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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 18-20.

It appears from today’s passage that over the course of Joshua’s life only the tribes east of the Jordan, Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh actually began to settle down.  The other seven tribes apparently continued a nomadic lifestyle.  Here at the end of his life, Joshua instructed them to make a survey of the remaining land not already claimed by Judah or Ephraim and Manasseh.  I am not sure of its significance, but we are told that Benjamin was given the land between Judah and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), while Simeon was given land surrounded by lands settled by Judah.  We see here how the portion of Manasseh which settled west of the Jordan became absorbed into Ephraim and that Simeon would become absorbed into Judah.   We also see how Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon settled in the lands which had been part of the alliance of southern kings which Joshua conquered and the other tribes settled in the lands which had part of the alliance of northern kings.  This foreshadows the eventual divide into two kingdoms. 

There are two other, somewhat related things of importance in this passage.  First, it begins by telling us that the Israelites set up the Tabernacle at Shiloh as the central point for worship.  This was a more or less central location.  It also both reflects and contributed to the somewhat dominant role which the tribe of Ephraim played in the pre-kingdom era of Israel.  The other thing which was related here is that Joshua actually set up the cities of refuge as Moses had instructed the Israelites to do.  The importance of this is that it shows that at least some of the system of justice laid out in the Law of Moses was implemented.  The later portions ofthe Old Testament suggest that the system of justice (including Sabbath and Jubilee Years) laid out in the Law of Moses was never fully implemented, but this shows us that the early Israelites at least made a try at doing so.

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

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

The passage begins by listing the conquests which Israel had made during Joshua’s lifetime.  I find it interesting that the passage gives the borders of the land which the Israelites took control of east of the Jordan River, but only lists the kings which they defeated west of the Jordan.  East of the Jordan the passage describes the borders of the land they controlled after defeating the kings whom they defeated, while west of the Jordan it describes the area in which the kings they defeated lived.  Then the passage describes the unconquered land which they were to include when dividing the land up among the tribes.  The passage tells us that this was the state of things when Joshua was forced to acknowledge that old age meant that he would no longer lead Israel to further conquest.

So, with this state of affairs, Joshua, Eleazar the priest, and leaders from the tribes divided the land among the tribes.  The division was done in such a way that all of the tribes were satisfied that it was appropriate and fair.  In the middle of this, Caleb, who was a contemporary of Joshua, comes forward and asks for his allotment.  Caleb declares that he is 85 years old, but still able to fight.  From this we see that we should not have the same expectations for everyone.  Joshua, about whom I will repeat that he was a contemporary of Caleb, needed to recognize that he could no longer lead the Israelites in war and would soon die.  Caleb, on the other hand, was still prepared to go out and serve God by conquering the land which would belong to his descendants.  Each of us needs to judge to what God is calling us based on our own situation, not by comparing ourselves to others.

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

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

When the Gibeonites came to the Israelites seeking a treaty, the leaders did what they thought was due diligence.  They looked at the food the Gibeonites had brought with them and at their other supplies.  All showed significant age, suggesting that the Gibeonites had come from a great distance.  So, the Israelites made a treaty with them, despite God’s command not to make a treaty with anyone living in the land.   Reading this story I can think of several things which they could have done to avoid making this mistake.  But that misses the point. The Israelites trusted in their own judgement and failed to seek God’s guidance.  No matter how sure we are of our own judgement on an issue, we should seek God’s guidance through prayer.  How God will deliver that guidance will vary from situation to situation.  Perhaps He will give us an insight, perhaps He will have someone give us advice, or perhaps something else, but we should always seek His guidance. 

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

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

When the spies Joshua sent out to spy out the land around Jericho needed a place to stay for the night, they went to the house of a prostitute because that was a place where strangers could go to spend the night with no questions asked about why they were there.  It did not work out that way because someone recognized them as Israelites when they went in to Rahab’s house and thus we learn a lesson about how God works.  No one had preached about God to Rahab.  In fact ,as best we understand the way the religion of that time and place worked, she was a priestess (of sorts) to the local diety.  Rahab had a choice to make and she chose the side of God.  She did not know much about God, or what it took to serve Him, but she had heard the stories about the Israelites and knew that she did not want to be God’s enemy.  We should live our lives so that when others preach to those who have heard about us those who hear go, “Yes, I want to be like them.”

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Joshua had them take 12 rocks from the center of the riverbed.  They set those twelve stones up as a memorial to their crossing of the Jordan.  I want to note that these rocks were not just any rocks, they were rocks which had been on a riverbed for an extended period of time.  As a result they would have had a different appearance from rocks that you would find lying on the ground or which you might dig out of a field when you plow it up.  Anyone who saw this memorial who knew anything about rocks would have known they came from a riverbed.  As we go through life, God provides us with such memorials, things which show that He is working in our lives.  Some of those things will be physical objects, such as this memorial the Israelites built.  Some of those things will be less tangible.  In either case, we must take note that God is showing His power so that we never forget when He has shown us His will.