To The Reader

And just like that, we’re at the end of Joshua. And the events of these chapters take place in Shechem and Shiloh. Let’s pause for just a moment to remember the history of Shechem. Jacob bought a field just outside the city and built an altar to the LORD there. 🔥Genesis 33:18-20 Jacob commits his…

If I was to give this chapter a heading, it might be: A Questionable Memorial Causes a Kerfuffle There 5 things that stand out to me in this. THING ONE Look how loyal the men of Reuben, Gad, and Eastern Manasseh are! They’ve been away from their wives and children for probably at least a…

The Levites are the last to receive their inheritance which consisted of 48 designated towns, each with surrounding pasturelands. 🐏🐑🐏🐑🐏🐑🐏🐑 A couple of the towns stand out particularly. Hebron (formerly City of Arba the Giant). It’s now a Levitical city, a City of Refuge, and under the protection and patronage of the legendary warrior Caleb…

Joshua, Eleazar, and the tribal elders cast lost for the allotments of land for the remaining tribes. 🎲🎲 Judah’s portion was so big that Simeon was given 17 cities, (and the villages around them), within Judah’s territory. Judah’s inheritance was so great that they needed a partner to help take possession of it. That is…

Ephraim & 1/2 Mannaseh: We need more space! Joshua: You’re capable. Go make your own space. E & M: But that requires work! This kinda reminds me of when my brothers were “growing boys” (i.e. hungry teenagers). They’d look into packed cupboards and fridge then shut the door and declare, “There’s nothing to eat in…

In the middle of extensive lists of the borders and towns of Judah (which we will come back to in a second), we get the rest of Caleb’s story. Y’all probably realize by now that I love happy endings, 🥰 and this is a fantastic ending that also happens to be the beginning of another…

Old Warriors… There are a lot of – let’s be honest – meaningless (to us) place names in these chapters. Don’t let your eyes glaze over while reading though. If not for detailed border descriptions like these, we wouldn’t be able to have maps like these: Joshua is old now, but there is still land…

“When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!”‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I wonder if Joshua reminded Israel’s army of this when they were…

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to…

Some Bibles have little headings at the start of a chapter. My heading for this chapter would be: If ya can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. 🤷‍♂️ Or – Israel falls for a psy-op. 🥸 Psy-op is short for “psychological operation.” It’s a military term for a tactic whereby you mentally manipulate your adversary to favor…

I was enjoying the happy ending of chapter 6 so much that I forgot to mention that Joshua pronounced a curse on Jericho: “Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall…