Joshua 18-19: Land Division to the Rest; Judah vs. Dan

Summary

The whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh. At that place, Joshua urged the rest of the tribes to proactively take possession of the land which the LORD the God had given to them. To facilitate this process, Joshua commanded the remaining seven tribes to send three men from each tribe to survey the land for the lot. After the land survey, they came back and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the presence of the LORD. The rest of the land was divided and given to the remaining seven tribes (Benjamine, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphthali, and Dan).

Before the LORD

Casting lots may be considered a strange way to discern how the land would be distributed to each tribe. However, there is a key phrase that was continually repeated in these two chapters, “before the LORD” (Joshua 18:6, 18:8, 18:10, and 19:51). The LORD commanded Joshua to distribute the land by lot, and Joshua and Eleazar the priest did this before the presence of the LORD. Casting lot in itself may not be a valid method, but it being conducted before the presence of the LORD was the most important aspect.

Reset by Joshua: Bite-sized Tasks

Chapter 18 goes in tandem with Chapter 13. Back in Chapter 13, the LORD reminded Joshua of the remaining land that needed to be possessed and of the promise that the LORD had made that He would drive out the inhabitants (Joshua 13:6). In Chapter 18, Joshua himself urged the remaining seven tribes to enter to take possession and gave them a concrete mission – to select three men from each tribe to survey the land and report back to him.

A modicum of wise leadership by Joshua can be noted here. Perhaps, the seven tribes were afraid and were lost in the grand purpose of conquering the vast land area, or the thought of possessing a remaining large size land paralyzed their next actions. Therefore, Joshua broke down the task for them. First, select three men from each tribe. Second, dispatch those selected men to survey the land. Third, divide the remaining land into seven parts. By taking a few small steps, Joshua gave a digestible concrete mission for the tribes to the next step. By leading them to see and survey the land themselves, Joshua made the task more concrete for the remaining tribes. By dividing the whole land into seven areas, Joshua directed them to engage in a divide and conquer strategy to reduce their mental burden and facilitate their action.

The order of Lot Allotment

During the bible study, there was a question about how the lot order was determined. Although not explicitly stated in the text, upon some pondering, we found that the allotment order was roughly the reverse of the birth order of the seven remaining tribes – the only exception was Simeon.

Birth order for the remaining tribes	Simeon, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin
Allotment order for the remaining tribes	Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan

Benjamin was the youngest, and his tribe received the first allotment located in between Ephraim and Judah. Simeon, although he was the oldest of the seven, received next probably because Simeon tribe was the fewest in numbers of all tribes.

Although the order may not be of significant importance, if we assume that the youngest roughly equates to the weakest, this may show that God’s intricate care of the weak first.

Meek Leadership: Judah and Simeon

*Side note: Biblical definition of meekness is “power under control.”

Let’s take a closer look at the inheritance given to Simeon (Joshua 19:1-9). Inheritance given to the Simeon tribe stood out because unlike other six tribes, Simeon received thirteen cities within the Judah’s inheritance. Although the explicit reason was that Judah inheritance was more than they needed, some things may have been ongoing behind the scene.

First, we may wonder why Simeon was not given the land for themselves on the northern territory. Was it possible that the Simeon tribe was not liked by the others? The leadership in the Simeon tribe committed a huge sin at Shittim (Numbers 25), and as a result, many people, probably those in the Simeon tribe, died, reducing their size significantly. It was possible that the Simeon tribe was not looked upon favorably by the other tribes due to this incident and the three dispatched men were not able to do a proper survey of the land.

Second, perhaps, Simeon, having nowhere to settle, Judah took them in and voluntarily provided 13 cities. In Judges 1:3, we also see that Judah helped Simeon to fight together against the Canaanite and the Perizzites, defeating 10,000 men at Bezek to claim the territory allotted to Simeon. Judah was not required to help Simeon to claim his lot. However, from this episode, we see that not only Judah voluntarily provided 13 cities for Simeon, but also helped the Simeon tribe (about 22,000 men compared to 76,500 men in Judah) to claim the allotted territory.

The strongest tribe helped the weakest tribe and fought alongside with them to claim the allotted land. This is a meek leadership – using power appropriately to serve the weak.

Colossal Failure: Dan Tribe

Varying degrees of “success” across each tribe was pronounced. Most of them were not able to drive out 100% of the inhabitants in their allotted land. Even Judah was not able to drive out Jebusites and they remained in Jerusalem until King David. However, the contrast between Judah and Dan drew our attention.

The Dan tribe was a prime example of a colossal failure in inheriting the land. Although the size of the Dan tribe was second only to that of the Judah Tribe (64,400 to 76,500), they were humiliated by the Amorites (Judge 1:34). The Amorites were determined to stay in the land allotted to the Dan tribe, and Dan tribe was driven out, instead of driving out the inhabitants. As a result, the Dan tribe had to meander toward the very north of the Canaan region until they settled in Leshem, which was named Dan (Joshua 19:47).

What a difference between Judah and Dan!

Conclusions

Joshua continued to demonstrate his leadership over the seven tribes who needed a nudge to take action to take possession of the land. Most importantly, however, Joshua submitted before the presence of the LORD when he cast lots for the land inheritance.

We see that the way in which the land was inherited to each tribe varied greatly. Judah not only settled well, but also used its strength to help Simeon to settle. Dan, despite having the size, was overpowered by the Amorites and was pushed out of its land to settle in the very north of Canaan area.

The contrast between Judah and Dan gives us something to think about claiming the promise of God.

Joshua 16-17: Ask not what your God can do for you – ask what you can do for your God

After distributing land to the Judah tribe, the next in line were the Manasseh and Ephraim tribes, sons of Joseph.

Summary

Chapters 16 and 17 provide a detailed contour of the land given to the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. Unlike chapter 15, however, chapters 16 and 17 did not list all the cities to be inherited to tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

In addition, the author highlighted the episode of five Zelophedad’s daughters and how they inherited land. The land distributions to these two tribes concluded with a slightly heated conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua over the size of inherited land. These two events will be the focus of this post.

Zelophedad’s Five Daughters (Joshua 17:3-6)

This is a notable event that Joshua deliberately recorded in the land distribution to the tribe of Manasseh. Let’s take a closer look.

Five daughters of Zelophedad came before Eleazor the priest and before Joshua to remind them of Moses’s command to give them an inheritance (land) although Zelophedad had no sons (Joshua 17:3-4). Joshua and Eleazor honored the command given by the LORD through Moses to ensure the families preserve their father’s name.

This special request by Zelophedad’s five daughters was brought up, first, in Numbers 27, about 7 to 8 years before Joshua 16-17, right after the second census took place to number the total men for the second-generation Israelites. Subsequently, the LORD commanded Moses to assign inherited land according to the number of families (Numbers 27:1-2). Because the census counted only males who were 20 years or older at that time, Zelophedad’s household, with no sons and Zelophedad having passed away in the wilderness, would receive no inheritance. Five daughters, spotting this “gap” in the land inheritance procedure, brought up the issue immediately to Moses and asked for a possession to preserve their father’s name. Because this was an unprecedented case, Moses brought this case to the LORD (Numbers 27:5) and the LORD agreed with the five daughters’ logical request and complemented the “gap” in the land inheritance process to account for special situations if the family had no sons (Numbers 27:6-11).

From this Zelophedad’s daughters’ request and subsequent grant, I would like to draw out three specific insights. First, humility in the Israel leadership led by Moses. When he received this request, Moses did not automatically dismiss their request in a male-dominated world that time. Because of the unprecedented nature of this case, Moses brought the case before the LORD and was willing to totally submit to the guidance of the LORD – and he did. The next leaders, Joshua and Eleazor the priest did not hesitate to honor this command. The Israel community had quality leadership back to back to obey the LORD’s command.

Second, very related to the first point, Moses and the leadership must have created a safe environment for anyone, including minorities, such as women, aliens and others, to speak up. Moses was described as the most humble leader (Numbers 12:3) and If the top leader had shown humility in leadership, the rest of the leadership was very likely as well. Under this kind of open environment, the Israelites must have felt comfortable to speak up to be heard in a just manner. This could have facilitated five daughters of Zelophedad to boldly point out a potential “gap” in the land distribution process without any fear.

Third, I would like to pose a question. Was there a gap in the law of the LORD? Why didn’t the LORD ensure that the “original” law of Moses addressed the situation of families with no sons in the land inheritance process? Although the Bible does not provide an explicit answer, the LORD may have allowed this “gap” to test the Israel leadership and increase awareness of this potential “gap” to the whole community. From this event, the people of Israel would be aware of this exceptional situation and the rights to inherit would be equally applied to daughters as well. Indeed, God shows no favoritism.

Sons of Joseph and Sons of Judah

The second notable episode was the conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua. As the sons of Judah drew near to speak with Joshua (Joshua 14:6), so did the sons of Joseph drew near to Joshua (Joshua 17:14) in this chapter. However, that’s where the similarity between the Judah Tribe and two tribes of Joseph ends. Please refer to the table below to compare and contrast two tribes on how they viewed the land to be conquered.

	Sons of Joseph	Sons of Judah
Source of Confidence	Their number and the fact that they are blessed by the LORD (Josh 17:14)	The LORD their God. The promise of the LORD to give the land which the foot of the Israelites trod upon (Josh 14:10-11)
Obstacles	Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron in both Beth Shean and the Valley of Jezreel (Josh 17:16)	Anakites and their large, fortified cities (Josh 14:12)
Attitude	We cannot do it because of the obstacles ! (Josh 17:16)	Despite obstacles, we can overcome (Josh 14:12)
Main Point	The hill country is not enough for us (give us easier land) – Give us more land! (Josh 17:16)	We will drive them out with the help of the LORD (Josh 14:12)

Table 1: Contrast between sons of Joseph and sons of Judah

The main attitude difference between the Judah tribes and two tribes of Joseph stemmed from the different degrees of acknowledging the presence of the LORD their God. When Caleb came to Joshua, he cited the promise of the LORD. Based on the promise of the LORD, Caleb and Judah expressed their confidence in victory with the LORD in driving out large, fortified cities of Anakites. In contrast, the sons of Joseph demonstrated the entitlement mentality ( Josh 17:14) that they deserved more land because they are blessed by the LORD. Despite obstacles like fortified cities of Anakites, Caleb showed the courage to surely drive them out with the help of the LORD (Joshua 14:12). The sons of Joseph complained that because of iron chariots by the inhabitants, they would not be able to expand their territories (Joshua 17:16). Noticeably, the LORD God was absent in the conversation from the sons of Joseph, but the LORD God was the central force in Caleb’s and the Judah tribe’s confidence. What a difference between the two!

Joshua did not seem to be pleased with the request of the sons of Joseph. Although Joshua was part of the Ephraim tribe (second son of Joseph), he did not grant any land, and told them that they themselves needed to take the initiative to clear the forest and develop extra land – and they were dismissed.

Lessons

Five daughters of Zelophadad were brave. Moses, Joshua, and Eleazor were all leaders of humility to listen to their request attentively and granted it. LIkewise, Jesus, our Lord, has created a safe environment for us to pray and plead before Him.

The heated conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua reminded me of John F. Kennedy’s famous speech: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can for your country.”

Just swap “your country” with “your God.”

Joshua 15: Manifestation of God’s Promise – Land to Judah Tribe

The book of Joshua can be broadly divided into three parts: 1) entering the land; 2) conquering the land; and 3) the distribution of the land. Starting from chapter 15 began the third part of the book. From this chapter to chapter 21, Joshua provided a detailed description of the land and cities inherited to the twelve tribes and the Levi tribe.

As a reader, one of the most difficult challenges associated with these chapters on land distribution is drawing out applicable messages. The details of geographic and cities, if you are not familiar with the Israel geographic, would be difficult to follow and to extract appropriate meanings.

Thankfully, the most important message that we, the reader, need to obtain from the land distribution chapters is nicely summarized by the last three verses in chapter 21, as summarized below:

“43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them;
the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand.
45 Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
Joshua 21:43-45 [underline added by the blog author]

Joshua 21:43-45 provides a key summary of both conquering and distribution of land chapters. God is the subject of all the accomplishments. The phrase, “the LORD gave,” is repeated three times, along with two repetitions of “He had sworn.” As the LORD loved the Israelites, He had sworn to give the land to their fathers. The LORD is the main promise keeper and enabler of all the promises.

Detailed descriptions of land, territories, and cities are a manifestation of God’s faithfulness. Faithful God is always the central message of the entire Bible. These detailed accounts of borders, territories and cities are one of the manifestations of God’s goodness and promises to the Israelites.

Now let’s go over the content of chapter 15.

Chapter Summary

Chapter 15 provides a detailed description of the land and the cities given to the tribe of Judah.

The effective first born

Let’s note that the lot allocation started with the tribe of Judah. In terms of biological order, Reueben was the first born of Jacob. In terms of the number of lots inherited, Joseph was considered the first born as he received two lots, one each for his son, Manasseh and Ephraim. In terms of land allocation order, however, the LORD seemed to have chosen Judah, biologically the fourth born, as the first born. Why was Judah the first? Perhaps, they were the most actively obedient among the twelve tribes?

Description of the border and cities (v. 1-13, v. 22-63)

The Judah tribe inherited the southern part of Canaan, the detailed conquest of which was described in chapter 10 (Joshua 10:29-43). Compared with other tribes, Judah received an expansive area of land and many cities as they were numerous and the most dedicated tribe to fulfill the promise of God with their active obedience. However, even the Judah tribe was not able to drive out the Jebusites in Jerusalem. The Jebusites were driven away much later by the second king of Israel, David (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

Caleb and Othniel (v13-21)

A more description of a military exploit by Caleb was given in these verses. Approximately 45 years ago, the descendants of Anak placed a fear into the first-generation Israelites (Numbers 13:32-33). In contrast, verse 14 pointed out that Caleb drove out three sons of Anak to emphasize the victorious aspect for Caleb, who represented all those who followed the LORD fully.

Othniel, along with his wife, Achsah (Caleb’s daughter), were introduced in verse 17. Joshua might have highlighted this event to introduce Othniel, who would be the next leader of Israel as a judge. Othniel was described as a man of God filled with the Spirit of the LORD, who delivered Israel from an adversary (Judges 3:9-10).

Lesson

Land distribution was one of the major manifestations of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites, and He provided the land and the cities abundantly. The first lot was allocated to the Judah tribe, who under the leadership of Caleb, showed a full heart to follow the LORD and fulfill His promises.

What are some manifestations of God’s faithfulness in your life?

Joshua 13-14: Inheritance; Active Inheritance; and True Inheritance

Summary

The LORD directly told Joshua that he was old and advanced in years and reminded him that very much of the land remained to be possessed. The LORD reinforced His promise that He would drive out the rest of inhabitants from before the sons of Israel, and commanded Joshua to apportion the land to the nine and a half tribes. Then, the author recounted all the land which was on the east side of the Jordan that was inherited to the two tribes and the half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh).

The sons of Judah and Caleb, the leader of the tribe, drew near to Joshua in Gilgal to demonstrate their insatiable desire to fulfill God’s promise by asking for one of the most difficult lands to conquer, Hebron in the hill country. Joshua was pleased and blessed Caleb and gave Hebron to Caleb for an inheritance.

Remaining Land

Why was still very much of the land remaining to be possessed (Joshua 13:1)? Joshua probably exerted his best effort with the help of the LORD to make the most of his ability to conquer a large portion of the Canaan region. Not every tribe was likely to be as fully engaged as Joshua was in fulfilling the promise of God, however.

First, two and a half tribes already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Although they did send their men of war to the west side of the Jordan River, it would have been very difficult for them to sustain their best effort in every battle for the land that would be for other tribes. Therefore, over the long period of war of seven years from chapters 10 to 13, their enthusiasm for this conquest was almost inevitably to decline over the time.

Second, because the two and a half tribes already inherited the land on the east side of the Jordan, there might have been other tribes that were jealous over them or to some extent demonstrated discontent. Instead of focusing on the land that they could acquire in the future through the battles, some tribes might have longed for some land in the east side of the Jordan River.

Third, a varying degree of God-aligned leadership across the nine and a half tribes would have played an important factor in how much each tribe exerted its effort in fulfilling the promise of God in possessing the land.

For example, the Judah tribe had a leader who followed the LORD fully like Caleb, who in chapter 14 demonstrated his insatiable desire to fulfill God’s promise as much as possible even at an old age of 85. The Judah tribe under the leadership of Caleb, who followed the LORD fully (Joshua 14:14), would have had many followers who were motivated to fulfill the promise of God. On the other side of the spectrum, one of the leaders among the Simeonites, Zimri played the harlot with the Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and all the congregation of Israel while they were at Shittim (Numbers 25), only a few months before entering the land of Canaan. Zimri was soon killed by Phinehas the son of Eleazor (Numbers 25:7-15), who righteously demonstrated the zeal of the LORD. Given that Zimri, who prioritized his sexual pleasure over the holiness of the LORD, was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe, it would be hard to imagine that the Simeon tribe would have had a leadership quality commensurate with that of the Judah tribe. Therefore, as a whole tribe, it would be hard to imagine that the performance of the Simeon tribe was anywhere near that of the Judah tribe.

Perhaps for the aforementioned three reasons, it was a difficult task, even for Joshua, to conquer all the land of Canaan. Therefore, some land remained to be possessed.

Reset

Despite the land that remained to be possessed, God reminded of His promise to Israel again that He would drive the inhabitants of Canaan out. Then, He commanded Joshua to apportion the land as an inheritance.

This was a call to reset. The LORD acknowledged that Joshua did well in spite of a difficult task of uniting the diverging interests of the twelve tribes over the past seven years. God was encouraging Joshua to reset to start again to motivate each tribe again to conquer the remaining land.

Inheritance

In chapters 13 and 14, the word “inheritance” appeared very often. Although the land was taken after defeating the inhabitants, inheritance, not conquest, was the main principle that guided how the land was given.

The use of the word “Inheritance” reveals a few important aspects of God. The first important aspect is the relation between the LORD God and Israel. Inheritance is typically defined as a transaction of properties from parents to children. Even in the midst of fierce wars, the word “inheritance” implicitly reveals an important relational aspect between the LORD God and the Israelites – a father and sons, and a father and daughters. The second important aspect of the word “inheritance” points out the ownership of the land. The ultimate, true owner of all land, including the land of Canaan, is the LORD God – as mentioned in the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 25:23). Notwithstanding however many years the Canaanites had occupied the land, the true owner of all the land is the LORD God.

“Active” Inheritance

The land was not just given to the Israelites to each tribe in a “supernatural” way, with no action from the Israelites. Although the LORD promised to give the land as an inheritance to the twelve Israel tribes, the role of the Israelites was to obey the LORD. They had to step on the land that God promised and drive out the inhabitants (Joshua 1:3). They had to actively proclaim the promise of God.

Fulfilling the promise of God requires active obedience.

True Inheritance

For the Levites, land was not given to them because the LORD Himself is their inheritance. This was repeated twice in Joshua 13 (Joshua 13:14 and 13:33).

Land is one of the most important topics in the book of Joshua. Inheritance was mainly manifested as land from the LORD God to the Israelites. However, these two verses in Joshua 13 emphasize a very important message, not just to the Levites, not just to the other twelve tribes and Joshua, but to all the followers of Christ. The true inheritance, the true portion and wealth, is the LORD our God Himself. In addition, many psalmists also expressed this truth.

Let’s not forget. Let’s remember that gifts – in this case the land – mainly serve as a sign that points to the giver – our God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our most valuable possession. He is our true portion and inheritance.

Caleb and His Identity

The latter part of chapter 14 exclusively focused on Caleb. Caleb was described as “the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite.” So, who was Caleb in the Bible?

His father Jephunneh was a Kenizzite. Genesis chapter 15 shows that the land of Kenizzites was one of the many nations in the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:19). This indicated that Caleb was not a direct descendant of Abraham. It might have been that his father was integrated to the Israel society when Israel was under slavery in Egypt. As a gentile, his family might have easily been marginalized in the community. Besides, the name of Caleb also possibly indicated his humble background as it meant dog.

Although we do not know exactly how he rose to become a leader of the Judah tribe, one thing that was clear in this chapter was that the LORD God showed no partiality in ethnicity as long as the person was fully dedicated to the LORD. He actively obeyed the LORD to claim the promised inheritance by the LORD. Because Caleb knew the LORD, the true inheritance, he was able to actively obey to claim the promised inheritance, land, by the LORD.

Lesson

Caleb and Judah knew the LORD, the true inheritance. Therefore, Caleb was able to actively claim the promise of the LORD’s inheritance, which in this case manifested as the land in Canaan.

I pray that you will be able to actively follow our Lord Jesus Christ to claim all the promises and blessings that He has granted. More importantly, I pray that all these promises and blessings will allow you to have greater intimacy with our Lord Jesus Christ, the true inheritance.

Joshua 11-12: Military Genius Joshua – against the Northern Kings

Joshua and Israel conquered the southern Canaan area. Then, Joshua and Israel battled the coalition of the northern kings and defeated them.

Second United Force in Canaan

After hearing the southern area was conquered by the Israelites, the kings on the northern side decided to unite their force to fight against the Israelites (Joshua 11:5). The size of the army was as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and their forces looked formidable with very many horses and chariots (Joshua 11:4).

God’s Encouragement and Military Genius Joshua III

However, God personally spoke to Joshua and assured that He would deliver all of them before Israel (Joshua 11:6). Empowered by this encouragement, Joshua made a swift decision and translated into execution.

What I see is a full trust between God and Joshua – let me call this two-way trust. As shown in many previous chapters in Joshua, God usually did not provide details on what Joshua should do, but gave mostly a strategic direction only. God fully trusted Joshua’s military prowess to formulate a set of appropriate tactical decisions.

Similar to how Joshua launched a sudden attack on the cohort of the five Amorite kings in Chapter 10, Joshua spotted a great opportunity for a sudden attack when he heard that the coalition of northern kings gathered at the waters of Merom.

First, the distance from Gilgal to the waters of Merom was about 60 miles, which made the northern kings thought that a surprise attack by the Israelites was a low possibility. Second, the terrain of the water of Merom was mountainous, on which the use of horses and chariots would be very limited. They might have gathered in that place just to have a strategic discussion on how to repel Joshua and Israel, not to have actual battles.

While Joshua was contemplating these in his mind (this is my educated imagination), the LORD gave a message of assurance that He would deliver them slain before Israel by the next day (Joshua 11:6). With the assurance by the LORD, Joshua made an all night trip to make a quick, sudden attack on the coalition of northern kings (Joshua 11:7).

With God’s promise, Joshua was able to defeat the army with a sudden attack. The sudden attack must have confounded the coalition of five northern kings, and rendered horses and chariots useless on the mountainous terrain. Unlike the battle against the five kings in chapter 10, God did not directly intervene in this battle against the northern kings. However, this battle highlighted an upgraded version of military tactics by Joshua.

Long War

After defeating the united forces, Joshua took their land. Yet, verse 18 says that “Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.” Then, how long did war continue? From a few references from Joshua chapter 14 and the book of Numbers, we can deduct that the total length of the Canaan war up to chapter 11 and 12 was about seven years. In chapter 14, Caleb stated that he was 40 years old when he was sent as a spy to scout out the land of Canaan for the first time, and he became 85 years old in Chapter 14. Since the dispatch of the first spies, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 38 years before crossing the Jordan River. Caleb must have been around 78 years old when the second-generation Israetlies just crossed the Jordan River. Since the crossing of the Jordan River, it had been about seven years of war. Given that each World War, both first and second, lasted four years, seven years was a long time.

The Role of Moses

Although Moses passed away right before entering the Canaan land, the name of Moses was mentioned often (Joshua 11:12,15, 20,and 23). In fact, it was not Moses, but the command given by the LORD through Moses was very important to Joshua and Israel.

The main command given by Moses to the Israelite was not just to occupy the land, but also to utterly destroy all the inhabitants in Canaan. The reason for utter destruction was to ensure that Israel would not be influenced by their evil idol worship and unjust economic/political institutions that defy the very nature of God (Exodus 34:11-12, Duet 7:1-2). Joshua took this command seriously and fully implemented it.

Finally, defeating Anakim – after 38 years!

In the first scout of the land of Canaan, about 38 years ago in reference to Joshua chapters 11 and 12, the entire first-generation Israelites succumbed to the fear at the report of the giant inhabitants in Canaan, especially Nephilim, the descendants of Anak (Numbers 13:33). Only Joshua and Caleb demonstrated their faith in the power of the LORD to conquer the land at that time. 38 years ago, because of the unfaithfulness of Israel, the LORD had forbidden them to enter the land of Canaan. However, 38 years later, finally, Joshua and Israel struck down the nation of Anakites, which placed a fear into the first-generation Israelites. With this statement, chapter 11 briefly concluded that the land had rested from war.

Faithfulness of God, Moses, and Joshua

Chapter 12 recaps all the victories under the leadership of Moses and Joshua. The author of the book wanted to ensure that the LORD worked wonders for Israel, and His work never stopped even in the midst of monumental transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. The work of the LORD never stopped, never stops, and will never stop.

This chapter reminds me of a verse in the letter to the Philippians by Paul, “He who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).” As God’s work continued through Moses to Joshua and beyond, I pray that His work in you through the Holy Spirit will never stop.

Joshua 10: Military Genius Joshua

Chapter 10 is deja vu of chapter 8. Chapter 10 shows the second account of a genius aspect in the military affair by Joshua. It also shows an effective partnership between the LORD and Joshua in defeating the five kings of central Canaan.

Summary

Five kings in the center region of the Canaan decided to join their force to attack the Gibeonites, who just made a covenant with Israel. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua, asking for help, and Joshua came to their rescue. Against the cohort of five kings, Joshua made a quick, sudden attack, and with the LORD’s raining of hailstones, he fought the five kings and defeated them in a single, lengthened day. After the victory over the united army of five kings, Joshua and Israel subsequently conquered one city at a time to occupy the entire southern area of the Canaan.

Military Genius II

When Joshua received a help request from the Gibeonites to rescue them from the united force of the five kings, he instinctively knew that this was a great opportunity. Joshua knew that the five kings would be busy preparing to attack the Gibeonites. They concentrated their effort solely to destroy the Gibeonites. Considering some distance between their location and Gilgal, where Joshua and Israel were stationed, approximately 35 to 40 miles, the kings probably did not anticipate a sudden attack by the Israelites as a high possibility.

Against this backdrop, Joshua quickly formed a force composed of best-mobile men of war to make an expeditious move to march over a distance of 35 miles all night (Joshua 10:9) to make a sudden attack on the armies of five kings. This attack must have confounded them because they were solely concentrating on the Gibeonites and they did not expect the Israelites to appear that soon given some distance between them and Gilgal.

Once and for All II

This surprise attack by Joshua was just the beginning of the victorious process. The LORD sealed the deal with the shower of hailstones on the enemies (Josh 10:11). As he did in the Ai battle (Joshua 8), he was determined to “crush the enemy” once and for all. Joshua asked the LORD to lengthen the day, and the sun stood still to lengthen the day for Israel to utterly destroy the enemies (Josh 10:12-15).

A complete destruction of enemies in a single, day-long battle was very important for Israel, especially in a foreign land surrounded by other potential enemies. Joshua maximized his military genius, with critical help from the LORD God, he was able to quickly destroy the cohort of five kings.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

After achieving a quick victory over the five kings, Joshua and Israel went on to conquer the rest of the southern area of Canaan – one city at a time. We see a continual, consistency of Joshua and Israel to destroy one city at a time.

Lessons

We see a risk taken by Joshua. Joshua made a bold decision to launch a sudden attack against the cohort of five kings. He spotted the opportunity and quickly made a move to attack the enemy at the most vulnerable time.

What about you?

Are there certain God-given tasks that you need to be courageous and take risk to tackle?

Joshua 9: Silent God =? Merciful God

Summary

After hearing the news of the defeat of Ai, six nations of Canaan came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. In contrast, the Gibeonites took a different approach and acted craftily to make a covenant (peace treaty) with Joshua and Israel. Not having asked for the counsel of the LORD, Joshua and Israel accepted a covenant with the Gibeonites to let them live. Three days later, Israel found out that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, not a nation far away, and the Israel congregation started to grumble. Because of the oath made before the LORD, however, Joshua let them live as wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD.

Conventional Message vs. Unconventional Perspectives

When a message is preached from this passage, a usual focus is on two aspects: 1) a national mistake committed by Joshua and Israel by not having asked for the counsel of the LORD when the Gibeonites approached to make a covenant; and 2) the deception and trick displayed by the Gibeonites. Often, the main application that arises from this chapter is that we should be diligent to seek God’s counsel for every matter in order not to be deceived.

Although I do not entirely disagree with these interpretations and associated applications, I would like to extract a new insight by examining this event from the perspective of the Gibeonites and by focusing on the grace and inclusiveness of the LORD our God.

What Gibeon Did Well

Although not explicitly stated in the book of Joshua, here’s my educated imagination of what the Gibeonites did prior to sending their delegates to Joshua. The Gibeonites took a different approach from the rest of the Canaan nations. Having heard many mighty miraculous acts by the LORD, including the crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River on a dry ground and the defeating of many kings on both sides of the Jordan River, Gibeonites started to fear and recognized that the land of Canaan was given to the Israelites by the LORD God. They finally concluded that they would not stand a chance against the Israelites. Having made this decision, Gibeonites formulated a strategic plan to maximize their survival and devised two major tactics to do so.

From the Gibeonites’ “negotiation” with Joshua and Israel, we can learn a few lessons on what the Gibeonites did well. From verse 6, what the Gibeonites said to Joshua, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us” indicates that the Gibeonites conducted a thorough research of the Law of Moses. In this statement, I want to highlight two elements: first, they told Joshua that they came from a far country; second, they want Joshua to make a covenant with them.

First, the Gibeonites told the Israelites that they were a far away nation because the LORD instructed the Israelites through Moses that if a nation that is far away offered a peace treaty, Israelites were to accept it (Deut 20:11-15). If the nations were nearby, such as the nations in the land of Canaan, they were to be utterly destroyed (Deut 7:1-2). The Gibeonites knew this aspect of the law of Moses and used this to maximize their chance for survival.

Second, the Gibeonites wanted to make a covenant. Gibeonites also knew that the oath made in the name of the LORD was not to be recanted in Israel (Numbers 30:1-2). Therefore, if the Gibeonites were somehow able to make a covenant with Israel, they knew that their chance of survival would be assured.

In addition, in order to make their case of a far country more compelling, the Gibeonites showed the worn out sandals, crumbled bread, and torn wine skins.

Finally, the Gibeonites timed their delegation well. They might have looked for an opportune time to send their delegates. Israel and Joshua just came from a difficult, one day fight against the Ai inhabitants. It was possible that Joshua and Israel were spiritually and physically exhausted, and perhaps, for that reason, they did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. Also, the food that the Gibeonites brought could have won the hungry Israelites. Anyways, the Gibeonites fully used their knowledge to convince the Israelites to form a covenant with them.

It worked!

What does God think about this?

Achan’s sin in chapter 7 was taken very seriously by God. The anger of the LORD burned against Israel (Josh 7:1). Regarding making a covenant with the Gibeonites, however, the LORD God did not say anything to Joshua. Nor did God let Israel be defeated by enemies in the subsequent battles. Why did God overlook the covenant made between the Israelites and the Gibeonites?

Although we cannot possibly fully understand God’s silence in chapter 7, we may be able to project God’s mercy and encompassing heart for all the nations. When God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy nations that resided in the land of Canaan, it was primarily because of their evil acts (Lev 18:25-30). Absent evil practices and institutions, God, being merciful, may have given an opportunity for the Gibeonites to live. Perhaps, seeing a softening process of the heart of the Gibeonites as a whole nation, leading to a genuine attempt to turn around from evil acts, God kept His silence to give an opportunity for them to live.

Joshua’s Brilliant Decision

Joshua decided to put the Gibeonites close to the presence of God. God forewarned that the nations in Canaan, if they were not utterly destroyed, would lead the Israelites away from worshiping the LORD. Perhaps for this reason, Joshua placed the Gibeonites very close to the presence of the LORD by forcing them to serve the altar. Even though Joshua cursed them to do this job, it could have been a blessing for the Gibeonites to be influenced by the presence of the LORD.

Gibeonites vs. Rahab

Rahab and the Gibeonites were the only survivors from the expedition of the Israelites. The major difference between the two was the degree of their confession before the LORD. Rahab made an explicit, full confession that the LORD God is the God of heaven above and on earth beneath (Josh 2:11) whereas the Gibeonites greatly feared the power of the LORD God, but stopped there. If the Gibeonites had made a full confession, they might have been integrated to the Israelites in a different way.

Gibeonites Many Years Later

The decision that God and Joshua made in regards to the Gibeonites did not turn out in vain. Many years lates (about 900 years after), when Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, came to Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall from the Susa Palace, men from Gibeon played an important role in repairing the wall (Nehemiah 3:7).

Lessons

The Gibeonites had some fear of the LORD, although not perfect. The LORD grasped that small seed of the fear of the LORD and gave an opportunity for the Gibeonites to live.

I see the God the LORD who gives a second chance. Our God gave many second chances for us. Let this encourage you today.

Joshua 8: Luring/Ambush and Crush Tactics

Extension of the LORD’s Grace

Even after the first fatal failure by the second-generation Israelites due to Achan’s sin, the grace of the LORD continued to abound. Not only did the LORD give a second chance, but also injected courage to Joshua again. Besides, the LORD, by factoring in Israel’s first defeat to Ai people, provided a new set of war strategy – Ambush (Joshua 8:2). This is our God: God who extends His grace and gives us a new strategy everyday to live a victorious life.

Military Genius

With the introduction of an ambush strategy by the LORD, Joshua, as an innovative military officer, improvised and improved the strategy by adding an element of luring. Note that the LORD God did not specifically tell Joshua how to lure the enemies out to have a successful ambush strategy. Joshua with his prior experience and military prowess, however, developed his own specific implementable tactics to maximize the LORD’s strategy. He chose 30,000 men of valiant warriors and 5,000 of them were set in ambush between Bethel and Ai.

Having tasted their first victory against Israel, Ai soldiers went all out to meet Joshua and Israel, leaving its city empty. Israel pretended to be beaten and was chased by Ai soldiers. With the sign of Joshua stretching out the Javelin, however, 5,000 ambushed men took over the unguarded Ai city, which created terror and panic to Ai soldiers, who initially chased Joshua.

Once and for All

As soon as Joshua saw the beginning of the successful ambush, he was determined to “crush the enemy” once and for all. “Crush the enemy” was one of the key strategic messages by Sun-Tzu, the author of the Art of War written around the 4th century in China. About 2300 years later, from the 1930s to the 1940s, two leaders were battling for the supremacy of China. The leader who practiced this strategic tenet better than the other eventually rose to lead the whole China.

Mao Tse-tung, the Communist leader, and his 75,000 soldiers were pushed into the desolate mountains of western China by a better-equipped, larger army led by Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the National Revolutionary Army in 1934. Over the next three years, Chiang Kai-shek relentlessly pushed the Communist army, reducing their size to fewer than 10,000 soldiers. By 1937, when China was invaded by Japan, Chiang made a mistake by judging the Communists were no longer a threat, and started to concentrate only to repel the Japanese. While Chiang was occupied with the Japanese, Mao slowly, but firmly, rebuilt the Communist army. Mao eventually gained enough strength to defeat Chiang ten years later. Mao fully deployed Sun-Tzu’s wisdom of “crush the enemy” by completely destroying the National Revolutionary Army in China mainland and until all remnants had fled to the island of Taiwan. Mao practiced this wisdom whereas Chiang, when he had a chance in 1937 to completely crush Mao, failed (48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene).

As Mao did when he repelled Chiang out of the mainland China, Joshua fought as if there would be no tomorrow. 5,000 ambushed Israel soldiers and 25,000 soldiers surrounded the Ai army front and back. Determined to finish the battle with Ai this day, Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until Israel had completely destroyed all inhabitants of Ai, including the king (Joshua 8:26).

A complete destruction of enemies in a single battle, though it can be an exhausting task, served as a paramount importance. First, Israelites were in a foreign land. A quick, thorough ending of a battle reduces their vulnerability against other nations. Second, as an example of Mao and Chiang demonstrated, remaining enemies have a potential to muster and strike back. Tragically, during the period of Judges, Israelites often were attacked and suffered from the remnants of Canaan nations whom they failed to destroy prior.

This may be a strange message. Remember: crush your enemies. For the followers of Christ, enemies are any thoughts or ideas or institutions that are contrary to the character of God. Anything that entices you to sin, crush that “anything” as Joshua did to Ai.

Celebration – Dedication to the LORD

A character of men is manifested by what he does in a position of pinnacle. In the world, an army general, after a huge victory such as the battle of Ai, would march in a celebration parade. I do not necessarily imply that a celebration parade is detrimental. In fact, soldiers, who fought to protect the nation, deserved to be honored. My point in this chapter highlights the humility that Joshua demonstrates to give honor to the ultimate provider of the victory – the LORD God.

Therefore, I want to say that the highlight of the chapter is this latter part (verses 30 to 34), not the brilliant strategic and tactical execution of Israel in defeating Ai. After the victory, Joshua and Israel walked 10 to 15 miles to Mount Ebal to obey the command that God gave through Moses. There on the mountain, Israel built an altar to offer burnt and peace offerings to the LORD. Then, he personally wrote a copy of the Law of Moses – we do not know how long this took – in the presence of ALL, including all the sons of Israel, priests, officers, judges, and the strangers.

Let’s imagine this scene. After the war victory, the highlight of the celebration was to write God’s Law on the stone in the presence of everyone. The victory of the war was to lead everyone in Israel to know the LORD more, to love Him and to honor Him. Joshua fully obeyed.

How do you celebrate your victory?

Joshua 7: Seriousness of Sin

After a series of successful events, including a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, having a national circumcision, spending the Passover, and conquering Jericho, Israel ran into its first major failure since Joshua assumed the leadership. Let’s dig deeper into the importance of the failure highlighted in this chapter.

Summary

The LORD commanded a complete destruction of Jericho and all the things to be devoted to Him. However, Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, took some of the banned items. As a result, the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.

Oblivious of what Achan did, Joshua sent only three thousand men to conquer Ai. Without the presence of the LORD, Israel was defeated by Ai and lost thirty-six (36) lives. This defeat placed a great fear into Joshua and Israel. God the LORD, by casting lots, revealed to Israel that Achan was the culprit. As commanded by the LORD, the entire family of Achan was stoned to death and all of their remains were burned with fire. It must have been a solemn day for Israel.

Cruel Punishment?

Was this too cruel of a punishment by the LORD on Achan? If you have to imagine the death of young children and the old by thrown stones, this would be a difficult scene to witness.

First, let’s remember the initial results of Achan’s sin. Thirty six lives were lost in the battle of Ai. These casualties had brought insurmountable sorrow to at least thirty six families, which were likely to include parents, children, wives, and relatives. The death punishment on Achan, in some aspect, was to propitiate the death of the thirty six lives and all the affected people. These affected families might have been those who stoned Achan’s family to death.

Second, this event served as a reminder of a seriousness of sin to Israel. Also, this event is a great lesson for all the followers of Christ on the seriousness of sin and how God detests it. The event teaches us to never underestimate the impact a single person can make in sin. Through Adam’s trespass, many died (Romans 5:15). By taking a census on his kingdom, David committed a sin against the LORD, causing 70,000 men to perish (2 Samuel 24:15). Korah’s rebellion against God and Moses resulted in 14,700 men’s death (Numbers 16:49). These were just a few examples of a devastating, outsized consequence of one person’s sin.

Practical Advise

How do we avoid sinning as Achan did? In his confession before Joshua, Achan told him, first, he saw, second he coveted, then third, he took a mantle from Shinar and silver and gold (Joshua 7:20-21). The progression of sinning originated from seeing, then coveting, then taking. Ask God to provide His divine protection on what we see to guard our eyes and hearts all together from sinning as Achan did.

Grace of God

Joshua was spared. In any military conquest, it was not going to be unusual to hold a general accountable for the failure. Even Joshua let himself succumb to fear when Israel was defeated by Ai in their first attempt. The LORD God, however, did not hold Joshua accountable for this failure. Although Joshua prayed to God after the defeat (Joshua 7:7-9), the ideal timing for his prayer would have been before sending 3,000 men. If Joshua had prayed before sending 3,000 men, then he might have been able to save 36 lives. The LORD God spared Joshua in His grace. Also, in overall, the LORD spared the entire Israel.

Christ

We all are sinners. As sinners, we are bound to die as Achan did in Joshua 7. However, Jesus Christ took our sin on the cross. We live by His grace. Joshua chapter 7 reminds us of Christ’s grace on all of us.

Joshua 6: Ram’s Horns and Conquest

Chapter 5 came to a rather abrupt end. Joshua encountered the captain of the host of the LORD. What Joshua learned from the captain of the host of the LORD was that the land on which he stood was holy. Nothing related to conquest tactics was given. Then, what was the significance of the holiness of the land? How did Joshua take the meaning of the holiness of the land?

Holy means “set apart for the LORD.” The land was given to the Israelites, but the land was set apart for the LORD. Joshua needed to be reminded of this important fact.

Brief Content Summary

The LORD placed a great fear into Jericho and the city was tightly shut. The LORD commanded Joshua to march around Jericho for seven days. For the first six days, Israel was to circle around the city once. Then on the seventh day, Israel was to circle around the city seven times and with the blow of the trumpets, everyone was to make a great shout. Israel followed the command and the wall of Jericho collapsed. Joshua and Israel thoroughly destroyed Jericho, leaving no survivor except Rahab’s household.

Partnership with the LORD and Israel

In the command given by the LORD to Joshua from verse 2 to verse 5, we can see a partnership between the LORD and Israel. The role of Israel was to march around Jericho for seven days with priests blowing the trumpets and make a great shout. The role of the LORD was to cause the fortress of Jericho to collapse.

This command gives a glimpse of one of God’s attributes: his desire to work with his people. God in His omniscience does not need to work with His creations. Yet, He does. This character of God was manifested originally in Genesis 2. God formed man of dust from the ground and placed the man to take care of the garden while God caused to grow every tree (Gen 2:7-9). A division of labor between God and the man in taking care of the Garden of Eden was evident in Genesis 2. So was the division of labor between God and Israel in the conquest of Jericho.

Significance of Ram’s Horns

The LORD commanded Joshua to tell the priests to carry and blow seven trumpets – trumpets made of ram’s horns. There are two kinds of trumpets mentioned in the Law of Moses. The first type was those mentioned in Numbers 10. In Numbers 10, the LORD commanded Moses that when Israel would go to war against the adversary, Moses should sound an alarm with the trumpets. The second type of the trumpets were those made of rams’ horns mentioned in Leviticus (Lev 25:8-9). In Leviticus, the use of trumpets of rams’ horns was designated to a few specific events. They were mainly used to declare and announce the national atonement all through the land every year. Also, an additional role was to announce the start of the Jubilee Year on the day of atonement of that year. It was the second type of trumpets (made of rams’ horns) that God commanded the priests to carry when marching around Jericho.

Therefore, the presence of trumpets of rams’ horns when marching around the city of Jericho was a rather strange command. Regular trumpets mentioned specifically for war in Numbers seemed more suitable for the Israel who were marching to conquer Jericho.

Then, what was the significance of ram’s horn? Was there any relation between atonement and the conquest of Jericho? Was there any relation between the year of Jubilee (which took place every 50 years when slaves were freed, debts were forgiven and the land was returned to the original owner) and the conquest of Jericho? These are difficult questions to answer. I think the whole message was to show the war was part of the repentance and setting people free. Repentance of the land from its despicable practice of worshipping idols and evil practices of human sacrifices, for example, of Canaan. A freedom of the land and people from an oppressive political and economic institution of Canaan could be a possible significance shown by the ram’s horns.

Significance of the Collapse of Jericho Wall: Implicative Analysis

The most notable significance of the collapse of the wall of Jericho was the almightiness of the LORD. Yet, I wanted to dig deeper into the practical meaning of this to the next subsequent battles that Israel waged against the rest of the Canaan kings.

The collapse of the wall should have alarmed the rest of the cities and kings of Canaan. They might have determined that the specialty of the God of Israel was to destroy the wall and fortress. Perhaps, for this reason, almost all the battles after Jericho took place outside of the city. None of the Canaan kings fought the Israelites using their city walls as their defensive tactics. For this reason, Israel had an easier time to fight them. Also, the byproduct was a minimal destruction of properties and the cities from the war. These infrastructure being intact must have been a boon to Israel when they were able to inherit the houses, roads, vineyards, and other amenities. If all the cities in Canaan were burnt to the ground, it would have taken a significant effort for Israel to rebuild those to be habitable. This was where I found a practical significance of the collapse of Jericho Wall in addition to a spiritual significance.