the book of joshua the fulfillment of the land promise given to abraham- isaac- jacob- gen. 12 “...

The Book Of Joshua The Fulfillment Of the Land Promise Given to Abraham-

Isaac- Jacob- Gen. 12

“ Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which

I swore to their fathers to give them.” –Josh. 1:6 (NAS)

Outline Of The Book Of Joshua⬧ Joshua's Assignment - Joshua 1:1-5:15

⬧ Rahab Helps the Spies - Joshua 2:1-24⬧ The People Cross the Jordan River -

Joshua 3:1-4:24⬧ Circumcision and a Visit by an Angel -

Joshua 5:1-15⬧ Battle of Jericho - Joshua 6:1-27⬧ Achan's Sin Brings Death - Joshua 7:1-26⬧ Renewed Israel Defeats Ai - Joshua 8:1-35⬧ Gibeon's Trick - Joshua 9:1-27

Outline Of The Book Of Joshua⬧ Defending Gibeon, Defeating Southern Kings -

Joshua 10:1-43⬧ Capturing the North, a List of Kings - Joshua

11:1-12:24⬧ Dividing the Land - Joshua 13:1-33⬧ Land West of the Jordan - Joshua 14:1-19:51⬧ More Allotments, Justice at Last - Joshua 20:1-

21:45⬧ Eastern Tribes Praise God - Joshua 22:1-34⬧ Joshua Warns the People to Stay Faithful -

Joshua 23:1-16⬧ Covenant at Shechem, Joshua's Death -

Joshua 24:1-33

Invasion and Conquest of the Land

1. Central campaign

2. Southern campaign

3. Northern campaign

4. Land divided5. Cities of

refuge/ for priests/Levites

• Angel (Josh. 5:13-15)– Joshua: Are you for

or against us?– Angel: No, rather I

indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord

• Purpose of Event: To show that God was with Israel

The Battle Of Jericho

The battle of Jericho featured one of the most astounding miracles in the Bible, proving that God stood with the Israelites.After the death of Moses, God chose Joshua, son of Nun, to be the leader of the Israelite people. They set about to conquer the land of Canaan, under the Lord's guidance. God said to Joshua, "Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9,).

The Battle Of JerichoSpies from the Israelites sneaked into the walled city of Jericho and stayed at the house of Rahab, a prostitute. But Rahab had faith in God. She hid the spies from the king's soldiers, and when the time was right, she helped the spies escape out a window and down a rope, since her house was built into the city wall.Rahab made the spies swear an oath. She promised not to give their plans away, and in return they swore to spare Rahab and her family when the battle of Jericho began. She was to tie a scarlet cord in her window as a sign of their protection.

The Battle For Jericho- Continued

Meanwhile, the Israelite people continued to move into Canaan. God commanded Joshua to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant into the center of the Jordan River, which was at flood stage. As soon as they stepped into the river, the water stopped flowing. It piled up in heaps upstream and downstream, so the people could cross on dry ground. God performed a miracle for Joshua, just as he had done for Moses, by parting the Red Sea.


God had a strange plan for the battle of Jericho. He told Joshua to have the armed men march around the city once each day, for six days. The priests were to carry the ark, blowing trumpets, but the soldiers were to keep silent.


On the seventh day, the assembly marched around the walls of Jericho seven times. Joshua told them that by God's order, every living thing in the city must be destroyed, except Rahab and her family. All articles of silver, gold, bronze and iron were to go into the Lord's treasury.


At Joshua's command, the men gave a great shout, and Jericho's walls fell down flat! The Israelite army rushed in and conquered the city. Only Rahab and her family were spared.

Points Of Interest From Jericho Event

• Joshua may have felt unqualified for the monumental task of taking over for Moses, but God promised to be with him every step of the way, just as he had been for Moses. This same God is with us today, protecting and guiding us. Be strong and courageous---Josh. 1:8- obey whatever the Lord tells you. The same is true for us today. See Hebrews 11. All of God’s champions have been obedient to His will- more than just faith!


• Rahab the prostitute made the right choice. She went with God, instead of the evil people of Jericho. Joshua spared Rahab and her family in the battle of Jericho. In the New Testament, we learn that God favored her by making Rahab one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.


• Joshua's strict obedience to God is a key lesson from this story. At every turn Joshua did exactly as he was told and the Israelites prospered under his leadership. An ongoing theme in the Old Testament is that when the Jews obeyed God, they did well. When they disobeyed, the consequences were bad. The same is true for us today.


• As Moses' apprentice, Joshua learned firsthand that he wouldn't always understand God's ways. Human nature sometimes made Joshua want to question God's plans, but instead he chose to obey and watch what happened. Joshua is an excellent example of humility before God.

Questions About Jericho For Reflection

Joshua's strong faith in God led him to obey, no matter how illogical God's command might be. Was Joshua a Legalist??? He obeyed whatever the Lord told him to do.Joshua also drew from the past, remembering the impossible deeds God had accomplished through Moses. Do you trust God with your life? Have you forgotten how he brought you through past troubles? God has not changed. He promises to be with His children today.

Introduction And Key Verses In The Book Of Joshua

The book of Joshua details how the Israelites conquered Canaan, the Promised Land given to the Jews in God's covenant with Abraham. It's a story of miracles, bloody battles, and dividing the land among the 12 tribes. Characterized as an historical account, the book of Joshua tells how a leader's obedience to God resulted in divine help in the face of overwhelming odds.


Author of the Book of Joshua: Joshua; Eleazar the high priest and Phinehas, his son; other contemporaries of Joshua.Date Written: Approximately 1398 B.C.Written To: the people of Israel and is for all future readers of the Bible to learn from.


Landscape of the Book of Joshua: The story opens in Shittim, just north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan River. The first great victory was at Jericho. Over seven years, the Israelites captured the entire land of Canaan, from Kadesh-barnea in the south to Mount Hermon in the north.


Themes in the Book of Joshua: God's love for his chosen people continues in the book of Joshua. In the first five books of the Bible, God brought the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and established his covenant with them. Joshua returns them to their Promised Land, where God helps them conquer it and gives them a home.Key Characters in the Book of Joshua: Joshua, Rahab, Achan, Eleazar, Phineas.

Key Verses In Joshua

Joshua 1:8"Do not let this Book of the Law

depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous

and successful."


Joshua 6:20When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people

gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged

straight in, and they took the city.


Joshua 24:25On that day Joshua made a

covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up

for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in

the Book of the Law of God.


Joshua 24:31Israel served the Lord

throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who

outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.


Jericho6 days (605k men – with priests - circle the city walking around once)7th day priests will blow the trumpet of rams’ horns before the arkAt the sound of the trumpet all the men shall shout: the wall will fall flat.

•Rahab’s family saved•Israel is under a ban not to take anything for themselves: “it and all that is in it belongs to the Lord”

Joshua 6Joshua 6


Bethel and AiDefeat at Ai: 36 men dieSin of Achan (sinned against the ban: coveting. 7:21)He and all his family were stoned and burned.A great heap was raised over them (place then called valley of Achor – ‘trouble’)

Joshua 7-8Joshua 7-8

1.Central Campaign 2.Southern Campaign3.Northern Campaign 4.Land divided5.Cities of refuge/ for Levites

The Battle Of Ai- Sin Is In The Camp

Joshua 6:18 “And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” Joshua has been charged to follow the Lord’s direction and lead His people into the promised land.


God would give it to them, but they have to take it! The first challenge is the mighty walled city of Jericho. God showed His mighty right hand and delivered the city into their hands. God however warned the people that all of the spoils of this first victory belonged to Him. When the battle of Jericho was over, one man out of the entire nation sinned.


Achan (troublesome in Hebrew), disobeyed and took some items and hid them under his tent. So the next town in line for Israel to conquer was small when compared to Jericho. AI- Joshua sent spies to evaluate the city and they brought back the following report, “Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labor thither; for they are but few.” (7:3)

Results Of First Battle Of AI- Failure

Joshua 7:5 “And the men of Ai smote of [ISRAEL] about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”


Israel lost 36 warriors and retreated like cowards. So why did these men die? Joshua rent his clothes and cried out to God with the same question. God’s simple answer was that there was sin in the camp; that was why the lost the battle. Next we see that after they go through all of the tribes and families to see who’s fault it was, Achan was found guilty. The judgment handed down by Joshua,…


“And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.”


One man sinned resulting in 36 soldiers, Achan, his family and livestock dying. An important lesson to remember is that as a Christian, we are all part of a body (Eph. 1:22,23) What one part does affects the rest of the body. The effects of our sin can and will ripple out beyond us. It will affect those we love.


The people did not seek counsel from God on the decision to attack AI. They presumed upon God and moved ahead of Him. If they had sought His counsel, He would have revealed the sin before the loss of life. The bottom line is, if there is sin in the camp, it will affect the entire camp.What about your home? Is your family troubled by the sin of just one member?

Results Of The Second Battle Of AI

How often God must engineer defeat before He can engineer victory. Sometimes success comes through the back door of failure. As we begin this chapter, I am reminded of a couple verses in Psalm 119. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word” (vs. 67); and “It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes” (vs. 72).

Results Of The Second Battle Of AI

In this chapter we again see the grace of God and the truth of restoration. Defeats never have to be the end. They may in fact be the beginning if we will just respond to the grace of God as a loving and caring heavenly Father who works to produce spiritual growth and Christ-like changes in us. This doesn’t minimize the consequences of sin, however. In the Ai incident, God’s name had been dishonored, people lost their lives, and a family died the sin unto death. The momentum Israel gained was temporarily lost and God’s people were filled with gloom and despair.

The story of Ai isa message of warning.

It reminds us that sin cannot be tolerated in the Christian life. It hinders the blessing of God from the standpoint of productive Christian living. Sin grieves and quenches the Spirit. The story of Ai is also a proclamation of hope. It reminds us that blessing and productivity can come when sin is confessed and dealt with.

The story of Ai isa message of warning.

The Call to Battle (8:1-2)1 Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

Seeking & Following God’s Directions

(1) Don’t make the same mistake twice: God’s word to Joshua was to use all the fighting men of Israel. Though the primary cause of the defeat at Ai was Achan’s sin, a secondary cause was underestimating the enemy, overestimating themselves, and presuming on the Lord (cf. 7:3-4).


(2) Turn the place of defeat into the place of victory: Joshua is told to again go up and attack Ai. He is to return to the place of defeat, and now, because Joshua and the people are rightly related to the Lord, God promised they could turn the place of defeat into a place of victory.


(3) The basis of victory is always the same: The words, “just as with Jericho” reminds us that victory at Ai would not only be as complete as that at Jericho, but that as with Jericho, it would come by the power of God regardless of the strategy used. God wants our places of defeat turned into places of victory. We are not to live with defeat or accept it as the norm for the Christian life. But as always, victory comes through faith in God’s presence and provision.


(4) The spoils of victory promised—the irony of God’s blessing: In verse 2 Joshua was told that the spoils of Ai and its livestock could now be taken by Israel. As the first fruits of the land, Jericho had been placed under the ban, but this was not the case with Ai. Achan’s dissatisfaction and lack of patience and trust in the Lord for his needs, actually caused him to miss precisely what he longed for. If only he had resisted his greed and selfish desire and obeyed God’s word at Jericho he would later have had all his heart desired. How tragic it is when we try to go ahead of God and take things into our own hands. Many in denominations have done just that.


(5) A change in strategies (vs. 2b): The strategy used with Ai was different from Jericho. “The Israelites did not march around the walls of Ai seven times, nor did the walls fall miraculously.” Israel was now directed to conquer the city through normal combat. Principle: We should not expect God to work the same way or lead us always the same way. We need to be open and sensitive to the various ways God may lead. As the Sovereign God of the universe, He is never limited to one particular method to accomplish His purposes.

The Strategy For The Battle Of AI

Joshua 8:3-13

3 So Joshua rose with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose 30,000 men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “See, you are going to ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And it will come about when they come out to meet us as at the first, that we will flee before them. …


6 And they will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ So we will flee before them. 7 And you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you.” …


9 So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people. 10 Now Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. 11 Then all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near and arrived in front of the city, and camped on the north side of Ai. Now there was a valley between him and Ai. …


12 And he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. 13 So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley.

God’s Ways Not Always The Same

The strategy for the capture of Ai was ingenious (vss. 3-9). It involved placing an ambush behind (west of) the city. God Himself told Joshua to do this (vss. 2, 8). The outworking of this plan involved three detachments of soldiers. The first was a group of commando-type warriors who were sent by night to hide on the west side of the city. …


Their mission was to rush into Ai and burn it after its defenders had deserted it to pursue Joshua and his army as they had previously done. This unit is said to have numbered 30,000. The presence of large rocks in the region made it possible for all these men to remain hidden, yet, this seems like an excessively large number of soldiers for this particular mission but this was God’s way. …


The second contingent was the main army which walked the 15 miles from Gilgal early the next morning and camped in plain view on the north side of Ai. Led by Joshua, this army was a diversionary force to decoy the defenders of Ai out of the city.


The third contingent was another ambush numbering 5,000 men who were positioned between Bethel and Ai to cut off the possibility of reinforcements from Bethel to aid the men of Ai.

Battle Of AI Described- Josh. 8:14-29

14 And it came about when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose up early and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. …


17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who had not gone out after Israel, and they left the city unguarded and pursued Israel. 18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 And the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it; and they quickly set the city on fire. …


20 When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and slew the men of Ai. 22 And the others came out from the city to encounter them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they slew them until no one was left of those who survived or escaped. …


23 But they took alive the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua. 24 Now it came about when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them were fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. …


27 Israel took only the cattle and the spoil of that city as plunder for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation until this day. 29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua gave command and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and raised over it a great heap of stones that stands to this day.

God’s Ways Are BestThe plan worked like clockwork (vss. 14-22). When the king of Ai saw Israel’s army he took the bait and pursued the Israelites who pretended to retreat in fear as they had done before. This left the city of Ai unguarded. At the Lord’s command, Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand and, with this as a signal, the troops hidden in ambush on the west side ran to the city and set it on fire. This left the men of Ai surrounded with no place to flee for now Joshua and his men with the 5,000 hidden in ambush all turned to fight the men of Ai. …

God’s Ways Are BestBefore they could gather their wits they were caught in a pincer movement of Israelite soldiers and were destroyed.After killing all Ai’s soldiers, Israel’s army reentered the city and killed all its inhabitants (23-29). The dead soldiers and citizens totaled 12,000. Plunder was taken from the city as God had said they could do (vs. 2). The city was made a heap of ruins. …

God’s Ways Are BestAi’s king, who had been previously spared, was hanged on a tree until evening and then buried beneath a pile of stones ( Achan’s similar burial, 7:26). The king’s body was taken off the tree at sunset. Thus Israel, having been restored to God’s favor, became victorious over the city of Ai. Out of their failure came not only a second chance but a great victory along with some much needed lessons. …

God’s Ways Are Best

Though we should never seek to fail, failure can be the back door to success for God is willing to forgive and restore us if we will deal with our sin as prescribed in the Word.

Devotion To God After BattleJosh. 8:30-35

30 Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. …


33 And all Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel. 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. …


35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them. …


After the victory at Ai Joshua did what seemed to be foolish humanly and militarily-speaking (30-31). To us it would seem best to immediately pursue the military campaign and move quickly ahead to capture and take control of the central sector of the land. But no, Joshua led the Israelites on a spiritual pilgrimage for a special time of worship. Why? Moses had commanded in Deut. 27:1-8 because of what this event would stand for in the lives of the Israelites.

The People Move To Obey Moses

But we might ask, why was this location chosen? These mountains are located in the geographic center of the land and from either peak much of the Promised Land can be seen. Here then, is a place that represented all the land, both at the time of entrance into Canaan and also when Joshua’s leadership was coming to a close (cf. 24:1). With his leadership drawing to a close, Joshua again gathered all the tribes to Shechem and challenged the people to renew their covenant vows to the Lord. Much more than all of this it was commanded by Moses in Deuteronomy 27:1-8.

The People Move To Obey Moses

So without delay Joshua led the entire nation—men, women, children, and cattle—from their camp at Gilgal northward up the Jordan Valley to the place specified by Moses, the mountains of Ebal (Josh. 8:30 and Gerizim (v. 33) which are at Shechem. This was a march of about 30 miles and evidently was not difficult or dangerous because they passed through an area that was sparsely populated.


• Bethel and Ai–The Lord turned from His anger

• He now commands Israel to take Ai (and Bethel. See v. 17)

• This time all the spoil would be booty for Israel

– Israel ambushes Ai– Israel made Ai (destroyed with fire)

into a great heap

Josh 7-8Josh 7-8


• Treaty with Gibeonites– They were crafty saying they came

from a far away land– Israel did not seek God’s counsel– Gibeonites cursed and made into slaves

Josh 9Josh 9


• Defeat of southern kings– King of Jerusalem sends for other

kings among the Amorites to make war against Gibeon

– Gibeon pleas for Israel’s help– God delivers the southern kings

into Israel’s hands

Josh 10Josh 10

Invasion & Conquest (Joshua)

• Defeat of southern kings– Gibeon pleads Israel for help– Sun/moon stand still: God delivers

the southern kings into Israel’s hands. vss. 12-14

– Five Amorite kings (that fled) are captured and executed.

• The rest of the south-land is conquered. vss. 28ff

Reference: Joshua 10 Gibeon asks Israel for help (Josh. 10:6-43)


Northern campaign Kings conquered

• Jabin (the person)– Jabin: king of Hazor– Head of surrounding kingdoms. v. 10– Hazor: located about 5 miles

southwest of Lake Hulah

Josh 11Josh 11


• Commissioned area kings– Kings of Madon, Shimron, Achshaph…– Kings of the north: in the mountains,

plains south of Lake Galilee, highlands of Dor on the west, Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite

Reference: Jabin, king of Hazor

Josh 11Josh 11


• God commands Israel to fight against Hazor: Israel conquers the kings

• So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses…Joshua 11:23– Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel

according to their divisions by their tribes.

– Then the land rested from war.

Josh 11Josh 11

Northern Campaign


• Jabin (king of Hazor)– Gathered the kings of the north, the

east and the west to fight against Israel– God commands Israel to fight against

Hazor: Israel conquers the kings• Summaries of Kings conquered

between Moses and Joshua

Joshua 11Joshua 11


• Remaining land to be conquered– Joshua is old– “Very much land yet to be possessed.”

• Land yet to be possessed– From east of Egypt to the mountains

of Lebanon– Divide land among 91/2 tribes (1/2,

Reuben, Gad already given by Moses)

Joshua 13-19

Remaining Land: ch. 13

Joshua 13-19

Remaining Land: ch. 13

LAND DIVIDED Remaining land to be

conquered Joshua is old“Very much land yet

to be possessed.” Land yet to be

possessedFrom east of Egypt to

the mountains of Lebanon

Divide land among 91/2 tribes (1/2, Reuben, Gad already given by Moses)


• Tribes to receive land:

West of Jordan (ch.13)1.Judah2.Ephraim3.½ tribe (Manasseh)4.Benjamin5.Simeon (within Judah)6.Asher7.Zebulan8.Issachar9.Naphtali10.Dan

East of Jordan (ch.14--)

1.Reuben2.Gad3.½ tribe of

Manasseh

Levi

No inheritance

Mitch Davis:

What tribes were Caleb (who resided in Hebron, in Judah…where king David was anointed king) and Joshua (who resided in Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim) from? Do their special inheritances reside within their tribal inheritances?

Mitch Davis:

What tribes were Caleb (who resided in Hebron, in Judah…where king David was anointed king) and Joshua (who resided in Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim) from? Do their special inheritances reside within their tribal inheritances?

Special InheritancesCaleb – given a city of his choice because of his faithfulness was had an inheritance for his family – Hebron (formerly called Kirjath Arba, for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim (the giants). Josh. 14:6-15Joshua - given a city of his choice – Timnath Serah, in the mountains of Ephraim. Josh. 19:49-51


Cities of refuge:After the initial conquest, the Israelites named 6 cities as special ‘cities of refuge.’ A person who accidentally killed another was told to run to the nearest city of refuge.He would live there until a fair trial could be arranged.

Josh 20Information for this slide comes from

Cities of Refuge: Jenkins

Josh 20Information for this slide comes from

Cities of Refuge: Jenkins

Cities of Refuge

• The circles on this map show approximately one day’s journey in all directions from each city.

• Shown is Jokneam, one of the places not to be in if you had accidentally killed someone.

Josh 20Map, and information for this slide comes from

Cities of Refuge: Jenkins, Thomas Nelson.

Josh 20Map, and information for this slide comes from

Cities of Refuge: Jenkins, Thomas Nelson.


• Cities for Levites– No inheritance: They were given “cities

and their common-lands” (for their livestock) by the Israelites.

– Not coincidentally: The cities of refuge are in the cities given to the Levites (where the priests live) where the elders would try them.

Joshua 21Joshua 21


Land DividedCities of refuge/Levites

Joshua 20-21 Cities of refuge chosen (Josh. 20:7-8)

Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given thirteen towns in the areas of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin

Josh. 21:4


NOTE: Cities of Levites and refuge– Of the 48 cities of Levites, 6 are cities

of refuge.– Since these cities are occupied by

Levites, who are implied as being judges over the “refuge” cases?• There is no mention of judges from various

tribes living among the Levites.• Thus, it seems necessary to conclude that

the Levites would serve as judges over the matter.


6. Tribes east of Jordan return home7. Joshua’s challenges8. Israel renews covenant with God

• Reuben, Gad, Manasseh– Kept all of Moses and Joshua’s commanded– They did not leave their brethren (West of

Jordan)

• Joshua blesses them

Joshua 22Joshua 22


• They build an altar: “Witness”– Israel ready to make war against them for

building an altar (of sacrifice)– The altar replica made as witness to for

their descendents that they have a part in the service/sacrifice unto the Lord

Joshua 22Joshua 22

Misunderstanding Between Tribes

Those on the west were ready to do battle because they thought that the altar was set up as a separate place of worship in rivalry and was a sellout to the gods of the lands on east side of Jordan. They thought their brethren were in rebellion and were ready to wipe them out for their disobedience to God’s will.They gathered together as one for this purpose.Phineas met with them and with the eastern tribes to try to find out what was happening and to resolve if possible.

Tribes Go Back To

East Side Of Jordan

a. You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you: In the seven years they had been with Joshua, helping the tribes west of the Jordan to conquer their enemies, they had been completely obedient and helpful to Joshua.

b. You have not left your brethren these many days: They had gone out and fought on behalf of their brethren, even though they already had their own inheritance - even as God commanded them to do.

Tribes Go Back To

East Side Of Jordan

c. Now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession: Now that the land was conquered and fully distributed to the tribes, they could go back to their families and lands on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Tribes Go Back To

East Side Of Jordan

Joshua Exhorts And Blesses⬧ Before they leave, Joshua gives them

an exhortation and a blessing.“But take careful heed to do the

commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

Joshua Exhorts And BlessesHe tells them to take diligent heed to the word of God, probably here mostly in the sense of carefully hearing it and knowing it.He tells them to love the LORD. This is a matter of the heart, but it can still be commanded.He tells them to obey God with all they have, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him in a personal sense, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul.

Joshua Exhorts And BlessesWe should not miss the order here. First we should take care to hear God. Then we give Him our love. Next comes a walk of obedience. To mix this order up is to get off into heresy 1. (loving without hearing) 2. (obeying before loving). So Joshua blessed them and sent them away: Joshua will not send them away with a blessing; he knows that they cannot do or be what God wants without His blessing in their lives.

Joshua Exhorts And BlessesPerhaps he used the blessing from Numbers 6:23-27: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.’” So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

What Does This Altar Mean?Before crossing over the Jordan, the soldiers from the two and a half tribes build a great, impressive altar near the Jordan River. •Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan; on the children of Israel’s side.” And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

Ready To Take A Stand For Right

Why did they do this? Because they feared that this altar was a sign of allegiance to the pagan gods of the region.Their readiness to fight this battle shows great courage to confront on behalf of God’s truth and holiness. This was a healthy “body,” able to purge itself of poisons.Their later actions show that they are not happy about taking this action, nor will they do it rashly - but they will do it!

Phinehas Chosen To Help Resolve

What treachery is this: Clearly, they thought that the altar at the Jordan represented a rival place of sacrifice and worship, to compete with God’s tabernacle, presently at Shiloh. …


God had clearly commanded that there was one place of sacrifice and burnt offerings for Israel: Also you shall say to them: Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:8-9) …


We understand from this that we cannot worship God any way we please, or justify a manner of worship just because we like it. First and always, our worship must be pleasing to God. We must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us: Phinehas reminds the eastern tribes that Israel has been punished for rebellion against God before, using the rebellion at Peor as an example. …


At Peor, Israel’s men had sex with Moabite women, and they gave themselves over to the worship of the Moabite gods. In judgment, God sent a plague that killed 24,000 people.This incident would be especially meaningful to Phinehas, because he was the one who stopped the plague by making a dramatic stand for righteousness in the midst of gross sin.He will be angry with the whole congregation: Phinehas also knew that the sin of these tribes would reflect on the whole nation. He knew that no one really sins unto himself.

Explanation & ResolutionAn altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness: The eastern tribes recognized their distance from the center of worship in Israel, and that there was a natural barrier (the Jordan River) between them and the rest of the nation. So they built the altar a memorial to link the two segments of the nation. They built it so big and impressive so that it would last. They wanted it to stand as a memorial to future generations that the tribes on both sides of the Jordan worshipped the same God. …

Explanation & ResolutionThe eastern tribes again agree with the concern of the western tribes; but they explain that the western tribes have misunderstood the meaning of the great, impressive altar.• (30-31) The explanation of the eastern tribes is accepted by the western tribes.Now when Phinehas the priest . . . heard the words . . . it pleased them: Obviously, Phinehas is pleased by this explanation; yet he deserves credit for being willing to believe his brothers. Phinehas puts himself in the shoes of the eastern tribes now, and so the explanation makes sense. …

Explanation & Resolution

This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD: Phinehas could see that the LORD was among us, because unity had been restored among the people of Israel. This fulfilled the passage from Psalm 133:1: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! …

Explanation & Resolution

So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God: Everyone is glad, and everyone enjoys the blessing of having peace among the people of God.The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness: The altar is given the name Witness, because it was a witness to the tribes on both the eastern side and the western side of the Jordan that the LORD is God.

A Guide For Response To

DisagreementsRespond with a concern for God’s holiness above all.Respond with the courage to confront in love (it may cost a close relationship but love will take the chance)Respond with an attempt to reconcile before you fight. …

A Guide For Response To

DisagreementsDetermine that you are willing to sacrifice to help them; don’t confront unless you are willing to help resolve the issue in keeping with what is right.Determine that you will see the situation from the perspective of the other person. (Gal. 6:2-5)Determine that you will try your best to see the best in the other person.


6. Tribes east of Jordan return home

7. Joshua’s challenges

8. Israel renews covenant with God

• Joshua’s farewell address– To forsake idolatry

and be faithful to God– “One man of you shall

chase a thousand, for the Lord fights for you”

– If you forsake Him, He will no longer drive them out; they shall be snares to you, etc.

Joshua 23Joshua 23

Joshua Bids The People Farewell

• Josh. 23:1-3) Joshua declares what the LORD has done.

Now it came to pass, a long time after the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: “I am old, advanced in age. You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has fought for you.” …


Josh. 23:6- Israel will succeed: by total obedience to the word of God.Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,They need to be courageous so they can be obedient. Following God and His word isn’t something for the faint of heart. They must do all that is written in the Book. We tend to focus on the aspects of obedience that we like and skip over the parts that attract us less. …


• They must not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, because Satan doesn’t care which extreme he gets us off to. Either legalism or licentiousness please him.

The second exhortation: don’t make peace with the enemy- no compromise! 1 Pet. 5:8- Satan is our enemy- he is not a friend- hate him. …


• Josh. 23:7-8-Hold fast to the LORD.And lest you go among these nations,

these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.

God Is Faithful To Bless And Curse

Josh. 23:15-16- As surely as God has been faithful to bless their obedience under Joshua, He will be faithful to curse their later disobedience. …


Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you. When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you. …


As all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things: •Joshua merely repeats the principle of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience that was a specific part of Israel’s covenant with God (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). He emphasizes that God will be just as faithful to judge as He had been to bless. …


We relate to God under a different covenant, a new and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-7), by which Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10-14).• Under the new law of Christ we experience God’s faithfulness to correct us as a loving Father (Hebrews 12:7), and we will experience damnation in hell if we fail to obey Him in all things (Matt. 25). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31).




8. Israel renews their covenant with God

• Exhortations:– Forsake idolatry and be

faithful to God– “One man of you shall

chase a thousand, for the Lord fights for you” v. 10

– If you forsake Him, He will no longer drive them out; they shall be snares to you, etc. v. 13

Reference: Joshua 23

Israel renews their covenant with GodJoshua Gathers all tribes at Shechem: elders, heads, judges, officers. v. 1•Gives history:

– Israel’s descendents (Terah onward). vss. 2-5

– Escape from Egypt. vss. 6-7– Amorites & Moabites (east of Jordan).

vss. 8-10– Canaan (west of Jordan). vss. 11-13

Joshua 24Joshua 24

• Joshua Gathers all tribes at Shechem: elders, heads, judges, officers

• Gives history:We must know history of who we are:– Israel’s descendents (Terah onward)– Escape from Egypt– Amorites & Moabites (east of Jordan)– Canaan (west of Jordan)

Joshua 24 (end of book; period)

Shechem: where they staked their claim



• Covenant renewed– Joshua’s challenge: Choose whom you will

serve.– Israel’s reply: “We will serve the Lord”

• Death of Joshua and Eleazar– Israel served Jehovah all the days of

Joshua and the elders who outlived him





Making The Choice

Josh. 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Josh. 24:24- And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

Making The Choice

1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.Matthew 6:24- No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.


1. Central Campaign

2. Southern Campaign

3. Northern Campaign

4. Land divided5. Cities of refuge /

Levites



8. Israel renews their covenant with God


Israel renews their covenant with God

Covenant renewed– Joshua’s challenge: Choose whom you will

serve. v. 15– Israel’s reply: “We will serve the Lord.”

vss. 16-18– Joshua: You cannot serve the Lord… v. 19– Israel’s reply: no, but we will!

•Death of Joshua and Eleazar: Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua and the elders who outlived him. vss. 29ff

the book of joshua the fulfillment of the land promise given to abraham- isaac- jacob- gen. 12 “...

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