Apr 6 2012

Joshua 8 – The Fall of Ai

After the people had once again been consecrated, the Lord reminded Joshua not to be dismayed, and told him to take the fighting men to Ai and victory will be theirs. An ambush is what God commanded, and that is what they did. Joshua sent one group of warriors behind the city at night to lay in ambush to the west, between Bethel and Ai. Joshua took the other group to camp north of the city, and he made sure to be seen.

Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim, olive trees in front

So the king of Ai went out with all the men of the city to meet the Israelites in battle. Taking advantage of the defeat of chapter 7, Joshua has them flee again – pretending a second defeat – while the men in ambush come and take the city (verses 14-17). Seeing that the city was captured, the Israelites turn around and fight their pursuers. As God instructed, Joshua held out his javelin toward the city and kept it pointed until the victory was complete (verses 18, 26), much as Moses did in the defeat of Amalek in Exodus 17:8-13.

The victory is significant and historic, as verses 30-35 tell us how Joshua builds the altar on Mount Ebal, following the command of Moses from Deuteronomy 27:1-8. In verse 32, Joshua creates the fourth stone monument in the new land.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com. For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Apr 5 2012

Joshua 7 – Israel Defeated at Ai

The Capture of Jericho; as in Joshua 6:8-20; illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before capturing Jericho after the walls fell, Joshua warned the people in Joshua 6:17-19 that everything of precious metal from the city will go into the Lord’s treasury. Everything else is to be “devoted to destruction.” Taking any of those things for yourself will bring trouble on the entire camp of Israel. But one from the tribe of Judah – Achan – coveted some treasure and hid it under his tent floor (making his family culpable). So the Lord was not with them when they went to Ai.

Joshua, not knowing of Achan’s sin, falls on his face crying out to God. The Lord tells him to get up, and tells him of the sin that has brought about this defeat. So Joshua found the guilty party just as God instructed in verse 14, and Achan, his family, and all their belongings are burned. Achan’s sin cost unsuspecting warriors their lives needlessly. Greed, lies – all sin often brings harm to many besides ourselves.

Joshua surely must have felt some responsibility for the defeat at Ai as well. Where was his prayer before deciding to go to Ai? Had he consulted the Lord, he would have known of this problem and He would have told Joshua not to go.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Apr 4 2012

Joshua 6 – The Fall of Jericho

The Seven Trumpets of Jericho (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In verse one, we find Jericho “shut up inside and outside” as they fear the approach of God’s people. Remember that Canaan is a land full of savagely wicked people, and they have determined their fate by evil such as the sacrifice of children. God is bringing their debase society to an end after many hundreds of years of opportunity to change. Now they will have seven days to watch God’s people march around the walls of their city without so much as a word – only the sound of the priests blowing their trumpets will they hear.

At God’s instruction, thousands of armed men led the march once per day for six days around Jericho. Behind them, the priests with their trumpets, the Ark of the Covenant, and finally the rear guard. On the seventh day, they march around seven times, and after the trumpets blow, Joshua gives the command for all of the people to shout, and the Lord brought the walls down as promised. Joshua sends the two spies to get Rahab and her family as promised in Joshua 2:17-20; and the city is captured. Joshua’s oath in verse 26 was fulfilled in 1 Kings 16:34.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Apr 3 2012

Joshua 5 – First Passover in Canaan

Plains of Jericho

Verse one tells us that the Canaanite kings have heard of the awesome wonder of the crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites, and it has had fearsomely demoralizing effects on them. The Lord orders Joshua to have all of this generation circumcised, and the nation complies. it was a landmark occasion, and just in time to observe the Passover. The people ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes, and parched grain; and the manna ceased to fall the next day (verses 11-12). God’s people were in their land now.

Joshua sees a man standing with his sword drawn, and inquires of his intentions. He says that he is “the commander of the army of the Lord.” This was promised in Exodus 23:20-33. Joshua bows down and probably rightly believes he is in the presence of the Lord. His statement (“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy”) in verse 15 seems to confirm that this is another manifestation of the Lord as it distinctly reminds of God’s command to Moses when He first appeared to him in Exodus 3:5. As verse 13 tells us, Jericho is close by.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Apr 2 2012

Joshua 4 – Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

After all the nation had passed over the Jordan, the Lord told Joshua to appoint 12 men – one from each tribe – to take twelve stones from the earth where the Jordan flows, in the same spot where the priests stood. the stones would be set up as a memorial where they camped at Gilgal. This memorial would serve as a reminder to their children and their heirs (verses 6-7) of the Lord and His power, and His faithfulness to His promise to them. But it would also serve as a reminder to the rest of the people, and a warning as well (verses 23-24) of the might of God.

The word of the river being held back for thousands and thousands of them to cross would soon make their presence feared. In verse thirteen, the troops passed over the “plains of Jericho” which is said to make it only about 5 miles east of Jericho.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Apr 1 2012

Preview of April Week 1 \ March Week 3 Summary Posted

Moses Blesses Joshua Before the High Priest, as in Numbers 27:22, by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With God’s help, Joshua has assumed full leadership and command. Now that the people have crossed over in chapter 3, and have seen that God is with them and their new leader, it is time for them to start taking the Promised Land. The Lord told Joshua in Joshua 1:3 that “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” Now we will read of the fulfilling of those words and the settling of God’s people before the time of the judges.

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a small PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week. I have posted the summary for Week 12 (March Week 3) of the schedule I am following. This short PDF document contains condensed comments about Exodus chapters 32, 33, 40, and Numbers 13 and 14, with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading, and joins the summaries for other weeks already posted there.