Joshua 16

This chapter was very short, consisting largely of a description of the lands allotted to Joseph's tribes. Thankfully it was not in as great of details as the account of Judah's holding from the last section.

The one thing that I did notice here was that some of the Canaanites living in this area were not conquered, which seems to go against God's command to the Israelites. They were described as being servants of the Israelites, so perhaps they pulled something like the Gibeonites back in chapter 9 - but it makes me wonder if their continued presence will come back to bite the Israelites later.

Joshua 15

Wow, my head is spinning after the reading today. The first half of the chapter was not too bad - a description of Judah's tribal lands border, and a couple of small stories about Caleb. From there, though, it goes into a list of all the cities in the lands controlled by Judah... and that was too much for me. I read through it all, but trying to pronounce some of those town names in my head was quite difficult. The only interesting things I can take from it are 1) that there were a lot of cities and towns for such a (relatively) small area and 2) the men of Judah had not managed to take Jerusalem from the native inhabitants, which was surprising. I wonder how long they tolerated that presence in their midst, given God's command to wipe out the locals.

Joshua 14

Todays chapter was short, but very memorable. I was wondering if we would hear about Caleb again, the other spy - along with Joshua - who stayed loyal to God among those that Moses sent out to scout the promised land. It turns out that he was forty at the time of that mission, and now is eighty five (which basically answers my question about how long the conquest of the promised land took: at most five years). Not only has he lived to a ripe old age, but he is still as hale as he was before - we are told he can still fight and tend to his duties. God obviously blessed him for his steadfastness, and now he is rewarded with the choice lands that he had spied out nearly half a century before.

Joshua 13

The reading today is split into two parts: a section covering God's instructions to Joshua in his old age, presumably well after the wars of the previous chapters, telling him that there was more land yet to be conquered. I had thought the earlier fighting was all, but apparently I was mistaken.

From there, the chapter takes an abrupt turn and goes over the geographical description of how the land east of the Jordan river was split up between the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. While I'm sure the specific boundaries were important at that time, they don't mean a whole lot to me - especially since I am blissfully unfamiliar with the layout of those lands.

Joshua 12

Not much to say about today's reading - it is just a recap of the kings that Israel defeated. It includes both those from the east side of the Jordan when Moses led the people, and the many more inside the promised land under Joshua's leadership. Quite a long list of kingdoms that fell to the Israelite war machine and God's divine power.

Joshua 11

Just as chapter ten described Israel's defeat of the nations in the southern portion of the promised land, so this section covers the northern half. With Joshua's leadership and more importantly his obedience to God and His might the whole land was subdued. Earlier I remember that God told Moses this would not all be done immediately, but that it would take time so that the people could spread and settle the area rather than have it become desolate and a wasteland - which makes me wonder what span of time the last two chapters cover. Perhaps that will be told later.

Joshua 10

This chapter was a little on the lengthy side, but it covered a lot of history. Under Joshua's command, and with God fighting for them, the Israelites conquered city after city in the promised land. This process, and the destruction left behind, underscore how smart the Gibeonites were to ally themselves with Israel - no matter the cost.

The reading today also included one of the most unique miracles recorded in the Bible, or indeed anywhere. At Joshua's request, God kept the sun and moon in the sky to light a battlefield and allow the Israelites to thoroughly destroy their enemy. Knowing what we now do about astronomy, it would have actually been God keeping the earth from rotating on its axis (or at least substantially slowing it), and holding the moon temporarily in a geosynchronous orbit. Most impressive, but I'm sure not even the least of what the Lord of all Creation is capable of :)

Joshua 9

This is the most interesting chapter, at least in some ways, that I have yet read. The Israelites are deceived by some of the people living in the promised land - all of whom they were to wipe out per the Lord's orders - and made a treaty with them. That appears to have involved some sort of oath, taken in the Lord's name. When the trickery is found out, Joshua and the people are put in a tough spot: do they disobey God's command to wipe the inhabitants of the land out, or do they honor the oath they swore in His name? They choose to honor it, and as best as I can tell God does not punish them for breaking His previous command. I would not have thought that oaths given under such false pretense would be valid, but it appears that God values such agreements highly. How important our promises must be in our daily lives, then!

On a side note, the people who tricked the Israelites apparently survived - which is far more than any of those who opposed them this far have been able to claim. Having just seen a movie about the lengths one man went to in order to save his daughter I can understand their motivation to save their people and families. They would be slaves to the Israelites, but at least they lived.

Joshua 8

The attempt to take a city that failed in the last chapter due to one Israelite's disobedience succeeds today. That is what happens when the Lord is on your side :) The tactics Joshua used in combat are also pretty cool - I'd like to convey my interpretation of them here, but I can't really draw it out and to describe it in correct strategic fashion would make for a long post (and rather off topic). It is cool that God let the Israelites plunder the city for themselves this time, though; if only the greedy guy from chapter seven had waited till the next battle...

Joshua 7

This is a very sobering chapter: one man steals from the Lord, and in turn gets 32 Israelite soldiers killed and dooms his entire family to death. That is one heck of a punishment, and I am glad today that I am not held responsible for my father's actions in such a way. I suppose, though, that our sins do often affect those close to us; if we lie it can hurt relationships, and when we don't do things we should others may have to take an additional burden on themselves instead.

On the other hand, though, it is somewhat surprising that only one man out of the whole nation of Israel decided to take possessions from the ruins of Jericho. With how many people were there, and the temptation that must have existed with the wealth of a whole city, I would have expected that more than one bad egg would surface.

Joshua 6

The chapter today tells the classic story of God bringing down the walls of Jericho. From the description it is quite clear that God is the one who destroys the city walls, as simply marching around and blowing horns would do no good against such strong defenses. I bet the fact that they marched for a week before the battle put some serious fear into the inhabitants of the region, and for good reason since none of them was left alive. Well, technically Rahab and her family were spared - to honor the protection she gave to the Israelite spies earlier. In that chapter it was said that her house was part of the wall of the city, so it must have been protected from the collapse of the rest of that structure. It is cool how this account says that "she lives in Israel to this very day" (verse 25), showing that it was written not long after these events took place.

Joshua 5

The reading today covers four main things:

- The enemies of Israel who inhabited the promised land were stricken with fear by the Lord's miracle at the Jordan river

- The new generation of Israelite men were circumcised after crossing into the land, since their parents had not done that to them as children. I was rather surprised at this, as I thought the command given by God was to circumcise sons early in their lives - but perhaps either they had not had the proper tools or facilities to do so in the desert wanderings or they were just disobeying the Lord; or maybe the command just hadn't taken effect yet.

- The Israelites began eating produce from the land again, instead of God's manna; as soon as they did so the manna stopped.

- The "commander of the Lord's army" (verse 14) appeared to Joshua. This must have been an awesome sight, and I suspect that it was Jesus Himself pre-incarnate; why else would the ground Joshua was standing on have been holy (verse 15)? The only other time I recall this happening so far was Moses and the burning bush, which was clearly an instance of God appearing to him. I suppose that is actually another similarity between the early parts of Moses' and Joshua's service.

Joshua 4

As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, having similar miracles to both begin and end the Exodus is pretty cool, and furthermore it occurred to me after this chapter that both Moses' career as leader of the Israelites and now Joshua's began with a similar display of God's power. It was almost his way of anointing these two men, and showing that in a big way to the people so that they would follow them.

Taking stones from the bottom of the riverbed as a memorial is also a nice touch, and it makes me wonder how long they lasted in such a role. Did an invading nation during Israel's fall destroy the monument? Did erosion over time wipe it out? Or maybe is there a pile of rocks near the Jordan today that still stands as a testament to the Lord?

Joshua 3

The reading today was short, but interesting. The first "miracle" God did during Joshua's leadership of Israel was to halt the waters of the Jordan river, so that the people could cross over into the promised land easily. This mirrored Moses' parting of the Red Sea as the Israelites left Egypt, only this time it was allowing them to invade rather than to flee. It is sort of cool that the whole period of the Exodus was enclosed between these two events.

On a side note, I wonder if any of the local inhabitants were watching this happen. I imagine it would have put further fear into them, since none of their deities would have been able to accomplish such feats.

Joshua 2

The chapter today covered the classic story of Rahab protecting two Israelites scouts from being caught while spying out Jericho. It is quite interesting, because she apparently recognized that their coming was a harbinger of destruction for her people - and instead of trying to fight against that she accepted it and asked for protection of her family in trade for her assistance. Her help proves trustworthy, and the spies return and this time give a favorable report of the land (as opposed to a similar, larger party sent forty years prior).

One interesting tidbit is that Rahab seems to be a prostitute - yet she of all the people there takes the Israelites in and hides them. I can only assume that she changed professions when Jericho was destroyed, but it shows that God uses all kinds of people to accomplish His will.

Joshua 1

The reading today serves mainly as an introduction to this book, and repeats God's call to Joshua to take Moses' place and lead the Israelites into the promised land. He must be getting into middle age at this point, since he was one of the spies sent to scout out the land forty years earlier - and one of only two to bring back a favorable report. Having served under Moses for so long I'm sure he was strong in the Lord, and I greatly look forward to reading about the conquering of the promised land under his leadership.

Deuteronomy 34

It was a short reading today, and simple: Moses died at the ripe old age of 120, though he himself was still strong. Joshua followed him in the role of leading the Israelites, and we'll hear more of his activities in the next book (which bears his name).

I did find it interesting that the oldest manuscripts of this chapter indicate that God Himself buried Moses, such that the Israelites did not know the exact location of his tomb or grave. That man truly had a close relationship with the Lord.

Deuteronomy 33

This chapter I suspect contains some of the last words we hear from Moses - blessings on Israel, both as a whole and each tribe. Some tribes get quite a short mention, and a couple are even lumped together; yet others get several verses to themselves. All of the blessings were quite positive, though, so it looks like Moses will be leaving his people on a good note.

Deuteronomy 32

The vast majority of the chapter today is a song that God gave to the Israelites to help them remember the results of breaking His covenant in a form that could easily be passed from generation to generation. The lyrics, at least as they came across in the translation I read today (NET), contained many vivid images. The basic idea was that the Israelites would eventually fall away from God, that they would be punished, but then that God would remember them and punish their captors in turn - showing His superiority and power. It stands out as being pretty unique among the first few books of the Bible.

Deuteronomy 31

Further narrative today, as this book and Moses' life both draw to a close. What stood out to me here, and was noticable in the preceeding couple chapters as well, was that God didn't so much warn the Israelites of what could happen if they disobeyed as foretell that they would. Here He is even more clear about it, coming out directly to Moses and saying that they would disobey after his death (verses 16, 20, 27). Obviously God knew what would come to pass, but it is interesting how blatantly He told about this and warned the Israelites. Hopefully His words stuck with them for at least a few generations.

Also, I thought the tradition implemented in this chapter of retelling these stories and the warnings to follow God's covenant every seven years is pretty cool. I'm not much of one for formalities and such, but I think that something once every seven years I could handle.

Deuteronomy 30

More discourse today about the covenant God gave the Israelites - both the life it would bring if they obeyed, and the death if they turned aside. There is also a description of how God would gather the Israelites again if they fell away and then turned to follow the Lord again. Given that the Israelites have been dispossed from the promised land and then eventually returned multiple times I can only assume that they have been through this cycle more than once.

Deuteronomy 29

This book is starting to draw to a close, and we have a recap today of the covenant and the brief history of the Exodus. It looks like the covenant is expanded a bit as well, and futher warnings are given against straying and worshiping other gods. There isn't much to say beyond that.

Deuteronomy 28

Wow. That is all I can say after reading this chapter. The first paragraph's blessings, which the Israelites will enjoy if they obey God's commands, are very pleasant to read - but then it turns to horror. The rest of the section, which is quite long, contains vivid and terrifying descriptions of what would happen if they turned from God and His laws. I suspect, from my memory of later Israelite history, that some of these predictions came true. I will be on the lookout for fulfillment of them later in the Old Testament, and I may even go do some reading up on that now.

Deuteronomy 27

We are indeed back into more of a narrative here, though not a lot is happening (just Moses giving more instructions for when the Israelites will cross into the promised land). The idea of half the Israelites standing to represent the blessings God put on them, and the other half standing to represent the curses that would fall on those who broke His laws seems a bit odd to me. The idea of writing the laws and commandments on stones atop a mountain is pretty cool, though; I wonder how long those stood. Are they perhaps still there somewhere?

Deuteronomy 26

This book is now starting to trend away from laws and back toward rules concerning offerings and tithes. We have a reiteration here of the command to bring the firstfruits of all the produce and livestock raised in the promised land to the Lord, as well as a reminder that the third year (of each seven year sequence, if I remember correctly) was to be donated to the poor and the Levites.

The chapter ends with a call to remember the Lord, and what He has commanded the Israelites. I suspect this marks a transition back to historical narrative, but we'll have to see tomorrow.

Deuteronomy 25

Same story as yesterday, and probably the day before that. The particular laws that stand out in this chapter are as follows:

- The law that a childless widow must marry her dead husband's brother and bear an heir for the deceased man. I think in the time of the Israelites family lines were more important than they are today, or at least more important than they are in my mind.


- The command to wipe out the Amalekites as retribution for their attacks on the Israelites during the Exodus. I don't actually remember the initial story of this happening, but I'll have to be on the lookout for its fulfillment.

*NOTE* - Somehow it looks like I forgot to hit "post" on this last night; I realized it when I looked today and saw that though I was read chapter 26 the last post was about 24. I'm posting it now, an appologize for any confusion!

Deuteronomy 24

It looks like this section of Deuteronomy is full of laws, and this chapter is no exception. The particular instructions that stand out to me here are as follows:

- Laws concerning divorce and remarriage; apparently divorce was allowed for some limited reasons, and remarriage to another person as well, but not marrying the person you were divorced from again

- The separation of a child and parent in terms of responsibility for sins; while God would punish or bless descendants for their ancestors' sins the Israelites were not to

- The concept that one should not be too thorough in harvesting; the leftovers were to be left for the poor in the community

Deuteronomy 23

More laws again today, focusing on purity in various aspects of Israelite life. The thing most interesting to me here was the laws concerning heritage: you couldn't partake in services at the tabernacle if you were within ten generations of someone born out of wedlock, or three generations of an Egyptian or Edomite. It seems odd to my modern sensibility to be punished for something done by ones ancestors, and in particular for the nationality of those people - but the only restriction for them seems to be this religious service; it isn't a just cause for discrimination in other areas of life.