Weekly Recap #10 - Joshua 7 - 24

It's hard to believe we're finishing up Week #10 of reading our Bible thru in 2010. 

It honestly doesn't seem like it's been 10 weeks!!!    Are you enjoying it as much as I am?  Especially since we got out of so much repetitiveness....and got into some really meaty stories....true stories, I mean!!!

So....are you ready?

Then, let's get started!!!

~~~Achan of the tribe of Judah stole some things that were set apart for the Lord and it made the Lord angry.  Joshua sent some of his men to spy on the town of Ai and they determined that it would only take about 3,000 warriors to defeat Ai....but they were wrong.  Because of the sin of Achan, the Israelites were defeated and many of them died in the battle.  Achan had hidden the things he stole among his own belongings, so his family probably knew what he had done.  Achan admitted his sin to Joshua.  He and all his family were stoned to death and their bodies burned.  The place was called "The Valley of Trouble".   After the sin was punished, God allowed Joshua and the Israelites to capture Ai.

~~~Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mt. Ebal.  It was from uncut stones and as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones the instructions that Moses had given them.

~~~The Gibeonites decided to try to deceive Israel.  They went to the Israelite camp saying they wanted to make a peace treaty with them.  They lied and told them that they were from a distant land.  Since the Israelites didn't consult the Lord about the matter....and Joshua went ahead and made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety....they weren't allowed to kill the Gibeonites when they found out their deceit....so they were made servants to the Israelites, cutting wood and carrying water for them.

~~~The King of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, became afraid because of all he had heard about the Israelites and because they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites....because Gibeon was a large town and the Gibeonites were strong warriors.  He persuaded other kings to join their armies with his to destroy Gibeon.  The Gibeonites called on Joshua to help, and the Lord spoke to Joshua not to be afraid.  The Israelite army attacked and destroyed great numbers of them....and as they retreated, the Lord sent a terrible hailstorm....killing more with hail than with the Israelites had with the sword.  Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stand still and the Lord answered his prayer until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.  The sun didn't set like a normal day, but stayed in the middle of the sky.  The 5 kings escaped and hid in a cave.  Joshua  commanded that the cave opening be covered with rocks.  After the Israelites totally wiped out the 5 armies (except for a small number who escaped), the rocks were removed from the mouth of the cave and the 5 kings brought to Joshua and he told his army commanders to come and put their feet on the kings' necks.  Joshua killed the 5 kings and their bodies were thrown back into the  cave.

~~~The Israelite army, led by Joshua, continued to fight, burn and destroy, as the Lord had commanded them...being victorious every time....conquering the entire region.  Israel took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.  He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. 

They finally rested from war.

~~~Joshua 12 listed all the kings defeated east of the Jordan River - 31 in all.

~~~Joshua distributed the land among the 9 1/2 tribes.  Remember....half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already been given their land grants east of the Jordan River.   The Levites (priestly tribe) were given no land allotment...only towns to live in with surrounding pastures for their livestock and possessions.

~~~Caleb was given his own allotment of land when he was 85 years old.  He was one of the 12 spies sent to spy out the land of Canaan and only he and Joshua gave a good report...the other 10 were full of fear.

~~~Joshua 15 - the land boundaries were listed.

~~~Because Zelophehad had no sons....his daughters were granted a portion of land.

I really liked that this was brought out in scripture....that God took care of these women....just like He does us today!!!

~~~Joshua designated the cities of refuge, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.  Anyone who killed another person accidentally and unintentionally could run to one of these cities and take refuge from relatives seeking revenge for the person who was killed.  They still had to stand trial before the local assembly....and had to continue to live there until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident.

~~~As the tribes of Reuben and Gad were returning to the land they had been granted east of the Jordan River, they built an altar.  The other tribes thought they were going to worship other gods and were ready to go to war against them.  After explaining that the altar was a memorial to stand thru the generations that the eastern tribes were also part of Israel...the representatives from the 10 tribes were satisfied....and all praised God.

~~~Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to speak to them.  He bid them farewell....telling them to follow all the rules and regulations that Moses had written in the Book of Instruction.  He reminded the people of all God had done for them from the time of slavery in Egypt to the crossing of the Red Sea...then, the Jordan River....and how He had allowed them to win battles and claim the Promised Land.

~~~Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried.  The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt were buried at Shechem, in the land allotted to his descendants.

And...Eleazar, the priest, son of Aaron, also died!!!

Here are the verse of scripture that stood out to me this week....in the book of Joshua:

Joshua 22:5-6 - Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, obey His commands, hold firmly to Him and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.

Joshua 23:10....for the Lord your God fights for you, just as He has promised.

Joshua 24:15 - Choose today whom you will serve....but as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord!!

Before Joshua's death, the people of Israel told him that God alone was their God!!!

AMEN....and AMEN!!!

Blessings to you!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!