Milo

COMMITMENT
Joshua 22–24

“As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15).

The first half of the Book of Joshua revealed what it took to conquer the land of Canaan. These chapters tell us what it will take to hold the Promised Land.

Definition of Key Terms
Serve. Joshua frequently called on Israel to serve God. The Hebrew word suggests a servant or slave. Its basic meaning is to perform tasks according to the will and direction of another. Serving God in Old Testament times did mean to worship Him. But it also meant to obey Him in all things.

Overview
The three eastern tribes erected an altar symbolizing solidarity with the Israelites in Canaan (22:1–34). Joshua addressed the leaders (23:1–16) and challenged the assembled tribes to serve God (24:1–27). Joshua died and was buried (vv. 28–33).

Understanding the Text
“You have not deserted your brothers” Josh. 22:1–9. Three tribal groups had asked for and received land east of the Jordan River. They had, however, promised Moses that their fighting men would join the other tribes for the war in Canaan. These tribes served faithfully, and were then sent home.
This concluding section of Joshua is filled with exhortations. The admonition given the eastern tribes is typical: “Be very careful . . . to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

“An imposing altar there by the Jordan” Josh. 22:10–34. This story shows how easy it is to misunderstand another person’s actions. When the returning tribes built an altar by the Jordan, their brothers interpreted it as an act of apostasy. God had commanded that sacrifices be made only on the altar that stood before the tabernacle. The Jordan altar seemed to the other tribes to be an act of rebellion against the Lord, and they were ready to go to war with their eastern brethren rather than risk divine punishment (vv. 19–20).
The eastern tribes explained to the delegation sent to them. They did not intend to use the Jordan altar for sacrifice. It was symbolic of the common racial and religious heritage they shared with the people west of the Jordan. By building the altar according to specifications given in the Law, the distinctive construction would provide evidence of the common heritage.
Both groups acted wisely in dealing with this issue. The western tribes decided to talk before acting. The easterners didn’t take offense, but instead humbly explained what they had done.
It’s good to remember the example of both groups when we become upset by something another person or group has done. Before we accuse, we need to go to the persons involved and talk about what has happened. And if anyone misunderstands an act of ours, rather than be upset, we need to be humble and willing to explain.

“Elders, leaders, judges and officials” Josh. 23:1–16. Joshua spoke separately to Israel’s leaders, who would be most responsible to see that God’s people continued to serve the Lord. Note the pattern of Joshua’s remarks. He begins with a promise, moves on to exhortation, and then concludes with a reminder and warning.
The promise: God who had driven out the enemy would continue to push them out before them.
The exhortation: Be strong, be careful to obey God’s Law, do not associate with pagan nations or their gods, and hold fast to the Lord.
The reminder: God has driven out the enemy, just as He has promised.
The warning: If you turn away from God, the Lord will no longer drive them out. What is more, “the LORD’s anger will burn against you.”
These four functions aptly sum up the responsibility and the ministry of most in spiritual leadership today—including parents. We are to live by and to communicate God’s promises. We are to be faithful and to exhort faithfulness. We are to remember what God has done and to remind others. We are to be aware of and to warn others of the consequences of turning away from the Lord.

“The LORD drove out before us all the nations” Josh. 24:1–18. Joshua then spoke to all the people, and in essence made a case for commitment. He reviewed all that God had done. In one of the most famous of Old Testament affirmations of faith, Joshua expressed his own commitment: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (v. 15).
Joshua could make this commitment for himself. He could not make it for others. But Joshua could and did confront, making sure that each family in Israel realized that commitment was necessary.
The people recognized the validity of the case Joshua had made. The Lord had “brought us . . . up out of Egypt, from the land of slavery.” And God had driven out the enemy. “We too will serve the LORD,” the people said, “because He is our God.”

“He is a holy God” Josh. 24:19–27. Joshua has made a case for commitment. Now he makes clear the cost of commitment.
A person who commits himself or herself to the Lord must make a total commitment. We can make no halfway covenant with the Lord.
Even when confronted with the cost of commitment, the people insisted that they would serve the Lord.
Verse 23 indicates two ways that complete commitment is demonstrated. (1) “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you.” We are to keep nothing in our lives that might compete with God for our loyalty. (2) “Yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” We are to willingly surrender to the Lord everything we have and are.

“This stone will be a witness” Josh. 24:27. A witness is one who can testify to what he or she has seen and heard. At times inanimate objects were commissioned as witnesses to words of commitment (cf. Gen. 31:52; Deut. 31:21). Spoken words are binding. They are as permanent as the place in which they are spoken.

DEVOTIONAL
The Present Time
(Josh. 24)
There’s a wonderful epitaph for Joshua recorded here. “Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him.”
Joshua made his case for commitment. Joshua clarified the price of commitment. Joshua provided an example of commitment. And throughout his lifetime the people of Israel faithfully served the Lord.
About this time someone is likely to object and point to what happened after Joshua died. It’s true that after these few bright decades God’s people deserted Him. For some 400 years during the Era of Judges, Israel knew cycles of brief revival and deepening apostasy. Yet what happened during those centuries had nothing to do with Joshua.
The New Testament puts it this way. “The present time is of the highest importance” (Rom. 13:11, PH). What that verse points out is that the only time you or I have is the present. We can’t change the past. We can’t control the future. But we can live for God in our today.
That’s just what Joshua did. He served God as long as he lived. And, in his day, Israel served God.
You and I have no guarantee of what will happen to our children, our grand-children, or our great grandchildren. Actually, that isn’t our concern. We can’t control the future. All you and I can do is follow Joshua’s example of personal commitment and so influence those who are alive with us now.
Probably no one who reads this will be memorialized by some institution that lasts through the generations, as Luther was by the Lutheran Church, or as D.L. Moody was by the Moody Bible Institute. Probably we won’t even be remembered two or three generations hence. Even if we were, that wouldn’t be important. What is important is summed up in the epitaph Scripture gives to Joshua. All the days of his life, Israel served the Lord.
Joshua was faithful to God as long as he lived. As long as he lived, Joshua influenced the men and women of his day.

Personal Application
Touching just one life for God is the most significant thing any human being can achieve.

Quotable
“A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.”—D.L. Moody

ALLOTMENT OF THE LAND
Joshua 13–21

“Their inheritances were assigned by lot” (Josh. 14:2).

The Bible says, “So the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their forefathers” (21:43). The struggle may be long. But the fruit of victory is sweet.

Definition of Key Terms
Allotment. The land was distributed by casting lots. We would say “throwing dice.” No chance was involved, for God Himself governed the fall of the lots (cf. Prov. 16:33). This method was also used within the tribes to determine each family’s holdings. From this point on, each Israelite saw his family farm as a gift given him directly by the Lord. The family land was not to be sold, but to be treasured forever as a heritage from God.
In Psalm 16:6 David used the imagery of allotment to express appreciation for the role God had given him in life. As we contemplate God’s goodness to us in Christ, David’s words might well become our own. “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Overview
Joshua listed land occupied east of the Jordan (13:1–33). He carefully described territory occupied by the nine and a half remaining tribes in Canaan proper (14:1–19:51). Cities of refuge were established (20:1–9), and the Levites were given cities within the borders of the other tribes (21:1–45).

Understanding the Text
“Still very large areas of land to be taken over” Josh. 13:1. The power of the Canaanites had been broken by the power of united Israel. But there were still pockets of resistance in each area allotted to the various tribes.
The Israelite population was not large enough to fill the whole land. Each tribe was responsible to take additional land as its population grew.

“I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly” Josh. 14:1–15. Among the lists of tribes and cities a very personal story is nestled. Caleb was 1 of the 12 spies who had scouted Canaan some 45 years earlier (cf. Num. 13–14). Only he and Joshua had urged Israel to trust God and invade Canaan then. Now, at 85, Caleb still actively trusted God. He asked for a parcel of land still occupied by an especially warlike people, the Anakites, and confidently said, “The LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as He said.”
One of the gifts God gave me as a young Christian was the privilege of being in a church where the older men were models of just the kind of faith Caleb had. How fortunate we are to know the Calebs of today. Too often we tend to segregate older believers from our young. Yet the young people in our churches need to be exposed to godly older men and women.

“They . . . did not drive them out completely” Josh. 17:13. Despite victory, indications of future disaster appeared among the tribes of Israel.
There was disobedience. When the population of Manassah grew, the tribe subdued several Canaanite towns in its territory. But rather than drive these people out as God had commanded, the Manassites enslaved them.
There was a failure to trust. When challenged to take the extra land the tribal members claimed they needed, they responded, “All the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots” (v. 16). Despite the unbroken record of military victories won with God’s aid, iron chariots blocked this tribe’s vision of God.
Past spiritual victories are no guarantee our faith will remain strong. We need to concentrate each day on obeying and trusting God.

“Flee to these designated cities” Josh. 20:1–9. This is the third major passage on the cities of refuge, to which someone who killed another person accidentally might flee (cf. Num. 35; Deut. 19). A general principle of biblical interpretation is that anything repeated twice is very significant. Here we have a topic that is treated at length in three Old Testament passages. This clearly shows the importance God places on protecting the innocent when dealing with criminal matters.
We need to be careful that in our concern for justice we do not violate the rights of the innocent.

Joshua 20. The towns given priests and Levites were scattered through territories given the other Israelite tribes. The priests and Levites had been commissioned to teach God’s Law. Every family in Israel was to be near to those who could instruct them in God’s ways.

DEVOTIONAL
Time to Let Go
(Josh. 19:49–51)
It’s hard to imagine Joshua relaxing under an olive tree or tending vines on a terraced hillside behind his house. He’s such an active and dynamic person. Neither generals nor spiritual leaders seem to be candidates for retirement.
Still, with the victories won and the land divided, Joshua settled down on his own inheritance. The Bible says he received the town of Timnath Serah, and “built up the town and settled there.”
Actually, Joshua’s retirement wasn’t simply a well-merited reward for his decades of exemplary service. Joshua was retired for the benefit of Israel! Why?
When the people of Manasseh needed more land (Josh. 17), they hurried to Joshua and complained. Joshua told them, “Clear land for yourselves.” The Manassites argued, fearful because the Canaanites had chariots of iron. They wanted Joshua to fight their battles for them. But Joshua wisely said, “Though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”
That last phrase is the key. “You can drive them out.” It was time for Israel to stop depending on Joshua and to step out on their own. Manasseh, and all the other tribes, needed to trust God for themselves.
Joshua’s wisdom in retiring is a lesson each of us needs to apply. We need to apply it as our children grow up, and especially when they leave home. We can encourage them. But we need to stop doing everything for them.
Counselors need to apply the lesson in their relationship with counselees. Spiritual leaders need to apply it in their relationship with a congregation, an organization, or with disciples. There comes a time when each of us needs to step down and tell those we have nurtured, “You can drive them out. It’s time for me to retire. And time to learn what God can do for and through you.”

Personal Application
In what relationships do you need to retire and let others be responsible for themselves?

Quotable
“When God contemplates some great work, He begins it by the hand of some poor, weak, human creature, to whom He afterwards gives aid, so that the enemies who seek to obstruct it are overcome.”—Martin Luther

TOTAL VICTORY
Joshua 9–12

“So Joshua took the entire land” (Josh. 11:23).

The Bible says that Joshua waged war against Canaan’s kings “for a long time” (11:18). God never said victory was easy. He only promises that victory is sure.

Definition of Key Terms
Destroyed. These chapters repeatedly speak of destroying completely, or totally destroying, Canaanite cities and all their inhabitants. The reasons for this policy need restating. (1) The Canaanites were a wicked people whose religion and morals were corrupt. The war and its devastation were a direct divine judgment on the Canaanites for their sins. (2) The Israelites were called to a holy lifestyle. Any Canaanites left in the land would (and did!) corrupt Israel religiously and morally. The destruction of the Canaanites was intended as protection for God’s people.
Joshua’s victories were complete, but he did not in fact exterminate all Canaanite peoples. Each Israelite tribe was to “mop up” any Canaanites left in the territory given to it. The failure of succeeding generations to carry out the divine policy of extermination led to the spiritual and national disasters that policy was intended to avoid.
One final note. The various peoples who settled in Canaan represented larger populations than existed in other lands. God’s command to exterminate was limited to those living in Canaan, and did not involve extermination of an entire race.

Overview
The Gibeonites tricked Joshua into a peace treaty, which Israel honored (9:1–27). In a series of brilliant campaigns Joshua first crushed the southern (10:1–43) and then the northern (11:1–23) city-states of Canaan. The section concludes with a list of conquests (12:1–24).

Understanding the Text
“The men of Israel . . . did not inquire of the LORD” Josh. 9:1–27. The story of how the Gibeonites, who lived just a few miles from the Israelite camp, tricked Joshua into making a treaty is especially instructive.
First, it reminds us of the importance of prayer. The Israelites examined the moldy bread and sour wine the Gibeonites presented as evidence that they lived outside of Canaan, and accepted their story without inquiring of the Lord. While you and I are to examine situations carefully before making decisions, we can’t rely on the evidence of our senses alone. We need to make important decisions a matter for prayer.
Second, when the Israelites realized they had been tricked, they honored the “treaty of peace” they had made with the Gibeonites. Israel had made an oath and committed themselves. The fact that they were tricked did not invalidate the promise. We need to honor our word because we have given it. Whether others prove faithful or not, we are to be true to our commitments.
Finally, God redeemed Israel’s mistake. The next chapter tells us that when other city-states in Canaan attacked the Gibeonites, Joshua came to the Gibeonites’ aid and struck the exposed enemy armies. When we are faithful, God can use even our mistakes to accomplish His purposes.

“Five kings of the Amorites” Josh. 10:1–28. Five ethnically related kings of cities in Canaan’s hill country joined forces to punish the Gibeonites for making peace with Israel. Joshua responded immediately to a plea for help and, after an all-night march, surprised the Amorite forces.
This was a great strategic victory, for the Amorite armies were caught in the open, outside the walls of their cities, where they could be more easily crushed.
God’s intervention for Israel is seen in two circumstances. Hailstones killed many of the enemy. And the “sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day” so the slaughter of the Amorites could be completed.

“So Joshua subdued the whole region” Josh. 10:29–43. The defeat of the Amorite forces left their southern strongholds undefended. Joshua immediately turned his forces southward, and crushed the major cities in that region.

“They came out with all their troops . . . a huge army” Josh. 11:1–23. The northern city-states joined forces and gathered a huge army, which included a large chariot force. Josephus reports that this army had 300,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 cavalry, and 20,000 chariots!
The word “suddenly” describing Joshua’s attack may intimate what happened. In biblical times chariots, often a decisive weapon in battle, were disassembled for transport over hills to the battlefield, and were reassembled there. It is possible that Joshua attacked the enemy before the chariots could be put back together and deployed.
Whatever element of tactics was involved, “the LORD gave them [the enemy] into the hand of Israel.” We are to fight wisely, but the outcome of the battle is still entirely up to the Lord.

“Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots” Josh. 11:6. Why was Joshua told to destroy the captured war material of the enemy? Most likely because Israel was to depend on God, not on military strength. Because Joshua did depend on God, this command was obeyed.

“These are the kings of the land” Josh. 12:1–24. Most scholars believe that the Conquest, described so graphically in these chapters, actually took about seven years to accomplish. When total victory had finally been won, Joshua carefully listed the 31 Canaanite city-states that he defeated. Israel could look back on this impressive list and be encouraged. God, who had promised victory, had kept His word. Surely God could be trusted for victory in battles yet to come.

In a series of brilliant campaigns Joshua first conquered central Canaan, splitting the land in two. (1) He then turned south and subdued that region. (2) Finally he attacked and crushed major northern strongholds. (3) His divide-and-conquer strategy, his tactics of all-night marches and surprise attacks, are still studied in modern military academies.

DEVOTIONAL
The All-Night March
(Josh. 10)
I remember all too well how she used to sit there at the table, waiting for God to act. “I really want to serve God,” she’d say. And I think she meant it. But even when opportunities came—an invitation to teach a Bible study, a call from a friend who asked her to visit—she’d wait. “I can’t do anything on my own,” she’d say. “I have to wait till God tells me to go. I have to wait till I see Him act.”
Of course, my friend had never met Joshua. Or watched Joshua put his faith into action. If she had, she might have been surprised. Joshua wasn’t the kind of person to wait around. Yes, he knew how important it was to listen for and to obey God’s voice. But Joshua also knew that in most situations a person has to use ordinary judgment.
That’s what happened when Joshua received word from Gibeon that a combined Amorite force was attacking their city. Joshua didn’t say, “I’d better wait till God acts.” He got his army together, commanded an all-night march, and the next morning took the enemy by surprise. And then God intervened, joining in the battle by hurling hailstones on the Amorites and by causing the sun to stand still. Joshua’s all-night march had put him in the very place he needed to be for God to act.
Sometimes we’re unrealistic in our expectations. We sit still and want God to act for us. The fact is that God usually acts only after we have demonstrated a faith like Joshua’s. It’s after that all-night march, when the battle is joined, that God acts.
So the next time you have an opportunity to serve—to teach a class, to counsel a friend—don’t wait. Seize the opportunity. And expect God to act when you’re actually serving. That’s the place you need to be for God to work through you.

Personal Application
When opportunities to serve come, take them!

Quotable
“You can measure what you would do for the Lord by what you do.”—T.C. Horton

VICTORY, THEN DEFEAT
Joshua 6–8

“When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city” (Josh. 6:20).

Obedience to an obviously foolish command brought Israel victory and taught a vital lesson. The key to winning is doing everything God’s way.

Definition of Key Terms
Devoted. The Hebrew word is used of items which are dedicated to God, and thus cannot have any common or secular use. When the Israelites “devoted” an enemy city to God, they killed all its inhabitants and herds, and either burned all its wealth or brought it to the tabernacle as a gift to God. In this passage Jericho, the first of the pagan cities of Canaan to be attacked by the Israelites, was so devoted. This meant that no soldier was to take any loot for himself, a proscription which one man, Achan, defied with terrible consequences.

Overview
Israel obeyed God’s command and successfully assaulted Jericho (6:1–27). But the sin of one soldier, Achan, caused defeat at Ai (7:1–21). Achan was executed (vv. 22–26). With the sin purged, Ai was taken (8:1–29). A solemn religious ceremony reminded Israel to keep God’s Law (vv. 30–35).

Understanding the Text
“March around the city” Josh. 6:1–27. Jericho was a walled city. Excavations there reveal that its fortifications featured a stone base wall 11 feet high. At its top was a smooth stone slope, angling upward at 35 degrees for 35 feet, where it joined massive stone walls that towered even higher.
In ancient warfare such cities were surrounded and starved into submission, or were taken by assault. The attackers might try to weaken the stone walls with fire or by tunneling. Or they might simply heap up a mountain of earth to serve as a ramp. Each of these methods of assault took weeks or months, and the attacking force usually suffered heavy losses.
God’s command to Joshua—to have the people march silently around Jericho for six days, and then after seven circuits on the seventh day to shout—was strange indeed. Yet Joshua followed His instructions to the letter. When the people did finally shout, the massive fortifications crumbled, and Israel won an easy victory.
The victory at Jericho was orchestrated to teach several lessons. Most important was that obedience, even when God’s commands seem foolish, brings victory. The miraculous victory also confirmed Joshua’s leadership. And it showed that God would surely fight for Israel in the battles ahead.
Each of us needs a Jericho at times. But Jericho victories are won only when obedience is complete.

“Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute” Josh. 6:25. Rahab’s belief in Israel’s God, shown when she hid two Israelite spies (Josh. 2), was rewarded. She and her family were spared when Jericho fell.
God still singles out believers when nations fall. See Ezekiel 18.

“They were routed by the men of Ai” Josh. 7:1–9. Ai, a small city above Jericho, defeated the 3,000 men Joshua set against it, killing 36 of the Israelites. The defeat panicked Joshua. As a good general, Joshua knew that a terrified army had little chance on the battlefield. Victory at Jericho had led to Joshua’s “fame [being] spread through the land” (6:27). Joshua feared that news of the defeat at Ai would give heart to the Canaanites, and that they would unite and crush Israel.
Fear is never very far from any of us. Even when we have experienced God’s blessing, as Joshua had, we’re prone to forget if some setback comes. Looking back and remembering what God has done for us brings comfort. Looking ahead and worrying about what might happen is both foolish and useless.

“Israel has sinned” Josh. 7:10–21. When Israel was defeated at Ai, Joshua foolishly focused on the possible consequences. His prayer (vv. 7–9) clearly reveals his panic and worry about what might lie ahead. God’s next words to Joshua put a new perspective on the situation. “Israel has sinned.” Joshua was not to worry about possible consequences of defeat, but to look for the cause of defeat. Why Israel lost the battle was far more important than what the loss might mean in terms of enemy morale.
When we experience a setback, it’s better for us too to look for the cause than to worry about consequences. If we examine ourselves and find no known sin, then we can advance with confidence. If we do find sin, even unintentional sin, we need to deal with it immediately.
In this case, Joshua apparently used the Urim and Thummim worn by the high priest to locate the man who had sinned. That man, Achan, then confessed to taking loot from Jericho even though he knew the city was devoted to God. The cause of the defeat was known. The sin then had to be dealt with.

“All Israel stoned him” Josh. 7:22–26. Some have expressed shock that Achan’s theft merited the death penalty. But it was not for theft that Achan was stoned. His sin had caused Israel’s defeat and the deaths of 36 men at the hands of the enemy. Achan was stoned because he “brought this disaster” on his people.
This event reminds us of an important reality. Anytime we sin we affect others. Like a stone tossed in a quiet pond, the ripples of human sins go on and on, disturbing not only our own peace but also the peace of others. Before we sin knowingly we should pause and consider how our act might affect others who love or depend on us.
But why was the family of Achan also stoned? Perhaps the best answer is seen in Achan’s confession that he hid his plunder “inside my tent.” The rest of the family shared his guilty secret, and thus became responsible as well.

“I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land” Josh. 8:1–29. With the cause of Israel’s defeat dealt with, God granted His people total victory over Ai. The city with its people were wiped out, fulfilling God’s command to either drive out or destroy all the Canaanites, whose idolatry and other sins merited this punishment.

“Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar” Josh. 8:30–35. After the victory at Ai Joshua fulfilled a command given by Moses (Deut. 27). He set the people on two opposing mountainsides, and after sacrificing to the Lord had them shout aloud the curses (disastrous consequences) of disobeying God’s Law.
How powerfully that message was driven home to the men and women who had experienced defeat at Ai, had participated in stoning Achan, and had then seen defeat transformed into victory.

DEVOTIONAL
Perspective
(Josh. 6)
Imagine yourself standing on the wall at Jericho. Put your hands on one of the massive stones in that wall, lean out, and look down from the dizzying height. Then look out and watch those crazy Israelites. For six days they’ve marched, without a word, around your city.
The first day, when you saw them coming, you and all your friends were terrified. You remembered all the stories about them and their God, and you trembled. When they didn’t mount an assault, but just walked silently around your six-acre fortress, everyone was worried. You all sat up most of the night, talking, wondering what their plan was.
Then, the next day, they did the same thing. The third day they marched around Jericho you began to feel a little better. Maybe there wasn’t a plan, after all. The fourth day, everyone felt relieved. You patted the walls, felt the solid rock, and began to feel safe. The fifth day, and the sixth, everyone was feeling bold. You began to shout insults. You laughed and ridiculed. Of course you were safe! How could anyone break through Jericho’s walls? How could you all have been afraid of this band of barbarians, these desert wanderers who lived in tents, who had no idea at all how to attack a fortress like yours!
And so the fear you once felt turned to relief, and the relief to contempt. Those crazy Israelites. Let them march all they want. What can they do to you? Nothing! Nothing at all.
I suspect that Christians often look foolish to the people of the world. We march to a different drummer. We obey the commands of a hidden God. In a real sense we’re outsiders, not insiders. It’s not surprising if we seem a little ridiculous to the people of this world.
If you ever feel foolish for a stand you take as a Christian, remember that today is only the first day, or the third, or the sixth, of your march around Jericho. It’s not until the seventh day comes, and this world crumbles like Jericho’s walls, that those who have truly been foolish will be revealed.

Personal Application
No matter what others think, it is never foolish to obey God.

Quotable
“What else do worldlings think we are doing but playing about when we flee what they most desire on earth, and what they flee, we desire? We are like jesters and tumblers who, with heads down and feet in the air draw all eyes to themselves. . . . Ours is a joyous game, decent, grave, and admirable, delighting the gaze of those who watch from heaven.”—Bernard of Clairvaux

Joshua

INTRODUCTION
The book takes its name from Joshua, who replaced Moses as Israel’s leader. Moses had led the people of Israel out of Egypt to the border of the land God promised to give Abraham’s descendants. Joshua commanded the forces that would conquer Canaan. The Book of Joshua tells the story of that Conquest and covers a period from about 1400 to 1375 B.C.
This is the first of several books that give Israel’s national history from the time of Joshua to the Babylonian Conquest in 586 B.C. It is also a book with a message. Canaan is God’s gift to His people. But that gift can only be claimed and held by obedience. Disobedience assures defeat.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Preparation for War
Josh. 1–5
II.
The Military Campaign
Josh. 6–12
III.
The Division of the Land
Josh. 13–21
IV.
Joshua’s Call to Commitment
Josh. 22–24

READYING FOR CONQUEST
Joshua 1–5

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the Law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Josh. 1:7).

Sensing God’s presence gave Joshua and the Israelites the courage they needed to move ahead. That same sense of “God with us” is the key to our spiritual victories today.

Background
When Israel invaded Canaan around 1400B.C, the land was populated by a number of different peoples, organized in relatively small city-states. Yet many of the cities were protected by massive walls. The people were used to war, and some states maintained war chariots, the tanks of the ancient world. Though the city-states were independent, and had often warred with each other, cities in the north and south united to resist their common enemy, the Israelites.

Overview
God encouraged Joshua, Moses’ successor (1:1–9). Joshua mobilized Israel to prepare militarily (v. 10–2:10) and spiritually (3:1–5:15) for the invasion of Canaan.

Understanding the Text
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” Josh. 1:5. Joshua had been the aide of Moses from the beginning. He led Israel’s army from the first (cf. Ex. 17:9–13), a fact that has led some to suppose that Joshua had served as an officer in the Egyptian army. This is possible, as Egyptian texts listing soldiers with Semitic names have been recovered by archeologists. More important, Joshua was one of the original spies sent into Canaan some 40 years before. At that time only he and Caleb urged Israel to invade, sure that God could guarantee victory despite the military superiority of the Canaanites. Thus Joshua’s credentials, both as a military and spiritual leader, were well established.
Perhaps, however, the greatest advantage Joshua had was to have served under Moses. He observed both that humble man’s commitment to the Lord, and God’s commitment to Moses. When God promised, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you,” those words must have brought great assurance.
Each of us needs a relationship with someone who can serve as a model. We each need to see in others both faithfulness to God, and God’s faithfulness to them.

“Be strong and courageous” Josh. 1:1–9. Note particularly God’s repeated words of exhortation and encouragement.

Exhortation
Encouragement
Be strong, courageous
I will be with you
Be careful to obey
I will give to you
Meditate on the
I will never leave
Book of the Law
I will never forsake
Be careful to do it
You will prosper, and succeed
Do not be terrified
God will be with you
Do not be discouraged
wherever you go

In just these few verses, Scripture sums up the way to victory in any situation we may face.

“Get your supplies ready” Josh. 1:10–18. Joshua took immediate steps to prepare Israel militarily. His first step was to have the people check their supplies and organize for a river crossing. The people prepared too—by agreeing to obey Joshua as their commander.
The next step that Joshua took was to send spies to check out Jericho.

“Everyone’s courage failed” Josh. 2:1–24. Jericho was a walled city that controlled passes leading up into Canaan’s central highlands. Two spies who slipped into the city were sheltered by Rahab, a prostitute who very likely, as was quite common in those days, operated an inn. Rahab hid the spies and asked them to spare her life when Israel took the city.
The New Testament looks back on Rahab’s act and commends her for this act of faith. James says, “Was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?” (2:25)
The incident shows us that in Old Testament times as well as today people of any nationality who trusted God could find salvation. It also reminds us that our past does not stand in the way of a personal relationship with God. It was not the good life Rahab had lived that saved her, but her active faith in Israel’s God.

“The LORD will do amazing things among you” Josh. 3:1–17. The first element in Israel’s spiritual preparation for the Conquest was clear evidence of God’s continuing presence. This evidence was provided when the river waters ceased flowing as soon as the priests who carried the ark of the covenant set foot in the river.
Joshua displayed faith in announcing ahead of time that this would happen. When it happened as he said, Israel’s confidence in both God and Joshua deepened.
God often gives us some special sign of His presence when we set about a difficult task. It’s not wrong to ask God to encourage us with an answer to prayer, or some other sign of His presence.

“These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” Josh. 4:1–24. The Hebrew word for “memorial” is zikkaron. This is a technical theological term for a thing, place, or repeated event intended to serve as a vivid reminder of some act of God on behalf of His people. For instance, the Passover festival was a zikkaron. Those who shared the Passover meal relived the experience of the Exodus generation. Each family sharing that meal realized that God had delivered them, not just their ancestors.
The heap that Joshua formed from the 12 stones taken from the Jordan River was to be a symbol to future generations. When “in the future” children ask, “What do these stones mean?” parents were to tell the story of how God caused the river to stop flowing. Touching and feeling these stones would help make history—and God—real to future generations.
Note Joshua’s words of dedication when the heap of stones was set up at Gilgal. God had dried up the river as He earlier dried up the Red Sea, “so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God” (v. 24).

15: Joshua commanded one man from each tribe to bring a large stone from the Jordan riverbed to Israel’s campsite. The 12 stones were then heaped in a pile. That heap of stones served as a zikkaron, a permanent reminder to Israel that God parted the waters of the Jordan so His people could enter the land.

“These were the ones Joshua circumcised” Josh. 5:1–9. Male circumcision is cutting off the flap of skin that covers the penis. During the years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites failed to circumcise their children, as they failed to obey other commands of the Lord. Now, before setting out on the Conquest, God told Joshua to have the Israelites perform this rite. Modern medicine has shown circumcision to have a number of health benefits. But in Israel it served a religious rather than public-health purpose. Circumcision was given the descendants of Abraham as a sign of their participation in the covenant of promise that had been given to him.
Among the promises given Abraham was a commitment to free Abraham’s descendants from slavery and to give them “this land . . . the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites” (Gen. 15:7–21). Circumcision, at this critical juncture in history, was an act of faith claiming God’s ancient promises.
While the Book of Joshua stresses obedience, that obedience was rendered by those who had a faith relationship with God. Circumcision speaks of faith, not Law. Only the person with faith in God has any claim to His aid.

“The Israelites celebrated the Passover” Josh. 5:10. This was the final act of spiritual preparation: remembering God’s provision.
When we put the sequence together we find a prescription for spiritual readiness: Sense God’s presence. Set up reminders. Reaffirm faith. And celebrate what God has already done.

“The manna stopped” Josh. 5:10–12. From now on Israel would live by faith, not sight. The manna now ceased. No fiery pillar would lead. Daily, visible evidence of God’s presence would be absent for the first time in the memory of many of the Israelites. Yet the people under Joshua would trust and obey God. Seen or unseen, God is with His people. We can trust Him to lead us to victory.

DEVOTIONAL
When Knowing Isn’t Enough
(Josh. 2)
Rahab’s confession was stunning. “The LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
This pagan woman, a prostitute, had heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea. She’d heard of Israel’s victory over kings east of the Jordan. And she had drawn a simple conclusion.
“The LORD your God is God.”
What’s even more striking is Rahab’s report, “When we heard of it, our hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed.” All the people of Jericho had the same information. And all of them drew Rahab’s conclusion. “The LORD your God is God.”
The difference is that the people of Jericho decided to hold out anyway, while Rahab determined to commit herself to the God of the enemy.
I suspect that many today who are not believers share the conviction of the people of Jericho. They too know that “the Lord your God is God.” But somehow they remain enemies. They erect walls, not of stone, but of good works, of excuses, of ridicule, of belief in evolution, or even of religion, and desperately try to hide behind them. They know. But knowledge alone cannot save.
Rahab teaches us the difference between knowing God as an intellectual act and knowing God personally. What Rahab did was to act on her knowledge that “God is.” Rahab was willing to commit herself completely to God, sure that otherwise she had no hope.
How good to have made Rahab’s choice. How good to have made our knowledge of God a stepping-stone to a decision to trust ourselves to Him. How good to know that we too are now safe.

Personal Application
How might the story of Rahab help a friend or relative who knows, but hasn’t yet chosen to trust God?

Quotable
“God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.”
—St. Augustine