Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 21-22.

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Today’s passage begins by finishing up the allotment of land to the Israelites, specifically by giving cities to the Levites from within the territories given to the other tribes.  One thing of note here is that the city of Hebron was given to the Levites, even though it had previously been listed as being given to Caleb.  Here it clarifies that the fields of the city and the villages around it were given to Caleb, suggesting that the city itself could be given to the Levites without interfering with what was given to Caleb.  Later, Hebron becomes King David’s capital after the death of King Saul, but before David became king over all of Israel.  The passage also mentions that two cities from within the territory of Dan were given to the Levites, Elteke and Gibbethon.  In yesterday’s passage, after describing the territory given to Dan it said “When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them…” Now, was that referring to all of the territory of Dan, or just part of it?  And if it was all of the territory of Dan, did the Levites lose their cities along with the tribe of Dan losing its territory?  I don’t know the answer to these questions, but wanted to make note of them because I never thought about them before.

After listing the cities given to the Levites, the passage says that the Lord had thus given to Israel all of the land that he swore to give to their fathers and He gave them rest on every side.  After which Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh and sent them home to Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan River.  He told them to make sure that they kept the commands which God had given them through Moses.  He also told them to share their plunder with those who had remained behind, guarding their wives, children, and flocks.  This is an important principle which we see mentioned later when David insists that those who stayed behind to guard the baggage train receive an equal share with those who went into battle.  The principle here does not just apply to battle, but to any situation where some go out to obtain wealth while others must stay behind to maintain existing property.  We should share the wealth we gain with those who provide the support we need to have a place to which we can come home.

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

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

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This is a difficult passage for me to find a lesson in.  It is almost completely a description of the territories which were allotted to Judah, Ephraim, and the second half of Manasseh (the first half received its territory east of the Jordan River).  I found it interesting that the territory allotted to Judah included several Philistine cities, cities which were not controlled by the Israelites until David was king (and even after that Ekron, at least, was independent during the reign of King Ahaziah, the son of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom).  Also of interest, the writer tells us that the Jebusites still controlled Jerusalem at the time he wrote this book even though Jerusalem was in the portion of Judah.  Later, at the end of the description of the land allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, we are told that they had failed to drive the Canaanites out of their territory and put them, the Canaanites, to forced labor when they became strong enough.  After telling us that fact, the writer tells us that the people of Ephraim and Manasseh complained that the Canaanites who dwelled in the plain have chariots of iron and thus were too strong for them.  Joshua told them to drive the Canaanites out even though they were strong and had chariots of iron.  It is not clear to me if that was a prophecy or a command.  If it was a command, it appears that they failed to obey it.

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.

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Today’s passage begins by summarizing the territory which the Israelites took control of before the death of Joshua.  It lays out the boundaries of the land which they controlled east of the Jordan River.  Then it lists the land which was given as an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh.  Repeatedly, the writer mentions that the Levites did not receive an allocation of land, except for some cities and their surrounding pastureland.  Interestingly, it mentions that the people of Joseph became two tribes alongside talking about the Levites not receiving an allotment of land.  This highlights to me the twelve and one tribal relationship of the nation of Israel, which foreshadows Jesus with His twelve Apostles.  Or, perhaps, Jesus chose twelve in order to recap this twelve and one relationship.  The passage lists the cities which the Israelites defeated under Joshua’s leadership.  It also makes a point that some of the land had not been conquered, but that unconquered land was part of what was divided up among the tribes.  As I am writing this it strikes me that there is a message there for us…perhaps about recognizing the areas in our life where sin still rules as areas where God will exert His authority as we more closely follow His will.  I am unhappy with the wording of that, but think there is something to it.

Today’s passage ends with Caleb claiming his inheritance (well, sort of because I know there is more about him actually taking control of it in later chapters).  Caleb begins his claim by reminding Joshua that he, alongside Joshua, was one of the spies who gave a faithful report of the land to Moses and the Israelites.  He recounts that he gave that report because he wholly followed the Lord his God.  Caleb proclaims that he “wholly followed the Lord my God.”  Moses had told Caleb that he would live to claim land because he had “wholly followed the Lord my God.”  Both Caleb and Moses declared that the Lord was their own God.  They made personal declarations that God was their God.  So, we too must recognize that God is our God.  We must personally take God as our God.  He is not just the God of our ancestors, or of our people, or of the group of which we are part.  We each must say “the Lord my God.”

Finally, I want to take note of Caleb’s age when he claimed his inheritance.  Caleb says that he was eighty-five years old when he came to Joshua to claim the land which Moses had promised to him.  At eighty-five, he still had the strength to carry out the mission which God had given him.  So, none of us should say that we are too old to accomplish the mission which God has given us.  If God has given us a mission, He will give us the strength to accomplish it.  This does not mean that everyone is called to take up a new mission at eighty-five.  After all, Joshua and Caleb were the same age (at least, that is the impression we are given), yet earlier in this passage God told Joshua, “you are old and advanced in years.”  The implication being that it was time for Joshua to turn over leadership to the next generation.  So, these two men of the same age were given different messages.  One was told it was time to retire.  The other was told it was time to claim his inheritance.

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.

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The first thing  I noticed is that the king of Jerusalem’s name was Adoni-zedek.   That is significant to me because I have the word adonai used to refer to God (when I first read this I did not notice that the spelling was different).  That led me to look into the meaning of that name.  What I found was that Adoni-zedek translates as “lord of righteousness”.  I do not think that is all that significant here, except that the name Adoni-zedek is closely related to the name Melchizedek.  Melchizedek was the king of Jerusalem when Abraham rescued Lot from those who had sacked Sodom while Lot lived there.  Abraham offered a tenth of the plunder he took from those who had taken Lot captive to Melchizedek.  The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”.  Melchizedek, king of righteousness, was a priest of the Most High God.  His successor, Adoni-zedek, lord of righteousness, was an opponent of the God of Israel, who is the Most High God.  This difference shows us that we must judge people by their actions, not by what they say about themselves.

Next I noticed that the writer of this passage tells us that we can find an outside reference to the account of the sun standing still over Gibeon in the Book of Jashar.  From this reference we discover that the writer of the Book of Joshua clearly was not writing something which he was making up.  The Book of Jashar is later referenced in 2 Samuel chapter 1.  So, we know that such a book actually existed, even though we no longer have any more information actually contained than these two vague references.  There are several other places in the Old Testament which refer to books of which we no longer have any copies.

Finally, I will come to a point which has spiritual significance for us today.  When the five kings from the southern portion of the land of Canaan were captured, Joshua addressed the men of Israel.  He told them not to be afraid or dismayed, but rather to be strong and courageous because God was going to bring down all of their enemies just as He had done to these five kings.  I want to note that twice before this God had spoken the same message to Joshua.  Joshua here passes it on to all of the men of Israel, and the writer of this passage passes it on to us.  We should pass this message on to those whom we encounter.
Do not be afraid or dismayed, rather be strong and courageous
If you turn to God and put your faith in Jesus Christ, God will conquer those who oppose you.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 8-9.

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Today’s passage begins with God once more telling Joshua not to fear and not to be dismayed, just as He had when He first commissioned Joshua to lead Israel.  In order to fully understand the lesson which my title highlights from this passage, that we should seek God’s guidance for decisions even when the answer seems obvious, we need to remember the passage about what came before today’s passage.  We need to remember what happened the first time the Israelites attacked Ai.  The first time the Israelites attacked Ai, Joshua had sent out scouts to scout it out.  The scouts returned with a report that a small portion of the Israelite army could conquer Ai.  So, Joshua sent only a small force against Ai, and they were soundly defeated.  It was only after that defeat that Joshua and the leaders of Israel sought God’s guidance and thus learned of Achan’s sin.  Despite this lesson, the leaders of Israel did not seek God’s counsel when the delegation from Gibeon came to them seeking an alliance.  The leaders of Israel had trusted their ability to judge the vulnerability of Ai, not realizing that God had something He wanted them to deal with first.  Then, when the envoys from Gibeon arrived, they trusted their judgement in deciding whether or not to make a treaty with the people of Gibeon.  We must not make the same mistake.  We should seek God’s guidance for every decision we make, no matter how sure we are about the correct choice.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 5-7.

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So, I recorded my first thoughts about this passage before I began writing this morning.  In the past I had written this blog before recording my thoughts.  What I am writing now will not be exactly what I recorded, but will include some of it.  In recording my thoughts I skipped over the reaction of the rulers west of the Jordan to the Israelites crossing the Jordan on dry ground.  That reaction explains why the Israelites had time to circumcise all of their men and take time for Passover before beginning their conquest of the land.  Which brings me to my first thought while recording.  Why were not of the men born while the Israelites in the wilderness circumcised until this point?  The passage tells us that all of those born in Egypt had been circumcised, but none of those born in the wilderness were circumcised.  The practice of circumcision was among the laws which God gave to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.  Yet, as we read this, it seems as if the writer thought that the  not circumcising the men until this point was approved by God.  In fact, God specifically told Joshua that He had “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” on this day.  The implication being that by circumcising all of the men on this day rather than sooner was what removed that reproach.  In any case, all of the men were circumcised before the Passover, which they celebrated for the first time in Canaan after circumcising all of the men.

One of the more enigmatic passages in the Bible is when Joshua meets the commander of the army of the Lord.  Joshua meets a man outside of Jericho who has His sword drawn.  Joshua does not know who He is and asks Him if he is “for us, or for our adversaries?”  To which the man answers, “No.”  The man goes on to say that He is the commander of the army of the Lord.  So, I read this as the commander of the army of the Lord is not on the side of the Israelites, nor is He on the side of their adversaries.  I want to point out that the passage makes it clear that the commander of the army of the Lord IS God.  It tells us that Joshua worships Him, and that He tells Joshua to take off his sandals because the place where he was standing was holy.  The only other place where God tells someone to take off their sandals because they are on holy ground is when He speaks to Moses from the burning bush.  This is one of those places where God foreshadows His incarnation as Jesus.  However, the most important point here is that God is neither for Israel, nor is He for Israel’s adversaries.

I want to say that we need to remember this in the modern struggle in the Middle East.  God is neither for Israel, nor for Israel’s adversaries.  However, when I look at that conflict, it looks to me that Israel’s adversaries are choosing to oppose God.  Unfortunately, while I do not believe that Israel is choosing to oppose God, they are pursuing their own agenda rather than God’s agenda.  Now to apply this to us: God is neither for us, nor is He for our adversaries.  Or to put it another way, God is neither on our side, nor is He on the side of our enemies.  It is up to us to be on God’s side.  But, we must also remember that God is not against anyone either.  Anyone can choose to be on God’s side.  If we are pursuing our own agenda, whether that is in supporting something we think is a good thing, or in opposing something we think is a bad thing, we are likely to find ourselves in opposition to God.  Instead of pursuing our own agenda, we should strive to hear God tell us what we should do.

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.

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The Book of Joshua begins with God commissioning Joshua to lead the Children of Israel in Moses’ place.  We may not have a leadership role as Joshua did, but God has commissioned each of us to a task.  In giving us that task, God assures us that no matter the dangers and challenges of that task, He will be with us as we undertake it.  He will never leave us, nor will He forsake us.  He just asks that we be strong and courageous and do as He directs.  God promises that He will be with us wherever we go so that we need not be frightened nor dismayed.  Trust in God and do as He commands.  Remember, those commands can be summed up in two commands:
“Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength.”
And
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Faithfully do those things and you need not fear any man nor anything for God will be with you.

Then we come to the account of the spies and Rahab.  First, I want to note that Joshua sent only two spies into the land in advance of the invasion.  A generation earlier, Moses had sent twelve spies.  Ten of Moses’ spies gave a bad report which led the Israelites to fear invading.  This time, the two spies are analogous to Joshua and Caleb from the previous set of spies and they gave a positive report.  This made the Israelites confident to invade.   I am not sure I am making a correct connection here, but I wanted to comment on it so that I give it more thought going forward.  More important to this story is Rahab’s part.  God had commanded the Israelites to not make any deals with the people of the land.  We are intended to understand that the deal which the spies made with Rahab did not violate that command.  The difference being that Rahab recognized the God of Israel as the God over all creation and submitted herself to Him.  She chose to join herself to God’s people, rather than seeking to remain outside of them.  Rahab feared God and chose to submit herself to Him.  Actually, this shows us a difference between those who are saved and many others.  According to what Rahab said, and I believe it to be true, all of the people of Jericho feared the Israelites because they saw what God was doing for them.  They all feared God, but only Rahab was willing to act and submit herself to Him.  Even today, many people fear God, but most of them are unwilling to subjugate themselves to Him.  One note, God honored Rahab’s submission by choosing her line to bear His Son.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 23-24.

I love this passage.  In particular, I love where Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose whether or not to follow God, or some other gods.  He told them that they had to choose who they would worship and serve.  And the way Joshua finishes his call to them to choose is inspiring, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  It inspired the people of Israel to join with him in choosing to serve God, at least for that moment in time.  But before Joshua addresses the assembly of the Israelites, he had a meeting with the leaders of Israel.  He reminded them of what God had done for them in giving them control over the land.  He pointed to their successes and told them that those success all came because they served God.  He told them that all of the good things they had experienced and accomplished came from God.  Then he said, “So be very careful to love the Lord your God.”  And that is the phrase from today’s passage which really struck me today.  We live the good life because God has blessed us.  If we continue to love God, He will continue to bless us, but if we allow the people around us, who worship other gods, to distract us, God will remove His blessings from us.  If we ally with those who serve other gods, our devotion to God will be diminished and we will lose our focus on Him.  We must not allow that to happen.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 21-22.

I rarely pay much attention to the lands, cities, and towns which were given to different groups during the Israelites settlement of Canaan.  The reason for that is that, for the most part, I don’t really have any concept of how these places relate to each other, which means that reading it generally carries no meaning to me.  I discovered today that I need to start paying more attention to that sort of thing.  What brought my attention to it was the realization that Hebron was given to the Levites as one of their cities.  What made that noteworthy to me is the fact that King David made it his capital while he was king of Judah before being king of all Israel.  Then a little later it mentions that Shechem was also given to the Levites.  Shechem comes up numerous times in the Old Testament.  The particular case I thought about was when the son of Gideon convinced Shechem to support him as ruler of Israel, then killed almost all of his brothers.  Finally, I noticed Mahanaim as one of the towns given to the Levites.  Mahanaim was where Abner set up Saul’s son as king after Saul’s death.  It is also where King David fled and made his stand when Absalom attempted to usurp his throne.  The fact that these were Levitical cities will provide some insights into understanding those passages where these cities come up again later.  Which once again encourages me in reading the Bible over and over again.

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