Joshua

Joshua was with Moses through it all. The exodus from Egypt, the parting of the sea, the manna each morning, the water from the rock, one of the twelve chosen to spy out the promised land. He was one of two men who came out of Egypt and got to go into the Promised land. All of his peers die off in the wilderness. Here are some highlights from the story of Joshua:

-The Israelites cross into the promised land from the EAST side of the Jordan River. Remember the significance of the East? The gate is in the East (Garden of Eden, tabernacle of Moses) and Jesus will come like lightening from the east. Try a Bible search for all the times “east” is mentioned.

-Just like with Moses, God performed a water miracle with Joshua for the people. This time He dammed up a flooding river. Imagine a river suddenly dammed by a clear wall and a huge lake starts forming behind it. Imagine looking out from the walls of Jericho and being able to see that river suddenly flooding into what looks like a lake and getting reports that the Israelites are crossing over on dry ground. No wonder “their hearts melted and there was no spirit in them any longer.” Joshua 5:1 (see photo below)

-1st month, 10th day. You may remember that date on the calendar from the story of Moses. It’s the day the Israelites are to take an unblemished lamb into their homes for Passover a few days later. This is also the day the Israelites completely cross the Jordan River.

-Circumcision time. All the new generation had to go through this like their fathers before them. The location was called Gibeath-haaraloth. It means “hill of the foreskins”. You’re welcome. It took 3 days to heal which brings us to the 14th day of the 1st month…Passover, and they observed Passover like they had been taught.

-The day after Passover, the people ate some of the produce of the land and the Manna ceased that very day.

-The Captain of the Host of the LORD visits Joshua and tells him to remove his sandals because he is on Holy Ground. I wonder if Moses was smiling down from Heaven on this part. He would remember a similar scene in God’s presence at a burning bush.

-The Israelites have some strange marching orders from God on how to defeat Jericho, but they follow the orders completely. They were to walk around the city once a day for 6 days. On the 7th day, walk around 7 times. After the 7th time, at the sound of the long shofar blast, the Tekiah, the people would shout and the walls of Jericho would fall flat!

-Rahab…the prostitute who became a believer in Israel’s God, was spared by a red cord hanging from her window (like Passover), and became a part of the lineage of Christ. She becomes the mom of Boaz who marries Ruth. Ruth and Boaz become the great-grandparents of King David. Jesus would come in that same line centuries later.

-Joshua does a great job leading the people into the promised land, but he’s not perfect. He fumbles making an alliance with someone he shouldn’t have and later has to call on God to stop the sun and moon in the sky so he could have more time to fight a battle he could have avoided. God helps him out and stops the sun and the moon in the sky and it “doesn’t hasten to go down for about a whole day.”

Joshua gives quite the farewell address before he dies at 110 years old. He starts with recalling the promise made to Abraham because another part of that promise has now been fulfilled. Abraham’s descendants are now possessing the land God promised to them almost 500 years earlier. Joshua urges the people to “take diligent heed to love the LORD your God”. They do well while Joshua is alive and while all the surviving elders are alive, but then “¹⁰After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.”

When we were in Israel in April of 2023, our guide told us about the terraced mountains as we were on our way to the Valley of Elah. He mentioned that these terraces were from the time of Joshua when the Israelites started cultivating the land. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it.