The Twelve Historic Books Series: Part Two: JoshuaiIn chapter headings, addenda background in an epilogue.
see also Part 1 in the series: http://bonitabiblemission.worthyofpraise.org/twelve-bible-historical-books/
JOSHUA’S CHAPTER HEADINGS & BACKGROUND ADDENDA:
JOSHUA: 1.
Joshua prepares to enter the Promised Land of Canaan.
JOSHUA: 2.
The spies enter Jericho; Rahab secretly gives them refuge.
JOSHUA: 3.
Jordan River stops flowing; Joshua crosses on dry ground.
JOSHUA: 4.
Jordan’s waters return to their normal course.
JOSHUA: 5.
Joshua circumcises minors from the Exodus Red Sea crossing.
JOSHUA: 6.
Seven days’ march around Jericho leads to walls’ collapse.
Rahab’s scarlet thread; Joshua rescues her entire family.
JOSHUA: 7.
The curse of Achan the thief that cost many lives.
JOSHUA: 8.
Joshua builds an altar in Canaan inscribing the Law upon it.
JOSHUA: 9.
Canaanite kings prepare against Israel; Gibeonite deception.
JOSHUA: 10.
Five kings attack Gibeon for defecting to Israel;
Joshua guarantees the treaty and defends Gibeon
The sun stands still for Joshua routing the enemy host.
JOSHUA: 11.
Surrounding kings ready their onslaught; all are defeated.
JOSHUA: 12.
List of thirty-one kings whom Joshua subdued.
JOSHUA: 13.
Aged Joshua exhorts all tribes to fully possess Canaan.
Tribes failing to expel heathen; all boundaries defined.
The false prophet, Balaam, attempts to curse Israel; but succeeds by Baal-Peor.
JOSHUA: 14.
Joshua’s companion Caleb seeks Hebron for his own.
JOSHUA: 15.
The territory allotted to the tribe of Judah.
JOSHUA: 16.
Territory allotted to children of Ephraim, Joseph’s son.
JOSHUA: 17.
Territory allotted to children of Manasseh, Joseph’s son.
JOSHUA: 18. Shiloh’s tabernacle assembled.
Joshua divides rest of Canaan to the seven tribes.
Joshua allots the first territory to tribe of Benjamin.
JOSHUA: 19.
Joshua allots the second territory to tribe of Simeon.
He allots the third territory to tribe of Zebulun.
Joshua allots the fourth territory to tribe of Issachar.
He allots the fifth territory to tribe of Asher.
Joshua allots the sixth territory to tribe of Naphtali.
He allots the seventh territory to tribe of Dan.
JOSHUA: 20
Joshua appoints the cities of refuge for accidental manslaughter.
JOSHUA: 21.
Joshua allocates forty-eight cities to the Levites in which to dwell.
JOSHUA: 22.
Army releases Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh to return to Gilead.
Joshua tells Gilead’s discharged soldiers to be faithful to God’s Laws.
The misunderstood returned soldiers’ altar sparking a civil war threat.
The three tribes wisely answer the west bank’s ultimatum & avert war.
JOSHUA: 23.
Aged Joshua warns of dangers accompanying peace.
Joshua commands the twelve tribes to fully oust the Canaanites.
JOSHUA: 24.
Joshua’s farewell address revises Hebrew history.
Joshua’s warns of idolatry’s dangers.
The dire consequences when people presume upon God’s mercy.
Israel covenants with God sealing its tryst with Joshua.
Joshua’s final address to the nation from Shiloh.
***
ADDENDA IN EPILOGUE.
This is the sixth book of the Holy Bible after the five books of Moses called the Pentateuch. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Book of Joshua is a record of Israel’s final entry into the Promised Land crossing over the River Jordan into the land of the Canaanites.
Forty years God had sent them wandering in the inhospitable wilderness terrain until all 599, 998 army rebel doubters died within its barren bounds. Only two of the original host survived: Caleb and Joshua.
Instead of believing their good report of Canaan they chose only to believe the doubts presented by the other ten spies. Thus they wanted to stone the two men of faith and go back to Egypt for the food offered in the land of their bondage. God had provided immeasurably for them in the desert with daily manna for bread and quail for meat, while at the same time always leading them to hidden source of water. Miraculously their feet never swelled and their clothes failed to wear from the abrasive desert conditions.
Despite their frequent, but intermittent murmurs of ingratitude which sometimes tested Moses to the point of exasperation, God’s mercy and loving-kindness continued when they chose to remember the covenant of blood, notwithstanding the chastising ordeals Israeli ingrates received from the Lord’s hand driving them to repentance but often with vast loss of life.
Forty day the emissaries of Moses espied the features of the Land the Hebrew people were to possess. But when the grand mutiny occurred at Kadesh after receiving the twelve men’s report, God deemed the forty days would incur a forty year sentence upon the Israeli adults for the rebellious disbelief.
Even after thirty eight years the final stage of the second attempt to enter Palestine almost failed because of the Moab-Midia nexus of hostility. Devilishly, when Balaam (the powerful occultist) was divinely prevented from cursing Israel , he then beguiled Israel’s men into succumbing to the adulterous religious practices of Baal-Peor. In the hour penultimate to Israel reaching its long awaited glorious zenith her invisible arch enemy almost succeeded. He had created an irrevocable anticlimax that would have aborted the saga of Israel’s pilgrimage.
Nevertheless, the Book of Joshua, the first of the twelve historic books, is an exciting record Joshua’s life of unmitigated faith and robust exploits for his Lord, whom he had come to know personally. He’d sat so often alone in the Tabernacle with God; he had been Moses’ servant; he had ascended Mount Sinai with his master when the moral Law was written in stone; and he had under Moses been divinely nominated and empowered to lead the nation’s seventy elders in Moses’ stead before his imminent death.
This book reveals the recalcitrant ways of the human heart, which despite having the best possible conditions for faith showed they had none at all in the hour of trial. They refused the grace of God and were only interested in the ulterior motive of sensual self-gain, dietary, physical or material benefits. In other words they were normal human beings with incurable heart disease but wearing the mask of conformity to the prevailing religion of the status quo and its social privileges. They were happy to use and exploit that religion for their own ends until the day of truth arrived then their real selves were unmasked. Does it not remind the reader of today’s Christendom and its myriad mass ‘converts’ ?
In hindsight, Israel rejected the grace of God, the only medium for faith. Of the 600,000 only Joshua and Caleb sought the Lord wholeheartedly, the minimum requirement before the Lord will personally draw near to the individual.
Over a million Hebrews had seen the miracles afforded to them both before and after the Exodus journey, but only Moses and two others possessed a different spirit. What was that spirit? Paul the apostle says that it was the Holy Spirit within them. (1Peter 1:11) How does that scripture apply? Both Moses, Joshua were prophets in their own right. Caleb, a valiant soldier, and emissary was an individual seeker who did so reverently with all his soul, mind and might. One day the Spirit of Christ drew near to dwell within him.
Religion; miracles; following the presence of God in religion; or being a fellow traveler in a Christian Church by using one’s own ‘simple childlike faith’ will not make anyone a wholehearted seeker of Christ, let alone regenerate the person. Following God and His presence will allow the follower an awareness that God is with him, but this falls far short of possessing the indwelling Spirit of Christ.
The Pentateuch catalogued over a million of His chosen people continuously doubting and disobeying. Having seen the clearest injunction of the written Law, heard the best preacher; and observed many mighty miracles, Moses that in dejection sought God for a replacement so he could retire from his role to be with his Maker.
John David 2019
Jonacy Press
POB 366603 Bonita Springs FL 34136
biblesimply@gmail.com
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES. (King James Version: Public domain.)
Numbers 14:24. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully…
Numbers 27:18. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit,
1 Peter 1: 10-11. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…
Luke 24: 44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. OTHER REFERENCES: 1 Peter 1:11; Romans 5; + 7; Romans 1.
: http://bonitabiblemission.worthyofpraise.org/easy-keys-to-bible-book-joshua/
