Memory is such an interesting beast, and the thoughts, sounds, and smells that trigger it can be numerous. I opened the Bible to begin reading the Book of Joshua, and I swear I read the entire thing in a rhythmic pattern with the song “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” running on a loop in the background of my brain. I was probably 12 or 13 the year I volunteered for Summer Bible Camp, and this was one of those songs we sang. That was all I knew of Joshua, and to be fair, his book is much shorter than the previous five books, yet so much land was conquered. Writing about God, the Bible, and conquering in the same reflections feels very weird, so I tried to understand how God would tell Joshua to destroy and take over all these places and settle his people there. Then I tried to figure out the locations being discussed because, at one point, I was lost with all the names of the territories and which branch of descendants was instructed to settle in which territory. So, I used the Google machine and found https://www.knowingthebible.net/bible-maps to make my reading cement with a visual aid.
I was looking for these maps to understand better where God was leading the people. Many more maps at that site show a visual representation of the conquest. But, I have to wonder, since God created man and then called confident leaders to be his body on earth to lead, why would he make those who wouldn’t follow Him? I wonder if God regretted giving human beings free will. He erased all the human beings and animals with the flood except for the direct descendants of Noah and tried to start again. But human beings’ curiosity, questioning of authority, wondering, and free will seem to irritate God throughout these quests. When sending Joshua into certain battle areas, he seemingly drove the people there out so there would be no violence. Chapter 10:11 “As they fled before Israel, whlle they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.” And continued in 10:14 “there has been no day like before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel.” The conquest continued until Joshua had it all, as Chapter 11:23: “Joshua took the whole land, according to all the Lord had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it for inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.”
Joshua was an instrument of the Lord to fulfill what was promised. The tribes, the sons of Jacob, were given what was promised to them. They occupy their portions, and things seem ok, but then it is mentioned in Chapter 15:63: “But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.” However, the Canaanites, who hadn’t been driven out of their land, were still forced to be laborers. At the end of the divisions, Joshua is given his own small territory, and the land is divided. Then, the Lord shows up with what I perceive as compassion and reminds Joshua what he told Moses, to set aside a city of refuge for those who commit crimes without malicious intent or unintentionally. The final tribe to be assigned was the Levites, and peace seems to be a quiet time in Biblical history as the story jumps “quite some time.”
Joshua brings all of Israel together; he reminds them of all the Lord has given them and what they must promise: To not only love the Lord and worship no other gods but to not mix the nations seated to the right or left of them. He makes a point of saying not to intermarry between nations, I think meaning those who believe in other gods, but Joshua makes a threat saying: “Be careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out the nations before you; but shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land that the Lord God has given you.” (Chapter 23:11-12).
I can’t find where the Lord says these words, and I believe this may have been Joshua’s interpretation of what the Lord wanted, perhaps a correct one, but an interesting one to stress. I would like to think this is an instance where people’s free-will took over throughout the years and they realized along the way that all people are human-beings. Of course, in the time the meeting happened, the tribal leaders all agreed with Joshua and renewed their commitment to the Lord. However, I found it interesting that the firm hand of God so present in the early books of the Bible, seems to be acting less as a commander and more as an advisor as the battle wore on, but that may be my wish to see the forgiving and loving Lord I know.
Joshua has died at the end of this book, as has Eleazer (who was the son of Aaron), and I will have to see how things progress as I move on in my reading with the Book of Judges. Surely, many questions will continue to reveal themselves and I feel blessed to exist in a place and time where I can freely ask those questions.
Amen
Amanda