Category: Scripture

Joshua 10

The Sun Stands Still

10:1 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,¹ doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 he² feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who³ struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

  “Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
    and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13   And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
    until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.

15 So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 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.

28 As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And the LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. 32 And the LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron. And they fought against it 37 and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it 39 and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

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. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Footnotes

[1] 10:1 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 28, 35, 37, 39, 40

[2] 10:2 One Hebrew manuscript, Vulgate (compare Syriac); most Hebrew manuscripts they

[3] 10:10 Or and he

(ESV)

Going Deeper

Joshua 5-9 (2-10-18)

I want to focus today on one of my favorite passages in Joshua. It is Joshua 5:13-15.

Let’s read it again and then look at our holy Lord and what holy servants look like.

Joshua 5:13-15 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

1. The Holy Lord: Who God Is and Why It Matters

As this scene opens, Joshua is out on the edge of the city of Jericho by himself, and he looks up. What is he doing?

Well, back up 40 years before. The Israelites are out of slavery and headed back to their ancestral land, but this land is now occupied by another people.

Which means if they are going to get it back, there is going to be a fight.

So, just like we still do today, they sent in spies or scouts before marching in, just to survey the enemy to see what they were up against.

Every one but two of the scouts said they would never overcome those huge fortified cities. They would die in there. The only two who had confidence they could do it were Joshua and Caleb.

Because the people rebelled against God and showed Him no confidence, God sent them back out into the wilderness for 40 years, until a new generation was ready to follow God.

Now an older Joshua who has been put in charge after Moses’ passing is ready to lead them into battle to claim the Promised Land.

So Joshua is standing outside the huge fortified walls of Jericho on the eve of their attack, and it is clear that the other scouts were right about one thing: The Israelite people did not have near the amount of needed resources to take that city by human effort.

Only with God’s mighty, divine provision and power would they be able to conquer the fortified walls of Jericho. During this time, Joshua is out there most likely seeking God for his battle plan, because Joshua knows his battle plan is already worthless.

But we read he looks up to find he is not alone but lingering on the shadow of an unknown man with a drawn sword lifted high.

Now when a man is in your space with a drawn sword, it’s probably not to offer you shade.

So, Joshua draws an immediate line and asks, “Are you for us or against us?”

Meaning, “If you are for our people, you will bow before me as your leader,

or if you are for the enemy and you have your sword drawn, it’s about to go down.”

The stranger’s response is unique. He says, “NO!” in verse 14.

What he means is neither. What he is saying is, “You are asking the wrong question. I am the commander of the army of the LORD. The question isn’t am I for or against you; the real question is are you for or against me?”

Realizing who this is, Joshua falls to the ground in worship.

Joshua 5:14 … And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

Now this is very revealing because faithful Israelites did not worship other men, nor did they worship the created angels.    àThey only worshipped God! Joshua knows who he is in the presence of.

Joshua 5:15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

What is cool about this is it is a very similar interaction that God had when He calls Moses at the burning bush.

Just like the burning bush, this mighty warrior is both breathtaking and scary all at the same time.

This is a picture of God’s holiness.

The question for us is do we really get the holiness of GOD?

The Holiness of God is the perfection of God. God’s holiness will be the attribute that we praise Him for, forever and ever.

Revelation 4:8 … day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

It is an essential understanding of God that He is holy, that His nature is holy, that He is infinitely and perfectly just, that He is morally flawless and perfect, that He is perfection. Everything in Him and of Him and for Him and from Him and by Him is perfect. And so whatever He says is what justice is.

“We must not think that God does a thing because it’s good and right, but rather the thing is good and right because God does it.” -William Perkins

The holiness of God is His unmatchable, majestic perfection and purity.

Do we really get the holiness of God?

If you do, then you, too, will fall face down before Him. Why?

• Because you have nothing to offer that comes close to matching Him.
• Because you are so stained with impurity in your sin in the brightness of His perfection.

For example: When Isaiah is given view of God high and lifted up and the seraphim cry out to God in song, shouting “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD God almighty”, Isaiah’s response is, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips.”

What is so profound about this is Isaiah was a prophet and preacher, and his lips were what he was most proud of. But in the presence of God, he admits his best attribute is garbage compared to God.

We must get the holiness of God.

We cannot “just say” Jesus is the main thing. We have to mean it by how we live!

Our utter speechless, humble, selfless, prayerful, faithful, obedient lives must bow before His utter holiness.

We need to get the holiness of God. We need to come face to face with how unmatchable He is, how perfect He is, how pure He is, how mighty He is! Why? Now it is so important we understand why.

Because only in light of His holiness will you and I see who we really are in His shadow.

Only then do you and I really begin to see our sin.

Because if you just look to your fellow man to see how you stack up, you will look hard enough and long enough until you find people that make you feel good about yourself compared to them.

This is why man’s love affair with the old adage, “I am a good person,” is so damning!

Because compared to man, maybe that is true.

But compared to the HOLINESS OF GOD, it is a laughable lie.

We need to see the HOLINESS of GOD, so we can see the fullness of our sin and the DEPTH of OUR DEPRAVITY. Not just so we can feel bad about ourselves or for ourselves!

This is the response of SOME and, oh, how they tragically miss it. They MISS THE GOOD NEWS!

We need to see the depth of our depravity in light of the holiness of God so that we see our need for one thing: THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST!

THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST is the only thing big enough to mend the enormous gap that rightly separates me in my sin from GOD in His glory.

Praise God for the cross of Jesus Christ! AMEN?

ONLY when God reveals Himself to you and shows you His unmatchable, majestic perfection and purity–His holiness—is your utter wickedness and weakness in sin thereby revealed.

Only then will you fall face down before Him and lay your deadly doing down and worship Him. 

Only then will you realize by none of our efforts will we ever conquer the fortified walls of those that are in front of this club that separate us from all that God has for us.

In light of this, it is the mercy of God on us that is the source of all our praise. WHY?

Because He should have righteously taken out His sword of justice and cut our guilty heads off.

But He didn’t! God’s people needed delivering, so God became human!

This leads us back to the text.

1. The Holy Servant Lord: What Christ Did and Why It Matters

In this encounter between Joshua and the man holding up his sword, who is the man holding the sword who claims to be the commander of the Lord’s army?

It is an “angel of the Lord,” who is both identical with us and also distinct in the most holy way. Does this remind you of anybody?

One who without abandoning the full essence and power of deity or diminishing the divine holiness is able to accommodate Himself to the company with sinners while affirming the wrath of God.

The angel of the Lord in the Old Testament can be appreciated only if we understand Him as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ Himself.

This is another reminder to us of the grace of God who sends His Son to do the unthinkable.

He sends Him to take the sword on Himself in place of His people so that we can have His holiness!

And as a result, watch the walls of sin crumble at our feet, so we can march into the promised land and forever feast with the KING!

This is the good news of the HOLY LORD! It is so amazing!

In Genesis 3:24, after man sinned, we read that God drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden, He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

The sword of eternal justice blocked the only way back to God. You could say then that to pass the sword of justice one would have to pay the ultimate price, or the only way back to God is to go under the sword.

The spotless Jesus, who was crucified in our place, is the promised One who was able to take on the sword for His people, and He did!

In John 17:19 (NLT) Jesus says, “I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”

Back to Joshua…

So, Joshua is rightly scared and full of reverence before God, and what does he then get up and do?
He leads his people in great courage up to the wall, and what do they do?

They don’t lean on the power of their flesh. They don’t lean on their best laid plans and great tools of war.

No. He walks them around while blowing trumpets so that when the walls fall down, the One who receives all the praise is only GOD Himself.

Joshua is a Christ-like servant leader that faithfully surrenders to his God and obediently serves his King.

And like Joshua, we, too, can faithfully surrender to our God and obediently serve our King in the battle He has put us in. This leads us to part three.

3. His Holy Servants: Who We Can Be in Christ and Why It Matters

There are two main things here that we must see to understand who we can be in Christ and why it matters.

In CHRIST, we can be:

1. Exclusively, undividedly, unconditionally obedient to God
2. Different than the world
3. To be exclusively, undividedly, unconditionally obedient to God

Why does Joshua need to take off the sandals?

In Leviticus, there was holy use and common use.

The difference was things used exclusively for God were holy, and things used for man were common.

God calls us to be radically and exclusively for Him. The problem is we are really good at sometimes living for Him! We are good at saying, “God I will serve you if you do this or that!”

“I will serve you if …” Do you realize anytime you give God this ultimatum, you are highlighting the fact that it is not really God you are serving or living for? You are really living for the things you want Him to give you.

The IF is the rival against God for your greatest affections. But God will have no rivals.

The first commandment says, “Have NO OTHER GODS before me”.

If you have ifs that you put between you and God, you are placing conditions on Him.

The life of a HOLY SERVANT means you are wholly devoted to Him and not partially devoted.

“Partially devoted” is an oxymoron.

In Christ we must be exclusively, undividedly, unconditionally obedient to God

In order to be obedient to God, we must know what we are to obey.

Meaning devotion to God is stoked by the fire of His living word reigning in and through us.

Let’s first look at the other way in which we need to be in Christ:

1. To be different than the world

When rightly understanding the word “holy” in the Bible, it often means “separate.”

It is separate than other things used for common things. It is set apart.

This means holy people will be different than the world. We live set apart.

A good example of this is the early church that we see in the book of Acts.

Why was the early church so revolutionary in the Roman-dominated culture they lived in?

Why was the gospel so transforming in that day? Because their faith was truly radical!

There are four BIG areas where we can see how they lived very different than the world around them.

1. Integrity — In a “lie to advance yourself” culture, they were honest to a fault.
2. Sympathy – In a “quick to shame the guilty” culture, they were forgiving.
3. Chastity – In a “loose and hedonistic” culture, they were faithful to the covenant of marriage.
4. Generosity – In an “acquire wealth and personal success at all costs” culture, they were recklessly openhanded in sharing what they had.

The early church was an amazing example of what it means to be “holy servants.”

They were honoring God with their lives and generously serving those in need.

The key to this is who they were “IN CHRIST.”

The key is this phrase “IN CHRIST,” because apart from Christ, we will not be exclusively, undividedly, unconditionally obedient to God. We will not be different than the world.

Apart from Christ, we will look to all the stuff this world is selling for our hope and joy.

Paul says in Colossians 1:27 one of my favorite phrases in the Bible: “… Christ in you, the hope of glory!”

Notice that it doesn’t say it is Christ and you, like you make a good team.

Like sometimes I give Christ the ball, and sometimes I take it myself.

It also does not say Christ then you.

Too many Christians are out there trying their hardest to follow Christ’s example.

“Christ came 2000 years ago, and now it is up to me to carry on His work–to be all I can be for Jesus!” Do you realize without Jesus at your center in everything you do, you will never live up to His example? All of that is religion.

Paul reminds us it is not Christ and you or Christ then you; it is Christ in you, and that is your hope of glory.

Christ who is HOLY makes us HOLY!

Joshua got this and fell on his face in worship.

He surrendered it all for God. It wasn’t about him or his fame; it was all about GOD!

And when it was totally about God, God used Joshua to lead an army unto great victory.

So, I want to make it personal with the goal of being most helpful:

Is it Christ and you? Sometimes you are doing good enough that you don’t need Him, and sometimes you do?

Is it Christ then you? You are constantly trying to follow His example but somehow can’t seem to even conquer the armies that await you?

Is it just you?

Christ in you the hope of GLORY.

Our only hope for glory is Jesus! So, we truly live and lead for Him. We truly are enjoying Him more than anything else. Jesus is the key to holy living.

By His grace and for His glory,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

Joshua 9

The Gibeonite Deception

9:1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 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.”’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. 15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.

22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

(ESV)

Joshua 8

The Fall of Ai

8:1 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.”

3 So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night. 4 And he commanded them, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. 5 And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us just as before, we shall flee before them. 6 And they will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city. For they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us, just as before.’ So we will flee before them. 7 Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will give it into your hand. 8 And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out. And they went to the place of ambush and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night among the people.

10 Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 And all the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and encamped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 He took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley. 14 And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place¹ toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire. 20 So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was left none that survived or escaped. 23 But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction.² 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the LORD that he commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day. 29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

Joshua Renews 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. 33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived³ among them.

Footnotes

[1] 8:14 Hebrew appointed time

[2] 8:26 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

[3] 8:35 Or traveled

(ESV)

Joshua 7

Israel Defeated at Ai

7:1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

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.¹ I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households. And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise² to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,³ then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. 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.⁴

Footnotes

[1] 7:12 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

[2] 7:19 Or and make confession

[3] 7:21 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

[4] 7:26 Achor means trouble

(ESV)