Bible in one year 5/12/2022 Joshua Introduction & chapter 1 to 4
By
Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian
Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry &
Counseling
Introduction to the book of Joshua
Authorship
-- Basically
the book was composed by Joshua himself. To be sure, a few sections such as
15:13-17 (Juge.1:9-13) and Josh.24:29-31 could not have been written by him. These
were probably added by Eleazar the priest or by Phinehas, his son. But Joshua
is specifically identified as the author of 24:1-26, and clearly the author was
an eyewitness of many of the events recorded 5:1 (contains we in some mess.)
and 5:6 (us). It is also evident that the book was written not long after the
events happened (6:25).
Background -- The book describes
the conquest and diving of the land of Canaan and is set against the background
of the corrupt and brutal features of Canaanite religion, depicted clearly in
the Ras Shamra Tablets. Prostitution of both sexes, infant sacrifice, and
religious syncretism were some of the evils for which God commanded the
Israelites to exterminate the inhabitants of Canaan. Much of the later
spiritual declension in Israel was due to the fact that the Canaanites were not
completely destroyed. As a result, their religion was tolerated and frequently
absorbed by the Israelites. The events of Joshua begin where those of
Deuteronomy conclude. For a discussion of the time of the conquest, see the
introduction to the Book of Exodus.
Joshua
the Man –Evidently born Egypt, Joshua (Whose name means “Yahweh is salvation”
Num.13:16) may have served in Pharaoh’s army. In any case, he was well
qualified to command the Israelite forces against the Amalekites at
Rephidim(Ex.17:8-16). He served as personal attendant to Moses during the year
at Mt.Sinai (Ex.24:13). As the representative of the tribe of Ephraim, he
scouted the land of Canaan with the other eleven spies and, with Caleb, opposed
the majority report not to try to conquer the land (Num.14:6-9). Before Moses’
death he was commissioned as successor (Num.27:18-23), and led the people in
their conquest of Canaan. His outstanding qualities were faith, courage,
obedience, and devotion to the law of God.
Date—Assuming the earlier date for the
Exodus from Egypt. The conquest of Canaan under Joshua took place around 1400 B.C.
The later date for the Exodus places the conquest of Canaan around 1240, a date
more difficult to harmonize with the slight mention in the book of Joshua
(13:2-3) of the Philistines, who were strong in Palestine around 1200.
Important Emphases –The book emphasizes (1) the
faithfulness of God to give Israel the land of Canaan (Gen.13:15); (2) the
importance of the written law of God (Josh.1:8;8:32-35;23:6-16;24:26-27); and
(3) the holiness of God in judging the sins of the Canaanites (Deut.7:1-6).
Joshua Chapter 1 Entering the Land of Canaan; The Commission of God to Joshua
Moses was forbidden to enter
Palestine because of his unbelief (Num.20:12). The Jordan, then at flood stages
(Josh3:15), would be difficult to cross. The southern boundary of the land was
the desert of Arabia; the northern, Lebanon; the eastern, the Euphrates River;
and the western, the Mediterranean. The Hittite country is usually understood
to mean N.Syria, though this phrase is not found in this verse in the
Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures), nor in Deut.11:24.
This was the land promised to Abraham (Gen.15:18-21). The Lord said to Joshua
son of Nun, “
Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to
cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…Be strong and
courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to
their forefathers to give them… 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. Have I
not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you whever you go.” (Joshua
1:2;6-9). The Success Joshua’s mission would lie in his personal
obedience to the Law of God. Meditate. To ponder, muse, involving half-aloud
reading and rereading of the Word (Ps.1:2) Notice that the law was already
written at this time and was held to be authoritative. Three days from
now(v.11). The mission of the spies (chap.2) apparently took place before this
command to prepare was given. What is descrbed in 3:2 may be the same as in
1:11, or may have followed it.
Joshua Chapter 2 The Canvassing of Jericho: Rahab and the Spies
Secretl(v.1).
Joshua, having learned an important lesion from his experience at Kadesh Barnea
(Nu.13-14), concealed the spy mission even from the Israelites, so that if an
unfavorable report were returned, the people would not be disheartened. The kng
of Jericho(v.2). The local chief of the citystate of Jericho, not a ruler of an
extensive area. Rahab’s action (vv.4-5), though not in conformity with the
scriptural prohibition against lying, were evidence that she believed the God
of Israel was the true God (vv.10-13). The Bible commends her fiath, not her
lying (Heb.11:31; James 2:25). God’s grace is remarkably demonstrated in giving
her faith, sparing her, and including her in the messianic line(Matt.1:5).
Stalks of flax (v.6), three or four –ffot stems, previously soaked in water,
laid out on the flat roof to dry. The
fords were to the E. of the city (v.7). Rahab’s house was apparently on the
western wall (toward the hills, v.16). She sent the soldiers in the opposite
direction from the spies. Shown kindness
(v.12) Heb., hesed. Steadfast loyalty, here between human beings, though
usually between God and Israel (Hos.2:19). “Our lives for your lives” (v.14),
the meaning is this : May we die instead of you if we fail to keep our bargain.
The scarlet cord (v.18) would enable the invading Israelites to identify the
house they were to spare.
Normally the Kohathites carried the
Ark, but on this extraordinary occasion the Levites who were priests carried it
(6:6; 1Kings 8:3-6). The people were to be spread around at a distance of three
thousand feet from the Ark so that all could see it and be guided by it. Verse
10, The destruction of the Canaanites was (1) to punish them for their gross
wickedness (Deut.7:2,5) and (2) to prevent Israel from being infected by their
evil religions. “Now
the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who
carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the
water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance
away at a twon called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan… (vv.15-16. The
waters of the Jordan were dammed up at the city of Adam, fifteen miles up river
from where the Israelites crossed. In addition, the streams that flowed into
the Jordan S. of Adam were also stopped. Although it is true that I landslide could
have stopped the Jordan, it would not have blocked the other streams, certainly
not immediately, nor would it have allowed the river to begin to flow again
immediately(4:18), nor permitted the people to walk on dry ground. (3:17).
Joshua chapter 4 The Commemoration of the Crossing
Verses 1-8,
the twelve men, previously chosen (3:12), returned to where the priests were
standing, to retrieve twelve stones with which to erect a memorial at
Gilgal(4:20). A second memorial of twelve stones (v.9) was placed in the Jordan
itself. The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over,
armed, in front of the Israelites as Moses had directed them. (vv.12-13), this
was less than half the total number of fighting men in these tribes, the others
remaining on the E. side of the Jordan to protect their lands and families. The
forty thousand men led the crossing. Gilgal (v.19) was about ¼ miles from
Jericho. The Israelites arrived just in time to select the Passover lamb
(Ex.12), forty years after the former generation had left Egypt.
Old
Testament (NIV) Joshua Chapter 1-4
Chapter 1 Joshua
Installed as Leader
1:1 After the death of
Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide:
1:2 "Moses my servant
is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan
River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites.
1:3 I will give you every
place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
1:4 Your territory will
extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates--all
the Hittite country--to the Great Sea on the west.
1:5 No one will be able to
stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will
be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
1:6 "Be strong and
courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to
their forefathers to give them.
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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.
1:9 Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for
the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
1:10 So Joshua ordered
the officers of the people:
1:11 "Go through
the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you
will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD
your God is giving you for your own.'"
1:12 But to the
Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
1:13 "Remember
the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is
giving you rest and has granted you this land.'
1:14 Your wives, your
children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of
the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of
your brothers. You are to help your brothers
1:15 until the LORD
gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken
possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you
may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave
you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
1:16 Then they
answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever
you send us we will go.
1:17 Just as we fully
obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he
was with Moses.
1:18 Whoever rebels
against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them,
will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"
Chapter 2 Rahab
and the Spies
2:1 Then Joshua son of
Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land,"
he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of
a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
2:2 The king of
Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to
spy out the land."
2:3 So the king of
Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and
entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
2:4 But the woman had
taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but
I did not know where they had come from.
2:5 At dusk, when it
was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they
went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them."
2:6 (But she had taken
them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out
on the roof.)
2:7 So the men set out
in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and
as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
2:8 Before the spies
lay down for the night, she went up on the roof
2:9 and said to them,
"I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of
you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear
because of you.
2:10 We have heard how
the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,
and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the
Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.
2:11 When we heard of
it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the
LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
2:12 Now then, please
swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I
have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
2:13 that you will
spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who
belong to them, and that you will save us from death."
2:14 "Our lives
for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are
doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the
land."
2:15 So she let them
down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the
city wall.
2:16 Now she had said
to them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide
yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
2:17 The men said to
her, "This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us
2:18 unless, when we
enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you
let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers
and all your family into your house.
2:19 If anyone goes
outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will
not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will
be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
2:20 But if you tell
what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear."
2:21
"Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent
them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
2:22 When they left,
they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had
searched all along the road and returned without finding them.
2:23 Then the two men
started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to
Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.
2:24 They said to Joshua, "The LORD has
surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear
because of us."
Chapter 3 Crossing
the Jordan
3:1 Early in the
morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the
Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
3:2 After three days
the officers went throughout the camp,
3:3 giving orders to
the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God,
and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your
positions and follow it.
3:4 Then you will know
which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance
of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."
3:5 Joshua told the
people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing
things among you."
3:6 Joshua said to the
priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the
people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.
3:7 And the LORD said to
Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so
they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
3:8 Tell the priests who
carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters,
go and stand in the river.'"
3:9 Joshua said to the
Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.
3:10 This is how you will
know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out
before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites
and Jebusites.
3:11 See, the ark of the
covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.
3:12 Now then, choose
twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
3:13 And as soon as the
priests who carry the ark of the LORD--the Lord of all the earth--set foot in
the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a
heap."
3:14 So when the people
broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant
went ahead of them.
3:15 Now the Jordan is at
flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark
reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge,
3:16 the water from
upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a
town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the
Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed
over opposite Jericho.
3:17 The priests who
carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the
middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had
completed the crossing on dry ground.
Chapter 4 4:1
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to
Joshua,
4:2 "Choose twelve men from among the people,
one from each tribe,
4:3 and tell them to
take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the
priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place
where you stay tonight."
4:4 So Joshua called
together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each
tribe,
4:5 and said to them,
"Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the
Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the
number of the tribes of the Israelites,
4:6 to serve as a sign
among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones
mean?'
4:7 tell them that the
flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When
it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are
to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
4:8 So the Israelites
did as Joshua commanded them. They
took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of
the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried
them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.
4:9 Joshua set up the
twelve stones that had been in the
middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried
the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
4:10 Now the priests who
carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything
the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had
directed Joshua. The people hurried over,
4:11 and as soon as
all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other
side while the people watched.
4:12 The men of
Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the
Israelites, as Moses had directed them.
4:13 About forty
thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho
for war.
4:14 That day the LORD
exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of
his life, just as they had revered Moses.
4:15 Then the LORD
said to Joshua,
4:16 "Command the
priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."
4:17 So Joshua
commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."
4:18 And the priests
came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No
sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan
returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.
4:19 On the tenth day
of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on
the eastern border of Jericho.
4:20 And Joshua set up
at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.
4:21 He said to the
Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What
do these stones mean?'
4:22 tell them,
'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.'
4:23 For the LORD your
God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your
God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up
before us until we had crossed over.
4:24 He did this so
that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is
powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."
Bibliography,
Ryrie, Charles C. The
Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
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