Page 1

Su

pp

lemen

tal No

tes:

The B

ookof

Joshua

Chuck Missler

© 1996 K

oinonia House Inc.

Page 3Page 2

Au

dio

Listin

g

Josh

ua 1

Introduction to Joshua (its historical, practical, and prophetic aspects).Joshua’s personal profile.

Josh

ua 2 - 4

Rahab and the tw

o spies. Crossing the Jordan. T

wo sets of stones.

Josh

ua 5 - 6

Spiritual preparation. E

ncounter with the C

aptain of the Lord’s H

ost.C

onquest of Jericho. Jubilee year.

Josh

ua 7 - 8

Defeat at A

i. Sin in the C

amp. V

ictory.

Josh

ua 9 - 10

Covenant w

ith Gibeon. B

attle at Bethhoron. C

ompletion of the Southern

conquest.

Th

e Lo

ng

Day o

f Josh

ua

Detailed study of 10:12-13. C

atastrophe models. C

alendar study. Orbital

resonance.

Josh

ua 11 - 12

Northern C

ampaign. Joshua’s generalship.

Josh

ua 13 - 24

The division of the land.

Th

e Bo

ok o

f Josh

ua

Intro

du

ction

Wh

y Josh

ua?

It is an exciting adventure story of conquests and setbacks, and itincludes som

e of the most rem

arkable episodes in the Scripture.

1) Histo

rical

Continues D

euteronomy; introduces historical period in the L

and.

Genesis:

Book of beginnings (heaven, earth, Israel). D

octrine: Election;

Noah, Shem

, Abram

, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. (Eph 1:4; 2 T

hess 2:13)

Exodus:

Deliverance from

bondage. Doctrine: R

edemption (6:6; 15:13); by

grace (burning bush a model); P

assover Lam

b.

Leviticus:

Manner of w

orship (only two m

onths of history). Doctrine:

fellowship and w

orship; tabernacle, et al.; sanctification.

Num

bers:W

ilderness Wanderings. D

octrine: failure of unbelief; failure toenter, overcom

e, occupy.

Deuteronom

y: Doctrine: O

bedience a precondition. [Bridge betw

een the firstfour (outside the land) and the next seven (inside the land)!]

Joshua:C

onquest of the Land; [the iniquity of the A

morites w

as now full

(Gen 15:16); the land w

as to “vomit out its inhabitants” (L

ev18:25).]

2) Practical

It is a book about war and w

arfare. We are expected to be soldiers, taking

the offense (Mt 16:18). [W

e often feel more like prisoners of w

ar!]

This book is about V

ictorious Christian L

iving (1 Jn 5:4). (This is also

the title of Alan R

edpath’s comm

entary on Joshua, Victorious C

hristianL

iving.) It is a clarion call to obedience and action. It fits our times.

Page 5Page 4

Lesso

ns fo

r To

day’s C

hristian

Not about life after death: life after “birth”!

His goal: not just deliverance from

Egypt, but to the Prom

ised Land (G

en14:13-17; E

x 3:7,8).

Hebrew

s (3 & 4): “into H

is rest...”E

phesians: “in the heavenlies...”

Rom

ans 8:30: Predestinated—called—

justified—glorified.

A C

hristian does not work up to victory: he w

orks down from

it (His).

Moses —

the Law

Joshua—V

ictory

Strong enem

ies: Ephesians 6.

Controlled by spiritual evil: destroy com

pletely! Eph 6:11. [N

ot justthose from

Peretti novels! Includes those in three-piece suits, carrying

briefcases and cellular phones, who speak good E

nglish, and network

effectively.]

3) Pro

ph

etic

[v>/hy Yeho-S

hua: “T

he Lord is Salvation”

in Hebrew

(Jesus in Greek).

Type of our S

avior, vs. Moses, the (failure of) the L

aw.

4) Mystical A

spects (C

ol 2:16,17)

Joshua as a “type” of Christ

(“Type” is a foreshadow

ing or model of)

•N

amesake: Y

e-ho-shua = Jesus (G

reek)P

rophet: foretold God’s plan

Priest (!): Moses’ m

inister (Ex 33:11)

King: C

omm

ander of the Host (Israel)

•H

e came after M

oses (John 1:17; Rom

8:3-4; 10:4-5; Gal 3:23-25); w

hatL

aw could not do, he com

pleted.•

He leads to victory (R

om 8:37; 2 C

or 1:10; 2:14);

Josh

ua vs. E

ph

esians (“In the heavenlies”)

Deuteronom

y vs. Acts

Leviticus vs. H

ebrews

What E

phesians explains doctrinally, Joshua illustrates practically.

JoshuaE

phesians

Israel entering andC

hurch entering possessing

and possessing

Earthly inheritance

Heavenly inheritance

Given to A

brahamG

iven in Christ

1)Predestined inheritance of a chosen peopleG

en 13:14, 15E

ph 1:3,4E

x 13:5

2)O

pen by a divinely appointed leaderJosh 1:6D

eut 31:7E

ph 1:18-22Joh 11:23

3)G

ift of grace, received by faithB

y law, Israel could never becom

e entitled to Canaan

Given: Josh 1:1,2

Eph 2:5-8

4)Sphere of striking divine revelation“A

ll the people of the earth might know

...”D

eut 28:10Josh 4:24

Eph 3:8-10

Future in the Land

Isa 11:11,12Jer 23:5-8

5)E

ach scene of conflict!E

ph 6:12

Page 7Page 6

“Tim

e of the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21, label of Second C

oming

of Christ!) [B

egins on Yom

Kippur (10th of T

ishri), not Rosh

HaShannah.(?)]

Christ began his m

inistry at 29th Jubilee? Church has m

inistered for 40Jubilees? T

hus, are we entering the 70th Jubilee?

The m

an God uses: called; prepared; obedient.

Josh

ua: P

erson

al Backg

rou

nd

Joshua was the eldest son of his father, N

un. (He w

ould have had aspecial interest in the sprinkling of the blood the night of the P

assoverin E

gypt!)

[A study of his genealogy (1 C

hr 7:20-28) reveals that some of his

relatives did not have a good reputation—they w

ere cattle thieves!]

He is first seen fighting the enem

ies of God only tw

o months after the

exodus from E

gypt (Ex 17:8-16). M

oses is instructed to write this “in the

book...” (Ex 17:14) D

efinite article is implied. For the ears of Joshua: a hint

of his future assignment to be a m

ilitary leader!

[Moses is nam

ed 57X in the book...]

On M

t Sinai: E

x 24:18; 32:1-18; 33:11 (Joshua, not Aaron, left in charge

of tent of meeting!) N

um 11:28.

Oshua (“H

e saves”; Num

13:8); renamed Y

ehovah-Shua (“Y

ehovah issalvation”; N

um 13:16), the H

ebrew form

of “Jesus” (Mt 1:21; C

f. Acts

7:45; Heb 4:8: Joshua called Jesus).

Joshua was a m

ember of the 12 sent to spy out the land; he and C

alebw

ere the only ones to give a good report—and to survive the 40 years!

Cf. N

um 13:1- 14:39.

It took only a few days to get Israel out of E

gypt; it took 40 years to getE

gypt out of Israel.

They had traveled from

Egypt to Sinai in only tw

o months. T

he Lord kept

them there for a year. T

heir unbelief stretched out their journey another40 years.

•H

e is our advocate when w

e have suffered defeat; Cf. Josh 7:5-9 (1 John

2:1-2);•

He allots our inheritance (E

ph 1:11, 14; 4:7-11).

Jord

an

Started at B

ethabara (“The H

ouse of Crossing”). John the B

aptist (Jn1:28) baptized in sam

e spot.C

hose two spies? N

ot 12!C

ircumcised at G

ilgal (10th of N

isan); waited three days; crossed on the

14th (P

assover).M

anna ends.W

hat does “crossing the Jordan” typify?W

hy were “spies” sent?

Can

aan

Seven-year cam

paign [45 years (Num

14:30) less 38 years spent in thew

ilderness (Deut 2:14)]

What does C

anaan typify?H

eaven? (Yet, w

ars there!) Conquest through conflict!?

Canaan: “C

rossing over the Jordan” = ?

Israel came not as pilgrim

s, but as invaders to take possession...C

anaan: present position and possession and Christ (H

eb 3 & 4)

4:8-11: “..enter into that rest...” Note v.3

= Israel’s prom

ised rest (Deut 6:10-11; L

ev 26:6);=

place of bounty (Ex 3:8; D

eut 11:10-12; 33:28; Lev 26:5);

= place of trium

ph (Deut 7:1).

Jericho

(House of the M

oon God: B

et Yerah): T

rumpet battle plan??

Rahab: G

entile in Christ’s genealogy!?

(2) “Spies” spend three days in m

ountains?A

ngel worshipped in C

hapter 5?

Jub

ilee Year

Instituted in Leviticus; begun after conquest of C

anaan;S

laves went free

Debts forgiven

Land returned to ow

ners

Page 9Page 8

Cf: G

en 15:18 (different “West B

ank”!); Ex 23:31; N

um 34:3-12; D

eut11:24.

5]T

here shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as

I was w

ith Moses, so I w

ill be with thee: I w

ill not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Com

mitm

ent made before entire nation. (C

f 7:24).

God changes not! S

ame prom

ise for Christians today! Q

uoted in Heb

13:5, 6.

He has prom

ised His personal presence (M

att 28:19); His H

oly Spirit to

abide with us forever (John 14:16); an absence of fear, since H

e that isin us is greater than he that it is in the w

orld (1 John 4:4); and an assuranceof victory in our conflict w

ith Satanic pow

ers, in that we w

ill be “more

than conquerors” through Him

that loved us (Rom

8:37).

[The nations of C

anaan are “types” of the principalities mentioned in

Ephesians 6:12.]

6]B

e strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for aninheritance the land, w

hich I sware unto their fathers to give them

.

He is the G

od of all encouragement. H

is grand purpose of all His dealings

with us is that w

e may com

e to know H

im. (John 17:3).

Here w

e see this involves responsive action on the part of the one tow

hom the prom

ises are made. (Som

etimes w

arfare response, sometim

esreceiving response)

Verses 7 +

8: the key to prosperity!

7]O

nly be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do

according to all the law, w

hich Moses m

y servant comm

anded thee: turn notfrom

it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper w

hithersoeverthou goest.

The second exhortation is som

ewhat stronger than the first, and m

orepersonal. It takes m

ore courage to deal with self than w

ith others.

Key V

erse:

8]T

his book of the law shall not depart out of thy m

outh; but thou shalt meditate

therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is

[He stood his ground at the threat of his life (N

um 14:10). T

hey were going

to stone the two w

itnesses! Cf. R

ev 11.]

Ordination (N

um 27:18-23). P

icked long before (Deut 3:28); an answ

erto M

oses’ prayer (Num

27:16-17); Spirit-filled (Deut 34:9).

[Rabbinical tradition ascribes the last 8 verses of the T

orah.]

Bo

ok o

f Josh

ua: O

rgan

ization

Entering the L

and, Ch. 1 - 5;

Overcom

ing the Land, C

h. 6 - 12;O

ccupying the Land, C

h. 13 - 24T

he victory of faith.

Josh

ua 1

1]N

ow after the death of M

oses the servant of the LO

RD

it came to pass, that

the LO

RD

spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, M

oses’ minister, saying,

w, “V

e” = “N

ow” should be “A

nd...” In Genesis, no “ve”; E

xodus,L

eviticus, Num

bers, yes; (Israel outside the Land). D

euteronomy, none.

It is a bridge book. Joshua, and every book until 1 Chronicles, yes. (Israel

inside/after Canaan).

2]M

oses my servant is dead; now

therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, andall this people, unto the land w

hich I do give to them, even to the children of

Israel.

Continually reem

phasized in this book, the land was G

od’s gift to His

people (vv.3, 6, 11, 13, 15).

3]E

very place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given untoyou, as I said unto M

oses.

For the gift to be effective, possession had to be taken. F

or a check tobe good, it needs to be cashed. F

or Christ’s redem

ption to avail, it must

be received and relied upon (Cf. H

eb 4:2, 11).

4]F

rom the w

ilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river

Euphrates, all the land of the H

ittites, and unto the great sea toward the going

down of the sun, shall be your coast.

Page 11Page 10

12]A

nd to the Reubenites, and to the G

adites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh,

spake Joshua, saying,

Tribes that w

anted to settle East of Jordan, yet w

ould support conquestof the land.

13]R

emem

ber the word w

hich Moses the servant of the L

OR

D com

manded you,

saying, The L

OR

D your G

od hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.14]

Your w

ives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land w

hichM

oses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethrenarm

ed, all the mighty m

en of valour, and help them;

15]U

ntil the LO

RD

have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and theyalso have possessed the land w

hich the LO

RD

your God giveth them

: then yeshall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, w

hich Moses the

LO

RD

’S servant gave you on this side Jordan tow

ard the sunrising.

These 2 ½

tribes had 136,930 men available (N

um 26:7, 18, 34). O

nly 40,000m

en actually crossed the Jordan to fight in the Prom

ised Land (Josh

4:13); the rest remained to protect the w

omen in the cities the tribes had

taken in the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead (N

um 32:1-5, 16-19). W

henthe soldiers returned hom

e, they shared the spoils of war w

ith theirbrothers (Josh 22:6-8).

[Their desire w

as for “a place for cattle” (Num

32:1, 4, 16); their firstconcern w

as for making a living, not m

aking a life. They w

ould ratherprosper than dw

ell with their brothers and sisters in the inheritance that

God had given them

. They w

ere so far from the place of w

orship, theyhad to erect a special m

onument to rem

ind their children of their heritage(Josh 22:10ff). T

hey seem to represent the “borderline believers” w

hoget close to the inheritance but never quite claim

it, no matter how

successful they may seem

to be. While available for a tim

e, when their

appointed task is finished, they head home to do w

hat they want to do...]

16]A

nd they answered Joshua, saying, A

ll that thou comm

andest us we w

ill do,and w

hithersoever thou sendest us, we w

ill go.17]

According as w

e hearkened unto Moses in all things, so w

ill we hearken unto

thee: only the LO

RD

thy God be w

ith thee, as he was w

ith Moses.

They prayed for him

. The best thing w

e can do for those who lead us

is to pray for them daily and ask G

od to be with them

. No C

hristian warrior

succeeds to the glory of God apart from

prayer.

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” asked C

orrie tenB

oom.

written therein: for then thou shalt m

ake thy way prosperous, and then thou

shalt have good success.

Moses kept a w

ritten record of God’s w

orlds and comm

itted this recordto the care of the priests (D

eut 31:9); he wrote in it a rem

inder for Joshua(E

x 17:14); we regard the “B

ook of the Law

” as the five books of the Torah.

Read every seven years (D

eut 31:11-13);D

avid’s charge to Solom

on (1 Kgs 2:1-4);

Lost until Josiah (2 K

gs 22:8; 23:2,3);E

zra (Neh 8:1,8; 13:1);

Daniel (9:11);

Last chapter in O

T: M

al 4:4.

Meditation is not optional. D

eut 32:46; Prov 4:26; H

ag 1:7; Luke 9:44;

Phil 4:8; Ps 1:1,2; 119:97.

Isaac: Gen 24:62;

David, P

s 119;M

ary, Luke 1:19,51.

Obedience is to be com

plete. “...all...” (Do all that is w

ritten therein.)

9]H

ave not I comm

anded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,

neither be thou dismayed: for the L

OR

D thy G

od is with thee w

hithersoeverthou goest.

Selected as one of the 12 spies 40 years earlier (N

um 13); gave the

dissenting report (Num

14:6-10). Also, fought w

ith Am

alekites (Ex 17).

Be S

trong (4X).

10]T

hen Joshua comm

anded the officers of the people, saying,

Then =

promptly. N

o conference, comm

ittees, consents... Ps 199:60,

David; C

f. Col 3:23.

11]P

ass through the host, and comm

and the people, saying, Prepare you victuals;

for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land,

which the L

OR

D your G

od giveth you to possess it.

Warning: m

anna ceased upon entering the land (Josh 5:12).

Page 13Page 12

Josh

ua 2

Rahab shelters the “spies”; C

f. Heb 11:31, Jam

es 2:25. (Note that Jam

esuses the term

“messengers”—

not spies. They w

ere two “w

itnesses”that got R

ahab and her family saved; C

f. Rev 11:3ff; Isa 66:19.)

“Harlot”: T

he OT

Hebrew

word m

ay originally may have m

eant “inn-keeper,” how

ever, the NT

Greek w

ord used in Heb 11:31 and Jam

es 2:25clearly m

eans a prostitute.

Rahab is included in genealogy of C

hrist (Mt 1:5). M

arries Salm

on, andbegats B

oaz as her son(!). It was her son that m

arries Ruth, in the role

of a goel, the kinsman-redeem

er, and thus connects Bethlehem

to thelineage of D

avid.

(It was probably the fields of B

oaz and Ruth that the angels visit to

declare the birth of the Son of D

avid to the shepherds... You cannot

understand Revelation 5 unless you understand the B

ook of Ruth. S

eeT

he Rom

ance of Redem

ption, our audio briefing on Ruth.)

[Not to be confused w

ith rahab: “pride,” “arrogance,” the fem

alem

onster of chaos (Tiam

at), closely associated with L

eviathan. The

curbing of the forces of chaos (preeminently the unruly sea) at the

creation is poetically described in terms of G

od’s smiting rahab (Job

26:12, and more generally Job 9:13; 38:8-11). B

ut this imagery is usually

transferred from the creation story to the narrative of the redem

ption ofIsrael from

Egypt, w

hen God again show

ed his mastery over the sea and

other forces opposed to his will; it is the E

xodus that is indicated byreferences to the sm

iting of Rahab in P

s 89:10; Isa 51:9 (Ps 74:12

, where

the sense is the same, although R

ahab is not expressly mentioned). F

romthis usage R

ahab comes to be em

ployed quite generally as a poeticsynonym

for Egypt, as in Ps 87:4 (“A

mong those w

ho know m

e I mention

Rahab and B

abylon”) and Isa 30:7 (“Rahab w

ho sits still”); and herdragon-associate becom

es a figure of Pharaoh (E

zek 29:3).

A D

ragon is described as any terrible creature, as a venomous serpent,

Deut 32:33; Ps 91:13; a sea serpent, Ps 74:13; 148:7; Isa 27:1; a jackal, Isa

13:22; 34:13; 35:7; 43:20; Jer 9:11; 10:22; 14:6; 49:33; 51:37; Mic 1:8; M

al1:3. A

term applied to P

haraoh, Isa 51:9; to Satan, R

ev 20:2. Sym

bolical,E

zek 29:3; 32:2; Rev 12; 13; 16:13. (N

ew N

ave’s Topical B

ible, seebibliography).

When Joshua did not pause to seek the m

ind of God, he failed m

iserably(Josh 7 &

9); and so will w

e.

18]W

hosoever he be that doth rebel against thy comm

andment, and w

ill not hearkenunto thy w

ords in all that thou comm

andest him, he shall be put to death: only

be strong and of a good courage.

We do not read that they ever rebelled against Joshua’s authority.

When he “m

ustered them out” (Joshua 22) he did so w

ith words of

comm

endation and blessing.

A rem

arkable thing about these days of preparation is that nothing was

said about Israel’s enemies nor the w

eapons that they would need to

fight them.

Their victories (and setbacks) are instructive for us in our battles also!

Their m

ost powerful w

eapon was a sw

ord! (The W

ord, Cf. Josh 1:8).

“Be strong” (4th tim

e in this chapter). Rem

ember E

ph 6:10.

A discouraged arm

y is never victorious.

Mo

del o

f Revelatio

n?

Military w

arrior, dispossessing the usurpers (Zech 14:3; N

um 21:14;

Josh 5). Seven-year cam

paign; seven (of original 10) nations...

Jericho: Trum

pet series: silence, then blowing (A

rk leads procession?);Ignores S

abbath (7th day rest?)L

evites go to war...

Tw

o witnesses sent in advance

Rahab =

? Tribulation saints?

Alliance of A

doni-Zedek (“L

ord of Righteousness”), K

ing of Jerusalem?

Gathers opposition; defeated w

ith hailstones; signs in sun, moon...

Kings hide in caves...

* * *

Page 15Page 14

Situ

ation

al Eth

ics Qu

estion

(Several views)

1)S

he was com

mended for her faith, not her conduct. (S

piritualm

aturity is a gradual process. Even John N

ewton, w

ho composed

Am

azing Grace, kept slaves for som

e years after first receivingC

hrist; etc.) Being saved is the beginning.

She w

as saved by faith, not for being free of sin. How

about you?

2)T

he more com

plex problem deals w

ith war, undercover assign-

ments, etc. C

an a Christian be a spy? O

r an undercover detective?A

re there occasions in which deception is essential?

After all, this w

as war. A

braham and Isaac resorted to deception

(Gen 12:10-20; 20; 26:6-11), as w

ell as David (1 Sam

21:2).

Lying is w

rong (Prov 12:22; L

ev 19:11; Ps 101:7; Jer 9:3-5).

[David took five loaves of the T

abernacle shewbread for his m

en (1S

am 2) w

hich was prohibited for com

mon use; though it w

as notlaw

ful, they were blam

eless (Mt 12:3-6).]

It is interesting that Rahab is referred to in the N

ew T

estament as a harlot,

but never a liar. Her lie is never m

entioned; it is “blotted out.” Her sin

was not overlooked; it w

as forgiven.

6]B

ut she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them

with the

stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

Flax w

as on the roof to dry. She w

as industrious (Cf. P

rov 31:13).

7]A

nd the men pursued after them

the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon

as they which pursued after them

were gone out, they shut the gate.

8]A

nd before they were laid dow

n, she came up unto them

upon the roof;9]

And she said unto the m

en, I know that the L

OR

D hath given you the land, and

that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faintbecause of you.

“I know...”: R

ahab had faith before their visit. The terror am

ong Israel’senem

ies was prom

ised (Gen 35:5; E

x 15:15,16; 23:27; Deut 2:25; 11:25;

28:10).

1]A

nd Joshua the son of Nun sent out of S

hittim tw

o men to spy secretly, saying,

Go view

the land, even Jericho. And they w

ent, and came into an harlot’s house,

named R

ahab, and lodged there.

Shittim

: as far as Moses got (N

um 25:1). M

ore at 3:1...

Spies? S

couts? Or M

essengers or witnesses! W

hy 2? The num

ber ofw

itness (Deut 17:6; 19:15).

Both H

eb 11:31 and James 2:25 highlight that she received the m

essen-gers; just as our L

ord comm

ends those on His right hand for receiving

“the least of these,” His brethren (M

t 25:34-40).

Jericho = B

et Yerah, “H

ouse of the Moon G

od”: 5 miles w

est of Jordan;7 m

iles north of Dead S

ea. Capital of the A

morites; probably the

dominant city of C

anaan. (Islam w

orships the Moon god, see T

he Sword

of Allah for further inform

ation.)

2]A

nd it was told the king of Jericho, saying, B

ehold, there came m

en in hitherto night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

He apparently had counterespionage resources that w

ere on their toes!T

hey also knew w

here they had gone: to Rahab’s “house.”

[Som

e view the king of Jericho as a type of the devil him

self, “the princeof this w

orld.”]

3]A

nd the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, B

ring forth the men that are

come to thee, w

hich are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out

all the country.

The fact that Jericho is just north of the ruins of S

odom and G

omorrah

makes it likely that the king knew

of the judgment of their w

ickedness.

Anyone w

ho doesn’t believe in Satan should try opposing him

for aw

hile...

4]A

nd the wom

an took the two m

en, and hid them, and said thus, T

here came m

enunto m

e, but I wist not w

hence they were:

5]A

nd it came to pass about the tim

e of shutting of the gate, when it w

as dark,that the m

en went out: w

hither the men w

ent I wot not: pursue after them

quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

Page 17Page 16

She believed in the G

od of Israel, who w

ould give the land to His people.

Not a god of one nation or one land, but the G

od of heaven and earth...an aw

esome G

od! She knew

; she feared; she received.

Rahab w

as under condemnation and destined to die: she w

as a citizenof C

anaan (Deut 7:1-3). She w

as a Gentile, outside the covenant m

ercies(E

ph 2:11-13). If ever a sinner experienced the grace and mercies of G

od(as in E

ph 1:1-10), it was R

ahab.

Although surrounded by a culture in opposition to G

od, she made her

choice. Just as you and I must.

12]N

ow therefore, I pray you, sw

ear unto me by the L

OR

D, since I have shew

edyou kindness, that ye w

ill also shew kindness unto m

y father’s house, and givem

e a true token:

She looks after her fam

ily (1 Tim

5:8)!

13]A

nd that ye will save alive m

y father, and my m

other, and my brethren, and m

ysisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from

death.

Note that she is single. S

he will later m

arry Salm

on, a prince of Judah(R

uth 4:18-22; 1 Chr 2:11-12). Salm

on’s father was N

ahshon, a prince ofthe tribe of Judah (N

um 7:12). R

ahab will give birth to B

oaz, the kinsman-

redeemer of the B

ook of Ruth, w

ho will link B

ethlehem to the house of

David. It is likely that the shepherd’s fields that the angels visit at the

birth of Christ w

ere the fields of Ruth and B

oaz.

Thus, R

ahab is mentioned in the fam

ily tree of the Messiah! (M

t 1:4-6).A

harlot in the genealogy of Christ?! Indeed; all in H

is line were sinners

needing a Savior! W

e all stand in Rahab’s place in the sight of the H

olyG

od! If we are as faithful as she w

as, we are destined to becom

e His B

ride!B

oth Rahab and R

uth, both in the genealogy of Christ, are both a type

(and a pledge) of the calling of the Gentiles. G

od is a God of all nations.

14]A

nd the men answ

ered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business.

And it shall be, w

hen the LO

RD

hath given us the land, that we w

ill deal kindlyand truly w

ith thee.

Note the “w

hen,” not “if”: That’s faith speaking.

“Kindly and truly”: Sam

e expression used by Eleazar w

hen pleading with

Laban and B

ethuel for permission to take R

ebecca for a bride for Isaac(G

en 24:49).

10]F

or we have heard how

the LO

RD

dried up the water of the R

ed sea for you,w

hen ye came out of E

gypt; and what ye did unto the tw

o kings of the Am

orites,that w

ere on the other side Jordan, Sihon and O

g, whom

ye utterly destroyed.

Sihon and O

g: previously defeated east of the Jordan (Num

21:21-35;D

eut 2:30-37; 3:1-8). [See note in 3:10]

11]A

nd as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did m

elt, neither did thererem

ain any more courage in any m

an, because of you: for the LO

RD

your God,

he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

At K

adesh-Barnea 40 years earlier, it w

as Israel that feared. Now

, it isthe C

anaanites that were afraid. [T

he Palestinians should follow

theirexam

ple...]

The conquest of the land w

as prophesied to Abraham

“when the iniquity

of the Am

orites is not yet full.” (Gen 15:16). It w

ould seem to be 40 years

overdue! Moses had also alluded to the w

ickedness of these nations(D

eut 9:4-5).

Whether you are review

ing the wickedness before the flood of N

oah(G

en 6:5, 11-12), or Sodom and G

omorrah (G

en 18:20-33), or the attitudeof our w

orld today, God’s judgm

ent is certain and timely (L

uke 17:26-30; R

ev 19:11-16). Rahab never questioned the justice of that, as som

edo today.

The spies m

ust have been amazed at her know

ledge of Lord H

imself (C

f.M

t 28:18).

[With no S

abbath, no Scriptures, she appears to have been regenerated

before the spies came to her house (2:9,11). Scan carefully the list in H

eb11, and consider w

hat they all had in comm

on. With w

hom did A

bel,E

noch, and Noah have spiritual com

munion? W

ho encouraged andem

boldened Elijah, D

aniel, Nehem

iah? They had to w

alk alone.]

Abraham

had to leave his family. M

oses “refused to be called the sonof P

haroah’s daughter.” Ruth left her hom

e and her own people.

“Whosoever w

ill come after m

e, let him deny him

self...”(Mk 8:34; L

k14:27).

Rahab’s faith w

as well placed. F

aith is only as good as its object. She

believed on one God, not the polytheism

of her culture; she believed ina personal G

od who could w

ork on behalf of those who trusted in H

im.

Page 19Page 18

Note, also, “deals” w

ere prohibited (Deut 7:2). S

he was, indeed, saved

by grace.

21]A

nd she said, According unto your w

ords, so be it. And she sent them

away,

and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window

.

1 Chr 16:15-18; Ps 105:8-11; speak of “the lot of your inheritance” (as the

Land). In verse 15, the H

ebrew term

is lb,j,, chebel: a cord, a rope, thus,a m

easured portion, etc. The cord of R

achel may be, thus, m

ore symbolic

than is comm

only recognized.

[The everlastingness of the covenant regarding the land (G

en 15:17-21)is em

phasized in Jer 31:35-37. This destiny is im

plicated in Ezek 36:19-

27 and Joel 2:28-3:1, as well as m

any other passages. This covenant claim

to the land is at issue throughout the world today (as Z

ech 12:1-3prophesies). It w

ill bring on, ultimately, a total w

orld war—

Arm

aged-don.]

This “scarlet line of redem

ption,” in another sense, began with the coats

of skins in Genesis 3, to A

bel’s offering in Genesis 4, and continues all

the way to the T

hrone of God in R

evelation 5 as “the Lam

b as it had beenslain” receives the scroll w

ith seven seals. Ever since the early church,

this scarlet cord has been taken as a sign of the blood of Christ, and

paralleling the Passover lam

b.

Note: R

ahab and her family w

ere saved by their faith in the God of Israel

and not by faith in the rope. Faith in a token of the covenant is religious

superstition.

22]A

nd they went, and cam

e unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until

the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them

throughout all thew

ay, but found them not.

23]S

o the two m

en returned, and descended from the m

ountain, and passed over,and cam

e to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him

all things that befell them:

It is interesting that the divine protection afforded them did not preclude

the use of available means at every step. L

et us remem

ber that our“eternal security” includes availing ourselves of the safeguards thatG

od has hedged about us: (continue to) abide in Christ! W

e need to heedH

is warnings and avoid that w

hich would destroy us (1 C

or 9:27; Acts

27:31).

24]A

nd they said unto Joshua, Truly the L

OR

D hath delivered into our hands all

the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

15]T

hen she let them dow

n by a cord through the window

: for her house was upon

the town w

all, and she dwelt upon the w

all.

The convenient location of her house w

as not an accident: Acts 17:26.

[For a discussion of predestination vs. free will, see our briefing package,

The Sovereignty of M

an.]

Escaping by a cord dow

n the wall also happened to D

avid (1Sam

19:12-17) and Paul (Acts 9:25; 2 C

or 11:33).

16]A

nd she said unto them, G

et you to the mountain, lest the pursuers m

eet you;and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: andafterw

ard may ye go your w

ay.

[Why three days? Is there sym

bolism here?]

17]A

nd the men said unto her, W

e will be blam

eless of this thine oath which thou

hast made us sw

ear.18]

Behold, w

hen we com

e into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread[cord] in the w

indow w

hich thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy

father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, hom

eunto thee.

Cf. H

ousehold Marked: E

zek 9:4-6

19]A

nd it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the

street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we w

ill be guiltless: and whosoever

shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be

upon him.

The only safe place in Jericho w

as Rahab’s house, protected by the

“scarlet cord” (Cf. P

assover, Ex 12:7, 13, 22-23).

Cf. C

ity of refuge (Num

35:26-28). [Who is our “city of refuge?” U

ntilthe high priest dies? W

hy? Who is our high priest? H

e died so that we

could be free of the bondage of sin. Every detail in the S

cripture pointsto C

hrist. “The V

olume of the book is w

ritten of me” (P

salm 40:7).]

20]A

nd if thou utter this our business, then we w

ill be quit of thine oath which thou

hast made us to sw

ear.

It is remarkable that the m

essengers were able to m

ake promises w

ithouthaving to refer to Joshua. T

hey were am

bassadors with full pow

er to acton behalf of their leader (C

f. John 20:21, 23).

Page 21Page 20

6]A

nd Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant,

and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and

went before the people.

What next? A

step at a time appears to be G

od’s way for those w

ho walk

the path of faith. (2 Cor 5:7)

7]A

nd the LO

RD

said unto Joshua, This day w

ill I begin to magnify thee in the

sight of all Israel, that they may know

that, as I was w

ith Moses, so I w

ill bew

ith thee.

“Begin to m

agnify...” This is also the spot w

here Jesus was baptized:

at Beth B

ara, the “House of P

assage” (John 1:28).

8]A

nd thou shalt comm

and the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying,W

hen ye are come to the brink of the w

ater of Jordan, ye shall stand still inJordan.

9]A

nd Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Com

e hither, and hear the words

of the LO

RD

your God.

10]A

nd Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know

that the living God is am

ong you, andthat he w

ill without fail drive out from

before you the Canaanites, and the

Hittites, and the H

ivites, and the Perizzites, and the G

irgashites, and theA

morites, and the Jebusites.

Seven nations: Three—

Sihon, Og (N

um 21:21-35; D

eut 2:30-37 3:1-8) andthe A

malekites (E

x 17:8-16)—had already been dealt w

ith east of theJordan. T

en nations, now reduced to seven, also appears to be the

pattern in Revelation (C

f. Dan 7:8, 24; R

ev 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7).

11]B

ehold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before

you into Jordan.

“The ark of the covenant of the L

ord of all the earth”: never spoken ofthat w

ay before. No tribal deity this; even R

ahab had acknowledged that

“He is G

od in heaven above and in the earth beneath” (2:11).

12]N

ow therefore take you tw

elve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe

a man.

[See 4:2.]

13]A

nd it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear

the ark of the LO

RD

, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the w

aters of Jordan,that the w

aters of Jordan shall be cut off from the w

aters that come dow

n fromabove; and they shall stand upon an heap.

This is exactly w

hat Joshua and Caleb had reported 38 years earlier!

Prophesied in the S

ong of Moses, E

x 15:14-16; Cf. R

ev 6:16-17.

They w

eren’t ready to deal with Jericho yet. T

hey had some “unfinished

business” to take care of first.* * *

Josh

ua 3

Th

e Cro

ssing

Read: N

um 13:28-33; 14:1-4; 1 C

or 5, 10; Heb 3:8-17. Provision: D

eut 29:5.

1]A

nd Joshua rose early in the morning; and they rem

oved from S

hittim, and cam

eto Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passedover.

“Early in the m

orning...” Joshua’s heart was in his w

ork. (Also 6:12; 7:16;

8:20.) (So, too, Jesus: M

ark 1:35; Luke 4:42, et al.)

Shittim w

as as far as Moses got (N

um 25:1). [T

he Ark w

as made of shittim

wood (E

x 27; mentioned 21X

in Chapters 3 &

4). See also, our briefing

package, The M

ystery of the Lost A

rk.]

2]A

nd it came to pass after three days, that the officers w

ent through the host; 3]

And they com

manded the people, saying, W

hen ye see the ark of the covenantof the L

OR

D your G

od, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall

remove from

your place, and go after it. 4]

Yet there shall be a space betw

een you and it, about two thousand cubits by

measure: com

e not near unto it, that ye may know

the way by w

hich ye must

go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

They w

ere to follow (“go after”) and yet keep their distance: over ½

mile.

Christ w

as, in a figure, going ahead—alone.

5]A

nd Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to m

orrow the L

OR

Dw

ill do wonders am

ong you.

Sanctification essential: “Be ye holy; for I am

holy” (1 Pet 1:16; Lev 19:2;

20:7).

Page 23Page 22

12 men, and 12 stones, w

ere to be a mem

orial of their deliverance. These

stones were the 1st of 2 groups of 12 each. (T

he 2nd by Joshua, v.9).

Previous to being transferred, they lay in the place of death, buried

beneath the waters of the Jordan. T

he ark, a type of Christ, they w

erelifted out of the riverbed and set up at G

ilgal, the place of deliverance.

[Cf., the pearl of M

t 13:46. Lifted out; thus, our resurrection in C

hrist.]

4]T

hen Joshua called the twelve m

en, whom

he had prepared of the children ofIsrael, out of every tribe a m

an: 5]

And Joshua said unto them

, Pass over before the ark of the L

OR

D your G

odinto the m

idst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his

shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

6]T

hat this may be a sign am

ong you, that when your children ask their fathers

in time to com

e, saying, What m

ean ye by these stones? 7]

Then ye shall answ

er them, T

hat the waters of Jordan w

ere cut off before theark of the covenant of the L

OR

D; w

hen it passed over Jordan, the waters of

Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a m

emorial unto the children

of Israel for ever.

By m

eans of these stones set up at Gilgal, the com

ing generations were

to know w

hat “the presence of the God of Jacob” (P

salm 114:7) had

accomplished. [A

lso, a comparison w

ith the deliverance (baptism) at the

Red S

ea for their parents is made in v.23.]

They w

ere not to allow their intim

ate involvement in all of this to lessen

their reverence for Him

and His things. R

ather they were to fear H

imforever. (S

o also, we ourselves, as w

e observe Him

work in our lives and

ministry...)

8]A

nd the children of Israel did so as Joshua comm

anded, and took up twelve

stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the L

OR

D spake unto Joshua, according

to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them

over with

them unto the place w

here they lodged, and laid them dow

n there.

Th

e Seco

nd

Set o

f Sto

nes

9]A

nd Joshua set up twelve stones in the m

idst of Jordan, in the place where the

feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there

unto this day.

These are a second group of 12 stones, also representative. T

hey were

set in the same place: “w

here the feet of the priests...stood.” Joshua

14]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen the people removed from

their tents, to pass overJordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;

15]A

nd as they that bare the ark were com

e unto Jordan, and the feet of the prieststhat bare the ark w

ere dipped in the brim of the w

ater, (for Jordan overfloweth

all his banks all the time of harvest,)

This w

as springtime, the snow

s of Mt. H

ermon w

ere melting and the

Jordan was at the point of overflow

ing on its trek to the Dead S

ea.

16]T

hat the waters w

hich came dow

n from above stood and rose up upon an heap

very far from the city A

dam, that is beside Z

aretan: and those that came dow

ntow

ard the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the

people passed over right against Jericho.

What caused this? E

arthquake upstream? E

tc. The living G

od was

present here, and the ark of the covenant was the visible sym

bol of His

presence.

The reference to A

dam (the city) is interesting: by one m

an sin and deathhad entered this w

orld” (Rom

5:12); by the Last A

dam (1 C

or 15:45) we

were delivered.

17]A

nd the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LO

RD

stood firm on

dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry

ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

* * *

Josh

ua 4

Wh

at Mean

Th

ese Sto

nes?

(The O

T is G

od’s Picture B

ook: 1 Cor 10:11)

Th

e First S

et of S

ton

es

1]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that

the LO

RD

spake unto Joshua, saying, 2]

Take you tw

elve men out of the people, out of every tribe a m

an, 3]

And com

mand ye them

, saying, Take you hence out of the m

idst of Jordan, outof the place w

here the priests’ feet stood firm, tw

elve stones, and ye shall carrythem

over with you, and leave them

in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge

this night.

Page 25Page 24

The 10th of N

isan: the 40th anniversary of the preparation of thePassover (E

x 12:3).

20]A

nd those twelve stones, w

hich they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch inG

ilgal.21]

And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, W

hen your children shall asktheir fathers in tim

e to come, saying, W

hat mean these stones?

22]T

hen ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel cam

e over this Jordan ondry land.

23]F

or the LO

RD

your God dried up the w

aters of Jordan from before you, until

ye were passed over, as the L

OR

D your G

od did to the Red sea, w

hich he driedup from

before us, until we w

ere gone over:24]

That all the people of the earth m

ight know the hand of the L

OR

D, that it is

mighty: that ye m

ight fear the LO

RD

your God for ever.

Next w

e will encounter the crossing of the Jordan—

at Beth B

ara, “The

House of P

assage”, where John later w

ould also baptize... (John 1:28;Judg 7:24, et al.)

Th

e Parab

le of T

wo

Seas

There are tw

o seas: both fed by the same river, filled w

ith the same source.

One brings forth green fields, fruit bearing trees, and is surrounded by

verdant beauty. The other is desert, surrounded by death. N

othing cangrow

in or near it.

One is the S

ea of Galilee. T

he other is the Dead S

ea. Both are fed by the

Jordan River.

One passes its w

ater on, and is synonymous w

ith life itself. The other

receives, but does not pass its water on further. It is contained in itself.

It is synonymous w

ith death.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan at B

eth Bara—

the House

of Passage w

hen He began H

is ministry.

Jesus promised us “living w

ater,” and that our bellies would becom

etorrents of living w

ater to others—overflow

ing (Jn 4:10,11; 7:38). And

a source to others around us.

Som

e of us receive, but don’t become a source to others. A

re we like the

Sea of Galilee—

surrounded by fruit bearing—or are w

e like the Dead Sea,

only receiving and not passing on to others?

alone handled these stones. These w

ould appear to represent those who

are dead to sin, buried with C

hrist in baptism unto death (R

om 6:4). T

hesetw

o groups of stones illustrate of our having died with C

hrist (Col 2:20)

and having been raised with H

im (3:1). Stones, being com

pletely passive,illustrate that all is done for the believer and not by him

. The 12 stones

were taken up out of the Jordan, set up in G

ilgal, may thus be view

ed as“living stones” (1 P

et 2:5).

Tw

o sets of stones for a mem

orial; two sacram

ents in the NT

: Baptism

and Com

munion (K

oinonia), the Lord’s S

upper.

[Other 12 stone allusions: E

lijah’s altar, (1 Kings 18:31-32); breastplate

of the high priest (Ex 28:29).]

10]F

or the priests which bare the ark stood in the m

idst of Jordan, until every thingw

as finished that the LO

RD

comm

anded Joshua to speak unto the people,according to all that M

oses comm

anded Joshua: and the people hasted andpassed over.

11]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen all the people were clean passed over, that the ark

of the LO

RD

passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.12]

And the children of R

euben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of

Manasseh, passed over arm

ed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto

them:

13]A

bout forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the L

OR

D unto

battle, to the plains of Jericho.

A display of unity. U

nless we are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder

with our brethren in C

hrist against our comm

on foe, there will be no

practical results.

14]O

n that day the LO

RD

magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared

him, as they feared M

oses, all the days of his life.15]

And the L

OR

D spake unto Joshua, saying,

16]C

omm

and the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they com

e up outof Jordan.

17]Joshua therefore com

manded the priests, saying, C

ome ye up out of Jordan.

18]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of theL

OR

D w

ere come up out of the m

idst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’feet w

ere lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto

their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

[How

many w

ere lost?]

19]A

nd the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first m

onth, andencam

ped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

Page 27Page 26

say of Epaphroditus that he risked his life (P

hil 2:30); etc. Christian

warriors are spoken of as risking their lives.

4]A

nd this is the cause why Joshua did circum

cise: All the people that cam

e outof E

gypt, that were m

ales, even all the men of w

ar, died in the wilderness by

the way, after they cam

e out of Egypt.

Com

pare with “N

ot my people”? H

os 1:9, 10; 2:23, then yet future ofdiaspora about to end. L

ack of faith at Kadesh-B

arnea considered aB

reach of promise (N

um 14:32-34).

5]N

ow all the people that cam

e out were circum

cised: but all the people that were

born in the wilderness by the w

ay as they came forth out of E

gypt, them they

had not circumcised.

Even M

oses apparently goofed: he didn’t follow directions (C

f. Ex 4:24-

26). [His sins also appear to be “blotted out.”]

6]F

or the children of Israel walked forty years in the w

ilderness, till all the peoplethat w

ere men of w

ar, which cam

e out of Egypt, w

ere consumed, because they

obeyed not the voice of the LO

RD

: unto whom

the LO

RD

sware that he w

ouldnot shew

them the land, w

hich the LO

RD

sware unto their fathers that he w

ouldgive us, a land that flow

eth with m

ilk and honey. 7]

And their children, w

hom he raised up in their stead, them

Joshua circumcised:

for they were uncircum

cised, because they had not circumcised them

by thew

ay.

[Am

azing! Rem

ember, even after 40 years, they w

ere not circumcised;

had not observed Passover...!]

8]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen they had done circumcising all the people, that they

abode in their places in the camp, till they w

ere whole.

9]A

nd the LO

RD

said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled aw

ay the reproach ofE

gypt from off you. W

herefore the name of the place is called G

ilgal unto thisday.

(“Gilgal” m

eans rolling away.)

Wh

at Is the “R

epro

ach o

f Eg

ypt”?

1)C

omm

on View

: Som

e view this as referring to “the reproach w

hichproceeds from

Egypt;” the reproach w

ith which the E

gyptians would

have reproached the Israelites if the Lord had failed to bring them

intothe land according to H

is promise. T

his would seem

to be supported byM

oses’ intercessions (Ex 32:12; N

um 14:13-16; D

eut 9:28; 32:26-27).

Josh

ua 5

Fear o

f Israel’s En

emies

1]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen all the kings of the Am

orites, which w

ere on the sideof Jordan w

estward, and all the kings of the C

anaanites, which w

ere by the sea,heard that the L

OR

D had dried up the w

aters of Jordan from before the children

of Israel, until we w

ere passed over, that their heart melted, neither w

as therespirit in them

any more, because of the children of Israel.

It would appear (to hum

an wisdom

) that now w

as the time to strike: fear

had gripped the enemy. B

ut in spiritual warfare—

and that’s what w

e aredealing w

ith, always—

proper preparation is essential.

New

Gen

eration

Circu

mcised

2]A

t that time the L

OR

D said unto Joshua, M

ake thee sharp knives, andcircum

cise again the children of Israel the second time.

Circum

cision was the sign of the covenant betw

een YH

WH

and His

people (Gen 17:9-14).

God’s sign to N

oah (Gen 9) w

as in the sky. Why? It w

as a covenant notonly w

ith Noah but w

ith all of nature. Abraham

received circumcision

as a personal seal of the righteousness of the faith he had (Rom

4:11).[It could be nullified by disobedience, R

om 2:25.]

We, too, are “circum

cised with the circum

cision made w

ithout hands”in C

hrist (Col 2:11-12). T

he fact that this is linked with burial and

resurrection is precisely what has been em

phasized in the two sets of

stones in Joshua 4.

[”Second tim

e”? Cf. Isa 11:11.]

3]A

nd Joshua made him

sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the

hill of the foreskins.

This m

ight seem surprising for a m

ilitary comm

ander: they were in enem

yterritory and, thus, especially vulnerable (C

f. Gen 34!). B

ut God w

as incharge.

A leader is often called upon to take risks. B

arabas and Paul “hazarded

their lives for the name of our L

ord Jesus Christ” (A

cts 15:26); Paul would

Page 29Page 28

Saul, the first king, crowned here (1 Sam

11); David w

as welcom

ed backafter A

bsalom’s rebellion w

as subdued (2 Sam

19); Sam

uel included iton his circuit (1 S

am 7:16); included a “school of the prophets” in days

of Elijah and E

lisha (2 Kgs 2:1-2; 4:38). It w

as a dwelling place of prophets

in northern Israel, about four miles (7 km

) from S

hiloh and Bethel.

It became a shrine w

here false worship w

as involved. Hosea condem

nedthe people for w

orshipping at Gilgal instead of Jerusalem

(Hos 4:15; 9:15;

12:11). Am

os echoed his warnings (A

mos 4:4; 5:5).

10]A

nd the children of Israel encamped in G

ilgal, and kept the passover on thefourteenth day of the m

onth at even in the plains of Jericho.

This is “preparing a table before them

in the presence of their enemies!”

(Ps 23:5) C

elebrating Passover right near their enem

ies. They had not

kept the passover for 38 years! This is the second celebration of

Passover (1st at Sinai, Num

9:5). It will be at H

is Second Com

ing that thefinal redem

ption will be com

pleted.

[For an exploration of the prophetic as w

ell as the comm

emorative

aspects of the various feasts of Moses, see our briefing package, T

heF

easts of Israel.]

11]A

nd they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow

after the passover,unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsam

e day.12]

And the m

anna ceased on the morrow

after they had eaten of the old corn of theland; neither had the children of Israel m

anna any more; but they did eat of the

fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Its cessation was as m

iraculous as its initiation.[S

ounds like dispensationalism...]

Cf. John 6:33, 49, 50, 58... 12:24.

Passover rem

inded them of their redem

ption from E

gypt; manna prob-

ably reminded them

of their desire to go back to Egypt (E

x 16:3).

[“Manna bread; m

anna burgers; (manna helper?); m

anna pancakes;m

anna-coti; manna-chevitz...”]

God fed H

is people the bread of heaven, the food of angels (Ps 78:23-25),yet they still lusted for the food of E

gypt (Num

11:4-9). It took only afew

days to get Israel out of Egypt, but it took 38 years to get E

gypt outof Israel!

How

ever, if that is what “the reproach of E

gypt” means, it w

ould haverequired only their successful entry into C

anaan to roll it away. H

ere itis achieved “this day” of circum

cision.

2)T

he Badge of F

reedom. C

ircumcision w

as prohibited to the Hebrew

sw

hile they were slaves in E

gypt; it was the distinctive m

ark of the rulingclass. (E

zek 32:19; Jer 9:25-26) Even so, it did not have the sam

esignificance for the E

gyptian: for the Israelite it was a token of his

relationship to God. L

acking it, no Israelite could eat the Passover (E

x12:43-48). T

hat would be to his reproach.

Our application is highlighted in E

phesians 2:11-19.

Delivered from

the bondage of Egypt, for 38 years the people of G

od were

slow to avail them

selves of their God-given rights and privileges. [H

owabout us?] For a circum

cised Israelite to live like an Egyptian w

ould havebeen a denial of the very thing his circum

cision signified. Even in the

OT

, it was also a m

atter of the heart (Deut 10:16; 30:6).

[Abraham

did not have to be circumcised in order to be saved. T

here may

have been as much as 25 years betw

een Abraham

’s first belief in God and

his circumcision. In all of those years, A

braham w

as not separated fromG

od. So us (Rom

4:10-11).]

In like manner, our C

hristian “circumcision” distinguishes us and

separates us from the w

orld (Rom

2:29). By it w

e are comm

itted tolovingly obey H

im w

ho has set us free from the tyranny of sin and S

atan(E

ph 4:17-20).

[Rem

ember the controversy that led to the confrontation of A

cts 15. The

Judaizers were adding hum

an works to G

od’s grace (Eph 2:8-9; G

al 5:1).B

elievers had the true circumcision (Phil 3:1-3). “Spiritual surgery” had

given them a new

heart (2 Cor 5:17; E

ph 4:24; Col 3:10; C

f Ezek 11:19;

36:26).]

This perception w

as embodied in the nam

ing of the place. Gilgal =

“aw

heel, rolling.”

[Isn’t it too bad that we rarely com

municate the real significance of

Christm

as, cf. “Easter”?]

It became Joshua’s center of operations (9:6; 10:6, 15, 43; 14:6).

Page 31Page 30

Holy ground w

ithin heathen territory: no such thing as “secular” and“sacred”; “com

mon” and “consecrated” w

hen you are in His service! (1

Cor 10:31).

The L

ord had promised to be w

ith Joshua just as He had been w

ith Moses

(Josh 1:5). To A

braham the pilgrim

, the Lord cam

e as a traveler to sharein a friendly m

eal (Gen 18:1-8); to Jacob the schem

er, He cam

e as a wrestler

to bring him to the place of subm

ission (Gen 32:24-32); to the three

Hebrew

young men, he joined them

in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25); O

urL

ord always com

es to us when w

e need Him

and in the way w

e need Him

.

[Cf. Z

ec 14:3: “Then shall the L

ord go forth, and fight against thosenations, as w

hen he fought in the day of battle.” When w

as this? (Here!)

Also, N

um 21:14.]

We are engaged in a w

arfare. The key lesson of C

hapter 5: we m

ust bespiritually prepared if w

e are to be successful for His nam

e. Hum

blew

orship (Eph 3:14); holy w

alk (Eph 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15); and then heavenly

warfare (E

ph 6:10ff). Like Joshua, w

e have already been given ourinheritance (E

ph 1 -2), yet we m

ust overcome the enem

y in order to claimit for ourselves and enjoy it.* * *

Josh

ua 6

Th

e Co

nq

uest o

f Jericho

No conflict, no crow

n. You are a poor soldier of C

hrist if you supposethat you can overcom

e without fighting. T

he initiative is the Church’s:

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” (M

t 16:18). It was G

odthat declared w

ar against Satan (G

en 3:15).

1]N

ow Jericho w

as straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went

out, and none came in.

Fear. U

nderstandable. A reversal of 38 years earlier w

hen Israel was

gripped with fear.

2]A

nd the Lord said unto Joshua, S

ee, I have given into thine hand Jericho, andthe king thereof, [and] the m

ighty men of valour.

Jesus gave His life for us; H

e gives His life to us (1 C

or 5:7-8).

“If ye then be risen with C

hrist, seek those things which are above,

where C

hrist sitteth on the right hand of God. S

et your affection onthings above, not on things on the earth” (C

ol 3:1,2).

Th

e Real C

om

man

der

13]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and

looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him

with his sw

ord drawn

in his hand: and Joshua went unto him

, and said unto him, A

rt thou for us, orfor our adversaries?

The phrase “lifted up his eyes,” every tim

e used is a prelude to a major

milestone. L

ike a brave sentry, Joshua issues the challenge.

14]A

nd he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the L

OR

D am

I now com

e. And

Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him

, What

saith my lord unto his servant?

Angels not to be w

orshiped! John does twice in R

evelation and angeldoes not allow

it.

[Note the appellation: “L

ord.”]

He is the “captain of our salvation” (H

eb 2:10).

15]A

nd the captain of the LO

RD

’S host said unto Joshua, L

oose thy shoe fromoff thy foot; for the place w

hereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

This “angel”:

permits (com

mands) w

orship (Cf. R

ev 19:10; 22:8,9); uses the same

language given to Moses (&

Joshua) 40 years earlier (Ex 3:5).

Methodology: F

or example, note role of shoes:

Calling (no shoes in tabernacle)

Divine P

rovision in wilderness, D

eut 29:5B

oaz’ marriage license

Sym

bol of shame: D

eut 25:9,10;M

arriage license: Ruth 4:7,8

Sym

bol of Stature: John the B

aptist (Mt 3:11; M

k 1:7; Lk 3:16).

Page 33Page 32

God has H

is “due order” (2 Sam

6:6,7; 1 Chr 15:13).

[They don’t shout until the 7th trum

pet on the 7th day (Cf. v.10).]

Wall shall fall “F

lat”= underneath it.

6]A

nd Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them

, Take up the

ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram

s’ hornsbefore the ark of the L

ord.

Ark sym

bolizes the presence of the Lord. (M

odels Revelation.)

7]A

nd he said unto the people, Pass on, and com

pass the city, and let him that

is armed pass on before the ark of the L

ord.

Over 2 m

illion people were in the nation; over 600,000 able to bear arm

s(N

um 26). M

ost scholars speculate that not all participated.

8]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the sevenpriests bearing the seven trum

pets of rams’ horns passed on before the L

ord,and blew

with the trum

pets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord follow

edthem

.9]

And the arm

ed men w

ent before the priests that blew w

ith the trumpets, and

the rereward cam

e after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing w

ith thetrum

pets.

Levites exem

pt from m

ilitary duty, yet used here!

10]A

nd Joshua had comm

anded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor m

akeany noise w

ith your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your m

outh,until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.

Keep silence? [Im

agine the taunts and jeers from the city w

alls...]

Cf. R

ev 8:1. Is there a parallel?

11]S

o the ark of the Lord com

passed the city, going about it once: and they came

into the camp, and lodged in the cam

p.12]

And Joshua rose early in the m

orning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

13]A

nd seven priests bearing seven trumpets of ram

s’ horns before the ark of theL

ord went on continually, and blew

with the trum

pets: and the armed m

en went

before them; but the rerew

ard came after the ark of the L

ord, the priests goingon, and blow

ing with the trum

pets.14]

And the second day they com

passed the city once, and returned into the camp:

so they did six days.

“Have given”: the victory w

as already theirs. That w

as because Joshuaw

as second in comm

and.

We do not fight for victory; w

e fight from victory. Jesus has already

defeated every spiritual enemy (John 12:31); not only in the w

ilderness(M

att 4:11), but also during His earthly m

inistry (12:22-29), on the cross(C

ol 2:13-15), and in His resurrection and ascension (E

ph 1:19-23). Rom

8:31!.

3]A

nd ye shall compass the city, all ye m

en of war, [and] go round about the city

once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

There are three w

ays to God’s w

ork:

1)M

ake the best plans we can, and carry them

out to the best of ourability;

2)H

aving carefully laid our plans and determined to carry them

through, we m

ay ask God to help us and to prosper us in connection

with them

; or3)

Begin w

ith God; ask H

im H

is plans, and to offer ourselves to Him

to carry out His purposes. (D

r. and Mrs. H

oward T

aylor, Biogra-

phy of James H

udson Taylor, p. 271)

4]A

nd seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of ram

s’ horns: andthe seventh day ye shall com

pass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow

with the trum

pets.

Seven: priests, trum

pet, day, times... T

he seventh day (v.15): Isn’t thisa violation of the S

abbath? What’s going on here? [O

r is the Lord of the

Sabbath w

ith them? (M

t 12:8; Mk 2:28; L

k 6:5).]

Trum

pet: rp;/v, the shofar: to proclaim liberty throughout the land (L

ev25:9-10). 14X

in Joshua 6. (Trum

pet of Jubilee: See Jubilee notes in

Appendix at end of this chapter.)

5]A

nd it shall come to pass, that w

hen they make a long blast w

ith the ram’s horn,

and when ye hear the sound of the trum

pet, all the people shall shout with a

great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall dow

n flat, and the people shallascend up every m

an straight before him.

Can you im

agine Joshua’s Staff M

eeting with his generals? T

hefoolishness of G

od (1 Cor 1:25-29); M

y ways are not your w

ays (Isa55:8,9).

Page 35Page 34

This w

as the comm

andment of G

od. He m

ade a distinction between the

cities in Canaan (w

here Israel would dw

ell) and those afar off (Deut 20).

The people in the land had plenty of opportunity (over 400 years! G

en15:16)—

as Rahab had (Josh 2:8-13; C

f. 2 Pet 3:9).

God is perpetually at w

ar with sin. B

ecause the Jews didn’t fully obey

this comm

andment in later years, it led to national defilem

ent and divinechastening (Ps 106:34-48). T

he Book of Judges w

ould not be in the Bible

if Israel had remained faithful (Judg 2:11-13).

22]B

ut Joshua had said unto the two m

en that had spied out the country, Go into

the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the wom

an, and all that she hath, as yesw

are unto her.

The very ones w

ho had risked their lives reap the reward of their labor.

(Cf. A

cts 15:25,26).

23]A

nd the young men that w

ere spies went in, and brought out R

ahab, and herfather, and her m

other, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they broughtout all her kindred, and left them

without the cam

p of Israel.

Rahab w

as removed, just as L

ot out of Sodom

(Gen 19) w

as theprerequisite to destroying the city; Israelites at P

assover in Egypt.

“Outside the cam

p”: (initially; as Num

5:1-4; 12:14; Deut 23:9-14).

24]A

nd they burnt the city with fire, and all that w

as therein: only the silver, andthe gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of thehouse of the L

ord.

Our G

od is a consuming fire (D

eut 4:24; Heb 12:29). F

ire speaks ofjudgm

ent. Jericho is a picture of the judgment of G

od (Mt 13:42; 25:41,46;

Rev 19:20; 20:10,14). [Just like our lives: gold, silver, precious stones

vs. Wood, hay, stubble: 1 C

or 3:11-15.]

The firstfruits w

ere the Lord’s. (S

ubsequent battles were fair gam

e.)

25]A

nd 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, w

hich Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.26]

And Joshua adjured them

at that time, saying, C

ursed be the man before the L

ord,that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereofin his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

15]A

nd it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the daw

ningof the day, and com

passed the city after the same m

anner seven times: only on

that day they compassed the city seven tim

es.

What about the S

abbath?

16]A

nd it came to pass at the seventh tim

e, when the priests blew

with the

trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, S

hout; for the Lord hath given you the

city.

[Cf. T

he 7th trumpet judgm

ent in Rev 10:7]

17]A

nd 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 w

ith her in the house, becauseshe hid the m

essengers that we sent.

The m

ost dangerous place in Jericho was on the w

alls! Yet the safest

place—the exception, by faith—

was R

ahab’s house!

[Note the term

: “messengers” not “spies.”]

“The L

ord knoweth them

that are His” (2 T

im 2:19). “H

e that receivethyou receiveth m

e, and he that receiveth me receiveth him

that sent me”

(Mt 10:40).

18]A

nd ye, in any wise keep yourselves from

the accursed thing, lest ye make

yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and m

ake the camp

of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

Not to take spoil. N

ext chapter, Achan w

ill prove to be an unfortunatecounter-exam

ple in the next engagement at A

i.

19]B

ut all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated untothe L

ord: they shall come into the treasury of the L

ord.

These are to be the tithe, or firstfruits (C

f. Gen 14:20). In battle of the nine

Kings, A

braham takes m

atters into his own hands, he had 318 trained

military m

en in his household. Abraham

tithes to Melchizedec.

20]S

o the people shouted when the priests blew

with the trum

pets: and it came

to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trum

pet, and the people shoutedw

ith a great shout, that the wall fell dow

n flat, so that the people went up into

the city, every man straight before him

, and they took the city.21]

And they utterly destroyed all that w

as in the city, both man and w

oman, young

and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sw

ord.

Page 37Page 36

all debts were forgiven;

all slaves went free;

land returned to its original owners (L

ev 25, 27; Num

36:4).

It was the “tim

e of the restitution of all things”—a phrase P

eterassociated w

ith the Second C

oming (A

cts 3:21).

Unfortunately, there is little evidence that this w

as observed. It appearsto have been abandoned after the exile in B

abylon.

The Jubilee Y

ear strangely begins on Yom

Kippur, not R

osh Hashanna.

Many believe that the Jubilee w

ill prove prophetically significant.

[E.W

. Bullinger reckons the N

ativity (2 B.C.?) as at the 29th Jubilee. That

would m

ake the 70th Jubilee 41 Jubilees years later, (2009 - 2, or 2007)?]

Scripture prohibits date setting for the R

apture of the Church. W

hileother events w

ill be precisely predicted to the day.

* * *

Josh

ua 7

Defeat in

the L

and

of V

ictory

Victory is often follow

ed by shameful defeat. (W

hen we are often the

most vulnerable!)

1]B

ut the children of Israel comm

itted a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan,

the son of Carm

i, the son of Zabdi, the son of Z

erah, of the tribe of Judah, tookof the accursed thing: and the anger of the L

ord was kindled against the children

of Israel.

“But”: an adversative connective. A

warning signal for the discerning

reader.

“accursed thing”: !r<j<, cherem,

1) a thing devoted, thing dedicated, ban, devotion;2) a net, thing perforated;3) have been utterly destroyed, (appointed to) utter destruction Josh 6:18. C

f. Deut 7:26; 13:17.

In the days of wicked K

ing Ahab, H

iel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho—

andit cost him

the lives of both his eldest and youngest sons (1 Kgs 16:34).

Literal prophecies in the B

ible (example of Z

edekiah).

The “oldest city in the w

orld” is still uninhabited. The present city called

Jericho is near, but not on, the ancient ruins. It is remarkable that it is,

today, one of the Muslim

(PL

O) strongholds again—

Bet Y

erah, the City

of the Moon G

od.

[For m

ore background on Islam and A

llah as the moon god, see our

briefing package, The Sw

ord of Allah.]

27]S

o the Lord w

as with Joshua; and his fam

e was noised throughout all the

country.

[I can imagine! ...even to this day. A

nd yet another Yeshua is about to

dispossess the Planet E

arth of its usurpers, by sending ahead two

witnesses, and clim

axing with 7 trum

pet judgments...]

“We are com

mitted to the pulling dow

n of strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4).

Today w

e see the Jericho of sin. The Jericho of m

aterialism. T

he Jerichoof paganism

. The Jericho of indifference. W

hich Jericho are you facing?

2 Chr 7:14: L

eviticus 25 describes sabbath for the land. The reason for

the Babylonian captivity is due to the fact that they ignored G

od’scom

mand.

* * *

Ap

pen

dix:

Th

e Jub

ilee Year

The shofar is associated w

ith the Jubilee.

In addition to the sabbath for man (based on a w

eek of days), there was

a sabbath for the land, a week of years: after six years, the land w

as toenjoy a sabbath rest for a year (L

ev 25).

After seven sabbaths of the land (49 years), the follow

ing year was the

Jubilee Year:

Page 39Page 38

36 = 6

2 (6= the num

ber of man, squared, failure!)

We often fail after a great victory. W

e usually fail spiritually in our“longest” suit—

or strongest strength! Cf. P

eter’s profession (Mt 16:13-

17) with his subsequent failure (M

t 16:21-23). And w

ho would be the

least likely to deny our Lord—

the boldest of them all! (A

venue of Pride.)

Shebarim

: “breaches.”

“Melted” vs. C

anannites in 5:1.

6]A

nd Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the arkof the L

ord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon theirheads.

[Have you ever had your plans dashed to pieces?]

How

could there be defeat? Didn’t they have G

od’s promises? ...the ark?

...the leader? ...weren’t they circum

cised? ...established comm

emorative

stones? ...celebrated Passover? E

t al.

Deut 11:22, 23, et al.

Dust as expression of rem

orse, etc.: 1 Sam

4:12; Job 2:12, et al.

The tim

e to humble oneself is before the battle, not after.

7]A

nd Joshua said, Alas, O

Lord G

od, wherefore hast thou at all brought this

people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Am

orites, to destroy us?w

ould to God w

e had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

Who’s to blam

e?

Unbelief is alw

ays content to settle for something less than G

od’s best.T

hat’s why the E

pistle to the Hebrew

s in the Bible: an urging for us to

enter into the fulness of our inheritance in Christ (H

eb 6:1).

8]O

Lord, w

hat shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enem

ies!

Joshua has learned a key lesson from M

oses, all for God’s glory.

9]F

or 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 w

ilt thou dounto thy great nam

e?

Why the genealogy (both here and in v.16-18)? Z

erah offspring ofJudah’s w

horedom w

ith Tam

ar, his daughter-in-law (G

en 38:15-30).[W

as this part of Satan’s m

any plots to thwart the prophecies of G

en49:8-12? C

f. Our notes on R

ev 12, et al.]

2]A

nd Joshua sent men from

Jericho to Ai, w

hich [is] beside Bethaven, on the east

side of Bethel, and spake unto them

, saying, Go up and view

the country. And

the men w

ent up and viewed A

i.

Ai: 15 m

iles from Jericho; about 1,700 ft above sea level.

Beth-aven: “house of vanity.”

3]A

nd they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, L

et not all the people go up;but let about tw

o or three thousand men go up and sm

ite Ai; [and] m

ake not allthe people to labour thither; for they [are but] few

.

[Staff officers m

aking line decisions...]

Fear m

akes the enemy appear greater than he really is. P

ride makes him

appear less than he is. [Ai has 12,000 total population, 8:25.]

Cf. P

eter’s “counsel” in Matthew

16:22, 23.

Also, Joshua had express instructions: “H

e shall stand before Eleazer

the priest, who shall ask counsel for him

after the judgment of U

rim before

the Lord: at H

is word shall they go out and at his w

ord shall they come

in” (Num

27:18-21).

No w

ritten record that Joshua followed this com

mand in respect to A

i.

4]S

o there went up thither of the people about three thousand m

en: and they fledbefore the m

en of Ai.

Whoops.

5]A

nd the men of A

i smote of them

about thirty and six men: for they chased them

[from] before the gate [even] unto S

hebarim, and sm

ote them in the going dow

n:w

herefore the hearts of the people melted, and becam

e as water.

The only previous defeat w

as with the A

malekites in N

um 14:41-45. T

heirlosses w

ere not what D

eut 32:30 led them to expect! T

hey could havedefeated the w

hole city if the nation had been pleasing to the Lord (Josh

8:25; Cf. Isa 59:2).

Page 41Page 40

15]A

nd it shall be, [that] he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt w

ithfire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the L

ord,and because he hath w

rought folly in Israel.16]

So Joshua rose up early in the m

orning, and brought Israel by their tribes; andthe tribe of Judah w

as taken:

The royal tribe. [D

isgraced in Gen 38; how

ever, Caleb also of Judah (N

um13:6); led cam

p in order of march (N

um 10:14); largest portion of C

anaan(D

eut 34:2).]

17]A

nd he brought the family of Judah; and he took the fam

ily of the Zarhites: and

he brought the family of the Z

arhites man by m

an; and Zabdi w

as taken:18]

And he brought his household m

an by man; and A

chan, the son of Carm

i, theson of Z

abdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, w

as taken.

“The lot is cast into the lap; but the w

hole disposing thereof is of theL

ord” (Prov. 16:33).

Urim

and Thum

mim

means lights or perfections (D

eut 33:8, 10, possiblyused, yet not stated w

hich measure used to “take” tribe.)

Jer 16:7; Ps 10:6-13—

probably reflect Achan’s thoughts.

19]A

nd Joshua said unto Achan, M

y son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord G

odof Israel, and m

ake confession unto him; and tell m

e now w

hat thou hast done;hide [it] not from

me.

20]A

nd Achan answ

ered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord

God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

“I have sinned.” He joined the ranks of seven other m

en, some m

ore thanonce, som

e without sincerity:

Pharaoh (Ex 9:27; 10:16)

Balaam

(Num

22:34)K

ing Saul (1 Sam 15:24, 30; 26:21)

David (2 Sam

12:13; 24:10, 17)Shim

ei (2 Sam 19:20)

Judas (Mt 27:4)

Prodigal son (Lk 15:18, 21)

21]W

hen I saw am

ong the spoils a goodly Babylonish garm

ent, and two hundred

shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels w

eight, then I coveted them,

and took them; and, behold, they [are] hid in the earth in the m

idst of my tent,

and the silver under it.

Their defeat had robbed G

od of glory. For this they had to repent.

Joshua’s concern if for the Nam

e of YH

WH

. He learned this lesson from

Moses (E

x 32:11-13; Num

14:13-16).

10]A

nd the Lord said unto Joshua, G

et thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy

face?11]

Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant w

hich Icom

manded them

: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have alsostolen, and dissem

bled also, and they have put [it] even among their ow

n stuff.

Who hath sinned? [C

orporate responsibility!] If Joshua had gone to theL

ord before the battle, this would have been revealed to him

.

One m

an’s sin can damage m

any. Abraham

’s disobedience in Egypt

almost cost him

his wife (G

en 12:10-20); David’s disobedience in an

unauthorized census led to the death of 70,000 (2 Sam

24); Jonah almost

sank a ship (Jonah 1); et al.

Also, a little leaven leaveneth a w

hole lump (1 C

or 5:6).

Our “private” sins affect the one B

ody of Christ (1 C

or 12:12ff.) [There

is no private sin. God is om

niscient.]

12]T

herefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, [but] turned

[their] backs before their enemies, because they w

ere accursed: neither will I be

with you any m

ore, except ye destroy the accursed from am

ong you.

To suffer defeat w

as bad. To be deprived of H

is presence was w

orse.[T

he “second death” is the separation of our soul from G

od.]

13]U

p, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to m

orrow: for

thus saith the Lord G

od of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the m

idst ofthee, O

Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take aw

ay theaccursed thing from

among you.

Heb 13:12.

14]In the m

orning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shallbe, [that] the tribe w

hich the Lord taketh shall com

e according to the families

[thereof]; and the family w

hich the Lord shall take shall com

e by households;and the household w

hich the Lord shall take shall com

e man by m

an.

Jer 17:9, 10; Ecc 12:14.

Page 43Page 42

Punishment by stoning: C

f. Joshua 10. Also, R

ev 16:21 (these will m

akean im

pression!).

26]A

nd they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. S

o the Lord turned

from the fierceness of his anger. W

herefore the name of that place w

as called,T

he valley of Achor, unto this day.

Cf. Isa 65:10; H

os 2:14-15: Valley of H

ope, a symbol of prom

ise; vs. The

Tim

e of Jacob’s Achor (“T

rouble”), Jer 30:7.

Lesso

ns

“What did you learn from

that experience?” Henry F

ord: “A m

istake isan opportunity to begin again, m

ore intelligently.”

Failure at A

i due to:

1)S

elf-confidence. The supposition that Israel conquered

Jericho. (Israel had not, God had!)

2)N

eglect of prayer. Joshua did not go back to Gilgal (for guidance

with A

i).3)

Disobedience. C

orporate responsibility:

Wherefore, as by one m

an sin entered into the world, and death by sin;

and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (R

om 5:12).

God teaches H

is people lessons in holiness and humility through defeat

and discipline. In the next chapter we w

ill see that He is able to give H

ispeople victory in the very place of defeat.

* * *

Josh

ua 8

Tu

rnin

g D

efeat into

Victo

ry

1]A

nd the Lord said unto Joshua, F

ear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the

people of war w

ith 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:

“Fear not.” T

hat’s great news! T

here is a remedy for sin. It’s called an

altar. God provided for our sin—

even before Adam

...

“Spoils”: N

o—they w

ere to be firstfruits. We try to “reclassify”:

adultery becomes an “affair”; perversion becom

es a “lifestyle”; theftbecom

e an “entitlement” (Isa 5:20).

[Babylonish garm

ent: “Mantle of S

hinar”: Chic. A

lso, occultic signifi-cance m

ay also be implied. B

abylon isn’t politically significant at thistim

e, but it was the origin of all false w

orship.]

“I saw... I coveted... I took...” S

ame order as E

ve in Gen 3:6. E

ye seems

to be the portal to which S

atan makes his attack, w

hile God uses the ear.

“Faith com

es by hearing” (Rom

. 10:17).

Coveting is idolatry (C

ol 3:5). He w

as robbing God. D

o we? (M

al 3:8-10!).

22]S

o Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, [it w

as] hidin his tent, and the silver under it.

All sins w

ill be found out.

23]A

nd they took them out of the m

idst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua,

and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the L

ord.24]

And Joshua, and all Israel w

ith him, took A

chan the son of Zerah, and the silver,

and the garment, and the w

edge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and hisoxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and theybrought them

unto the valley of Achor.

25]A

nd Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the L

ord shall trouble thee thisday. A

nd all Israel stoned him w

ith stones, and burned them w

ith fire, after theyhad stoned them

with stones.

Play on w

ords: Achor =

“trouble”; Achan =

“troubler.” (Nam

ed Valley

of Achor for w

hat has happened.)

God is serious about H

is instructions.

It seems that in each new

period of Bible history, G

od reveals His w

rathagainst sin in som

e dramatic w

ay:

•A

fter the Tabernacle had been set up, w

e have Nadab and A

bihu(L

ev 10:1, 2);•

When D

avid moved the ark to its place of honor, G

od killed Uzzah

(2 Sam 6:1-11);

•Just after the birth of the C

hurch, we see A

nanias and Saphira (A

cts5).]

Page 45Page 44

9]Joshua therefore sent them

forth: and they went to lie in am

bush, and abodebetw

een Bethel and A

i, on the west side of A

i: but Joshua lodged that nightam

ong the people.

Sam

e location as Abram

’s altar: before and after Egypt.

Joshua lodged with his arm

y. [Cf. D

avid remained in Jerusalem

when he

encountered Bathsheba...]

10]A

nd Joshua rose up early in the morning, and num

bered the people, and went

up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.

11]A

nd all the people, [even the people] of war that [w

ere] with him

, went up, and

drew nigh, and cam

e before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now

[there was] a valley betw

een them and A

i.12]

And he took about five thousand m

en, and set them to lie in am

bush between

Bethel and A

i, on the west side of the city.

13]A

nd when they had set the people, [even] all the host that [w

as] on the northof the city, and their liers in w

ait on the west of the city, Joshua w

ent that nightinto the m

idst of the valley.14]

And it cam

e to pass, when the king of A

i saw [it], that they hasted and rose up

early, and the men of the city w

ent out against Israel to battle, he and all hispeople, at a tim

e appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that [there w

ere]liers in am

bush against him behind the city.

Those that are in the m

ost danger, are least aware of it.

15]A

nd Joshua and all Israel made as if they w

ere beaten before them, and fled by

the way of the w

ilderness.16]

And all the people that [w

ere] in Ai w

ere called together to pursue after them:

and they pursued after Joshua, and were draw

n away from

the city.17]

And there w

as not a man left in A

i or Bethel, that w

ent not out after Israel: andthey left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

18]A

nd the Lord said unto Joshua, S

tretch out the spear that [is] in thy hand toward

Ai; for I w

ill give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that [he

had] in his hand toward the city.

The spear is an offensive w

eapon.

Cf. R

ephidim, w

here Aaron and H

ur hold up Moses’ hands (E

x 17:12-13).Joshua’s training ground!

19]A

nd 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 hastedand set the city on fire.

20]A

nd when the m

en of Ai looked behind them

, they saw, and, behold, the sm

okeof the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no pow

er to flee this way or

“...be not dismayed”: G

od never discourages His people from

making

progress. The w

orst mistake of all is not to try again.

“Take all the people:” there are lessons to be learned.

“Have given...” It’s a done deal (R

om 4:17). Just as H

e has done to Satan.

2]A

nd 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 untoyourselves: lay thee an am

bush for the city behind it.

God alw

ays gives His best to those w

ho leave the choice with H

im.

3]S

o Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against A

i: and Joshua choseout thirty thousand m

ighty men of valour, and sent them

away by night.

They m

arched 15 miles from

Gilgal to A

i.

4]A

nd he comm

anded them, saying, B

ehold, ye shall lie in wait against the city,

[even] behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready:

Special force to seal off, behind A

i, the path to Bethel, about 2 m

iles tothe w

est. This w

ould also prevent a surprise attack from B

ethel.

5]A

nd I, and all the people that [are] with m

e, will approach unto the city: and

it shall come to pass, w

hen they come out against us, as at the first, that w

e will

flee before them,

The m

ain force will proceed up the valley to challenge A

i and feignretreat.

6](F

or they will com

e out after us) till we have draw

n them from

the city; for theyw

ill say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore w

e will flee before them

.

[This w

ill exploit Ai’s overconfidence. T

he men of A

i will think this is

still Chapter 7; they don’t know

that this is Chapter 8!]

7]T

hen ye shall rise up from the am

bush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord

your God w

ill deliver it into your hand.

The “seal” team

will take the city, and seal off the am

bush.

8]A

nd it shall be, when ye have taken the city, [that] ye shall set the city on fire:

according to the comm

andment of the L

ord shall ye do. See, I have com

manded

you.

Page 47Page 46

In the valley: North M

t. Ebal (3,077 ft above sea level); South M

t. Gerizim

(2,895 ft a.s.l.) They form

an ampitheatre: 5oo yards apart at the bottom

;1 ½

miles at the top. B

oth mean barren.

Altar is at the site of the curses, not the blessings... (altar is m

ade to dealw

ith the curse.)

31]A

s Moses the servant of the L

ord comm

anded the children of Israel, as it isw

ritten in the book of the law of M

oses, an altar of whole stones, over w

hichno m

an hath lift up [any] iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings untothe L

ord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

Predicted by M

oses (Deut 27-30).

3X: unhew

n stones (Ex 20:35; D

eut 27:5; Josh 8:31). God’s w

orkmanship

not to be polluted by man’s additions. A

lso, a denial of humanism

!

Peace offerings: shared (L

ev 7:15); comm

union; (koinonia). Know

l-edge dem

ands action. (Deut 11:26-28)

32]A

nd he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law

of Moses, w

hich he wrote

in the presence of the children of Israel.

Cf. D

eut 17:18; Josh 24:26. Fourth public m

onument:

Gilgal [crossing] (4:20)

Valley of A

chor [judgment of sin] (7:26)

Entrance to A

i [victory upon repentance] (8:29)

33]A

nd all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this sidethe ark and on that side before the priests the L

evites, which bare the ark of the

covenant of the Lord, as w

ell the [sojourner] as he that was born am

ong them;

half of them over against m

ount Gerizim

, and half of them over against m

ountE

bal; as Moses the servant of the L

ord had comm

anded before, that they shouldbless the people of Israel.

Tw

o groups:

Simeon, L

evi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjam

in on Mt. G

erizim, the

Mount of B

lessing. [These had R

achel or Leah as their m

other.]

Reuben, G

ad, Asher, Z

ebulun, Dan, N

aphtali on Mt. E

bal, the Mount of

Cursings, M

t Ebal. [T

hese had handmaids, Z

ilhah or Bilhah as their

mother; except for R

euben and Zebulun. R

euben had forfeited his statusas firstborn by sinning against his father (G

en 35:22; 49:3-4).]

that way: and the people that fled to the w

ilderness turned back upon thepursuers.

21]A

nd 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 A

i.22]

And the other issued out of the city against them

; so they were in the m

idst ofIsrael, som

e on this side, and some on that side: and they sm

ote them, so that

they let none of them rem

ain or escape.23]

And the king of A

i they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

24]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants

of Ai in the field, in the w

ilderness wherein they chased them

, and when they

were all fallen on the edge of the sw

ord, until they were consum

ed, that all theIsraelites returned unto A

i, and smote it w

ith the edge of the sword.

25]A

nd [so] it was, [that] all that fell that day, both of m

en and wom

en, [were]

twelve thousand, [even] all the m

en of Ai.

26]F

or Joshua drew not his hand back, w

herewith he stretched out the spear, until

he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

27]O

nly the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves,

according unto the word of the L

ord which he com

manded Joshua.

Since the m

en actually had to fight, they had earned their reward. (T

helaw

s concerning spoils: Num

31:9-54).

Too bad A

chan hadn’t waited...

28]A

nd Joshua burnt Ai, and m

ade it an heap for ever, [even] a desolation unto thisday.

29]A

nd the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun w

asdow

n, Joshua comm

anded 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 heapof stones, [that rem

aineth] unto this day.

Cursed is anything that hangs on a tree. (D

eut 21:22-23; Gal 3:13.)

30]T

hen Joshua built an altar unto the Lord G

od of Israel in mount E

bal,

Sh

echem

•W

here 600 years earlier Abraham

had built his 1st altar;•

Where Jacob, w

hile fleeing from L

aban, carried the teraphim, his

father-in-law’s stolen gods;

•W

here Joseph sought his brothers before going on to Dothan

•W

here he was sold into slavery; (and w

here he is buried);•

Where Jacob dug a w

ell; and where Jesus m

et the Samaritan w

oman

(John 4).

Page 49Page 48

Josh

ua 9

Ho

no

r Am

idst D

eceptio

n

The defenders take an initiative.

Prelude to the battle of C

hapter 10.

Mistakes:

a dentist’s is pulled out;a law

yer’s is imprisoned;

a teacher’s is failed;a printer’s is corrected;a pharm

acist’s is buried;a postm

an’s is forwarded;

an electrician’s can be shocking.

Only those w

ho do nothing make no m

istakes.H

owever, in Joshua’s case, doing nothing w

as his mistake.

Background: D

estroy utterly; make no covenant (D

eut 7:1-11; 20:10-20;E

x 23:32).

1]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen all the kings which [w

ere] on this side Jordan, in thehills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against L

ebanon,the H

ittite, and the Am

orite, the Canaanite, the P

erizzite, the Hivite, and the

Jebusite, heard [thereof];

“And”: connects to the previous. W

hy only six? Girgasites m

issing inthis list. (D

on’t know... S

ymbolic?)

2]T

hat they gathered themselves together, to fight w

ith Joshua and with Israel,

with one accord.

An

Allian

ce Is Fo

rmed

Psalm

2; (83). (Nations of the w

orld taking up arms against G

od!)

3]A

nd when the inhabitants of G

ibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho

and to Ai,

Analogous to R

ahab. (She had heard and took action to separate herself

from her people.)

[Cf. D

eut 28:64ff]

[For a complete study of the T

welve T

ribes do review the second volum

ein this set of Joshua, T

he Tw

elve Tribes of Israel.]

The law

is not read until there was an altar (first m

ention in Joshua). There

must be a rem

edy present for your failure to keep the law! N

otice thatthe altar is at M

t. Ebal, not G

erizim.

This is all at S

hechem—

Genesis country. T

his will later becom

e thecapital of the S

amaritans (C

f. John 4). The w

ell was betw

een Mt. E

baland M

t. Gerizim

. Mt. E

bal, the curses of the law; M

t. Gerizim

, thehum

anism of w

orks. He rather pointed to neither—

but to Him

self.

Ark not m

entioned in Joshua now that the law

has been ratified.

Sojourner (Lev 19:34).

34]A

nd afterward he read all the w

ords of the law, the blessings and cursings,

according to all that is written in the book of the law

.

[It is interesting that some groups w

ho are drawn to put them

selves“under the law

” rarely include the cursings with the blessings...] W

e arenot under the L

aw, see G

alatians.

35]T

here was not a w

ord of all that Moses com

manded, w

hich Joshua read notbefore all the congregation of Israel, w

ith the wom

en, and the little ones, and thestrangers that w

ere conversant among them

.

Have you read G

od’s Word to your fam

ily?

* * *

Page 51Page 50

11]W

herefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying,T

ake victuals with you for the journey, and go to m

eet them, and say unto them

,W

e [are] your servants: therefore now m

ake ye a league with us.

12]T

his our bread we took hot [for] our provision out of our houses on the day w

ecam

e forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is m

ouldy:13]

And these bottles of w

ine, which w

e filled, [were] new

; and, behold, they berent: and these our garm

ents and our shoes are become old by reason of the very

long journey.

A story, but w

ithout credentials. Notice that they w

ere clever enoughnot to m

ention Jericho or Ai, w

hich were local and m

ight have spoiledtheir ruse.

[When w

e hear some supposedly learned m

an talk about the fossilrem

ains of prehistoric creatures, confidently affirming them

to be mil-

lions of years old, I wonder if w

e might no com

pare such tales with the

moldy bread of the G

ibeonites?]

14]A

nd the men took of their victuals, and asked not [counsel] at the m

outh of theL

ord.

Big m

istake. We m

ake it all the time, too (Jam

es 1:5).

He that believeth shall not m

ake haste: Isa 28:16. (Put that on your

bathroom m

irror!) They relied on the “scientific m

ethod” and examined

the “facts.” Very logical and convincing, but it w

as all wrong (P

rov 3:5,6).

Moses had w

arned them (E

x 34:12).

15]A

nd Joshua made peace w

ith them, and m

ade a league with them

, to let themlive: and the princes of the congregation sw

are unto them.

You have to give them

credit for escaped with their lives. (C

f. Luke 16:8)

Better to know

your strength before the battle: Luke 14:31-32.

Joshua and the princes had sworn in the nam

e of the Lord (v.18); it could

not be broken. They had sw

orn to their own hurt (P

s 15:4; Ecc 5:1-7).

Oaths are binding (L

ev 19:12; Num

30). Real issue is the sanctity of G

od’snam

e.

16]A

nd it came to pass at the end of three days after they had m

ade a league with

them, that they heard that they [w

ere] their neighbours, and [that] they dwelt

among them

.

This w

as an independent move on their part to save their lives, and that

would later throw

their allies into confusion.

4]T

hey did work w

ilily, and went and m

ade as if they had been ambassadors, and

took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

Gibeon w

as only 25 miles from

Gilgal.

These w

ere Hivites (v.7) (w

hich means “serpent”) :

“The w

iles of the devil” (Eph 6:11)

Disguise and deception are his w

eapons (2 Cor 11:3).

We need to be aw

are of “his devices.” (2 Cor 2:11)

Satan is the “father of lies” (John 8:44).

Retribution: C

enturies earlier, the sons of Jacob had treacherouslydeceived S

hechem and his father (H

ivites) and slew them

and spoiledtheir city (G

en 34) as Shechem

had raped Dinah, Jacob’s daughter.

5]A

nd old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them

; andall the bread of their provision w

as dry [and] mouldy.

6]A

nd they went to Joshua unto the cam

p at Gilgal, and said unto him

, and to them

en of Israel, We be com

e from a far country: now

therefore make ye a league

with us.

Only by convincing the Israelites that they w

ere from a far country—

justpassing through—

could they expect to make a deal.

7]A

nd the men of Israel said unto the H

ivites, Peradventure ye dw

ell among us;

and how shall w

e make a league w

ith you?

Hivites: (“serpent”) [John G

ill, renowned H

ebraist; quoted in Pink, p.

246]; a descendant of Canaan (G

en 10:15, 17); object of a curse (Gen 9:25).

They w

ere, apparently, suspicious.

8]A

nd they said unto Joshua, We [are] thy servants. A

nd Joshua said unto them,

Who [are] ye? and from

whence com

e ye?9]

And they said unto him

, From

a very far country thy servants are come because

of the name of the L

ord thy God: for w

e have heard the fame of him

, and all thathe did in E

gypt,

They seem

to be aware of the D

eut 20:10ff. (v.15)

10]A

nd all that he did to the two kings of the A

morites, that [w

ere] beyond Jordan,to S

ihon king of Heshbon, and to O

g king of Bashan, w

hich [was] at A

shtaroth.

Page 53Page 52

24]A

nd they answered Joshua, and said, B

ecause it was certainly told thy servants,

how that the L

ord thy God com

manded his servant M

oses to give you all theland, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from

before you, thereforew

e were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

25]A

nd now, behold, w

e [are] in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee

to do unto us, do.26]

And so did he unto them

, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of

Israel, that they slew them

not.27]

And Joshua m

ade them that day hew

ers of wood and draw

ers of water for the

congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place w

hichhe should choose.

Deut 20:10, 11. G

od was pleased w

ith this result: He gives them

a dramatic

victory on their behalf in Chapter 10. A

lso, Saul’s violation of this leagueis avenged (2 S

am 21). N

otice how D

avid honored his oath to Jonathanin this connection, exem

pting Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, from

justavengem

ent (v.7).

No evidence in S

cripture that their descendants caused problems. O

nthe contrary, their faithfulness is testified to: the N

ethinim (“devoted

persons”) were their descendants and had a place of honor in the service

of the temple centuries later (1 C

hr 9:2; Ezra 2:43-58; 8:20; N

eh 7:60).

Rahab and G

ibeonites somew

hat parallel:dubious characterhad heard and believedleft the kingdom

of God’s enem

iesproved their loyalty.

Gibeonite’s service led to a place of religious privilege. G

ibeon was one

of the cities given to the line of Aaron. 400 years later, the T

abernaclew

ould be there. One of D

avid’s mighty m

en, those who w

ere closest tohim

in battle, was a G

ibeonite. When S

olomon ascended the throne, he

made burnt offerings at G

ibeon. Later still, about 500 years before C

hristin the tim

e of Zerubbabel, the returnees from

Babylon included a list of

the Gibeonites. In the days of N

ehemiah, G

ibeonites were am

ong thosew

ho helped build the walls of Jerusalem

.

Even though their oath w

as made under deception, G

od expected themto keep it. If G

od will not tolerate the breaking of an oath m

ade in His nam

e,how

much m

ore will H

e never break His ow

n oath and covenant made

to us on the basis of the shed blood and infinite value of Jesus Christ!

Heb 6:13-20.

Some lies are found out quickly. [O

thers are taught in schools as “truth.”]

17]A

nd the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day.

Now

their cities [were] G

ibeon, and Chephirah, and B

eeroth, and Kirjathjearim

.

[Israel suffered no injury. When the land w

as divided, they were not

short: Josh 18:25-28; 15:2.]

18]A

nd the children of Israel smote them

not, because the princes of thecongregation had sw

orn unto them by the L

ord God of Israel. A

nd all thecongregation m

urmured against the princes.

19]B

ut all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sw

orn unto them by

the Lord G

od of Israel: now therefore w

e may not touch them

.

Issue is not the premise of the deal, it’s the person upon w

hom it is sw

orn,the L

ord God of Israel!

20]T

his we w

ill do to them; w

e will even let them

live, lest wrath be upon us, because

of the oath which w

e sware unto them

.

Now

that’s a comm

itment! P

s 15:4.O

nce the oath was m

ade, God expected them

to keep it. [How

about us?]In today’s w

orld, we have lost the sanctity of a com

mitm

ent.

God expects us to keep our w

ord.V

s. Saul (1 Sam 21:1).

Cf. E

zek 17:16, 18-20.M

t 5:33-37.

21]A

nd the princes said unto them, L

et them live; but let them

be hewers of w

oodand draw

ers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had prom

isedthem

.

“Let your m

istakes work for you.” M

ade the Gibeonites their servants.

Cf. D

eut 29:11.

22]A

nd Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them

, saying, Wherefore have

ye beguiled us, saying, We [are] very far from

you; when ye dw

ell among us?

23]N

ow therefore ye [are] cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from

beingbondm

en, and hewers of w

ood and drawers of w

ater for the house of my G

od.

The curse of C

anaan: Gen 9:25. (H

ivites were C

anaanites; here we see a

partial fulfillment.)

Page 55Page 54

7]S

o Joshua ascended from G

ilgal, he, and all the people of war w

ith him, and all

the mighty m

en of valour.8]

And the L

ord said unto Joshua, Fear them

not: for I have delivered them into

thine hand; there shall not a man of them

stand before thee.

God m

ust have laughed. Cf. P

salm 2:1-4.

Instead of having to defeat these five city-states one by one, they would

now conquer them

all at one time!

The victory w

as already the Lord’s. N

o mistake is final for the dedicated

Christian.

9]Joshua therefore cam

e unto them suddenly, [and] w

ent up from G

ilgal all night.

An all-night m

arch for the advantage of surprise.

10]A

nd the Lord discom

fited them before Israel, and slew

them w

ith a greatslaughter at G

ibeon, and chased them along the w

ay that goeth up to Bethhoron,

and smote them

to Azekah, and unto M

akkedah.

Know

n as the Battle of B

ethhoron.

11]A

nd it came to pass, as they fled from

before Israel, [and] were in the going dow

nto B

ethhoron, that the Lord cast dow

n great stones from heaven upon them

untoA

zekah, and they died: [they were] m

ore which died w

ith hailstones than [they]w

hom the children of Israel slew

with the sw

ord.

That’s rem

arkable marksm

anship. This rules out any “natural” explana-

tions. Cf. R

ev 16:21 (hailstones).

12]T

hen spake Joshua to the Lord in the day w

hen the Lord delivered up the

Am

orites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, standthou still upon G

ibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of A

jalon.

“Be thou silent.”

13]A

nd the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged

themselves upon their enem

ies. [Is] not this written in the book of Jasher? S

othe sun stood still in the m

idst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a

whole day.

Really? (A

lso, Hab 3:11) Is G

od a prisoner of His ow

n creation?•

Nothing is too hard for H

im (Jer 32:17, 27);

•H

e comm

andeth the sun and it riseth not (Job 9:7); [The sun appeared to

Josh

ua 10

1]N

ow it cam

e to pass, when A

donizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how

Joshuahad taken A

i, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king,so he had done to A

i and her king; and how the inhabitants of G

ibeon had made

peace with Israel, and w

ere among them

;2]

That they feared greatly, because G

ibeon [was] a great city, as one of the royal

cities, and because it [was] greater than A

i, and all the men thereof [w

ere] mighty.

Adoni-Z

edek: “The L

ord of Righteousness”(?)

King of Jerusalem

. (Imitating the “K

ing of Righteousness,” H

eb 7:2, buthating the people of G

od, 2 Thess 2:4.)

All the inhabitants of C

anaan considered utterly corrupt: Cf. L

ev 18:25.

3]W

herefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem

sent unto Hoham

king of Hebron, and

unto Piram

king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of L

achish, and unto Debir

king of Eglon, saying,

4]C

ome up unto m

e, and help me, that w

e may sm

ite Gibeon: for it hath m

ade peacew

ith Joshua and with the children of Israel.

They could hardly let the capitulation of the G

ibeonites rest; it would set

a disastrous precedent.

5]T

herefore the five kings of the Am

orites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of

Hebron, the king of Jarm

uth, the king of Lachish, the king of E

glon, gatheredthem

selves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encam

ped beforeG

ibeon, and made w

ar against it.

The G

ibeonites were now

at war w

ith their former allies.

6]A

nd the men of G

ibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to G

ilgal, saying, Slack

not thy hand from thy servants; com

e up to us quickly, and save us, and helpus: for all the kings of the A

morites that dw

ell in the mountains are gathered

together against us.

If you make agreem

ents with the enem

y, expect to pay a price defendingthem

. [That is w

hy God’s people are to rem

ain separated from the w

orld(2 C

or 6:14-18; 2 Tim

2:4).

The G

ibeonites trusted in Joshua (“YH

WH

is Savior”) and his w

ord.[H

ow m

uch more can w

e rely on His!]

Page 57Page 56

moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

22]T

hen said Joshua, Open the m

outh of the cave, and bring out those five kingsunto m

e out of the cave.23]

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 Jarm

uth, the king ofL

achish, [and] the king of Eglon.

24]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshuacalled for all the m

en of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of w

ar which

went w

ith him, C

ome near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. A

ndthey cam

e near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

Rom

16:20. (Foot on neck is a sign of victory.)

25]A

nd Joshua said unto them, F

ear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good

courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enem

ies against whom

ye fight.

Since Joshua is a type of C

hrist, we can claim

these words to ourselves.

The L

ord’s enemies are H

is footstool (Ps 110:1; 1 C

or 15:25). Through

Him

, we can claim

victory and put our feet on the necks of our enemies

(Rom

16:20).

26]A

nd afterward Joshua sm

ote them, and slew

them, and hanged them

on five trees:and they w

ere hanging upon the trees until the evening.27]

And it cam

e to pass at the time of the going dow

n of the sun, [that] Joshuacom

manded, and they took them

down off the trees, and cast them

into the cavew

herein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, [w

hichrem

ain] until this very day.28]

And that day Joshua took M

akkedah, and smote it w

ith the edge of the sword,

and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that [w

ere]therein; he let none rem

ain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto

the king of Jericho.

Ruthlessly thorough. N

o half measures here.

We should be both w

arned and encouraged. We m

ust be alert andprayerful lest w

e be deceived and walk by sight rather than by faith. W

eneed to be cautious about alliances; an yet, G

od can even take ourblunders and turn them

into blessings. 1 John 5:4: “And this is the

victory that has overcome the w

orld—our faith.”

Co

mp

letion

of th

e So

uth

ern C

on

qu

est

Joshua’s strategy was to cut across the land to divide it, then conquer

the southern cities, and then the northern.

go backward in the days of H

ezekiah (Isa 38:8)]•

Day and night belong to G

od (Ps 74:16).

Other m

ysteries: Job 38:22-23. [See next session on “T

he Long D

ay ofJoshua”]

“The m

ind which asks for a nonm

iraculous Christianity is a m

ind inprocess of relapsing from

Christianity into m

ere ‘religion.’” [C.S. L

ewis,

“Miracles” p. 133]

To deny m

iracles is the acme of arrogance—

and a pretense to omni-

science. To deny m

iracles would be to deny the birth of a child, or the

creation itself. All the resources of science cannot create even a single

blade of grass. No w

onder the Lord asks of puny m

an, “Where w

astthough w

hen I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast

understanding” (Job 38:4).

14]A

nd there was no day like that before it or after it, that the L

ord hearkened untothe voice of a m

an: for the Lord fought for Israel.

[Foreshadow

s Zech 14:7?]

Hailstones on the enem

y was an answ

er to prayer, yet the request was

anticipated; demonstrates the “

Sovereignty of Man.”

15]A

nd Joshua returned, and all Israel with him

, unto the camp to G

ilgal.16]

But these five kings fled, and hid them

selves in a cave at Makkedah.

Cf. R

ev 6:15-17.

17]A

nd it was told Joshua, saying, T

he five kings are found hid in a cave atM

akkedah.18]

And Joshua said, R

oll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set m

en byit for to keep them

:

A holding action w

hile they mop up. (2 P

et 2:9).

19]A

nd stay ye not, [but] pursue after your enemies, and sm

ite the hindmost of

them; suffer them

not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your G

od hathdelivered them

into your hand.20]

And it cam

e to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had m

ade an endof slaying them

with a very great slaughter, till they w

ere consumed, that the

rest [which] rem

ained of them entered into fenced cities.

21]A

nd all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at M

akkedah in peace: none

Page 59Page 58

41]A

nd Joshua smote them

from K

adeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country

of Goshen, even unto G

ibeon.

Here w

e are at the site of the failure of faith 40 years earlier...

42]A

nd all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the L

ordG

od of Israel fought for Israel.43]

And Joshua returned, and all Israel w

ith him, unto the cam

p to Gilgal.

A return to base. O

ur base is Calvary.

Lessons to be learned:

1) Walk by faith not by sight.

2) Be cautious about alliances.

3) God can take our blunders and turn them

into victories (1 John 5:4).

* * *

Th

e Lo

ng

Day o

f Josh

ua

(Review

of Joshua 10:12-13)

12]T

hen spake Joshua to the Lord in the day w

hen the Lord delivered up the

Am

orites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, standthou still upon G

ibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of A

jalon.13]

And the sun stood still, and the m

oon stayed, until the people had avengedthem

selves upon their enemies. [Is] not this w

ritten in the book of Jasher? So

the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go dow

n about aw

hole day.

1. Catastro

ph

e Mo

del o

f Histo

ry

Un

iform

ity Delu

sion

s

Despite the w

idespread presumptions, w

hich we all are guilty of, that our

universe is uniform, stable and linear—

all one has to do is look througha set of binoculars at the m

oon, or examine the photographs returned by

our space probes of the planets, and it becomes quite obvious that our

Solar S

ystem is a rough neighborhood. It is quite apparent that the

history of our Solar S

ystem has been characterized by collisions and

catastrophes of all sorts.

29]T

hen Joshua passed from M

akkedah, and all Israel with him

, unto Libnah, and

fought against Libnah:

30]A

nd the Lord delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and

he smote it w

ith the edge of the sword, and all the souls that [w

ere] therein; helet none rem

ain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king ofJericho.

31]A

nd Joshua passed from L

ibnah, and all Israel with him

, unto Lachish, and

encamped against it, and fought against it:

32]A

nd the Lord delivered L

achish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the

second day, and smote it w

ith the edge of the sword, and all the souls that [w

ere]therein, according to all that he had done to L

ibnah.

Note: E

ach victory measured against the one previous. E

ach victoryshould be a standard for the next.

Lachish took tw

o days. When S

ennacherib, king of Assyria “cam

e upagainst all the fenced cities of Judah” (2 K

gs 18:13) and he personallylaid siege against L

achish (2 Chr 32:9), he had to abandon his attem

pt toreduce it (2 K

gs 19:7, 8). Later, w

hen Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah in

the reign of its last king, Lachish w

as one of the last to be conquered (Jer34:7).

33]T

hen Horam

king of Gezer cam

e up to help Lachish; and Joshua sm

ote him and

his people, until he had left him none rem

aining.34]

And from

Lachish Joshua passed unto E

glon, and all Israel with him

; and theyencam

ped against it, and fought against it:35]

And they took it on that day, and sm

ote it with the edge of the sw

ord, and allthe souls that [w

ere] therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all thathe had done to L

achish.36]

And Joshua w

ent up from E

glon, and all Israel with him

, unto Hebron; and they

fought against it:37]

And they took it, and sm

ote it with the edge of the sw

ord, and the king thereof,and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that [w

ere] therein; he left nonerem

aining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly,

and all the souls that [were] therein.

38]A

nd Joshua returned, and all Israel with him

, to Debir; and fought against it:

39]A

nd he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote

them w

ith the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that [w

ere]therein; he left none rem

aining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to D

ebir,and to the king thereof; as he had done also to L

ibnah, and to her king.40]

So Joshua sm

ote 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 rem

aining, but utterlydestroyed all that breathed, as the L

ord God of Israel com

manded.

In contrast to Saul, years later, sparing A

gag and the best of the sheep,et al (1 S

am 15).

Page 61Page 60

Previo

us “N

ear-Misses”

In Oct 1992, the m

edia broke the news that our planet w

as in danger ofbeing hit by a com

et. [NY

Tim

es, 27 Oct 1992, p. C

7; 3 Nov p. C

10; New

Scientist, Oct 24, 1992, p. 11] F

ortunately, supplemental observations

revealed that no collision is likely for centuries, at least until eight more

orbits are completed. [D

uncan Steel, “Com

et Swift-T

uttle and a questionof probability,” Spaceflight, v. 35, July 1993, p. 223; N

Y T

imes, 29 D

ec1992, p. C

-2.]

Com

et “Sw

ift-Tuttle” passes near the E

arth about every 130 years, eachtim

e a little closer. It is unusually large and travels at 125,000 miles per

hour.

On January 23, 1982, an asteroid alm

ost a third of a mile in diam

eter passedw

ithin 2.5 million m

iles of the Earth w

ithout being observed. It was

discovered a month later. [D

iscover, May 1984, p. 32.]

On M

arch 22, 1989, a closer near-miss (“1989 F

C”) m

issed by 6 hours(400,000 m

iles). [Le N

ouvel Observateur, 11-17 July 1991, pp. 46-48.]

Astero

id T

hreats

A fam

ous example w

as the asteroid that hit Tunguska in central S

iberiain June 30, 1908, devastating m

ore than 2,000 square km of forest. T

heT

unguska region is so remote, it w

asn’t explored until 17 years later. Ifit had been a com

et, it would probably have exploded at a higher altitude

and done no damage. H

ad it been composed of denser iron, it w

ould havereached the ground m

aking a large crater. It apparently was a rocky

asteroid about the size of a city office building, that decelerated andexploded at an altitude of five m

iles. Last year, scientists found tiny

fragments of this rocky object im

bedded in tree resin at the impact site.

The m

eteor crater near Winslow

, Arizona w

as formed by just such a

metallic m

eteorite, with the sam

e 15-megaton energy as T

unguska.E

xperts estimate that such im

pacts happen about once every 300 yearson the E

arth’s surface, and about once every millennium

on land.

Even relatively m

odest-sized asteroids can result in substantial long-term

impacts. A

tsunami (tidal w

ave) from a T

unguska-class object couldproduce w

idespread destruction and even devastate continental coast-lines. S

ome scientists attribute the extinction of prehistoric species to

The E

arth accumulates about 100 tons of extraterrestrial m

aterial everyday under a constant rain of interplanetary debris. M

ost meteoroids

enter the atmosphere and burn up unnoticed. Som

e survive the fiery heatof entry and are slow

ed down by air friction to a speed of about 200 m

ilesper hour and w

hat is left hits the ground as a meteorite.

The E

arth’s atmosphere protects us from

the smaller asteroids. H

ow-

ever, if they are larger than 50 meters (half the size of a football field), they

pack about 10 megatons of energy, com

parable to some our larger

warheads. T

hese are expected about once per century. In 1972 the Earth

narrowly m

issed a 10-megaton im

pact. [David M

orrison, “Target: E

arth,”A

stronomy, O

ct 1995, p. 38]

If it wasn’t for the constant rew

orking of the Earth’s surface by erosion

and plate tectonics, our own planet w

ould be as densely cratered as them

oon. There are over 100 craters on the E

arth, also, some ranging up to

80 miles in diam

eter.

[The m

ap below show

s some of the m

eteor/asteroid craters that are stilldetectable despite erosion and other surface changes.]

Astero

id C

raters

Page 63Page 62

Mars “M

yths”:“M

ars” = R

omans

“Indra” = Indian folklore

“Tyr” =

Teutonic; genitive form

: Tiew

es,T

iewes-daeg =

Tuesday. T

iewes is derived from

the Sanskrit w

orddevas, from

which R

omans derived their w

ord deus or deity.[B

rittanica, v.22,p 652]

Sun-daeg

Moon-daeg

Tiw

es-daeg (Mars’ day)

Odens-daeg (M

ercury’s day)T

hors-daeg (Jupiter’s day)F

reyia-daeg (Venus’day)

Saturn’s day.

First R

oman m

onth: Martius’-- “M

arch”;

Aprilla

Venus

Maius

Mercury

JunoJupiter

(Calendar reorganized in 364 B.C. to change M

arch to January 1.)

Medieval C

alendars:

•E

ngland: March =

1st month of legal year until 1752.

•A

nglo-Saxons describe M

arch as Lencten-m

onath, “lengthenedm

onth”; re: “lent.”•

Scotland: January replaced M

arch as 1st, 1599 A.D.•

France: January becam

e March in 1564 by C

harles IX.

[Half of the near pass-bys w

ere on October 25th.]

Many ancient people (C

elts, Druids....) used O

ctober 31 as year-end: Eve

of Sam

hain; related to the worship of B

aal (Mars) and A

shtoreth(V

enus).

[May have dated from

Tow

er of Babel catastrophe, 1930 B.C.]

Mars w

orshipped as Baal, B

el; as a Calf, even today in India...

Mars =

“God of W

ar”: “Martial A

rts,” etc.

cosmic collisions of the past. [C

.C. A

lbritton, Catastrophic E

pisodes inE

arth History; V

.L. S

harpston and P.D

. Ward (eds.), G

lobal Catastro-

phes in Earth H

istory.]

In 1991, the discovery of a crater (named C

hicxulub) under Mexico’s

Yucatan peninsula is conjectured to have resulted in the extinction of the

dinosaurs. The size of this asteroid has been estim

ated to have been oversix m

iles in diameter. T

he energy of this asteroid has been estimated at

over 100 million m

egatons—five billion H

iroshima atom

ic bombs!

[Morrison, p. 36]

Polar instability (they have m

oved thousands of miles) and num

erousm

agnetic reversals may have been triggered by such collisions. [“O

nim

pacts as a cause of geomagnetic field reversals or blood basalts”, D

.L.

Loper and K

. McC

artney in Global C

atastrophes in Earth H

istory.]

(This is the type of event w

hich may have been involved w

ith the “Long

Day” of Joshua. S

ee our briefing package, Signs in the Heavens.)

Th

e Wo

rship

of th

e An

cients?

vs. our own space-age sophistication: planets are interesting but not

consequential! While in ancient history, they w

ere terrified of theplanets. T

hey studied them, w

orshipped them...

[Recent G

alileo probe of Jupiter: a few m

inutes of data and they have torethink all that they though they knew

...]

Why ancient interest? (m

ovements, eclipses, zodiacs, sundials, sun

caves, obelisks, sun-temples, planet tem

ples, astrologies, etc.)

2. Calen

dar B

ackgro

un

d

Ancient C

alendars: reforms after 701 B.C. C

haldeans, Egyptians, H

e-brew

s, Greeks, P

hoenicians, Chinese, M

ayan, Hindus, C

arthaginians,E

truscans, Teutons,...

All their calendars are built on 360-day calendar (m

ost with tw

elve 30-day m

onths). How

ever, all change in 701 B.C. The R

omans add five days

(like we use today). K

ing Hezekiah adds a m

onth to the Jewish cycle

every few years (3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th year). W

hy didhe have to change the calendar?

Page 65Page 64

Ph

aetho

n S

tory

Phaethon, in G

reek mythology, w

as son of Helios, the sun-god and

nymph C

lymene (G

reek phaethon = “S

hinning”, “Radiant”). H

e per-suaded his father to let him

drive the chariot of the sun across the sky,but he lost control of the horses and, driving too near the earth, scorchedit. T

o save the world from

utter destruction Zeus killed P

haethon with

a thunderbolt. He fell to the earth at the m

outh of Eridanus, a river in

northern Europe.

In New

Zealand, the M

aori story of Maui is alm

ost identical. Sim

ilarlegends am

ong Am

erican Indians, the Phoenix bird of E

gypt, the dragonstories of C

hina, Japanese lore, etc.

SU

MM

AR

Y O

F C

ATA

ST

RO

PH

ES

Oct

2146Peleg

Oct

1930T

ower of B

abel

Mar

1877Sodom

& G

omorrah

Mar

1663Job

120,000

Mar

1447E

xodus Plagues 60,000

Oct

1404L

ong Day, Joshua

70,000

Oct

1188D

eborah150,000

(Judges 5:20)O

ct1080

Samuelic

150,000

Mar

1025D

avid (Lesser)

200,000

Oct

972D

avid (Greater)

120,000

Oct

864E

lijahic150,000

Oct

756Joel-A

mos

120,000

Mar

701Isaiahic

70,000(M

iles from the sun)

Rom

e founded by Rom

ulus about 750 B.C. (just after the “Joel-Am

oscatastrophe”, O

ct 25, 756 B.C.) after destruction of the leading Etruscan

city, Volsinium

.

Why founded 15 m

iles up stream on the T

iber from the coast? [A

ntici-pation of 200 ft tidal w

aves every 108 years?]

Second K

ing of Rom

e, Num

a Pom

pilius:

Original calendar =

360 days per year.R

eorganizes calendar after 701 B.C

., adding 5 days per year.

Hezekiah, N

uma’s contem

porary, adds a month 7 tim

es every 19 years:on the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19th year. W

hy?

India:V

eda texts assume 360-day years;

Persia:360-day years. 7th C

entury: 5 days added;C

haldea:360-day years. (360 degrees to circle; 60 m

inutes to anhour; 60 seconds/m

in. etc.);A

ssyria:360-day calendar. D

ecade = 3600 days;

Egypt:

Tw

elve 30-day months; 5 days added.

360 icons in the gnostic genii;360 gods in the theology of G

reek Orpheus;

360 idols in the palace of Dairi in Japan;

360 statues surrounding Hobal in ancient A

rabia;360 degrees in a circle...

Oth

er Catastro

ph

e Research

Velikovsky H

ypothesis’ (“Worlds in C

ollision,” 1950):E

arly Paradoxes:U

niversal climate

360-day calendars universal4 planet system

s, not 5E

-W, not W

-EP

olarity reversal?V

enus as a comet?

Stonehenge (1900 B.C. - 1600 B.C.) probably built in response to planetaryinteractions.

Page 67Page 66

Passes behind E

arth;M

ars gains energy; Earth loses energy.

Eventually stabilizes, last near pass-by appears to have been in 701 B.C.,

and by then the earth’s orbit has lengthened five days’ worth and that

is why all the calendars had to be adjusted to the lunar calendar.

Effects of near pass-by:

Crustal tides (2-3" =

moon); 85 ft @

70,000 miles

Ancient cities (T

roy et al) rebuilt from their ow

n rubble 7X!

50X tim

es size of moon!

Change in days/year: 5 d 5h 49m

?C

hange in Axis: 23 1/2 , 24 , E

/M, resp.

Magnetic F

ield Reversals

Meteors (particle burns up leaves iron m

aterial)B

olides (explodes when enters earth’s atm

osphere)

Earth “turned upside dow

n”Isa 24:1

“removed exceedingly”

Isa 24:19“reeled like a drunkard”

Isa 24:20

Polar relocation of 300 m

iles; Jerusalem latitude -5

o [Might explain

Kaufm

an’s dilemm

a about the Tem

ple orientation.]

4. Th

e Lo

ng

Day o

f Josh

ua

1/3 of a million m

en met at B

ethhoron.

Mars on a fly-by at about 70,000 m

iles (!), probably on a pass over theN

orth Pole (50x the size of the m

oon).

Day lengthened 2 - 4 hours; precessional change;

Polar shift; L

atitude changed (5 degrees?).

Bolides and M

eteors two - three hours ahead, arriving at about 30,000

miles per hour;

Four phases of Joshua’s conquest:

1)E

astern Theatre: B

ashan, Gilead, Jericho, Jordan V

alley;2)

Central T

heatre: Central H

ighlands, Gibeon, P

lain of Sharon;

3)S

outhern Theatre: H

ebron, Debir, A

zekah, Makkedah, the N

egev;4)

Northern T

heatre: Galilee, V

alley of Megiddo, P

alestinic League.

October 25, 1404 B

.C.:

References: Judg 5:20; H

ab 3:5-13; Isa 37:36 1:9 10:26 28:19,21,22; Ps 46.

3. Orb

ital Reso

nan

ce Mo

del

Donald W

. Patten, R

onald R. H

atch, Loren C

. Steinhauer, L

ong Day of Joshua and

Six Other C

atastrophes; (Out of print, yet now

superceded by Catastrophism

and the Old T

estament also by D

onald Patten see B

ibliography.)

[Ronald R

. Hatch: A

pplied Physics L

aboratory; programm

er, Navy N

avigationalS

atellite System

Senior E

ngineer, Space D

ivision, Boeing C

ompany; S

oftware

Supervisor, M

agnavox Research L

aboratories]

[Loren C

. Steinhauer: T

aught orbital mechanics at H

arvard, MIT

; mathem

atician atM

athematical S

ciences Northw

est]

Mars on a 2:1 orbit re: E

arth— 720 days vs. 360 days;

Orbits intersect M

arch 21/23 and October 25;

near pass-by every 54 or 108 years.

Mars (now

):perihelion 128,400,000 m

iles(perihelion =

closest point to the sun)aphelion 154,900,000 m

iles(aphelion =

farthest point away from

sun.)

Mars (then):

perihelion 81,900,000 miles

aphelion 210,700,000 miles

Case I

Spring Intersection, V

ernal Equinox

March 21/22, “F

irst Point in A

ries” (or Mars);

Inside pass, after perihelion;P

asses ahead of the Earth;

Mars loses energy; orbit shortened;

Earth gains energy; orbit lengthened.

Case II

Fall Intersection

October 25;

From

outside, from aphelion;

Page 69Page 68

“Signs in the S

un, moon, stars...” II P

et 3:3,4.

* * *

Josh

ua 11

[Com

pletion of the Conquest. D

ivision of the land (Chapters 13-22) w

illbe taken up in a special review

of the 12 Tribes found in the second

volume of this set on Joshua. T

he final session will sum

marize and

conclude Chapters 23 &

24.]

Joshua’s strategy was to cut across the land to divide it, then conquer

the southern cities, and then the northern cities.

No

rthern

Cam

paig

n

1]A

nd it came to pass, w

hen Jabin king of Hazor had heard [those things], that

he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of S

himron, and to the king of

Achshaph,

Jabin = title? (Judges 4:2).

2]A

nd to the kings that [were] on the north of the m

ountains, and of the plainssouth of C

hinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the w

est,

Chinneroth (K

inneret) = “harp”; early nam

e of the Sea of G

alilee; alsoknow

n as the Sea of T

iberias.

3][A

nd to] the Canaanite on the east and on the w

est, and [to] the Am

orite, andthe H

ittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the m

ountains, and [to] theH

ivite under Herm

on in the land of Mizpeh.

4]A

nd they went out, they and all their hosts w

ith them, m

uch people, even asthe sand that [is] upon the sea shore in m

ultitude, with horses and chariots very

many.

“Sand as seashore”: Gen 22:17; 32:12 (vs. “stars”: 15:5; 26:4; D

an 12:3).

Horses, chariots: (1st m

ention in Joshua). Prohibited (D

eut 17:16; Ps

20:7); No m

ention: Gen 24:35; 26:14; Job 1:3. (G

en 47:17?).

In vain for safety: Prov 21:31.

5. Den

ou

emen

t: Gu

lliver’s Testim

on

y on

Lap

uta

Galileo:

1610D

iscovers the 4 Moons of Jupiter; S

aturn’sR

ings.

Sir William

Hershel:1781

Uranus

17872 M

oons of Uranus

17892 m

ore moons of S

aturn

Laverrier:

1846 N

eptune, 1 moon

Asaph H

all (New

telescope of US

Naval O

bservatory):1877

2 Moons of M

ars: world in shock

Phobos has only 3%

albedo, darkest object in solar system; 1/100 w

idthof m

oon (8 miles dia.); R

otates 7h39m; appears to rise in W

: unique

Deim

os (30h18m) appears alm

ost synchronous: 24h37m; unique in solar

system; D

eimos, P

hobos = “P

anic,” “fear,” in Greek!

6. Jon

athan

Sw

ift (1667 - 1745)

Publishes “G

ullivers Travels” in 1726. D

etails size, revolutions, andorbits of tw

o moons of M

ars.

151 years in anticipation of their discovery!?

1)H

e knew of them

(friend of New

ton, Halley, W

histon...);2)

He “guessed”;

3)H

e relied on legends to embroider his narrative, not realizing they

were eyew

itness accounts of an earlier near pass-by.

7. Natu

ral or S

up

ernatu

ral?

Marksm

anship: How

select firstborn? Only Israel’s enem

ies hit!P

redictive aspects of record:=

> G

od intervenes on behalf of His P

eople!

Other observations: R

evelation: 200 lb. hailstones!? (Punishing the

earth for blasphemy?) O

fficial form of punishm

ent for blasphemy:

stoning!

Page 71Page 70

This seem

s to have laid the foundation for military doctrine venerated

at West P

oint, the Prussian traditions behind the fabled G

erman G

eneralStaff, and, m

ost significantly of all, the Israel Defense Forces today. [It’s

tragic that they haven’t discovered Joshua’s most significant m

ilitarysecret: “H

e wholly follow

ed the Lord G

od of Israel (Josh 14:14; Num

14:24; 32:12; Deut 1:36; Josh 14:8-9).]

“Hough” =

?? Ham

strung? Meaning in dispute.

7]S

o Joshua came, and all the people of w

ar with him

, against them by the w

atersof M

erom suddenly; and they fell upon them

.

Tim

ing: When horses being w

atered? Could have been tim

ed to make

them a liability rather than an asset.

8]A

nd the Lord delivered them

into the hand of Israel, who sm

ote them, and chased

them unto great Z

idon, and unto Misrephothm

aim, and unto the valley of

Mizpeh eastw

ard; and they smote them

, until they left them none rem

aining.

300,000 gone!

9]A

nd Joshua did unto them as the L

ord bade him: he houghed their horses, and

burnt their chariots with fire.

10]A

nd Joshua at that time turned back, and took H

azor, and smote the king thereof

with the sw

ord: for Hazor beforetim

e was the head of all those kingdom

s.

Hazor =

head, seat. Only one burned (v.11, 13).

11]A

nd they smote all the souls that [w

ere] therein with the edge of the sw

ord,utterly destroying [them

]: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt H

azorw

ith fire.12]

And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them

, did Joshua take, andsm

ote them w

ith the edge of the sword, [and] he utterly destroyed them

, asM

oses the servant of the Lord com

manded.

13]B

ut [as for] the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them,

save Hazor only; [that] did Joshua burn.

14]A

nd all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took fora prey unto them

selves; but every man they sm

ote with the edge of the sw

ord,until they had destroyed them

, neither left they any to breathe.

Took no prisoners! Iniquity of the A

morites finally full. (G

en 15:16)

15]A

s the Lord com

manded M

oses his servant, so did Moses com

mand Joshua,

and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord com

manded M

oses.

Victories over arm

ies with horses: R

ed Sea

Sihon & O

g (Num

21:23-6, 33-35);S

isera, chariots of iron (Judges 4:13-16);D

avid over Zobah, 1000 chariots (2 S

am 8).

Note: Idol w

orship associated with them

? 2 Kings 23:11 (spiritual issue

beyond military use). Solom

on violates: 1 Kings 4:26; 10:26; 2 C

hr 12:2-9; Isa 31:1.

[Main battle tank of Israel: M

erkeva (=chariot).]

5]A

nd when all these kings w

ere met together, they cam

e and pitched together atthe w

aters of Merom

, to fight against Israel.

Josephus: 300,000 soldiers; 10,000 cavalry; 20,000 chariots.

Merom

: Huleh valley. Plain of E

sdraelon; Megiddo overlooks this plain.

Te l=

mound due to layers of civilization, city built upon ruins of past city

eventually creating an artificial hill..

Battle of the N

ine Kings? (G

en 14:14, 15).

Victories:

Barak over C

anaanites (Judges 4:16);G

ideon over Midianites (Judges 5:19).

Disasters:

Death of S

aul and Jonathan (1 Sam

31);D

eath of Am

aziah (2 Kings 9:27);

Death of Josiah (2 K

ings 23:29);S

unset of Kingdom

s, (Zech 12:11; R

ev 16:16).

6]A

nd the Lord said unto Joshua, B

e not afraid because of them: for to m

orrowabout this tim

e will I deliver them

up all slain before Israel: thou shalt houghtheir horses, and burn their chariots w

ith fire.

Josh

ua’s G

eneralsh

ip

A study of B

iblical Battles reveals—

even in simply secular term

s—Joshua’s excellent generalship. H

e was skilled at the preem

ptiveoffense. H

e established a successful style in exploiting:1) S

peed;2) S

tealth;3) K

nowledge of the terrain.

Page 73Page 72

tribe had to gain mastery after the land w

as allocated. Even after the

death of Joshua and his officers, there was additional land to be taken

(Judges 1-3).]

* * *

Josh

ua 12

East

1]N

ow these [are] the kings of the land, w

hich 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 m

ount Herm

on, and all the plain on the east:

Kings to the E

ast.

2]S

ihon king of the Am

orites, who dw

elt in Heshbon, [and] ruled from

Aroer,

which [is] upon the bank of the river A

rnon, and from the m

iddle of the river,and from

half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, [w

hich is] the border of thechildren of A

mm

on;

Engagem

ent prior to crossing the Jordan (Num

21:21=35).

Discrepancy in lists of nam

es, appears that names changed, and new

cities replace old. Scholastic debates as to w

hich cities replaced others.

3]A

nd from the plain to the sea of C

hinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of theplain, [even] the salt sea on the east, the w

ay to Bethjeshim

oth; and from the

south, under Ashdothpisgah:

4]A

nd the coast of Og king of B

ashan, [which w

as] of the remnant of the giants,

that dwelt at A

shtaroth and at Edrei,

Anakim

...

5]A

nd reigned in mount H

ermon, and in S

alcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border

of the Geshurites and the M

aachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king

of Heshbon.

6]T

hem did M

oses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel sm

ite: andM

oses the servant of the Lord gave it [for] a possession unto the R

eubenites,and the G

adites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

All east of the Jordan, tw

o and half tribes chose to remain over there

(Reuben, G

ad and ½ of M

anasseh).

Northern G

alilee (Summ

ary): Isa 9:1,2: “Galilee of the nations”: w

alk indarkness. C

apernaum: M

att 4:13-15 (exalted to heaven? Matt 11:23).

Why? Joh 3:19.

Su

mm

ary of C

on

qu

ests

16]S

o Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the landof G

oshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the

valley of the same;

17][E

ven] from the m

ount Halak, that goeth up to S

eir, even unto Baalgad in the

valley of Lebanon under m

ount Herm

on: and all their kings he took, and smote

them, and slew

them.

18]Joshua m

ade war a long tim

e with all those kings.

The cam

paign lasted seven years (from aging of C

aleb). [Cf. 70th W

eekof D

aniel...]

19]T

here was not a city that m

ade peace with the children of Israel, save the H

ivitesthe inhabitants of G

ibeon: all [other] they took in battle.20]

For it w

as of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should com

e against Israelin battle, that he m

ight destroy them utterly, [and] that they m

ight have nofavour, but that he m

ight destroy them, as the L

ord comm

anded Moses.

21]A

nd at that time cam

e Joshua, and cut off the Anakim

from the m

ountains, fromH

ebron, from D

ebir, from A

nab, and from all the m

ountains of Judah, and fromall the m

ountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly w

ith their cities.

Anakim

: (plural word) G

reat and Tall (N

um 13:33). W

ho can stand? (Deut

9:2).

22]T

here was none of the A

nakim left in the land of the children of Israel: only in

Gaza, in G

ath, and in Ashdod, there rem

ained.

Goliath: 1 S

am 17:40. W

hy five stones? 4 brothers: Ishbibenob, Saph,

and two others (2 S

am 21:16-22).

[Cf. G

enesis 6: “...and also after that...” See briefing package, F

lood ofN

oah.]

23]S

o Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the L

ord said unto Moses;

and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions bytheir tribes. A

nd the land rested from w

ar.

Inheritance (occurs over 50x in Joshua) not earned, but given by God.

[Cf. 13:1: T

he control over the whole land w

as gained by destroying thekey cities and their people. T

hey didn’t take every city or village. Each

Page 75Page 74

In previous articles we’ve pointed out that the B

ible seems to deal in 360

day years (See D

aniel’s Seventy Weeks). C

onverting the 2520 years360

results in 2483 years365 plus 9 m

onths and 21 days:

2483 years365

906,295 daysplus, for leap years

614 days9 m

onths 270 days

21 days 21 days

2520 years360

907,200 days

But w

here does one apply this interval?

Th

e Servitu

de o

f the N

ation

If one starts with the first siege of N

ebuchadnezzar, which began the

“Servitude of the N

ation” in 606 B.C

., the seventy years of servitudeended in 537 B

.C. W

ith July 23, 537 B.C

. as the release from servitude,

then

-537 y 7 m 23 d

1 (N

o “year 0”)2483 y 9 m

21 d—

——

——

——

——

—1948 y 5 m

14 d = M

ay 14, 1948

On M

ay 14, 1948, David B

en Gurion, citing the book of E

zekiel as hisauthority, proclaim

ed Israel as the new Jew

ish homeland. T

he nationIsrael w

as reestablished on the very completion of this interval from

theend of the “S

ervitude of the Nation” under B

abylon. What a “coinci-

dence.”

Th

e Deso

lation

s of Jeru

salem

If one starts with the third siege of N

ebuchadnezzar, which began the

“Desolations of Jerusalem

” in 587 B.C

., the seventy years of desolationsended in 518 B

.C. W

ith August 16, 518 B

.C. as the com

pletion of thedesolations of Jerusalem

, then

-518 y 8 m 16 d

1 (N

o “year 0”)2483 y 9 m

21 d—

——

——

——

——

—1967 y 6 m

7 d = June 7, 1967.

West

7]A

nd these [are] the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel

smote on this side Jordan on the w

est, from B

aalgad in the valley of Lebanon

even unto the mount H

alak, that goeth up to Seir; w

hich Joshua gave unto thetribes of Israel [for] a possession according to their divisions;

8]In the m

ountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, andin the w

ilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the A

morites, and the

Canaanites, the P

erizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

9]T

he king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, w

hich [is] beside Bethel, one;

10]T

he king of Jerusalem, one; the king of H

ebron, one;11]

The king of Jarm

uth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

12]T

he king of Eglon, one; the king of G

ezer, one;13]

The king of D

ebir, one; the king of Geder, one;

14]T

he king of Horm

ah, one; the king of Arad, one;

15]T

he king of Libnah, one; the king of A

dullam, one;

16]T

he king of Makkedah, one; the king of B

ethel, one;17]

The king of T

appuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

18]T

he king of Aphek, one; the king of L

asharon, one;19]

The king of M

adon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

20]T

he king of Shim

ronmeron, one; the king of A

chshaph, one;21]

The king of T

aanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

22]T

he king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam

of Carm

el, one;23]

The king of D

or in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of G

ilgal, one;24]

The king of T

irzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.

[2 East of Jordan; 31 on the “W

est Bank.” 31 is the gam

etrical value ofE

l, God.]

The basic conquest of the land is done.

* * *

Ezekiel’s 430 years

There is a puzzling prophecy in the book of E

zekiel that speaks of 430years of judgm

ent pronounced upon Israel (Ezek 4:1-8). S

eventy yearsare clearly accounted for by the B

abylonian Captivity. B

ut that leaves360 years that do not seem

to fit any specific interpretation of history.

There are also passages in L

eviticus that indicate that if Israel doesn’tobey the first tim

e God w

ill multiply her punishm

ent by seven (Lev 26:18,

21, 24, 28.) 360 years times 7 equals 2520 years.

Page 77Page 76

These tribes becam

e a “buffer zone” between Israel and M

oab, Am

mon,

et al. These liabilities led to their eventual dow

nfall (1 Chr 5:25-26).

Lesson: D

on’t become a “borderline believer.” E

nter into the inheritanceG

od appoints for you and rejoice in it. (Ps 47:4, E

phesians, Hebrew

s 3-5)

Balaam

(13:22)

Gentile, yet, prophet, N

um 22-24;

The son of B

eor of Pethor of M

esopotamia, D

eut 23:4;S

oothsayer, Josh 13:22;Prophet, N

um 24:2-9; 2 Pet 2:14,16;

Counsel led to the occasion of corruption of Israel w

ith the Midianites,

Num

31:8, 16; Rev 2:14,15;

The W

ay of Balaam

(2 Pet 2:15);

The E

rror of Balaam

(Jude 11);T

he Doctrine of B

alaam (R

ev 2:14).H

e dies with M

oabites and Midianites (N

um 22:7; 31:8). Y

ou cannotserve G

od and mam

mon.

LeviL

evi does not inherit land as the other tribes; their inheritance was the

God of Israel. T

hey were given 48 cities (13:14, 33; 14:3-4; 18:7) D

etailed:21:1-42.

They w

ere prophesied to be scattered (Gen 49:5-7; C

f. Gen 34) along w

ithS

imeon, w

ho eventually was com

mingled w

ith Judah.

Lists of cities do not m

atch, scholars attribute name changes or reassign-

ments to these discrepancies.

Jud

ah

Judah received their allocation (14:6-15:63). This included C

aleb, oneof the tw

o faithful spies. Caleb, 85, didn’t look for easy tasks: he

requested new m

ountains to climb and giants to conquer! H

is secret:“H

e wholly follow

ed the Lord G

od of Israel (Josh 14:14; Num

14:24; 32:12;D

eut 1:36; Josh 14:8-9). He also provided for the next generation (Josh

15:13-19). [We sim

ply hand our next generation insurmountable debts...]

On June 7, 1967, as a consequence of the “S

ix Day W

ar,” the Old C

ityof Jerusalem

fell under Israeli control for the first time since Jesus’

prediction:

“...Jerusalem w

ill be trampled on by the G

entiles until the times of the

Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Luke 21:24

Israel regained Jerusalem at the very com

pletion of this same interval

since the “Desolations of Jerusalem

” under Babylon.

What a “coincidence.” (T

he rabbis say that “Coincidence is not a kosher

word.”)

Josh

ua 13-24

The division of the L

and. (A detailed study is done in the second volum

eof this set on Joshua, T

he Tw

elve Tribes of Israel.)

“Inheritance” is found over 50 times in these nine chapters. T

hey didn’t“w

in” or “purchase” the land: the Lord leased it to them

as tenants (Lev

25:23).

Tw

o dominant them

es found woven throughout the B

ible: one is theorigin, m

ission, and destiny of the nation Israel, the second, of course,is of the M

essiah.

Their “rent” w

as obedience. Their possession and enjoym

ent dependedupon their subm

ission and obedience. (Cf. L

ev 26 and Deut 27-30).

Th

e Assig

nm

ents M

ade at G

ilgal (13:1 - 17:18)

Gilgal w

as the original center of operations. Later Joshua m

oved thecam

p and the tabernacle to a more central location: S

hiloh (18:1).

Lots cast (14:1-2). Procedure: N

um 34:13-29; Prov 16:33.

2 ½ T

ribes E

ast of th

e Jord

an (13:1-33)

Their choice m

ay have been good for their cattle, but it created seriousproblem

s for their children (Chapter 22).

Page 79Page 78

He later added a portion in the north (C

f. Caesarea P

hilippi).

Joshua claimed his last: the city of T

imnath-S

erah (v.49-50). He, like

Caleb, preferred living in the m

ountainous region of the land.

Cities o

f Refu

ge (C

hapters 20, 21)

Num

35:11-30 (No state police force).

No help for a m

urderer (Gen 9:6; E

x 20:1-17; 21:12-13). 1st murderer: Satan

(John 8:44). Avenger of B

lood (Goel); (B

edoin’s today..)

Sex cities (of the 48 given to the L

evites): Three east of the Jordan, three

west of the Jordan. C

ities of Refuge available to all (sojourners also);

sanctified (set aside). Alw

ays open; ways, bridges, repaired each

spring. (Deut 19:3).

Type of C

hrist (Heb 6:16-20):

[Acts 3:12-18; L

uke 23:34; 1 Cor 2:7-8]

Wages of sin is death, R

om 6:23;

God’s appointed refuge, A

cts 4:12;E

asy reach; “way”, D

eut 19:3;O

pen to all, Rev 22:17;

Doors never locked;

Stocked w

ith provisions;N

o other help available (Heb 10:28-29);

Until the death of the H

igh Priest (H

eb 7:23-27)

Differences:

Only innocent saved; w

e know w

e’re guilty!C

hrist more available (John 6:37; R

ev 3:20).

Nam

es (Josh 20:7-8)

Kedesh: righteousness

Never can be accused again.

Shechem: shoulder

Like a shepherd, H

e carries us...H

ebron: fellowship

We enter into fellow

ship with H

im.

Bezer: fortress; strong

He is our fortress; w

e are safe.

Joshua, the other faithful spy, received his last (19:49-51). Their

promises received 45 years before (N

um 14:24, 30; D

eut 1:34-36) were a

source of continual encouragement.

Lesson: B

e encouraged in your own pilgrim

age—you have already

received your inheritance in Christ and can claim

“every spiritualblessing” (E

ph 1:3).

Ep

hraim

and

Man

asseh

Sons of Joseph w

hom Jacob adopted and blessed (G

en 48:15-22). Birth

order reversed in blessing (Cf. Ishm

ael & Isaac; E

sau & Jacob); [G

odrejects our first birth and gives a second birth!]

Dau

gh

ters of Z

elop

heh

ad (17:3)

Prom

ised Torah exception: N

um 27:1-11. D

aughters allowed to carry

father’s inheritance if no sons, yet must m

arry within tribe (N

um 36:6-10).

[Claim

s of Christ rest on this unique ruling!]

Th

e Assig

nm

ents at S

hilo

h (Josh 18:1 - 19:51)

The tabernacle rem

ained here until David m

oved the ark to Jerusalem (2

Sam 6).

The rem

aining seven tribes seemed to be slow

to respond to thechallenge (Prov 12:27).

Three from

each of the seven (21 in total) surveyed the cities andlandm

arks, and brought this information to Joshua, w

ho then assignedthe various portions by casting lots before the L

ord.

Benjam

in, full brother to Joseph, was assigned adjacent to E

phraim and

Manasseh (Josh 18:11-28).

Sim

eon shared his inheritance with Judah (19:1-9; C

f. Gen 49:7).

The area north of M

anasseh was assigned to Z

ebulun (19:10-16),Issachar (v.17-23), A

sher (v.24-31), and Naphtali (v.32-39). Z

ebulun andN

aphtali later became the “G

alilee of the Gentiles” (M

t 4:15-16).

The last tribe to receive its assignm

ent was the tribe of D

an (19:40-48).

Page 81Page 80

Ram

oth: heightsW

e dwell in the heights, even though

Golan: exile

...we are exiles, pilgrim

s, strangers to this world.

Lesson: H

ave you fled to Him

? Unless you have, you aren’t saved.

Assig

nm

ent o

f the L

evitical Cities (21:1-45)

Scattered throughout the land, to teach and to set an example. (N

um 35:1-

5; Lev 23:32-34). [T

wo lists (Josh 21 and 1 C

hr 6:54-81) do not always

agree. Nam

es may have changed over the years; possibly new

onesreplaced old.]

Misu

nd

erstoo

d A

ltar of th

e 2 ½ T

ribes (C

hapter 22)

Honorable discharge: com

mended for loyalty and com

mitm

ent (Col 3:23-

24).

More than w

arfare: victory and security; entering into his rest (Promised:

Ex 33:14; D

eut 12:9-10; 25:19; Josh 1:13, 15. Kept: 11:23; 14:15; 21:44; 22:4;

23:1). Spiritual application: H

ebrew 3 &

4 and review E

phesians.

Divided from

the Nation: N

ote in Num

bers 32, there is no record thatM

oses consulted the Lord about this decision. T

hey made their decision

on the basis of material gain, not spiritual values. Just like L

ot (Gen 13:10-

11) they walked by sight, not by faith. T

hus, they separated themselves,

and divided the nation. They could be com

pared to “borderlinebelievers,” outside G

od’s appointed place of blessing.

Their (8th) m

emorial is com

parable to bumper stickers, religious jew

elry,decals, and other adornm

ents which are supposed to identify its ow

nersw

ith Jesus Christ. (W

hy not Spirit-led conduct?)

Alarm

spread, from m

isunderstanding. There w

as to be one altar, onesanctuary (D

eut 12; Lev 17:8-9).

“He that answ

ereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and sham

e untohim

” (Prov 18:13).

Ten princes, led by P

hinehas, son of the high priest (Num

25; Ps 106:30-

31), led an inquiry.

Phinehas appeal (22:15-20) cited tw

o previous rebellions: with the

Moabites (N

um 25) w

here 24,000 were died; and the sin of A

chan atJericho (Josh 7). “C

ome over and dw

ell with us...”

Their rebuttal (22:21-29) used the nam

e of the Lord six tim

es, threefundam

ental names: E

l (the Might O

ne); Elohim

(God); Y

HW

H (the

Lord.)

“The L

ord knows our hearts...”

But w

e don’t! (Jer 17:9). Cf. 2 C

or 8:21. They even accuse G

od of creatingthe problem

(22:25).

Their m

emorial w

as really a witness to expediency, trying to enjoy “the

best of both worlds.” T

he stones were a w

itness, but the people were

not. Phinehas and the delegation w

ere pleased but was the L

ord?

The peace that G

od’s people achieve at the price of purity and truth isonly a dangerous truce that eventually explodes into painful division.

Surrounded by heathen nations and separated from

their brothers andsisters across the river, these tribes quickly fell into idolatry and w

ereeventually taken by A

ssyria (1 Chr 5:25-26).

[On Septem

ber 30, 1938, British Prim

e Minister Sir N

eville Cham

berlain,just back from

Germ

any, told a gathering at #10 Dow

ning Street: “M

ygood friends, this is the second tim

e in our history that there has come

back from G

ermany to D

owning S

treet peace with honor. I believe it is

peace for our time. W

e thank you from the bottom

of our hearts. And

now I recom

mend you to go hom

e and sleep quietly in your beds.”L

ess than a year later, England w

as at war w

ith Germ

any and World W

arII had burst upon the w

orld.]

[In March 1994, “E

vangelicals and Catholics T

ogether” was signed,

ostensibly erasing the Reform

ation. See T

he Kingdom

of Blood...]

The only peace that lasts is peace that is based on truth and purity. It’s

a peace that demands sacrifice and courage, and a w

illingness to standup to G

od’s Word; but it is w

orth it.

Matthew

Henry: “P

eace is such a precious jewel that I w

ould giveanything for it but truth.”

Page 83Page 82

v.14: the same place w

here Jacob took the household gods that Rachel

had carried off and hid them under a oak tree by Shechem

(Gen 31:30-34;

35: 2, 4).

“God w

ill not allow H

is children to sin successfully.” (Spurgeon)

Three tim

es in this brief address, Joshua calls Canaan “this good land.”

(Cf. A

t Burning B

ush, Ex 3:8; after forty days of investigation, N

um 14:7;

in Moses’ farew

ell address (10X): D

eut 1:25, 35; 3:25; 4:21-22; 6:18; 8:7,10; 9:6; 11:17. M

editating on the goodness of God is a strong m

otivationfor obedience. Jam

es connects the goodness of God w

ith out resistingof tem

ptation (James 1:13-17); N

athan used the same approach confront-

ing King D

avid (2 Sam

12:1-15). With the P

rodigal Son, it w

as not hisbadness but his father’s goodness that brought him

to repentance andreturn hom

e (Luke 15:17; R

om 2:4).

The m

ost important point w

as that Israel is to remain a separated people,

not infected with the w

ickedness around them (23:7-8; E

x 34:10-17; Deut

7:2-4). Disobedience w

ould be a gradual thing.

[Cf. B

e Ye Transformed: R

om 12:1-21; 1 John 2:15-17). T

he word “cleave”

in v.8 is the same as in G

enesis 2:24. Israel was “m

arried” to YH

WH

atM

t. Sinai (Cf. Jer 2:1-3; E

zek 16) and was expected to be a faithful spouse

and cleave to the Lord (D

eut 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4). She becam

e anunfaithful w

ife, a prostitute, as she turned to the gods of other nations.S

o, too, the whore of B

abylon (in Rev 17). See K

ingdom of B

lood...]

The prom

ise in 23:10 is a quote from D

eut 32:30, showing that Joshua

knew the W

ord of God (C

f. Lev 26:7-8; Josh 1:8; P

s 1:2; 119:11).

Joshua’s three main adm

onitions: Keep G

od’s Word (23:6); cleave to the

Lord (23:8); and love the L

ord (23:11).

Israel’s Past B

lessing

s (24:1-13)

History is a vast early w

arning system” —

Norm

an Cousins. [Saturday

Review

, April 15, 1978.]

“Those w

ho cannot remem

ber the past are condemned to repeat it.” —

George S

antayana

Israel’s roots are important since G

od’s chosen people have a destinyto fulfill.

Historical note: T

hus there are monum

ents still in existence, which prove

that the Carthaginians w

ere a colony of Syrians w

ho escaped fromJoshua; as also that the inhabitants of L

eptis, in Africa, cam

e originallyfrom

the Sidonians, w

ho abandoned their country on account of thecalam

ities with w

hich it was overw

helmed. P

rocopius relates that theP

hoenicians fled before the Hebrew

s into Africa, and spread them

selvesabroad as far as the pillars of H

ercules; and adds, “In Num

idia, where now

stands the city Tigisis (T

angiers), they have erected two colum

ns, onw

hich, in Phoenician characters, is the follow

ing inscription:— “W

e arethe P

hoenicians who fled from

the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son ofN

aue” (Nun).

Josh

ua’s V

aledicto

ry (Chapter 23 &

24)

Joshua could say, with P

aul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finishedm

y course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim

4:7).

Tw

o addresses, to the leaders at either Shiloh or his hom

e in Ephraim

,and to all the tribes at S

hechem. H

e warned them

of Israel’s futuredangers (23:1-16), their past blessings (24:1-13); and their presentresponsibilities (24:14-33).

Israel’s Fu

ture D

ang

ers (23:1-16)

Rem

ain a separated people, for three reasons:

1)W

hat the Lord did for Israel (23:3-4); E

gypt, Am

alekites, etc. These

Gentile nations w

ere God’s enem

ies and therefore must be Israel’s

enemies.

2)W

hat the Lord said to Israel (23:5-10). T

he secret of Joshua’ssuccess w

as his devotion to the Word of G

od (1:7-9, 13-18; 8:30-35;11:12, 15; 24:26-27).

3)W

hat the Lord w

ould do to Israel (23:11-16). The W

ord of God is

a two-edged sw

ord (Heb 4:12). If w

e obey it, God w

ill bless and helpus; if w

e disobey it, God w

ill chasten us until we subm

it to Him

. (Prov3:11-12; H

eb 12:6)

v.13: “snares.. Traps.. scourges... thorns...” S

uch is the description ofthe w

icked nations which the L

ord would use to discipline H

is people.

Page 85Page 84

Shechem

was the appropriate location for this farew

ell: Here G

odprom

ised Abraham

that his descendants would inherit the land (G

en12:6-7); here Jacob built an altar (G

en 33:20); it was here, betw

een Mt. E

baland M

t. Gerizim

, that the people of Israel reaffirmed their com

mitm

ent tothe L

ord (Josh 8:30-35).

Joshua refers to the Lord 21X

. Key w

ord: “serve.”

Election: G

od chose Israel (24:1-4). Abraham

was called by G

od’ssovereign grace. T

here was nothing special about the Jew

s that God

should choose them (D

eut 7:1-11; 26:1-11; 32:10).

Jesus also: “You did not choose M

e...” (John 15:16). Chosen before the

foundation of the world (E

ph 1:4); “God’s elect” (R

om 8:33; T

itus 1:1).G

od always takes the first step.

Isaac over Ishmael; Jacob over E

sau; “according to election” (Rom

9:11).

God delivered Israel (24:5-7); E

xodus from E

gypt, etc. God guided Israel

(24:8-10). He brought them

out that He m

ight bring them in (D

eut 6:23).W

hen Balaam

tried to curse Israel, God turned it into a blessing (N

um 22-

24; Deut 23:5; N

eh 13:2).

God gave them

their land (24:11-13). [The “hornet” in 24:12 m

ight beinvading arm

ies (cf. Deut 1:44; P

s 118:12; Isa 7:18). (Just as Gog is the

king of the locusts, etc.?)]

Israel’s Presen

t Resp

on

sibilities (24:14-33)

“Serve” 15X

= F

ear Him

; Obey H

im; W

orship only Him

. Because you

want to; not because you have to.

Decision (24:14-18). N

o neutrality here. Jacob had given this same

warning to his fam

ily (Gen 35:2); S

amuel also (1 S

am 7:3ff).

Three sets of gods (24:2-8) related to three different w

aters. On the other

side of the Euphrates w

ere the gods of the Sum

erian and Babylonian

culture. On the other side of the R

ed Sea w

ere the gods of ancient Egypt.

Across the river Jordan w

ere the gods of the Am

orites. Or the L

ord.C

hoose!

Joshua chose: after the Red Sea crossing, he stood against the A

malekites.

He stood against the golden calf. H

e stood, with C

aleb, against his own

people when they w

ere wrong. H

e was there w

hen Moses chose the

wrong thing, and thus didn’t enter the P

romised L

and himself. Joshua

knew about choosing.

The entire book is about choices:

(Chapter)

1:C

hose to enter the land (Cf. 38 years earlier!);

2:R

ahab chose the people of God;

3:Israel chose to cross the Jordan; left tw

o kinds of mem

o-rials.

4:C

hose the obedience of circumcision;

5:T

he Captain of the H

ost;7:

Achan m

ade a dismal choice at A

i;8:

Joshua turns defeat into victory;9:

The G

ibeonites chose to join the people of God;

10:Joshua chooses to honor his com

mitm

ents to theG

ibeonites, leading to the Battle of B

eth Horon...

Devotion (24:19-28). P

romises are easy (E

x 19:8); a golden calf, easier.

God is a “jealous” G

od (Ex 20:5); H

e will tolerate no rivals.

Key verse: 24:15. “A

s for me and m

y house, we w

ill serve the Lord.”

Three tim

es they affirmed their desire (24:16-18, 21, 24) and Joshua took

them at their w

ord.

The book closes w

ith three burials: Joshua, Eleazar the high priest (N

um20:28) also buried in E

phraim near S

hiloh where his son P

hinehas hadproperty. T

he bones of Joseph were buried in S

hechem in the plot of

ground that Jacob had bought from H

amor (G

en 33:19).

God didn’t tell Joshua to appoint a successor. T

he elders who served

with Joshua guided the nation after his death, but the people w

ent astrayand began to w

orship false gods (Judg 2:6-15). Why? B

ecause thepeople of Joshua’s generation failed to keep their prom

ise and teachtheir children and grandchildren to fear and serve the L

ord.

Thus, they w

ere removed from

the land. One day the L

ord will regather

His people and establish them

in His land (Isa 11-12; 51-52; E

zek 36:24ff).T

hen, “the earth shall be filled with the know

ledge of the glory of theL

ord, as the waters cover the sea” (H

ab 2:14).

Page 87Page 86

Josh

ua, in

Review

Josh

ua’s P

reparatio

n

God prepares a servant for the task and the task for the servant. 17 years

for Joseph; 80 years for Moses; m

any years of trials and testings forD

avid, et al.

Suffering a key part of it. G

reat affliction in Egypt preceded the E

xodus.It w

as true of our Savior (L

uke 24:26; 1 Pet 1:11); it is true of H

is people(1 P

et 4:13; 5:10). Our L

ord’s scars are now glorified in heaven.

Subm

ission to authority, under Moses, etc.

Delay; patience. 38 years w

andering due to other’s unbelief.

Josh

ua’s L

eadersh

ip

He w

alked with G

od. He w

as a man of prayer, etc.

He had courage. E

ssential. Re: L

uther: “Here I stand. I can do no other.”

If you’re timid, you’ll never accom

plish much for the L

ord. (Matt 25:24-

30). Joshua had the courage to deal with sin in the cam

p (Josh 7); andhe challenged the tribes to “get w

ith it” and claim their inheritance (17:14-

18). [Som

etimes it takes m

ore courage to face your own people at hom

ethan the enem

y on the battlefield...]

Joshua had a plan and followed it; it w

as not a haphazard affair: it was

carefully planned and skillfully executed.

“He w

ho has no course plotted, no wind is favorable.” —

Ancient

Chinese proverb.

He didn’t quit. “E

xperience is the name everyone gives his m

istakes.”E

xperience is tough teacher because it always gives the exam

first andteaches the lesson afterw

ard. If we turn our m

istakes into mirrors, w

e’llsee only ourselves. If, by faith, w

e turn our mistakes into w

indows, w

e’llsee the L

ord and get the strength to keep trying.

He enlisted others and com

manded their respect. T

rue leaders don’tdem

and respect; they comm

and it. It takes stature more than authority.

Real leaders don’t use people to build their authority; they use their

authority to build people. He isn’t a hero; he m

akes them.

A leader is one w

ho takes twice a m

uch blame and half as m

uch credit.Joshua qualifies on both counts.

Josh

ua’s M

essage

The practical m

essage of the Book of Joshua is that G

od keeps His

promises and enables H

is servants to succeed if they will trust H

im and

obey His W

ord.

The spiritual m

essage is that God has a rich inheritance for H

is childrennow

, and they can claim it by faith (C

f. Hebrew

3 & 4; and E

phesians).

Different kinds of people in the w

orld:

1)M

ost: still in bondage in Egypt.

2)D

elivered, but wandering in the w

ilderness of unbelief becausethey w

on’t enter their inheritance by faith.3)

Others prefer to live on the borders of the blessing.

4)O

thers who follow

their Joshua (Yehoshua) and enter the P

romised

Land and claim

their inheritance.

Crossing the Jordan, spiritually, is not “dying and going to heaven.” It’s

a picture of dying to self and old life and entering our spiritual inheritancehere and now

, enjoying the fullness of God’s blessing as w

e serve theL

ord and glorify Him

. That’s w

hat Hebrew

s 4 calls “entering into His

rest.”

Joshua is not the key person in this book. The L

ord is. He is, indeed,

“the Lord of all the earth” (Josh 3:11). H

e keeps His prom

ises.

Joshua 3:5: “Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow

the Lord w

ill do wonders

among you.”

The G

od of Joshua lives. But w

here are the Joshuas?

[A m

ore detailed review of the allocation of the land to the 12 tribes is

included in a supplemental volum

e, The T

welve T

ribes, that could beview

ed as “Volum

e 2 of Joshua.”]

Page 89Page 88

Bib

liog

raph

y

Arm

erding, Carl, C

onquest and Victory, Studies in Joshua, M

oody Press, C

hicagoIL

, 1967.B

laikie, William

G., T

he Book of Joshua, H

odder & S

toughton, Edinburgh, 1908.

Bible, T

he King Jam

es Version, (C

ambridge: C

ambridge) 1769.

Hoenig, D

r. Sidney B

., Rosenberg, R

abbi A. J., O

ratz, Rabbi P

., The B

ook of Joshua,T

he Judaica Press, N

ew Y

ork 1989.Ironside, H

.A., Joshua, L

oizeaux Brothers, N

eptune NJ, 1950.

Miller, J. M

axwell, and T

ucker, Gene M

., The B

ook of Joshua, Cam

bridge University

Press, L

ondon, 1974.P

atten, Donald W

., Hatch, R

onald R., S

teinhauer, Loren C

., The L

ong Day of Joshua

and Six Other C

atastrophes, Pacific Meridian Publishing C

o., Seattle WA

1973.(O

ut of print)P

atten, Donald W

., Catastrophism

and the Old T

estament, P

acific meridian P

ublish-ing C

ompany, 13540 L

ake City W

ay NE

, Seattle, W

A 98125.

Pink, A

rthur W., G

leanings in Joshua, Moody P

ress, Chicago IL

, 1964.R

edpath, Alan, V

ictorious Christian L

iving, Studies in the Book of Joshua, F

leming

H. R

evell Co., O

ld Tappan, N

J, 1960.Saturday R

eview, A

pril 15, 1978.S

chaeffer, Francis A

., Joshua and the Flow

of Biblical H

istory, InterVarsity P

ress,D

owners G

rove IL, 1975.

Sw

anson, James (editor), N

ew N

ave’s Topical B

ible, Logos R

esearch System

s, Inc.,O

ak Harbor, W

A, 1994.

Wiersbe, W

arren W., B

e Strong, Victor B

ooks, Wheaton IL

, 1993.W

oustra, M.H

., The B

ook of Joshua, William

B. E

erdmans P

ublishing Co., G

randR

apids MI,1981.

Lo

ng

Day o

f Josh

ua

Albritton, C

.C., C

atastrophic Episodes in E

arth History, C

hapman &

Hall, L

ondon,1989.

Discover, M

ay 1984, p. 32.F

rank, Edgar, T

almudic and R

abbinical Chronology, F

eldheim P

ublishers, Jerusa-lem

, 1956.L

e Nouvel O

bservateur, 11-17 July 1991, pp. 46-48.L

ewis, C

.S., M

iracles, Macm

illan, NY

, 1960.M

issler, Chuck, M

onuments: Sacred or P

rofane?, Koinonia H

ouse, 1991.M

issler, Chuck, Signs in the H

eavens, Koinonia H

ouse, 1992.M

orrison, David, “T

arget: Earth,” A

stronomy, O

ctober 1995.N

ew Scientist, O

ctober 24, 1992, p. 11.N

ew Y

ork Tim

es, 27 October 1992, p. C

7; 3 Novem

ber 1992, p. C10; 29 D

ecember

1992, p. C2.

O’N

eil, W. M

., Tim

e and Calendars, S

ydney University P

ress, Sydney, 1975.

Parker, R

ichard A., “T

he Calendars of A

ncient Egypt,” Studies in A

ncient Oriental

Civilization, N

o. 26, University of C

hicago Press, C

hicago, 1950.P

atten, Donald W

., Catastrophism

and the Old T

estament, P

acific Meridian

Publishing C

ompany, 13540 L

ake City W

ay NE

, Seattle, W

A 98125 S

harpston,V

.L. and P

.D. W

ard (eds.), “Global C

atastrophes in Earth H

istory,” Special

Paper #247, G

eological Society of A

merica, 1990.

Steel, D

uncan, “Com

et Sw

ift-Tuttle and a question of probability”, Spaceflight, v.

35, July 1993.S

wift, Jonathan, G

ulliver’s Travels, 1726. (P

. 186 of Easton P

ress Collection, 1976).

Taylor, D

r and Mrs H

oward, B

iography of James H

udson Taylor, C

hina InlandM

ission, London, 1965.

Velikovsky, Im

manuel, W

orlds in Collision, D

oubleday & C

o., New

York, 1950.

(Also, A

ges in Chaos, 1952; E

arth in Upheaval, 1955.)

Page 90

Ab

ou

t Th

e Co

ver Desig

n(o

n th

e tape cassette vo

lum

es)

Th

e “Fro

nt” co

ver:

The G

reek border: “I am A

lpha and Om

ega, the beginning and theending, saith the L

ord, which is, and w

hich was, and w

hich is to come,

the Alm

ighty (Revelation 1:8).” T

he center design element sym

bolizesthe W

ord of God Incarnate, illum

inated by the Holy S

pirit.

Th

e “Back” co

ver: (the “fro

nt” to

the Jew

ish read

er)

The H

ebrew border: “H

ear O Israel: T

he Lord our G

od is one Lord:

and thou shalt love the LO

RD

thy God w

ith all thine heart, and with

all thy soul, and with all thy m

ight (from the S

h’ma, D

eut 6:4-5).”

The center design represents the B

urning Bush, m

ade up of Hebrew

letters which proclaim

“the Eternal O

ne cannot lie.”

Th

e Sp

ine:

The spine includes a M

enorah from the O

ld Testam

ent, a Maranatha

Dove suggesting the N

ew T

estament, and the K

oinonia House logo

at the base.

Koinonia H

ouseP.O. Box D

Coeur d�Alene Idaho83816-0347

(208) 773-6310www.khouse.org

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