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Background Review
In God's Fatherly Plan for mankind's salvation (the economy of salvation), He selected the twelve tribes of Jacob-Israel to be the vehicle to teach the other nations of the earth about the One True God and ultimately to call all men and women to salvation through His only begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of Abraham and a son of the Israelite tribe of Judah. In that plan, God took the children of Israel from slavery under the Egyptian pharaoh and led them to freedom through His emissary Moses, to become the holy covenant nation of the One True God. It was a liberation and a promise of nationhood based on a covenant God made the Israelite's forefather, Abraham. (Genesis 15:1-12)
In the covenant blood ritual in Genesis chapter 15, only the flame representing Yahweh's presence passed between the bodies of the sacrificed animals, signifying that this covenant was a unilateral pact without conditions imposed on Abraham-it was a "royal grant" covenant which God swore by an oath to fulfill.
As the Israelites' traveled out of Egypt to their rendezvous with the God of their forefathers at Mt. Sinai, God worked signs and wonders on their behalf. He parted the waters of the Red Sea, bringing salvation to the Israelites and judgment on their Egyptian enemies (Ex 14:15-31). He fed them quail and bread from heaven to nurture them, He gave them water from a rock to sustain them (Ex 16:4-36; 17:1-7), and He defeated a hostile army that attacked them (Ex 17:8-16). Every event on the journey taught the Israelites to have faith and trust in God and trained them in the necessity of obedience as they traveled to meet their destiny at Mt. Sinai. At Mt. Sinai God presented Himself to the children of Israel in thunder, fire and smoke. In the theophany at Mt. Sinai, Yahweh revealed Himself not only as the God of their forefathers but as their personal God, forming a corporate covenant in which a Israel become a unified holy covenant people who swore an oath to worship Yahweh as their Divine Father and Divine King.
Unlike the royal grant covenant God made with Abraham, the conditional covenant-treaty God made with the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai depended on the promises and obligations of both God and Israel. The conditions of Israel's covenant obedience as enumerated in the Ten Commandments and further explained in the expanded Law would result in blessings that included not only taking possession of the land (fulfilling the promised to the Patriarchs), but living under God's protection in the land. The time in salvation history that God had decreed in His oath to Abraham in Genesis 15:16 had come to fulfillment. God stayed His hand against the peoples who occupied the land of Canaan until His patience had come to an end and their iniquities against the innocent, which included ritualize prostitution and the abomination of child sacrifice, cried out to God for justice like the righteous blood of Abel and the sacrificed souls of the innocent under the altar in the heavenly Sanctuary (Gen 4:9-11; Rev 6:9-10). The "holy war" against the sinful Canaanite nations was fundamentally an ethical and judicial action issued from the heavenly Sanctuary that imposed the death penalty against the wicked Canaanites for sins against humanity.
After leaving Mt. Sinai, God led the Israelites to the border of Canaan and commanded the tribes to begin the invasion. Fearful of the negative reports of the ten Israelite spies sent to reconnoiter the land, the Israelites refused to advance, planned to depose Moses and appoint a new leader, and schemed to return to their "happy life" in Egypt. Their lack of faith in God and their act of rebellion condemned them to forty years of wilderness wandering. At the end of the forty years, the new generation of the twelve tribes of Israel reached the end of their journey as they defeated the armies of two Amorite kings and set up their final encampment at Shittim, on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
Having taken the territory of their defeated enemies on the eastern side of the Jordan, Moses granted the request of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle in the newly conquered territory with the promise that they would leave their families and livestock behind to become the vanguard of the armies of the other tribes in the invasion of Canaan (Num 32:16-27). As the new generation of Israel's holy warriors and their families camped on the east side of the Jordan River across from Canaan, the Book of Deuteronomy records the last three homilies Moses gave the children of Israelites.
The conquest of Canaan was not to be considered a national war of domination by the Israelites but was instead to be understood as a "holy war" fought for religious reasons-to atone for sins against humanity and to create a covenant nation organized by Divine Law. All the Canaanites were to be removed from the land: Yahweh spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab, near the Jordan by Jericho, and said: 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "When you have crossed the Jordan into Canaan, you will drive out all the local inhabitants before you. You will destroy all their painted images, you will destroy all their metal statues and you will demolish all their high places. You will take possession of the country and settle in it, for I have given you the country as your property ... If, however, you do not drive out the local inhabitants before you, the ones you allow to remain will be thorns in your eyes and thistles in your sides and will harass you in the country where you are living, and I shall treat you as I intended to treat them"' (Num 33:50-54, 56).
Then in Deuteronomy chapter 20, Moses made it clear that God's judgment issued from the heavenly Sanctuary was central to the holy wars against the occupants of Canaan and against other nations outside the borders of Canaan.
Question: What right did God have in dispossessing the people of Canaan from the land they occupied? See Gen 1:9-10; Lev 25:23; Dt 10:14; 32:8; Ps 24:1-2; 89:11; Is 66:1-2a; 1 Cor 10:26.
Answer: God created the earth and therefore all the land and everything on the land belongs to God. Those living on the land are only His tenants to whom He as partitioned out the land. If they abuse the land and sin against people living on the land, God will judge them unworthy and expel them from His land. It was for this reason that in fulfilling His promise of the gift of the land for the children of Israel that they were forbidden to ever sell the ancestral lands allotted to them or to pollute the land by unholy practices and unholy sacrifice.
God told Abraham that He would not dispossess the Canaanite peoples until their iniquities (accumulation of repeated sins) had reached its full extent. The Canaanites had at least half a millennium to reject human sacrifice and other sins against the innocent that cried out to God for justice. The time for repentance had come to an end. It was time to fulfill the promise God made to the Patriarchs. As in the event of the Great Flood, God extended His gift of salvation to a faithful remnant of humanity in the midst of Divine judgment.
In Scripture the sin most often cited that was an abomination to God was child sacrifice. It was the practice of the people of Canaan and other peoples in the region (like the Phoenicians) to sacrifice children who were buried alive or burned alive as an offering to the chief deity, Haddu/Hadad, more commonly called Baal (meaning "Lord" or "Master"). It was their hope that their offering would please the god who would grant them prosperity. The word "Molech" designated this specific form of sacrifice, but the word later came to be considered as synonymous with Hadad/Baal (i.e., Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Dt 12:31; 18:10; 1 Kng 11:7; 2 Kng 23:10; Jer 32:35; etc.). God patiently waited for the people of Canaan to renounce this great evil, but eventually His patience came to an end and the Canaanites faced God's Divine judgment with Israelites being the instrument of His justice.
Abortion is the modern form of child sacrifice in which unborn children are sacrificed to the false gods of convenience and selfishness in the belief that the death of a child enhances economic prosperity and opportunity. If God judged the Canaanites as deserving the penalty of death for the communal sin of this horrific crime against the innocent, can the United States and other nations who legally allow abortion expect to be exempt from God's Divine justice?
Authorship and Date
Scripture and tradition identifies the inspired writer of the Pentateuch as Moses. However, the name of the inspired writer of the Book of Joshua is not revealed in the text. The book is named for its principal character and records his leadership of the Israelites from Moses' death and until his own death at the end of the narrative. Joshua was Moses' adjutant who was originally named Hoshea. Moses renamed him Yahshua/Yehoshua, a Hebrew theophoric name meaning "Yahweh is salvation" or "Yahweh saves."
- Joshua, who had served Moses since he was a boy, was the military commander of the armies of Israel.
- He waited on the side of Mt. Sinai the forty days Moses was with God on the mountain.
- Joshua guarded the Tent of Meeting where the presence of God resided during the building of the Tabernacle.
- Joshua was a descendant of Joseph son of Jacob-Israel. He was the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and was one of the twelve men selected to reconnoiter the Promised Land and bring back a report.
- Moses changed his name from Hoshea ("salvation") to Yahshua ("Yahweh is salvation"/"Yahweh saves").
- Only Caleb of the tribe of Judah and Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim believed in God's promise that the Israelites could take possession of the Promised Land.
- God ordained that because of their faith that Caleb and Joshua would be the only men of the Exodus generation to live to enter the Promised Land.
- Moses announced to the people that Joshua was chosen by God as his successor.
- In the ceremony in which Joshua became the people's leader, the High Priest anointed him and Moses laid hands upon him as Joshua was filled with the spirit of the wisdom of God.
- Yahweh personally spoke to Joshua, giving him the mission to conquer the Promised Land of Canaan, and God promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses.
With the courage and obedience of His selected agent Joshua, God gave the fledging nation of Israel a home in the land promised to the Patriarch Abraham at least 500 years earlier.
Many modern scholars date the Book of Joshua to the late 7th century BC and the final edition to the 6th century BC, many centuries after the events took place. However, scholars who prefer a much earlier date point to such evidence as the lists of Canaanite towns and city-states, battle tactics and cultural motifs that are found in ancient documents and recorded traditions of ancient Near Eastern cultures (including the 14th century BC Egyptian Amarna tablets) that are closer to the actual events described in the book, in the 2nd millennia BC. In addition, the book lists twelve personal names of non-Israelites that are well attested in ancient Near Eastern documents dating from or before the period of the conquest.
Typology in the Book of Joshua
In the letters of the New Testament writers and continuing down through the centuries, the Church as studied and illuminated the unity of God's Divine Plan for man's salvation in the two Testaments through the study of typology. Typology compares God's works and events in the Old Testament to what is reveled in the fullness of the Divine Plan in the New Testament in the works of the Redeemer-Messiah, Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10:1-6, 11; Heb 10:1; 1 Pt 3:21)-"Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen" (CCC 129; also see CCC 128 and 130). Biblical typology also demonstrates the relevance of the Old Testament to modern readers by revealing the unity of the two Testaments and linking those events, symbols, and people in the Old to the unity of God's plan and divine revelation in the Incarnation, ministry, death and Resurrection of the Messiah in the New Testament. As St. Augustine taught and as the Church repeats in the Vatican II document Dei Verbum 16: "... the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New" (Augustine, Quaestiones in Heptateuchum 2, 73).
It is sometimes difficult for those of us on this side of salvation history to reconcile the image of the "warrior God of judgment" in the Old Testament with the image of the "God of mercy and salvation" in the New Testament. However, one must remember that God is unchanged-He is the same God revealed in the Old as in the New Testament-He is the God of love but He is also the God of justice. God the Redeemer and God the Divine judge are not contradictory terms-both attributes of God express His love for humanity. Surely, it is the intervention of the "warrior God of justice" that gives humanity hope when the depravity and cruelty of men and nations threatens human freedom. When the lives of individuals or peoples are in peril, it is the prayer of men and nations that Divine justice will restore order out of chaos. We must be thankful that mankind is protected by the absolute power of the Divine Judge to intervene in human history to preserve the gift of man's integrity and freedom.
The plan of the conquest of Canaan and the promise of possessing the "Promised Land" can be seen as typological images of God's mission to offer the gift of salvation to the world. The Canaanites can be compared as a biblical "type" to individuals who refused to turn away from sin. God granted the Canaanites the time to turn away from their wickedness. He patiently persevered in withholding His Divine judgment against the pagan peoples of Canaan for half a millennium before He unleashed His judgment through the Israelite army. Ultimately, it was the accumulation of their sins that condemned the Canaanites. In the same way, God patiently perseveres in offering His gift of salvation to individuals throughout their earthly lives, giving them the opportunity to come to salvation and to possessing the "Promised Land" of heaven up until the very last moment when their lives on earth come to an end (1Tim 2:4; 2 Pt 3:9) when every human being must face Divine justice (Mt 25:31-46).
It is not a coincidence that God's anointed leader in the conquest of the Promised Land bore the same name that the angel Gabriel commanded the Virgin Mary to name the Son of God at the event of the Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Christ (Lk 1:31). It was a command that Mary and Joseph obediently fulfilled on the day baby Jesus was circumcised (Lk 2:21). Yahshua (the proto-Hebrew name) and Yehoshua (the rendering of the same name in the first century AD) is translated "Iesous" in Greek. In English Bible translations the name is rendered "Joshua" in the Old Testament and "Jesus" in the New Testament. The Fathers of the Church taught that Joshua son of Nun is a "type" of Christ who foreshadowed the mission of the Messiah.
| The Typology of Joshua and Jesus | |
| Joshua "Yahweh is salvation" | Jesus "Yahweh is salvation" |
| Moses gave Hoshea the name Yahshua/Joshua. | The angel Gabriel told Mary of Nazareth to name God's Son Yahshua/Jesus. |
| His name defined his mission as God's anointed. | His name defined His mission as God's anointed. |
| Joshua's mission was to lead the children of Israel into the Promise Land of Canaan. | Jesus' mission was to lead the children of God into the Promised Land of Heaven. |
| Joshua began his mission by crossing the Jordan River from the east to the west. | Jesus began His mission after His baptism by crossing the Jordan River from the east to the west. |
| Joshua faithfully served God all of his life. | Jesus faithfully served God the Father all of His earthly life and beyond. |
| Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2012 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved. | |
Joshua was a member of the tribe of Ephraim and a descendant of Joseph son of Jacob-Israel. Caleb was the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite (Num 32:12). The Kenizzites were descendants of Esau (Gen 36:11, 15) who may have lived in the Negev and were one of the ten groups of peoples God promised to dispossess from the land of Canaan (Gen 15:19). Ethnically Caleb was a non-Israelite Gentile; he was a convert who had married into the tribe of Judah and became a trusted chieftain (Num 13:6; 32:12; Josh 14:6). These two valiant survivors of the Exodus generation and leaders of the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan are a biblical "type" of the Jewish and Gentile men and women who will join together to form the New Covenant Church, becoming partners with Christ in liberating the world from Satan's control and who will become inheritors of the true "Promised Land" of heaven.
The Structure of the Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua can be divided into three main parts:
- Conquest of the Promised Land (1:1-12:24)
- Allotment of the Tribal Lands (13:1-22:34)
- Israel's Future in the Promised Land (23:1-24:33)
See the summary chart of the book below:
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
| BIBLICAL PERIOD | #4 The Conquest of Canaan | |||
| COVENANT | The Sinai Covenant | |||
| FOCUS | Taking possession of the Promised Land and the covenant blessings | |||
| SCRIPTURE | 1:1-------------------------------------------13:1----------------------------------------23:1-------------24:33 | |||
| DIVISION OF TEXT | Conquest of the Promised Land | Allotment of Tribal Lands | Israel's Future in the Promised Land | |
| TOPIC | Intro. and invasion plan | Holy war of domination | God's command to distribute the land | Joshua's farewell address: 3 calls to covenant obedience |
| Review of distribution of tribes to the East of the Jordan River (the Transjordan) | ||||
| 12 tribes preparing for holy war | The 3 campaigns against the native population | Distribution of land to tribes West of the Jordan River and reproaches against the eastern tribes | Covenant renewal and Epilogue | |
| LOCATION | East side of the Jordan River | West side of the Jordan River (Canaan) | Settlement in the Transjordan = 2 1/2 Tribes Settlement in Canaan = 9 1/2 Tribes | Shechem in Canaan |
| TIME | c. 1 month | c. 7 years | c. 25 years | |
| Time Line from Abraham to the Exile |
TIME LINE BC UNITED KINGDOM ------- DIVIDED KINGDOMS ----- EXILE----------------- WORLD EMPIRE: EGYPT------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSYRIA ---------------------- BABYLON ---------- c. 2000? ? 1300? 1212/1202 1000 930 722 587/6 Abraham Moses Conquest of Merneptha David Civil \ Southern Kingdom destroyed |
The theme of this book can be expressed in the words "take possession" (Josh 1:11, 15 twice). "Taking possession" not only includes the obligation of the children of Israel whose mission was to "take possession" of the gift of the land God promised to their ancestors, but it also included "taking possession" of the promised blessings God made to them in the Sinai Covenant. Those covenant promises were based on the faith and obedience of the people who were to be partners with God in His plan for their salvation in the Promised Land and as the vehicle by which He was to reveal Himself to the other nations of the earth (Lev 26:3-13; Dt 28:1-14). This is the same theme that is being played out in the lives of men and women of every generation. God has promised eternal salvation to those who accept the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The sacrifice is made and the gift of redemption has been promised, but the gift can only belong to those who have the faith and obedience to take possession of that eternal gift and to cooperate with the Most Holy Trinity in making their journey to eternal salvation. Each of us has the decision to make as to whether we will accept God's offer of peace and salvation or whether we will chose to reject the path of mercy and salvation-choosing to go our own way-a decision that only leaves us at the mercy of His Divine judgment.
In the time of Joshua, as today, God knows what is good for His people. We are destined for eternal salvation, but we must have the courage to exercise our free will by remaining obedient and cooperating with God's righteous plan for our victory, not over Canaanites but over what they represent in our present age-the wages of sin and death.
Chapter 1: Preparing to Take Possession of the Promised Land
There are an interesting number of repetitions in the Hebrew text of chapters 1-3. Word repetition was a literary device the ancient writers used to give added emphasis and expanded meaning to their narrative.
- "be strong and stand firm" is repeated four times in verses 6, 7, 9 and 18.
- "rest" in the Promised Land is found twice in verses 13 and 15.
- the command to "possess" the land is repeated in the Hebrew text five times in verses 11 twice, and verse 15 three times (IBHE, vol. I, page 558).
- The phrase "beyond the Jordan" is repeated twice in the Hebrew text in verses 13 and 15 and is identified as the eastern side of the river.
- The word "land" is mentioned eight times in the Hebrew text in 1:2, 4, 6, 11, 14 twice, 15 twice.
Placing one's foot on a plot of land is a sign of dominion/ownership as in Psalms 47:3: For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth. He brings peoples under our yoke and nations under our feet.
There are theological implications associated with the phrase "to inherit the land" for Christians. In the New Testament it becomes the term for those who receive the spiritual blessings of eternal salvation. For Christians eternal salvation is an inheritance from God the Son through whom we have been adopted in the Sacrament of Baptism as the sons and daughters of our Divine Father. For example:
- Jesus told His disciples: And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and also inherit eternal life (Mt 19:29).
- In Jesus' teaching on the Last Judgment He said, speaking of the righteous: Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world (Mt 25:34).
- St. Peter wrote: Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into a heritage/inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you who are being kept safe by God's power through faith until the salvation which had been prepared is revealed at the final point of time (1 Pt 1:3-5).
The word in the Hebrew text is "torah," meaning "teaching" or "instruction." This is the title which the Jews have given to the five books of Moses (Christians generally call the first five books of the Old Testament the Pentateuch, a Greek term meaning "five-part book."
God tells Joshua that the people are to keep the whole of the Law and not to swerve from this either to the right or to left. If they are obedient and keep God's commandments, they are promised success.
There are also theological implications associated with the repetition of finding "rest" in the Promised Land found twice in chapter 1 in verses 13 and 15.
The Israelites who doubted God did not enter into the place of "rest" which was the Promised Land (Num 14:29; Ps 95:10-11). According to St. Paul (believed to be the inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews), this promise prefigured the invitation to Christians to enter into God's eternal "rest" in the Promised Land of Heaven; the "Promised Land" of Canaan being only a "type" of the future reality (Heb 3:17-4:11).
The command to "possess" the land is repeated in the Hebrew text five times: Joshua 1:11 twice and verse 15 three times (IBHE, vol. I, page 558), and "land" is mentioned eight times in the Hebrew text (1:2, 4, 6, 11, 14 twice, 15 twice). In the significance of numbers in Scripture, five is the number of God's power and grace while eight is the number of salvation and rebirth (see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture").
The phrase "to be strong and stand firm" (more literally translated "to be brave and strong" or "courageous and strong") will be repeated four times in this chapter "three times by God (verses 6, 7 and 9) and once by the Israelites (verse 18). Repetitions in Scripture are like underlining and point to the theme/s of the chapter and important concepts, which in this case is for Joshua to be brave and strong so he will be able to lead the Israelites to take possession of the land that is their inheritance.
God's advice to Joshua is good advice for all Christians in the struggles against sin and the corrupting influence of the secular world. "Faintheartedness" is evidence of a lack of faith and trust in God "trust and faith in God generates confidence.
The phrase "beyond the Jordan" is repeated twice in the Hebrew text of verses 13 and 15 and is identified as the eastern side of the river, toward the rising sun.
Joshua orders the administrative officers to carry his instructions to the people. The same Hebrew word for the officers is also used for the assistants of the judges who hear legal disputes (see Dt 16:18). Later during the age of the monarchy the same world will be used for legal officials (1 Chr 23:4).
In verses 16-17 the people make a vow of obedience to Joshua, pledging the penalty of death for anyone who acts contrary to God's commands through Joshua. They understand that their success in the conquests rests on their obedience to God and Joshua. Their declaration defining disobedience as a capital crime will come back to haunt them in chapter 7.
The chapter ends with another admonition to Joshua to "be strong and stand firm."
Chapter 2: The Israelite advance team goes into Jericho
The importance of Jericho in the story of the conquest is reflected in the six chapters devoted to the description of the taking of the city compared to the four chapters that remain in the description of the continued conquest and the fourteen remaining chapters of the book's narratives. It is obvious that the inspired writer wants the reader to appreciate certain lessons learned from the events of the conquest of Jericho and the immediate aftermath.
Shittim, "the Acacias" in Greek, indicates a forest of trees around which the Israelites encamped on the plains of Moab just to the northeast of the Dead Sea and probably a mile or two east of the Jordan River (Num 25:1; 33:49). Joshua decided to send two spies to reconnoiter the first objective in the campaign "the ancient city of Jericho. Jericho is located west of the Jordan River in the wide plain of the Jordan River Valley. It is about 16 km northwest of the north shore of the Dead Sea and just to the east of the Judean Mountains. There are in fact two cities of Jericho. The site of ancient Jericho is situated on a mound about 2 km northwest of the oasis of Jericho that dates to New Testament times. Human occupation on the ancient site dates to as early as 9,000 BC. Some scholars believe the name Jericho, Yareah in Hebrew, means "moon city," perhaps suggesting that Sin, the moon goddess, was worshiped there.
The Israelite spies seek refuge at the house or inn of a prostitute named Rahab. Ritual prostitution was common in Canaanite cities and it is uncertain if Rahab is a temple prostitute or if her home is a brothel.
Jericho was a walled city with gates that were guarded by a day and night watch. Apparently the gate guards notified the king that two strangers they believed were Israelites had entered the city; the guards may have even directed them to Rahab's house.
She hid the men under the flax plants that had been harvested and were drying on the flat roof of her house. Flax is harvested in the early spring. That the guards of Jericho looked for the men in the direction of the Jordan River probably indicates that they suspected the men were Israelites and knew that the Israelites were camped across the river.
Question: As proof of their intentions in their oath swearing what does Rahab ask for?
Answer: She asks for a sign.
Formal Biblical covenants are formed by oath swearing and the sign of blood sacrifice followed by a sacred meal (Gen 31:44, 53-54; Ex 24:5-11). In this situation, it is not possible for the men and Rahab to seal a formal covenant, and therefore she needs a sign that will make them accountable to God if they break their oath.
Rahab the Harlot (Unknown artist)
This detail in the story that Rahab's house was part of the city wall is well attested by archaeology for walled cities in the ancient near east dating to the period of the Early Bronze Age.
Question: What is the sign and why is it significant?
Answer: A red cord is to be the sign of her salvation, marking her house as under Israelite protection.
Red/scarlet fabric figures in the rites of the Sinai Covenant: That is why even the earlier covenant was inaugurated with blood, and why, after Moses had promulgated all the commandments of the Law to the people, he took the calves' blood, the goat's blood and some water, and with these he sprinkled the book itself and all the people, using scarlet wool and hyssop; saying as he did so: This is the blood of the covenant that God has made with you (Heb 9:18-20). Scarlet/red wool was also used in the ritual purification rites (Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52; Num 19:6). The red/scarlet cord may have symbolized the blood of the sacrifice to bind their covenant. Some Fathers of the Church believed the red cord that was a sign by which she and her family would be saved from death to be a symbol of the blood of Christ.
Rahab is listed among the "Heroes of the Faith" in the Book of Hebrews: It was through faith that the walls of Jericho fell down when the people had marched round them for seven days. It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and so was not killed with the unbelievers (Heb 11:30-31). And in the Letter of St. James, she is identified as an example of living, active faith: You see now that it is by deeds, and not only by faith alone that someone is justified. There is another example of the same king: Rahab the prostitute, was she not justified by her deeds because she welcomed the messengers and showed them a different way to leave? (James 2:24-25 NAB).
Chapter 3: Preparing to cross the Jordan River
Some significant repeats in chapter 3: The Ark of the Covenant dominates this part of the narrative and is mentioned ten times in the Hebrew text in 3:3, 6 twice, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15 twice and 17 (IBHE, vol. I, pages 562-4).
Having heard the report from the two spies and realizing that the King of Jericho knows they are encamped across the river, Joshua begins the invasion plan without delay. Just as Moses told the people to sanctify (ritually purify) themselves at Mt. Sinai prior to their rendezvous with God, Joshua gives orders for the people to sanctify themselves before beginning their march across the Jordan River. The invasion is not a military conquest "it is a holy war ordained by God and the Israelites are His instruments of justice.
- Joshua told the officials to warn the people to have provisions ready for in three days they would cross the Jordan River (1:11).
- Rahab told the Israelite spies to hide in the mountains for three days (2:16).
- The spies stayed in the hills for three days (2:22).
- On the third day after moving to the new camp on the shores of the Jordan River, the people were given instructions to follow the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan River (3:2).
Joshua Passing the River Jordan with the Ark (close up - Benjamin West)
The people are told to follow the Ark of the Covenant carried by "the Levitical priests" (verse 3). All men of the ministerial order, both the chief priests who were the descendants of Aaron (Moses' brother and the first high priest) and the lesser ministers who served them (designated "the Levites") were from the tribe of Levi (Num 3:1-13). Both the chief priests and the Kohath clan of the Levites (Moses and Aaron's clan) had duties associated with the Ark (Num 4:1-20).
Question: Why was the Ark of the Covenant Israel's national treasure? Name the three functions of the Ark. See Ex 25:10-22; 26:34; 40:20; Lev 16:1-16; Num 7:89.
Answer: The Ark of the Covenant housed Israel's most prized possession and served 3 purposes:
- It was a receptacle to hold the stone covenant documents of the Ten Commandments (Ex 25:10, 15; 40:20).
- It was a support for the "Mercy-seat/Seat of Atonement" that was the earthly throne of Yahweh and the place where God dwelled in the midst of His people (Ex 25:21-22; 26:34; Num 7:89).
- On the Feast of Atonement (Yom Kippur), it was the most holy altar of Yahweh where the high priest made annual atonement for the people's collective sin (Lev 16:2, 11-16).
A secondary reason may have been that in keeping a distance from the Ark it was continually within view of the people, since their movement forward was directed by the Ark.
Joshua tells the priests carrying the Ark that as soon as they step into the waters of the river they must stop and stand still until they see the waters of the Jordan backing up to open a path across the River. Joshua also gives the Israelites God's solemn promise that He will be with the people and they will be successful in driving out the residents of Canaan.
Joshua 3:14-17 ~ The Israelites cross the Jordan River into Canaan
- The Jordan was in flood stage during the harvest season.
- As soon as the priest's feet touched the water, the water of the river began to recede above and below the crossing point, forming a wall of water.
- The crossing took place opposite the city of Jericho.
- The priests carrying the Ark stood in mid-river while the people passed.
- The people passed over on dry ground.
| Similarities | Differences |
| God miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River; the Israelites passed through a corridor of a wall of water on either side (Ex 14:21-22; Josh 3:16). | In the Exodus miracle, the Glory cloud was the sign of God's Presence among His people, but in the Jordan crossing the Ark of the Covenant was the dwelling place of God (Ex 14:19; Ex 25:22; Josh 3:3, 18, 14). |
| The people crossed over on dry ground (Ex 14:16, 22; Josh 3:17). | The Israelites who crossed the Jordan were not being pursued by an enemy as in the Exodus crossing "they were the enemy (Ex 14:6; Josh 1:15; 3:10). |
| The miracles both took place in the spring (Ex 13:4; Josh 3:15). | There were no deaths as a result of the Jordan River crossing. In the Exodus the Egyptian charioteers perished in the flood of the closing waters of the sea (Ex 14:27-28). |
Chapter 4: The Twelve Memorial Stones and the Camp at Gilgal
God promised Joshua He would make him "great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so I shall be with you" (Josh 3:7). In His first divine act under Joshua's leadership, God performed the miracle of the parting of the waters of the Jordan River so the people could pass over a dry river bed to the western bank. In this event, God revealed a miracle similar to the Red Sea crossing in the early days when Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt. The Fathers of the Church, like Origen of Alexandria, saw the divided waters of the Jordan as a symbol of two kinds of people who seek Christian baptism "those who turn away from their old lives and remain steadfast in the sweetness of God's grace like the waters that flowed from source of the Jordan River in the north, and those who returned to their old sinful habits, like the waters to the south that flowed into the lifeless Dead Sea. Many early Church Fathers also taught that the journey of the people who followed Moses out of Egypt and Joshua into the Promised Land mystically signified the progress of new converts, leaving their old lives behind for the promise of eternal salvation in the "Promised Land" of Heaven. See CCC 115-117 for the two senses of Scripture: literal and spiritual. The spiritual sense includes the allegorical sense, the moral sense and the anagogical sense.
Joshua 4:1-9 ~ The significance of the twelve memorial stones
The setting up of stone monuments was common in the ancient Near East. Plain standing stones, called mastaba, are still found across the plains and deserts of the Near East; more rare (and the delight of archaeologists) are the inscribed stone monuments. Such monuments were the means for future generations to remember the feats of their forefathers. For the people of God, the monuments not only recalled the event for future generations but invited them to participate in the great acts God had accomplished for His people.
Question: What event occurred in 30 AD on the celebration of the Feast of Firstfruits, on the Sunday of that holy week of Passover and Unleavened Bread? See Mt 28:18; Mk 16:1-6; Lk 24:1-8; Jn 20:1-9. How does that event compare figuratively with the miracle crossing of the Jordan River? See 1 Cor 15:20.
Answer: Jesus crossed over the great divide between death and life to be resurrected on the day the Jews celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits. In rising from the dead, Jesus became, as St. Paul wrote: "the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep."
The stones from the Jordan served as visual reminders to the Israelites of God's miraculous preservation of the twelve tribes of Israel in the crossing the Jordan River at flood stage, but the Fathers of the Church saw the memorial stones as a foreshadow of Jesus' twelve Apostles who rose out of the waters of baptism in the Jordan River to become the ministers of Christian baptism and the foundation stones of the New Covenant Church (St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Prudentius, St. Peter Chrysologus). So too, do the twelve Apostles serve as reminders to us of how God can take ordinary human beings and, when they submit themselves to Him, used them in extraordinary ways to bring about His plan for mankind's salvation. In the Catholic Church, our paintings and statues are visual reminders that the record of Christ's Passion and miracles, and they serve as remainders of the valiant deeds of the Virgin Mary and His other holy saints.
Joshua 4:10-18 ~ The Israelites complete the crossing
- Ark of the Covenant (verse 9): it is the visible sign of Israel's status as a covenant people.
- Ark (verse 10)*
- Ark of Yahweh, three times (verses 5, 11 and 18): Yahweh dwells in the midst of His people between the cherubim of the Ark's Mercy-seat.
- Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh (verse 7): it is the visible sign of Yahweh's unique covenant with Israel.
- Ark of the Testimony (verse 16): it contains the covenant documents, the stone tablets written on by the finger of God.
Before Moses' death, he shared Yahweh's plan for the crossing with Joshua and that plan has not been altered.
The Israelites march in battle formation, equipped for war and with the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the two clans of Manasseh leading the invasion. That there are 40,000 armed soldiers in the vanguard means that not all the men of fighting age are leading the invasion force from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the two clans of Manasseh.
When the Ark had reached the other side, the inspired writer is careful to record that the river returned to flood level as it had been before the crossing miracle.
The Hebrew name of the camp means "ring" [of stones]. According to Scripture Joshua's camp was between the Jordan River and Jericho "on the eastern border" of the territory of Jericho.
The Israelites crossed the Jordan River on the same day that the first Passover victims were chosen for sacrifice, on the 10th of Abib.
Note: after the return from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC, the month was called Nisan.
- The selection of the first Passover victims in Egypt.
- Joshua/Yahshua and the Israelites crossing of the Jordan River into Canaan forty years later.
- Palm/Passion Sunday when Jesus/Yahshua rode into Jerusalem as the sacrificial Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.
Reverent fear of God is a fundamental expression in the Old Testament for faith and obedience to the will of God. The expression of "fear" is not terrified dread but recognition of God's power, glory, and authority combined with the response of trust and faith (Ps 130:4). In Rahab's case, this recognition led to her salvation. Verse 24 is another parallel to the Red Sea crossing and the song the Israelites sing afterward, expressing the same "fear" of Yahweh (Ex 15:14-16). God performs His miracles as evidence of His power and authority and as a witness to all peoples of the earth who He continually calls to salvation.
CHALLENGE: “The Catholic claim that it’s possible for non-Christians to be saved undercuts the basis of evangelization.“
DEFENSE: The duty to evangelize is not based on the idea that it’s impossible to be saved without explicitly embracing the Christian faith. We have a duty to evangelize because Jesus told us to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20), and, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
It is God’s will we evangelize, and regardless of the reasons for this, a sense of duty and gratitude should motivate us to preach the gospel. It so happens God has given us insights into why it is his will we evangelize, and not all of these are connected with the next life.
Simply knowing the truth about God is good, and preaching the truth about the Creator to creation is a worthwhile activity regardless of what happens in the next life.
Further, the Christian faith is not exclusively concerned with the afterlife. Being a Christian brings blessings in this life as well, and it is worthwhile to share the gospel with others for that reason.
Of course, one’s response to the gospel does affect salvation, and this is a powerful motive to evangelize, but it is not the only one. Further, it doesn’t have to be impossible for a person to be saved for there to be a salvation based motive for evangelization.
If becoming a Christian makes it easier or more likely for him to be saved, that is reason to share the gospel with him. There are spiritual dangers in the world: “Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair” (CCC 844). If a person has a clearer understanding of the truth and greater access to the means of grace that the Christian faith offers, then he will be better prepared to overcome those dangers and be saved.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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