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Joshua 5-8
Pain or Plunder
Psalm 33:1-12 Praise God...He Blesses the Righteous!
1.“Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright.2.Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises...3.For the word of Yahweh is right. All His work is done in faithfulness/truth.4.Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!5.He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the hesed/loyal love of Yahweh.6.By Yahweh's word, the heavens were made...8.Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.9.For He spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.10.Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.11.The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.12.Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance."Observation
33:1-12.Note the variety of ways to praise God for His words and works. The Word is primary, preceding the works.
Application
If God said it, it will happen, regardless of what people and nations do to thwart His promises to bless His righteous and upright people.
Prayer
God in whom I rejoice, I praise You for being the God who blesses. Whose word will always come true. May I be righteous and upright in my behavior so You may bless me. Amen.
Proverbs 9:7-10 How to Spot a Wise or Foolish Person
7.“He who corrects a mocker invites insult. He who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.8.Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.9.Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.10.The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”Observation
9:7-10.Toss a few tidbits of Truth in their direction. If they say bad things about you...Fool. If they love you and grow...Wise. Reproof is to bring things to light. How did the men of Sodom respond to Lot? Wisdom is choosing the right objectives, and the right means of attaining them. Knowing God gives you insight into what He likes, so you can choose it. Someone who doesn't fear God hasn't taken the first step on the road to wisdom. That would make them a wearer of a funny hat.
Application
Have your actions determined by what God likes.
Prayer
God, I want to do what You want. Show me where I may be displeasing You. Help me love correction, regardless of how You choose to give it to me. Amen.
Joshua 5-8 Pain or Plunder
Over the river and through the walls. Israel's God gives Israel their first victory, and first loss in the Promised Land, as He demonstrates He is the King of Kings, who blesses obedience and curses disobedience.
Joshua 5 Blameless Obedience and Holy Dirt
1.When all the kings of the Amorites, and all the kings of the Canaanites, heard how that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we had passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.2.At that time, Yahweh said to Joshua, "Make flint knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time."5.For all the people who came out of Egypt were circumcised; but all the people who were born in the wilderness by the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.6.For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, even the men of war who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn’t listen to the voice of Yahweh. Yahweh swore to them that he wouldn’t let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.8.When they were done circumcising all the nation, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed.9.Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, to this day.10.The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.11.They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover.12.The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce of the land. The children of Israel didn’t have manna any more; but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.13.It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him, and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?"14.He said, "No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army." Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?"15.The prince of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, "Take your shoes off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy." Joshua did so.Observations
5:9.God promised Abe and his descendents the land dependent upon the covenantal requirement of circumcision. (Gen 17:8-14) So obedience was required if God were to give this generation the land. After they obeyed God “rolled away or removed” the “reproach or shame” of Egypt. There is a play on words, Gigal means “to roll.” The reproach was the shame of being like uncircumcised Egyptians whom God judged. The basis for reproaching them for their disobedience was now removed, and it was party time.
5:10-11.
As usual God has impeccable timing. He brings them into the land in time to celebrate the Passover (after a few recovery days) and recall His work in their history, and their place in that context. Just like God glorified Himself in bringing their parents out of Egypt through the Red Sea to miraculously bless them, so He was doing for them (if they obeyed).
5:12.
Manna off the menu!
5:13-15.
Holy Dirt. This scene parallels Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush (Ex 3:1-5 - shoes off “Messenger/angel” of Yahweh equated with God). Worship was only to be given to God, and Joshua, like Moses, was God's servant. 'Adown can refer to God or human masters, so “Lord” would be a better translation. The fact that the dirt becomes holy (separate from all other ground) can only be explained by the presence of God. Those who view this as a per-incarnate appearance of Christ, are probably right. Although God had promised to be with the Israelites, and fight their battles (particularly the ones He commanded them to fight), they were to be on His side (not the other way around). Joshua may have had miraculously dry sandals, but God appears to him to have him remove them, to remind him who's in charge.
Application
Although God may be blessing, make sure no obedience is overlooked.
Prayer
Captain of my life, may I never take Your blessing for granted, and may I be careful to do all You desire of me. Amen.
Joshua 6 Conquest and Consecration
1.Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the children of Israel. No one went out, and no one came in.2.Yahweh said to Joshua, "Behold, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty men of valour.3.All your men of war shall march around the city, going around the city once. You shall do this six days.4.Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.5.It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him."6.Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh."10.Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout."15.On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times.16.At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout, for Yahweh has given you the city!17.The city shall be devoted to Yahweh, even it and all that is in it. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.18.But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it (NIV).19.But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy to Yahweh. They shall come into Yahweh’s treasury."20.So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets. It happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.21.They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.22.Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."23.The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.24.They burnt the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh’s house.25.But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.26.Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed is the man before Yahweh, who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."27.So Yahweh was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.Observations
6:1-16.God makes it clear that He is the one who fights the battles. No casualties are recorded. Jericho was the center of the vile moon god cult in Canaan (Lev 18), whose king, as that of other Canaante cities, was considered a “son of god” just like Pharaoh. In defeating 31 of these kings (Josh 12:9-24), the Israelites were upholding Yahweh as Supreme. The Epic of King Keret has many parallels to the conquest of Jericho, including an enthronement ritual that coincided with the date of the Passover, six day silence followed by a seventh day climax, and obtaining of a woman through whom would come a divine heir (cf Rahab). Concidence?
See Digging Deeper for archeological verification and confirmation of this account of the destruction of Jericho, as well as some elucidation of the usual prevarication and obfuscation. For the less academically inclined, Veggie Tales tells the story with subtitles (soundtrack disabled) on Youtube. As the grape slurpie slinging French peas taunt: “Keep walking, but you won't knock down our wall. Keep walking. But she isn't gonna to fall! It's plain to see, your brains are very small..To think walking, will be knocking down our wall.”
6:17-21.
Similar to first-fruits, everything in the city was consecrated or devoted to Yahweh, and destroyed by fire (like a whole burnt offering), with the exception of metals given to the treasury (see next chapter). Excavations of Jericho have found burnt jars of grain in the ruins, which normally would have been taken as spoil and consumed.
Application
When God's revelation is clear, we need to obey what He says, even though we can't see how it will work out (or benefit us). We just need to make sure that we're following God's word accurately.
Prayer
Omniscient and Omnipotent God, You know what You're doing, in my finite perspective, I don't; help me focus on what You've revealed for me to do, and trust You for the results. Amen.
Joshua 7 Sin Hurts More Than We Realize
1.But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted things; for Achan...of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against the children of Israel.2.Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.3.They returned to Joshua, and said to him, "Don’t let all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Don’t make all the people to toil there, for there are only a few of them."4.So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.5.The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them, and they chased them...The hearts of the people melted, and became like water.6.Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.7.Joshua said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? I wish that we had been content and lived beyond the Jordan!8.Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!9.For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?"10.Yahweh said to Joshua, "Get up! Why are you fallen on your face like that?11.Israel has sinned. Yes, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Yes, they have even taken of the devoted things, and have also stolen, and also deceived. They have even put it among their own stuff.12.Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.13."Get up! Sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, "There is a devoted thing in the midst of you, Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted thing from among you."14.In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. It shall be that the tribe which Yahweh selects shall come near by families. The family which Yahweh selects shall come near by households. The household which Yahweh selects shall come near man by man.15.It shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of Yahweh, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’"16.So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected.17.He brought near the family of Judah; and he selected the family of the Zerahites. He brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was selected.18.He brought near 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 selected.19.Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please give glory to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!"20.Achan answered Joshua, and said, "I have truly sinned against Yahweh, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done.21.When I saw among the spoil a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it."22.So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. Behold, it was hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.23.They took them from the middle of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel. They laid them down before Yahweh.24.Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor/Trouble.25.Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? Yahweh will trouble you this day." All Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.26.They raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called "The valley of Achor/Trouble" to this day.Observations
7:1-25.God requires corporate as well as individual purity. The nation experiences the consequences of one individual's sin (36 causalities, loss of God's protection, enemies emboldened). If we turn a blind eye to sin, we will suffer. The nation executes God's mandated justice.
7:10.
God's response to Joshua's remorse is almost comical: “Quit moaning about the sin, do something about it.” It's not specified how the offending tribe, family, person was selected, probably by casting lots, since the Urim and Thummim aren't mentioned.
7:21.
Just like those who failed to learn correct values and self-control in Genesis, Achan saw, coveted, took and sinned, bringing disaster upon himself and those around him. In contrast to Rahab's family being saved, Achan's entire family was wiped out because of his sin (contagion or complicity).
Application
When overtaken by sin, deal with it, don't wallow in it. Wash it away (1Jn 1:9) and take preventative action (especially value change).
Prayer
God help me value being devoted to You so I don't value sin, and experience its consequences. Amen.
Joshua 8 Success and Plunder Through Obedience
1.Yahweh said to Joshua, "Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land.2.You shall do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king, except its spoil and its livestock, you shall take for a plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."3.So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.4.He commanded them, saying, "Lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.5.I, and all the people who are with me, will approach to the city. It shall happen, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them.6.They will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say, ‘They flee before us, like the first time.’ So we will flee before them,7.and you shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for Yahweh your God will deliver it into your hand.8.It shall be, when you have seized on the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do this according to the word of Yahweh. Behold, I have commanded you."14.When the king of Ai saw it, they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people...but he didn’t know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.15.Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.16.All the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them. They pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.18.Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." Joshua stretched out the javelin toward the city.19.The ambush arose quickly out of their place...entered into the city, and took it. They hurried and set the city on fire.20.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. The people who fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.21.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 killed the men of Ai.23.They captured the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua.26.For Joshua didn’t draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.27.Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey to themselves, according to the word of Yahweh which he commanded Joshua.28.So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day.29.He hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and at the sundown Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it that remains to this day.30.Then Joshua built an altar to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal,31.as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had lifted up any iron. They offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, and sacrificed peace offerings.32.He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.33.All Israel stood...before the priests the Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, that they should bless the people of Israel.34.Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.35.There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua didn’t read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who were among them.Observations
8:2.Note the battle between the King of Kings, and the kings of earth. It is God's will that people get “plunder (power, pleasure, possessions)“ but we have to follow God's way to legitimately enjoy it. Achan didn't follow God's instructions nor timetable.
8:23-28.
Israel's God and King is greater than any human king or demonic god.
8:30-35.
The sacrifices and reading of the blessings and curses emphasizes that it is God fulfilling His promises to bless His obedient people (in contrast to the previous chapter).
Application
Doing things God's way results in God's blessing rather than cursing. Do you believe that?
Prayer
My Great God and King, don't let me ever think that I can enjoy success and prosperity apart from daily obedience to Your word. Amen.
Digging Deeper
In typical “scholarly” sliminess, some archeologists uncover the evidence that supports the Scriptural account and then incorrectly date it to try to discredit the Biblical record. It's just like the folks who misdate the Exodus and then conclude that there was no evidence of Israel being in Egypt at that time, ignoring the mountain of evidence that they had left 300 years earlier (see Digging Deeper under Exodus 1 for the correct chronology).
Before digging into the Jericho evidence, be edified by these quotes:
"In every instance where the findings of archaeology pertain to the Biblical record, the archaeological evidence confirms, sometimes in detailed fashion, the historical accuracy of Scripture. In those instances where the archaeological findings seem to be at variance with the Bible, the discrepancy lies with the archaeological evidence, i.e., improper interpretation, lack of evidence, etc. -- not with the Bible." - Dr. Bryant C. Wood, archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical description has often led to amazing discoveries." - Dr. Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, Strous and Cudahy, 1959), 136.
"Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts......Yet archaeological discoveries have shown that these critical charges.....are wrong and that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements which have been set aside as untrustworthy.....We do not know of any cases where the Bible has been proved wrong." - Dr. Joseph P. Free, Archaeology and Bible History. Scripture Press, Wheaton, IL, 1969, pg. 1
"The reader may rest assured that nothing has been found [by archaeologists] to disturb a reasonable faith, and nothing has been discovered which can disprove a single theological doctrine. We no longer trouble ourselves with attempts to 'harmonize' religion and science, or to 'prove' the Bible. The Bible can stand for itself." - Dr. William F. Albright, eminent archaeologist who confirmed the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls following their discovery.
For the sordid details and refutation that establishes the truth about Jericho see these links.
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/jericho.html
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/06/the-walls-of-jericho.aspx#Article
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a011.html
God in a nutshell: God is the King of Kings who demands complete obedience from His people in order to use them and bless them. He has a plan to bless His people that He is implementing according to a perfect timetable that has purposes beyond our finite perspective. God tells us what to do, and how to do it, but not always precisely why or exactly how it will work out. This allows for us to demonstrate faith in what He's revealed.
Us in a nutshell: When God speaks clearly in His word, we must take obedient action (or inaction) even though we can't see how it will work out. We have trouble trusting that God knows best and take things into our own hands, seeking power (security/significance), pleasure, and possessions apart from God's will. This causes us, and those around us pain, that is sometimes fatal. We may be able to hide our sin for a while, but God will always uncover and punish it. We have the responsibility to root out sin in the lives of our fellow believers or suffer consequences along with them.