Joshua Sermons

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson.

Judges 5:1-5
The Song of Deborah, Part I

The Song of Deborah holds a special place in Scripture. Though Miriam picked up her short refrain at the time of the giving of the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, her words were merely a repeat of what Moses had already said –

“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
‘I will sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!’ Exodus 15:1

“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. ²¹ And Miriam answered them:
‘Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!’” Exodus 15:20, 21

As such, this is really the first song given through a woman in the Bible. Two other similar enunciations are made by women, Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 and Mary in Luke 1. However, what Hannah says is specifically noted as a prayer, not a song. The words of Mary follow the same style as Hannah’s.

Therefore, though often called the Song of Hannah or the Song of Mary, they are not really comparable to what is recorded here in Judges 5. This makes the Song of Deborah unique in Scripture. It is the only true song coming from a woman.

Many of the Psalms are specifically called songs, but they are penned by men. As for the contents of this song, it really is a masterpiece of literature. Noted scholars give detailed thoughts on its structure, wording, etc. But the words are, at times, extremely complicated. They take care and thought to be properly rendered.

For example, Adam Clarke says the following concerning them –

“There are many difficulties in this very sublime song; and learned men have toiled much to remove them. That there are several gross mistakes in our version [meaning the KJV] will be instantly acknowledged by all who can critically examine the original.” Adam Clarke

I have examined the original and compared it word for word with the KJV. The word “several” is a gracious note from Clarke. They did a rather sloppy job in their rendering of what is so beautifully recorded in the original.

Text Verse: “The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.” Psalm 28:7

The words of this verse from Psalm 28 almost mirror what has taken place in Judges 4. Deborah was confident in the Lord. She spoke her words to Barak who was a tad reticent to accept what she said. He challenged her to accompany him as a condition of his acceptance. She agreed because she was confident in the Lord. And in the Lord, she was helped.

Because of this, the words of the Song of Deborah came forth from her with rejoicing, as she praised the Lord. Of course, this has all been done under inspiration from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord has provided us not merely with a past story to commemorate, but hints of future events to anticipate. This will be seen as we wind through the song.

Concerning the structural contents of the song, though long, the John Lange Commentary gives a fair and well-presented sense of what we will be looking at in the coming verses –

“The form of the Song, as of the old Hebrew poetry generally, is that of free rhythm. The Song is a poetical stream: everywhere poetical, and yet untrammeled by any artistic division into strophes. Such a division, it is true, is not altogether wanting; but it is never made a rule. Consequently, efforts to force it systematically on the poem, while only traces of it show themselves, are all in vain. There is no want of finish; introduction and conclusion are well defined; but the pauses subordinate themselves to the thoughts, and these unfold themselves free as the waves. The peculiar character of the Song consists in the boldness of its imagery and the force of its unusual language. It appropriates, in a natural manner, all those forms which genuine poetry does not seek but produce; but it appropriates them all with a freedom which endures none as a rule, yet without, like the natural stream, violating harmony. The Song, then, has strophes, but they are not of equal measure; it moves along in parallelisms, but with variations corresponding to the movement of the thought. The most interesting feature to be noticed, is the alliteration, which appears in the highest development and delicacy, as elsewhere only in the old Norse poems, but also with considerable freedom from restraint. It is important to notice this, because it testifies, more than any division into strophes that may exist, to the nature of the popular song and its lyrical use. The divisions which the poem certainly shows, are determined only by its own course of thought. They are: the praise of God, as introduction (Judges 5:2-5); the delineation of the emergency (Judges 5:6–8); the call to praise that the evil no longer exists (Judges 5:9–11); delineation of the victory and the victors (Judges 5:12–23); the fate of the enemy (Judges 5:24–31).” John Lange Commentary

It is hoped that the next few sermons will be a blessing to you. The content, in its own way, excited me unlike anything since the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. Searching out the mind of God as it is displayed in poetry is a particular and unparalleled delight.

The Song of Deborah is an amazing and beautiful part of God’s superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. I Will Sing to the Lord (verses 1-3)

Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:

vatashar Devorah u-baraq ben avinoam bayom hahu lemor – “And sang Deborah – and Barak, son Abinoam – in the day, the it, saying.” These words introduce the Song of Deborah. It is the fourth recorded song in Scripture. The first was the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1. That was accompanied by the refrain of Miriam in Exodus 15:21.

After that came the Song of the Well introduced in Numbers 21:17. That was followed by the Song of Moses introduced in Deuteronomy 31 but which is recorded in Deuteronomy 32. Now comes this song, which is sung by Deborah and Barak, son of Abinoam. Of it, Albert Barnes says that “for poetic spirit and lyric fire, is not surpassed by any of the sacred songs in the Bible.”

As Deborah was a prophetess (Judges 4:4), and as the words of several verses are in the first-person singular, such as 5:3, it is likely that the song was written solely by Deborah as she was inspired. The verb here, translated as “sang” is also feminine.

Thus, it can be assumed that the words were received and penned by her, but the singing would be as a duet. It could even be that at later times it was sung by groups of females and males as they remembered the time when it was originally sung by these two.

As for the words “on that day,” this does not have to mean a particular day, or the day of the event, it is a time marker that can signify “at that time.” The victory is complete, and at that time, or maybe even on that same day while the events of the battle were still fresh on their minds, the song was penned and it was sung by Deborah and Barak.

With these things considered, we now enter into the substance of the poem, beginning with…

² “When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the Lord!

biphroa p’raoth b’yisrael b’hitnadev am barakhu Yehovah

Each clause will be explained independently:

In freeing freemen in Israel.

One can see the alliteration in the words, which I have replicated in the translation – biphroa p’raoth – “In freeing freedmen.”

The words are difficult. The first is para’. It signifies to let go, coming from a primitive root signifying to loosen. The sense is seen here –

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint [para’];
But happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18

Next, there is a rare word, pera, which is the same as pera – hair or locks. It is found only here and in Deuteronomy 32:42. It is uncertain what it means. However, Robert Young seems to have accurately defined it as “freemen.” Just as hair is free and becomes unkempt, so are these freed men. Remember what has occurred –

“When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. ² So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim. ³ And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel.” Judges 4:1-3

Instead of being bound and oppressed by the enemy, they are now unkept and free. Literally, then, it reads “In loosening freedmen.” However, to maintain the alliteration, and because of the explanation that accompanies the translation, “In freeing freedmen” sweetly matches the style of the Hebrew.

Finally, these things were done, “in Israel.” The people were bound because the Lord had sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan. But now, the time of punishment is over, and the people of Israel have been freed, moving from being bondsmen to freedmen. Next…

In volunteering – people.

The word is nadav. It means to incite or impel. Exodus 35 says –

Then everyone came whose heart was stirred [nadav], and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. /// The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing [nadav] to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done. Exodus 35:21 & 29

Also, the verb nadav is reflexive, meaning the direct object is the same as the subject. The people were impelled from within and so they acted. Therefore, “willingly offering themselves” correctly identifies their condition, but in one word, volunteering is the closest match.

This is also accompanied by a description of who is acting: people, meaning the freed people of Israel of the previous clause. This was reflected in the words of verse 4:10 that said, “And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men under his command.”

From Deborah’s words, it shows that the people voluntarily came together and willingly followed Barak. In this occurrence, Deborah goes ballistic…

Bless Yehovah!

I say she goes ballistic because you can almost see her throw out her arms like two missiles to the sky in elation concerning what has occurred. All she can do is rejoice with exhilaration.

The Lord was the Source of the inspiration to call for Barak. He had responded according to the word of the Lord, the people were summoned to battle, and they voluntarily went when called. With that, the victory was realized.

The people had trusted Barak who had, in turn, trusted the words of Deborah that had come from the Lord. Therefore, the credit is to the Lord who initiated, led, and brought about the victory: Bless Yehovah! Consider the thought now that the explanation has been provided.

biphroa p’raoth b’yisrael b’hitnadev am barakhu Yehovah –

It is a complementary a/b pattern followed by a note of praise.

(a) In freeing freemen in Israel.
(b) In volunteering – people.
Bless Yehovah!

The Lord, through the Spirit of prophecy freed the now free men. The people responded accordingly. The Lord is to be blessed. With that, Deborah continues her words…

³ “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

shimu melakhim haazinu roznim anokhi l’Yehovah anokhi ashirah azamer l’Yehovah elohe Yisrael

Hear, kings! Give ear, rulers!

There is nothing difficult or unusual about the first two words. Deborah calls for the kings to hear what she will proclaim. It is a proclamation that calls for the utmost attention on their part.

The next word haazinu is a verb that comes from a primitive root probably meaning to expand. Thus, it signifies to broaden the ear. One can think of turning the head and stretching the muscles around the ear to open the canal, or maybe to even put one’s hand by the ear to enable it to collect more sound. Thus, “Give ear.”

She is magnifying the exhortation just given. “Hear and give ear!”

That is followed by a new word to Scripture, razan. That comes from a primitive root probably meaning to be weighty. Thus, one can think of that which is judicious or commanding. As such, it refers to a ruler. Being plural, “Give ear, rulers.”

Deborah is calling for such important people as kings and rulers to pay careful and attentive heed to what she has to say. With that, she continues with emphatic and carefully chosen words that direct those rulers to the Source of what she will then explain…

I, to Yehovah, I sing – make melody – to Yehovah, God Israel.

In Hebrew, one can make a statement to be first person through how the verb is spoken. For example, in Psalm 9:2, it says azamrah shimkha Elyon – “I sing to Your name, Most High.” The verb zamar itself carries the first-person construct: azamrah.

In such a structure, the “I” is implied in the verb. For clarity, translators will often explicitly state I, just as in the example above. However, if it is already understood, it is more often than not ignored lest the translation get bogged down with too many I’s.

We can do the same thing in English even though the verbs do not carry such a construct. If the listener gets the context, we can lazily accomplish this, like this marvelous example from my old friend Cornpone –

“Maaaa! Goin’ to the store. Gonna get some chitlins. Seein’ if’n you wants sumpin’ too?”

To add emphasis in Hebrew, one can openly proclaim “I.” This is what Deborah does. “I, to Yehovah, I sing (1^st person) – I make melody (1^st person) – to Yehovah.” Thus, the words are exceedingly emphatic.

Some translations even add in an emphatic marker, such as the NKJV, “I, even I, will sing.” This highlights the thought, but it is unnecessary if the context is understood.

Further, in this clause, the verbs are imperfect. Thus, many translations say, “I will sing.” But what is probably even more the meaning, because it is a song that is being sung at the time, one should think “I am singing.” Young’s says, “I do sing,” something that can be inferred in the simple words, “I sing.”

As for the verbs, the first is the same word stated in verse 1, shir, to sing. The second word, zamar, is introduced here. It is most frequently seen in the Psalms, and it is more complicated. It comes from a primitive root and is identified with the noun zamar which means to trim or prune, as in a vine. These two words probably meet in the thought of how it is translated by the NKJV in Psalm 33 –

“Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody [zamar] to Him with an instrument of ten strings.” Psalm 33:2

The idea is that as one strikes at the vine with a sort of clipping motion, so the hand also plays, striking the cords of the instrument as the fingers move. It can be assumed then, that when the psalms speak elsewhere of singing praises to the Lord while using this word, it would normally be inclusive of playing instruments.

Lastly, Deborah is doing these things l’Yehovah elohe Yisrael – to Yehovah, God Israel. In other words, her instruction to the kings and rulers is found in what she has sung to God. Therefore, if wise, they should acknowledge Him as well. With the explanation for the words provided, let us now return to the entire verse.

shimu melakhim haazinu roznim anokhi l’Yehovah anokhi ashirah azamer l’Yehovah elohe Yisrael –

It is an a/a/b pattern.

(a) Hear, kings!
(a) Give ear, rulers!
(b) I, to Yehovah, I sing – make melody – to Yehovah, God Israel.

Deborah has received the prophetic words from the Lord. She has seen them realized in the victory of Israel over the foe. As such, she wants the kings and rulers to pay heed. She cannot contain herself, but must vocalize what has transpired, returning her thoughts to Yehovah, the God of Israel. The words carry a similar calling forth as the words in Psalm 2 –

“Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:10-12

With that, her singing and making melody to Yehovah next begins…

The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice!
Let the multitude of the isles be glad
Let the nations raise a resounding voice
The Lord reigns! Let none be sad

He has triumphed victoriously!
The battle is won by His glorious right hand
Let us sing His praises continuously
The Lord alone! His achievements are grand

How great You are O God, our King
You lead the procession for Your redeemed
To You alone our hearts do sing
Victory in battle! Your sword has gleamed

II. Before the Lord God of Israel (verses 4 & 5)

⁴ “Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;

Yehovah b’tsetkha mi’seir b’tsad’kha misdeh edom eretz raasha gam shamayim nataphu gam avim natphu mayim

Yehovah, in your going out from Seir.

The words hearken back to Moses’ words in the Song of Moses from Deuteronomy 33 –

“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came with ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.” Deuteronomy 33:2

Deborah is metaphorically considering the spiritual birth of Israel as a people, just as Moses did. Seir is the land where Esau, Jacob’s older brother settled. The location is that which surrounds Mount Seir, a mountain with low bushes on it which gives it a hairy appearance. Hence, it is called Seir, or Hairy.

Hair in the Bible signifies an awareness of things, especially in relation to sin. One can think of Christ, Yehovah incarnate. He came in the likeness of sinful man, even though He bore no sin. This is seen, for example, in Romans 8 –

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3

Remember that Deborah was an Israelite who lived under the law, but typologically, she anticipates the New Testament. Thus, her words speak metaphorically of the Lord, but they also anticipate the Lord incarnate.

In Your march from field Edom.

The word translated as march is from a primitive root signifying to pace. Thus, it is to step regularly. In a field, it would be a march. The sadeh, or field, is typical of the world, as Jesus says in His parable in Matthew 13:38, “The field is the world.”

Edom is synonymous with Seir. That is seen in Genesis 32 –

“And Jacob sendeth messengers before him unto Esau his brother, towards the land of Seir, the field of Edom.” Genesis 32:3 (YLT)

However, Edom is also the name of Esau –

“So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.” Genesis 36:8

Esau is the made man, his name coming from asah, to make. He was born covered in hair, and thus he was called Esau because of this particular trait. It was as if he was born a fully developed man.

Edom comes from adom, red, which then comes from adam, to be red. It is the same root as the name of Adam, the man who was formed by the Lord –

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

Thus, this parallel clause again points back to Israel’s inception, but also forward to the coming of Christ Jesus, the last Adam –

“And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45

That is further explained in Hebrews 10 –

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.’” Hebrews 10:5

In the giving of the law, and in the coming of Christ to fulfill the law and usher in a New Covenant, the…

Earth quaked.

It is a new word, raash, coming from a primitive root meaning to undulate. Thus, it means to tremble, quake, shake, etc. In this case, I translate it as quake. It is as if the Lord is marching. With each step, the earth quakes: khu khu khu!

It is reminiscent of what occurred at Christ’s death when the New Covenant was ushered in –

“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Matthew 27:51-53

The words of Deborah look back in time and also prophetically forward.

Also heavens dropped.

Another new word is uttered, nataph. It is from a primitive root meaning to ooze. Thus it signifies to gradually distill, and then by implication, to fall in drops. Figuratively, it is used to indicate prophesying, such as words distilling and dropping forth.

The object of what is dropped is withheld until the next clause, even if it is implied in the thought now. This literary tool, quite common in spoken Hebrew, elicits excitement in the mind, causing it to focus on the next words more closely…

Also scuds dropped water.

The word is av. It has only been seen once so far, in Exodus 19:9 –

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud [av], that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.’”

It comes from uv, to becloud. Thus, it properly means an envelope, i.e. darkness. It isn’t merely a cloud, but one which is thick. Here, however, it is plural. For a single word to define the thought, I have provided scuds.

Scud bomb clouds, or scuds, are formed as the warmer, and often moister, updraft of a thunderstorm lifts the relatively warm air near the surface. The moisture condenses as the air ascends. It is then pushed outward from the storm.

Scuds are commonly found on the leading edge of a storm front. They can extend even to the ground, having the appearance of a tornado, but they do not have the rotation associated with a tornado. Thus, they can be considered a beclouding cloud.

It is this thick mass that is then said to “drop water.” Thus these words can be equated to the effects of Christ’s work upon His people.

Though it was tongues of fire that alighted upon the people in Acts 2, those who received the Spirit were specifically said to have prophesied in Acts 2:17, 18 and Acts 19:6. Water is elsewhere equated to words, such as Proverbs 18:4, Amos 8:11, and Ephesians 5:26.

In the last example, Paul says, “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” The words of Deborah reflect on the past and typologically anticipate events yet future. Understanding this, the verse can be reexamined…

Yehovah b’tsetkha mi’seir b’tsad’kha misdeh edom eretz raasha gam shamayim nataphu gam avim natphu mayim –

It is an a/a b c/c pattern.

Yehovah –
(a) In your going out from Seir,
(a) In Your march from field Edom,
(b) Earth quaked,
(c) Also heavens dropped,
(c) Also scuds dropped water.

Deborah is looking back to the giving of the law and the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant which gave birth to Israel in bondage to the law (Galatians 4:24). However, her words anticipate the coming of Christ and the freedom of God’s grace (Galatians 4:31) at the introduction of the New Covenant.

Continuing, Deborah next says…

⁵ The mountains gushed before the Lord,
This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

harim nazlu mipne Yehovah zeh sinay mipne Yehovah elohe Yisrael

Mountains streamed from faces [meaning before] Yehovah.

The word nazal, to stream, was introduced in the Song of Moses in Exodus 15. It is seen in poetic passages when referring to flowing water. It is also used to describe the wafting of incense as it streams through the air in Solomon’s Song of Songs. The unstated implication is that what the mountains streamed forth was water.

As always, a mountain (har) is a lot of something gathered. It is synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. Here, it is plural, mountains.

The picture being given is described by Jesus in John 7 –

“Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” John 7:38 (BSB)

Jesus is speaking of individuals there, but people are associated with people groups, none of whom are excluded from what God is doing in Christ. Thus, the mountains streaming can be seen in the idea of the inclusion of every nation.

Saying that this is “from faces Yehovah,” is a clear and unambiguous foreshadowing of the incarnation, and thus, the deity of Jesus. He is Yehovah incarnate. With that, Deborah again uses parallelism to re-express her words…

This Sinai from faces [meaning before] Yehovah God Israel.

Sinai, Bush of the Lord, is where the Lord first called Moses. It is where the Mosaic Law was later given. In Exodus 3:2, it noted that the bush was burning with fire and yet the bush was not consumed. The symbolism of the fire is then seen in the coming of the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist first spoke of it in Matthew 3:11 concerning the baptism of those who would come to Christ through the New Covenant. That was realized in a visible manifestation when the tongues of fire came upon the believers at Pentecost in Acts 2:3.

The symbolism to be understood is that believers are endowed with the baptism of fire and yet they are not consumed. Instead, waters pour forth from them. The words form a parallel to the previous clause, but they help tie together what is going on between the giving of the Old Covenant and the New.

This can be more clearly seen in revisiting the entire verse…

harim nazlu mipne Yehovah zeh sinay mipne Yehovah elohe Yisrael –

It is an a/a pattern.

(a) Mountains streamed from faces Yehovah,
(a) This Sinai from faces Yehovah God Israel.

The “mountains” here probably speak of the clearly discernible peaks of Mount Sinai. Thus, both clauses refer to the same mountain but in a different style.

With the initiation of the covenant which gave birth to the people group, Deborah will next bring the narrative to the events that have just transpired as recorded in Chapter 4, and led to the song that she is now singing in praise to the Lord.

It is such a marvelous set of verses to consider. Each of the four poetic verses have shown unmistakable hints of the Person and work of Jesus Christ. As Deborah typologically anticipates the New Testament, we should not be surprised by this.

God is telling a story in Scripture. He is using historical events to tell it and then have it retold through more historical events that transpire later. He also uses a plethora of literary tools to do so.

Thus, we can search out what is being said, contemplate it from a literal historical perspective that can be verified through archaeology and other historical writings, and then revel in how what has been said once again unfolds in a way that leaves us with no doubt that the past events were pointing to the future.

As it says in Ecclesiastes 3 –

“That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.” Ecclesiastes 3:15 (ERV)

He does these things so that we will seek Him out: seek out His mind, seek out His heart, seek out His love, seek out what He is conveying within the stream of time as history unfolds, and so much more. And what we will find is that He is telling us the story of Jesus’ coming, His work, and how that pertains to us.

It is the message of salvation that the world so desperately needs to hear. God has done it. Let us hear and give ear to His words.

Closing Verse: “Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
² Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³ My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.” Psalm 49:1-3

Next Week: Judges 5:6-12 Ooorah! Can’t wait to preach it to you… (The Song of Deborah, Part II) (14^th Judges Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who judges His people according to their deeds. So, follow Him, live for Him, and trust Him, and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Song of Deborah, Part I

“And sang Deborah – and Barak, son Abinoam – in the day, the it, saying.”

2 “In freeing freemen in Israel.
In volunteering – people.
Bless Yehovah!”

3 “Hear, kings! Give ear, rulers!
I, to Yehovah, I sing – I make melody – to Yehovah, God Israel.”

4 “Yehovah, in your going out from Seir,
In Your march from field Edom:
Earth quaked,
Also heavens dropped,
Also scuds dropped water.”

5 “Mountains streamed from faces Yehovah;
This Sinai from faces Yehovah God Israel.”

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:

² “When leaders lead in Israel,
When the people willingly offer themselves,
Bless the Lord!

³ “Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I, even I, will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

⁴ “Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
The earth trembled and the heavens poured,
The clouds also poured water;
⁵ The mountains gushed before the Lord,
This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.

 

 

 

 

Joshua 24:29-33
Joshua the Son of Nun

Apart from the clear connection to Jesus that runs throughout the book of Joshua, there is one major theme that has been repeatedly seen in the typology of this book.

There have been innumerable things pictured in Joshua, from national Israel’s future salvation to the rapture of the church to salvation by grace through faith, how inheritances are secured, the introduction of the New Covenant, and so forth.

But all of these things are dependent upon one major aspect of what Christ has done. We have seen the death of Christ, His resurrection and exaltation to God’s right hand, and more. But what is THE one thing that all of these things are ultimately focused on?

More than that, what will be the result of it coming about? If you are not sure, consider Paul’s writings. What does Paul focus on above all other points of doctrine? Hint: Nearly the entire book of Galatians and a majority of the book of Romans focus on it. Only a few of his books don’t explicitly refer to it. What is it? He speaks of it in our text verse…

Text Verse: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:27, 28

It is such an important point that the very first words ever spoken to man (as recorded in the Bible) to the very last words of Scripture are focused on this issue –

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21

One can choose law or grace. This is what Joshua has most heavily focused on. And there is a reason for this. The glory of God is not displayed in man’s observance of the law. It is seen in those who trust Him apart from their own merit.

God gave mankind law, man failed, and death was the result. Without the coming of Jesus to fulfill the law, nothing else in human history would have any eternal value. This is the lesson of Joshua and of the Bible. The law or grace.

We can choose one or the other, but we cannot have both and be pleasing to God except as the law is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Joshua has shown us this. Today, a brief summary of it will be seen once again as the book closes out.

Jesus! His coming and His perfection, this is what the Bible is about. It is His work that is highlighted. God came to dwell among us and to remove the burden of law from us. The devil wants nothing more than for you to stay under the law and try to work your way to heaven.

Don’t let him trick you. Christ has gone before us. Let us trust wholly and completely in what He has done. This wonderful truth is seen in Joshua and indeed is be found throughout God’s superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. One Hundred and Ten Years Old (verses 29-33)

²⁹ Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, 

v’hi akhare ha’devarim ha’eleh vayamath Yehoshua bin nun eved Yehovah – “And it was after the words, the these, and died Joshua son of Nun, servant Yehovah.” Joshua means The Lord is Salvation. Nun means Increase. This is the tenth and final time in the book of Joshua that this full name, Joshua the son of Nun, is used.

Bullinger says “that ten is one of the perfect numbers, and signifies the perfection of Divine order, commencing, as it does, an altogether new series of numbers. The first decade is the representative of the whole numeral system, and originates the system of calculation called ‘decimals,’ because the whole system of numeration consists of so many tens, of which the first is a type of the whole.”

He then says of it, “Completeness of order, marking the entire round of anything, is, therefore, the ever-present signification of the number ten. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.”

Scripture does not give a date concerning when Joshua called the tribes together at Shechem, nor are we now told how long after that occurred that Joshua died, whether it was a week or a year later.

What is noted is that this gathering was the last great recorded moment of Joshua’s life. At Shechem, the Lord, through him, had faithfully reminded the people of their original calling through their father, Abraham, demonstrating that it was an act of grace. He noted the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a granting that came without merit on their part.

He reminded them of their sojourn in Egypt and of the Lord’s deeds on their behalf. He had defeated Pharoah and his army, the Amorites on both sides of the Jordan, and He had given them a land for which they did not labor and cities which they did not build. The land was filled with vineyards and olive groves upon their arrival.

Everything came apart from Israel’s merit. Instead, it was all grace bestowed upon them. After the Lord reminded them of these things, Joshua asked the people to choose whom they would serve, noting that he and his house would serve the Lord.

The people likewise agreed to serve the Lord, noting that it was He who had done all of the great things for them, restating some of those deeds and repeatedly stating that He was the One whom they would serve. He had proven Himself faithful, and so they vowed to faithfully serve Him. After that, it said –

“But Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.’” Joshua 24:19, 20

The words of Joshua were unlike the closing words of Moses. Moses blessed the individual tribes, and then it said –

“So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. ⁴⁵ Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ and he said to them: ‘Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. ⁴⁷ For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.’” Deuteronomy 32:44-47

Where Moses proclaimed the law was their life, Joshua never directly mentioned the law. Rather, he focused his words on forsaking the Lord through the service of other gods. Sin would result in turning from the Lord.

You can see the difference. If a person remains faithful to the Lord, there is forgiveness, even for committed sin. David had Uriah killed and took his wife. And yet the Lord forgave him because his heart was set on the Lord.

However, in forsaking the Lord and turning to other gods, there is no forgiveness of transgressions and sins. Such a person cuts himself off from the only Source of life. As for Joshua, he has been used as a type of Christ Jesus, the One who fulfills the will of the Lord. That was seen back in Joshua 11 –

“As the Lord had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.” Joshua 11:15

After Joshua completed these things, the land was divided according to inheritance. Likewise, Jesus fulfilled the will of the Lord. Through Him, the inheritance is received. This included those who received their inheritance by Moses.

Despite the eastern tribes being granted their inheritance conditionally, it still was not realized until after Joshua had completed the campaign for Canaan. The same is true with Jesus. The Old Testament saints do not receive any actual inheritance until after Jesus returns. That was seen in Joshua 22.

Everything in Joshua has played out according to a greater plan of redemption in Christ Jesus. Joshua has anticipated Jesus as the leader who goes before his people, clearing the way for them to receive their inheritance. With his typological role in this unfolding drama complete, it notes that he has died…

^{29 (con’t)} being one hundred and ten years old.

ben meah va’esher shanim – “son hundred and ten years.” This is ten years less than Moses (Deuteronomy 34:7) and the same age as Joseph (Genesis 50:26) from whom he descended. One hundred and ten is the product of 10 x 11. The meaning of ten was previously given. Of eleven, Bullinger says –

“If ten is the number which marks the perfection of Divine order, then eleven is an addition to it, subversive of and undoing that order. If twelve is the number which marks the perfection of Divine government, then eleven falls short of it. So that whether we regard it as being 10 + 1, or 12 – 1, it is the number which marks disorder, disorganization, imperfection, and disintegration.”

Like Joseph who died at this age, there is in these men a perfection of divine order marked with a state of imperfection. The two men were types of Christ in their lives, meaning they anticipate His coming. And yet, they were only types of Christ. God used these fallen men to typologically look ahead to the perfection seen in Jesus. As for the death of Joshua, it next says…

³⁰ And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah,

vayiqberu oto bigvul nakhalatho b’timnath serakh – “And they buried him in border his inheritance in Timnath Serah.” The meaning is that he was buried in his own land, given to him according to Joshua 19 –

“When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it.” Joshua 19:49, 50

Timnath Serah means Extra Portion. It next says…

^{30 (con’t)} which is in the mountains of Ephraim,

asher b’har ephrayim – “which in Mount Ephraim.” As seen previously, a mountain (har) is a lot of something gathered. It is synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. Ephraim means Twice Fruitful with a secondary meaning of Ashes. This is said to be…

^{30 (con’t)} on the north side of Mount Gaash.

Mits’phon l’har gaash – “from north to Mount Gaash.” The word tsaphon, north, signifies that which is hidden or treasured away because the north receives less light in the northern hemisphere.

Strong’s notes the name Gaash comes from the verb gaash, to shake or quake. Thus it means something like A Shaking or A Quaking.

It cannot go unnoted that the Greek and Arabic translations of this verse include the following: “there they put with him into the tomb in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Galgala, when he brought them out of Egypt, as the Lord appointed them; and there they are to this day.”

Either the words are original, and the Hebrew intentionally dropped them, or they are not original, and for some reason the translators of the Septuagint decided it was necessary to include them. If original, it could be that the Hebrew dropped them out because of the words “when he brought them out of Egypt.”

That would appear to be contradictory to what it says elsewhere about Moses being the one to bring them out of Egypt. But that is no excuse for removing the words. There would be nothing contradictory about it.

The reason is because of how the Hebrew is worded elsewhere. In Joshua 5:5, for example, it said, “For circumcised were all the people, the comers out. And all the people, the born (pl.) in the wilderness – in the way, in their coming out from Egypt – no circumcised.”

It isn’t that they came out of Egypt and were no longer coming out of Egypt. The entire process, from Exodus until they arrived safely in Canaan, is considered as part of coming out of Egypt. Until they entered Canaan, they were on their way out of Egypt. Thus, there is no contradiction in saying Moses brought them out, Joshua brought them out, and also that the Lord brought them out.

Also, Judges 2:6-9 closely matches the words recorded here in Joshua, but they do not include the extra words. It could be that the scribes of the Hebrew text, along with thinking there was a contradiction, also thought that because Judges 2 was of sufficient detail, the words were also unnecessary here.

If the words are not original, it is hard to imagine why the Septuagint, as well as the Arabic writers, would include them. They are otherwise so arbitrary that it seems impossible someone would make them up and insert them into their translation.

³¹ Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua,

vayaavod Yisrael eth Yehovah kol yeme Yehoshua – “And served Israel Yehovah all days Joshua.” It is a note of faithfulness to the Lord because of the leader. Throughout the times of the judges and kings, it will be seen that the people remain faithful when the leader is faithful to the Lord. Likewise, the people will fall away from the Lord when the king is unfaithful. Also…

^{31 (con’t)} and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua,

v’kol yeme ha’zeqenim asher heeriku yamim akhare Yehoshua – “And all days the elders who prolonged days after Joshua.” Of these words, Ellicott mistakenly says that the prolonging of the days of the elders, “seems to suggest that Joshua’s death was comparatively an early death. Had he thought and laboured more for himself and less for Israel, he also might have prolonged his days.”

It needs to be remembered that Joshua came out of Egypt as an adult. Other than he and Caleb, every other person who entered Canaan was under twenty at the exodus from Egypt. Thus, they all were younger than Joshua.

Also, their lives didn’t go much beyond Joshua’s. The people had already begun to apostatize by Judges 2. They made covenants with the inhabitants of the land, and by Judges 2:11, they were worshipping the Baals and other gods. But even if that is considered a general summary, seJudges 3 specifically notes this –

“So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. ⁸ Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. ⁹ When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.” Judges 3:7-9

Othniel, Caleb’s younger brother, was the first judge of Israel. And yet, by the time he became judge, the people had departed from the Lord. Thus, it was a very short time after Joshua’s death that these things began to take place. However, for a short time, the people served the Lord under the elders…

^{31 (con’t)} who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

It is singular: v’asher yadeu eth kal maaseh Yehovah asher asah l’Yisrael – “and who knew all work Yehovah which had done to Israel.” Everything the Lord had accomplished is summed up as one great act on behalf of the nation.

The Israelites, though under twenty at the exodus, had seen everything that the Lord had done and were fully aware of the consequences for rejecting such knowledge, having personally seen every person older than them perish at the word of the Lord through the years of wilderness wanderings.

With that, the next words are given as a confirmation that the promise of the children of Israel to Joseph was fulfilled in its due time…

³² The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem,

v’eth atsmoth Yoseph asher heelu bene Yisrael mi’mitsrayim qaberu bishkhem – “And bones Joseph which had ascended sons Israel from Egypt buried in Shechem.”

Nothing is said as to when Joseph’s burial took place. It could have been as soon as the land was conquered, at some point afterwards, or even at the calling of the people to Shechem at the beginning of Chapter 24.

The stating of it here is a note of closure showing the fulfillment of an oath, regardless of when it actually took place. This oath is recorded in Genesis 50, about 200 years earlier –

“And Joseph said to his brethren, ‘I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’ ²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” Genesis 50:24-26

In Acts 7, Stephen notes that not only were the bones of Joseph brought up, but so were the bones of the other fathers as well. However, the text here is only concerned with the fulfillment of the oath made by the sons of Israel. The actual removal of Joseph’s bones is recorded in Exodus 13:19 –

“And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.’”

Joseph means both He Shall Add and Take Away.

Egypt means Double Trouble.

Shechem is identical to shekem, shoulder. Thus, it literally means Shoulder. However, that comes from shakam signifying to incline, as in inclining the shoulder to a burden. Hence, it is normally translated as to rise or start early. Abarim defines Shechem as “[Having a Sense of] Responsibility.”

Joseph was buried in Shechem…

^{32 (con’t)} in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem

b’khelqath ha’sadeh asher qanah Yaaqov meeth bene khamor avi shekhem – “in parcel the field which acquired Jacob from sons Hamor, father Shechem.” Jacob has several meanings that all point to his birth when he grabbed Esau’s heel. It literally means Heel Catcher, but that also has several independent meanings such as Supplanter, One Who Trips Up, One Closely Following, etc. Each is tied to the thought of grabbing the heel of another.

Hamor means Donkey, but that comes from the verb khamar, to be red, so it also means Red One. The land was bought…

^{32 (con’t)} for one hundred pieces of silver,

 b’meah q’sitah – “in hundred q’sitah.” The q’sitah comes from an unused root probably meaning to weigh out. Hence, it is a specific weight, probably like an ingot or a particular sized coin. The transaction is recorded in Genesis 33:18-20 –

“Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. ¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. ²⁰ Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.”

In weighing out the money, the transfer was made…

^{32 (con’t)} and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

v’yihyu livne Yoseph l’nakhalah – “And became to sons Joseph to inheritance.” The granting of the land to Joseph is recorded in Genesis 48 –

“Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.’” Genesis 48:21, 22

With that, we come to the final verse of the book of Joshua…

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died.

Eleazar, Whom God Helps, was the second high priest of Israel –

“Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.” Numbers 20:28, 29

^{33 (con’t)} They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son,

The Hebrew is more precise: v’yiqberu oto b’givath pin’khas beno – “And buried him in Hill Phinehas, his son.” The JPS Tanakh translates it as “the Hill of Phinehas.” The SLT gives the same idea while leaving the Hebrew untranslated – “in Gibeah of Phinehas.”

Due to the shortness of the Hebrew, it seems correct to say Givath Pin’khas, or Phinehas Hill. As has been seen several times in Joshua, the word translated as hill comes from a root that is etymologically connected to Gabbatha in the New Testament. Regardless of the translation, this is the connection that we are being asked to make.

The name pin’khas, or Phinehas, means Mouth of Brass, and thus, Mouth of Judgment, because brass signifies judgment. With this noted, the verse, the chapter, and the book of Joshua finish with…

*^33 (fin) which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

asher nitan lo b’har ephrayim – “which was given to him in Mount Ephraim.” Eleazar is buried in the same tribal land grant as that of Joshua. Of this, Ellicott rightly says –

“The inheritance of Phinehas as a priest would lie within the tribe of Judah (Joshua 21:13, &c.) or Benjamin. This gift to Phinehas in Mount Ephraim, near the seat of government, seems to have been a special grant to him over and above his inheritance. But inasmuch as the tabernacle itself was at Shiloh, in Mount Ephraim, it was altogether suitable and natural that some place of abode should be assigned to the priests in that neighbourhood, where they were compelled to reside.”

The Greek translation adds several sentences more at the end of Joshua that seem unlikely to be original, even if they may be historically accurate to some measure. With that noted, the book of Joshua has come to its end.

Be strong and of good courage; I am with you
Fear not and be not dismayed
Others may depart, but I am faithful and true
It is I who have all your debts paid

I will bring you into the inheritance
And there I will place you forever
Of Me failing, there is not a chance
Nothing can the bond between us sever

Be strong and of good courage; trust in Me
Fear not and be not dismayed, I am with you
The word I have spoken, so shall it be
I am the Lord your God, faithful and true

II. Pictures of Christ

To close out the book of Joshua, these final five verses have been affixed to the lengthy discourse that preceded them. The first thing noted in verse 29 was the death of Joshua, the son of Nun. As noted, this was the tenth and final time that his full name was given.

The ten instances are given to show the perfection of divine order concerning the types of Christ. Nothing is wanting. The number and order are perfect. The whole cycle is complete. Everything that needs to be seen in the typology of Joshua the man concerning Jesus is sufficiently revealed.

Joshua (The Lord is Salvation), the son of Nun (Increase), died. He is here called eved Yehovah, servant of Yehovah, the same as Moses was called at his death. That is given as a type of Christ –

“Behold, My Servant [avdi] shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” Isaiah 52:13

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.” Acts 3:13

Including the father’s name, Nun, is – as before – given to reveal that Jesus is the One who increases the family of God by including both Jews and Gentiles. That is seen in Isaiah 49 –

“Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant [eved]
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Isaiah 49:6

The next words of note were the age of Joshua at his death, one hundred and ten years. Being only a type of Christ, there is a note of imperfection to be found. This is the product of 10×11. It reveals that the whole cycle is complete, but the imperfection of him as a son of Adam who bore his own original sin is included.

Verse 30 noted the burial of Joshua in Timnath Serah, Extra Portion. It speaks of the full scope of Christ’s work as was noted in Isaiah 49:6. His work includes not only Israel but the Gentiles as well, making the effect of it the Extra Portion.

After that, the text continued, saying, “which is in Mount Ephraim.” Saying this was in the mount (har), points to the effect of His work, the mountain being synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. It refers to the uniting of all believers, Jews and Gentiles, as one in Christ.

Noting Ephraim points to the same truth again. Ephraim means Twice Fruitful. It signifies that Christ’s work has produced fruit in the conversion of both Jews and Gentiles. The secondary meaning of Ashes speaks of the price He paid to make this possible which was the afflictions He endured.

Still in verse 30, it noted that the location was “from north to Mount Gaash.” In Scripture, tsaphon, north, signifies that which is hidden or treasured away because the north receives less light in the northern hemisphere. It thus speaks of those who are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

If Timnah Serah signifies those redeemed by Christ and the north signifies that they are hidden in Christ, then Mount Gaash, Mount Shaking, would signify what is not hidden in Christ and what has been separated from Him. This is seen in Hebrews 12 –

“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ ²⁷ Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:25-29

As noted, the Greek and Arabic translations of verse 30 include the words concerning the stone knives used to circumcise the people in Gilgal being buried in the tomb with Joshua.

If original, it would signify that it is only through the death of Christ that the nation of Israel will be truly circumcised. To understand that, you can revisit the sermons from Joshua 5.

Verse 32 mentioned Joseph. Placing this at the end of Joshua is given for typology as well. Joseph, He Shall Add/Take Away, is given to reveal the work of Christ again. He is the One to add people to God’s flock, having taken away their reproach.

Naming Egypt, Double Trouble, indicates those brought out from the predicament they were in, meaning fallen and without God.

Noting Shechem, [Having a Sense of] Responsibility, looks to the believer who understands his violation of the law and has accepted Christ’s fulfillment of it.

This is then reconfirmed in the words that Joseph was buried “in the field which acquired Jacob from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.” Jacob pictures Christ, the one who follows after or supplants Adam.

The field represents the world (Matthew 13:38). It is an open place of productivity. Hamor, Red One, pictures Adam, the man made from the red soil of the earth which the name Adam implies. Adam (ruddy) comes from adom, to be red.

Jacob (Christ the second Man/the last Adam, as noted in 1 Corinthians 15), purchased the field (the world) from the sons of Hamor (the Red One – Adam) for those who accept his work (Shechem).

This was for one hundred (10×10) q’sitah. In the amount Bullinger notes that “nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.” The perfection of divine order is realized in the work of Christ.

It was then said that this field had become the inheritance of the children of Joseph. It speaks of the secured and eternal inheritance for those in Christ.

Verse 32, the last verse of the book, then mentioned the death of Eleazer, Whom God Helps, the son of Very High, who was buried in Givath Pin’khas, which is in Mount Ephraim. It again anticipates the work of Christ. He is the One Whom God Helps –

“But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help [ezri] and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.” Psalm 70:5

Jesus is the Son of the Most High (Luke 8:28). He received the Mouth of Judgment at Gabbatha which is in Mount Ephraim. That gives the same symbolism just explained when it noted Joshua’s burial.

Every name and location in these final five verses of Joshua points to various manifestations of Christ, His work, or its effects in relation to His people.

Therefore, the point is to once again highlight the scope of the work of Christ and also to reiterate to Israel their future national salvation based on the work of Christ. But they must hold fast to Him in that capacity as a nation as well. The work of Christ was effective for the salvation of individual Jews and Gentiles, but it is also effective for the collective nation of Israel as well.

And yet, in their national salvation, they must remember that each individual is responsible to the Lord personally. It is not unlike the church. Christ is the Savior of the church, but each person has an individual choice to make to become a member of it.

As for the law versus grace, Christ is the embodiment and fulfillment of the law. The only way to enter God’s presence is by receiving the grace of God in Christ who died in fulfillment of that law.

No other point has been so significantly highlighted in this book. One account after another has shown this. The death of Moses outside of the promise, the faith of Rahab, the crossing through the Jordan (the death of Christ) with the Ark (Christ the embodiment of the law) in view of the people, the raising of the stone monuments, the circumcision of the people after crossing through the Descender (Christ), the ending of the manna at that time, the destruction of Jericho, the sin of Achan, the defeat of Ai and the hanging of its king (the law), the building of the altar at Mount Ebal, the treaty of the Gibeonites, the defeat of the five kings and their hanging (the five books of Moses), to name a few.

That is only a snapshot of the first ten chapters of Joshua. And it continued on with this same theme again and again. Each story has revealed Jesus Christ, the world’s need for Him, the typological warnings that one cannot be saved by law but by grace, and so on.

From the very first moments of man on earth, it is law that has brought calamity upon man. What we need is Jesus who frees us from the bondage of the law, be it the law of Adam or the more burdensome law of Moses.

This has been the main theme of Joshua: God in Christ has accomplished everything necessary to secure our salvation and free us from the burden of law. In a right relationship with God, works are excluded except the works of God in Christ.

When we return to Joshua in our reading of the Bible, let us remember this. He is the One to lead us into our inheritance. He is the One who has defeated the enemy. He is the One who will return to raise His people and bring them to Himself. Jesus! The book of Joshua has been given to reveal Jesus. Thank God for Jesus Christ, who has made our restoration with Him possible. Yes. Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Oh what an army, Lord,
You’ll have at your side!
The weak, not the strong,
will stand at your side.
The rejected, the lost,
the poor, and the weak.
Those called by the world
unsuccessful and meek.

The needy, the sick,
the guilty, the shamed,
stained with imperfections,
with sins in their veins.
Those who, on their knees,
were searching for the Truth.
Those, will one day,
stand with You.

Not many rich
will be drawn to your side.
Not many mighty
in You will abide.
Not many with knowledge
and filled with success,
will look for You,
to be truly blessed.

Oh what an army, Lord,
You’ll have at your side!
Those who brought You the cross will stand at your side.
Those hated by the world,
yet loved by You.
The strongest army ever!
Because their King
is the Truth.
Izabela Bednara – 20 May 2023

Closing Verse: “Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.” Romans 3:29, 30

Next Week: Judges 1:1-8 The people want to know wazzup… (Judah Shall Go Up) (1^st Judges Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Joshua the Son of Nun

Now it came to pass after these things
That Joshua the son of Nun as we are told
He, the servant of the LORD, died
Being one hundred and ten years old

And they buried him within the border
Of his inheritance at Timnath Serah where he did reside
Which is in the mountains of Ephraim
On Mount Gaash’s north side

Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua
And all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua as well
Who had known all the works of the LORD
Which He had done for Israel

The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up
———-out of Egypt
They buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob
———-had bought
From the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred
———-pieces of silver
And which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph
———-as we have been taught

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died
They buried him in a hill (a fitting place it would seem)
Belonging to Phinehas his son
Which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And Lord God, thank you for this wonderful book
Joshua! What a marvel to have studied it
Into every detail possible we took a look
And to You our thanks and praise we now submit!

Hallelujah to Christ our Lord!
Hallelujah for Joshua, a marvelous part of Your superior word!

Hallelujah and Amen!
Indeed, Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

²⁹ Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. ³⁰ And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

³¹ Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

³² The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson

Joshua 24:16-28
For He Is a Holy God, Part III

There are countless ways to conduct a church service. For the most part, if the heart is right in the pastor, if he is properly directed to the truth of the Lord, and if he competently handles the word, the way the service is conducted will be more up to the preferences of the pastor and the congregants than anything else.

People go where they feel comfortable. This is why I never have a problem with people coming once to the Superior Word and then not returning. They didn’t benefit from what I was saying in the way that they would prefer.

Some pastors can take a passage from Joshua, say almost nothing about the passage itself, and still give a sermon that edifies the people who listen. That isn’t my style, but as long as he is preaching a message in line with the word in some manner, who could argue against it?

As for what I believe is important in a church service, and why I do things as I do, it is because being grounded in the word is the surest way of not being misled or completely swept away from the faith. If you want to know the importance of people being grounded, listen to these words from Adam Clarke based on his evaluation of Joshua 24:16 –

“God forbid that we should forsake the Lord – That they were now sincere [meaning the people speaking to Joshua] cannot be reasonably doubted, for they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Joshua 24:31; but afterwards they turned aside, and did serve other gods. ‘It is ordinary,’ says Mr. Trapp, ‘for the many-headed multitude to turn with the stream – to be of the same religion with their superiors: thus at Rome, in Diocletian’s time, they were pagans; in Constantine’s Christians; in Constantius’s, Arians; in Julian’s apostates, and in Jovinian’s, Christians again! And all this within less than the age of a man. It is, therefore, a good thing that the heart be established with grace.’” Adam Clarke

Text Verse: “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.” 1 Timothy 4:6

In the church where I was ordained, a defective person was selected to be the pastor and he ran the church, a big and thriving one, right into the ground. That can and does happen. But the thing that shocked me most was where some of the people who attended went when they left the church.

Some went off to Charismatic churches, some became full-blown Calvinists, some to reformed churches, and some have now taken the path down Woke Way. Others stopped going to church, etc. None of those things were because of failed doctrine by the previous pastors. Rather, their doctrine was sound and biblically based.

The problem then had to be that the congregants didn’t regard learning the word and doctrine as an important part of their walk. That bothered me, and it continues to bother me. Imagine what Clarke said. In the span of a single lifetime, Rome converted several times between some pretty disparate beliefs.

What we need as people are warnings, real sincere warnings about the cost of not paying heed to instruction. Here in the US, we didn’t pay heed to our Founding Fathers’ words. We often don’t pay heed to street signs or to other laws that will keep us from harm. We ignore our consciences too.

One thing I constantly warn about this church about is doctrine. Pay heed to yourself and your doctrine. I can’t think of anything more important to the believer in Christ than that one point.

Joshua will warn the people about this today. Will Israel pay heed? Great lessons such as this are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Witness to You (verses 16-28)

¹⁶ So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us

It is the same expression used in Joshua 22:29, khalilah lanu – “Profane thing to us.” The idea itself is utterly repugnant to them. It would be something that was defiling in and of itself, and it would be a mark of apostasy. That is then further explained with the words…

^{16 (con’t)} that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;

me’azov eth Yehovah la’avod elohim akherim – “from forsaking Yehovah to serve gods other.” The people are adamant that they will remain faithful to the Lord and not forsake him.

In Joshua 22, the eastern tribes were accused of rebellion, thus eliciting their response of denial. Here, Joshua is certain they will forsake Him –

“Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn from following the Lord this day…” Joshua 22:29

“Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.” Joshua 24:16

There is no doubt about their sincerity, but as Adam Clarke noted, there is also the truth that people will closely follow a human leader at the expense of faithful obedience to the Lord. For now, however, the people explain the reason for their firm stand…

¹⁷ for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,

It is an emphatic statement that includes a verb being used as a noun: ki Yehovah elohenu hu ha’maaleh otanu v’eth avotenu – “For Yehovah our God, He, the Bringer Up us and our fathers.” Their adamant proclamation is based on the fact that it was the Lord who delivered them.

Holding to this in the future will require at least two things: 1) That the people will tell about the deeds of the Lord to the next generations, and 2) that the people will have faith that what they were told was true.

To get this, we can look at any major discipline in Scripture, such as creation, salvation, the resurrection, etc. For example, to hold to the creation narrative, we need to read about it in the Bible. However, we also need to believe what it says is true. As for Israel, their words continue with…

^{17 (con’t)} from the house of bondage,

Rather: mi’beith avadim – “from house slaves.” They were slaves in Egypt and the Lord brought them out to be free men. However, when one is under law, he is in bondage (Galatians 4:24), a slave to the law. Jesus, Peter, and Paul each acknowledge this in their words. Next, they say…

^{17 (con’t)} who did those great signs in our sight,

v’asher asah l’enenu eth ha’othoth ha’gedoloth ha’eleh – “And who did to our eyes the signs, the great, the these.” There is no need to take the words of the verse 18 which include “the Amorites” and thus say that this is only speaking of things that occurred prior to their encountering the Amorites.

The people are making a general statement that the Lord had done great things in their sight from the time they left Egypt until that day. They are speaking of the absolute trustworthiness of the Lord to preserve them from start to finish. This is stated next, saying…

^{17 (con’t)} and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.

The wording is more specific: vayishmerenu b’kal ha’derek asher halaknu bah u-b’kol ha’amim asher avarnu b’qirbam – “And kept us in all the way which we walked in, and in all the peoples which we passed in their midst.” As just noted, this does not have to exclude what is next said. It is an all-inclusive statement of protection, from beginning to end.

The next words go from Israel’s protection to the dispossession of the enemies…

¹⁸ And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land.

The word “and” in this verse probably should be taken as “even.” In other words, the Amorite is being used collectively to speak of all the people: v’garesh Yehovah eth kal ha’amim v’eth ha’emori yoshev ha’arets me’panenu – “And drove out, Yehovah, all the peoples, even the Amorite, dwelled the land before our faces.”

There were many people groups in Canaan, identified by the plural “peoples.” However, the Amorite has been a term used in this chapter to speak of all of them as one group. Because of this faithful attention by the Lord as He tended to Israel…

^{18 (con’t)} We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

The words are emphatic: gam anakhnu naavod eth Yehovah ki hu elohenu – “Also, we will serve Yehovah for He our God.” This is the response to Joshua’s words of verse 15. They have worked through the reason for it before stating it.

Joshua presented them with a list of gods they could choose from and then he said whom he would serve. Israel countered with all that the Lord had done for them and thus they affirm He is their God –

“And I, and my house, we will serve [naavod] Yehovah.” (v. 15)
“Also, we will serve [naavod] Yehovah for He our God.” (v. 18)

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord,

The word “cannot” can be construed in different ways. Rather: vayomer Yehoshua el ha’am lo tukelu la’avod eth Yehovah – “And said Joshua unto the people, ‘No you able to serve Yehovah.’” The word yakol speaks of power or ability. Joshua doesn’t tell them they cannot serve the Lord, as if they were not permitted to do so, but because they are not able to do so. It is something beyond their ability to perform. He next gives the emphatic reasons for this…

^{19 (con’t)} for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God;

In the first clause, Joshua uses the majestic plural, elohim, united with the plural holies, thus giving the superlative sense of most holy: ki elohim qedoshim hu el qano hu – “for God holies, He; God jealous, He.” Both clauses are emphatic. The first speaks of the many perfections of the Lord while the second refers to the adamant state in which He guards His name.

It is because of this that Israel is not able to serve Him. Joshua already knows that they are prone to fail and of their hardheadedness and obstinance in recklessly pursuing sin…

^{19 (con’t)} He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

It is incorrect: yisa l’pishakhem u’l’khatotekhem – “He will not bear to your transgression and (even) to your sins.” Rather than “forgive” it means that the Lord will not put up with their wrongdoing. This is then defined by Joshua, first in the singular, “your transgression.”

This is the only time the noun pesha, or transgression, is used in Joshua. It signifies a state of national revolt. He notes the collective nature of that by saying, “your sins.” The sins of the people when unchecked through punishment or repentance, become a national transgression. With that, Joshua again brings in the thought of serving other gods…

²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

It is not a conditional if, but an adamant when: ki taazvu eth Yehovah v’avadtem elohe nekhar v’shav v’hera lakhem v’kilah etkhem akhare asher hetiv lakhem – “When you forsake Yehovah and serve gods foreign, and He turns, and He does evil to you, and He finishes you, after which he has done good to you.”

Joshua takes their words of verse 16, and turns them around:

“Profane thing to us from forsaking Yehovah to serve gods other.” (vs. 16)
“When you forsake Yehovah and serve gods foreign.” (vs. 20)

The word translated as foreign is nekar. It comes from the verb nakar which signifies “to recognize.” They have claimed that they know the Lord by the great things He has done in their sight. And yet, Joshua says they will forsake Him and recognize foreign gods rather than Him.

One could say that verses like Malachi 3:6 cannot be true. It says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.” If God treats Israel in one manner and then turns and treats them in another manner, then it must be that the Lord has changed. Incorrect.

It is Israel that changes in relation to the Lord. Joshua is making this plain and clear. The response of the Lord to the actions of the people is consistent with His holy and jealous nature. Throughout Israel’s history, this truth will be on display, and yet, Israel will rarely comprehend or even acknowledge it. Not perceiving that Joshua knows better than they do, they respond again…

²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”

Joshua has spoken clearly and emphatically concerning the matter. Israel has responded assuredly to him that they will, in fact, prove him wrong. Notice the structure –

“And I, and my house, we will serve [naavod] Yehovah.” (v. 15)
“Also, we will serve [naavod] Yehovah for He our God.” (v. 18)

“And said Joshua unto the people, ‘No you able to serve [la’avod] Yehovah.’” (vs. 19)
“And said the people to Joshua, ‘No, for Yehovah we will serve [naavod].’”

Their response of lo ki, “No, for,” is a claim that they are able to serve Him and they will serve Him. Because of their adamant proclamation, it next says…

²² So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”

Rather than “against yourselves,” it reads: edim atem ba’khem ki atem b’khartem la’khem eth Yehovah la’avod oto – “Witnesses you in yourselves for you have chosen to you Yehovah, to serve Him.” The words “in yourselves” may ultimately be a witness against them, but the immediate sense is that they have now made the choice that was previously set before them in verse 15 –

“And if evil in your eyes to serve Yehovah, choose [bakhar] to you the day whom you will (surely) serve.” (vs. 15)
“Witnesses you in yourselves for you have chosen [bakhar] to you Yehovah, to serve Him.” (vs. 22)

With the choice acknowledged by Joshua, the people respond accordingly…

^{22 (con’t)} And they said, “We are witnesses!”

vayomeru edim – “And they said, ‘Witnesses.’” They have made the choice and witnessed in themselves that it is so. Therefore, they are accountable for the words they have spoken. In the future, if they fail to serve the Lord, their words will be witnesses against them.

Of this verse, the Pulpit commentary says, “And it is well to observe … that such an excuse never was pleaded afterwards, that the obligation, though evaded, was never disavowed.”

I just can’t agree with that. To ask, “Why has this happened to us,” is to implicitly avow that there is no guilt on their part. But this type of sentiment is seen repeatedly later in their history. A classic example of this is found in Jeremiah –

“And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ ¹¹ then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. ¹² And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. ¹³ Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’” Jeremiah 16:10-13

It could be that the instruction to the people was so lacking that they had no idea they were not to follow, serve, and worship other gods, but that seems much less likely than that they ignored their obvious guilt.

The evidence of this is found in Israel today as well as the church. What the Lord expects is known to both, but that is disavowed as frequently as leaves fall in the autumn. Here is another explicit example in Jeremiah –

“Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: ¹⁶ ‘As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you! ¹⁷ But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. ¹⁸ But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.’” Jeremiah 44:15-18

The people had been given the word of the Lord from Moses. Jeremiah also spoke the word of the Lord for them, and yet they disavowed their conduct as being responsible for their troubles. As for the people’s words to Joshua, he next directs them accordingly…

²³ “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you,

v’atah hasiru eth elohe ha’nekhar asher b’qirb’khem – “And now, put away gods the foreign which in your midst.” It isn’t known if Joshua is speaking instructionally in an if/then manner or if he is actually implying that there are foreign gods to be found among the people.

It is hard to imagine that, especially with the mandates of the law so obviously fresh among the people. But it is not impossible. The account in Judges 2, if connected to this account now, does seem to imply it though.

It seems his words are instructional, “If you see them among you, put them away.” This also appears likely based on verse 31 saying that Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. Either way, if there were foreign gods among them, they are privately held, not publicly on display as they will be in the future.

^{23 (con’t)} and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”

v’hatu eth l’vavkhem el Yehovah elohe Yisrael – “And extend, to your heart, unto Yehovah, God Israel.” This statement makes me think that the previous clause was instructional.

He is telling them this as a guide and a guard into the future, not an accusation about their conduct in the present. This is more likely because there is no follow-up to his words noted by the people, as the Bible is accustomed to providing when such is the case.

²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”

eth Yehovah elohenu naavod u-b’qolo nishma – “Yehovah our God we will serve, and in His voice we will hear.” This is the third time this has been stated –

“And answered the people, and said… Also, we will serve [naavod] Yehovah for He our God.” (vs 16 & 18)
“And said the people to Joshua, ‘No, for Yehovah we will serve [naavod].’” (vs. 21)
“And said the people to Joshua, ‘Yehovah our God, we will serve [naavod], and in His voice we will hear.” (vs. 24)

The threefold repetition stands as an emphatic and complete witness to the matter. As such, their words are binding upon themselves, those under them, and those who follow them. Because of this, it next says…

²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day,

vayikroth Yehoshua berith la’am ba’yom ha’hu – “And cut, Joshua, covenant to the people in the day, the it.” To cut a covenant means to sacrifice an animal or animals to solidify the matter. This was seen in Exodus 24 –

“And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.’ ⁸ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.’” Exodus 24:6-8

This is explained in detail in Hebrews 9 –

“For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. ¹⁷ For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. ¹⁸ Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. ¹⁹ For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.’ ²¹ Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. ²² And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:16-22

With that understood, it next says…

^{25 (con’t)} and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Almost every translation says “them,” but that is not what it says: vayasem lo khoq u-mispat bishkhem – “And set to him statute and ordinance in Shechem.” Exactly what this means is hard to say. It is very similar to Exodus 15:25 where it says of Moses, “There set to him statute and ordinance and there He tested him.”

With only a very few exceptions, everyone incorrectly translates the pronoun as “them.” But does it mean the Lord set the statute for Moses, and there the Lord tested him? Or does it refer to Israel in the singular? The next verse in Exodus is all in the singular as well.

My guess is that he was speaking solely to Moses as the leader of His people and thus representative of all the people. The singular being taken for the collective.

Here in Joshua, it cannot be “covenant,” as in, “set to the covenant a statute and ordinance.” This is because the word berith is feminine. Thus, the words of this clause would have a gender mismatch.

It may be referring to Israel as a single entity, or it may be referring to the Lord. Because the preceding verses have presented the voluntary words of the people concerning their serving the Lord, He being the reference is not out of possibility. It would take us back to the opening words of the chapter –

“And gathered Joshua all tribes Israel Shechem-ward, and called to elders Israel, and to his heads, and to his judges, and to his officers and stationed themselves before the God.” Joshua 24:1

“And cut, Joshua, covenant to the people in the day, the it, and set to Him statute and ordinance in Shechem.” Joshua 24:25

If so, the statute and ordinance would not be for the Lord to obey, but for Him to monitor concerning the people’s obedience. That seems more likely based on what is coming in the next two verses…

²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God.

vayiktov Yehoshua eth ha’devarim ha’eleh b’sepher torath elohim – “And wrote, Joshua, the words, the these, in book Law God.” The big question here is, “What words did he write?” Is it only what has transpired here in Chapter 24? Or does it mean the whole book of Joshua, inclusive of these words?

This takes us back to what was said in the first sermon of Chapter 24. If this gathering at Shechem is the same as that recorded in Joshua 8, it would mean that the law was read at this time, and it would then follow logically that Joshua would read what he had compiled. Charles Ellicott says concerning this verse –

“Primarily ‘these words’ appear to refer to the transaction just recorded. But it must be observed that this is also the second signature among the sacred writers of the Old Testament. The first is that of Moses, in Deuteronomy 31:9 : ‘Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests,’ &c. The next signature after Joshua’s is that of Samuel (1Samuel 10:25): ‘Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in the [not a] book, and laid it up before the Lord.’ We have here a clue to the authorship of the Old Testament, and to the view of the writers who succeeded Moses in what they did. They did not look upon themselves as writers of distinct books, but as authorised to add their part to the book already written, to write what was assigned to them ‘in the book of the law of God.’ The unity of Holy Scripture is thus seen to have been an essential feature of the Bible from the very first.” Charles Ellicott.

Whether this is only referring to the words of Chapter 24 or of all of Joshua’s writings, it next says…

^{26 (con’t)} And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

Rather: vayiqah even gedolah vay’qimeha sham takhath ha’alah asher b’miqdash Yehovah – “and took stone, whopping, and set it up there under the oak which in sanctuary Yehovah.” The stone is a witness between the two parties to the covenant that has been set forth.

This is why my thoughts about the use of the singular in the previous verse may be referring to the Lord. The statute and judgment were set before Him, the God, to monitor. The stone stands as a witness to this fact. Standing it under the tree indicates that this is may have been the same tree that was standing when this occurred –

“And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.’ ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.” Genesis 35:2-4

As that was hundreds of years earlier, that tree is either very old, or another tree has grown in its place. Either way, the stone now being erected is a witness to Israel of the past and of what is expected in the future.

Saying it is “in the sanctuary of the Lord” means that it is in the place set apart as holy to the Lord. That was carefully detailed in the first sermon of Chapter 24 where it noted altars built by both Abraham and Jacob in this area.

²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us,

Notice that Joshua includes himself in the address: hineh ha’even ha’zoth tihyeh banu la’edah – “Behold, the stone, the this shall be to us to witness.” The stone is personified here, indicating that it stands as representative of the Lord who is the other party involved in the covenant.

To ignore that the Lord heard the words by ignoring the covenant based on the words would make them as senseless as the inanimate stone that is used as representative of the Lord.

As for the stone, regardless as to whether or not these events are occurring at the same time as the ceremony in Joshua 8, it is certain that the great and impressive altar that was built in that chapter was already standing. As this is so, this stone was not used in the building of the altar, even though it was in that area. As such, it makes its own picture of Christ –

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
²³ This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:22, 23

The altar pictured Christ, but this stone does as well because it stands as representative of the covenant that has been cut between Israel and the Lord. As it next says…

^{27 (con’t)} for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us.

The stone, representing the words of the Lord from verses 24:2-13, is said to have heard. This then is to be a permanent reminder of what He said. When it is seen, what was said is to be called to mind.

However, because this account about the stone is recorded in the continuing Torah of God, those words also call to mind the stone each time they are read. As such, whether physically standing in front of a person or being read out of the Law…

^{27 (con’t)} It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”

There is a strong emphasis in the words: v’hayetah ba’khem l’edah pen t’khashun b’lohekhem – “And it shall be in you to witness, lest you (surely) lie in your God.”

The word kakhash comes from a primitive root meaning to be untrue in word or in deed. The people have repeatedly said that they will serve the Lord. Thus, if they fail to do this by serving other gods, they will have lied against the Lord. The warning is set. With that, it next says…

*^{28 (fin)} So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

It is more succinct: vayshalakh Yehoshua eth ha’am ish l’nakhalato – “And sent, Joshua, the people; man to his inheritance.” This ends the main narrative portion of the book of Joshua. The final five verses will detail the death and burial of Joshua along with a few other key points relevant to close out the book.

Let us fear the Lord all our days
Serving in sincerity and truth as well
He is worthy of all our praise
For He has saved us from the clutches of hell

It was by grace alone that we have been saved
It was solely by the merits of our Lord Jesus
By His works alone the path was paved
See! Such wonderful things He has done for us

Praises to our God and King!
All glory and honor belong to Him alone
For all of eternity to Him we shall sing
He is the faithful witness, the rejected Stone

This was the Lord’s doing, so marvelous in our eyes
He is Jesus our Hope and our heavenly Prize

II. Explaining the Passage

Despite the large number of verses that comprise these past three sermons, the explanation of why they are recorded is short and simple to understand. Many of the anticipations of Christ have been given already as we have gone through the verses, and so there is no need to repeat them now.

Simply stated, Joshua 24 began with all of the tribes being gathered together to Shechem. As has been seen in previous sermons, Shechem, [Having a Sense of] Responsibility, looks at the believer who understands his violation of the law and has accepted Christ’s fulfillment of it.

Throughout Joshua, that has been seen again and again in typology. Christ fulfilled the law, Christ died in fulfillment of the law, etc. The number of pictures concerning this have been abundant. These people are not under law, but under grace. This is what the words to the people from the Lord in verses 2-13 clearly indicated.

Everything was showing how God, working to maintain the proper worship of the Lord, continued His plan of redemption. He called out Abraham from the land where they served other gods, He led him to Canaan and gave him Isaac. To Isaac was given Jacob.

However, a note about Esau comes right out of the blue – “To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess.” That is a picture of the Lord allowing the made man (Adam and his descendants) to continue in the world with the awareness of sin (pictured by Mount Seir), even if he is not imputed sin because “sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Romans 5:13).

In the meantime, the Lord called out a particular group of people to ensure that the proper worship of the Lord continued. As was noted, the one main point that was strikingly omitted out of all of the Lord’s words – from Abraham all the way through – is any mention of the law.

Everything the Lord stated constituted His grace being bestowed upon this select line without any hint of them having earned what they received. This went even to the granting of land, cities, vineyards, and olive groves. All Israel had to do was believe, follow, and receive.

Everything in those details, from the calling of Abraham on, has anticipated the coming of Messiah. It was He who each person in the line of promise pictured. It was He who was anticipated in the Exodus from Egypt and the time of their rejection of Him in the wilderness.

He was the one anticipated in all of the battles leading up to and following their entrance into Canaan. It was His fulfillment of the law (which remained unstated to the people to demonstrate this) that secured their inheritance for them. He is both the Provider of the inheritance and the reason for it. All of it was noted as grace upon His people.

Joshua is coming to a close. Israel has its inheritance, and it will dwell in it. This will be true with Israel of the future when they finally receive Jesus as a nation. But the heart of man is prone to wander. This is the reason for the continuous back and forth between Joshua and the people in today’s verses.

Israel will someday receive the Lord, but even after this, they must be faithful to Him. This final passage of Joshua is given to warn them of that. Even during the millennial reign of Christ, they will have free will, and they will need to hold fast to the Lord, serving Him.

Though the number of verses concerning this is only a few, it is still evident that the people can choose or reject Jesus. A notable example of this is found in Isaiah 65 –

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
²⁰ “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.” Isaiah 65:17-20

Israel is being told in typology that just because they will be nationally saved, they can depart from the Lord, and so they must be careful to properly serve Him.

Both Joshua and the stone picture Jesus. He is the One to establish the faith and He is the witness to the fact that Israel has agreed to the proper worship of Him, because He is the incarnate Lord God.

This is more certain because it says that before he set up the stone, Joshua wrote those words in the Book of the Law of God. Jesus is the incarnate Word. That which is written in the Torah of God is written in anticipation of Him.

Whether or not the stone that Joshua set up is still there is irrelevant. It is written in the word, and thus it is an eternal testament to the stone which is the witness of what is recorded there.

The Lord gave Israel a history lesson to remind them of where they had come from, why they were where they are, and how that came about. They are being told to hold fast to the Lord who saved them by grace.

It may even be that Israel of the future will read this final chapter of Joshua, notice the remarkable lack of any mention of the law, and finally realize that they have been pursuing the wrong avenue to pleasing God all along. They look to the law as a means to an end when, in fact, it has nothing to do with their being right with God, except as it is fulfilled in Jesus.

As just said a moment ago, Jesus is the true focal point for the worship of God because He is the Lord God. Whatever worship Israel conducts in the millennium will be centered on this fact.

For those in the church who believe this, our future is set already. There is no need to be admonished of such things. What we need to be admonished about is living in a right and proper manner while we are here. Though our salvation is not in question, our lives will be less fulfilling apart from holy and obedient living, and our rewards will be based upon that.

And more, if we let our guard down, our own children and those around us may be the ones to find out, all too late, that we failed to live uprightly. It is our responsibility to do this as Christians, and to share the reason for the hope we have with those we encounter in our walk (1 Peter 3:15). Let us do so, to the glory of the Lord who bestowed His wonderful grace upon us.

Closing Verse: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28, 29

Next Week: Joshua 24:29-33 Our trip through the book has been hugely fun… (Joshua the Son of Nun) (58^th and Final Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

For He Is a Holy God, Part III

So the people answered and said:
“Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD
———-to serve other gods, we would be flipped!
For the LORD our God is He who brought us
And our fathers up out of the land of Egypt

From the house of bondage
Who did those great signs in our sight leaving the enemy aghast
And preserved us in all the way that we went
And among all the people through whom we passed

And the LORD drove out from before us all the people
Including the Amorites who dwelt in the land
We also will serve the LORD
For He is our God, ever near at hand

But Joshua said to the people
“You cannot serve the LORD, as surely as I live
For He is a holy God; He is a jealous God
He will not your transgressions nor your sins forgive

If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods
Then He will turn and do you harm and consume you
———-hear my word
After He has done you good
And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!”

So Joshua said to the people
“You are witnesses against yourselves this day
That you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses, so we say

“Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are
———-among you, so to you I tell
And incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel

And the people said to Joshua on that day
“The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day
And made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem
———-yes, down Shechem way

Then Joshua wrote these words
In the Book of the Law of God, His infallible word
And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak
That was by the sanctuary of the LORD

And Joshua said to all the people
“Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us not to defraud
For it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us
It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God

So Joshua let the people depart
Each to his own inheritance they did start

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁶ So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; ¹⁷ for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”

²² So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”

And they said, “We are witnesses!”

²³ “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”

²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”

²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson

Joshua 24:6-15
For He Is a Holy God, Part II

These first two sermons from Joshua 24 have been mostly recounting what has taken place. Joshua has done this to teach the people a particular truth: that the Lord has been faithful to the people, and He brought them into their promised homeland, Canaan.

The Lord, through Joshua, has selected details that are relevant to this coming about in his recounting. As noted last week, the giving of the law was notably missing from those details.

Israel’s inability to go into Canaan prior to the wilderness wanderings was not because of disobeying the law. It was because the people did not have faith in the Lord. In rejecting His word, He rejected them. This is not at all unlike the speech Stephen gave to the people in Acts 7.

Though the main subject of the speech in Acts 7 deals with the people’s rejection of the Lord rather than the Lord’s faithfulness, the final verses of the passage today are centered on the people remaining faithful to the Lord.

The people were unfaithful to the word of the Lord in Numbers, and the people were unfaithful to the Word, who is the Lord, in Acts. After both, a time of punishment came upon them…

Text Verse: “Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness,
O house of Israel?
⁴³ You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch,
And the star of your god Remphan,
Images which you made to worship;
And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’” Acts 7:42, 43

In 1979, Bob Dylan released his album Slow Train Coming.  He had met the Lord Jesus and put his thoughts into music. One of the songs he wrote was “Gotta Serve Somebody.” He made a point that man is destined to serve somebody. One of the verses says –

“Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

In the passage today, Joshua will set a choice before the people. They can serve the Lord or return to the gods of their fathers. In Acts 7, Stephen made a direct connection between Israel’s time in the wilderness and what would come upon them again for rejecting Jesus.

With their rejection of Him, their temple was destroyed and they were removed to the furthest parts of the planet, serving every god imaginable except the Lord who had come to dwell among them. For most of Israel, that continues to this day. That will change, and someday they will be brought into the New Covenant.

Faithfulness to the Lord is what all people should be focused on. Our continued trip through Joshua is filled with wonderful details of this truth. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Into the Land of the Amorite (verses 6-10)

⁶ ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt,

Rather, it reads, “And I brought out your fathers from Egypt.” The words continue with the great acts of the Lord on behalf of Israel. Specifically, they detail the continued deliverance from Egypt that was noted in verse 24:5 with the general words, “Afterward I brought you out.”

The general statement was made, and now the process is being described. Although these elders were probably there at the time of being brought out, they had to be nineteen years old or younger; all others had died in the wilderness. That was seen in Numbers –

“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ²⁹ The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ³⁰ Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. ³¹ But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.’” Numbers 14:28-31

By mentioning the fathers, the Lord is indirectly reminding the people of their faithlessness even in the midst of His faithfulness…

^6 (con’t) and you came to the sea;

v’tavou ha’yamah – “and you came the seaward.” The word bo signifies to come or go or to come in or go in. In this case, it is not “in” the sea. They came seaward…

^6 (con’t) and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

The words are abrupt, having no preposition before Red Sea: v’yirdphu mitsrayim akhare avotekhem b’rekhev u’v’pharashim yam suph – “and pursued Egypt after your fathers in chariot and in horsemen: Red Sea.” The account in Exodus says –

“And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹ So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.” Exodus 14:8, 9

⁷ So they cried out to the Lord;

va’yitsaqu el Yehovah – “And they cried unto Yehovah.” This is recorded in Exodus 14, leaving out much of the detail, but simply focusing on what is most pertinent to the current narrative –

“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.” Exodus 14:10

There was a need, the people cried out in their need…

^7 (con’t) and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians,

More precisely, “and He put darkness between you and between the Egyptians.” Here is a word found nowhere else in Scripture, maaphel. It comes from the adjective aphel which is also only found once in Scripture –

“Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark [aphel], with no brightness in it?” Amos 5:20

Thus, it would be an opaque gloomy darkness. This event was recorded in Exodus 14 as well –

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.” Exodus 14:19, 20

With this opaque gloomy darkness, the Egyptians would be unable to see the disaster that lay ahead of them…

^7 (con’t) brought the sea upon them, and covered them.

Not a single translation that I read correctly translates these words. The two that got it partially right are:

“and He sets thick darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brings the sea over him, and covers them” LSV

“and he will put darkness between you and between Egypt, and he will bring the sea upon him, and will cover him;” SLT

Rather, it is singular: va’yave alav eth ha’yam vay’kasehu – “And brought upon him the sea and covered him.” The word Egyptians is plural and the two pronouns are singular. As in verse 24:5, where the pronoun was also singular, it is referring to Pharaoh who represents the nation.

Ultimately, the battle was the Lord against Pharaoh and Pharoah didn’t measure up. This was recorded in Exodus 14 as well –

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.” Exodus 14:27, 28

With the victory recorded, the Lord sums up the matter…

^7 (con’t) And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt.

From the first three signs Moses presented to the elders of Israel, through the many plagues upon the land, even to the total destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, the people were firsthand witnesses. They didn’t read about it in a scroll or hear about it from their fathers, but they were there and saw with their own eyes.

Of note is the changing from the third person to the first person in this verse –

“And they cried out to Yehovah. And He put darkness between you and between the Egyptians, and brought [3^rd p.] upon him the sea, and He covered him. And saw your eyes what I did in Egypt.”

The words were in the first person from verse 3 through verse 6. They suddenly change to the third person and then return to the first person. The reason seems to be that both are speaking of God in Christ.

The darkness was attributed to the Angel of God, a type of Christ, going between the camps. The covering of the Egyptians was said to be done by Moses’ hand, but that is explained by Exodus 14:16, which says –

“But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”

The rod, typical of the leveraged power of God in Christ as was seen in the Exodus sermons, was the action that destroyed the Egyptians. One can think of Jesus’ work on the cross and see the reason for the change from the first to the third person.

However, and despite the marvelous work of the Lord, and without stating the obvious reason for it, the Lord next says…

^7 (con’t) Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.

va’teshvu va’midbar yamim rabim – “and dwelt in the wilderness days many.” This was inclusive of traveling to Sinai, being at the mountain during the time of receiving the law and constructing the sanctuary, departing for Egypt, spying out the land, rejecting the Lord by refusing to enter Canaan, and being sentenced to die in the wilderness until the adult generation had perished. The period of “many days” was forty years. That said, the Lord continues…

⁸ And I brought you into the land of the Amorites,

Amorite is singular. The Lord brought Israel the people into the land of the nation of the Amorite, meaning Renown. This begins the third section of the discourse, which is The Move into the Land of the Amorites on the East of the Jordan, and their Defeat.

The Lord is preparing to bring Israel into Canaan, but there were foes to face prior to entry into the land. The specifics of this are recorded in Numbers 21:21-31, but are summed up in the words, “Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites” (Numbers 21:31). It is the nation of the Amorite…

^8 (con’t) who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan,

ha’yoshev b’ever ha’yarden – “The dweller in side the Jordan.” This foe was east of the Jordan and had to be dealt with prior to Israel’s entry into the land…

^8 (con’t) and they fought with you.

This was inclusive of several battles, but two of them are especially highlighted. The first was with Sihon king of the Amorites, the main verses of which say –

“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²² ‘Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.’ ²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. ²⁴ Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.” Numbers 21:21-24

The second was with Og, king of Bashan, also in Numbers 21 –

“Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
³³ And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’ ³⁵ So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.” Numbers 21:32-35

The Amorite refused Israel’s request to allow them to pass through their land and came out against them in battle…

^8 (con’t) But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

As is so often the case, the Lord notes that despite Israel having waged the war, it was He who gave the victory. Without the Lord, they could not prevail, but with His presence among them, they could not lose.

⁹ Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel,

The word lakham, to fight, battle, or war against another is used. However, no battle took place against Moab. This is not a contradiction. Rather, it says that Balak arose to make war against Israel. It doesn’t say he made war against Israel.

Knowing that Israel had defeated Sihon and Og, he knew they were a force to be reckoned with. And so, in order to wage war, he determined to have the battle essentially won before he even entered into it. Therefore, he arose to make war…

^9 (con’t) and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

The substance of this is addressed at the opening of Numbers 22 and it explains how he planned to defeat Israel –

“Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. ⁴ So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵ Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! ⁶ Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Numbers 22:2-6

Despite his cunning plan, he misunderstood the relationship of the Lord to Israel…

¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam;

The narrative in Numbers 22 specifically says again and again that Balaam spoke to the Lord, meaning Yehovah. He was familiar with the worship of the Lord just as Job was. However, his understanding of the Lord was certainly incorrect.

Further, his understanding of the relationship of the Lord with Israel was not known until the Lord revealed it to him…

^{10 (con’t)} therefore he continued to bless you.

v’barekh barokh etkhem – “And blessing he blessed you.” This is recorded in Numbers 23 and 24. The first two times Balaam sought to curse Israel in accord with the request of Balak, the Lord instead sent a word of blessing. Finally, Balaam gave up and prophesied his own word of blessing over Israel without the Lord’s direction.

^{10 (con’t)} So I delivered you out of his hand.

v’atsil etkhem mi’yado – “And I delivered you from his hand.” This is probably directly referring to Balak who had arisen to go to war with Israel, but it is inclusive of the means of his strategy, meaning the employment of Balaam. With the events complete, the last verse of Numbers 24 said, “So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.”

Though Israel would meet Balaam again in Numbers 31 and kill him with the sword, the narrative here is focused on the threat of being cursed by the Lord through the machinations of Balaam. Israel was delivered from this possibility. With that, the narrative turns to the great moment hoped for since the time of Abraham…

Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt
And the great deeds I accomplished there
The power of Pharoah was stripped
To Me, what god would you compare?

I led you through the wilderness
Even to the land of the Amorite
But of his power who would confess?
When I destroyed him from your sight

I brought you to the Jordan by My hand
And I brought you through it as well
I placed you in the most beautiful land
And it is there that you now dwell

Speak of the deeds of Lord all your days
Be sure to honor Him and sing out His praise

II. We Will Serve the Lord (verses 11-15)

¹¹ Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Although a large number of versions follow this general translation, it misses the point. First, the word translated as “men” is the plural of baal. It signifies a lord, master, husband, etc. It refers to one who has supreme authority over those under him.

Jericho, as the first point of battle, is being used as a summary of the inhabitants of the land for the subsequent battles –

“And you passed through the Jordan and came to Jericho, and fought against the lords [baale] of Jericho: The Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite” (CG).

It is as if Jericho is the main location of Canaan because it was first engaged in battle. The “lords of Jericho,” then speak of the leaders of all the ethnic groups within Canaan.

These same people groups, although mentioned in a different order, were referred to by Moses in Deuteronomy 7 –

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, ² and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. ³ Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. ⁴ For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. ⁵ But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.” Deuteronomy 7:1-5

The contents of this verse convey the fourth major section of the discourse, The Move through the Jordan and the Subduing of the Land of Canaan. Israel defeated those who came against them. Israel engaged these foes…

^{11 (con’t)} But I delivered them into your hand.

Though speaking to Israel in the plural, He notes their united nature in what transpired: va’eten otham b’yedkhem – “And gave them [pl.] into your hand [sg.].” Israel was given the victory because of the Lord’s granting of it to them.

With that, and despite still speaking about the subduing of the land, I would take the next verse as the final section of the discourse which is The Planting of Israel in the Land of Promise…

¹² I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, 

va’eshlakh lipnekhem eth ha’tsirah vat’garesh otham mip’nekhem – “And I sent before your faces the hornet, and it drove out them from before your faces.” This is the last of three times that the hornet is mentioned in the Bible.

It is derived from tsara, to be struck with leprosy. Thus it is an afflicter, like leprosy. The Lord sent this afflicter, the hornet, before Israel in order to defeat the enemy, driving them out. Due to the article, “the hornet,” the language is to be taken metaphorically.

Similar terminology is used concerning bees in Deuteronomy 1:44 and Psalm 118:12. There, bees are equated with one’s enemies, not literal insects.

Then, Joshua says that this is fulfilled in the case of the Amorites in the next clause. However, Moses, speaking of the same battle, showed that it was, in fact, Israel who defeated them –

“And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon…” Deuteronomy 3:8

That was repeated in Deuteronomy 4:47 and it was referring to the kings Sihon and Og. Therefore, this is referring to a connection between the hornet and its associated word meaning leprosy.

The Lord promised health and long life to Israel if they held to His laws. As they were going into a land defiled by those things which are opposed to a healthy lifestyle, the enemy had been, or would be, afflicted with disease to the point where they were incapable of standing up to Israel’s armies.

Thus, “the hornet” is a metaphor for God’s judgment of sickness upon them, preparing them for destruction by Israel. As the Bible records that Israel actually faced these foes in battle, this is a reasonable explanation for the term “the hornet” which is said to have been sent before them.

The same types of effects are noted upon the people of Israel during their own times of siege from the enemies who came against them.

The overall evidence demonstrates that the words “the hornet” are speaking of the effects upon the people as a result of their destruction by Israel, as the Lord led them. As noted, this included…

^{12 (con’t)} also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

The word “also” is not in the text and it confuses the substance of what is said: sh’ne malkhe ha’emori lo b’karvkha v’lo b’qashtekha – “two kings the Amorite, no in your sword and no in your bow.” Pretty much everyone says this is referring to the two kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og.

Rather, it pertains to two main kings, but it is referring to Amorites on both sides of the Jordan. This goes back, for example, to Joshua 10, where it said –

“Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.” Joshua 10:5

There, as quite often is the case elsewhere, it is singular, showing the united nature of the people: va’yeas’phu va’yaalu khameshet malkhe ha’emori – “And gathered together and went up five kings the Amorite.” It is five kings, but one people, even though they were not all Amorites.

Rather, they included Hittites, Jebusites, etc. But they are lumped together as being a part of “the Amorite.” After the battle, it repeated the notion that the Lord delivered up the Amorite before the children of Israel.

In this chapter, the listing given in the previous verse began with the Amorite. Thus, the rest of the people groups are listed under the Amorite. There was the Amorite east of Jordan, and there was the Amorite west of the Jordan. The words speak of the total victory over the enemies in all the land they possess.

It is because of these words that I say this belongs in the final section of the discourse, that of The Planting of Israel in the Land of Promise. This verse is only referring to the battles after they have been completed in the narrative.

The defeat of the two kings was recorded in verses 24:8 & 11. The defeat in 24:8 was the king of the Amorite (lumped together as one) east of the Jordan and the defeat in 24:11 was the king of the Amorite (lumped together as one) west of the Jordan.

Therefore, this is more an explanation that rest has been granted than a description of the process of granting it. The Lord provided the rest through His efforts. With that, He then reaffirms that notion…

¹³ I have given you a land for which you did not labor,

More precisely: “And I have given to you a land which not you did become weary in her.” The word “for” implies attaining the land, but that is not what is being conveyed. It is referring to the things in the land. In other words, the Lord gave them the land as noted in the previous verse.

But within the land, there was no need to then start making it productive. That was all set up for them by the previous inhabitants who the Lord drove out. Forests were cleared, wells were dug, roads were in place, thorns would have been burned off (and Israel is full of thorns!), etc.

This is indicated by the use of the word yaga, to become weary. It comes from a primitive root signifying to grasp. As such, it means to be exhausted, tire, toil, be weary, and so on. When one is tired, he will grasp onto something to hold himself up. Israel did not have this problem. And more, the next words are said in a similar fashion…

^{13 (con’t)} and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them;

The translation is just right. The cities were there, they were cleared of inhabitants, and Israel moved right in and started cooking dinner that night. And more…

^{13 (con’t)} you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

The words are fine but reversed: “Vineyards and olive groves which not you did plant, you eat.” At the first harvest, all they had to do was go out and start plucking produce off the vines and trees. After that, the maintenance would be up to them. Israel was given a land of abundance by the Lord. He did everything to prepare it for them in advance.

If one thinks about it, if the land was divided into languages at the time of Peleg, who was born in the year 1758 Anno Mundi, and Abraham received his call in 2084AM, then the population of Canaan at the time would not have been great.

However, with the addition of almost five hundred years between the promise and Israel’s entry into the land (Joshua began in the year 2555AM), there would have been many more people, many more cities, much more productive land, etc. The Lord prepared everything by His wisdom to ensure Israel could immediately move in and be secure.

As for the contents of this verse, it is exactly what Moses said would be the case –

“So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— ¹² then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Deuteronomy 6:10-12

As this is so, and as Moses also warned, Joshua continues…

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth,

v’atah yeru eth Yehovah v’ivdu oto b’tamim u-b’emeth – “And now, fear Yehovah and serve Him in perfection and in truth.” The word fear signifies to have a fearful reverence of the Lord. In treating Him flippantly, He will be displeased and consequences for that attitude will result.

The word translated as perfection, tamim, is found in much of the Old Testament. However, it is found mostly in three books: Leviticus, Numbers, and Ezekiel.

In those books, it is mostly used in reference to the unblemished nature of the sacrifices offered to the Lord. They were to be perfect because they are given as typical of the Lord. The idea is that just as the Lord is perfect, so is to be the service of the Lord’s people toward Him.

The word emeth, or truth, is from aman, to confirm or support. Thus, there is a sense of assuredness, establishment, and faithfulness being conveyed. In this, the people were not to simply go through the motions, nor just pay lip service. Rather, they were to serve perfectly and faithfully.

But more, to serve in truth would be to serve in accord with the word given by the Lord through Moses. If the Lord is perfect, then the word He gave was perfect as well. As the word anticipated the coming of Jesus (John 5:39, etc.), then the logical deduction to be made is that only in serving the Lord through Jesus is one serving Him in perfection and in truth.

Jesus conveyed this thought in John 4 –

“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’
²⁵ The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’
²⁶ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” John 4:21-26

As for Israel at the time of Joshua, in order to properly serve the Lord, Joshua says…

^{14 (con’t)} and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!

Rather than a separate thought as rendered here, it is all one sentence, “…and serve the Lord.” The narrative here implicitly returns to the Genesis account where Jacob said the same thing to his family –

“And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.’” Genesis 35:2-4

As was seen previously, the gathering is in Shechem, the same location as that account in Genesis. But notice also that Joshua clearly says that not only did the fathers on the other side of the Euphrates worship other gods, but so did the fathers who lived in Egypt.

They had fallen into the world of idolatry as is evidenced in Leviticus 17:7 and Amos 5:25. The latter is then cited by Stephen in Acts 7, as noted in our text verse. They had to be called out of that in order to make them a people prepared for the Lord. As these things are only anticipatory of the coming of Christ, one can more fully understand the words of Zechariah –

“He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17

John the Baptist was to prepare Israel for the coming Messiah. Israel rejected Him and were exiled. Someday, they will be come to Christ. Hence, the return of Elijah as one of the two witnesses of Revelation is ahead. As for Israel under Joshua…

¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,

There is a strong emphasis in the words: v’im ra b’enekhem la’avod eth Yehovah bacharu lakhem ha’yom eth mi taavodun – “And if evil in your eyes to serve Yehovah, choose to you the day whom you will (surely) serve.” As Bob Dylan said, “…you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Joshua is essentially letting Israel’s leaders know this. Either one will serve the Lord or he will find other gods to serve, even if it is the god of self because man is designed to serve someone. Or maybe…

^{15 (con’t)} whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River,

im eth elohim asher avedu avothekhem asher b’ever ha’nakhar – “if gods which served your fathers which in side the River.” It means the gods of Mesopotamia across the Euphrates. These were household gods, gods of stone on the street corners, etc. They were those things fashioned and designed by man for the purpose of being man’s gods…

^{15 (con’t)} or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.

v’im eth elohe ha’emori asher atem yoshvim b’artsam – “And if gods the Amorite which you dwell in their land.” These gods leaned toward nature and creation, such as Baal, Asherah, the sun, moon, stars, and so forth.

The connection between all of them is that they are false gods of man’s devising. They are powerless to assist and powerless to save. Whereas…

*^15 (fin) But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

v’anokhi u-beiti naavod eth Yehovah – “And I, and my house, we will serve Yehovah.” He has made the proclamation and it is essentially an eternal one. The reason is because there is no record of Joshua’s family apart from his father Nun.

It says he is from the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 13:8, and although there is a Joshua recorded in 1 Chronicles 7:27, that may not even be the same Joshua. The father’s name is spelled differently, Non instead of Nun. But even if it is the same Joshua, there is no record beyond him, it simply says, “Non, his son, and Joshua, his son.” That would make him the last of his house.

Therefore, as there is no record of Joshua having a wife or children, his proclamation – from a scriptural sense – extends the word “house” to those who are of his caliber and faith rather than a recorded family. The same thought is expressed by Paul in Galatians 6 –

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10

In this, one can see Joshua as a type of Christ, he being the head of the house of faith just as Jesus is the head of the household of the faithful in Him. Joshua and his life are being carefully depicted again and again to reveal the Person and work of the Lord.

And this is exactly what the word wants us to see. Everything is centered on the coming of Jesus Christ and then the further explanation and revelation of Him into the future. It is He who is the focal point of our understanding of God as well as our experience with Him.

God is in the infinite realm; we are in the finite realm. The two cannot interact without a connector between the two. But even more, God is holy and pure. Man is fallen and tainted. God in Christ is the Purifier and Connector. He is the Way to God and the Door through whom access is finally obtained.

Without Him there is no hope. But with Him, there is absolute surety. Thank God for Jesus Christ who alone gives us the joy of restoration and reconciliation with our heavenly Father. Yes, thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord.

Closing Verse: “You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
³ For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them.” Psalm 44:2, 3

Next Week: Joshua 24:16-28 The people need to be properly shod to walk before the Lord carefully… (For He Is a Holy God, Part III) (57^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

For He Is a Holy God, Part II

‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt
And you came to the sea as directed by Me
And the Egyptians pursued your fathers
With chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea

So they cried out to the LORD
And He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the
———-sea upon them, and covered them too
And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt
Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time; the days did accrue

And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the
———-other side of the Jordan
And they fought with you; a battle did ensue
But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land
ZAnd I destroyed them from before you

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab
Arose to make war against Israel
And sent and called Balaam the son of Beor
To curse you, that prophesying dumbbell

But I would not listen to Balaam
Therefore he continued to bless you
So I delivered you out of his hand
Because Balak’s plans were askew

Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho
And the men of Jericho fought against you
Also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites
The Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites too

But I delivered them into your hand
My victory over them was grand

I sent the hornet before you
Which drove them out from before you as you know
Also the two kings of the Amorites
But not with your sword or with your bow

I have given you a land for which you did not labor
And cities which you did not build, such was your grant
And you now dwell in them
You eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant

“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth
And put away the gods your hearts have inclined toward
Which your fathers served on the other side of the River
———-and in Egypt
Serve the LORD!

And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD
Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve
Whether the gods which your fathers served
That were on the other side of the River, if you have the nerve

Or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell
But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD
———-so to you I tell

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⁶ ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ⁷ So they cried out to the Lord; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹ Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹ Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. ¹² I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. ¹³ I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Doug Kallerson

 

Joshua 24:1-5
For He Is a Holy God, Part I

One of the folks in the online church, Trent, who used to play in a rather famous Christian band that won a Grammy Award and other nominations, sent me a note tying music theory into some of the regions of Asia that are mentioned in the Bible.

He noted that the Catholic Church played a big part in naming the seven scales. They are based on the names of various Roman regions where the sounds originated. They are the Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

The Lydian, for example, is from the district of Lydia in a Roman province in Asia. It is in this district that Thyatira is located. This is where Lydia, who is noted in Acts 16, was from. Thyatira is also one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. Looking at the names of the seven scales, you can also see that the Phrygian comes from Phrygia which is also mentioned in Acts.

Trent wanted to explain these things to me a little more clearly and so he did a short video on YouTube playing variations in the styles and saying things like, “You can hear the difference in this – da da da, and this – da da da.” Actually, I couldn’t hear the difference at all. I’m as tone deaf as a dead fish.

I found that out when a music teacher had to let me go from the Sarasota Boys Choir after testing me. “Is this higher or lower?” “Is this sharper or flatter?” I had no idea. Hence, off the choir I went.

The funny thing is, I can hear that there are differences, but I have no comprehension of what they are.

To get this, imagine someone who is color blind. He knows there is a difference in the colors he is being shown, but he has no idea what it is. He sees the shades, but it means nothing to him. That is me with music.

Text Verse: “But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.” Acts 7:6

They make special glasses now that can help a colorblind person see colors. Go to YouTube and type in a search for “Colorblind person sees color for the first time.” The reaction you see will be like mine when I can distinguish sound differences for the first time.

These people literally break down weeping. Now imagine what it will be like for all of us when we see, for the VERY FIRST TIME, life without the taint of sin. Imagine that. I cannot wait.

Trent’s video made me think about this and it comes to my mind often. The music he plays is so natural to him that he gets all excited as he says things like, “Ok, now listen to this…” And yet, I cannot perceive it at all. Imagine eating Thai peppers and then ice cream and not being able to tell the difference. Trent gets it; I don’t.

The point of this is that as we have been going through Joshua, there are things that make seemingly no sense at all. You read the words and keep going while maybe thinking, “I have no idea what this is saying to me. And yet, there is a symphony playing in the background.”

There is so much going on, and yet we miss the nuances. This is the great thing about going through the Bible verse by verse and even word by word. We are forcing ourselves to hear the differences in the sounds being played.

We are tasting that the Lord is so very good in so many new ways. And we are seeing innumerable colors emanating from what seems to be an otherwise colorless passage recorded with black letters on white pages.

Stephen mentioned the four hundred years of bondage and oppression that Israel faced. He cited this from Genesis 15. In Galatians, Paul says that the law came four hundred and thirty years after the promise to Abraham. How can that be if Israel was in Egypt for four hundred years? Spoiler alert: they weren’t.

To understand what is being conveyed by the Lord to Israel, we will need to review many such things as we go through Joshua 24. We’ll get through the first five verses today, the Lord willing. As for the seven scales of music, Trent almost seemed let down that there is no Lycanian mode.

The province of Lycaonia is known as Wolf-land. It is where our term Lycan, or werewolf, is derived from. We have no werewolf scale for music. Well, except for howls and screams from people who have to listen to me when I sing.

Really wonderful treasures are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Before the God (verses 1 & 2)

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem

va’yeesoph Yehoshua eth kal shivte Yisrael shekemah – “And gathered Joshua all tribes Israel Shechem-ward.” Rather than Shiloh where the tabernacle was located, Joshua has gathered them together at Shechem for a particular purpose.

Shechem is identical to shekem, shoulder. Thus, it literally means Shoulder. However, that comes from shakam signifying to incline, as inclining the shoulder to a burden. Hence, it is normally translated as to rise or start early. Abarim defines Shechem as “[Having a Sense of] Responsibility.”

Shechem is where the Lord first spoke to Abram after coming into the land of promise and uttered His promise to him –

“Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 12:7, 8

It is where Jacob was said to have finally and safely returned from his journey to Padan Aram –

“Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. ¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. ²⁰ Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.” Genesis 33:18-20

It is the location where Jacob stayed at the time his daughter Dinah was defiled. Because of that, Simeon and Levi killed all the males of the city. In this same location, it said this in Genesis 35 –

“And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.’ ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.” Genesis 35:2-4

It is the location where Joseph’s bones were taken and buried. That was first commanded to Israel in Genesis 50 –

“And Joseph said to his brethren, ‘I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ ²⁵ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’” Genesis 50:24, 25

The fulfillment of that will be seen towards the end of Joshua 24. Also, Shechem is the area where Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are located. Thus, it is the location where Moses commanded these words to be carried out –

“Keep all the commandments which I command you today. ² And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. ³ You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. ⁴ Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. ⁵ And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. ⁶ You shall build with whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷ You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸ And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 27:1-8

The altar was built, and the ceremony was conducted as recorded in Joshua 8. In fact, as nutty as this may sound, the events in Joshua 24 may coincide with the building of the altar in Joshua 8. In Joshua 8, it said, “Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal.”

The word translated as “Now” in that verse is az, a demonstrative adverb that generally signifies “at that time” or “thereupon.” It can refer to a point in the future when a prophecy or a statement of fact is given, such as “At that time, the Lord will do such and such.”

Further, the word translated as “built” is yivneh. It is an imperfect verb that carries the sense of ongoing or even the future. The same form is used in 2 Samuel 7, saying –

“He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:13

Though it appears while reading Joshua that the events are chronological, including in Joshua 8, as I explained at that time that was highly unlikely. As has been seen again and again, the individual passages of Joshua are categorical and expressive, not necessarily chronological.

If this is the same event as in Joshua 8, then the gathering includes the entire congregation of Israel, including all the women and children. It would also mean that the last verses of Joshua 24 concerning the death of Joshua are again categorical, not chronological.

If this is a correct analysis, then I would take the events of Joshua 8:30-35 as occurring between Joshua 24:24 and 24:25. This is speculation and is a logical way to resolve the chronology of the events in Joshua. Regardless, each of these notable events of Israel’s history has a bearing on what is stated in Joshua 24.

As for this gathering, as noted, it could be a regular gathering on one of the appointed feast days, or it could be that it is a special gathering. Either way, it is an all-inclusive gathering of the tribes.

And yet, if it is not in conjunction with the events of Joshua 8, it may be that the next words define what “all the tribes of Israel” mean. Like in Joshua 23:2, rather than all the people of the nation, it may mean all the representatives of the tribes…

^{1 (con’t)} and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers;

Rather than “their,” the words are in the singular, referring to Israel as a single man:  vayiqra l’ziqne Yisrael u-l’rashav u-l’shoptav u-l’shot’rav – “and called to elders Israel, and to his heads, and to his judges, and to his officers.”

The four categories include the elders who are the seventy leaders eventually known as the Sanhedrin. The heads are the chief men of the families. The judges are those who interpreted the law and made decisions based on their analyses. The word used to describe the officers, shoter, comes from a word indicating to write. Thus, they would be scribes or official superintendents or magistrates. With their calling, it next says…

^{1 (con’t)} and they presented themselves before God.

Of the 38 translations I checked for this verse, not a single one accurately includes the article before “God.” Rather, it says: vayityatsevu liphne ha’elohim – “and stationed themselves before the God.”

As always, the definite article is expressive. It is used when referring to the one true God in relation to man. But more especially, it is in relation to those who are in a right relationship with Him, or it is used to contrast those who are not in a right relationship with Him.

Israel is the nation of the Lord. They have presented themselves before the true God to be instructed by Joshua. This is the same thought that is used in Job 1 & 2, using the same word –

“And it was the day, and came the sons of the God to station themselves upon Yehovah.” Job 1:6 (CG)

The meaning is that those who worshiped the Lord came to offer upon His altar as was noted in the previous verse of Job. The view that the “sons of God” refers to angels is incorrect. It is referring to those humans who worshiped the Lord, having retained the knowledge of Him in the form handed down from Noah.

To ensure the Lord would continue to be revealed properly among the people of the world, Israel was selected as a nation, a covenant was made with them, and His tabernacle and later His temple was placed among them. As such, the leaders of this nation have been called together for this purpose.

Understanding this, the narrative continues, explaining who “the God” is. However, the words are those of the Lord having been conveyed to Joshua. As this is so, the text is claiming divine inspiration in what is next said…

² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel:

koh amar Yehovah elohe Yisrael – “Thus says Yehovah, God of Israel.” The words explain the meaning of ha’elohim, the God, just mentioned. Yehovah is the God of Israel. As noted above, He is God, the God, to those who stand in a proper relationship with Him.

However, the appropriate worship of Him was naturally dying out once again. People are prone to quickly apostatize from a proper understanding of who God is, and so to maintain proper revelation of who He is, He called Israel as His people. That is clearly elucidated in the coming words, beginning with…

^2 (con’t) ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times;

The word “including” is not in the text: b’ever ha’nakhar yashvu avotekhem me’olam terakh avi Avraham va’avi nakhor – “in side the river dwelt your fathers from antiquity: Terah father Abraham and father Nahor.”

The meaning of Terah is a best guess, but it appears to come from two words, tur, which gives the sense of a broad sweeping motion, and ravakh which is to be wide, spacious, unconfined, and so on. Thus, it could signify Wanderer.

Abraham is defined by most as Father of a Multitude or Father of Many Nations.

Nahor comes from nakhar, a snorting. Thus, it means Snorting or Breathing Hard.

The meaning of this clause is that before Israel was called, even before Abraham was called, Terah and Abraham and Nahor dwelt on the other side of the Euphrates River.

Because the word “including” is not in the text, the plural is surely inclusive of Abraham. Terah, along with Abraham and Nahor lived in that area and there is no reason to assume that the next words do not apply to them…

^2 (con’t) and they served other gods.

va’yaavdu elohim akherim – “And served gods other.” Although it is unpalatable to tie Abraham in with serving other gods, hence the probable reason for the inclusion of the word “including” in the previous clause, this is what the text says.

In Jewish tradition it is asserted that while living in Ur, Abraham was persecuted for his disgust of idolatry. Because of this, he was called from there by God. As usual, such traditions are not to be considered as reliable. Rather, this is what explains the most curious words of Abraham that are universally mistranslated –

“And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house…” Genesis 20:13

The verb is plural. Therefore, the translation “God” is incorrect. It reads: v’hi ka’asher hithu oti elohim mibeith avi – “And it was according to which caused to wander me gods from house my father.”

In other words, he is saying that it wasn’t the Lord God who caused him to wander from his father’s house. Rather, the false gods that were served in Ur is what caused him to wander from his father’s house. That is seen in Genesis 11 –

“And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. ³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.” Genesis 11:31, 32

Whether it was Terah or Abraham that realized the idolatry of Ur was inappropriate, or whether the Lord specifically revealed Himself to one of them, the decision was made to leave there.

Based on the next words, it seems likely that it was Abraham and that it was because of the purposeful intervention of the Lord. Matthew Poole agrees with this and says –

“…both Abraham and Nahor were no less idolaters than the rest of mankind. This is said to prevent their [Israel’s] vain boasting in their worthy ancestors, and to assure them that whatsoever good was in or had been done by their progenitors, was wholly born God’s free grace, and not for their own merit or righteousness, as the Jews were very apt to conceit.”

This is likely. Whatever way the original calling came about, and whoever it was to, God was the One who acted first, superintending over the events. With this contemplated, the word of the Lord through Joshua continues…

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law
Having become a curse for us
Just imagine what Israel saw
As they crucified Jesus

There was this sinless Lamb of God
And yet, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
Should we weep and mourn, or stand and applaud?
Over the things God has done for you and me

 Because of what He has done for us
The blessing of Abraham might come
Upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus
Wonderful news is to be learned therefrom

That we might the promise receive
The gift of the Spirit through faith in those who believe

II. In His Midst (verses 3-5)

³ Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River,

va’eqakh eth avikhem eth Avraham me’ever ha’nakhar – “And took your father, Abraham, from side the river.” The obvious meaning is “from the other side of the Euphrates” in the land of Ur. The gods caused Abraham to wander, but the Lord took him and purposefully led him.

The Lord God, the true God, called Abraham away from the false gods in order to establish him. Abraham is the material cause; Abraham’s faith is the formal cause; getting Abraham away from the false gods was the efficient cause; and a relationship with the true God for him and his generations was to be the final cause.

The words of this clause begin a list of events from Israel’s history. Each is a mark of grace in itself, but there are five which confirms the meaning of the number, grace. Cambridge mistakenly lists them as –

(i) The Call of Abraham;
(ii) The Deliverance from Egypt;
(iii) The Defeat of the Amorites on the east of the Jordan, and the frustration of the machinations of Balaam;
(iv) The Passage of the Jordan and Capture of Jericho;
(v) The Victories over all the nations of Canaan.

These need to be amended to fit what the narrative reflects –

(i) The Move and Call of Abraham and the Establishment of the Line of Promise;
(ii) The Move to and Deliverance from Egypt;
(iii) The Move into the Land of the Amorites on the East of the Jordan and their Defeat;
(iv) The Move through the Jordan and the Subduing of the Land of Canaan;
(v) The Planting of Israel in the Land of Promise.

The great point of what is to be noted in verses 3-13 is the one that is left unstated. There is nothing about the giving of the law in the Lord’s words.

The point is that Abraham was an idolater in the land of idolatry. These false gods were leading the people astray. Eventually, there would be no understanding left of the true God, Yehovah. Therefore, the Lord acted to bring about proper worship of Himself and to restore the world to Himself through that proper worship.

As this is so, it becomes obvious that the law is not the final step in the process. Rather, it is an instructive tool leading to the final step.

The Jews think they are the point of all of the steps taken along the redemptive path. From there, the covenant made with them at Sinai sealed that. As such, they see themselves as the ultimate focus of favor from the Lord and the law as the final mark of that favor.

But if Abraham’s call was one of grace, and if the events in his life led to a declaration of righteousness apart from the law, then the law cannot annul what happened before its inception. Paul explains that in Galatians 3 –

Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁷ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
¹⁵ Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Galatians 3:5-18

The call of Abraham cannot be separated from the life of Abraham. Though the declaration of righteousness and the promise are not mentioned by the Lord through Joshua at this time, they explain the reason for the call.

The Lord is working through a plan where the entire world will, once again, worship Him in the proper manner. Understanding this, the words of the Lord through Joshua next say…

^{3 (con’t)} led him throughout all the land of Canaan,

va’olekh oto b’kal erets k’naan – “And walked him in all land Canaan.” That is seen in the words of Genesis 13 –

“And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. ¹⁶ And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.’” Genesis 13:14-17

The Lord directed Abraham to walk throughout the land, and so he did as instructed. This great survey of the land was to give him confidence in the word of the Lord. Even if he was a sojourner, the land would be established as the possession of his seed.

This would be for the continued revelation of the Lord concerning Himself. To bring this about, it next says…

^{3 (con’t)} and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.

The written Hebrew texts says: va’erev eth zaro va’eten lo eth yitskhaq – “and multiplied his seed and gave to him Isaac.” These words are included under the major category of the call of Abraham and the establishment of the line of promise.

Though the multiplication of Abraham’s seed is mentioned, which would have included sons through Hagar and Keturah, those children are excluded from the text because they are irrelevant to what is being presented. Isaac means Laughter. He is the son of promise and the continuation of the line of promise. Next…

⁴ To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.

va’eten l’yitskhaq eth yaaqov v’eth esav – “And gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau.” Isaac was a son of promise. But the words here clearly indicate that both Jacob and Esau were given to Isaac. Thus, even if a son is not of promise, he is still a granting from the Lord. That is reflected in the words of Psalm 127 –

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3

It is a rather sobering thought when we consider how children in the womb are treated today.

Jacob literally means Heel Catcher, but that has several independent meanings such as Supplanter, One Who Trips Up, One Closely Following, etc. Each is tied into the thought of grabbing the heel of another.

Esau comes from asah, to do or make. He was born hairy and thus looked like a fully formed man. His name is Made. As for these two…

^4 (con’t) To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess,

It’s maddening how the NKJV diverts incorrectly from the KJV. The KJV, despite not being a great translation, got these words exactly and then the NKJV completely messes them up. At times, it is more like the UKJV (Unimproved): va’eten l’esav eth har seir la’reshet oto – “And gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it.”

It seems like a superfluous statement to make when Esau, like Ishmael, is not a son of promise. However, the promise of the land of Canaan was given to Jacob. Therefore, it would provide a reason for how the land would remain the possession of Jacob and his offspring.

That was explained in Genesis 36, just as was the removal of Ishmael in Genesis 21 and the other sons of Abraham in Genesis 25. But nothing of those things is mentioned here. Thus, we can assume that we should look for typology. Har Seir, or Mount Seir means Hairy Mount.

As has been seen many times, a mountain (har) is a lot of something gathered. It is synonymous with a large but centralized group of people. Hair signifies an awareness of something, most especially an awareness of sin. Next, it says…

^4 (con’t) but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

These words begin the second section of the Lord’s discourse, “The Move to and Deliverance from Egypt.” v’yaaqov u-banav yaredu mitsrayim – “And Jacob and his sons went down Egypt.” Egypt means Double Distress. The movement of Jacob and his family to Egypt was something spoken to Abraham many years earlier, including the reason it would come about –

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’” Genesis 15:12-16

The movement of Jacob and his family to Egypt occurred in the year 2299 Anno Mundi. It was 215 years after the initial promise of the land that was made to Abraham in Genesis 12. That occurred in the year 2084AM.

From that point, it would be another 215 years before Israel would be brought out of Egypt in the year 2514AM. One might then say that the Lord’s words to Abraham in Genesis 15 are not true. If they would be afflicted 400 years and yet they were only in Egypt for 215 years, then there is an error.

But this is incorrect. It says, “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.” Isaac was born in the year 2109AM.

He would have been weaned between two and four years old. That would be 2011-2013AM. As they departed from Egypt in 2514AM, and as Ishmael began afflicting Abraham’s descendants at the weaning of Isaac in a land that was not yet theirs, it is 400 years from Ishmael’s afflicting Isaac to the exodus from Egypt.

Also, one might argue that the words “the fourth generation” are wrong because the people were in Egypt for more than four generations. Again, this would be incorrect. Only the line of Levi, out of all of those who went to Egypt, has the specific years of their lives recorded.

This is based on the naming of Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, in Exodus and Numbers. Those two mentions are –

“Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.” Exodus 6:20

&

“The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.” Numbers 26:59

Jochebed is noted as Amram’s wife and also “his father’s sister,” but she is also called “the daughter of Levi who was born to Levi in Egypt.”

In Genesis 6:16, it said that Levi lived to the age of 137. The only other son of Jacob whose age at death was recorded was Joseph, because it was necessary to know. After Levi, of his three sons, only the age of Kohath is given at his death, 133.

And then, for all the sons of Kohath, only the age of Amram is given at his death, 137. As the Israelites dwelt in Egypt for 215 years, these ages were recorded to show the reliability of God’s promise to Abraham, and thus the reliability of the word of God itself. This is evidenced by the words, “and to Amram she [Jochebed] bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.”

Jochebed is Levi’s natural daughter, and Kohath is Levi’s natural son. Amram was Levi’s grandson who married his aunt, Levi’s daughter. It was to that union that Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, Levi’s great-grandchildren, were born.

The specific record of this line was given to establish a direct line from Abraham to Moses and Aaron through Isaac and Jacob. That is clearly evident when compared with the other sets of genealogies already given in the Bible.

But more, the special record of the years of these people’s lives, along with the special note of Jochebed as being both the daughter of Levi and sister of Kohath, is given to show that the Lord’s words are both true and fulfilled.

Jacob went to Egypt with his family which included his son Levi and Levi’s three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. In Egypt, Kohath had a son named Amram, and Amram had a son named Moses.

Thus, Moses is the fourth generation from Jacob who went to Egypt (Jacob: Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses). And the sons of Aaron and Moses are the fourth generation from Kohath, Levi’s son, who also went to Egypt. As it is this generation that entered Canaan, the prophecy concerning the fourth generation was exactingly fulfilled.

As for the events leading up to the Exodus, they are referred to next in this second event in the Lord’s acts of grace towards the covenant people…

⁵ Also I sent Moses and Aaron,

This has to be considered a calling of grace. Moses had fled to Midian and would have spent the rest of his life there. Once he received his calling, he attempted to get the Lord to send someone else. This was especially based on these words –

“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Exodus 4:10

The Lord responded with –

“So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.’” Exodus 4:11, 12

However, Moses again asked the Lord to send someone else, kindling the Lord’s anger against him. Because of this, the Lord appointed Aaron to be Moses’ mouthpiece. From there, with these two as the Lord’s instruments to work out His plans, it next says…

^5 (con’t) and I plagued Egypt,

va’egoph eth mitsrayim – “And I struck Egypt.” Without needing to go into any detail, the Lord sums up the ten plagues upon Egypt, combining them into one thought, that of striking them. This was…

^5 (con’t) according to what I did among them.

It is complicated to figure out what the subject is: ka’asher asiti b’qirbo – “According to which I did in his midst.” The name Egypt is a feminine noun, so it can’t be referring to that.

Without anything else to go on except wrong commentaries, I would conclude that it is referring to Pharaoh who is taken synonymously with Egypt. The same word is used in Exodus 3, where this is the case –

“But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. ²⁰ So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst [b’qirbo – “in his midst”]; and after that he will let you go.” Exodus 3:19, 20

This makes sense. It has a precedent, even if the nearest antecedent is not masculine, and it resolves the noticeable gender discord. In fact, because the Lord is speaking through Joshua about the Exodus account, and because that has been recorded and maintained among Israel, I would say it is the resolution to the matter. With that, the Lord next says…

*^5 (fin) Afterward I brought you out.

v’akhar hotseti etkhem – “And after brought out you (pl.).” The words are to all those gathered before the Lord, some of whom had actually dwelt in Egypt but were young enough to escape the sentence upon those who were destined to die in the wilderness.

As for the words themselves, they will be repeated and more fully explained in the next section. Despite that, they are complete enough to end the first section of the discourse to the people.

With just five short verses, we have been able to review a few portions of hundreds of years of Israel’s history. The Lord is making a point by telling Israel these things. In each thought, there is the note that grace has been given.

Israel has no right to boast because it is the Lord who has accomplished these things. But more, the law that they have been given, though great and noble, is not a means to an end. It is merely a steppingstone to bring them where they need to be.

They should be able to see this from the things He has conveyed to them, but to this day, they cannot see it, nor can many in the church. A promise was given to Abraham and his seed. The introduction of the law cannot void that promise.

Paul couldn’t see this until the Lord personally intervened, and then it changed his life. Since then, what occurred in his life, and how that is relevant to our relationship with God has been recorded in the New Testament. We don’t need a personal appearance from the Lord to get it. We just need to read and think about what we have read.

Hold fast to the grace of God in Christ. He has done all the work. We just need to accept that truth and believe. In our believing, He is pleased enough with us to seal us with His Spirit, adopt us as His children, and call us His sons and daughters. Don’t over complicate the simplicity of that.

We may or may not be able to perceive all the wonderful sounds, tastes, and sights that are right there in the Bible, but we can at least get the basics right. God has made the gospel simple enough that anyone can get it. So hear the word, believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth. In this, you will do well.

Closing Verse: “So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.” Acts 7:15

Next Week: Joshua 24:6-15 To the Lord, we shall applaud, this we shall do... (For He is a Holy God, Part II) (56^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him, and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

For He Is a Holy God, Part I

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel
To Shechem and called for the elders of Israel
For their heads, for their judges, and for their officers
And they presented themselves before God
———-to see what he would tell

And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the
———-LORD God of Israel:
‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the
———-father of Nahor
Dwelt on the other side of the [Euphrates] River in old times
And they served other gods, such was the score

Then I took your father Abraham
From the other side of the River, on a new track
Led him throughout all the land of Canaan
And multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac

To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau
To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess
But Jacob and his children went down to Egypt
The place of their distress

Also I sent Moses and Aaron
And I plagued Egypt, without a doubt
According to what I did among them
Afterward I brought you out

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. ³ Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. ⁴ To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵ Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.