Israel Defeated at Ai Because of Sin in the Camp

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 7:1) But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

In the last chapter and post, Israel had taken Jericho when they obeyed their Lord and marched around it seven days in a row and the walls of Jericho fell.  The Lord had also told the people through Joshua that everything in the city was cursed, and they were forbidden to take anything of the accursed thing; only the silver, gold, brass, and iron were to be taken and put into the Lord's treasury.  Now it seems that Achan from the tribe of Judah disobeyed and took from the accursed thing and brought the Lord's anger against His people.

(2) And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, "Go up and view the country." And the men went up and viewed Ai.

Again Joshua sent spies to check out the next place, Ai, north of Jericho, on the east side of Bethel, being the same place where Abraham built an altar in Genesis 12:8, only there it was called Hai.

(3) And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai; do not make all the people labor there, for they are few."

The spies came back to Joshua with their report and suggestion that Joshua only send two or three thousand men into Ai.  They said there was no need to send all the people and weary them all because the inhabitants of Ai were few in number.

(4) So there went up there of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai.

As the spies suggested, about three thousand Israelite men went into Ai, but they wound up fleeing from the men of Ai.  Because God was angry with Israel and had turned from them, their courage had failed.

(5) And the men of Ai struck of them about thirty-six men, for they chased them before the gate to Shebarim, and struck them in the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of the Israelite men in their pursuit of them.  They chased them from the city gate to a place called Shebarim, which may have been named after this event, as it meant "ruin or broken."  They struck them in their descent, which indicates that Ai was on a hill.  However, some suggest that the original word "morad" that was translated as "descent" may have actually been the proper name of a place that descended from Ai.  The Israelites were completely discouraged and faint of heart because of this.

(6) And 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 put dust upon their heads.

Joshua tore his clothes, a sign of distress, and fell upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening.  The elders joined him in humbling themselves before the Lord, and they all put dust on their heads, another sign of distress and mourning.

(7) And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord God, why have You at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan!"

Joshua's faith faltered and he asked the Lord why He had brought them over the Jordan only to deliver them into the hand of the Amorites.  However, the next part of what he said sounds as if he gave some blame to himself and the people because they were not content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan, but desired something better.

(8) "O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? (9) For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear and shall surround us and cut off our name from the earth, and what will You do to Your great name?"

Joshua asked the Lord about what he should say when Israel turned away and fled from their enemies.  What should he say when their enemies were emboldened because their Lord had seemingly turned His back on His people, or worse, was not strong enough to lead His people to victory against them?  What would that do to His great name?

(10) And the Lord said to Joshua, "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?"

The Lord asked Joshua why he lay on his face. It's not that there was anything inherently wrong with Joshua falling before and praying to his Lord, but the Lord instructed Joshua to get up for there was more than prayer that had to be done.

(11) "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them for they have even taken of the accursed thing and have also stolen, and lied also, and they have even put it among their own stuff."

The Lord told Joshua that Israel had sinned; they had transgressed by doing the very thing God had commanded through Joshua that they not do, take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse (Joshua 6:18).  Although only one man had stolen of the accursed thing, lied about it, and put it among his own things, he had brought a curse on the entire camp of Israel by his actions.

(12) "Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned back before their enemies, because they were cursed; neither will I be with you anymore unless you destroy the cursed from among you."

And because the entire camp of Israel was cursed, they were unable to stand before the men of Ai but turned and fled.  The Lord told Joshua He would no longer be with him and them unless he destroyed the cursed from among them.

(13) "Up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow for thus says the Lord God of Israel, "There is an accursed thing in the midst of you, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."'"

The Lord told Joshua to get up and sanctify the people by telling them to sanctify themselves by prayer and repentance for the next day, for the Lord God of Israel said there was a cursed thing among them and that they would not be able to stand against their enemies until they removed it from among them.

(14) "'In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes, and it shall be the tribe which the Lord takes shall come according to its families, and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households, and the household that the Lord shall take shall come man by man.'"

The Lord went on to instruct Joshua he was to tell the people that in the next morning they would be brought out according to their tribes.  Although we are not told exactly how, the Lord would take one of the tribes, and then that tribe would be brought forth according to its families.  The Lord would take one of those families, and then that family would be brought forth according to households.  Again the Lord would take one of those households, and then the household would come forth man by man.

(15) "And it shall be he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord and because he has wrought folly in Israel."

The Lord continued on to say that the one person who was taken with the accursed thing was to be burnt with fire, he and all that he had.  It should be noted that the accursed thing should have been burnt by fire when the accursed city of Jericho was burnt with fire in Joshua 6:24.  Now the one who had the accursed thing and all that he had would be burned along with the cursed thing.  That was because he had transgressed against the covenant God had made with Israel regarding the taking of Jericho, and he had thus brought foolishness and wickedness into the camp of Israel.

(16) So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.

Joshua rose up early the next morning and brought all the people out according to their tribes.  Again it was not described exactly how, but the tribe of Judah was taken by the Lord.

(17) And he brought the family of Judah, and He took the family of the Zarhites, and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man and Zabdi was taken.

Then Joshua brought out the tribe of Judah according to families, and the Lord took the family of the Zarhites who descended from Judah's son Zerah.  Then Joshua brought out the family of the Zarhites, actually household by household rather than each single man by man, as the Lord took the household of Zabdi, not Zabdi himself.

(18) And he brought his household man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah was taken.

Indeed it was the household of Zabdi that was then brought out man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi who was the son of Zabdi and part of his household, of the family of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, was taken by the Lord.  The Lord Himself showed Israel the one guilty of bringing a curse upon her and all her people.

(19) And Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give, I pray you, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide from me."

Joshua then spoke to Achan, notably in a very affectionate way, even though he knew him to be a wicked criminal who had single-handedly brought a curse upon all of Israel.  There is a sweet lesson in this simple demonstration by Joshua.  It's a sad thing when a child of God has strayed so far from His Father as to bring death and eternal destruction to himself.  May we always recognize the poor state of the sinner and pity him for his choices, remembering that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, our fellow humans, but against the powers of Satan and his demons (Ephesians 6:12), and we can have compassion on the one who has been deceived by Satan.  Joshua called on Achan to give glory to his Lord and make confession to Him by telling Joshua what he had done.  He told him not to hide the truth from him, but that would have been obviously futile as the Lord Himself had shown Achan to be guilty of the curse against Israel.  However, he could tell Joshua the particulars which would allow him to remove the accursed thing from the midst of the Israelites' camp.

(20) And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done. (21) When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels' weight, then I coveted them and took them, and behold, they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it."

Achan did confess to Joshua and the Lord that he had sinned against the Lord.  When he had seen a magnificent Babylonian garment, he coveted it and took it, even though his Lord had commanded through Joshua that he not do that.  But even worse than that, it seems to me, he coveted and took the things that were devoted to the Lord, the silver and gold.  He not only disobeyed God, but he stole from Him.  He told Joshua all the things were hidden in the earth under his tent.

(22) So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and behold, hidden in his tent and the silver under it.

Joshua sent those called messengers to Achan's tent, and they found the garment with the gold and the silver under them, just as Achan had said.

(23) And they took them out of the midst of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel and laid them out before the Lord.

The messengers brought the accursed things out of Achan's tent to Joshua and all of Israel, and they laid them out before the Lord.

(24) And Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor.

Joshua and the people took Achan and the cursed things he had stolen, along with everything he had that had been cursed along with him, including his livestock and even his children, and brought them all to the valley of Achor.

(25) And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The Lord shall trouble you this day." And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

Joshua asked Achan why he had caused so much trouble for all of them, and then he declared God's curse on him in righteous return.  All Israel then stoned him with stones and burned him with fire.  It seems they stoned to death and burned even his children and livestock.  It makes one wonder why the children had to be killed for their father's actions when God stated in Deuteronomy 24:16 that children would not be put to death for their fathers and vice versa.  We know that God is just and righteous and can be nothing but.  We also know that God could not tolerate Achan's cursed things to pollute the camp.  It is very likely that his children were grown and knew what he had done and did not reveal it.  However, if any of them were completely innocent and knew nothing about it, you can be sure that God took them home to be with Him.  Real life is the eternal life we have with God, not this temporary blip on earth.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, took it a step further.  He laid emphasis on the words "this day."  Perhaps Achan (and his family) was only troubled that day, but would be forgiven his iniquity and saved with an everlasting salvation after his confession before the Lord.  Judgment belongs to the Lord, and we can be sure He is just.

(26) And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of the place was called the Valley of Achor to this day.

The people raised a huge heap of stones over Achan that remained to the day Joshua wrote this account.  The Lord turned from His anger because all the accursed things had been removed from the camp.  It seems that the valley was not named until after this event as it was called the Valley of Achor, "achor" meaning "troubled."

The lesson here is about what sin in the camp can do to the whole.  Sin in a household troubles the entire household.  What about sin in a nation?  I often think about how we can declare so proudly, "God Bless America" while we allow the sins of abortion, homosexual "marriage," and sex trafficking of children.  How can we expect God to bless such a nation?  And how can we expect to survive without His blessing?  All we can pray is that God have mercy on us!

The Fall of Jericho

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 6:1) Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out and none came in.

In the last chapter and post, the Israelites had come into their promised land and were camped at Gilgal.  The kings and all their people in the Canaanite lands were terror-stricken because of the Israelites and all the miracles the Lord had wrought for them.  Jericho was nearest the Israelites' camp and where spies had gone to check out the land.  Now the city of Jericho was securely shut so that no one could go in nor go out.  This was surely due to their fear of the Israelites.

(2) And the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given into your hand Jericho and its king and the mighty men of valor."

The Lord, who appears to be the Lord Jesus as discovered at the end of the last chapter, spoke to Joshua and told him he could see that Jericho, its king, and its soldiers, had already been delivered into his hand, as was evident by their fear.

(3) "And you shall compass the city, all men of war, and go round about the city once. This you shall do six days."

The Lord told Joshua he and all the Israelite men of war, those of fighting age and fit, were to surround the city of Jericho, and march around the city one time.  They were to do that same thing for six days in a row.

(4) "And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns, and the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets."

The Lord instructed Joshua that seven priests were to go before the ark of the covenant that was carried by other priests.  The seven priests would carry trumpets of rams' horns and blow their trumpets as the army marched around Jericho.  This was to bring attention to and proclaim the Lord represented by the ark was leading His people around Jericho, so there would be no doubt that the Lord Himself performed the coming miracle for His people.  On the seventh day the Israelites were to march around Jericho seven times.  All these sevens, seven priests, seven trumpets, seven days, were surely significant.  In the Bible, seven usually signifies completion and/or perfection.

(5) "And it shall come to pass that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him."

On the seventh day, after going around Jericho seven times, the priests or one priest, as the horn is singular, would make one long blast, and when they heard that, all the people were to shout with a great shout and the wall of the city would fall down flat.  It probably wasn't the entire wall of the city, so that the inhabitants could not escape, but a section perhaps just large enough for the Israelite army to go up into the city in a procession just as they had been going around the wall of the city.

(6) And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord."

Joshua the son of Nun, or Joshua, the understanding one (Joshua 2:1 notes), called the priests and told them to take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and let seven of them bear trumpets of rams' horns and go before the ark.

(7) And he said to the people, "Pass on and compass the city, and let him who is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord."

Joshua told the people to go forward and encircle the city.  The armed soldiers were to go before the ark probably to clear and make safe the way, then would go the seven priests with trumpets immediately before the ark, and the people would follow the ark.

(8) And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the Lord and blew with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. (9) And the armed men went before the priests who blew with the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark while the trumpets went on blowing.

After Joshua spoke to the people, the armed men went out before the ark, followed by the seven priests with their trumpets sounding before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the rear guard, or assembly, the people, followed the ark, while the trumpets continually blew.

(10) And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout."

Joshua had commanded the people before they started forth that they were not to shout, nor utter any word or make any sound until Joshua gave the order to shout, and only then were they to shout.

(11) So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going around it once, and they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.

The ark of the Lord carried by the priests who followed the seven priests who followed the army, and with the people following it, went around the walls of the city of Jericho one time, and then returned to their camp where they lodged for the night.

(12) And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

The next morning Joshua rose up early, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord, prepared to go around the city for a second time.

(13) And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets, and the armed men went before them, but the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets continually blew.

Then gathered the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets to go before the ark, and the armed men went before them, and the assembly of people making up the rear guard went after the ark, while the trumpets continually blew.

(14) And the second day they compassed the city once and returned to the camp; so they did six days.

That second day the people went around the city walls one time and then returned to their camp.  They did that for six days.

(15) And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day and compassed the city after the same manner seven times; only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

Then on the seventh day, the people rose early and went around the city seven times.  That was the only day they had gone around seven times.

(16) And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!"

Then after the seventh time around, the priests blew one long blast with their trumpets, and Joshua told the people to shout because the Lord had given them the city of Jericho.

(17) "And the city shall be accursed, it and all that are in it, to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all with her in the house because she hid the messengers that we sent."

It's interesting, the original word "cherem" that was translated as "accursed" can mean "cursed or doomed" or "devoted or dedicated to," seemingly opposite meanings.  However, it absolutely describes Jericho at that point.  The city was doomed and completely dedicated to the Lord to do with it as He wished.  Not only the city, but all who were in it, except Rahab and her family within her house, because of the kindness she had shown the spies.

(18) "And you, in any way, keep from the accursed thing, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it."

Joshua went on to tell the people that they were to avoid in every way possible the cursed thing of Jericho.  Mainly, that was taking of anything in Jericho that was cursed and bringing it into the Israelite camp to curse and trouble it.

(19) "But all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron, consecrated to the Lord, they shall come into the treasury of the Lord."

All the silver and gold, brass and iron, again both cursed and dedicated, were cursed for anyone in Jericho and for any of the Israelites, but they were dedicated only to the Lord to be brought into the treasury of the Lord.

(20) So the people shouted when the long blast of the trumpets blew, and it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

The people did as Joshua told them and they shouted with a great shout when the long blast of the trumpets blew, and the city wall of Jericho fell down flat so that the people went up into the city in a procession, and they were able to take the city.  There was no doubt that God had toppled that wall.  Nothing that the people had done the past seven days should have made that wall fall except that God willed it.  However, He did command obedience from the Israelites to do as He instructed with regard to going around the wall seven days.  He taught them to trust in Him even when it seemed impossible or didn't make sense.  Just trust God.  He taught patience.  God said the wall would fall when they did as He commanded.  If some soldiers had decided that marching around a wall was fruitless and decided they had a chance to go over the wall and catch the enemy unaware, they would have demonstrated lack of faith in God and displayed faith only in themselves, and their actions would have surely failed.  By trusting in their Lord and obeying His word and believing it even though it took time, they were able to take the city.

(21) And they utterly destroyed all in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

As God had commanded, the Israelites completely destroyed the city, and every living thing in it, regardless of age or gender, humans and animals alike.  The inhabitants of Canaan were an abominably wicked people and deserved the righteous judgment of God.  The Judge of all the earth can do no wrong, so as this was ordered by Him, you can be sure it was righteous.  If any should worry that innocent children were killed, as God knows all, what was, what will be, and what would have been, you can be sure He is just.  If any children would have grown up innocent, then God took them home to be with Him to escape their life among the heathens.

(22) But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, "Go into the harlot's house and bring out from there the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her."

However, Rahab and her family were spared because Joshua had told the two spies she had hidden to bring them out of the city, as they had sworn to her they would do.

(23) And the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, and they brought out all her kindred and left them outside the camp of Israel.

The men who had been the spies went in the city and brought out Rahab and her entire family and kinsmen to the outside of their camp.  The entire extended family was saved because of the actions of one woman in their family.  Passages like this have always comforted me.  There are many examples in the Bible, even in the New Testament, that say "you and your household will be saved" (Acts 16:31).  However, we know that to be saved an individual must accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but if God said all in the family will be saved, then each individual in that family will come to accept Jesus, I have no doubt.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:34-36 that He had come to set family members against each other.  That is because He would bring truth to one that would be in complete opposition to the beliefs of his family, and we all know how passionate those discussions can become.  However, once again, I believe that if God said your entire family would be saved, then those contentious family members will eventually come around.  But did God tell each of us that our entire household would be saved?  Maybe in some cases He did, but even if in doubt, we should continually pray for our family.  God's will is that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), so He will be continually drawing people to Himself.  I can't help but wonder sometimes who it was praying for me that I would eventually come to Jesus.

I had always heard that Rahab even became an ancestor of the Messiah Jesus Christ!  What an honor that one act of faith brought to her.  However, in studying that, I now find that may not be true.  In the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5, the name is spelled differently.  That in itself doesn't disqualify it from being the same person as Rahab, as Boaz is also spelled differently in the same verse.  Often in the Bible we find different spellings of the same name and person.  However, this very smart article demonstrates that it cannot be automatically assumed that Rachab in Jesus's genealogy was the same as Rahab the harlot.

(24) And they burnt the city with fire and all that was in it; only the silver and the gold and the vessels of brass and iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

The Israelites burned the entire city of Jericho and everything that was in it, but they brought all the silver, gold, and brass and iron vessels out of the city and put them into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

(25) And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household and all that she had, and she dwells in Israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Joshua saved Rahab and all her family and all that she had from the destruction of the city.  She still lived in Israel at the time Joshua wrote this account.  This was due to her one faithful act of hiding God's messengers.  This is another passage that gives me great hope and encouragement.  We don't always have to do huge important things for the kingdom of God, but if we are faithful to do His will, whatever it may be, we shall be blessed.

(26) And Joshua charged at that time, saying, "Cursed the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation in his firstborn, and in his youngest he shall set up its gates."

Joshua then pronounced a curse on anyone who rose up to rebuild Jericho.  He would begin building the foundation at the expense of the life of his firstborn and would lose his youngest as he finished the gates, suggesting that all his children would die along the way if he persisted in rebuilding Jericho.  Indeed, that appears to have happened as recorded in 1 Kings 16:34:  

In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.

(27) So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was throughout the country.

The Lord was with Joshua as He had been with Moses because of his faith and obedience, and his fame spread throughout the country because of his wisdom and courage, and for the knowledge that the all-powerful God of the universe was with him, and that struck terror in the inhabitants of the land.

A New Generation is Circumcised, and the Captain of the Lord's Host Appears to Joshua

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 5:1) And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the side of the Jordan westward and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had passed over, that their heart melted; neither was there spirit in them anymore because of the children of Israel.

In the last chapter and post, the children of Israel, having crossed over the Jordan on dry land, placed twelve memorial stones commemorating the miracle their God had performed for them.  When the kings of the Amorites on this west side of the Jordan (the Amorites having already been conquered on the east side) and the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, probably the Mediterranean Sea, heard about how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan River to allow the Israelites to safely cross over, they lost all courage and were completely dejected, concluding it was surely all over for them as they could do nothing against so powerful a God.

(2) At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make you sharp knives and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time."

After they had crossed over the Jordan River and were encamped at Gilgal, the Lord told Joshua to make sharp knives and circumcise the children of Israel again.  The original word "tsor" that was translated as "sharp" actually means "stone," so he was to make knives of stone or flint, and I'm sure they were to be made sharp as he was to perform circumcisions a second time.  It's not that the people who had been circumcised the first time would need another circumcision, but most of these people had not yet been circumcised, probably it being neglected while they were in the wilderness, so that is what is meant by a second time.

(3) And Joshua made him sharp knives and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

Joshua did as the Lord instructed him and made flint knives and circumcised those children of Israel who were not yet circumcised.  The place was evidently afterward called the hill of the foreskins, possibly because a hill of foreskins was made there as they were heaped one upon another.

(4) And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt, males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness on the way after they came out of Egypt. (5) Now all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

Indeed, Joshua explained why a second circumcision was necessary.  All the men who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but as they had wandered in the wilderness for forty years, those men had died and a whole new generation had been born, and those had not yet been circumcised.

(6) For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness till all the people, men of war, who came out of Egypt were consumed because they did not obey the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord swore to their fathers that He would give us, a land that flowed with milk and honey.

And the reason why the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for forty years was because they did not have faith in the Lord and disobeyed Him when they would not go into their promised land and take what He had given them, after ten of the twelve spies came to the people with a bad and scary report of the inhabitants of the land.  The Lord said that none of the people then living twenty years old and older would be allowed to enter their promised land, but they would die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:32-34).  Only Joshua and Caleb, who trusted the Lord and gave good reports of their promised land, were allowed to live and see their inheritance.

(7) And their children whom He raised up in their stead, those Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them on the way.

The children of the nonbelievers whom God raised up to replace their fathers and accept the Lord's gift to them, those Joshua circumcised as they had not been circumcised while they wandered in the wilderness.

(8) And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp till they were healed.

After all the circumcisions were performed, the people stayed in their camp until they were all healed.

(9) And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

The Lord then said to Joshua that the reproach of Egypt, that is the reproach of the uncircumcised heathens, had been rolled away from the Israelites.  It appears that this was the time when the place was first named Gilgal which meant wheel, as one rolling away.

(10) And the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.

The Israelites camped in Gilgal in the plains of Jericho, and on the fourteenth day of the month they celebrated the Passover, according to one of the statutes of the Lord that Moses told the people they were to observe when they came into their promised land (Deuteronomy 12:1, 16:1).

(11) And they ate of the old corn of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched grain on the very same day.

The day after the Passover, the people ate corn of the past year's harvest that was in the land, as well as unleavened cakes and parched grain.

(12) And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither did the children of Israel have manna anymore, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Manna, God's food from heaven, ceased on the day after the Israelites had eaten of the old harvest of the land, and they never had manna again as there was no need because they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan.

(13) And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?"

It happened that while Joshua was standing at the border of Jericho that he looked up and saw a man with his sword drawn in his hand.  Joshua went to him and because of his warlike posture, asked if he was for the Israelites or for their enemies.

(14) And He said, "No, but as Captain of the host of the Lord, I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"

The man said no, that He was Captain of the angelic host of the Lord.  The commentaries that I study have convinced me that this was the Lord Jesus Himself.  He was captain of all.  Joshua fell on his face and worshiped Him, which a mere angel would have forbidden him to do (Revelation 22:8-9, Matthew 4:9-10).  Joshua seems to have acknowledged Him as His Lord in human form when he called himself His servant and asked what He wished him to do.  Although I have to admit, that since the King James Version never capitalized the pronouns of the Lord, Joshua could have been asking an angel, a representative of the Lord, what message His Lord was sending to him.  But again, since the Man did not rebuke Joshua for worshiping Him, it does appear that He was the Lord Jesus.

(15) And the Captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Loosen your shoe from off your foot, for the place on which you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.

Indeed, the Captain of the Lord's host told Joshua to remove his shoes for he was standing on holy ground, another indication that he was in the presence of the Lord Jesus Himself.  Joshua did as He told him.  The Lord appearing before Joshua would have served as a great encouragement to him, and therefore, to the people of Israel.  After all, the Lord stopping the manna may have looked as if He was withdrawing His help from His people, but by sending Jesus Himself, He showed that He Himself was leading the people to their victory, and they had nothing to fear.

The Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 4:1) And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying,

In chapter 3 of Joshua, the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so that His people could pass over into their promised land.  Now that all the people were completely across the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua. 

(2) "Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man."

In Joshua 3:12, Joshua had instructed the people to select one man from each of their tribes, twelve men in all, but it was not told to us why.  Now the Lord told Joshua to call those twelve men.

(3) "And command them, saying, 'Take out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and you shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge tonight.'"

The Lord told Joshua to command the twelve men to go back to the place where the priests' feet had stood and collect twelve stones, each man a stone, and carry them to the place where they would lodge for the night.

(4) Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man.

Joshua called the twelve men whom he had already prepared in Joshua 3:12; there was one man from each of the twelve tribes.

(5) And Joshua said to them, "Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan and take up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel."

Joshua told the men to pass over before the ark in the midst of the Jordan River.  Many commentators took this to mean they were to go back to where the priests were still standing in the Jordan; they were to pass over the Jordan to right before the ark.  To me it sounds as if the priests had already crossed over with the people, and the twelve men were to pass by the ark and go into the midst of the river where the priests' feet had stood, as God had used that past tense in verse 3, not where they were standing at that present time.  Regardless, the twelve men were to take up twelve stones from the place where the priests had stood bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord, each man a stone, bearing it on his shoulder, according to the number of tribes of the Israelites.

(6) "That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do you mean by these stones?'"

The twelve stones were to be placed on this side of the Jordan, the side of their promised land, and they were to be a sign in times to come that would have their children asking what was meant by the stones.

(7) "Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."

When their children asked about the meaning of the stones, they would tell them about how the waters of the Jordan River had been cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  Those stones would be an everlasting memorial of how the waters had been cut off from that area where the ark stood where the people crossed over.

(8) And the children of Israel did so and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there.

The people did as Joshua had told them to do, as commanded by God.  They had a man from each of their tribes go to the place where the ark had stood while the people crossed over the Jordan River, and each man took up a stone and carried it back over the Jordan to the place where they would lodge that night, and they laid the stones there, one stone representing each tribe of Israel, twelve stones in all.

(9) And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood, and they are there to this day.

It appears that Joshua took another twelve stones and set them up in the place in the Jordan River where the priests had stood bearing the ark, as a memorial to the exact spot, and they were still there at the time Joshua wrote this account which was evidently some time afterward.

(10) For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua, and the people hasted and passed over.

This is a rather difficult verse, but I believe it refers only to the priests standing in the midst of the Jordan until all the people passed over the river, as Moses had not commanded Joshua anything about the setting of the stones.  I believe it must be the general commandment that Joshua would lead the people over the Jordan into their promised land.  While the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan, and the waters were cut off, the people hurried across the river to their promised land.

(11) And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.

Once the people had completely crossed over the Jordan River, then the priests bearing the ark of the covenant crossed over in the presence and sight of all the people.

(12) And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke to them.

The men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh who were settled on the other side of the Jordan, also crossed over the Jordan River, armed and ready for battle, as they had promised Moses they would do (Numbers 32:17).

(13) About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord to battle, to the plains of Jericho.

40,000 men from those two and a half tribes crossed over the Jordan, prepared for battle with their brethren, to the plains of Jericho.

(14) On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they feared Moses all the days of his life.

On that day the Lord had magnified Joshua, making him great and honorable in the sight of the Israelites, and the people respected and reverenced him all the days of his life as they had done Moses.

(15) And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, (16) "Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony that they come up out of the Jordan."

Joshua didn't write very smoothly in a clean order, as he already told us in verse 11 that after all the people had crossed over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark crossed over.  Here he told us that the Lord Himself had told him to command the priests to come out of the Jordan after the people had passed over.

(17) Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up out of the Jordan."

Joshua did as the Lord instructed him and told the priests to come up out of the Jordan River.

(18) And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up onto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.

Once the priests carrying the ark stepped onto dry land on the other side of the Jordan River, the waters of the river began flowing downstream again and flowed over its riverbanks as it had before.

(19) And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

The people had crossed over the Jordan River into their promised land on the tenth day of their first month, Nissan or Abib, as it was called; from the time of the people's exodus from Egypt, it was appointed the first month of the year (Exodus 12:2).  Now was their new beginning in their promised land in the first month of the year.  They camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

(20) And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua pitched in Gilgal.

Joshua set up the twelve stones that the twelve men had taken out of the Jordan River there at their encampment as a memorial of their passage over the Jordan into their promised land.

(21) And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' (22) Then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.'" 

As Joshua had already told the people when he instructed them regarding the twelve stones in verses 6 and 7, the stones were to be commemorative and a visual sign that might prompt their children to ask what they meant, and they could then tell them the story about how the Lord dried up the Jordan River to allow them to cross safely into their promised land.

(23) "For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you until you were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea which He dried up from before us until we were gone over, (24) That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you might fear the Lord your God forever."

The way this is worded, describing how the Lord dried up the waters from before you, this appears to be directed to the people who had just crossed over the Jordan, and not part of what they would tell their children when they asked about the stones.  Joshua reminded the people that the Lord had just done for them what He had done in the days of Moses when He parted the Red Sea to allow their safe escape from Egypt, and that He had done these things that all the people of the earth would know the power of the one true God, and that they themselves would always remember and respect and fear their Lord forever.

The words of Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, really struck me, especially one part.  In general, he wrote of how important it was to pass down the things of God to the next generation and that it was God's will that we do that.  That has kept the Bible alive in all the earth for thousands of years.  It's a vital part of how we raise our children, teaching them knowledge and truth.  "A spirit of inquiry is common to every child: the human heart is ever panting after knowledge; and if not rightly directed when young, will, like that of our first mother, go astray after forbidden science."  I can't help but think about the forbidden science our world is going after in this day, science that says people can change their genders and artificial intelligence that men seek after to make them immortal and as gods.  As a society, we have neglected to teach the truths of God.  As a matter of fact, we have forcibly pushed God out of schools and the public square.  It's no wonder so many follow after forbidden science, only the things that God Himself has control over.  After all, there is no wisdom apart from God (Proverbs 21:30).

The Earth Trembles at the Presence of the Lord

I am following a chronological Bible study that was ordered by Skip Andrews.  Although this psalm may or may not have been written at this time in chronology, it does speak of the miracle at the Jordan River which was detailed in Joshua 3 in the last post.  God dried up the Jordan River for His people to cross over it into their promised land.  Continuing with the chronological study:

(Psalm 114:1) When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, (2) Judah was his sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

The psalmist began by telling of God's people Israel, the house of Jacob, coming out of Egypt, out of a foreign country of people of foreign language and customs, into Judah, or Israel, their promised land, their sanctuary given them by the Lord.  Because the King James Version never used capital letters when describing Him, the Lord, it's hard to know whether "his" in verse 2 above means Israel or the Lord.  Different translations of the Bible translated it different ways.  Certainly their promised land was the Israelites' sanctuary and a country of their own dominion, not under the control of another country.  However, it could also be considered the Lord's sanctuary where His temple would stand, and His people Israel were certainly under His dominion.

(3) The sea saw and fled; Jordan was driven back.

Describing the Red Sea as having human characteristics, that it saw the will of God and fled, demonstrated how all things were and are subject to the will of God.  The Jordan River was also driven back by the will of God to allow His people to cross over into their promised land.

(4) The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.

Even the mountains moved according to God's will and quaked at His presence as Mount Sinai did when the Lord descended upon it to give the law in Exodus 19:18.  As the mountains were described as moving greatly like great skipping rams, the smaller hills were described as moving in smaller skips as smaller lambs.

(5) What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you were driven back?

The psalmist asked what could have been the matter with the sea that it fled in such haste.  What caused the Jordan River to be driven back?

(6) You mountains, that you skipped like rams, you little hills like lambs?

What caused mountains and hills to skip like rams and lambs?  

(7) Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, (8) Who turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters!

All the people of the earth and the earth itself should tremble at the presence of so almighty a God as the God of Israel!  The God who could part the seas and make mountains quake, also turned rocks into fountains of water, a continual supply of water (Exodus 17:6).  How awesome and terrible to His enemies, the inhabitants of Canaan, was Israel's God, that even the earth itself quaked at His presence and did as He commanded?