupting, said, “Pastor, Billy’s a good boy. If he says he didn’t do it, I believe he didn’t do it.”

Flustered, the pastor went to the Sunday school director and related the story to him.

The director, looking worried, explained, “Well, sir, we’ve had some problems with Billy before. Let me talk to him and see what we can do.”

Really bothered now by the answers of the teacher and the director, the new pastor approached the deacons and related the whole story, including the responses of the teacher and the director.

A white-haired gentleman thoughtfully stroked his chin and said, “Well, Pastor, I move we just take the money from the general fund to pay for the walls and leave it at that.”

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Ratner.    http://www.ratnermuseum.com/includes/images/photos/heroes/hero_1.jpg

Tzarfati.    http://biblical-art.com/artist_artwork.asp?id_artist=2096&alt=2&pagenum=1

tall walls of Jericho.     http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U3vNEh0wjRs/0.jpg

woman with a veil.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/woman2bwith2bviel.jpg

walls of Jericho falling.    http://www.reformation.org/en-walls-of-jericho.jpg

walls of ancient Jericho.    http://howardbloom.net/jericho_wall_color.jpg

guy laughing.    http://www.edupics.com/laughing-t11665.jpg