ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND

Joshua 1–3

DIMENSION ONE: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Answer these questions by reading Joshua 1

1. Who takes over the leadership of Israel when Moses dies? (Joshua 1:1-2) Joshua the son of Nun takes command.

2. What part of the land the Israelites are about to enter will God give to them? (Joshua 1:3) Every place they set their foot will be given to them.

3. What does the Lord promise to Joshua? (Joshua 1:5, 9) The Lord promises to be with Joshua wherever he goes.

4. What condition does God lay down for the success of the coming conquest? (Joshua 1:7) Israel must be strong, courageous, and must strictly follow the law that Moses gave her.

5. What is Joshua to do with the Book of the Law? (Joshua 1:8) He shall meditate on it day and night and do everything that is written in it.

6. What does Joshua order the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to do? (Joshua 1:12-15) All the fully armed fighting men from these tribes shall cross over the Jordan and help the other tribes possess the land.

7. How do these tribes respond to Joshua's command? (Joshua 1:16-17) They will do whatever he commands and go wherever he sends them.

Answer these questions by reading Joshua 2

8. Where do the two spies go? (Joshua 2:1) They go to the house of Rahab, the prostitute, in Jericho.

9. How does Rahab reply to the king of Jericho's command to turn over the two men? (Joshua 2:4-5) She says the men left at dusk as the city gate was closing.

10. Where are the two spies? (Joshua 2:6) Rahab has hidden them under the stalks of flax on her roof

11. What does Rahab request of the two Israelite men? (Joshua 2:12-13) She asks them to swear to save the lives of her father's house because she showed kindness to them.

12. How do the two men respond to Rahab's request? (Joshua 2:14) If Rahab will aid them, they promise to deal kindly and faithfully with her.

13. What sign do the spies tell Rahab to display in order to save her family from death? (Joshua 2:18) They tell her to tie a scarlet cord in her window.

14. What do the spies report to Joshua? (Joshua 2:24) They know that the Lord has given them the land because the people who live there are melting in fear of Israel.

Answer these questions by reading Joshua 3

15. What will lead the Israelites into the Promised Land? (Joshua 3:3) The people will follow the ark of the covenant into the land.

16. How do the people prepare to cross the Jordan River? (Joshua 3:5) They consecrate themselves.

17. Where does Joshua say the living God will be? (Joshua 3:10) Joshua says that the living God will be among the Israelites.

18. Joshua says the waters will stop flowing when? (Joshua 3:13) The river will stop flowing as soon as the priests carrying the ark of the Lord set foot in the Jordan.

19. What time of year does Israel cross the Jordan? (Joshua 3:15) The people cross during harvest time, when the Jordan is at flood stage.

20. Where is the ark of the covenant while the people pass over the Jordan on dry ground? (Joshua 3:17) Priests carrying the ark are standing on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan.

DIMENSION TWO: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN?

Background Information on Joshua 1–3

The Book of Joshua is one part of a larger literary work called the Deuteronomic history. This history runs from Deuteronomy all the way through Second Kings and charts the history of Israel, from the conquest of the land to the fall of Jerusalem. The Book of Ruth was not originally part of this work.

The final form of the Deuteronomic history was written during the Exile, about 550 BC, to explain why God's people were in exile. When Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, the Israelites felt that God had broken the promise to give them the Promised Land and make them a nation. No doubt the Israelites had many questions about God's faithfulness when they did not get all the things they expected. The Deuteronomic history was written in response to these questions to explain that God had not broken the covenant with the people of Israel. The Israelites were the ones who had broken their promise to obey God's laws.

Beginning with these laws of God (Deuteronomy), the Deuteronomic history shows how Israel continually acts against God's will. In Deuteronomy, God promises Israel success if the people obey the laws. If they go against God's will, they will be punished. The history shows that God is not at fault for Israel's suffering. Israel alone bears the burden of guilt. In fact, the books of Joshua and Judges tell how God continuously shows mercy to Israel when the people should have been punished.

Throughout Israel's history, God commands the Israelites to be loyal. But finally God can no longer ignore the sins of the people. Judgment must fall. They must be sent into exile in order to shock them back to their primary loyalty to God. The Deuteronomic history chronicles this interaction of God's law, judgment, prophetic word, and mercy with Israel's continual disobedience. The history's final purpose is to call the people back to God by reminding them that the Lord is a merciful God. If Israel turns to God in faith, God will surely restore the covenant with the people.

As we look at Joshua and Judges, we are told of Israel invading and securing the Promised Land. We need to keep in mind that the end of the Deuteronomic history is the story of the loss of the land through the people's disobedience. Joshua, Judges, and First Samuel portray God graciously giving the land to an Israel that does not deserve it. Second Samuel and First and Second Kings record how God passes judgment on Israel.

Joshua 1:14. You can set the stage for this unit by showing the borders of the Promised Land as they are described in verse 4. (Use a map of the ancient Near East. You will find one in the back of many Bibles, or perhaps your church has wall-size maps available). You may also want to pinpoint Mount Nebo, where Moses died; Shittim, where the Israelites camp while the spies go into the land (Joshua 2:1); and Jericho (Joshua 2:1).

Joshua 1:5-9. In these verses, God promises to be with Joshua during the conquest. God says, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you" (v. 5). We can note, then, that the idea of Immanuel — God with us — belongs to the earliest sections of the Bible. In the Deuteronomic history, however, the continued presence of God depends on how humans respond. The proper human response consists of being strong, courageous, and obedient to "all the law my servant Moses gave you" (v. 7). The importance of the Book of the Law is emphasized in verse 8. Following the law is a response to God's grace and the way of maintaining the already promised presence of God, but not a requirement for receiving God's grace.

Joshua 1:12-18. You might want to review the story of the conquest of land east of the Jordan (Numbers 32) and the story of how this land was given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 3:12-20). Although this land is given by God to these tribes, it does not stand within the boundaries of Canaan, the Promised Land (see Joshua 22:19).

Joshua 1:18. The tribes emphasize Joshua's new absolute authority over them. His position as God's spokesperson is assumed in the statement that anyone who disobeys his commands shall be put to death.

Joshua 2:1. Joshua's action of sending the spies into the land is ironic considering the admonition in 1:18 to "be strong and courageous!" The Israelites had once before sent out spies after God had promised a land to them and said, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (Deuteronomy 1:21-40; vv. 21, 29). The first time spies were sent out, Israel became afraid and rebelled against God's command. This distrust in God's ability to fulfill the promise is why God does not allow any from this generation (except Joshua and Caleb) to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 1:22 explains that after God has already given them the land, sending spies reveals a weakness of faith. Here Joshua, Moses' successor and God's spokesman, wavers in his total trust of God's word.

Jericho, named after the Semitic moon god, was one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. People have lived there since 8000 BC. After walls were built, about 6800 BC, Jericho became the earliest known fortified town in human history. Jericho's major periods of habitation were 2900–2300 BC and 1750–1560 BC. At the end of both of these periods, Jericho's defensive walls were destroyed. For the period of Joshua's invasion (1250–1225 BC), we have very little archaeological evidence about Jericho.

Rahab, the prostitute who became faithful to the Lord, was one of the four most beautiful women in the world, according to Jewish tradition. She is believed to be an ancestor of eight prophets (including Jeremiah and Ezekiel) and one prophetess, Hulda.

Rahab is also important in the New Testament. According to Matthew 1:5, she is an ancestor of Jesus, being the mother of Boaz who married Ruth. James 2:25 claims Rahab was justified by works in her kindness to the Israelite spies. Hebrews 11:31, on the other hand, says her welcome to the spies revealed her faith.

Joshua 2:2-11. Rahab chooses loyalty to the Lord, the God of Israel, over loyalty to her city and people. This primary loyalty demanded by God above all other human loyalties is demonstrated over and over in the Bible. Abram leaves his native land and family to follow God (Genesis 12:1), and even chooses God over his beloved son Isaac (Genesis 22:2). Jesus proclaims that faithfulness to God takes precedence over faithfulness to family (Luke 18:28-30).

Rahab also reveals that her faith in the Lord is stronger than Israel's. She states in verse 9, "I know that the LORD has given you this land." Where Joshua and Israel timidly send spies to discover if God has truly given them the land, Rahab knows already this is what God has done. That one of Israel's enemies trusts God's power more than Israel does is ironic. Rahab gives the statement of faith Israel should have given! Israel sends spies out of weak faith; Rahab acts decisively out of her sure faith in God.

Joshua 2:12-14. The two spies promise to spare Rahab and her family for the kindness she has shown them by hiding them from her king. Interestingly, by swearing to protect her, the two spies go beyond God's command that no one who is defeated in the Promised Land shall live. By promising to let Rahab and her family live, the spies are breaking the letter of the law. Perhaps the point of this story is that the spirit of the law, calling for loyalty and faithfulness to God, takes precedence over slavishly following the letter of the law.

Joshua 2:15-21. We see here the importance of an oath for Israel. When one swears to do something in the name of the Lord, one is obligated to carry it out. Breaking the oath calls down God's judgment upon one's unfaithfulness. For this reason, one of the commandments demands that persons not misuse the name of the Lord (Deuteronomy 5:11). Once an oath has been made — even if it goes against God's law (as here), even if one had been tricked into it (Joshua 9:19-21), even if it was made rashly without full realization of its consequences (Judges 11:30-36) — it has to be fulfilled! For these reasons, the limits of Israel's obligations to Rahab and her family are strictly detailed by the spies.

Joshua 2:22-24. Compare this report from the spies with the earlier report of the first-generation spies found in Numbers 13:27-33 (also Deuteronomy 1:22-33). Where fear and unfaithfulness resulted from the first spying adventure, this second one results in faith. Joshua's spies do not bring back military information on the nature of Jericho's defenses. Rather, they repeat Rahab's statement of faith that the Lord has already given the land into Israel's hands. An outsider's faith in the Lord restores Israel's faith in her God.

Joshua 3:3-6. Review for group members the descriptions of the ark of the covenant found in Exodus 25:1022. You can find the war cries of Israel associated with the ark's presence in battle in Numbers 10:35-36. Israel conceived of holiness as raw power that had to be handled with special care. The ark, the most holy of objects, could bring blessings; but if mishandled, it could bring disaster. (The ark brought death to Uzzah, but brought blessing to Obed-Edom in 2 Samuel 6:6-7, 9-11).

Joshua 3:7-13. We see in this section one of the reasons for the miraculous crossing of the Jordan. Through the crossing, the Lord will exalt Joshua so Israel knows God is with him as God was with Moses.

Joshua reports God's words in an interesting way. Verses 78 contain God's statement that Joshua will be exalted and God's command that the priests bearing the ark stand still when they come to the brink of the Jordan. In verse 9, Joshua calls the people to hear the words of the Lord. Then in verses 10-13, Joshua says nothing about his personal exaltation, but rather states that the upcoming miracle is a sign so Israel will know God that will drive out the inhabitants of the land. He commands the selection of one man from each tribe for some unspecified task. He transmits God's command to the priests carrying the ark.

Joshua, on his own, not from God, tells the people that the waters of the Jordan will be stopped from flowing and will stand up in a heap. Joshua, as God's chosen leader, apparently receives the power to interpret and extend God's word.

The names of people in 3:10 show the number of different ethnic groups living in the Promised Land. Many migrations of people into Canaan, as well as conquests by great empires, had occurred before the tribes led by Joshua arrived. The Bible uses both Canaanites and Amorites as general names for all the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land. More specifically, Canaanites usually refers to those people living in the coastal areas. The Amorites migrated into Palestine about 1900 BC and lived in the hill country.

The Hittites originated in the area of modern Turkey. Only a few decades before Joshua, the Hittites had successfully fought with Egypt for control over Syria, just north of the Promised Land. Apparently they were able to set up colonies in Palestine as Egyptian control weakened. The Hivites and the Hurrians are probably the same. Widely scattered throughout the ancient Near East, the Hivites (Hurrians) reached the height of power between 3000 and 2000 BC. The Jebusites are the native residents of Jerusalem. Nothing is known about the Perizzites and the Girgashites.

Joshua 3:14-17. Here the water stops, just as Joshua says it will. Compare this section with the story of the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21-29. Although there appear to be some parallels between the accounts, there are more differences than similarities.

This section ends with an interesting image that contrasts the movement of the people with the immobility of the ark. This image emphasizes that the movement of God's people through life depends on the eternal stability and rest of God.

DIMENSION THREE: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN TO ME?

Joshua 1:1-18 — Passing on Leadership

The Bible constantly calls persons to various forms of loyalty. The Hebrew word that is usually translated steadfast love is the primary biblical word for this concept. One is supposed to be loyal to, or show steadfast love toward, family, friends, and of course, God. But the Bible realizes that loyalties often conflict. Many stories deal with problems of conflicting loyalties and how persons should choose between them. Abraham must choose God over his beloved son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). Jonathan was forced to choose his friendship to David over his loyalty to his father Saul (1 Samuel 20:30-42). Jesus warns us that we might have to choose God over our family (Matthew 10:21-22).

The problem of loyalty to the political leadership of the state is dealt with differently at different points in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 17:1-23, we find that a rebellion against God's chosen David fails. Ahithophel, David's rebellious counselor, realizing the revolt is marked for failure, commits suicide. However, the prophet Elisha sends a representative to anoint Jehu to rebel against the current ruling house (2 Kings 9:4-7). The Bible stresses loyalty toward leaders (see Romans 13:1-7), but only if they maintain their loyalty to God. Jesus' statement, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (Mark 12:17), emphasizes the point that our ultimate loyalty must go to God.