Historical and Theological Themes
A keynote feature is God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promise of giving the Land to Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 12:7; 15:18–21; 17:8). By His leading (cf. 5:14—6:2), they inhabited the territories E and W of the Jordan, and so the word “possess” appears nearly 20 times.
Related to this theme is Israel’s failure to press their conquest to every part of the Land (13:1). Judges 1–2 later describes the tragic results from this sin. Key verses focus on: 1) God’s promise of possession of the Land (1:3, 6); 2) meditation on God’s law, which was strategic for His people (1:8); and 3) Israel’s actual possession of the Land in part (11:23; 21:45; 22:4).
Specific allotment of distinct portions in the Land was Joshua’s task, as recorded in chaps. 13–22. Levites were placed strategically in 48 towns so that God’s spiritual services through them would be reasonably within reach of the Israelites, wherever they lived.
God wanted His people to possess the Land: 1) to keep His promise (Gen. 12:7); 2) to set the stage for later developments in His kingdom plan (cf. Gen. 17:8; 49:8–12), e.g., positioning Israel for events in the periods of the kings and prophets; 3) to punish peoples that were an affront to Him because of extreme sinfulness (Lev. 18:25); and 4) to be a testimony to other peoples (Josh. 2:9–11), as God’s covenant heart reached out to all nations (Gen. 12:1–3).
Interpretive Challenges
Miracles always challenge readers either to believe that the God who created heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1) can do other mighty works, too, or to explain them away. As in Moses’ day, miracles in this book were a part of God’s purpose, such as: 1) His holding back the Jordan’s waters (Josh. 3:7–17); 2) the fall of Jericho’s walls (Josh. 6:1–27); 3) the hailstones (Josh. 10:1–11); and 4) the long day (Josh. 10:12–15).
Other challenges include: 1) How did God’s blessing on the harlot Rahab, who responded to Him in faith, relate to her telling a lie (Josh. 2)? 2) Why were Achan’s family members executed with him (Josh. 7)? 3) Why was Ai, with fewer men than Israel, hard to conquer (Josh. 7–8)? 4) What does God’s “sending the hornet” before Israel mean (Josh. 24:12)? These questions will be addressed in the notes.
Outline
I. Entering the Promised Land (1:1-5:15)
II. Conquering the Promised Land (6:1-12:24)
A. The Central Campaign (6:1-8:35)
B. The Southern Campaign (9:1-10:43)
C. The Northern Campaign (11:1-15)
D. The Summary of Conquests (11:16-12:24)
III. Distributing Portions in the Promised Land (13:1-22:34)
A. Summary of Instructions (13:1-33)
B. West of the Jordan (14:1-19:51)
C. Cities of Refuge (20:1-9)
D. Cities of the Levites (21:1-45)
E. East of the Jordan (22:1-34)
IV. Retaining the Promised Land (23:1-24:28)
A. The First Speech by Joshua (23:1-16)
B. The Second Speech by Joshua (24:1-28)
V. Postscript (24:29-33)
JOSHUA
Joshua 1
God’s Commission to Joshua
1After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ aassistant, saying:
2b“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
3c“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
4d“From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
5e“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; fas I was with Moses, so gI will be with you. hI will not leave you nor forsake you.
6i“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall 1divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7“Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law jwhich Moses My servant commanded you; kdo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may 2prosper wherever you go.
8l“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but myou3 shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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.
9n“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; odo not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Order to Cross the Jordan
10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
11“Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for pwithin three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’ ” Joshua’s Preparation for Ministry
12And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying,
13“Remember qthe word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’
14“Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall 4pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them,
15“until the LORD has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving them. rThen you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17“Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God sbe with you, as He was with Moses.
18“Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
Joshua 2
Rahab Hides the Spies
(Heb. 11:31)
1Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men afrom 1Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and bcame to the house of a harlot named cRahab, and 2lodged there.
2And dit was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”
3So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”
4eThen the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5“And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.”
6(But fshe had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
7Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
8Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
9and said to the men: g“I know that the LORD has given you the land, that hthe terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land iare fainthearted because of you.
10“For we have heard how the LORD jdried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and kwhat you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you lutterly destroyed.
11“And as soon as we mheard these things, nour hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for
othe LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12“Now therefore, I beg you, pswear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to qmy father’s house, and rgive me 3a true token,
13“and sspare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”
14So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that twe will deal kindly and truly with you.”
15Then she ulet them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.
16And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”
17So the men said to her: “We will be vblameless4 of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,
18w“unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, xand unless you 5bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home.
19“So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be 6guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, yhis 7blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
20“And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be 8free from your oath which you made us swear.”
21Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
22They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them.
23So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them.
24And they said to Joshua, “Truly zthe LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”
Joshua 3
Israel Crosses the Jordan
1Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out afrom 1Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over.
2So it was, bafter three days, that the officers went through the camp;
3and they commanded the people, saying, c“When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, dand the priests, the Levites, 2bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
4e“Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
5And Joshua said to the people, f“Sanctify3 yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
6Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, g“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to hexalt4 you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ias I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
8“You shall command jthe priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, kyou shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
9So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.”
10And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that lthe living God is among you, and that He will without fail mdrive out from before you the nCanaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
11“Behold, the ark of the covenant of othe Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. The Peoples Around the Promised Land
12“Now therefore, ptake for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.
13“And it shall come to pass, qas soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, rthe Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they sshall stand as a heap.”
14So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the tark of the covenant before the people,
15and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and uthe feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the vJordan overflows all its banks wduring the whole time of harvest),
16that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away 5at Adam, the city that is beside xZaretan. So the waters that went down yinto the Sea of the Arabah, zthe Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; aand all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
Joshua 4
The Memorial Stones
1And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed aover the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying:
2b“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,
3“and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where cthe priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in dthe lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”
4Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;
5and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
6“that this may be ea sign among you fwhen your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
7“Then you shall answer them that gthe waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for ha memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
8And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.
10So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.
11Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the iark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12And jthe men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
13About forty thousand 1prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
14On that day the LORD kexalted2 Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,
16“Command the priests who bear lthe ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.�
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18And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place mand overflowed all its banks as before.
19Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped nin Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
20And othose twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
21Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: p“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’
22“then you shall let your children know, saying, q‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on rdry land’;
23“for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, swhich He dried up before us until we had crossed over,
24t“that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is umighty, that you may vfear the LORD your God 3forever.”
Joshua 5
The Second Generation Circumcised
1So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites awho were by the sea, bheard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until 1we had crossed over, that 2their heart melted; cand there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 111