OT: Joshua
Last week we finished our tour of the first division of the OT, the Torah or Pentateuch. The five books of Moses introduced us to God, mankind, creation, the nation of Israel, and most importantly, God’s plan of redemption. We saw the beginning of that plan in the promises to Adam & Eve, and then to Abraham and his descendants, and finally in the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Law.
There were some snags along the way as the people rebelled, sinned by not living in faith, and turned to idolatry.
Now, with the book of Joshua, we see the resumption of action toward fulfilling God’s promises. Finally, the people of Israel are entering the Promised Land to take possession of it.
The book is part of a group of books known to the Jewish people as the Former Prophets. This includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. In our English arrangement of the OT though, we group it with other books to form the books of History.
In a sense, it is both. It is a book of history, but it is not a history textbook like you would see in school. It is a prophetic history. What I mean is that it presents the history of the nation of Israel during a crucial period of time, and presents that history from a prophetic or theological framework. This is history with insight.
The goal of studying history is to learn from it. Joshua presents history as a lesson and explains the lesson clearly. It gives us the events and the “Why?” behind the events. This is sacred history, presented in a God-centered way.
If you turn to the last chapter, Joshua recites the nation’s history from the call of Abraham to the conquering of the Promised Land (as presented in this book). It is fairly short and completely God-centered.
2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. 4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.
6 “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. 12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’ (ESV)
I realize I’ve just spoiled the end for you. Sorry. I wanted you to see at the outset that this is God’s doing. This is important because Joshua is one of the hardest books in the Bible to come to terms with. Events take place in this book that just don’t sit well with our modern, American mindset.
We know that this book is the story of the conquest of the Promised Land. In this book we see the nation of Israel move from living in the desert to taking possession of the land God had promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier.
A simple outline of the book would look like this.
- Crossing into the land (1-5)
- Taking possession of the land (6-12)
- Dividing the land (13-21)
- Serving the Lord in the land (22-24)
As you read through the book though, you may encounter some things that won’t sit especially well with you. Let’s start with the story of the fall of Jericho.
With Moses death at the end of Deuteronomy, Joshua has been placed in the position of authority. It is his task to lead the people into the land. Joshua was one of the original 12 spies that entered the land 40 years earlier. One of only two who believed God could give them the land. He has some idea of what to expect as they cross the Jordan River.
He has a plan. The land is not unified in any way. It is ruled by cities with kings. Each city controlling the region surrounding it. Taking the cities is key to taking the land. So Joshua leads the people to take the city of Jericho first. This is strategic because Jericho sits right in the middle of the land allowing Israel to establish a base of operations from which to stage campaigns to both the South and then the North, and dividing the land so that it cannot unite as a whole against them.
Jericho is a walled city, as many of the cities in Canaan are. The Israelites have limited military experience. How are they to conquer fortified cities with high, thick walls? God gives Joshua instructions on how to go about the conquest of Jericho in chapter 6.
6:1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” (ESV)
So the people do just as God instructed Joshua. They march around the city once each day for six days. On the seventh day they march seven times. The seventh time around, the priest sound a blast on the trumpets, the people shout, and the city walls collapse.
20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. (ESV)
This is where we run into a major ethical dilemma.
21 Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. (ESV)
This was commanded by God, through Moses, back in Deuteronomy. They were told that when they entered the land, they were to utterly destroy the inhabitants.
2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. (ESV)
Nearly 20 times in the book of Joshua we are told that they capture a city and utterly destroy, or devote to destruction, every living person in the city. Several times we are told that they destroyed them to the last man.
14 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every man they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. (ESV)
They killed them all, man, woman, and child. And at the command of the Lord. What’s more it was not just at his command, but at his doing. Look at verses 18-20.
18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses. (ESV)
These stories create an ethical dilemma for us. As we read them, we are tempted to think of Israel committing genocide. Commanded by the Lord to do so!
I want you to see that this is not genocide, it is, as Mark Dever puts it, the “expiration of God’s mercy.”
First, God owns the land, and the people in it. It/they are his to do with as he pleases.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; (ESV)
24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein, (ESV)
Second, God is using Israel to carry out judgment for sin.
5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (ESV)
The Canaanites were wicked people. They worship demon gods to whom they sacrificed their own children by burning them alive. They engaged in perverted sexual practices as part of their worship. God is judging them for their sins.
Later he will also judge Israel for the sins of its people. We see that right here in Joshua.
After the fall of Jericho, the people go to take a rather small town called Ai. Much smaller than Jericho, they thought they could easily defeat the city, yet they were routed and fled before the men of Ai. Joshua bemoans the defeat and God tells him why it happened.
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. (ESV)
Here’s what happened. At Jericho they had been told to kill everyone and to take no plunder. Everything of value was to be given to the levites for use in the temple. One man took some gold and sliver and clothing for himself and hid it in his tent. God allowed the army to suffer a humiliating defeat because of this sin. The problem was sin, the solution was death. This man, Achan, was singled out, he confessed, he was judged, and then stoned. Israel then resumed its victorious conquest.
So, this destruction of peoples is not directed because of race, but because of sin. Israel itself is not exempt from this standard.
Third, the purpose of the command to destroy the people of Canaan is to preserve the purity of the nations worship, not the purity of their blood line.
3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. (ESV)
Fourth, exceptions are allowed.
The story of the taking of Jericho opens with the scouting of the city’s defenses. Two spies are sent and they are aided in their mission by a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab. In this passage she is addressing the two men.
9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign (ESV)
Notice the way she talks about God. She acknowledges God as supreme. Her entire family is saved from the destruction of Jericho.
Then in chapter 9 we have the story of the Gibeonites. This group of people see what is happening to anyone who fights against Israel, and they’ve heard that Israel isn’t signing any peace treaties with the locals, so they cook up a scheme to trick Israel into signing one with them.
9 They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ (ESV)
Again, they acknowledge God. The Israelites make mistakes in this story. They don’t consult God when making this decision, but ultimately God shows his sovereignty in this situation because he uses it to create another situation where Israel will be able to quickly deal with several troublesome kings all at one. They are lured out of their fortified cities to make war on the Gibeonites and Israel is able to launch a surprise attack and defeat them.
The Gibeonites are not destroyed, an exception is made and they are put to work supplying water and firewood to the tabernacle. Being associated with the tabernacle is an honored position in Israel.
The point is, exceptions were made.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people of a particular race. The word “genocide” comes from two words in the Greek, genos meaning “race.”
As we saw a month or so ago in Sunday School, race is not a category we should think in, it is unbiblical and unscientific.
Race, as a category, includes the ideas of: culture, nationality, language, religion, and especially biology.
Ethnicity, on the other hand, includes: culture, nationality, language, and religion.
Ethnicity is fluid. Becoming a Christian changes your ethnicity. Rahab became a Christian.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. (ESV)
Rahab and the Gibeonites picture for us the salvation of Gentiles through faith.
I wanted us to look at this aspect of the story first because I don’t want us to get sidetracked by a wrong understanding of what’s going on here. This book is full of destruction. The main point of the story though is the faithfulness and sovereignty of God. God brought them into the land, and God gave them the land. It was not of their own doing.
There are a couple other lessons I want to learn from this book. There are many lessons within its pages, but just three that I want to focus on, and they are tied together.
In each book we’ve looked at, we’ve tried to find the verse or verses that are most often quoted from that book, and the central verse of the book’s message. In Genesis we saw the verse about Abraham’s faith as being pivotal.
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. – Genesis 15:6
In Exodus it’s probably the 10 commandments, but we looked at the centrality of Exodus 33:19.
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
In Leviticus we quoted chapter 25 verse 10.
…proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
That verse is written on the Liberty Bell. But we said Leviticus 10:10 was the central verse.
…to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean…
In Deuteronomy we said it was Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your might.
In Joshua there are two passages most often quoted. The first is
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (ESV)
This is one of the central themes of the book. The idea of total dependence on God for victory. Victory was achieved, because it was given. Victory belongs to the Lord.
40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. (ESV)
The Israelites experienced victory because God fought for them. In the same way, we face three enemies working together for our defeat, the world, the flesh, and the devil. We cannot overcome them if we trust in our own power as the Israelites did when they first attached Ai in chapter 7. It is only by trusting in Christ as our victor that we experience victory. For Christ triumphed over the system of this world, the sin of our flesh, and the workings of Satan by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. (Colossians 2:8-15)
How do we achieve this victory then? By living in faith and trusting in Christ, exclusively. That is the second lesson I want us to learn, the idea of exclusive loyalty to God.
We saw this last week in Deuteronomy when we talked about loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength. This concept is continued in Joshua, in the second, and probably most quotable passage from the book.
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (ESV)
This follows Joshua’s God-centric retelling of the nation’s history. In response to that history Joshua says the people should serve God
…in sincerity and in faithfulness.
This is the main reason behind the judgment of the people of Canaan, because of their wicked idolatry. Because they don’t serve God, but instead turn to demon gods to worship, God brought judgment on those nations. And so, Joshua says, we should learn from their example, we should turn away from the things the world worships and devote ourselves to the worship of God Almighty with sincerity and faithfulness.
This is the same message we saw last week in Deuteronomy. The idea of whole hearted devotion to God.
This same kind of single-minded, faithful devotion is commanded in the NT as well.
Salvation and victory are to be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason we should serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. We cannot serve both him and the gods of this world.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (ESV)
In another passage Jesus goes on to tell us that we must not only love and serve him above the gods of this world, but above our family members and above even our own selves.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)
Joshua makes this point vividly when he tells the Israelites that if they don’t want to worship God, they should choose which gods they will serve, the gods of the Egyptians, or the gods of the Canaanites.
The thing is, they had seen the Lord defeat both sets of gods decisively, and he had just recounted that entire history for them. What Joshua is really saying is this.
It’s foolish to even consider serving another god. The Lord has defeated them. Why would you serve a weak, defeated god? Serve the Lord!
The people choose to serve God. Joshua tells them they will not be able to do it perfectly, and then sets up a memorial stone to remind them of their commitment and of their covenant with the Lord.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” (ESV)
This is the third lesson I want us to learn. The lesson of the piles of stones. All through the book you’ll see the piling of stones.
This stone Joshua just set up was to remind the people of their covenant relationship with God.
Earlier in the book, after a decisive victory over five kings who united against them, another pile of stones is erected.
26 And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. 27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. (ESV)
This pile of stones would remind the people of Israel of this victory God had given them.
In chapter 8 Joshua builds an alter of uncut stones during a renewal of the covenant.
30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. (ESV)
Later in the book, after the conquest is over and the eastern tribes are returning across the river to their allotted land, they build a replica of this alter as a reminder that they too are a part of the people of God, the people of the covenant.
There was a tense moment or two when the rest of Israel thought the eastern tribes were preparing to worship in a rebellious way and prepared to make war against them because of this alter. But once they explained its purpose, everything was OK.
26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ 28 And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, ‘Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!” (ESV)
Again, this alter, made of uncut stones, was to serve as a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and his people.
Going back to chapter 7 again and the story of Achan and his sin. After it was settled that he had taken the gold, silver, and clothing from Jericho that was supposed to be given to the service of God in the temple. The people stoned him and his family.
24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor. (ESV)
This pile of stones remained to serve as a negative reminder of the consequences of not serving God sincerely and faithfully.
One more stone story and then we’ll be done. This one is back at the beginning of the story in chapter 4. God stops the river of Jordan during flood season. Much as he parted the Red Sea, he piles up the river so they can cross on dry ground. Joshua then sets up a pile of 12 stones to commemorate the crossing.
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. (ESV)
Why set up the stones?
21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, (ESV)
That’s the memorial purpose of this pile of stones, but the next verse is the key verse. In this story, at the beginning of the book, we see the key verse for the entire book. This is one you should highlight. This is what this whole thing is about.
Why set up the stones? Why establish the nation of Israel in Canaan? Why destroy the Canaanites? The answer to all those questions is here.
24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (ESV)
Why did all this history happen? It happened to serve as a testimony to all the people of the world. A testimony to God’s power and might, that would lead people to fear and serve him forever.
We have our own stone of remembrance. That stone is Jesus. Every time we take communion we are reminded of the victory he won for us on the cross. It serves as a testimony to the world of God’s justice and mercy. It serves as a reminder to us of our calling to serve the Lord Jesus
…in sincerity and in faithfulness.
Turn away from the gods of this world, serve Jesus in total dependence on his victory, and with exclusive loyalty to him in your heart. Remember the stone which is Jesus, in whom alone is salvation to be found (Acts 4:11-12), and
…serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, (Deut 28:47)
