The Fall of Jericho

Joshua 5:13-7:26

            Before the battle with Jericho is joined, Joshua has a strange vision of a man with a sword. Joshua recognizes a divine emissary and asks whose side the man is on. The man significantly changes the question. It’s not a question of whether God is on our side or not; it’s a question of whether we are on God’s side…

            Joshua shows himself on God’s side and follows His orders. No war cried, no siege engines; just a parade around the city six days in a row, replete with trumpet blasts, but nothing else. Finally, on the seventh day, seven times around, and, to quote the old Sunday school song, “the walls come a-tumbling down!”

            Several weeks ago, I commented in regard to Numbers 31 about the practice of herem, total dedication to the Lord. It is difficult for us to understand. In the case of Jericho, herem meant the extermination of every living thing: “men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys” (6:21). As I commented then, in the case of animals it seems wasteful and in the case of humans it seems vicious. In order to understand it at all, we have to think of Jericho as a fortress specifically at the entry point of the promised land. While it wasn’t built consciously to keep the Israelites out (there were other enemies to worry about), it was the fortress that was standing in the way of the Lord bringing His people in. So, it had to go—completely, never to be rebuilt.

            If only Achan had gotten the memo…

Home at Last

Joshua 4:1-5:12

            When Israel crosses the Jordan, they cross a significant boundary: they are no longer nomads in the desert; rather, they are home. Three things happen in quick succession. First, even as they are crossing the river, Joshua instructs them to gather stones—kind of big ones, carried on the shoulder—for a memorial. We’ve seen this before and we’ll see it again—various standing stones and rock piles to commemorate the actions of God in their midst, reminders for them of the Lord’s gracious faithfulness and sometimes a reminder that He is that way in spite of their own behavior.

            Humans need those reminders. We keep pictures and mementos of life-shaping events. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We build memorials. In the church, this work is carried on regularly. The whole service is a weekly reminder of who God is, who we are, and what He has done for us. The thing begins in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a weekly reminder of our Baptism. We hear the stories of God’s faithfulness read out loud and exposited. We receive a Supper that is specifically ‘in remembrance.’ The shape of our calendar does the same work, especially Advent through Easter, recounting the key moments in Jesus’ saving life. Christians need those refreshers.

            Second, the nation is circumcised. Joshua tells us that none of the fighting men in the current generation had been circumcised in the wilderness. Unfortunately, it doesn’t tell us why they hadn’t been circumcised on the eighth day in the wilderness. Here is an example of a phenomenon we have to think about: we know what the Lord commanded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; we know a lot less about how Israel actually obeyed those commands. That leads to something else they did on the banks of Jordan, namely, celebrating the Passover. Now, again, why hadn’t they done that for the last forty years?

            This could have been willful disobedience, that they just neglected the commands of God. That seems unlikely to me because it feels like Moses would have called that out in either Numbers or Deuteronomy, where he called out a lot of bad behavior. More likely, the whole wilderness experience seems to have been an extraordinary pause in God’s purposes, a sort of limbo. The Lord intended to bring them right from Sinai to the Promised Land so that after the Passover at Sinai they would have celebrated the next one in the Land. But there was the rebellion in the wilderness, so no marks of the covenant until they were ready to finally finish the task.

            Finally, we have the note that as soon as they crossed the Jordan, the manna stopped. They were in the land. They no longer needed that extraordinary gift. They were in a land of milk and honey.

Rahab and a New Exodus

Joshua 2-3

            Rahab plays an outsize role in the Bible, not so much here in Joshua so much as in other places Here in Joshua, she is motivated pretty clearly by a sense of self-preservation. The people of Jericho have been aware of Israel for a long time: they have heard about the Red Sea crossing, which would have been 40 years in the past. As much as Israel may have been frightened by the impending conquest, the Canaanites were even more frightened. Rahab even comes pretty close to a confession of faith, “The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” So, she strikes a deal for herself and for her family to survive the coming invasion. (I wonder if the scarlet cord is supposed to remind us of all those times scarlet yarn was specified for the tabernacle, but I think that may be a little too much…)

            Rahab comes up three times in the New Testament, too. The writer of Hebrews names her as a person of faith (11:31), and James likens her protection of the spies to a good work, a work of faith (2:25). (Whether that confession was genuine at the time or whether she grew into later doesn’t really matter: the New Testament calls out her faith.) Most important, though, is her mention in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1:5, where she is listed as the mother of Boaz, that righteous man who did right by Naomi and Ruth. In the same verse, Ruth is named as an ancestor of David. Two Gentiles—Gentile women, no less—right there among Jesus’ ancestors! Taken all together, this portrayal of Rahab shows us that God’s grace extends to all who believe!

            Chapter 3 recounts the crossing of the Jordan river. The thing to see here is the resonance with the crossing of the Red Sea. We have the image of the water piling up and the phrase “on dry ground.” This miraculous crossing wasn’t strictly necessary: the spies forded the river with no problem (2:23). Still, a river is a river and the river bed would have been full of silt, so the miracle certainly eased the way. As I mentioned, though, the miracle is more important for the way it echoes the original exodus. It’s like the Lord is saying, “OK, here we go. After a 40-year delay, I’m finishing what I started with Moses and your parents.” There’s a sense of the story finally moving forward after the delay in the wilderness.

Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1

            With the beginning of Joshua, the Bible’s story is about to take a large step forward. In Deuteronomy 26, the Israelites were instructed to say, “My father was a wandering Aramean,” when they brought their offerings—a reference either to Jacob or maybe even to Abraham who left Harran at the Lord’s command. The point is that for some 700 years, Israel had been a homeless people. Abraham moved about, Jacob was a nomad, and the whole people had lived for hundreds of years as guests and then slaves in Egypt—but they never called it home. Now, they are about to cross the Jordan and take possession of the land the Lord had promised for so long. In some ways, a lot of the rest of the Old Testament is a story about the land: will Israel remain faithful to the Lord and stay in the land or not?

            As they enter this next phase of their history, Joshua is their new leader, and just as in Deuteronomy 31, so here: Joshua is told to be strong and courageous: four times! It must have been a daunting task—a nomadic people who had for the last four hundred years been slaves trying to take on fortified cities and standing armies. As I said in reference to Deuteronomy 31, though, it takes courage to face strength with strength, but it takes even more courage to face strength only with reliance on the Lord!  The two things that that courage stands on are that the Lord is with them and that they are doing what the Lord commanded. I’m regularly reminded, unfortunately, that just because what you are doing is right doesn’t make it easy. So, the repeated encouragement: Be strong and courageous!

Moses’ Obituary

Deuteronomy 34

            As we come to the end of Deuteronomy, we read about Moses’ death and the succession of Joshua. The first thing we should account for is that Moses pretty obviously didn’t write this last chapter. I mean, it is just possible that the Lord dictated Moses’ death to him right before he died, but that seems pretty macabre. To say that Moses is the author of the first five books of the Bible doesn’t mean some later writer couldn’t have added a few editorial editions here or there (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course!)

            Aside from the technical issue of authorship, several other things bear comment. First, the Lord showed Moses the whole land. The description of what he saw tells us that this was a divine vision more than just standing on a high mountain. (I googled Mt. Nebo, and the first answer was twelve thousand feet, but I quickly realized that’s a mountain in Utah. Mt. Nebo in modern day Jordan is only 2,300 feet!) Even in His judgment, the Lord often shows His grace, and that’s the case with Moses: he can’t go in, but the Lord gives him a vision of it.

            Second, there’s the Lord’s statement that this is the land He swore on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We first read that promise way back in the beginning of January, 17 weeks ago. Historically, Deuteronomy 34 is about 700 years after Genesis 12. I’ve said often on this blog, “The Lord keeps His promises.” But it is good to be reminded of something Moses said that we haven’t read yet: in Psalm 90 Moses tells us that with the Lord, “A thousand years in [His] sight are like a day gone by.” The Lord keeps His promises, but His scale is so much broader than ours!

            Third, there are comments here about Moses. For example, that he was still a strong man with sharp eyes, even at the age of 120. The Lord had kept him through all the rigors of life in Pharoah’s court, his exile to Midian, and his time leading God’s people. Also, note the statement about Moses’ uniqueness, that no prophet has arisen like him, who saw the Lord face to face. That statement stood until the coming of Jesus, widely acclaimed by His contemporaries as a prophet, and who not only saw God face to face but was God Himself.

            Finally, a note about Joshua who was filled with the spirit of wisdom by the laying on of hands. The name Joshua is a Hebrew word that means “the Lord saves,” and Jesus is its Greek variant. Moses looks forward to Jesus in a number of ways: a prophet, the one who brings God’s people out of slavery, the one who intercedes for them. But Joshua looks forward to Jesus in a significant way, too. He is the one who lead God’s people into their promised land, just as Jesus opens the way of everlasting life for us and leads us in by His resurrection.

Moses’ Blessings

Deuteronomy 33

            As Moses’ ministry (and his life) comes to an end, he makes a final blessing on Israel—Moses’ last words. One of the interesting things is that the tribes are listed in a unique order. Reuben is listed first, but even though he was the firstborn he did not receive the birthright. Fittingly, his blessing is very short. Judah comes next: he was the fourth son, but he inherited the birthright. Simeon, the second born, is never mentioned. Maybe that has to do with historical circumstance. Simeon’s territory was right in the center of Judah’s, and in many ways Simeon was always just considered part of Judah. So, there seems to be some commentary about the struggle to find a successor for Jacob.

            Levi, who was the third born son, who also was passed over for the birthright, is third here and has an extensive blessing. Levi’s blessing seems to focus on the fact that the tribe rallied to the Lord’s cause after the incident of the golden calf. (In this case not regarding father or mother and not recognizing brother or sister is cast as a good thing because Levi was so focused on the things of the Lord.) So, Levi’s blessing focuses on that tribe’s unique role as the priestly class and as the tabernacle workers.

            Benjamin, the last of 12 sons, is fourth; and Joseph, the 11^th son, but Jacob’s favorite, is fifth. I don’t know what to make of that. As Israel’s history unfolds, their first king, Saul, is of the tribe of Benjamin. But after the north and the south split, Ephraim becomes the prominent tribe of the north. Maybe this is a foretaste of that rivalry between the tribes that descend from Rachel’s two sons. Given that there’s implicit tension between Manasseh and Ephraim, too (Ephraim, Joseph’s second son, received Jacob’s blessing and here has his ten thousands; Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, only has his thousands) may remind us of the hard feelings worked by favoritism.

            Once again, we are reminded of all the family drama of Jacob’s family, and implicitly we are forewarned that Israel is still a confederation of tribes more than a unified nation. It will take another 400 years for Israel to unite as one nation, a condition that will only last for about 120 years before they are torn by civil war. This is a condition that still exist among humans, that it is easier to tear apart than to bind together—whether we think about marriage and family or nations or the church. Maybe that’s why St. Paul is always so adamant that Christians strive for unity (see Ephesians and Philippians, especially).

Strong and Courageous

Deuteronomy 31-32

            Taken together, chapters 31 and 32 can seem a little inconsistent. On the one hand, Joshua is told to be strong and courageous—no less than three times in chapter 31! On the other hand, the song of chapter 32 warns of the dire consequences when Israel becomes strong and starts to trust in her own strength. How are God’s people to live?

            First, we are not to trust our own strength and resources. We’ve seen this a number of times already, as, for instance, in chapter 18, when the king was not supposed to accumulate horses. Horses were a measure of military power, and Israel’s king was supposed to rely on the Lord to deliver. We’ll see examples of this in the books of Judges and Samuel.

            But relying on the Lord does not mean that we are to be fearful and quaking. It takes a different kind of strength to trust the Lord, especially when your strength seems insufficient. Can you imagine the knot in Joshua’s stomach when his only weapon against the walls of Jericho was a set of trumpets? That takes courage, too. I’m reminded of scene in the last Harry Potter book, where Harry walks through the Forbidden Forest alone, approaching his own death. (Apparently, J.K. Rowling is a Christian, and the echoes of the story of Jesus approaching His own death are pretty strong.)

            I have come to look at Ephesians 6 differently than I did was I was young. Ephesians 6 contains the famous passage about putting on the whole armor of God. It’s a very martial image, very military. But I’ve come to realize that all the armor is defensive, and the only weapon assigned is the sword, which is the Word of God. Then there’s this sentence: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). We’re not called to charge the field, to engage the enemy, to cast him down. No, we are called (twice) to stand. Consider this from Exodus 14:13-14, “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” You need only be still. The Lord has got this.

            Strong and courageous, not in our own strength, but in the Lord’s.