Possessing the Promised Land

GOLDEN TEXT “And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” —Joshua 24:24

JOSHUA 1:10,11; 23:1-9; 24:14,16

THE Lord said to Joshua, “Moses, my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” (Josh. 1:2,3) This was the Joshua, who together with Caleb, forty years earlier had asserted his belief that with the Lord’s help they could defeat the Canaanites, and possess the Land of Promise.

Joshua was still of this opinion, although it would be no easier task now than it would have been forty years before. Joshua’s confidence in victory over the Canaanites was still based upon his faith in God, and God gave him wonderful assurances of his help. He said to this his new servant, “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.”—vs. 9

Having received the Lord’s command to move forward, and being assured that the Lord would go with them to help in every time of need, Joshua gave command to the people to prepare for the move over Jordan and into the Promised Land. The people were given three days to make the necessary preparations, including, no doubt, the assembling of food supplies.

From the very beginning Joshua was given evidence of the providences of God working on his behalf and on behalf of the children of Israel. The wonderful manner in which a path opened up for them through the river Jordan was one of these evidences. As soon as they crossed Jordan they came face to face with the powerfully walled city of Jericho. But this was no problem for the Lord.

An angel of the Lord, styling himself the captain of the Lord’s host, appeared to Joshua and outlined the strategy he was to use in conquering Jericho. And, with the Lord overruling, this strategy was successful. The walls of Jericho fell, and the people of the city were put to flight. Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be fragments of the walls of ancient Jericho.

The next city to be taken was Ai. This was a small city, and Joshua, without knowing that Achan had taken “the accursed thing,” sent a contingent of 3,000 of Israel’s soldiers against Ai, and they were defeated and 36 Israelites slain. This was a needed lesson for Israel’s new leader, for it taught him and all of Israel the absolute necessity of strictly adhering to their covenant with Jehovah.

The conquering of Canaan and the division of the land under the leadership of Joshua took about six years. (Joshua 14:5-15) This faithful leader of God’s people was blessed with many outstanding victories during that time. But there were some failures, these coming as a result of more or less unfaithfulness to the Lord, largely on the part of the Israelites themselves.

However, all the Canaanites were not driven out of the land. Many of them were allowed to remain (usually paying tribute), and the Israelites were warned not to follow their ways, nor to worship their gods, a warning which from time to time many of them failed to heed.

Joshua, when he neared the time of his death, called for an assembly of the Israelites; and like Moses, he encouraged them to remain faithful to the Lord, reminding them of the wonderful manner in which Jehovah had cared for them, in that now the land had been conquered and divided among the various tribes.

Joshua called upon the Israelites to go on record as to where they stood with respect to their God. He called upon them to “put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.” (ch. 24:14) “Choose you this day whom ye will serve,” Joshua said, “… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (vs. 15) Joshua’s eloquent appeal was well received, and effective, for the people answered, “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.”—vs. 16

And again, as quoted in our Golden Text, the people said, “The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” They were doubtless sincere in this declaration. We are told that “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.” (ch. 24:31) Beyond this, as the Book of Judges reveals, the people did not continue to serve the Lord faithfully.

QUESTIONS

What gave Joshua such great assurance that the Israelites could possess the Land of Promise?

Name some of the miracles which Joshua witnessed, particularly at the beginning of his leadership.

How long did the people continue serving the Lord after the death of Joshua?

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