Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 15-17.

For the most part this passage lays out the borders of the territories allotted to the tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh.  However, there are three stories within it which deviate from that.  First, it describes how Caleb motivated those helping him capture his allotment by offering his daughter in marriage.  Then, as part of that, it relates how she requested that she, and her husband, be given some springs to go along with the rest of the land Caleb gave them.  The next such story, tells us how the daughters of Zelophehad asked Joshua to give them their father’s portion.  A request which they had previously made of Moses, who had granted it after consulting God.  Joshua followed through on Moses’ commitment to them.   Finally, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh together requested more territory than their original allotment because they felt the Canaanites in the low country of their allotment were too strong for them.  Joshua granted them more land, although less than they requested, and assured them that they would be able to drive out the Canaanites.  In all three cases, rather than complain about how they had been shorted, those involved asked for what they wanted.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 12-14.

I am not sure that this is of particular note, but it struck me that the kings east of the Jordan whom the Israelites conquered (Sihon and Og) controlled much more land than those whom they conquered on the west side of the Jordan River.  This reveals that while Sihon and Og controlled multiple cities, most, if not all, of the cities west of the Jordan were independent of each other.   This also suggests that the areas that the Israelites did not conquer under Joshua were controlled by more unified groups (such as the Philistines).

There are many passages in the Bible which encourage young people to serve God with fervor.  Today’s passage provides similar encouragement to those who are older.  Caleb had served God his entire life.  When he was forty, he was one of the twelve spies who spied out the Land of Canaan for Moses and the people of Israelites.   Unlike ten of the twelve, Caleb counseled the Israelites to go into the land, because he could see how God would give them victory.  Now, forty-five years later, he was ready to go to battle to claim his inheritance in the land which God had promised him.  He was not prepared to go into retirement and leave it to younger men to carry on God’s plans.  So, God still has a use for those of us who have a few years on us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 10-11.

Shortly after the Gibeonites entered into a treaty of alliance with the Israelites, the kings of the surrounding cities allied together and attacked them.  Joshua marched the Israelite army overnight to relieve the siege of Gibeon.  I want to note that we see the importance of Joshua quickly relieving the siege in the next little bit when we read how quickly the Israelites destroyed the southern cities.  It only took them a day or two to break down the walls of the cities they attacked, so it is unlikely that Gibeon would have held out much longer than that.  However, I want to especially point out that the Israelite victory owed a lot to God’s intervention.  First, more of Israel’s enemies in this event were killed by the weather, hailstones in particular, than by the Israelite army.  Additionally, things were going so well that Joshua requested of God that the sun stay still in the sky to give them more time to pursue their enemies, and the report tells us that the sun did indeed stay still in the sky.  The important lesson for us here is that if we do God’s will, He will fight the resulting battles for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 1-4.

I always enjoy reading the introduction to the Book of Joshua.  After the death of Moses, as Joshua took over the reigns of leadership, God told him to be strong and courageous and to carefully follow the law which Moses had given the Israelites.  We too should be strong and courageous in doing God’s will.  Joshua was to meditate day and night on God’s commands, we should do likewise.  God told Joshua not to be afraid or discouraged, advice which we should also take to heart.   Let us seek to do God’s will and He will be with us always.  Advice which I need to take to heart right now.  I have recently changed jobs and need to move closer to the job location.  So, I am house hunting and the few houses which I am finding which might do, someone is going higher than I am willing to go.  Yet, I will put my trust in God and continue to seek His will.

Then we come to the story of Rahab.  She had heard the stories about the Israelites, and knew that they were coming to her land.  She could have been frightened and discouraged, and perhaps she was.  But she had also heard about their God and when the opportunity came to act, she took it.  She believed that God would give them victory and chose to side with Him.  I want to note that she hid the Israelite spies before she made her deal with them.  Then, as soon as they left, she hung the scarlet cord out her window as a symbol of her alliance with God and His people.  Do we have the faith to act?

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.