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It is very evident that God has hidden some special lessons for us in the types of the City of Refuge, of which we now read in chapter 20, as otherwise we would find ourselves wondering why they are mentioned so frequently. In four previous passages the Spirit of God drew the attention of Israel to the importance of these cities and the expression of His grace toward the unwitting or unintentional manslayer in Israel. First, we have the very brief intimation in Exodus 21:13, telling Israel that when they reached the land, God would provide such a refuge: “And …
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The wars of Canaan were largely at an end. Israel had to a great extent found at least temporary rest in the land that God had promised them. We know from the history that follows that this condition, however, did not continue. In the epistle to the Hebrews we are told, “If Jesus had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another rest.” Many, perhaps, have not realized that Jesus and Joshua are the same: that is, Joshua is the Hebrew form of the name that our blessed Lord bore here on Earth. Jesus is an Anglicization of …
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“But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; …
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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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Digest of the message given by Pastor Wiersbe on “Jubilee Sunday,” November 9, 1975, that commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the church buildings.
“When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.”—Joshua 4:21–22
Fifty years ago, when these buildings were dedicated, the pastor, Dr. P.W. Philpott, preached from this text. I have no idea what he said; some of you no doubt will remember. But the same word that was a blessing 50 years …
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“Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. Lo, I am this day four score and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me, as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day.”—Joshua 14:9–12
Now , that is the history of God’s dealings with the …
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“Have I not commanded thee, Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”—Joshua 1:9
We have been thinking about the inner meaning of this book of Joshua. The command of God was, “Go over this Jordan, thou and this people, into the land which I have given thee.” This opened up before us the possibility of life on a higher plane, deliverance from a wilderness experience of defeat into the experience of victory, even though it be through warfare and conflict.
As we …
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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 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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“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. Your wives, your little ones, and your …
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