The Beginning - Joshua 1

Ok, here we are the first chapter outside of the Torah is over 4 years, pretty exciting. I’m also really excited to start in the military warfare part because like I explained before, God’s warfare strategy is fascinating to me and I want to eventually write a book about it. TB spent 3 lecture hours going back through the history of how the Israelites got to the point where they were led by Joshua and stood at the bank of the Jordan river, ready to enter the promised land. There were a few interesting points in it, the first was that Abraham’s father was a merchant of idols for the pagan gods and he sold these idols to people. Interestingly, TB said something to the effect of “I bet it was a very strained relationship between Abraham, who believed in Jehovah, and his father, who made money in idolatry.” When I heard that, I was reminded of the picture and Abraham’s account in the Pearl of Great Price, of his father trying to have him sacrificed to the pagan god of Elkenah. In reading this account in Abraham 1:11, Abraham says that before they tried to sacrifice him, they sacrificed 3 virgins girls because “they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar.” This made me wonder, why they wouldn’t worship those idols, especially if it meant that they would be killed for not doing so. The only reason would be because they believed in a different, more powerful god. I was under the impression that Abraham was the only person at that time, in that area who believed in God and was divinely acquainted with him, but it seems like that wasn’t the case if there were these 3 girls who were willing to die because they wouldn’t worship the idols. Just something to think about.

It seems like at that time, these pagan priests were sacrificing everyone who wouldn’t worship their idols, those three girls, and then Abraham. Abraham implied that his father arranged the sacrifice, which was what I was reminded of when TB said that. The story continues that when the priest went to sacrifice Abraham, “the Lord broke down the altar of Elkenah… and smote the priest that he died.” God Himself broke down the idol and killed the priest as he tried to sacrifice Abraham, that’s wild. Why didn’t God do the same thing for the 3 girls sacrificed earlier? I don’t know, but I do believe that they went to the next life to live in peace and happiness, and I’ll never be mad at anyone for getting to do that. Anyway, that’s what I was reminded of when TB said that.

Another thing to remember is that Joshua is in his position because 38 years previously when the promised land was “scouted” initially, 10 of the 12 scouts were too afraid to go in and take the land trusting God to deliver it to them. Only Joshua and Caleb wanted to carry out God’s will, and so they were the only two adults who were going to be allowed to enter the promised land, everyone else were going to have to die in the wilderness. One more important part before we start the book of Joshua is noted by both TB and the IM, which says that the book of Joshua is an important part of the Torah because it shows the culmination of many of the promises made by God to the people of Israel, similar to how the book of Acts shows how the saints moved on after the 4 gospels.

God comes to Joshua and tells him that Moses has died and that he is to take the people of Israel “over this Jordan… unto the land which I do give to them.” I really like the imagery of verse 3 which says, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” It makes it personal for Joshua, the promised land isn’t something that just Moses was going to be in charge of, it has a feel of “take off your shoes for this is holy ground,” it just gives it a personal touch. The IM says that the promised land was originally meant by God to be about 150 miles tall and 75 miles across and that was the original plan for what land to conquer. However, the IM says, “Although the Israelites who went into the promised land with Joshua were generally faithful and obedient, as a nation Israel soon returned to their old ways and lost the blessings promised to them on winning the whole land. Not unto the time of David and Solomon )about 200 years later) did Israel control the land given in the original covenant and then only for a short while, for they soon lost the outermost parts of it again.”

God promises Joshua that He will be with him, even as He was with Moses and that Joshua is to “observe to do according to all the law,” referring to the Mosaic law that had just been spelled out over the last 40 years that was held in the Torah. It’s interesting, I focus so much on the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law, but I guess they can be the same thing, especially when it comes to Joshua ruling the people, to do so according to the law. While a lot of people think that the law of Moses was punitive and rigid, it was also based on a foundation of God’s love, mercy, fairness, and equality for all people, so from a leadership perspective, commanding Joshua to rule according to the law would encompass both the letter and the spirit.

Verse 9 has an interesting word, God says to Joshua, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest?” The word “dismayed” caught my attention because that’s a very accurate description for how I’ve been feeling the last year, dismayed. It’s like a mix of shock, horror, disbelief, it’s a very apt description for me, but we are commanded here to not feel that way. And you feel what you feel, you can’t command a feeling to go away, but I’ve found recently that I’ve had to talk myself out of dwelling in feelings that I know are not in line with God’s teachings. I’ve been overcome with a certain feeling, like despair, or disbelief, or shock and had to repeat to myself, “I trust God,” and “I believe God’s promises,” and I just repeat that over and over again, until I come out of that negative feeling. It’s like positive affirmations but for God, and I guess that still counts, it’s talking myself off the ledge multiple times per day, and so far it’s been effective.

After Joshua’s conversation with God, he tells his officers to inventory supplies and get things ready because it’s almost time to move. He also has to have a conversation with the tribal leaders of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh because God approved of them staying on the east side of the Jordan river, but required them to still send troops to take the rest of the land and now Joshua has to enforce that promise and to their credit, these tribal leaders do fulfill their troop obligations that was agreed to with God and Moses previously.