Recap

So far in Joshua we've read as Joshua has picked up the reins where Moses left off. Joshua is now in charge, and we God commanded him to be courageous and loyal to his word. In turn, the Israelites were courageous and faithful to Joshua. Continuing from Deuteronomy, we see this theme of faithfulness and obedience leading to blessing.

Joshua sent out spies, just as Moses did, but these spies were successful. God led these spies to a Canaanite woman named Rahab, who sided with them. Upon returning with news, Joshua then led the people across the river Jordan, just as Moses led the people across the Red Sea.

On the other side, Joshua led the people through the practices that God commanded them. Circumcision and the Passover. Outside of Jericho, Joshua met the commander of God's army who reminded Joshua he was part of God's plan, not the other way around.

And then the fighting began. Through obedience and faithfulness, God led the people to victory over Jericho. Unfortunately, immediately the people began doing things their own way and were defeated in their next battle against Ai.

Joshua reaffirmed the Israelites' obedience and faithfulness by punishing those who rebelled and seeking God for wisdom. The second time round, they defeated Ai. Having learnt their lesson afresh, the Israelites once again committed themselves to their covenant relationship with God. They will be obedient and faithful.

Joshua 9-12

Yesterday, we saw Joshua and the Israelites become cocky after a victory and start making decisions without speaking to God first.

Today we see them make the same mistakes. The Gibeonites were terrified of Israel, knowing that eventually they would come to destroy them. So they pretended to be from a far off land so that Israel would make peace with them.

Joshua accepted this peace almost straight away, without checking in with God. He realised pretty quickly that the Gibeonites were actually from the towns just down the road, but by that point, it was too late. Israel had already committed to peace. Joshua's pride in not bothering to check in with God had once again cost them.

But God continues to use this for his purposes. We see five Canaanite kings come together, alarmed by the fact that a group so powerful as the Gibeonites would allow themselves to become servants to these new Israelites.

They band together and attacked the Gibeonites in the hope of weakening Israel. Likewise, the Gibeonites turn to Israel for support. But in all this, God says to Joshua that he has given them into Joshua’s hands.

God throws their enemy into chaos and helps to destroy them with giant hailstones, killing more than the Israelites with their swords. Joshua even asks God to stop the sun in the sky, so that the day would be longer and they could kill more of the enemy. Once again, the Israelites owe their victories completely to God.

From here, the fighting really picks up as we read through the rest of the conquest of Canaan. We get a list of all the places in the south of the land that Israel conquered. In this list, the Israelites’ obedience is constantly reaffirmed. Battle after battle, they devote everything over to destruction just as God had commanded them.

This is followed by a second list of all the places in the north of the land that Israel conquered. In this section, the Anakim are again mentioned. Remember, the Anakim are a race of tall men, descendants of Anak. Anak was a Nephilim, a giant.

The Nephilim were children of the spiritual beings known as the Sons of God, who slept with human women in Genesis 6. That's a lot to take in, so you might want to re-read the devotionals for Genesis 6 and Deuteronomy 2.

Here, the story tells us that all the Anakim, the descendants of one of the Nephilim, were hunted down and removed from the land of Israel. The fact that the writer specifically wants you to know this reinforces the idea that one of the main purposes of this war was to wipe out the wickedness of the Nephilim and their descendants.

The only places they were left were Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. These places are where the Philistines live. As we go forward, the Israelites are going to face a lot of problems from the Philistines, and we're even going to see the occasional giant popping up (think David and Goliath).

Finally, we get a list of the kings that Moses defeated and a list of the kings that Joshua defeated. The kings aren't given names. They are just known by the place they were king of.

An Israelite reading this would recognise each of these places, but for us, the thing to take away is the huge number of kings defeated. Because of the power of God, this nation of Israel were able to defeat multiple nations and kings, even when they joined together to fight them.

This section also serves to reinforce the unity of the tribes east of the Jordan with those who planned to settle west of the Jordan. The land conquered either side of the Jordan is brought together in these lists as all part of the same campaign.

Psalm 67

This falls into the category of praise psalm. Psalms 65-68 are often grouped together as a mini-cluster. They are all communal praise psalms that talk about ‘we’ and ‘us’.

Some argue that this was a thanksgiving psalm recited after a bountiful harvest.

A) Psalm 67:1 - May God bless us

B) Psalm 67:2 - God’s power on earth

C) Psalm 67:3 - Let all people praise you

D) Psalm 67:4 - The nations

C) Psalm 67:5 - Let all the people praise you

B) Psalm 67:6 - God’s power on earth

A) Psalm 67:7 - May God bless us

The psalmist opens with a variation on the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:22-27. May God bless us and keep us. The psalmist then turns and speaks directly to God. The reason the psalmist asks for this blessing is that all people might see this blessing and know God’s power.

It could be that in this psalmist is taking the priestly blessing previously reserved for the Israelites and expanding to fit all people who would turn to God.

This theme continues as the psalmist calls for all people to praise God. The nations might be glad as God judges and guides them as well as Israel.

And then the psalm starts to mirror itself. Again, the psalmist calls all people to praise God. They point to the great harvest that God has blessed them with, and end with confidence that God will continue to bless them so that all people might fear and know him.

The focus of this psalm is God’s blessing, and that one day it will extend beyond Israel to encompass the whole world.