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“And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every …
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We may consider these closing chapters of the Book of Joshua in one address, as the matters with which they deal are all so intimately linked together. In chapter 21 we read of the separation of forty-eight cities from among the various tribes of Israel, which were allotted to the Levites. In chapter 22 we get the return of the warriors of the two and a half tribes to the homes which had already been given to them by Moses on the east of the Jordan. In chapters 23 and 24 we listen to Joshua as he seeks solemnly to …
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“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out and none came in” (Joshua 6:1). The walled city of Jericho was the first obstacle that met the people of Israel as they looked forward from the camp at Gilgal to taking possession of the inheritance, which was theirs already by title, that is, by Jehovah’s gift, but which they had to make their own experimentally by driving out or destroying the inhabitants of the land, who had become so vile in the sight of the Lord that He could no longer tolerate them. Because …
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“The land which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.” —Numbers 14:7
Our inheritance in Christ Jesus is more than we can ask or think. Since He has so richly provided for us, it behooves us to believe and accept His provisions. “Must I go on in this up and down life?” cried a young man the other night as he threw himself to his knees in a struggle with the old flesh. What joy to point the struggling Christian to the Beulah Land of the soul: a place of rest and victory in the Holy …
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The present chapter readily divides into two sections. In verses 1 to 29 we have the account of the destruction of Ai. In verses 30 to 35 we read of the proclamation of the law, with the blessings for the obedient and the curses that would fall upon the disobedient.
When God’s people fail to act in accordance with His will, the first time they have to face some barrier to progress they find it far harder to overcome upon making a second effort. Had it not been for hidden sin in the camp, Israel would have overcome Ai very …
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“And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; come not …
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It has been well said that “Satan plays with loaded dice.” He knows all the weaknesses of human nature and is an expert in the black art of deception. So in the New Testament believers are exhorted to “put on the whole armor of God, that (they) may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
We have a very striking illustration of the devil’s deceptive practices in this ninth chapter of Joshua.
As the word went out to the other Canaanite peoples that Jericho and Ai had fallen before the victorious Israelites, the dwellers in …
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The evil effects of the unhappy alliance with the men of Gibeon soon began to be manifested. When the nations of the contiguous territories learned what had taken place, they formed a confederation, headed by Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, and set out to attack Gibeon, as a warning to the people of other districts, not to make peace with Israel. This at once led the Gibeonites to call for help from their new allies, and in order to redeem their pledges it became necessary for Joshua to lead the host of the Lord up from Gilgal to attack the confederated …
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