"*** Joshua01 ***"
"The Lord to be with Joshua as with Moses After the death of Moses the Lord said to Joshua, Moses my servant has died. As I was with Moses so shall I be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. Now be strong and courageous for you will be leading these people to inherit the land I swore to give their forefathers. Joshua commanded to study the Law day and night, then he will be successful in all he does Be careful to obey all the laws my servant Moses gave you. Let the book of the Law govern your speech. Study it day and night so you will be sure to do everything written in it. Then you"
"will prosper and have success in all you do. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. Joshua told to prepare to cross the Jordan Now then, you and all these people, prepare to cross the Jordan river into the land I am about to give you. Two men sent to spy out the land So Joshua sent out two men as spies to look over the land and the city of Jericho. The spies stay with Rahab a harlot of Jericho The spies crossed the Jordan and entered Jericho and went to stay the night at the house of a harlot named Rahab. The king of Jericho is warned and sends guards to Rahab to"
"arrest the spies However the king of Jericho was told, Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land. So the king sent guards to Rahab saying, Bring out the men who came to you. They are spies. Rahab deceives the guards and saves the lives of the spies Now Rahab had hidden the two spies among stalks of flax on her roof, so she said to the guards, The men did come to me, but at sunset when it was time to close the city gate they left. I do not know which way they went. Go after them quickly and you may overtake them. So the guards set out in pursuit along the road that led to"
"the ford of the Jordan. Rahab informs the spies that the Israelites are held in dread by the Canaanites Rahab then went up on the roof and said to the Israelite spies, I know that your God Jehovah has given this land to you. A great dread of you has fallen on us. For we heard how Jehovah dried up the sea for you when you came out of Egypt and how you completely destroyed Sihon and Og the two kings of the Amorites. When we heard of it our courage failed us, for Jehovah your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Rahab asks that the Israelites spare her family Now then,"
"please swear to me that you will show kindness to my family and spare the lives of my father and mother and brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, for I have shown kindness to you. The spies agree to her request if the red escape rope is tied in her window and her family gathered The men replied, Our lives for your lives. So she let them down by a rope through the window of her house, which was built into the city wall. Then she said to them, Flee to the hills so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return and then go on your way."
"The men said to her, The oath you made us swear will not be binding upon us unless when we enter the city you have tied this crimson rope in the same window through which you let us down, and you have brought all of your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street their blood will be upon their own heads. Rahab said, Agreed. And as they departed she tied the crimson rope in the window. The spies report back to Joshua When the two men left they went up into the hills and hid. After three days they forded the Jordan and returned to Joshua and told him all"
"that had happened. They said, The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands. The hearts of the people are melting in fear because of us. Joshua orders the leaders to have the people prepare to enter the promised land So Joshua commanded the leaders of the Israelites saying, Go through the camp and have the people get ready. Three days from now we will cross the Jordan and take possession of the land the Lord our God is giving us."
"*** Joshua02 ***"
"The Israelites move camp to banks of the Jordan Early next morning, on the seventh day of the first month the Israelites moved to the bank of the Jordan and camped there before crossing over. The priests carrying the Ark lead out On the third day leaders went through the Israelite camp instructing the people saying, Tomorrow when you see the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord you are to move out and follow it, but keep a distance of about 2000 cubits between you and the Ark. Do not go near it. Joshua warned the people saying, Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonderful things"
"among you. The next morning Joshua commanded the priests, Take up the Ark of the Covenant and lead out ahead of the people. The Lord to exalt Joshua in the eyes of all Israel Then the Lord said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel. They will know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Now command the priests who carry the Ark to go and stand in the river. As soon as they set foot in the Jordan its waters will stop flowing. The Jordan stops flowing as the priests enter the water Now the Jordan was in flood as it always is during harvest season, yet as soon as"
"the feet of the priests who carried the Ark touched the waters edge, the water upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam. All Israel pass over the Jordan So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the Ark stood firm on the river bed in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel passed by, until the whole nation had completed the crossing. A memorial of twelve stones to be set up to commemorate the miracle Then the Lord said to Joshua, Choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Have each man lift a large stone from the"
"middle of the Jordan where the priests stood and carry it on his shoulder to be set up at the place where you will camp this night. In days to come when your children say to you, What do these stones mean? Answer them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off from before the Ark of Jehovah. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. Joshua chose men to do as the Lord commanded. He also set up twelve stones on the bed of the Jordan where the priests stood. Then he said to the priests, Come up out of the Jordan. The river runs in flood as before As soon as the"
"priests came up, the waters of the Jordan ran in flood as before. That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they honoured him all the days of his life just as they had honoured Moses. The people marched up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the east of Jericho. The memorial stones set up at Gilgal That evening, when Joshua set up the twelve stones from the Jordan he said to the people, When your children say, What do these stones mean? answer them, Jehovah our God did to the Jordan what he did to the Red Sea. He dried it up until we had crossed over."
"Uncircumcised Israelite males are circumcised Then the Lord said to Joshua, Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites. For although all the males that came out of Egypt had been circumcised, those born in the desert had not. After the whole nation had been circumcised they remained at Gilgal until they were healed. The Passover is celebrated On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The manna from heaven stops The day after the Passover the Israelites ate food from the land of Canaan,"
"unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped that day and from that day forward there was never any more. The Israelites ate the food of Canaan."
"*** Joshua03 ***"
"An angel appears to instruct Joshua Now Joshua was standing near Jericho when he looked up and saw an angel standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and said, Are you for us or for our enemies? The angel answered, I have come as a commander of the army of Jehovah. Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, then he said to the angel, What message does my lord have for his servant? The angel replied, Remove your sandals for the ground on which you stand is holy. So Joshua did so. Then the angel said to Joshua, I have delivered Jericho into your hands."
"Now march around the city with all the armed men and have seven priests sounding rams horn trumpets march in front of the Ark. Do this once a day for the next six days. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times. Then the priests blowing the trumpets are to sound a long blast and all the men are to give a great shout. The walls of Jericho will collapse and every man will go straight in. The army march around Jericho for seven days So Joshua commanded the Israelites and seven priests went forth sounding trumpets with the Ark followed them. All the armed men marched with"
"the priests, both in front of them and behind them, and the trumpets were sounded continually. Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went in or out. That first day the armed men and the priests circled the city once and then returned to camp. Early the next morning the priests again took up the Ark of the Lord and with the armed men marched around the city once more. They did this for six days. On the seventh day they rose again at day break to march around the city, but this time they circled the city seven times. The walls of Jericho collapse at the mighty shout"
"of Israel The seventh time round the priests sounded a long trumpet blast. Now Joshua had commanded the men, When you hear the long trumpet blast, shout The Lord has given you the city. So at the sound of the trumpet blast the armed men gave a mighty shout and immediately the walls of Jericho collapsed and every man charged straight in. Then they began to put every living thing in the city to the sword, men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. Rahab and her family rescued Joshua said to the two young men who had spied out the land, Go into Rahab the harlots house and bring"
"her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her. So the two men went in and brought out Rahab along with her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. Jericho is burned Then the Israelites burned the entire city and everything in it, except the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron which they put into the treasury of the Tabernacle of the Lord. Joshua pronounces a curse on the man who rebuilds the walls of Jericho Then Joshua pronounced this curse. Cursed be the man who rebuilds the walls of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son"
"will he lay the foundations. At the cost of his youngest son will he set up the gates."
"*** Joshua04 ***"
"The anger of the Lord aroused by theft Now one of the Israelite men had been unfaithful and kept some of the spoil of Jericho for himself, so the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. The men of Ai beat back the Israelites causing fear to come upon the Israelites Joshua next sent men to spy out the city of Ai east of Jericho. When the spies returned to Joshua they said, Send 2000 or 3000 men to take it, for only a few men are there. So about 3000 men went up. But they were put to flight by the men of Ai and thirty-six Israelites were killed. At this the hearts of the Israelites became"
"full of fear. Joshua mourns then prays to the Lord Joshua tore his clothes and fell face down before the Ark and lay there until evening. The elders of Israel did the same with dust on their heads. Then Joshua prayed saying, O Lord what can I say, Israel has been put to flight by her enemies. Now the Canaanites will hear of this and will surround us and wipe us out. What then will you do for your great name? The Lord replies that Israel has sinned by stealing some of the devoted spoil of Jericho The Lord said to Joshua, Stand up. Why are you down on your face? Israel has sinned. They have"
"violated my commandment and stolen some of the devoted spoil of Jericho. They have lied and put devoted spoil among their own possessions. That is why they cannot stand against their enemies. Now command the people and say to them, Purify yourselves, and in the morning present yourselves before the Lord tribe by tribe. Whoever is found with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord. The guilty man, Achan of Judah is identified by the Lord Therefore early next morning Joshua had the men of Israel come"
"forward tribe by tribe. Achan of the tribe of Judah was identified by the Lord as the guilty one. Achan confesses Joshua said to Achan, Give glory to the God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me what you have done. Achan answered, It is true. It is I who have sinned against the God of Israel. I saw among the spoil of Jericho a beautiful robe and 200 shekels of silver and 50 shekels of gold. I coveted them and took them and buried them in the ground inside my tent. The stolen spoil is recovered Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent of Achan and unearthed the buried items and"
"brought them back and spread them out before Joshua. Joshua said to Achan, Why have you brought this trouble upon us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today. Achan and all his household stoned and his possessions burned So they took Achan, the robe, the silver and gold, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had to the Valley of Achor. There all Israel stoned them and burned them with fire. Over the remains they heaped a large pile of rocks which remain to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger."