Joshua 4-7
Joshua 4
Twelve Memorial Stones
Calling the 12 tribal representatives together Joshua instructed them. They were to return to the middle of the riverbed and each one was to bring back one stone. These stones would be a vivid reminder (a memorial) of God’s work of deliverance (cf. v. 24) and an effective means for the Israelites to teach their young (vv. 6–7; cf. vv. 21–24).
The response of the 12 men was immediate and unquestioning. They could well have feared reentering the Jordan. After all, how long would it stay dry? Whatever fears they may have had were put aside and they unhesitatingly obeyed God’s instructions.
4:19–20. But this was no time for reflection. Joshua led the people to Gilgal, their first encampment in Canaan, about two miles from Jericho. There the 12 stones … taken out of the Jordan were set up, perhaps in a small circle. The name Gilgal means “circle,” and may have been taken from an ancient circle of stones of pagan significance. If so, the more recent circle commemorating Yahweh’s great work would serve to counteract the idolatrous association of the site.
4:21–23. The purpose of the stones was clearly pedagogical: to remind Israel for generations to come that it was God who brought them through the Jordan (cf. vv. 6–7) just as He had taken their fathers through the Red Sea.
But how were the future generations to know what the stones meant? The answer is clear. Parents were to teach God’s ways and works to their children (cf. Deut. 6:4–7). A Jewish father was not to send his inquisitive child to a Levite for answers to his questions. The father was to answer them himself.
Joshua 5
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
Before God would lead Israel to victory, He would lead them through three experiences: (a) the renewal of circumcision (5:1–9), (b) the celebration of the Passover (v. 10), and (c) the appropriation of the land’s produce (vv. 11–12).
When the nations of the land were filled with terror (cf. 4:24) the LORD commanded Joshua to circumcise the sons of Israel. He obeyed, even though it must have been difficult for him as a military commander to incapacitate his entire army in that hostile environment.
5:8–9. After all the males were circumcised … the LORD acknowledged the completed task by declaring, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Since the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, they did not practice circumcision until they were about to leave. No doubt the Egyptians prohibited the practice since it was reserved for their own priests and upper-class citizens. “The reproach of Egypt” may refer to the Egyptians’ mocking the Israelites for not having possessed the land of Canaan.
Another indication of this event’s importance is the fact that a new significance was attached to the name Gilgal (NIV marg.). Not only was the meaning “circle” to remind Israel of the memorial stones (see comments on 4:19–20), but now the related idea of “rolling” would commemorate Israel’s act of obedience at the same site.
But why was circumcision so important? The Bible’s answer is clear. Stephen, in his dynamic speech before the Sanhedrin, declared that God “gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision” (Acts 7:8). Circumcision, then, was no ordinary religious rite; it was rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant, a contract guaranteeing the everlasting continuation of Abraham’s seed and their ever-lasting possession of the land (Gen. 17:7–8). In this connection God adopted circumcision as the “sign” or symbol of that contract (Gen. 17:11). God instructed Abraham that every male in his household as well as every male descendant of his was to be circumcised. And Abraham immediately obeyed (Gen. 17:23–27).
But why did God choose circumcision as the symbol of His covenant with Abraham and his seed? Why not some other sign or work? The act of circumcision itself symbolized a complete separation from the widely prevalent sins of the flesh: adultery, fornication, and sodomy. Further, the rite had spiritual overtones not only in relation to sexual conduct but in every phase of life. “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer” (Deut. 10:16; cf. Deut. 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:28–29).
So Israel was to understand that circumcision was not simply a cutting of flesh; also their lives were to be holy. This is why at Gilgal God said, in effect, “Before I fight your battles in Canaan you must have this mark of the covenant in your flesh.” Joshua understood the cruciality of this divine requirement and led all males in unhesitating obedience.
Paul affirmed that a Christian has been “circumcised” in Christ (Col. 2:11). This circumcision is spiritual not physical, relating not to an external organ but to one’s inward being, the heart. This circumcision takes place at the time of salvation when the Holy Spirit joins a believer to Christ. At that time one’s sinful nature is judged (Col. 2:13). A Christian is to recognize that fact (Rom. 6:1–2) even though his carnal nature remains a part of him during this life. He is to treat his carnal nature as a judged and condemned (though not yet executed) enemy.
Apparently the Passover was not observed during the wilderness wanderings, but now at Gilgal in Canaan the feast was again observed. The recent Jordan crossing was so similar to the crossing of the Red (Reed) Sea that vivid memories were brought back to those who had been in Egypt (persons under 20 at the time of the Exodus were not excluded from Canaan). No doubt many an Israelite remembered how his father killed a lamb and sprinkled its blood on the doorpost and lintel. Those now in Canaan could still hear the awful death cries of the Egyptians’ firstborn. Then there was the excitement of the midnight departure, the terror of the Egyptian pursuit, and the thrill of walking between walls of water to escape Egypt.
Now they were reliving it again. As the lambs were slain they were assured that as the Red Sea crossing was followed by the destruction of the Egyptians, so the crossing of the Jordan would be followed by the defeat of the Canaanites. So remembering the past was an excellent preparation for the tests of the future.
5:12. The next day the manna stopped. For 40 long years it had continued (cf. Ex. 16:4–5), but now it ceased as suddenly as it had begun, demonstrating that its provision was not a matter of chance but of special providence.
It is noteworthy that God did not discontinue the manna when Israel despised it (Num. 11:6), or even when the unbelieving generation turned away from Kadesh Barnea and wandered in the trackless wilderness. At least for the sake of their children He continued to give it, till they grew and entered the land of promise. Then God stopped performing this miracle since natural food was available.
Commander of the Lord’s Army
5:14. The response was startling and revealing. Something occurred that convinced Joshua this was no mortal soldier. As with Abraham under the oak at Mamre, Jacob at Peniel, Moses at the burning bush, and the two disciples at Emmaus, there was a flash of revelation and Joshua knew he was in the presence of God. It seems clear that Joshua was indeed talking to the Angel of the Lord, another appearance in Old Testament times of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (cf. 6:2).
The Commander of the army of the LORD stood with a drawn sword, indicating that He would fight with and for Israel. But the sword also shows that God’s long-suffering delay of judgment was over and the iniquity of the Amorites was now full (cf. Gen. 15:16). The Israelites were to be the instruments by whom judicial punishment would fall.
What kind of a military force did this divine Commander lead? The “army of the LORD” was surely not limited to the army of Israel though it may have been included. More specifically, it referred to the angelic host, the same “army” of heaven that later surrounded Dothan when Elisha and his servant appeared to be greatly outnumbered by the Aramean army (2 Kings 6:8–17). In the Garden of Gethsemane at the time of His arrest, Jesus referred to this heavenly army when He said that 12 legions of angels were ready to defend Him (Matt. 26:53). In Hebrews 1:14 they are described as “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.” Though invisible, they serve and care for God’s children in times of great need.
Joshua, recognizing his heavenly visitor with the drawn sword, fell on his face and worshiped, saying, in effect, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.“
5:15. The reply of the Lord to Joshua was brief but urgent. Remove your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. The presence of the holy God sanctified this spot in a strange and defiled land (cf. a similar command to Moses, Ex. 3:5).
This was a deeply significant experience for Joshua. He had anticipated a battle between two opposing armies, Israelite and Canaanite. He had thought this was to be his war and that he was to be the general-in-charge. But then he confronted the divine Commander and learned that the battle was the Lord’s. The top general of the LORD‘s army had not come to be an idle Spectator of the conflict, or even an ally. He was in complete charge and would shortly reveal His plans for capturing the citadel of Jericho.
How comforting all this was for Joshua. He did not need to bear the heavy burden and responsibility of leadership alone. By removing his sandals he gladly acknowledged that this battle and the entire conquest of Canaan was God’s conflict and that he was merely God’s servant.
Joshua 6
The Fall of Jericho
6:1. Jericho was a beleaguered city. Orders had been given to close all the gates, and no traffic was permitted in or out. As Rahab had disclosed to the spies (2:11) the residents of Jericho were filled with terror because of the advancing Israelites (cf. 5:1).
6:2. But there this impressive fortress stood, in full view of Joshua whose conversation with the Commander of the Lord’s army continued. This Commander, the LORD Himself, promised victory to Joshua and announced that He had given Jericho into his hands. The city, its king, and its army would all fall to Israel. The tense of the Hebrew verb is prophetic perfect (I have delivered), describing a future action as if it were already accomplished. Since God had declared it, the victory was assured.
What was the significance of the blaring trumpets? These instruments were “jubilee trumpets” (lit. Heb.) used in connection with Israel’s solemn feasts to proclaim the presence of God (Num. 10:10). The conquest of Jericho was not therefore exclusively a military undertaking but also a religious one, and the trumpets declared that the Lord of heaven and earth was weaving His invisible way around this doomed city. God Himself, in effect, was saying in the long blasts of these priestly trumpets, “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in” (Ps. 24:7). When Christ returns, He, the King of glory, will enter cities in triumph. The conquest of Jericho was a similar kind of triumphant victory.
The city of Jericho and everything in it was “to be devoted (ḥērem) to the Lord” (v. 17). The NASB renders those words “shall be under the ban,” a more literal translation. Verse 21 includes a verb form of that noun ḥērem: They devoted (wayyaḥărîmû, from ḥāram) the city to the LORD. The idea is that the city’s contents were to be given over to the Lord by totally destroying them. To convey this, the NIV adds and destroyed. (The verb ḥāram is trans. “totally destroyed” in 10:28, 35, 37, 39–40; 11:11–12, 21 and “destroy them totally” in 11:20; cf. 1 Sam. 15:3, 8–9, 15, 18, 20. The noun ḥērem is trans. “devoted” or “devoted things” in Josh. 6:17–18; 7:1, 11–12, 15; 1 Sam. 15:21; “devoted to destruction” in Lev. 27:29; “set apart for destruction” in Deut. 7:26. Sometimes, however, the idea of destruction is not in the word; cf., e.g., Lev. 27:21, 28.)
The contents of Jericho were to be given “to the LORD” as the firstfruits of the land. Just as the firstfruits of a crop, given to the Lord, pointed to more crops to come, so the conquest of Jericho signified that Israel would receive all of Canaan from Him. No loot from Jericho was to be taken by the people. In carrying out the ḥērem, people and animals were to be killed (Josh. 6:17, 21), and other things were either to be destroyed or set apart, as in this case, for the purposes of the sanctuary. These items included “silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron” (v. 19). All was “devoted” either to destruction or to the Lord’s “treasury”; all was to be forfeited by the people.
Furthermore, God has the right to visit judgment on individuals and nations in sin. Is there evidence that the iniquity of the Canaanites was full? Few would question that the idolatrous worship and licentious lifestyle attested by archeological discoveries (e.g., the Ras Shamra tablets) justified the divine judgment on Jericho.
Finally, God’s purpose was to bless the nation of Israel in the land and to use her as a channel of blessing to the world. But this would be greatly hindered if they were infected by the degenerate religion of the Canaanites. Gleason Archer declares, “In view of the corrupting influence of the Canaanite religion, especially with its religious prostitution … and infant sacrifice, it was impossible for pure faith and worship to be maintained in Israel except by the complete elimination of the Canaanites themselves” (A Survey of Old Testament Introduction.) Chicago: Moody Press, 1994, p. 297).
The secret to success at Jericho was not Joshua’s military genius or his army’s skill in warfare. Victory came because he and the people fully trusted God and obeyed His commands (1:6–9).
Joshua 7
Achan’s Sin
Ai was the next objective on Israel’s path of conquest. It was smaller than Jericho but was at a strategic junction of two natural routes ascending from Jericho to the hill country around Bethel. Defeating Ai would also lead to the ultimate control of the main “ridge route” running from north to south along the central highlands.
When the spies returned they spoke with great confidence. They said that Ai could easily be conquered with only two or three thousand men. The city had only a few men, they said. But the spies were wrong. Actually Ai had 12,000 men and women, or about 6,000 men (8:25). Later, when God gave the orders to Joshua, He told him, “Take the whole army” (8:1). Though smaller than Jericho, Ai was well fortified and her soldiers well entrenched. Israel was guilty of underestimating the strength of her enemy and of overestimating her own strength. On this occasion there is no mention of prayer and no evidence of dependence on God.
It is a deadly error to underrate the enemy’s power. Christians often fail to realize that their enemies are powerful (Eph. 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8). So believers suffer the consequences in ignominious spiritual defeat.
The calamity that befell Israel was due, at least in part, to minimizing the enemy and to assuming that one victory guaranteed another. But life simply does not work that way. Yesterday’s victory does not make a believer immune from defeat today. He must continually depend on the Lord for strength. Speaking of a Christian’s conflict with evil Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” (Eph. 6:10).
The three crucial steps in Achan’s sin are familiar: he saw; he coveted; he took. Eve took the same tragic steps in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:6), as did David with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:2–4).
Achan’s confession was quickly verified; the stolen objects were found where he said they were. They were then spread … out before the LORD to whom they belonged. Then the wretched man was led out to the Valley of Achor with the spoil, all his family, his animals, and all his other belongings. The fatal stones felled Achan and his children, and fire consumed their bodies and belongings. Having stolen “devoted” objects Achan himself became contaminated and under the doom of destruction. Since children were not to be executed for their father’s sins (Deut. 24:16) it is assumed that Achan’s family (except for his wife, who was not mentioned) were accomplices in the crime (cf. comments on Num. 16:28–35).
The Hebrew words for Achan and Achor are probably related. Thus Achan, which possibly means “troubler,” was buried in the Valley of Achor, the Valley of “Trouble.” But because Israel was willing to deal with the sin problem in her midst, God’s burning anger (7:1) was turned away and He was ready to lead them again to victory.
Joshua 8
The Fall of Ai
The momentum Israel had achieved by the miraculous crossing of the Jordan and the supernatural victory over Jericho was stopped by the defeat at Ai. Gloom and despair permeated not only all those in the camp but also the heart of Joshua.
But with Achan’s crime judged, God’s favor toward Israel was restored and He reassured Joshua that He had not forsaken him or the people. When Joshua heard God’s words of encouragement his heart quickened, for these were the same words Moses spoke in Kadesh Barnea when he sent out the 12 spies (Deut. 1:21). They were also the words Moses said to Joshua 40 years later when he was turning the reins of leadership over to the younger man (Deut. 31:8). And Joshua heard them again when God spoke to him just after the death of Moses (Josh. 1:9). Now at this crucial time in Joshua’s life it was good to be reminded and reassured that God was ready to lead if Joshua were ready to listen to His plan, which he was.
Before the actual plan of battle was revealed to Joshua he was told that the spoil of Ai and also its livestock could be taken by Israel. Jericho had been placed under the ban but Ai was not.
What an irony! If only Achan had suppressed his greedy and selfish desires and obeyed God’s word at Jericho he would later have had all his heart desired and God’s blessing too. The path of obedience and faith is always best.
This unit numbered 30,000, and while this seems like an excessively large number of soldiers to hide near the city, the presence of large rocks in the region made it possible for all these men to remain hidden.
another ambush numbering 5,000 men who were positioned between Bethel and Ai to cut off the possibility of reinforcements from Bethel aiding the men of Ai. Joshua was in the valley north of Ai, a deep ravine in the hills.
8:14–22. The plan worked to perfection. When the king of Ai saw Israel’s army he took the bait. Pursuing the Israelites who pretended defeat, the city of Ai was left unguarded. At Joshua’s signal the other troops quickly entered and set the city on fire.
Thus Israel, restored to God’s favor, won a great victory. After failure came a second chance. One defeat or failure does not signal the end of a believer’s usefulness for God.
Joshua Renews the Covenant
On their surfaces he wrote a copy of the Law of Moses. How much of the Law was inscribed is not stated. Some suggest only the Ten Commandments were written, while others think the stone inscription included the contents of at least Deuteronomy 5–26. Archeologists have discovered similar inscribed pillars or stelae six to eight feet long in the Middle East. And the Behistun Inscription in Iran is three times the length of Deuteronomy.
As the curses of the Law were read one by one, the tribes on Mount Ebal responded, “Amen!” As the blessings were likewise read the tribes on Mount Gerizim responded “Amen!” (Deut. 11:29; 27:12–26) The huge natural amphitheater which still exists there made it possible for the people to hear every word and with all sincerity Israel affirmed that the Law of the Lord was indeed to be the Law of the land.
From this point on the history of the Jews depended on their attitude toward the Law which had been read in their hearing that day. When they were obedient there was blessing; when they were disobedient there was judgment (cf. Deut. 28). It is tragic that the affirmations of this momentous hour faded so quickly.