James McNaught: September 2013

Joshua 12:1–6, “Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east: Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah: And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.”

When Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land they encountered warlike nations on the eastern side of the River Jordan. Even though Israel intended to cross over the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land these people arbitrarily chose to engage Israel in battle and were soundly defeated. The mountains on the eastern side of the River Jordan are higher than the mountains on the western side of the River so they were fertile lands that were good for sheep and cattle. Some of the tribes decided that they wanted to stay on that side of the river because they had large herds and flocks. Many years later they paid a price for this choice. Later, after the kingdom was divided, Israel went into exile in two separate conquests (see 1 Chron 5:26, “And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.”) These people, who chose land outside the Promised Land did not receive the some protection as those who chose to come into the Promised Land.

So did Joshua

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 11:15–23, “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses. So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them. Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses. And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.”

Joshua knew the secret of success in the Lord’s service; he did everything that the Lord commanded Moses. Moses brought the people out of the land of slavery because he was willing to obey the Lord. However, Moses died before he entered into the Promised Land and the success of the entire venture depended on Joshua. Joshua was faithful to the Lord and succeeded in completing the task that the Lord had given him. It is important to notice the difference between invasion and occupation. We have seen a good example of that in the last fifteen years. The United Nations allies were able to invade Iraq but they were never able to occupy Iraq. The same was true of Joshua. His job was to invade but each tribe was individually responsible for occupying their own territory. Joshua was a success! Some people suggest that Joshua failed because he didn’t train someone to follow him like Moses did but his job was to bring the people into the land and allow each tribe to take possession of their own inheritance. This had to happen before they could unite again as a nation under another leader. We should also note: “And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.” (Joshua 24:31)

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Hazor

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 11:10–14, “And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.”

The Lord had promised the Land to Israel so they saved the cities and their agricultural hinterlands as far as they could, apart from the specific cities that the Lord told them to completely destroy. When Israel came to take possession of the Land, after the invasion was complete they would have a lot less work to do before they could settle down and start to enjoy the benefits of the Land flowing with Milk and Honey. Joshua destroyed the greatest of all the cities as a warning to the other cities of Canaan.

He sent to the kings

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 11:1–9, “And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.”

When the people from the other city states heard about Joshua’s great victory they decided to take the battle to Israel as well. It is better to fight an army soon after a series of battles that it is to fight a rested and refreshed army. They gathered the largest army they could muster and came to battle against Joshua and Israel. The Lord promised Joshua that he would win a great victory and told him not to be afraid. The Lord was right and the won a great victory. In those days horses and chariots were like heavy artillery or even air strikes so Joshua made sure that the horses could not go to war or pull chariots and he destroyed all the chariots as well.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

And that day

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 10:28–43, “And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho. Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho. And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king. So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.”

Joshua had called all his troops out to fight a battle in open ground against a large, combined army and, with the Lord’s intervention, defeated them soundly. In order to complete the invasion plans Joshua also went to the cities and took control of them as well. The Amorites had sinned and refused to repent for four hundred years so Joshua carried out the punishment that the Lord, the righteous Judge, had given when He sentenced them. (compare Eze 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”) During the invasion phase of the Promised Land Joshua was careful to carry out the Lord’s commands to the last letter, except in the case of Gibeon, where he learned and important lesson. He led his army across the Land from east to west and north to south in order to carry out the Lord’s judgment on the Land and then he came back to his own campsite.

The five kings

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 10:15–27, “And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand. And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.”

These kings were wise and careful generals so they remained in a position where they could observe the progress of the battle and change their plans as required. In every battle it is important that the leaders with the overall responsibility for the conduct of the battle be protected from immediate danger for if they are killed who will know how to continue with their battle strategy. The five kings of the city states were overlooking the battle and when they realised that the battle was lost they went to hide n a cave to save themselves from the slaughter. When Joshua heard that they were in the cave he told some of his soldiers to seal the cave with large rocks so that the kings could be dealt with later. They were fighting against the Lord Who was punishing them for their own refusal to believe in the true God of Heaven. After the battle was over, Joshua had these men brought out and tried for their rebellion against the Lord. They were found guilty and treated in the appropriate way.

Monday, September 23, 2013

The sun stood still

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 10:7–14, “So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.”

When Joshua received the message from the people in Gibeon, he went from Gilgal to to help them with his best troops. It seems as though the Israelis had established a base at Gilgal while they were organising and carrying out their invasion of the Promised Land. They were confronted by a large army made up of a coalition of strong city states. However, the Lord encouraged Joshua again, reminding of the promise he had been given before. Joshua had nothing to fear as long as he obeyed the Lord and kept his heart and mind focused on the Law of the Lord. Joshua ambushed this large army and inflicted a major defeat on them. He came to the battle by night and attacked them at dawn before they had time to establish proper battle order. The army that came to fight Joshua was so large and the rout so convincing that it seemed as though Joshua would not be able to mop up properly after the battle an many of the enemy troops would escape. The Lord had a miraculous plan to overcome this issue. First the Lord brought about some kind of hailstorm with massive stones falling out of heaven, eliminating many of the enemy troops and then the Lord caused the earth to stop rotating for a period of about twenty four hours allowing the Israeli troops the extra time to complete the destruction of the major forces allied agains them in the drive to invade the Promised Land. The Lord had already established the rotation of the earth to form day and night so it was a simple matter for Him to suspend that natural cycle for the required period of time.

When the king of Jerusalem heard

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 10:1–6, “Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.”

All the kings of the city states in Canaan were afraid for they had heard of the power and majesty of the Lord. They had, in fact, been waiting many years for Israel to arrive in their territory. They also had recent news to add to their fears when Israel battled against an decisively defeated some of the strongest local nations. They decided Gibeon’s surrender to Israel was the last sign that something had to be done quickly. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to trick Israel again so the formed an alliance to punish the people from Gibeon and then force a major battle on Israel rather than wait for the invading armies to pick them off one by one. Their first task was to show all the other people that betraying their own people, in a similar manner to the people from Gibeon was unacceptable so they went to punish Gibeon. The Gibeonites had a treaty with Israel so they called on Israel for help against this major threat. While it may have seemed as though the local kings and leaders were conspiring together to prevent Israel from carrying out the Lord’s will, He was still in control and had constructed the conditions so that Israel could conduct their campaign in one major battle than in many smaller battles.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Ye are cursed

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 9:22–27, “And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.”

The people from Gibeon were afraid for their lives. They developed a plan to save their lives but had to massage the truth for their plans to work. Even though Joshua had been tricked he had made a sacred promise and kept his word. Israel had to bear the consequences of this mistake because the people from Gibeon were always in the Land, worshipping their own gods and leading Israel astray. On the other hand, the Gibeonites had chosen to live their lives as second class citizens and never have full access to all the privileges that belonged to the average Israeli.

Let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 9:15–21, “And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.”

This was the biggest mistake in Joshua’s career as Israel’s leader. He was a good man and trusted that everyone else was good as well. (see Titus 1:15, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”) However, these people weren’t as good as Joshua and they wanted to trick him and survive. Joshua didn’t ask the Lord but went ahead a made the decision by himself. He made a firm treaty with the people from Gibeon, even though they were part of the Amorites. Even though they had made a treaty, the Gibeonites became second class citizens in Israel because they weren’t part of promises that the Lord had made to Israel. There have been some people over the ages who have used this section to justify slavery. They say that the Lord gave this command for to make slaves of any nation at any time. However, this verse doesn’t justify slavery. This command was specific to the people of the city state of Gibeon because they lied to Joshua and didn’t inherit the promises that the Lord made to Abraham and his descendants. It is certain that these people had no African heritage.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Gibeon

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 9:3–14, “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.”

While most of the leaders of the city states in Canaan were planning to involve prosecute one massive military campaign, the people from the city of Gibeon decided on a more disingenuous strategy. They decided to use subtlety and lies to save themselves from defeat. They collected old clothes and other items then sent ambassadors to Joshua, telling him that they came from a distant country. They used their old items to substantiate their case, saying that when the left their home everything was new. Now the items were very old, proving that they had travelled for many weeks to meet with Joshua. They asked Joshua to sign a non aggression treaty even though they came from a distant country. On the face of it, their request seemed to be quite reasonable. After all, Joshua’s task to was brings the Lord’s punishment on the Amorites rather than on nations who lived outside the Promised Land. They said that they had heard all the great things that the Lord had done and wanted to on the Lord’s side and not against Him. They claimed to have heard of the great victories that the Lord had given to Israel. In the final analysis, the Lord was working so that all the nations would know that He is the Lord. (see Ex 7:5, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”) Joshua heard their arguments and felt that he was achieving the Lord’s plan because these people from a far country knew that the Lord is God. He listened to their offer of a treaty and then took some time to consider their offer.

They gathered themselves together

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 9:1–2, “And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.”

The Lord had powerfully demonstrated the Joshua was his chosen man. He was called to bring justice to the Amorites because their iniquity was now complete. Jericho, a major city guarding the lower end of the Jordan valley was miraculously destroyed and Ai was comprehensively defeated using the methodology of conventional warfare. Now the rest of the city states in Canaan decided that they would be better to prosecute a war themselves with all their combined armies rather than wait for the Israeli armies to pick them off one by one. They were still afraid, as they had been for forty years since Israel escaped from Egypt and then the Lord destroyed the Egyptian armies in the Red Sea, but they chose to make an effort to save themselves. The Lord was also at work in this plan because He brought many of Israel’s enemies together so that they would be able to invade the Promised Land in a few significant steps rather than many minor battles.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

An altar of whole stones

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 8:30–35, “Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.”

After the battle was won it was time to offer thanks to the Lord God. The first battle in the Promised Land was miraculous so that the Lord could show Israel and the people of the Land that He was with Joshua and would make Joshua prosper as He had made Moses prosper in His work. The Lord had commanded that any altar for offering sacrifices and worship should be built with stones that had not been cut by hand. They were to choose stones as they found them and build the altar. (Ex 20:25, “And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.”) When this was done they offered sacrifices and the used the altar as a pillar on which to write a copy of the Law. This was done so that any person could come and see the Law whenever they wanted to. The Law wasn’t hidden away in a secret place so that only the rulers could refer to it. Everyone was to be governed under the authority of the Law and even the humblest of people would have access to it so that they could not be treated with contempt. At this stage, every person in Israel came together and consented to the Law, as the Lord had given it. They were now agreeing to the contract with complete understanding so that, later, they would not have any excuse if they chose to disobey the Lord.

The king of Ai

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 8:23–29, “And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua. And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.”

After Joshua dealt with the problems caused by Achan’s sin, he took action in faith and completed the task that had been interrupted. When the battle was convincingly won he had to deal with the aftermath. The battle was fierce but they dealt with the king of Ai as a king. He was a man of dignity in his community and they treated him with more respect than they treated the rest of the people from the city. Not only did they deal with the soldiers they also dealt with the city as well. The city had supported the army when they fought against Israel before and they had to be treated like the rest of the Amorites because they had been given a chance to choose to submit to the Lord but had refused to do so. (compare Gen 15:16, “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”) Joshua continued as he had before till the battle was over and the victory was complete. (see Ex 17:12–13, “But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”) He didn’t command his troops to withdraw from the battle until the victory was absolute. Even though the king was taken prisoner, he was later executed for his part in blocking the Lord’s will as far as the conquest of Canaan was concerned. He was allowed to understand that he had been the Lord’s enemy. He was buried near the gate of his own city and buried under a large pile of stones so that no one would be tempted to treat him as a martyr and worship him at a later date.an only be properly appreciated with some knowledge of the topography. Ai was at the head of a deep valley running down into the Jordan Valley. Joshua sent a large part of his army to hide in the hills behind Ai and they remained there all night. In the morning a small contingent of soldiers went to attack the city. The people were confident after their previous victory so all the men ran out of the city to fight against Israel’s army. The soldiers in that contingent ran away down into the steep valley. As they went into the valley the rest of the Israeli army attacked and sacked the city. They set the city on fire. When the other contingent saw the smoke rise up from the city they turned to face the men from Ai. The rest of the Israeli army blocked their retreat to the city. The men from Ai were caught in the ambush and massacred. This was an example of an outstanding battle plan carried out by a great general. All of Joshua’s doubts and his loss of reputation were put away and he regained his respect as the Lord’s general at that time.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

An ambush

Joshua 8:3–22 "So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you. Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people. And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. "

The tactical nature of this battle plan can only be properly appreciated with some knowledge of the topography. Ai was at the head of a deep valley running down into the Jordan Valley. Joshua sent a large part of his army to hide in the hills behind Ai and they remained there all night. In the morning a small contingent of soldiers went to attack the city. The people were confident after their previous victory so all the men ran out of the city to fight against Israel’s army. The soldiers in that contingent ran away down into the steep valley. As they went into the valley the rest of the Israeli army attacked and sacked the city. They set the city on fire. When the other contingent saw the smoke rise up from the city they turned to face the men from Ai. The rest of the Israeli army blocked their retreat to the city. The men from Ai were caught in the ambush and massacred. This was an example of an outstanding battle plan carried out by a great general. All of Joshua’s doubts and his loss of reputation were put away and he regained his respect as the Lord’s general at that time.

Take all the people of war

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 8:1–2, “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.”

Joshua’s credibility as a leader had been shredded when Achan refused to follow the battle orders that Joshua gave before the battle. He had to confront the families of the people killed in the battle and finally followed the proper procedures and dealt with the issues caused by Achan. But what was he to do now? He confidence had been upset by the disaster and he could have retreated from his duties. However, the Lord brought him back to the place he was when he first assumed the leadership of Israel. The Lord told him not to fear but to obey. The Lord told him not to fear again but to go forward with confidence. His job, as general, was to lead his armies into battle and the Lord told him to do his job. Just because he faced a setback the Lord had not removed his commission to lead Israel through the invasion of the Promised Land. Joshua was to act in the same way as he had acted before he went to Jericho and attack Ai. In the first attack the Lord intervened in a miraculous way so that both Israel and the Canaanites would know that the Lord was directing and causing this campaign to prosper. In this case, Joshua was to use his military skills. Skills that he had already used to great effect under the Lord’s supervision.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Why hast thou troubled us?

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 7:16–26, “So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.”

Moses, commanded by the Lord, had ordained Joshua to use the proper method of determine the guilt in Israel. After praying, Joshua went ahead to determine the man responsible for the defeat at Ai. Each of the tribes was brought to Joshua and the priest used the stones to determine which tribe was responsible. The Lord showed them that the tribe of Judah was responsible. The process was repeated until and individual, Achan was determined to be responsible. When Achan knew that he had been found out, he confessed to his sin. During the battle of Jericho, Achan had seen and coveted some precious items. He saw a very nice garment, gold and silver so he took them and hid them in his tent. Joshua didn’t condemn Achan out of hand but sent responsible people to find the evidence and when that evidence was found he passed sentence on Achan. The evidence was presented to the entire nation, this was so that justice could be seen to be done as well as the proper punishment followed through. Not only was Achan condemned to execution but his entire family was condemned with him. While this may seem harsh it was also in keeping with the instructions of the Law. (compare Deut 13:6–11, “If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.”) Achan’s family were complicit in his sin because they didn’t let the leaders know that he had coveted the good and worshipped the riches before the Lord. Because Achan took the booty and his family didn’t follow the Law other Israeli soldiers were killed in battle.

Get thee up

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 7:10–15, “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.”

Sometimes it is important to pray but at other times it is important to act. The Lord commanded Joshua to tell Israel not to take any booty from Jericho but the Lord also promised Israel that if they obeyed Him they would be able to conquer their enemies and take possession of the Promised Land. They experienced and unlikely defeat so Joshua had to do something about the problem rather than just pray about it. There are many times when praying is important and these times must never be ignored but there are also times when we can be proactive and deal with situations. In this case Israel had sinned and no amount of prayer would solve the problem of sin, it had to be dealt with. We can’t always assume that trauma in our own lives or in the lives of others is a consequence of some individual action we have done. However, a time of prayer can lead us to understand the issue. Joshua had to deal with the sin before the campaign could continue. Every body in the camp had to make sure that they were ceremonially pure and then deal with the specific issue that had caused this disaster. The priests had a way of determining the Lord’s will by using the stones called Urim and Thummim (see Num 27:18–21, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”) The Lord told Joshua to take the tribes, one by one, and see which tribe was responsible, then he was to take the clans and the families and finally determine which individual was responsible for the sin in Israel.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Joshua fell to the earth

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 7:6–9, “And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?”

Joshua reached a crisis in his leadership at a very early stage. When he began as the leader the Lord made many amazing promises to him (see Josh 1:5–9, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” for example.) As far as Joshua knew, he had followed these recommendations to the letter. There is no evidence to suggest that Joshua was personally involved in any sin or that he had encouraged anyone else to sin. He did exactly as the Lord told him and commanded Israel to follow in his footsteps. Suddenly, even though he did as he was told, he experience a devastating defeat. The Lord told him that his way would be prosperous. Earlier the Lord had allowed Joshua to take the credit for the miracles and Joshua’s reputation was greatly increased. Now that there was a catastrophe Joshua’ reputation would suffer severely as well. What was he to do? It is always hard for any person who has to suffer for the choices that another person has made. We live in a random, arbitrary, chaotic world so people suffer when it is not their fault. However, the tendency of the rest of the world is to blame any person suffering for their problems. There is a tendency to say that someone deserves their own suffering because they have done something to deserve but this isn’t always the case. How is a person to cope with this problem? Joshua did the best thing first, he came to the Lord and prayed. He was very strong in his complaints. Any person who is suffering can follow this example and come to the Lord with prayers and complaints. It is always good for us to empty our hearts to the Lord and then to trust Him for the solution. A time of suffering and grief doesn’t have to be an occasion to deny our faith it can be a time to increase our faith and grow in grace and a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Ai

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 7:1–5, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”

Jericho was an ancient trading city and there was a great deal of wealth in the city. Even though the Lord told Israel not to take any booty from the city, one man was tempted by the wealth and took some booty for himself. We find out later that, he knew he was sinning because he hid the booty in his tent. After the great victory at Jericho, Joshua decided that he should continue with the invasion and take the next city. He still acted with caution as a wise and careful leader so he spent spies again to check out the next city, called Ai. These spies saw that it was a much smaller city than Jericho so they suggested to Joshua that he only take a small contingent from his army to capture the city. They confidently moved against the city but suffered and embarrassing defeat. Some of their battle hardened troops were killed and the people lost their faith and became afraid.

The city shall be accursed

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Joshua 6:17–27. “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.”

During that time soldiers in any army weren’t paid. They were allowed to take booty from the battlefield instead. In this case, Jericho represented the beginning of the Lord’s judgment on the Amorites. The entire city was unclean before the Lord and Israel were allowed to take no booty from the city at all. The Lord promised them a rich and prosperous land so they had to trust the Lord and refrain from taking everything they could at the first battle. If everyone was allowed to take as much as they could from Jericho then they would lose their incentive to keep fighting and carry out the Lord’s judgement on Canaan. The Lord gave them the victory and the Lord promised them many more victories so they were to trust the Lord and not the immediate rewards they could take. On the other hand, they really didn’t do anything to take the city, it was the Lord’s miraculous intervention on their behalf and that fact had to be honoured as well. Joshua remembered that a sacred promise had been made to Rahab as well. The spies, who had made the promise, were given a special mission of rescuing Rahab and her family according to the promise that they had made when she saved their lived.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Seven times

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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