“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, Who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
(Psalm 24:3-6 ESV, continued next week)
Soldier’s National Monument, Gettysburg PA
Joshua 3:1- 4:24
Crossing Over
•Forty years- one for every day of the wasted spying mission back in the book of Numbers- is how long the Israelites have spent in the wilderness.
•Now after the death of their beloved leader, Moses, Joshua has told them to get ready to cross the Jordan River and enter into the Promised Land.
•Yahweh promises everyone that something miraculous would happen and as the priests are getting to step in the water we are told that the Jordan floods annually.
•Could Yahweh have had the people cross the river at a time when it was at its lowest? Yes, but doesn’t it show his power even more if he holds back a flooding river?
•The whole time the Jordan remained dry so they could walk across the Ark of the Covenant was in the middle of the river, which was a symbol of the hand of God Almighty holding back the river.
•When all of the people are out of the river and on the banks Joshua has one man from each tribe grab a stone out of the river as a memorial to the crossing and afterward the priests were commanded to leave the river bed.
•The moment the priests get out of the river and get their feet on dry ground the river returns to normal flow (back to flood stage). They camped at Gilgal.
•Forty years- one for every day of the wasted spying mission back in the book of Numbers- is how long the Israelites have spent in the wilderness.
•Now after the death of their beloved leader, Moses, Joshua has told them to get ready to cross the Jordan River and enter into the Promised Land.
•Yahweh promises everyone that something miraculous would happen and as the priests are getting to step in the water we are told that the Jordan floods annually.
•Could Yahweh have had the people cross the river at a time when it was at its lowest? Yes, but doesn’t it show his power even more if he holds back a flooding river?
•The whole time the Jordan remained dry so they could walk across the Ark of the Covenant was in the middle of the river, which was a symbol of the hand of God Almighty holding back the river.
•When all of the people are out of the river and on the banks Joshua has one man from each tribe grab a stone out of the river as a memorial to the crossing and afterward the priests were commanded to leave the river bed.
•The moment the priests get out of the river and get their feet on dry ground the river returns to normal flow (back to flood stage). They camped at Gilgal.
Joshua 5
No More to Wander
•Notice that the hearts of all their enemies had melted, even though forty years before when the spies gave the bad report Yahweh had already given them the Promised Land.
•This generation agrees to circumcision which is the sign of the Old Covenant, in order to show that they were ready to take the Promised Land and would obey the command to take the land.
•Gibeath-haaraloth translates to “hill of foreskins”. Draw your own conclusions.
•The name that was given to their camp was Gilgal, which translates to “rolling”. The Egyptians were now rolled away.
•While camping at Gilgal the Israelites celebrate the Passover. Although they had been celebrating Passover for 40 years, this was their first Passover in Canaan.
•The day after they ate from the abundance of the land. From that point on the manna ceased to fall and the Israelites were truly on their own and out of the wilderness.
•Finally Joshua sees a man stand up with a drawn sword and asks if he is a friend or foe; the man says he is the Commander of the Army of the Lord.
•We have come across this man before, he is Jesus.
•Notice that the hearts of all their enemies had melted, even though forty years before when the spies gave the bad report Yahweh had already given them the Promised Land.
•This generation agrees to circumcision which is the sign of the Old Covenant, in order to show that they were ready to take the Promised Land and would obey the command to take the land.
•Gibeath-haaraloth translates to “hill of foreskins”. Draw your own conclusions.
•The name that was given to their camp was Gilgal, which translates to “rolling”. The Egyptians were now rolled away.
•While camping at Gilgal the Israelites celebrate the Passover. Although they had been celebrating Passover for 40 years, this was their first Passover in Canaan.
•The day after they ate from the abundance of the land. From that point on the manna ceased to fall and the Israelites were truly on their own and out of the wilderness.
•Finally Joshua sees a man stand up with a drawn sword and asks if he is a friend or foe; the man says he is the Commander of the Army of the Lord.
•We have come across this man before, he is Jesus.
Joshua 6
The “Battle” of Jericho
•Jericho was the most fortified and feared city in Canaan at the time that the Israelites crossed over the Jordan and entered the Promised Land.
•Instead of beating around the bush and going after the smaller dogs first, Yahweh sets them up right across from Jericho and prepares them to take out the alpha dog from the get-go.
•Right from verse 1 we read that the Israelites were having quite the impact on the land: Jericho completely shut itself in and locked its gates up tight because they were in fear of Israel.
•Jericho has had 40 years to think about the day when Israel would march up to their gates and attack them.
•Yahweh tells Joshua that Jericho is already in his hands, which is what Moses had been told before the spies went in 40 years before.
•Notice that in Yahweh’s battle plan there is absolutely no military battle plan or strategy, it is all ritual with the symbolic number seven (divine completeness) playing the prominent role.
•The command by Joshua to go forward is actually “cross over”, kind of like crossing over the Jordan.
•After the walls fell Rahab and co. were safe, but the rest of the city was devoted to destruction. Yahweh did not want the Israelites getting mixed up in Canaanite problems and to fall away from faith.
•Jericho was the most fortified and feared city in Canaan at the time that the Israelites crossed over the Jordan and entered the Promised Land.
•Instead of beating around the bush and going after the smaller dogs first, Yahweh sets them up right across from Jericho and prepares them to take out the alpha dog from the get-go.
•Right from verse 1 we read that the Israelites were having quite the impact on the land: Jericho completely shut itself in and locked its gates up tight because they were in fear of Israel.
•Jericho has had 40 years to think about the day when Israel would march up to their gates and attack them.
•Yahweh tells Joshua that Jericho is already in his hands, which is what Moses had been told before the spies went in 40 years before.
•Notice that in Yahweh’s battle plan there is absolutely no military battle plan or strategy, it is all ritual with the symbolic number seven (divine completeness) playing the prominent role.
•The command by Joshua to go forward is actually “cross over”, kind of like crossing over the Jordan.
•After the walls fell Rahab and co. were safe, but the rest of the city was devoted to destruction. Yahweh did not want the Israelites getting mixed up in Canaanite problems and to fall away from faith.