In today’s section, we read about:
God’s charge to Joshua, and Joshua’s charge to the Israelites
Spies sent into Jericho, sheltered by Rahab
The Israelites cross the Jordan
Memorials established, ceremonies of re-dedication
The Fall of Jericho
Defeat at Ai, Achan’s sin and the defeat of Ai
The treaty with Gibeon
The Israelites conquer the south, the Israelites conquer the north and the land has rest from war
Caleb claims his land
Some things that struck me today:
Josh 1:9 reminded me of Matt 28:20 – God promises to be with Joshua wherever he goes. It can’t be easy following someone like Moses (Deut 28:20). But God reassures Joshua, and commands him not to be afraid. God has given him everything he needs to succeed in the form of the written word and God himself with him. We have the same things – God’s word and the Holy Spirit in us.
My reaction to Josh 1:17 was “oh great”, when they say “we will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. Yet they were probably sincere. What is God’s reaction when we repeat of a repeated and usual sin – is he sceptical or does he welcome us with a completely clean slate? And do we ourselves believe a clean slate is possible.
Rahab would hardly have been one of the most respected members of the community, yet her name is remembered throughout the ages. Noone is too despised to be beyond being used by God.
The words which Rahab, a gentile speaks in Josh 2:8-11 are not only remarkable in themselves, but they are the fulfilment of what God had himself promised – Josh 2:9 = Deut 7:20; Josh 2:11 = Deut 4:39.
The report back from the spies in Josh 2:24 stand in stark contrast to the ten (of the twelve) sent out by Moses (Num 13:31-33)
I like the symmetry between Ex 14 and Josh 3 – they leave the land of slavery thanks to God parting the water of the Red Sea, and they enter the Promised Land thanks to God parting the waters of the Jordan River. There is also a symmetry between Ex 3:5 and Josh 5:15.
I was struck by the repeated references that things “are still there to this day” – 4.9, 7:26, 8:29, 9:26, 10:27. It was obviously meant as a confirmation that these things actually did take place as the scribe set down.
Just as Moses had to be circumcised before he embarked on the great task God had called him to (Ex 4:24-26), so the whole of the Israelites had to be circumcised before conquering the Promised Land (Josh 5:1-3).
Is it coincidental that the manna stopped the first day of the first Passover the Israelites celebrated in the Promised Land?
Joshua’s curse about Jericho (6:26) was fulfilled in 1 Ki 16:34
God’s response to Joshua’s prayer in 7:7-9 reads as a bit of a rebuke. God is clear – there was sin, despite a clear instruction and warning (Josh 6:18), and the guilty person must be dealt with.
Achan appears to make a full and frank confession, but it was only when he had been singled out from the whole population, and he and his whole family had to pay the price.
The bodies of the defeated kings were taken down at sunset in accordance with Deut 21:23
Josh 8:30-35 shows how the Israelites carried out the instructions of Deut 27.
The reason the Israelites were deceived by the Gibeonites in ch 9 is very simple – “they did not consult the LORD” (9:14). God made sure the mistake would not be repeated by hardening the hearts of the Canaanite tribes (11:20)
The final victory in the south was pretty extraordinary – more killed by a hailstorm than by the sword, and the sun and moon stopping in the middle of the day. What lovely words “never has there been a day like this one before or since, when the LORD answered such a prayer.”
Josh 13 makes clear that this was a great task that would not be fully accomplished under Joshua. The allotment of lands to the tribes was to include the land still to be conquered.
I like the tone of Josh 14:6-12 – two men who had faithfully served God wholehearted over a long period remembering the good times together. Caleb’s statement that “today I am 85 years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then” is a wonderful example of how God keeps all his promises.
The descendants of Anak, who were the cause of such trepidation, are finally dealt with.
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