CHAPTER 1
1. Now what took place after the death of Moshe, servant of YHWH, was [that] YHWH spoke to Y’hoshua the son of Nun—the one who waited on Moshe—saying,
Who waited on Moshe: a servant who attends to his master as a butler contributes to what another is doing. In most transfers of power in the ancient Near East, when someone ascended to the throne, he often treated his predecessors with contempt, often even obliterating their images and records about them. But instead of saying, “Now I’m in charge and we’re going to do things the right way!”, Y’hoshua describes himself humbly as one who was a small part of what Moshe had been about. Instead of setting out to build his own legacy, he builds on Moshe’s. Moshe was the one who put him in this office, and he honors him. It is not about himself, or even about Moshe, but about taking Israel home. He does not even call himself YHWH’s servant; Moshe had that role, and Y’hoshua sees himself only as Moshe’s attendant, although now that Moshe is gone, YHWH does speak directly to Y’hoshua, but he remains humble about this too. Even when Moshe was said to have been alone, we see Y’hoshua turn out to have been with him after all. It was as if he was Moshe’s shadow, and was probably nearly the only true friend Moshe had. He was there whenever he was needed. Y’shua often used “Moshe” as an idiom for the Torah he wrote, so in this way we are the Torah’s attendants as it in turn serves YHWH. While Y’hoshua does give due honor to his parentage, he calls himself by the name Moshe gave him rather than the name his father gave him, to emphasize that he himself is not Israel’s salvation, as his original name “Hoshea” would suggest, but that YHWH is the true Savior (compare Yeshayahu 43:3) and he is only the agent of YHWH’s salvation.
2. “Moshe My servant is dead, so get up and cross over this Yarden—you and this whole people—into the Land that I am giving to them (to the sons of Israel).
My servant: Only Avraham, Iyov, Kalev, David, and a very few others are directly called YHWH’s servants. Only the very faithful merit this title. So this is a true compliment from YHWH. Get up: Stand up with a purpose, in order to accomplish something and make progress. “School is out”, and now it is time to do what we have been training for. Cross over: The definition of what it means to be a Hebrew. This Y’hoshua has been in the Land before—ahead of the rest—just as Y’shua has gone on before us into the Kingdom. But he did not cross the Yarden to get there the first time; he came up the mountain ridge from the south instead. This Yarden: for there will be many crossings-over; this is not the last thing we will have to get to the other side of. Yarden means “that which causes to descend”. We need to overcome all such things that would rob us of the progress we have made. So stand up and walk in what we have learned. But we only get past one at a time; we have to focus on getting over the current one before we can deal with the next. I am giving: Like Moshe, Y’hoshua is only the instrument YHWH is using to accomplish this.
3. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to you, as I told Moshe.
Your …to you: plural in both cases. Compare YHWH’s words to Avraham (Gen. 13:14). YHWH chose a man whose feet had already trodden this Land as one of the 12 spies, and although he knew what it was like—its terrain, its people, and their fortifications—he stood up and said, “No problem! We can take it, because YHWH is on our side!” Out of a few million Israelites, he was one of the only two alive who had ever walked in the Promised Land. He knows how to operate there, and YHWH therefore found him a useful leader at this stage. The things we develop in ourselves that make us better make us more desirable to YHWH. He wants the best for His children and friends, so He weighs out not only our skills but our loyalty and commitment. He looks at the fruit we have already borne, and chooses those who have been faithful in what they have already put their hands to. He offers us the Kingdom, but if we do not invest our lives in claiming it, we will never have it. When we take the first step, He will come out to meet us. The more we allow ourselves to be corrected, the better we will be able to see to correct others. We should not ask for anything we are not putting our hands—and feet—to. That way we also “own” it through participation in what He is doing.
4. “From the uninhabited land and this Levanon and as far as the great river (the River Ferath), the whole land of the Chittites and as far as the Great Sea of the Sunset will become your territory.
This Levanon: possibly not the range always known as Lebanon, but a nearer snow-capped range, since the term generically means “very white”. This was just before Passover and at that time, prior to the great 6-degree polar shift of 701 B.C.E., the climate at this latitude was cooler than it is today, and there very well might have been a snow cover on Mt. Nevo, where Israel was camped at this time. In any case, that it is called “this” Levanon indicates that there is another. Ferath: the Euphrates, from a word meaning “fruitful”. The uninhabited land (wilderness) means “place of the word”. Chittites means “terrorizers”. If we walk out what YHWH has given us from His word, we will dispossess all terrorists! To this day Israel has not completed this job, for our borders have never reached to the Euphrates, except briefly in the lands that were not inhabited by Israel but paid tribute to David. The “settlers” in Israel deserve great credit for doing what YHWH said to do. He said this was Israel’s Land; no one else has a right to change the title deed.
5. “Not a man will be able to keep himself standing before you all the days of your life! As I was with Moshe, I will be with you. I will not let you drop nor will I abandon you.
Could there be any promise that could instill courage more effectively than this? Right away He takes care of two major concerns: “What if someone more powerful than we are opposes us?” and “Will you always be there for us?” They cannot defeat YHWH. He has our back, being our truest Friend. No matter what we go through, He will stick with us if we let what we say we believe define what we actually step out and face head-on.
6. “Keep your grip strong and [your heart] firm, because you will enable this people to receive as an inheritance the land that I swore to their ancestors that I would give them.
Because YHWH’s grip on us is firm (v. 5), He can ask us to hold on tightly as well. Firm: or persistent. This people: those already here; do not wait for the next generation and settle for letting this one only make the preparations. Move before you have time to get soft or lose the vision. Strike while you still remember Moshe and everything you went through in the wilderness. Enable: Or, cause them to inherit. Why would this require such bravery and strength? Wouldn’t they be eager to inherit? Yet the terms said they had to work for it, and this they did not desire. They were used to the manna falling from heaven, but those days are over, and those days may be quickly approaching for us, too, who grew up hearing that everything from YHWH is free. Even with a gift there are certain expectations of performance in how we will care for what we are given, or it may be taken back from us. That work also included killing even the youngest of the nations that had reached their limit of sin, and they may not have been so sure they wanted the Land that badly. They would have plenty of excuses, so Y’hoshua had to be ready to overcome these. Y’hoshua also needs to let the people do much of the work. It may be easier to do it all oneself than to decide who would do best in which role, but a great leader lets them know what he expects, sets them about it, gets out of the way, and holds them accountable.
7. “Just keep your grip strong and be very determined to be careful to act in accordance with the whole instruction about which My servant Moshe gave you orders. Do not turn from it to the right hand or the left, in order that you may cause [them] to act intelligently in every [place] you go.
Determined: use your Israelite tendency to be stiff-necked for a worthwhile purpose. Insist on the right things. If YHWH said it, don’t turn to the right hand or the left in this matter. Act intelligently: Even if you are not very smart, do things the way He says to, and those around you will at least think you have understanding. (D’varim 4:6) Even King Shlomoh got his wisdom simply from reading the Torah and carrying the principles over to analogous situations. Act like you have some sense, even if you don't, and it will become a part of you; you actually will become smarter!
8. “This legal document of the Torah must not recede from your mouth, but you must ponder it by day and by night, in order that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that it written in it, because then you will advance your march and then you will cause [them] to act prudently.
From your mouth: Clean animals chew the cud, and this is a picture of what He is talking about here: digesting what we can, absorbing what we can understand into our lifestyles, then coming back to the parts we could not comprehend the first time. With His word in our mouths, there is no room for gossip, useless communication (Eph. 4:29), or the names of pagan deities. (Ex. 23:13) Ponder: think and meditate about, with the additional aspect of asking yourself, “What does the Torah say?” when you have a decision to make. Go find the answer. Then speak to others also. This way it does not just remain in one person’s mind, but inspires others to act on it as well. Advance your march: or, make progress in your journey, make your way successful, prosperous, or profitable. There are many definitions of prosperity that the Church has claimed, but which are not warranted by Scripture. The kind of progress YHWH promises is Israel living in His Land again. Other kinds of prosperity often stand in the way.
9. “Haven’t I [already] given you the order? Keep your grip strong and [your heart] firm! Do not be in dread or lose your composure, because YHWH your Elohim is [the One who goes] with you in every [place] you go.”
The order: Not a suggestion. We need to “take the bull by the horns.” It will indeed buck, because the Kingdom is the biggest threat to the power that men currently hold, but He leaves us no excuse to let go. The easiest way for it to impede our progress is to make us comfortable where we are. This was why so few returned from Babylon with Nehemyah. They were respected and placed in high positions there, so life was much easier than in a land full of the ruins of war. The “other abundant life” is what keeps us from the inheritance YHWH intends for us. Learn to recognize the traps. Christianity, too, deters us by telling us that the Torah is dangerous, but the consequences of not stepping out are more frightening than the risks of doing so. Lose your composure: literally, “go to pieces” or be shattered. We must not be intimidated by anything but YHWH. Only He is worthy to make our jaws drop. YHWH does not like to be around the fear of anything but Himself; He does not want to be the general of a cowardly army. There is no reason to fear if we are on His side. He told us He would not leave us, but if we stop trusting Him, He will not fight for us. Y’hoshua would have cause to be nervous, with Moshe gone and a people whom he has seen rebel so many times, and YHWH is aware of these legitimate concerns, so He reassures Y’hoshua that He is not going anywhere.
10. Then Y’hoshua gave orders to the officers of the people, saying,
YHWH had just given orders to Y’hoshua (1:9), and Y’hoshua did not ask for more time to get acclimated, or for more training, or for a worthy assistant. He went right to work and began to command the people to do what YHWH had commanded him. He did not make excuses. He had enough information to get started. He did not ask YHWH “how”, because he realized that once you put your hand to it, most of your questions will be answered. The answers lie in getting up and walking. We learn as we go. The kind of walking we are after here is the kind where we pay attention to what we can learn, and look for something to pick up and take with us, so that we can apply it to all areas of life. Bringing Israel as a gathered people back into the Land has never been done before, but Y’hoshua does not let this keep him from starting. He does not ask if there is a grant available for a five-year study. “Start to walk” is enough information for him. Do as much as you can with what you have been told already, and more information will come. Y’hoshua’s first step is to command the officers. In the wilderness he learned from Moshe, who had learned from Yithro, that one must delegate authority or very soon he will be overworked. So Y’hoshua trained others to put in charge. We cannot enter the Land without leaders. No matter how badly we have been “burned” before, Israel cannot travel without order, with everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. YHWH will not tolerate a chaotic mess in His Land. This fact behooves us to raise up leaders who will be faithful to love the sheep more than wealth or fame.
11. “Pass through the inside of the camp and give orders to the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves because within another three days you are crossing over this Yarden to go in to seize the Land that YHWH your Elohim is giving you to take possession of.’”
He started by teaching the officers to do what he was doing—to give orders. YHWH had told him, “Let them inherit the Land”, and Y’hoshua begins by making them responsible. He does not gather all of the people. He probably gathers only 70 men—leaders of thousands or even the level above them—and they will give orders to the people under their authority, who in turn will give orders to those under them. What does he tell them to do? Prepare provisions (literally, things hunted for). This is a new level of responsibility. Finding their own food is something these people have never had to do before. They have grown up being given manna, and their parents, who were slaves, were provided with food by the Egyptian taskmasters. So while they are in this familiar situation, while the manna is still falling, Y’hoshua tells them to learn to feed themselves before it becomes absolutely necessary, so that when it stops, it will not be as difficult for them. We need to learn to interpret YHWH’s Word, because eventually there will be times when there is no one else to feed us—situations for which no one’s words except YHWH’s will be able to prepare us. We will need to interact with the Land itself, set our own attitudes, because Y’hoshua will certainly not be able to cook meals for us every day. You need to know how to respond to unfamiliar settings. If you know the Torah in its context, and how it is practiced (because you practice it), you have a bag full of food. There is something in it for every part of life, not just the “spiritual” areas. We use what we learn from it in our work, our legal dealings, even our haggling over prices. Study how the wise people like Avraham and Shlomoh did things. Store it up, so that you will always have something to “eat”, and so that you can feed others.
12. Then Y’hoshua spoke to the Re’uvenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Menashe, saying,
13. “Remember the matter about which Moshe, the servant of YHWH, gave you orders, saying, ‘YHWH your Elohim is letting you settle down, and has granted you this land.
The servant of YHWH: thus, as His representative, to be treated with the same respect YHWH is given.
14. “‘Your wives, your toddlers, and your livestock may remain on the land that Moshe granted you across the Yarden, but you must cross over armed in front of your brothers—all the brave men of the army—and you must help them
Armed: literally, by fives. This is apparently the order in which they were arranged to be ready for battle. Mystically, it is obvious that the way to be armed is to know the five books of Moshe inside and out.
15. “‘until YHWH has given rest to your brothers as [He has] to you, and they too have taken possession of the Land that YHWH your Elohim is assigning to them. Then you may come back to the land you have taken possession of, and occupy it, as Moshe the servant of YHWH permitted you on the other side of the Yarden, where the sun rises.”
16. And they answered Y’hoshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us, we will do, and we will go anywhere you may send us.
17. “In anything about which we listened to Moshe, we will listen to you in the same way; only may YHWH your Elohim be with you just as He has been with Moshe.
Like the Bereans (Acts 17), though they were eager, they only promised to be loyal to Y’hoshua as long as YHWH was with him—that is, as long as he remained loyal to YHWH. The moment it became about Y’hoshua, they would not be there for him, because Moshe was not about Moshe but about YHWH. And finally, they echo and thus confirm what YHWH has already told Y’hoshua three times:
18. “Any man who resists your mouth and will not listen to your words, for all that you may command him, may be killed. Just keep your grip strong and [your heart] firm!”
CHAPTER 2
1. So Y’hoshua the son of Nun [began by] quietly sending two men on foot from the Acacias, saying, “Go, observe the Land [by way of] Y’rikho.” So they went and entered the house of a woman—a prostitute—and her name was Rahav. And they lay down there.
The Acacias: They had been in this place before (Num. 25:1), and had ended up being persuaded to worship Moavite elohim. The acacia is a tree largely made up of thorny twigs, but several pieces of the tabernacle’s furniture are made of it, as it is plentiful in this region. Observe: LXX, spy out. He is acting on what he saw Moshe do, but also learning from the mistakes made while Moshe was leader. Even the people had told him to be strong and courageous (1:18), but still he had learned his lesson. He sent only two, because only two of the twelve sent 38 years earlier (of which Y’hoshua himself was one) had given a favorable report, after there had been much publicity among the nation about their mission, causing mass hysteria when the other 10 gave their opinion. He sent them quietly (or secretly, so much so that we do not even know their names) rather than publicly, not so much so that the enemies would not be as alert to their approach, as that Israel would not begin to fear because they thought Y’hoshua needed extra reassurance about the condition of the Land. These were his spies, not the people’s. They reported directly to him. He undoubtedly chose men whom he trusted—possibly Kalev’s sons—and who were not inclined to panic. This was a reconnaissance mission in order to know the best means to defeat the city, not to decide whether or not to do so. Why did they go by way of Y’rikho? It was already a very ancient city (holding the record today for being the longest-inhabited) and very influential—an excellent place to gather intelligence about what the people of the Land were thinking and what they feared. It is an oasis town about four miles west of the Yarden River, and less than two miles east of the edge of the Great Rift Valley. Rahav means “broad”, hence the colloquial term for a prostitute, related also to the type of wall in which she had her home, termed a Broad Wall. Lay down: often a euphemism for sexual relations (Gen. 39:11, Ex. 22:16, et al), but possibly it is meant in the sense of “lay low” to listen to what they could learn. This is probably the best place to hear the gossip that would help them gauge the city’s readiness for war. This is where all secrets spill out. Since pagan temples (where much of the prostitution took place) were often placed near the city gate since the deity was thought to protect the city, she would be in a place where everyone passed through, and information would be readily available here. In any case, it turned out to be an appointment from YHWH.
2. And the king of Y’rikho was told, “Look here! Men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the Land!”
Undoubtedly many of the peoples in this region had been watching this spectacle of a several-million strong war camp surrounding the Tabernacle from their hilltop watch-posts. They would be paranoid and watching for anyone out of the ordinary, and even the smallest clue that Israelites were in the city would be noticed. Did the prostitutes in Rahav’s house notice their circumcision?
3. So the king of Y’rikho sent [word] to Rahav to say, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house! They have come to search out the whole Land!”
4. Now the woman had taken the two men and hidden them away. And she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had originated from.
5. “When the gate began to be shut at dark, the men went out. I don’t know where the men have gone. Quickly, chase after them, because you can catch up with them!”
This king did not send a sheriff or soldiers to storm the house—only a request to release the men, and he took her word as true and did not search the house. Rahav must have had some clout in this city—probably because she was a part of the religious establishment, and someone with whom the king himself had interacted often--for him to trust her to produce the men. Her lie goes against modern morals, but Yaaqov (James 2:25) commends her for both her faith and the works that evidenced it. Habitual liars will not inherit the Kingdom, because truthfulness is a characteristic of Israel, but one who lies in season—when innocent lives are at stake (especially Israelite lives, as in the Holocaust)—is not a liar. She was not bearing false witness in court against her neighbors, and even the Renewed Covenant only commands us not to lie to one another—that is, among fellow Israelites (Colossians 3:9, nearly an exact quote of Lev. 19:11). If a lie in season accomplished so much good, how much more benefit could come from telling the truth in season! A pagan, lying prostitute was found worthy to be an ancestress of both King David and Y’shua! (Mat. 1:5) This may be one reason Y’shua saw more potential in prostitutes than most others did.
6. (Now she had had them go up on the roof, and had concealed them with flax—the stalks that were arranged in order for herself on the roof.)
Flax is used to spin thread to make linen. Stalks: Aramaic, loads, as if they had been delivered in bundles. The Hebrew term actually means “trees”, and it may be a reference to bolts of linen. A house of prostitution would be expected to need a constant supply of clean sheets, and she may have even woven them herself.
7. So the men chased after them in the direction of the Yarden around the fords, and they shut the gate afterwards, when the pursuers hade gone out after them.
8. Now [as for] them: before they lay down, she had come up to them on the roof,
9. and said to the men, “I have recognized that YHWH has given you the Land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the Land have gone soft because of your presence
YHWH’s fame had preceded them. It is clear that Israel was using His actual name and not a substitute when the Kanaanite spies overheard them speaking about Him! Gone soft: fainted or dissolved. They “had no fight left in them”. They recognized that they were beaten before Israel even lifted a finger. The easiest enemy in the world to defeat is a worried, fearful one, for it is as if they have already started draining their own blood before the battle. If Moshe had allowed YHWH to destroy the people early on as He wanted to, and not stood in the gap for them, would this report have gotten around to the Kanaanite nations? At best it would be mixed, with YHWH not clearly backing the Israelites and therefore possibly given them hope rather than discouraging them.
10. “because we have heard how YHWH dried up the water of the Reed Sea from in front of you as you were leaving Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Emorites who [were] across the Yarden—to Sikhon and to Og—how you devoted them to destruction.
Devoted them to destruction: i.e., took no spoils. This would tell the people of the Land that it was not for plunder or expansionism that this people was on the move, but either they were just mean and cruel and liked killing people (which is very rare), or it was for the purpose of justice, and these people knew they were ripe for that, because generations earlier, YHWH had placed Avraham there—not to mention Melkhitzedeq—to teach them better ways, and the Emorites in particular (which included Y’rikho) had allowed their “cup” of sins to fill up instead. (Gen. 15:16) From the time Avraham was in the Land until Israel finally re-entered the Land was 490 years—70 times 7, the full count—yet they did not change their ways. Therefore time was up for them; their Land would be given to less-corrupt tenants.
11. “When we heard, our courage melted away, and spirit has not risen up again in [any] man because of your presence, because YHWH your Elohim—He is Elohim in the heavens above and the earth below!
Courage: literally, heart (singular). Spirit: or vigor, breath; they were “breathless”! When Israel is gathered in YHWH’s presence, it is obvious to everyone else that they cannot stand against it.
12. “So now, please swear to me by YHWH that, since I have acted mercifully toward you, you will deal mercifully with my father’s household, and give me a token of reliability,
13. “and let my father and my mother, my brothers and my sisters live, along with all that is theirs, and that you will cause our souls to be recovered from death!”
Recovered: snatched away, as if being plucked out of a fire already set.
14. So the men told her, “Our soul in exchange for yours, to death! If you do not report this matter of ours, then it will be [the case that] when YHWH gives us the Land, we will deal with you in mercy and truthfulness.”
Clear communication between them was crucial, just as the words for Moshe’s spies and Y’hoshua’s spawned either fear or courage. If YHWH had already said that everyone in Kanaan was to be put under the ban (dedicated to destruction), how could they agree to let her remain alive in the Land? The only way she could be spared was if she became part of Israel. What did Yaaqov (James) mean when he said Rahav was justified by her works? When she said, “I see that YHWH is the Maker of heavens and earth and He is the one I need to spare me,” she had made a covenant to become part of Israel. She already believed that He was Elohim, but she still had to do something to be “saved”—which for her was a very tangible, physical thing (to be rescued from the Israelite army). It was not about living forever; it was about staying alive tomorrow! Rahav recognized that there was already a people of promise who worshipped YHWH, and decided that she wanted to become a part of that. Anyone can become part of the covenant if they, as she did, commit to taking care of those who take care of her—in short, to loving her neighbor as herself. At her conversion, there was no ceremony. There was no long process of indoctrination after which she would be considered a candidate. What justified her was that she protected other Israelites. Like many who helped during the Holocaust, she was considered a righteous Gentile, and in a very real way part of Israel’s own. She has recognized who YHWH is and that Israel is blessed by Him (v. 11), and has sided with Israel even against her own people. The fact that Israel was acting in unity (see note on v. 1) earned them allies even within the walled cities of the enemy! They were doing what Y’shua would later speak of: inquiring who was worthy. (Mat. 10:11) Someone who bears witness to YHWH, even a prostitute, was therefore worthy of their consideration as a recipient for the glad news of the new “Kingdom”.
15. Then she let them down with a rope through the window, because her house was in the dug-out part of the wall; that is, she lived on the wall.
Dug-out: The space between two walls of a casemate wall, or just a hollowed-out part of a thicker wall. It may have been common to lower garbage in baskets from the wall by night, and not attracted any attention. The Apostle Sha’ul’s disciples used the same method with him. (Acts 9:23-25) Spending time on the wall and feeling the ground just outside the wall may have shown them that the walls were not as stable as they looked, and given Y’hoshua the idea for his strategy.
16. And she told them, “Go onto the mountain [range] to avoid having the pursuers meet up with you, and stay hidden there three days until the pursuers return; then you can go your way.”
The mountain [range]: scarcely two miles west of Y’rikho is the front range of the plateau from which the Great Rift Valley split off and sank during the S’dom and Ghamorah catastrophe. At this point it is relatively easy to ascend (toward Yerushalayim), and is in the opposite direction from the fords to which she sent the pursuers. It would be easy to look down from the mountain and see the search party return to Y’rikho, their cue that it was safe to come out of hiding.
17. And the men told her, “We will be exempt from [obligation to] this oath of yours which you have had us swear:
18. “We really are coming into the Land! You must tie this collection of scarlet thread into the window by which you let us down, and gather your father, your mother, your brothers, and all of your father’s household to yourself in the house,
There has to be a sign of redemption on her house, red like the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts in Egypt. Collection: tiqvah, the same as the word for “hope” in Hebrew, and the name of Israel’s national anthem. In Hebrew, “hope” does not mean a mere wish, which would be nice if it were true, but whose outcome is in doubt; rather, it means a confident expectation of attainment. As a three-fold cord is not easily broken (Qoheleth/Eccles.4:12), our hope is made up of many threads bound together. It was not a tiny individual thread, but a strong rope that one could expect to hold a ship to its moorings in a storm; it had to be something Israel could see when they arrived at the city. Our hope for the salvation of the nation is not only in Y’shua and YHWH, but also in one another. To Rahav, the blood-red color would remind her of the severity of the consequences of not keeping her oath. The rope may have been one of the tools of her trade, to communicate when she was open or closed for business, vs. when only her family would be in the house. Some trace the tradition of “red light districts” to this very red cord.
19. “and if anyone should go abroad outside the doors of your house, his blood is on his own head, and we [will be held] innocent, but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand comes upon him.
The spies took responsibility to ensure that no one else in Israel would kill those in this house. The scarlet cord would remind them of the blood on the doorposts in Egypt and let them know to “pass over” this house. But as on the night of the Passover, they had to remain in the house that was now attached to Israel, not out on their own. If they went back to being part of the people of Kanaan, they would be killed along with them.
20. “But if you report this matter of ours, then we will be exempt from the oath that you have made us swear.”
21. And she said, “According to your words, so it [will be].” And she sent them off, and they left, and she tied the collection of scarlet in the window.
She did not wait until the last minute to obey their condition, but moved into it right away, though she might have run the risk of someone asking what this thread was for, and exposing the fact that she had lied to the king. But she identified with Israel anyway, and was true to who she now was even if her countrymen said she could not.
22. So they went, and arrived at the mountain-range and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched along the whole way, but had not found them.
23. So both of the men turned back and came down from the mountain-range, and crossed over and came to Y’hoshua the son of Nun and recounted to Y’hoshua the son of Nun everything that had befallen them.
24. And they told Y’hoshua, “…because YHWH has given the whole Land into our hands, and all the inhabitants of the Land have even gone soft because of our presence!”
The whole land: based on what the king ‘s messengers told Rahav, they deduced that the rest of the Kanaanites were just as fearful as those who inhabited Y’rikho. They began to repair the error of the previous generation by giving a unanimously-favorable report. Their expectation of living in the Land was not a cord frayed by the careless words of fear spoken by the faint-hearted, but a strong cord in the window that welcomes the family home. If you are bound instead to strangers or any covering that is not part of the Torah, untie the knot and be attached to the house that expects victory.
CHAPTER 3
1. And Y’hoshua had them rise early [in the morning] and set out from the Acacias, and they came as far as the Yarden—he and all the descendants of Israel—and they lodged there before crossing over.
This seems to imply even earlier than they usually rose--to do YHWH’s business. When Y’hoshua heard the report from the spies and knew YHWH had “opened the gates” for him, he knew the time to act was now, and he decided to get it done as soon as possible—as soon as there was enough daylight to see what he needed to do. Putting off this difficult task would only give him more time to sit and worry about what could go wrong. When he had gone to the Land the first time, there was time for the other spies to spread fear and panic, so Y’hoshua did not allow any room for that this time. The hard things in life only seem harder if we procrastinate. But the term for rising early is actually based on the word for “shoulder”, and even in English we have a similar idiom: to “shoulder a burden” or “shoulder responsibility”. It is best to face something right away, before it has time to grow bigger than we can handle. Prioritizing the most important things was absolutely essential for someone who had hundreds of thousands of people to lead. It is also wise to tackle the hardest things first; David did this when he faced Goliath immediately, and because he did, the battle was won when only one soldier was killed. His lack of hesitancy put strength in the hearts of a whole army that had lost its courage. Also, if we do not get to work immediately on the things we know we have to do, we could miss many beneficial doors that open up to us, simply because we have no time left for them. Even when it was something difficult YHWH asked of him, he took up the weight of the day in the morning, when his mind was freshly rested and working at its best. Y’hoshua did not wait until the day was halfway gone or take care of other interests of his own first. He got to YHWH’s work as quickly as he could, with eagerness and commitment. Y’shua also warned us to take up the burden of only one day at a time. (Mat. 6:34) Worrying about tomorrow is a pagan act, because is it another form of worshipping that which is really nothing, like an idol. We wait until this day to bear this day’s burden. Starting the day in prayer and YHWH’s word can help us focus properly on His priorities. As the last place they camped before their staging-point, “the Acacias” symbolizes a place of preparation to enter the Land. Meaning “sticks” (because it is a tree made up mainly of small twigs), its name implies that it is a place where we recognize that we are the “sticks” (Y’hezq’el 37:15-28) that form the whole House of Israel—that it is made up of many, and it is not just about oneself. They had been here a very long time—possibly even years. But only when we reach the Land of Promise should we be satisfied enough to truly rest. Here at the Acacias, those who made up the army of Israel had been counted. Here Pin’khas had established justice in Israel after we had committed harlotry with the elohim of Moav because of Bilaam’s counsel. Here Moshe had proclaimed Y’hoshua’s authority, established the offerings and the laws about vows, confirmed YHWH’s covenant, and defeated Midyan, the people of strife. But now, leaving here was Y’hoshua’s priority. The place had served its purpose, and was to be left behind for something better. YHWH’s covenant does not change—it is carved in stone—but the place of walking it out moves often. Though we might have fought tooth and nail to establish the progress we made at this place, if we stayed when YHWH’s presence moved on, it would become just another dry, dusty museum of a denomination. They did not get very far before they stopped one more time—at the Yarden, which means “going down”. “Hebrew” means “one that crosses over”, and rivers always flow at the lowest place. This means that the lowest places are where the most water is. There will be low points before we cross over—challenges and tests to make sure we are strong enough for what lies ahead of us. But just beyond the negative situations is our Home. This was such a significant moment that they could not rush into it. They were not merely preparing for a battle, as momentous as that would be. They were entering holy ground, and many of the commands YHWH had given (which began with “When you have come into the Land which YHWH will give you…” ) would now begin to be applicable and binding on them. They were now responsible to higher standards, and there would be less grace. They needed to pause to reflect on the implications of this, recognize what they were getting into, and be sure they were ready. But if they had not gotten up early, they would not have even gotten this far.
2. Then when they had reached the end of three days, the recording officials passed through the middle of the camp,
The concept of three days has great significance over and over in Scripture. Three days is the time Yonah was in the belly of the fish and that Y’shua was in the heart of the earth. It is thus symbolic of the need to die to self before we can move on into a higher degree of YHWH’s presence. They also had an appointment about which they did not know, and had to wait for the right time even to cross the river.
3. and gave the people orders, saying, “As you see the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim and the cohanim of the Levites carrying it, then pull up stakes from your place and walk behind it.
We know they also blew trumpets and shofars, but here all that is said is that when we see the ark move, it is time for us to move. Only the covenant can lead us home. In Christianity and even some of Judaism, the covenant is about getting to heaven, but D’varim 30:12 tells us specifically that the covenant is NOT in heaven! But what the covenant really emphasizes that we must take responsibility. This covenant makes sense. Follow it, and you will end up in the right place. It will get us across and out of the low places. They had to travel light to be ready to break camp so quickly. But if the ark has not moved, we should not allow our fears or desires or other emotions to drag us in any direction. All Israel must set out together, remaining in His presence, rather than traveling as individuals who are merely seeking His “presents”. There is a protective clause here: If the Levitical priests are not the ones carrying the covenant, it has been hijacked. Do not follow that. It must be upheld and supported not by just any priests, but the authorized ones.
4. “However, there must be a distance between you and it—about two thousand cubits by the measurement; you must not come any closer to it, in order that you may be familiar with the direction in which you are to walk, because you have not passed this way before.”
The reason to keep our distance is not because it will shoot out gamma rays and kill us, but because if we are right on top of it, we will not be able to see where it is going. Do not be foolish enough to assume you know where you are going. Many will be surprised when they find out that the end of the journey is not Heaven! Listen to what the covenant is really saying. Keep checking whether what you think you know is still valid. While YHWH tells us where the path begins and ends, He does not tell us every step of the way until we get to it. If we knew, we would probably try to find a shortcut. The covenant is not going to go the same way every time; if you think you know which path it will take, you will undoubtedly miss a turn and end up walking alone. Y’hoshua did not tell the people that he had sent spies, because if they had given a public report, the people would probably have followed them instead of the priests, who, unlike them, had not been to the Land yet. Or they might ask if there wasn’t a less costly way. But the priests are where the provision is. They were established as the example for all Israel, and as teachers of the Torah. Two thousand cubits is about 3,000 feet or close to one kilometer. The only other place in Scripture that this measurement appears is the distance from the center of a Levitical city to the end of the first zone outside the city within which their animals were kept, but stopping short of where their crops grew. (Num. 35:1-5) The tradition of a “Sabbath Day’s journey” (alluded to in the Renewed Covenant but not directly defined anywhere in Scripture) was based on this, for since their animals also rested on the Sabbath, they could go that far from the city for bodily necessities, but not as far as the place that would get their minds back on their daily work. When YHWH appears to be leading, it may be a test. We must not implement our interpretations of Scripture too quickly, but wait at least until the next Sabbath, where they can be presented to gathered Israel and our own blind spots tested against the pooled wisdom of others who know the Torah. The burdens you are thinking of bearing may only be something you yourself dreamed up. There are angles that you have not considered that someone else has. There is wisdom in much counsel. We have not passed this way before. So we must not be hasty, but watch closely. When you think you need to turn right or left, let it rest for a Sabbath and see if it is really the covenant that is leading us and that it is really heading in a certain direction, not just sidestepping an obstacle first.
5. Then Y’hoshua told the people, “Keep yourselves set apart, because tomorrow YHWH will do extraordinary things among you!”
Keep…set apart: In what way? The Aramaic targum says, “Prepare yourselves”, and this seems appropriate, because it is not the kind of preparation needed at Mt. Sinai, where the men had to remain separate from their wives for three days. The three days was taken care of above (v. 2), but rather it is related to YHWH doing wonders and being in our midst. It is part of the preparation for this. He does not tell them that YHWH will set them apart. He has already appointed us to be a set-apart people, but it is up to each person to make sure he is set apart, so that we as a whole people can walk in the Torah. If we remain focused on our other pursuits, it will not actually be true of us, just as someone appointed to a government post could not claim that as his title if he did not leave his other employer, move to the seat of his office, and start doing that job. Israel thus has a huge part to play in the miracles YHWH does. Our part is to look at the other side of the Yarden as our home now. We start by looking at ourselves differently—as a people who are set apart. They have just left the Acacias (Shittim), where they had lived for so long. But they are not going back there; they will soon be part of a new place where everything will be different. They have until tomorrow to get used to that idea—not longer, so that they will not have time to get cold feet or raise “What if” questions that will make other people worry. They will not miraculously lose all attachment to their old homes or associations; they have to deal with whatever might want to keep us from crossing over. If they are not ready when it is time to walk across, they will be left to their own devices to get across, and at their own risk. It seems rather sudden, but they have, after all, known since their childhood that they belong on the other side. At some point He makes it clear that it is now or never. When the water recedes, we must enter in, or forget it. If we try to make the transition gradually, we usually never get there. It is usually trouble that moves Israel—like when Pharaoh drove us out of Egypt. When YHWH takes Israel Home again, will it be this quick? There may be no time to sell our houses, or bury our fathers and mothers. If we told our children, “Get packed and get in the car; we’re going to Disney World!” and they went and played their favorite game instead, they would end up staying home, because we are not the ones interested in going there. We are so used to seeing YHWH as Santa Claus that we do not recognize that He takes it personally if we have to check our schedules and try to fit Him in when He wants to give us a great treasure.
6. And Y’hoshua spoke to the cohanim, saying, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and walked ahead of the people.
7. Then YHWH said to Y’hoshua, “This day I will make a breakthrough in causing you to be great in the eyes of all Israel, so that they will know that just as I was with Moshe, I will be with you.
A breakthrough: Though the preparation Y’hoshua received as Moshe’s apprentice and the authority conferred openly on him by Moshe should have been enough to establish his role as unquestioned leader, YHWH knew that most of this generation needed a more spectacular sign, so in His mercy He would give them one that would make Y’hoshua an “instant celebrity” in their eyes. This, more than the need to get the people across a rushing river, was the stated purpose for the miracle He was about to perform. But YHWH gave Y’hoshua none of this reassurance until Y’hoshua took the risk of saying, “We’re going ahead with this” and gave the order to move. What YHWH made of him resulted from his being brave enough to enter in and set this in motion.
8. “And you must give orders to the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you arrive at the edge of the waters of the Yarden, you must stand still in the Yarden.’”
The constituted ruler of Israel has some authority over the priesthood. (2 Kings 22:3-5) Still, to command them must have made Y’hoshua pretty nervous. And going into the water would seem stranger still, when they were carrying the central furnishing of YHWH’s sanctuary. So YHWH reassures him by providing specific instruction.
9. So Y’hoshua said to the descendants of Israel, “Come close and listen to the words of YHWH your Elohim!”
If we do not draw near to YHWH, we may think we heard Him say something different from what He actually said. But recognize the magnitude of Y’hoshua’s bravery here: he is saying. “What I am about to say are the words of the Creator of the universe”! Most people who say such things probably believe they are right, but a tree is known by its fruit. It has to line up with the words of the faithful ones who came before us.
10. Then Y’hoshua said, “By this you will recognize that the living El is in your midst, and [know that] He will certainly cause the Kanaanites, the Chittites, the Chiwites, the Prizzites, the Girgashites, the Emorites, and the Y’vusites to be dispossessed before you:
11. “Watch! The ark of the covenant of the Master of the whole earth is passing on ahead of you into the Yarden.
The people had asked Y’hoshua to be sure YHWH was with him (1:17), so this would be their evidence. He does not understate anything, but becomes braver still, saying, “This is how you can test whether what I am saying is true. If it is true, this is what you will experience. But if I am right, then I am the one in charge.”
12. “So now, fetch for yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Israel—one man per tribe.
If they are to have a miracle in their midst, they have the responsibility to put their own necks on the line too. They have to prove they stand with Y’hoshua by sending a representative to participate. If they want their share, no one can sit on the sidelines and merely watch. They must stand behind him and uphold the proceedings. Do everyone a favor if you are not fully committed, and do not pretend to be in when you are not. It sends the wrong message—that you will be there when you are needed. If you will not, do not break people’s hearts by appearing attached and then disappointing them.
13. “And when the soles of the feet of the cohanim who are carrying the ark of YHWH, the Master of the whole earth, come to rest in the waters of the Yarden, the waters of the Yarden will be cut off from the waters coming down from up[stream], and they will stand still as a single heap.
Coming down: related to the word Yarden.
14. And as it turned out, when the people set out from their tents to cross the Yarden, the cohanim [were] carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of the people,
15. and as those who were carrying the ark arrived at the Yarden, and the feet of the cohanim who were carrying the ark were plunged into the edge of the water (and the Yarden was full, over[flowing] both its banks the whole period of the harvest),
As this was not long before Passover, this may have been just after the rainy season of the late winter. YHWH set them up for an even greater miracle by bringing them at the time when crossing the river looked even less possible than usual. Today the Yarden is a very small river, but at that time the climate was much wetter, and the river has shifted its course with every earthquake, being directly over a fault line. Infrared satellite photos show that the river’s course has been much different and the river much wider in times past. At this time there were probably rapids.
16. the waters of the Yarden [coming] from up[stream] stood still; they rose up in a single heap far in the distance above Adam, the city that is beside Tzarthan, and those [waters] going down into the sea of the Aravah (the Salt Sea) stopped, being blocked off, and the people crossed over opposite Y’rikho.
Historian Henry Howling notes that in 1927, an earthquake at Adam caused a landslide that blocked the Yarden’s flow for 21 hours, so the same things may have occurred at this time. The miracle was in the timing—and they had to act while there was this narrow window to get through. Tzarthan means “their distress”. Someone had to step into the unsafe situation first, so those who were expected to be closest to YHWH took the lead. If we do not risk moving into what we fear, we will spend our whole lives waiting on the shore, because it will never look safe. The object of our faith is never proven if we stay in the easy places. YHWH does not begin to provide until we begin to do what we know we cannot do without Him. Though they had the promise of crossing on dry land, at least two of the priests had to get their feet wet. But the right response would not be to complain that everyone else had it easy and they had to pay a greater price. It is not a reason to whine, but a privilege. They had to have greater faith, but they did, and this brought well-deserved honor. Nothing changed at all until they stepped into the water. There is no safety until we obediently enter an unsafe situation. There is no help unless we walk into a place where there appears to be no help. When we enter into what looks hopeless, their turns out to be hope, if we are doing it for the sake of obedience. There is a way where there was no way, once someone invests himself in it. Where it says YHWH will work wonders “among you” in verse 5 above, it is not the usual Hebrew word for being in our midst; it more literally says, “In your drawing near”—i.e., when you approach or come close, He will do miracles. For too long we have believed that if we invited YHWH into our situation, He would come and bring us comfort. We cannot expect Him to join us in our self-pity; instead, we have to find out where He is standing, then leave our situation and move into His. Get into His seasons and His timing, and watch the water divide. Return to Him and He will return to you. Do we want to see Him work in our generation? Then we have to get involved in what He is already planning and doing, even if we do not have the resources. When we move to where He wants us to be, and make what is important to Him our priority too, He will move as well.
17. While the priests who [were] carrying the ark of the covenant of YHWH remained standing firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, all Israel crossed over on dry ground until the whole nation had completely crossed the Yarden.
It was not damp, wobbly ground, but dry and firm. This was the Reed Sea again for this generation. Because they have committed to being on the other side whatever it might take, they could share in the same excitement as in Moshe’s day. There were a few million people lined up here. No one could come closer to crossing until the person in front of him took a step. But each step he then took allowed the person behind him to move closer. Others are depending on us to take steps in the right direction. As we approach, we make a way for others to take the same step. If we follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us, we can be sure we are on the right path. Once on the other side, they were now more vulnerable, were it not for YHWH’s presence. But the people of Y’rikho were already undermining the stability of their own walls as they trembled in fear of this huge multitude whom they undoubtedly saw from their wall!
CHAPTER 4
1. Now what took place when the whole nation had finished crossing over the Yarden [was] that YHWH spoke to Y’hoshua, saying,
Notice that YHWH did not give Y’hoshua any further instruction until all the people had crossed over completely—until he had accomplished all that He had already given him. In many cases YHWH chose people to represent a tribe or even the whole nation, but some things have to be done by everyone involved. Experiencing them is much more meaningful than merely hearing about them, and in this case, Y’hoshua could not cross over on their behalf. Some commitments have to be made by all of us so that we can all end up in the same place. If they did not move forward together, they simply would not be on the other side of the river. It is not acceptable for only some of us to make progress. We cannot do like the church and expect the pastor to make all the progress, and fire him if he does not. That is not how Israel works. Here, everyone needs to come all the way into the covenant. We all depend on each person continuing to walk. Until we are all on the same page and doing what we need to do, we will not be given the next step. Many books are sold and conferences held concerning end-time prophecy, because people have an insatiable desire to know what is coming. But even if someone got every point of prophecy correct, when we get to the events they foretell, we would still need instruction on how to walk through them, and that is not found in the prophets. They are there to motivate us with the hope and confidence that YHWH will come through for us no matter how strong our enemies are, but they only tell us what YHWH is going to do. But He never does all of the work without giving us some responsibility in the accomplishment, and our part is found in the Torah, so that is where we must focus. No one was magically transported across the Yarden. When Israel was obedient, YHWH stopped the water, and the obstacle was right back in place when they were finished, so if anyone was late getting there, he had to swim across.
2. “Pick for yourselves twelve men from the people—one man out of each tribe--
3. “and give them orders, saying, ‘Pick up twelve stones for yourselves from this [site]—from within the middle of the Yarden, from where the priests’ feet stood firm—and bring them across with you and set them down in the lodging-place where you spend the night.’”
Now we see YHWH using representatives, because for everyone to carry a stone would have been too much for this purpose. The tribes had previously chosen these men, and now Y’hoshua approved them and put them to work.
4. So Y’hoshua called the twelve men of the sons of Israel whom he had prepared—a man out of each tribe--
Had prepared: Y’hoshua had been walking directly in Moshe’s footsteps for nearly 40 years, so his steps had been established by the Torah. He had seen the pattern by which YHWH works, so he had anticipated that these men would be needed before YHWH said anything about them. (3:12) Even if YHWH had never said He needed them, it was better for Y’hoshua to have been prepared than to have been preoccupied with his own matters and not have been ready if they were needed. He knew there was a “house” to build, so he counted the cost in advance, taking inventory. As we are seeing today, one tribe alone cannot occupy the whole Land effectively; all twelve are needed in order to bear this burden. So there is no need to be apologetic to the Jews about being Efrayim and not converting to Judaism. We also do not need to apologize to Christians; they are the ones upon whom the burden of proofs rests. Rocks are not unobtrusive; they cannot just be kicked over, try as they may. But they also do not speak (though they will cry out if they need to), but just stand where they are and force those who want to get past them to deal with them. Who we are is clearly explained in the Book; all others are the ones who have to explain why theirs is not, yet they are trying to press us to accept it. We bear witness to what we accept as authoritative. Churches bear witness to paganism when they use its symbols, whether they know it or not. Pasted-on Christian smiles and refusal to judge anyone are really witnesses to humanism. Having fabulous homes and cars is a witness to Mammon. We have to be aware of where our priorities come from, and be sure we are bearing witness to the right things by our actions. . Ben Burton sees here a foreshadowing of Yeshua choosing his twelve disciples.
5. And Y’hoshua told them, “Cross over in front of the ark of YHWH your Elohim to the middle of the Yarden, and each of you take up one stone on his shoulder for the number of the tribes of the descendants of Israel,
They would literally “bear” witness of the twelve tribes having crossed over. To carry heavy stones on their shoulder, they could not have been much larger than a basketball. YHWH often chooses what is small to remind us His deeds. He chose one man (Avraham) rather than an existing empire to accomplish what He is still doing today through that man’s descendants. The room where His presence was represented in the Tabernacle was the smallest of all. When Eliyahu was on the mountain, it was the still, small voice in which YHWH spoke, after the pomp and parade of more attention-getting things had already passed by. It only took one small stone to fell Golyath. As the one who sets the twelve tribes in order and commands the bringing of the stones, Y’hoshua is a precedent for the one who bears his name. Y’shua chose twelve unknown men (again representing the twelve tribes) whom others considered illiterate, and who clearly had never attended a Yeshiva. (Acts 4:13) Even though Y’shua was the rightful king of Israel, the throne had been stripped of all its wealth and power by that time. YHWH does not need His witnesses to be huge to accomplish His purposes; the smaller they are, the more easily we see that He is the one doing the work. Y’shua was called the stone that the builders rejected, yet who became the head of the corner—the one who ties together and sets in order the other building-blocks of Israel—a stumblingblock to some, but precious to those who make up the house of YHWH. (Mat. 21:23, 42; 1 Kefa 2:7, quoting Psalm 118:22)
6. “in order that this may be a sign in your very midst later when your children ask, ‘What are these stones to you?’
Like Passover (Ex. 13:8), the witness is for the sake of the generations to come. Each generation must have a personal sense of the meaning of this event so they can present it to the next generation as if it had only recently taken place and it was fresh in mind. Stones often represent a witness to an encounter or event that has taken place on a particular site. Yaaqov used them to commemorate a vision he had of YHWH’s house. (Gen. 28:18) He used a heap of stones as a monument to the peace treaty between himself and Lavan. (Gen. 31:45ff) It was essentially a fence to keep them from conflict with each other. The stones were about remembering. They served the purpose that a photograph or video serve today—but they were better, because they did not make us lazy; they make us responsible. Stones do not tell the story on their own; they are only a hint that something took place there. They make people ask why they are there, and they require us to tell them. A photograph leaves room for many interpretations, but this story is simply meant to be transmitted. The stones remind us to tell the next generation where we cam e from and what we accomplished, and thus also where they came from and what they can accomplish. We have to keep the story alive. The Hebrew word for stone is related to both the word for “build” and the word for “son” or “offspring”. Children are the “stones” that build up our “house”, and thus these stones represented the children of Israel. (Ex. 28:12) Stones used to build an Israelite altar are not to have been altered by human tools (Ex. 20:25), for this profanes them; it represents being shaped by human doctrines rather than set apart to YHWH. Those taken from a river (which represents the water of the Word of YHWH) or deep underground would be the ones best suited for this job. Most of us have been shaped by human doctrines, so the only thing we can do to become suitable for His altar (which must be built before His Temple) is to get back into the river and let those edges be rounded back off, until there is not much of self left.
7. “Then tell them that the waters of the Yarden were cut off from before the ark of the covenant of YHWH: ‘When it passed through the Yarden, the waters of the Yarden were cut off, and these stones have become a memorial for the descendants of Israel forever.”
YHWH brought them across when the water was highest, so that there could be no doubt who had brought them over. Nothing could stand in His way. When He delivers us again, it will not be in a time when we can easily get to where He is taking us, but when there is a flood and the foundations are being washed away. Yet He will come through nonetheless, in a season of harvest when the twelve tribes are again all together.
8. So the descendants of Israel did just as Y’hoshua had ordered, and picked up twelve stones out of the middle of the Yarden, as YHWH had told Y’hoshua, for the number of the tribes of the descendants of Israel, brought them over with them to the lodging place, and set them down there.
The witness must be brought from the place where YHWH acted into the camp where we dwell together.
9. And Y’hoshua stood twelve stones up in the middle of the Yarden in the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood firm, and they remain there to this day.
This is a second set of stones. YHWH did not tell Y’hoshua to do this, but he understood the need for a second witness. While it was important that one witness be where the people lived, it was also important to be able to point back to the where the path was by which they had crossed. The stones would look out of place in the river because they were standing up. They would beg the question, “Why are they there?” The elders are to tell the young how we got where we are, because they will need to tell others who want to get there where the path is. We need to set up “signs” to tell them what helped us pass over the rivers we have encountered. Which Scripture or piece of advice or experience helped bring us out of that problem? It is great to make progress, but to help someone else make progress—that is the Kingdom. What path led us home the first time? The path of Moshe—the Torah. Many who bear witness to the Scriptures today think only back to the last “old country” their ancestors came from, and thus think that this is the norm to which they need to shape those to whom they carry the message today. It makes all the difference in the world to remember that it is Israel from which we originally came. Signposts are needed to point us back to where we came from. (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 31:21) And indeed there are many signposts right in the “water”—the Word. One says YHWH will shepherd His lost sheep back from all the places He dispersed them. ((Yirm. 31:10; compare Y’hezq’el 34:12, 23) Another says both houses of Israel will again have one shepherd from the House of David. (Y’hezq’el 37:24) Another says Y’shua came only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (Mat. 15:48) Still another, that his sheep hear his voice. (Mat. 10:16-27) While they have not yet been located in modern times, there is at least one record where we do see someone pointing to “these stones”. Yochanan the Immerser appealed to them as a witness against those who trusted the fact that they were descendants of Avraham to be enough to spare them in the day of YHWH’s wrath (Mat. 3:9), as at this time he was immersing at the “Place of the Crossing Over”. (Yoch. 1:28) He said YHWH was able to raise up descendants of Avraham not just from his physical seed, but from “these stones”—i.e., anyone who is willing to cross over.
10. And the priests who carried the ark [were] standing in the middle of the Yarden until every matter [about] which YHWH had told Y’hoshua to speak to the people was completed in accordance with all the orders that Moshe had given Y’hoshua, so the people had hurried when they crossed over!
Even a one-pound weight can become very heavy after 30 minutes. The ark was much heavier than that, and they had to be careful not to touch it lest they die, yet several million people had to cross while they held it. They must have been in pain. But they had a special calling from YHWH, and had to stay there no matter what. So the people were considerate of the priests’ burden and did not dawdle as they walked. They took up this part of the burden themselves, and thus showed appreciation for those who had made it much easier for them to cross over, since they had no right to expect this act of mercy. They could not help bear the load in any other way except by hurrying, so they did. The priests worked for YHWH, but the only way we can tell if we are working for YHWH is if Israel is benefitting from it. So show your gratitude for those who, though human beings, take on extraordinary tasks by easing their burdens.
11. And when all the people had finished crossing over, what took place [next was] that the ark of YHWH and the priests passed by to the front of the people.
12. Now the sons of Re’uven, the sons of Gad, and half of the tribe of Menashe had crossed at the front of the sons of Israel, armed in battle array [by fives], as Moshe had told them.
They fulfilled their promise to go first (Numbers 32:17)—the price they had to pay for getting the lands they wanted. If they wanted something special, they had to be rady and willing to go above and beyond the norm for somebody else. Had crossed: no different from simply “crossed” in Hebrew, so on the surface of the text itself it appears that there was a second crossing over by the sons of Israel. While literally this was not the case, there is a prophetic importance in the way it is written that applies to us today as we prepare to cross over again. First there is a crossing over in attitude—a choice to go through with it, coming to terms with what it means, so as to make the commitment firm; then the actual doing.
13. About 40,000 men equipped for war passed in front of YHWH onto the steppe-plains of Y’rikho.
40,000: apparently only from these two and a half tribes, for the tribe of Gad alone was able to muster over 40,000 a short time prior to this. (Numbers 26:18) Passed in front of: He was reviewing His troops!
14. On that day, YHWH made Y’hoshua great in the eyes of all Israel, and they respected him all the days of his life, just as they had respected Moshe.
Respected: Everyone did their part just as Y’hoshua had told them, and the plan worked, so they knew they could trust him. Those who do not follow directions have no right to complain when things do not work out, because they can never tell what the results would have been if they had done as they were told.
15. When YHWH spoke to Y’hoshua, saying,
16. “Order the priests who are carrying the ark of the testimony that they should come up out of the Yarden”,
17. Y’hoshua had given orders to the priests, saying, “Come up out of the Yarden!”
He did not add to YHWH’s words or take anything from them.
18. Then, when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH had come up out of the middle of the Yarden, and the soles of the feet of the priests had been pulled up onto the dry land, the waters of the Yarden began to return to their place and went up over both of its banks as [they had] previously.
19. And the people came up from the Yarden on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the outskirts of Y’rikho to the east
One Aramaic translation leaves no doubt as to which of the two “first months” it is, specifying “Nisan” (the same as Aviv). This is the day the lamb is to be chosen for Passover, and on this day Israel accepted Y’hoshua as their leader. (v. 14) He is essentially saying, “Remember the Passover story? Add this to it!” YHWH’s miracle of parting the sea for those willing to go forward no matter what the cost was not a one-time thing. It can occur again—and again. As we are willing and proceed to walk when the season is right, we can add to the story of YHWH’s Passover miracles. So remind our children of when our ancestors did this, so that they will do the same.
20. Thus Y’hoshua had those twelve stones that they had taken out of the Yarden set up in Gilgal.
The history behind the name Gilgal will show up in the next chapter.
21. Then he spoke to the descendants of Israel, saying, “After [this], whenever your children ask their parents, saying, ‘What are these stones [for]?’,
22. “then let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Yarden on dry ground’,
What YHWH has done for Israel is our heritage, and we are responsible to pass it on. It is much more important than your ancestor having been a Cherokee princess or having come over on the Mayflower—or a slave ship. We must embrace who we are, because it is who we are meant to be. The ground will be dried up again for those who bear the burden of what it means to be an Israelite; there is no such promise for anyone else. Our hope is that our children, who are being raised in a day when the signposts have been uncovered again, will have new stones to point out to their children from when we cross over this time. But regardless, as Paul says, our ancestors were there, and so all of us who were not yet there still crossed over while we were still within them. This is not just about them; it is about us. What YHWH does for Israel applies to every Israelite for eternity. Israel has already crossed over; why is any Israelite not living as one who has crossed over? We are not waiting for the Kingdom to come; it is waiting for us to become it.
23. “as YHWH your Elohim dried up the waters of the Yarden from in front of you until you had crossed over, just as YHWH your Elohim had done to the Sea of Reeds, which He dried up from in front of us until we had crossed over,
24. “in order that all the people of the Land may recognize the hand of YHWH, because it is firm, so that you might fear YHWH your Elohim [for] all days.”
People of the Land: or people of the earth. YHWH’s reputation rests on what His people accomplish. He responds based on how we act, so do not profane His name. Exodus 20:7 (one of the ten commandments) literally says, “Do not bring [His} name to nothing.” How do we do that? By doing nothing. How do we avoid doing that? By doing what He has told us to do, even if there is a river in the way, believing that there must be a way nonetheless. That is how people will know and recognize who YHWH is. All days: Literally, all the days.
CHAPTER 5
1. Now when all the kings of the Emorites who were on the seaward side of the Yarden and all the kings of the Kanaanites who were on the sea heard that YHWH had dried up the waters of the Yarden from in front of the descendants of Israel until we had had crossed over, their courage began to melt, nor was there any more spirit in them due to the presence of the descendants of Israel.
We had crossed: This very different narrative pattern is very telling. It emphasizes that all of us crossed over. None of the army was left on the other side, even those who had settled there. This news traveled very quickly, even some 40 or 50 miles away to those on the Mediterranean coast—all without e-mail or instant messaging! There were people watching this approaching war camp, an undoubtedly trying to arm themselves better or prepare supplies for a siege. Because of “our lady on the wall”, we know that Y’rikho, the main gateway to the Land, was already fearful, and it was a place from which news would go forth. This nervousness was YHWH’s intent, because if we take an enemy’s confidence away, he will fall. How can one plot a military strategy against the Elohim who controlled such things as rivers? But it was not even the anomaly of the Yarden drying up that made them afraid; it was the fact that this army all had one mind and the same purpose. They did not straggle, but hurried across because they respected those who made this easy crossing possible. They are united behind their leader, and actually followed his instructions. They were not selfishly vying for first place. The stories these children had heard while growing up included that of Qorakh and others who refused to obey Moshe’s orders. They witnessed their parents dying because they could not be united behind the leader YHWH chose. This generation was different. It had promised to obey Y’hoshua, and not only that but to kill anyone who did not. (1:16) They put themselves and their own ideas and opinions aside to do what YHWH wanted done in the way He wanted it done. This is a much bigger miracle than the river drying up. These people were the real miracle. Many have tried to outsmart YHWH, and could not, so they attack His people instead. But because Israel was walking in obedience to YHWH under the authority of the one He had put in place, there was no chink in their armor. This people that had been lost for 40 years were now a military powerhouse, and their every move was watched. People are watching us today in the same way from the sidelines, to see if we are really are who we say we are or if this is just another fad, to see if we will be successful and if YHWH is indeed with us and Israel will come back together as we say.
2. At that time, YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Make for yourself stone blades, and return [and] circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”
At that time: when the window was open to strike because the enemies were at their weakest, and they had just come from a “mountaintop experience” (though they were at the lowest place on earth), because this vantage point showed that there was still something keeping them from being able to complete the Passover. Stone: traditionally it was specifically flint. If bronze and iron tools were already common, why did they use this seemingly antiquated method? Actually the flint knife was the way of mercy, because when broken along the right plane and filed to an edge, it is as sharp as any modern surgical instrument, and therefore less painful. It still was not pleasant for these people who were not circumcised on the eighth day, when the prothrombin and vitamin K are at their highest in one's lifetime and the blood clots readily. There was a price to pay for their parents' disobedience: it hurt! But every man had to submit to this before the people as a whole could go any further. The fact that Y’hoshua had to make these knives shows that they did not have any, and thus that they had not intended to keep this command. (See v. 5.) Once they were sentenced to die without entering the Promised Land, they probably assumed their children would also die in the wilderness as well, since they saw YHWH as cruel, when the fault was their own; He specifically promised to take their children to the place they themselves had forfeited. If we do not have the sign of the covenant, we have broken the covenant itself, and where there is no sign, it means we are not “open for business”. (Gibor) How can we say we are Israelites but not bear the identifying mark? But few other than the Levites and Y’hoshua and Kalev were circumcised anymore. A second time: When was the first? Not when their parents were circumcised, for they did not walk in obedience to what it represented, so this circumcision did not count. The one they were to parallel was the circumcision of Avraham’s household (Gen. 17:10ff), for he used a flint knife. So maybe it was a blessing that their parents had not circumcised them, so they couild identify with Avraham rather than their immediate forefathers, who had the sign of the covenant, but did not live up to it. There are many external signs—wedding rings, or colors that identify someone as a member of a street gang or motorcycle gang. But this sign is different is not seen by anyone except those you are most intimate with. It is concealed, for it is more of a reminder to the individual that he is part of the covenant. But sometimes even the hidden things come out through other signs that the covenant is real in us. Circumcision is a removal of obstructing and unnecessary flesh, and it symbolizes putting away anything in us that gets in the way of serving YHWH. Elsewhere in Scripture, we read of uncircumcised hearts, eyes, ears, and lips—i.e., anywhere there is flesh in a place that needs to be exposed in order to function as YHWH wants.
3. So Y’hoshua made himself [some] stone blades and began circumcising the sons of Israel toward the Hill of Foreskins.
This site received a new name, as most of the other places in the Land now would.
4. And this is why Y’hoshua circumcised all the people who came out of Egypt: The males—all the men of war—had died in the wilderness on the journey, as they came out from Egypt,
5. because all the people who had come out had been circumcised, but none of the people who had been born in the wilderness on the journey as they came out of Egypt had been circumcised,
6. since the sons of Israel had walked [for] forty years in the wilderness until the whole nation--the men of war who had come out of Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of YHWH, to whom YHWH had sworn not to let them see the Land that YHWH had sworn to their ancestors to give to us (a Land that gushes forth milk and honey)--had been consumed.
For 40 years, they were without the prescribed sign of the Covenant. YHWH had still dwelt among them and given them protection, provision, and the Torah for instruction. But these blessings only meant that He was extremely merciful. He upheld His side of the covenant for Avraham’s sake. Just because things are going well for us does not imply that we are doing everything right. Moshe himself had hesitated to carry out this practice (Ex. 4:24ff) because it did not sit well with his wife. But as when he was about to take up his role as leader, YHWH gave him no choice, and now that the Israelites were in the Land and ready to carry out justice on the Kanaanites, they had to be more blameless than they. The season left no room for compromise or neglect, as in our own day.
7. But He raised up sons in their place; them Y’hoshua circumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way.
8. And what took place when the whole nation was finished being circumcised was that they stayed in their places in the camp until they had revived.
Revived: i.e., healed and regained their strength. Since the tenth and the fourteenth of the month are both identified (v.10 and 4:19), there are three days between, at the end of which they "came back to life". The long delay before any attack would also serve to increase the fearfulness of the Kanaanites. This army has been through pain and bleeding together. Now they are in full unity, and that is truly scary to their enemies.
9. And YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from upon you.” So he called the name of that place Gilgal to this day.
Gilgal means “rolling” or a wheel, undoubtedly a reference to the “circle” of the circumcision. 1 Maccabees tells us that many Jews, when courting Greek culture to enhance their own standing in the world, actually had operations to make it appear that they had never undergone this ritual. By this sign—the sign that symbolizes exposing our lives to one another—He “bled” out of them what was left of Egypt. Most of them have never seen Egypt, being too young, but they had carried things over that their parents had bred into them—enslaving ideas that their parents had brought out with them. Now that they had crossed the river, they could deal with the remnants of something they had never seen but which had left them with the wrong priorities. Y’shua said a sword would sometimes have to come between us and our parents. We would bleed for this covenant, but that made it even more valuable to us.
10. As the descendants of Israel camped at Gilgal, they prepared the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, on the transitional plains of Y’rikho.
Just when one would have thought they would be rewarded, Y’hoshua does something painful to them instead, for there is a much bigger job in front of them, so he does not let them pat themselves on the back. They could not even celebrate the huge accomplishment they had just undergone. There was no time to wait, since the Passover cannot be eaten by any uncircumcised male, but the third day is when there is the most pain. (Gen. 34:25) So at this time each year, at minimum, we each need to check to see if we are really living up to the covenant, because it is surprising what can grow back that you thought was all gone. At Gilgal they restored two of the signs of the covenant, circumcision and the Passover. The prophets Eliyah and Elisha spent a great deal of time at this gateway to the Land. (2 Kings 2:1; 4;38) Shmu’el is said to have renewed the kingdom at Gilgal (1 Shmu’el 11), at the beginning of the reign of Sha’ul. But how could it be renewed if he was the first king of Israel? Because there had been a “king” confirmed here before—Y’hoshua, for the people confirmed their support for him here. (4:14) And very close to here YHWH confirmed His support for the later Y’shua by calling Him “My Beloved Son”—an idiom for a king of Israel. (Psalm 2:7 et al) Not much later, we find idols at Gilgal. (Judges 3:19) We are told the stones set up in the river “are here to this day”, but the same is not said of those on the shore at Gilgal, possibly because they became these idols that were worshipped there, much like the bronze serpent Moshe had made. Were the things YHWH gave as a memorial reshaped to suit a later generation’s tastes? The event of Y’shua’s immersion here has likewise been used to establish Mithraic forms of baptism, the doctrine of the trinity, etc. So this may be why Gilgal is a turning wheel: we need to leave even Gilgal behind so we can return to it and re-establish the original witness that was there. Evening…plains: both words stem from the same root in Hebrew. The word means “to mix”. One is the mixing of light and darkness, and the other is the transitional zone from desert to vegetated land. It refers specifically to the Great Rift Valley, which one must cross to go from Moav (now Jordan) to the heart of the Promised Land.
11. And they ate of the overflow of the Land the morning after the Passover—unleavened bread and parched grain on this same day.
Overflow: We are not permitted to eat of new crops until after the firstfruits are brought the day after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Lev. 23:14) Parched grain is specifically forbidden until “that same day”—the same phrase used here—suggesting that the Passover fell at the end of a Sabbath this year (meaning they could not roast a lamb until after sunset). This could be hinted at in v. 8 when compared with Ex. 16:29. The Aramaic text adds “the first fruits”, reflecting the halakhic argument over when the sheaf is offered. But the term here for overflow (based on the word for crossing a boundary or going beyond) implies grain which was not needed for immediate use and therefore stored up. Thus it was old grain, which would not violate Lev. 23:14. There was a king of Gilgal (12:23), though it would be some time before he would be attacked. So there must have already been a town with storehouses near their camp. But with the Israelites on the march, any who did not live within walled cities would head there for refuge, leaving their crops behind. The Land was providing for Israel even before the first battle.
12. And the manna stopped, [beginning] from the next day after they had eaten of the overflow of the Land. And there was no more manna for the descendants of Israel, but they ate from the produce of the land of Kanaan that year.
Stopped: from the same root word as “Sabbath”. It almost sounds like they are being punished for doing right. They were injured and the manna, the only bread most of them had known all their lives, was nowhere to be found. Had they done the wrong thing by hurrying across the river and keeping the Passover? Now all of a sudden they have to feed themselves; it does not seem fair! The more they do, the more YHWH seems to take from them. But it is called growing up. These people should have been circumcised at 8 days old, but now they are finally entering the covenant, and now that they have taken responsibility, greater responsibility comes. YHWH made one form of provision cease, and began another, to remind us that He, not it, is what we depend on. He continued providing until we were in a position to take responsibility for working the land ourselves. This is how His “grace” works during our exile as well, but we are approaching a time when we will again be able to work, and thus responsible to do so. The manna never falls in the Land to which we are about to cross over again. What will change for us? He still has grain stored up for us, but we have to know how to search it out in His Torah.
13. Now it came about that when Y’hoshua was at Y’rikho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo and behold, a man was standing right in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. So Y’hoshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
As with Yaaqov, an unknown man appears, apparently to fight him. But he has a whole army behind him now, so he can approach anyone who has a sword and demand to know where he stands: Is he loyal to us or to them? Many do not even get to the point of deciding where they stand, but a leader needs to know where each stands, so he can protect his camp. So he asks point-blank questions and expects an answer. That is a true leader.
14. And he said, “No, because I have now come [as] the captain of the army of YHWH.” And Y’hoshua fell to his face on the earth and bowed down and said to him, “What is my Master saying to His servant?”
“No!” This unexpected answer indicates that he was asking the wrong question. This man was for neither, but only for YHWH. If Y’hoshua also lined up with YHWH’s agenda, there would be no threat from him. Y’hoshua probably thought he himself was the captain of YHWH’s army, because all Israel was following him. But only after Israel has again begun walking in the signs of the covenant and given absolute devotion to Y’hoshua are they given the offer of being part of something larger--the army of YHWH. It was no longer about them or even about bringing judgment on their enemies, but about YHWH. We need to keep the same perspective. Who was this man? He probably was not a glowing “angel” as we think of them, because Y’hoshua was not terrified, and even challenged him, probably with his own sword drawn. He might have just been a descendant of Melkhitzedeq who had come down from Yerushalayim, only 15 miles away. We are not told, so it is not necessary to know. The point is that Y’hoshua found him worthy of honor because, like Moshe in Egypt, he came in YHWH’s name. Y’hoshua recognizes that he is in the presence of someone greater and with more authority than he--someone to lower himself before. He does not merely back down, but immediately hits his face.
15. And the captain of the army of YHWH said to Y’hoshua, “Take your shoe off your foot, because the place where you are standing is set-apart.” So Y’hoshua did so.
His mentor Moshe had a similar experience at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5)—except that in his case, it was both shoes he needed to remove. Something is different here. Was he only wearing one sandal? Why would he not take both off? The key is in Ruth 4:7. It says that in earlier times, the customary way to confirm an exchange was to remove and give the other party one of one’s sandals. This man came to make an offer: “I am from another army. I am not on your side, but I want you on my side. Let your army fight not just for you or for their families or even for all Israel, but for YHWH.” This is truly a dangerous place. He is now on YHWH’s territory, and like Y’hoshua, this man wants to know why he is here. Any army that comes here will end up either as YHWH’s army or a dead army. Y’hoshua had already said by his actions that he would join forces with this captain, so he essentially told Y’hoshua to “prove it” with this sign before he took another step on this Land. And he did confirm it, but it never says he got his shoe back! As with Cinderella, the shoe is kept by the other party to be able to verify later that the agreement “still fits”. If he walked back to the camp with only one of his 40-year-old sandals that did not wear out, he would have to pay close attention to where he stepped; he would have appeared to be limping like Yaaqov after his walk was forever changed by a similar encounter. (Gen. 32)
CHAPTER 6
1. Then Y’rikho was closed up and shut in due to the presence of the descendants of Israel; there was no one going out and no one coming in.
Israel had not sent any threats or terms of surrender, but still Y’rikho was under a self-imposed siege because of their fear! When Israel was walking in Torah and in unity, their mere presence terrified those around them, and they would not even dare show their faces.
2. And YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Look! I have given Y’rikho into your hand along with her king—brave heroes of the army!
Along with her king: he represents the whole city-state, but when King Sha’ul spared the king of the Amaleqites (1 Shmu’el 15:8), it came back to haunt the tribe of Yehudah in a major way (Esther 9:24). The last phrase may be describing the Y’rikhite army mockingly, or it may be addressing the Israelites. Though like Gid’on (Judges 6:12-16) they might not have felt brave, it already took courage to live in a Torah-keeping community. Humans naturally run in clans, but in our day society allows us and encourages us to be self-sufficient. Though this is seen as a virtue today, it is what keeps our enemies (who maintain the ancient pattern) thriving behind effective defenses. Only as Israel gathers together again can this change.
3. “Now you will march a circuit around the city—all the mortal men of war—to encompass the city one time; you must do it this way [for] six days.
Now you: YHWH has just said He had given them the city. He had made all the arrangements for it to be accomplished and removed all obstacles if they did it His way; if it did not come to pass, it would only be because they did not make it the ruin He had said it already was. Encompass: or, strike skin off of. This makes the underlying nerves extremely sensitive, and indeed it heightened the suspense for the citizens of Y’rikho to see these people marching around and doing nothing but blowing trumpets. It created fear in them, and once there was enough of that, they were already defeated. It gave them time to think of all the things they stood to lose. If we see our possessions as YHWH’s, given to us only to use, they will not have such a hold on us. Like spiritual giftings, if we are not giving them away, we are not doing with them what He gave them to us for. This idea of striking off seems to be that of a repeated action necessary to accomplish the task, like peeling off the layers of an onion, around and around. This is upheld by the fact that the words for “one time” literally denote one (rhythmic) beat, with the assumption that there would be more. This may be a colorful description of how the city was undermined by the vibration of the ground at specific intervals, weakening it a little more each time. Thus there are two types of encirclings being described here. Just as both revolution and rotation are needed to sustain life on earth, Israel must both revolve around YHWH and keep his festival cycle, for the term for His festivals (khag) actually means to move in a circle, as in Hebraic dance. As the earth’s rotation forms the needed gravity to keep us grounded, the festivals bring order to our love for YHWH by giving us a community to express His love to. Israel had tried to do without YHWH’s calendar for 38 years, and many plagues and hardships resulted. They did not see themselves as a people, but as needy individuals.
4. “Have seven priests carry seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark, and on the seventh day you must circle the city seven times, then the priests must give a blast on the trumpets.
Seven trumpets of ram’s horns: or, the seven shofars that are borne along, seven rams’ horns of the yovel (jubilee). Seven is the number of completion in unity and purpose, and the Hebrew word comes from the word for swearing an oath. Hearing the number seven four times would remind Israel of the promises YHWH had kept and those they had made to Him. They marched around the city for seven days in a row, so one of them had to be the Sabbath. How can we make war on the day we are meant to rest? The answer will become clearer as the chapter progresses.
5. “And when they make a prolonged [blast] with the horn that is borne along, what must take place is that when you hear the sound of the shofar, all the people must give a war-cry with a great shout, and the wall of the city will collapse [from] beneath it, and the people will climb up, [each] man directly in front of him.”
Collapse from beneath it: or, fall down where it stands/in its place; the Aramaic Targum adds, “and be swallowed up”. In front of him: or, corresponding to him.
6. So Y’hoshua the son of Nun summoned the priests and told them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark of YHWH.”
7. Then they said to the people, “Go over and march around the city, and those who are armed [for war] must go over in front of the ark of YHWH.
8. So it took place, as Y’hoshua was speaking to the people, that the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns went over and gave a blast with the shofars, and the ark of the covenant of YHWH went behind them.
9. And whoever was armed went before the priests who were blowing the shofars, and the rear guard went after the ark, walking and blowing the shofars.
Rear guard: literally, those who gather up; Aramaic, the tribe of the house of Dan, based on Num. 10:25ff (in which Asher and Nafthali were also included with Dan). It was the ark that was guarded, not the people as such, though the people of Y’rikho might have been able to rain any number of objects down on them from the top of the wall. Everyone was in this sense a “sapper”—those who risk their lives to undermine a city wall so it can be breached by the next wave of soldiers. But if the covenant is guarded, individual selves do not need to be.
10. But to the people, Y’hoshua had given orders, saying, “You must not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor shall a word come out of your mouth until [the] day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you will shout.”
Though they must have had an infinite number of questions about why they were doing this, they were to do their part, and no more. They were not to be heard until it was time, and Y’hoshua would let them know when that time was! YHWH did not command Y’hoshua to tell them this; he saw the need for it himself. When the Messiah brings justice to the entire earth, it will not be through noisy words, but through actions. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 42:1-4) A word spoken in season has great effects. (Prov. 15:23; 17:28; 25:11; compare Qoheleth/Eccles. 9:17) Yaaqov (James) says that if we can tame the tongue, we can stop sinning altogether, as it is the hardest member to bring into submission. So the people “fast from speaking”, and the result is heavy-duty psychological warfare.
11. So he had the ark of YHWH circle the city, encompassing it once, then they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.
12. And Y’hoshua rose early [to shoulder the burden] in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of YHWH,
13. and the seven priests who carried the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of YHWH proceeded to walk and gave a blast with the shofars, and whoever was armed walked ahead of them, and the rear guard went after the ark of YHWH. Walking and blowing the shofars,
14. they thus circled the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this [same thing for] six days.
15. Now what took place on the seventh day [was that] they made an early [start] as the dawn came up and encircled the city in this [same] manner seven times; only on that day did they encircle the city seven times.
We must not only look at all the “sevens”; they went around the city a total of thirteen times. The total numerical value of letters that make up the Hebrew word ekhad (“one” or “united”) is 13. Unity is what wins battles when Israel is taking the Land, as will become even clearer in the next chapter.
16. And what took place on the seventh time [around] was that the priests gave a blast with the shofars, and Y’hoshua told the people, “Shout! Because YHWH has given you the city!
The way they made war on the Sabbath was by celebrating.
17. “And the city will be devoted to YHWH—it and everything that is in it; only Rahav the prostitute may remain alive (she and all who are with her in the house), because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
Devoted to YHWH: that is, off limits to everyone else. In this case it meant it would be completely destroyed, and everyone in it killed. Messengers: They are not called spies, for they came chiefly to bring a message of deliverance to Rahav when she proved her faith and loyalty. The term for messengers is the same as that for angels, so she entertained angels. This is the answer to whom outside of Israel can be saved: those who receive the message. There were two of them who went into a house to see if anyone there was worthy—a precedent for Y’shua, who sent His disciples out two by two to preach repentance in the same manner. (Mark 6:7-12) He said He only did what He saw His Father doing. (Yochanan 5:19) Where did He see this? In the Scriptures, not in a mystical trance. Therefore we can do the same.
18. “But you, by all means keep [clear] of what is off limits, lest you make yourselves dedicated to destruction by taking from what is dedicated to destruction and you appoint the camp of Israel for destruction and bring calamity to it.
What one partakes of affects all of Israel. Appoint for destruction: the same term as “off limits”, “dedicated”, and “devoted” above. The term is herem, which means “set apart”, but with a difference in nuance from qadosh, which typically means permanently set apart, for YHWH Himself is called qadosh (holy). Herem is more “designated for a specific purpose”, or for a particular length of time. It is related to the more familiar word harem, which makes us think of desert palaces and belly dancers with veiled faces—because indeed the women in the harem are set apart for the sheikh’s pleasure, and off limits to everyone else. Hadassah (Esther) was part of Akhashwerosh’s harem, but she became qadosh—the set-apart among set-apart, as the queen and not just a concubine. But there are things we can bring into our “camp” that bring death or destruction—not just diseases, but attitudes about our rights or about authority, gossip, or even a spouse who does not share the same values and vision. Recall that it was the fact that Israel had put the cities across the river “under the ban” that struck fear in the Y’rikhites (2:10) They knew Israel was coming for the purpose of judgment, not booty. Bear this in mind, for (as per note on verse 3) we see the whole festival year walked out within a matter of days. They observed Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, then they walked out a cycle of seven within seven, a microcosm of the seven weeks of counting the days until Shavuoth. The next thing they do is blow trumpets, which is what Yom T’ruah is all about. Judgment follows on Yom Kippur, which by tradition also features a scarlet cord like the one Rahav hung in her window. Afterward follows the salvation of those from other nations, a prominent theme of Sukkoth, the next and final prescribed feast.
19. “But all silver and gold and articles of copper or iron, they are set apart for YHWH; they will go into YHWH’s treasury.”
In short, “there is nothing in this city for you”. Some things are strictly for YHWH; anything metal or that can be considered a treasure—anything of value--goes into His storehouse, but the rest is to be destroyed. You keep none of it in your own house. No one could even take a sword out. This was a season for destruction; they were going there to do nothing but tear down in this case. The pagan objects made from these metals could be melted down and their form changed completely. And the soldiers were not told to brig them to the storehouse; the Levites themselves, who would be in charge of the storehouses, would probably go retrieve it after the battle.
20. So the people shouted and blew the shofars, and it did turn out that when the people heard the sound of the shofar, the people raised a great shout, and the wall collapsed under it, and the people went up into the city, each directly in front of [where] he [was], and they captured the city!
A physics lesson attributed to the FBI’s Mark Felt during the investigation of the Watergate scandal said, “If you tap repeatedly on the post of a building and the tapping is relentless, it creates a rhythm. If you do that long enough and steadily enough, it will feed back. The frequencies will align, the molecules will scramble, then…the whole building will come apart from the inside and collapse in on itself, and all will come tumbling down.” Compare “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls came a-tumblin’ down.” Consider such destabilizing by millions of people marching near the city’s foundations, then the sudden and strong, high-pitched sounds of many shofaroth, remembering how even a high-sung note can shatter glass windows. Bradford Scott pointed out that “everything has a natural rate of vibration or frequency,,,When virtually everything in the room that can affect the natural frequency of te glass is removed…then Ella [Fitzgerald] sings various notes until she hits a note that matches the natural frequency of the glass, and then raises the decibel of that note, …then the molecules get agitated like the soup in your microwave, and the glass comes crashing down. All you need are…silence, a matching frequency, and increased volume…He knows exactly how the universe functions. He gave His people commandments which, when they are obeyed, cause things to happen in our physical world.”
21. And they dedicated everything that was in the city—including both men and women, from young to old, as well as ox and lamb and donkey—to the mouth of the sword.
This was a different kind of being set apart—and involved living things this time. It is not even easy to kill an animal we are going to eat, but they had to kill everything that lived, for they would be a stumblingblock to Israel if they were just left to coexist in the Land. The people of Y’rikho had done nothing against Israel in particular, so this was not their vengeance, nor was it a defensive battle. Israel was the aggressor—a very unchristian concept, and one that does not meet the “standards” of modern humanism. What earned them this judgment was the fact that they had built a pagan city in a Land that belonged to YHWH and which He had promised to Avraham’s descendants. They were in the way of this promise being fulfilled, so they had to go.
22. Now to the two men who had explored the Land by foot, Y’hoshua said, “Go to the house of the woman—the prostitute—and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.”
23. So the young men who had explored the Land on foot went in and brought out Rahav, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had—that is, they brought all her family [member]s and let them rest outside the camp of Israel.
24. Then they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver, gold, and articles of copper and iron they entrusted to the treasury of the House of YHWH.
The simplest way to retrieve them would be to wait until after the city was burned, because the fire would not be hot enough to destroy the metals, but might already melt down the idols so they were no longer in the same shape, but were just globs of raw material again. But note that all the Mammon (wealth) still belongs to YHWH.
25. And Y’hoshua allowed Rahav the prostitute, and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, to remain alive, and she dwells in the innermost part of Israel to this day, because she held back the messengers whom Y’hoshua had sent to go about Y’rikho on foot.
Her father’s household: This does not fit with the “personal salvation” formula, for they rode in on the coattails of another, but it is a concept the first believers in Y’shua espoused. (Acts 11:14; 16:31) This is because they were not thinking about a mere spiritual salvation, but establishing a physical kingdom under the rulership of Y’hoshua. In ancient Israel, the most basic societal unit was the father’s household, so as the Kingdom is re-established, it makes perfect sense to build it again of father’s houses, not just individuals.
26. And at that time Y’hoshua made them swear, saying, “Cursed before YHWH is [any] man who may raise up and rebuilt this city, Y’rikho. May he lay the foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest may he stand its gates up!”
This indeed came to pass in the days of Akhav, king of Israel. A man from Beyth-El named Khi’el (“El lives”) lost his eldest and youngest sons in the process, just as YHWH had said through Y’hoshua. (1 Kings 16:34) This took place immediately before the rise of Eliyahu the prophet to prominence, and seeing this prophecy fulfilled may have even been a catalyst that helped him find the confidence to go ahead and dare to prophesy the message he had been given--that it would not rain again until he said so! Y’rikho means “his (own) moon”. The new moon is what determines when the biblical festivals will be, so the cycle of feasts is what conquers the city with this name. This “city” has been “rebuilt” by the Rabbis, who chose their own way of determining when they would be observed, so anyone who follows this calendar will usually be doing things in the wrong season, until the authority they usurped, which really belongs to the moon, is taken back aggressively by Torah-observant Israel.
27. And YHWH came to be with Y’hoshua, and his fame went throughout all the Land.
Came to be: because Y’hoshua was no longer just Moshe’s servant, but had proven to be YHWH’s direct servant by the decisions he himself made.
CHAPTER 7
1. But the descendants of Israel committed a trespass in [regard to] what was off-limits [in that] Akhan the son of Karmi the son of Zavdi the son of Zerakh, for the tribe of Yehudah, took [some] of the things devoted [to YHWH], and the anger of YHWH grew heated against the descendants of Israel.
On this rare occasion, all of Israel was unified, so the sin of one was counted as the sin of all. We are our brothers’ keeper. Committed a trespass: from a root word meaning “over or above”, suggesting that arrogance is the central concept. As a community they all were counted as having overstepped the boundary simply because one man among them had done so. It may be that no one else even knew about what he had done, let alone been an accomplice. Only one soldier out of hundreds of thousands disobeyed the command, yet at this point, all were held responsible and were still guilty in YHWH’s eyes. The fact that one man’s sin can bring the whole nation into a sinful state (compare Romans 5:12) makes the whole doctrine of original sin a moot point. What we do also reflects on our Y’hoshua. Jews today will rarely speak his name because of the crusades. They did this is “Jesus’” name; now that we know his true name, we have a higher responsibility to bring it honor.
2. When Y’hoshua sent men from Y’rikho [to] the Ay that is with Beyth-Awen eastward from Beyth-El, and told them, “Go up and explore the territory on foot.” So the men went up and explored Ay on foot.
Ay means “a heap of ruins”. It may have had a different meaning in the Emorite language. Beyth-Aven means “house of vanity (wickedness, sorrow, trouble, or idolatry)”. Beyth-El: a city, not the place Yaaqov had named Beyth-El, which was later the Temple Mount north of Yerushalayim. Explore: or spy out. Y’hoshua was clearly not yet aware that YHWH was upset. Should he have checked with YHWH first? He already had standing orders to conquer the whole Land, so it should not have been necessary. He had a right to expect Israel to do the right thing, though their record did not particularly make this a realistic assumption.
3. When they returned to Y’hoshua, they told him, “Not all the people should go up; about two or three thousand men can go up, and they can beat Ay. Don’t weary all the people with [the trouble of going] there, because they are [so] few.”
They did not need to bother making the whole army work so hard for a victory that a small percentage of them should have been easily able to accomplish.
4. So of the people about three thousand men went up there, but they would [end up] fleeing before the men of Ay.
5. The men of Ay even struck down about thirty-six men, and chased them from the gate as far as the Breaches, and started killing them on the steep slope. And the heart of the people melted and turned into water.
As far as the Breaches: possibly to a specific gap in the mountains, or, “to the point of crushing [them]”; the Aramaic leans toward this latter possibility with “until they broke them”. It was merciful of YHWH that they did send so few, for more might have been lost if they had sent more.
6. And Y’hoshua tore his clothing and fell on his face on the ground in front of the ark of YHWH [all the way] until evening—[both] he and the elders of Israel--and they put dust up on their heads.
7. And Y’hoshua said, “Alas, Master YHWH! Why did you even have us cross the Yarden at all, [if it is just] to hand us over to the Emorites and have us destroyed? O, if only we had been willing to stay on the other side of the Yarden!
At first he sounds like the whining Israelites in the wilderness, but then he turns, though unsuccessfully, to a tactic Moshe had used:
8. “Please, Master, what can I say after Israel has turned her back before her enemies?
“Did You fool us? Lie to us? This cannot possibly be Your will!”
9. “When the Kanaanite and all the inhabitants of the Land hear, they will close in on us from around and cut off our name from the earth! So what will You do for Your great name?”
10. But YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Raise yourself up! Why are you fallen on your face [like] this?
Something was clearly broken, but he should not “call the manufacturer before checking the instruction manual he had already been given.” Also, none of Israel was welcome to bow before YHWH until this matter was resolved. This reminds us of when YHWH said to Moshe, “Why are you crying to Me? Tell the people to start walking!” If Y’hoshua had said, “What did we do to deserve this?”, he might have received a different response. But YHWH was upset because He had been blamed. No, of course this was not His will, but this was not a grand cosmic joke. It was not YHWH’s fault that things had gone wrong. If there was a problem, they had to look elsewhere for the source:
11. “Israel has sinned and also transgressed My covenant about which I gave them orders, in that they have even taken from what was off limits, and also stolen and also acted deceitfully, having actually put it among their own equipment,
It was Israel’s slackness that was to blame, not YHWH’s. Transgressed: literally, crossed a line. But a covenant is a two-sided agreement; when had they ever signed on, accepting the responsibility of dedicating anything to destruction? When they proceeded to attack Y’rikho as He had said. By entering into the work, they also took on the rules that applied to it. But the terms had been violated, and they were guilty. Y’hoshua did not know what had taken place, but somehow it appears he was expected to know. He was the leader. Should he have searched everyone who came off the battlefield to make sure they had no contraband? Maybe so, but he should have been able to trust them, after all YHWH had done for them and with the promises He had made of giving them the Land. But, sadly, Y’hoshua could not trust everyone after all. And someone else suffered. By joining in with the battle, Akhan made a tacit promise that he would not take anything, but his actions were lying because that is not how it turned out. He did not even have to give Y’hoshua a clue, but He did. Yet He gave him no details; all He let him know was that someone had done this. It was his problem to find out who. YHWH held him responsible to hold everyone else responsible. Off limits: closed in, separated from us, something we are not supposed to be close to or partake of, yet it was right in our midst! It was dedicated to something other than to Israel. YHWH did not say He would rid us of it; we would have to be the ones to confront our brothers and eradicate the stumblingblock.
12. “so the descendants of Israel have been unable to stand up to the faces of their enemies; they will turn their backs before their enemies, because they have come to be dedicated [to destruction]. I will not be with you again unless you eradicate from your midst what is off limits!
This is strong stuff! It is not lollipops, but Jack Daniels with Jim Beam as a chaser! Israel is now designated to lose every battle because something forbidden is in the camp. He said they could become dedicated to destruction, and now they are. And worst of all, YHWH will no longer be with them—they are on their own unless they take care of the problem. He will not do it for them. They are no longer protected. Would YHWH really do this to His people? No, they did it to themselves. He is a real father—like one who says to his son, “You got yourself into trouble; now you get yourself out.” If they fix what they broke, He might come back, but He will not be responsible for their screwup.
13. “Get up, set the people apart, and say, ‘Set yourselves apart for tomorrow, because this is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says: “Something that is off limits is among you, Israel; you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is off limits from your midst.”
This is part of the preparation for battle. If they do not remove what is not supposed to be there, they have no way of going to war and winning. For now, every one of them is considered guilty.
14. “‘So you will be approached in the morning by your tribes, and what will come about is that the tribe that YHWH catches will approach by clans, and the clan that YHWH catches must approach by households, and the household that YHWH catches must approach [man] by man,
Catches: takes, seizes, chooses; Aramaic, singles out.
15. “‘and it will turn out that the one who is caught with the thing that is devoted [to YHWH] must be burned with fire—himself and all who belong to him, because he has transgressed YHWH’s covenant and because he has acted disgracefully in Israel.’”
Why burned? Because that is what was done to Y’rikho. If you bring something from Y’rikho, you become part of Y’rikho in YHWH’s eyes. This is not the flowery and sweet side of YHWH; this is strong meat for the mature. If you bring part of Y’rikho with you, its lot becomes yours. If you brig something from outside into the camp, the camp becomes part of what is outside in YHWH’s eyes. Disgracefully: foolishly, shamefully, or senselessly; Aramaic, done what is not fitting. How sobering to realize that those who belong to us must also pay for our folly. No one in Israel can act in isolation. Very few people in Scripture are ever burned; normally it is only the daughter of a priest who is caught in adultery who would be executed in this way, so there must be a parallel here. YHWH feels betrayed by His bride because He made sure Y’hoshua told them not to do this very thing. (6:18)
16. So Y’hoshua rose up early [and shouldered the burden] in the morning and presented Israel by its tribes, and the tribe of Yehudah was caught,
He did not delay, but got it done as quickly as he could.
17. so he had the clan[s] of Yehudah approach, and he caught the Zarkhite clan, so he had the clan of Zarkhi approach [man] by man, and Zavdi was caught,
18. so he had his household approach [man] by man, and Akhan, the son of Karmi, the son of Zavdi, the son of Zerakh, was caught for the tribe of Yehudah.
We are not told how they whittled this down and identified who it was. It would probably be done by casting lots, but maybe someone had seen something suspicious and whispered about it. Somehow Y’hoshua literally came close to each one. Maybe he asked just the right questions and could tell when he was “getting close” because of discrepancies that arose in the story. A tree is known by its fruit. Where was the fruit of most affected? Maybe this family became disproportionately sick. In any case, instead of just pointing out who the culprit was, YHWH heightened the suspense so each would be searching his own heart and taking inventory of what he might have done, to make sure the problem was not in his household. Undoubtedly many people repented for lesser sins in the process, such as speaking against Y’hoshua for some petty reason. Though most of them could breathe a sigh of relief when the lot did not fall to them, they would still all be able to identify with what the tribe that was “caught” was going through. They all got a taste of the fear, and of course the families of those who were killed were suffering. The fear of YHWH in each heart would be strengthened. Akhan’s name means “troublemaker.” It may have reflected a slight change from his original name, as was sometimes done with Hebrew names, as from Ben Kosiba to Bar Kochba, once it became known that he was responsible for what took place. His forefathers are mentioned, for what he did reflected on them as well as bringing disgrace to Y’hoshua and guilt to all of Israel corporately. But with such a reputation among ancestors with such wonderful names like “my vineyard” (Karmi), someone should have been keeping an eye on him wherever he went. The most logical people to do so would be his own family, because they were the ones who would also pay the ultimate price for his actions. He has apparently caused trouble before this, yet no one took responsibility to make sure he behaved.
19. So Y’hoshua said to Akhan, “My son, please direct honor to YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, and make confession before Him, and please make known to me what you have done; do not conceal [it] from me!”
Direct honor: i.e., show that you really believe He is Elohim, and tell the truth. Make confession: or, give thanks; the word actually means to throw or gesture with one’s hands. In this case, it would be the “I surrender” aspect of lifting his hands, since he was caught “red-handed”.
20. So Akhan answered Y’hoshua, and said, “It’s true; I have sinned against YHWH the Elohim of Israel, and like this, like this I have done:
21. “When I saw among the spoils a robe [from] Shinar--a nice one, 200 sheqels of silver, and a tongue of gold—one with its weight fifty sheqels—I wanted them, and I snatched them up, and there they are, hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under it.”
Robe: the root word reveals that it was wide and majestic. In Scripture robes are symbolic of our works. When Y’shua speaks of keeping our garments (Rev. 16:15), he does not mean fancy attire. Those who do not “soil their garments” will walk with him in white.” (Rev. 3:3ff) To buy from him white garments (3:17ff) speaks of our service to Israel, because white robes were worn by the priesthood when on duty. Just as their garments should tell us something about what they do (much like modern military or police uniforms), what covers us is idiomatic of our actions or deeds. But Shinar is where the tower of Bavel was built. (Gen. 11) The builders used substitutionary building materials because they wanted to make the building flood-proof in case YHWH should decide to send judgment again. There was a unity there, but it was of such a nature that each person was pursuing his own interests. Thus they were united for the sake of finding ways around keeping YHWH’s commands and doing things their own way. This is what caught his eye—because he may not have liked the way things were being run. Babylonian ways feel great on one’s body, until one realizes that he is really poor, wretched, and naked. With a garment like this, one could pretend he was a king, but he would have to soothe his flesh with it when no one was looking. It was the hidden things that brought defeat and shame. A “tongue of gold” may have been broken off a golden idol. But it is a “golden tongue” that enables us to keep things hidden, always having an excuse available to justify our sins. Akhan does confess his sin, but seemed to be explaining why he really was not guilty rather than truly taking responsibility. But why would private security be needed if he was under the pillar of fire with all Israel, walking where he was meant to walk? The truth will eventually come out, so why persist in a lie when its only end can be death?
22. So Y’hoshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and indeed it was hidden in his tent with the silver under it.
The silver was not part of “it”, and it was buried deepest, indicating that he valued it more highly than the rest. Silver was always the means of exchange used in payment for human life or blood, and that of some animals as well. (Y’shua was sold for silver.) A person can either be ransomed by silver or by blood. So silver symbolizes his cherishing of his own life. But Y’shua says, “He who wants to save his life will lose it.” (Mat. 16:35) Thinking of one’s own “blood”—valuing his kindred and family—above YHWH’s interests is the source of much trouble in returning Israel. Y’shua tried to warn us, saying it was inevitable that many families would be divided when some prioritized following him (Mat. 10:34) and that one must regard those who do YHWH’s will as his true family. (Mat. 12:46) Thus the three things he wanted can be summed up as “Doing it my way”, “Taking care of me and mine”, and “I can explain this…”
23. So they took them from inside the tent and brought them to Y’hoshua and to all the descendants of Israel, and they poured them out before YHWH.
24. So Y’hoshua seized Akhan the son of Zerakh, and the silver and the robe and the tongue of gold, along with his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his donkeys and his sheep, as well as his tent and everything that he had. And [he] and all Israel with him brought them up to the Valley of Akhor,
His wife is not mentioned, but if the two are one flesh, they could not kill him without killing his wife as well. His sons and daughters would undoubtedly have been the reason he wanted this personal security, so they had become idols to him. But for trying to maintain his security at the expense of obeying YHWH, he lost his “future” altogether, having no seed left to carry on his ways. Anything that bore the association with him had to be annihilated. Up to the valley: This sounds oxymoronic, but a place of righteous judgment, no matter how low-lying, is a step up from the place sin was committed. Akhor (related to Akhan’s name) means “trouble, disturbance, calamity, grief.” Y’hoshua then makes a play on these words:
25. and Y’hoshua said, “How you have brought calamity on us! YHWH will bring calamity on you this day!” And all of Israel executed him [with] stones, then they burned them with fire when they had pelted them with stones.
He probably thought he could conceal his cache easily and get away with it, or that it was only a small thing. But the tares mixed in with the wheat are gathered first to be burned. (Mat. 13) Yet YHWH later promised to make the Valley of Akhor a doorway of hope (Hos. 2:14-15) and a place for flocks to lie down and rest (Yeshayahu 65:8-10), possibly because sin was dealt with in a final way there.
26. And they raised over him a large round [heap] of stones [that have remained there] until this day. Then YHWH turned back from the heat of His anger. On account of this the name of that place is called the Valley of Akhor to this day.
His name is remembered only for evil, and casts shame all the way back to his ancestor Yehudah, not to mention costing the lives of others who had nothing to do with him, because that is what it means to be a camp or community. When we hide forbidden things in our “tents”, we hurt other people. What are you hiding away for yourself at the expense of all Israel? Dig them up and turn them over before He asks for them, and certainly before Israel’s next battle! Otherwise none of us can enjoy our inheritance.
CHAPTER 8
1. Then YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t be flustered. Take with you all the people of war, rise, and go up to Ay. [Just] watch: I have handed over to you the king of Ay along with his people, his city, and his territory,
Flustered: Moshe had often told Y’hoshua to be strong, so he may have been one who needed frequent encouragement. But the incident with Akhan that had just taken place could have really shattered his confidence. If they lost 36 innocent men when one sinned, what was the additional potential for loss if two or three of the millions of people he was leading did something wrong? There was no time to be dismayed; they were to recover their composure, because YHWH was with them again. They had just had to kill an entire family, including the children, not leaving this distasteful job to the leadership, leaving the nightmare to them. This is what a people of war is. It does not say “men”, but includes all of Israel. They went through this together, so YHWH almost dares them to put Him to the test, as He did at other times—“See if I won’t open for you the windows of heaven.” “Just watch Me”, He says; “see if it doesn’t work this time, when you have followed the leader I put in place. You did the right thing; don’t you expect Me to do the right thing in return?” All the people had made war on the one who had not followed instructions; no one defended Akhan or made excuses for him. No one felt sorry for Akhan, because his disobedience cost the lives of many of their friends. So YHWH rewarded them by letting them all have a hand in the next battle. They did what they had sworn to do (1:18) and upheld their allegiance to Y’hoshua no matter what, proving trustworthy. Because the people did identify what the problem was and dealt with the rebellion and selfishness, it opened the door for victory this time. (Compare Hoshea 2:14-15, where YHWH again promises to make the Valley of Akhor a doorway of hope for the returning Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Yeshayahu 65:8-10, where we are told it will be a resting-place for the remnant who have sought YHWH.) Since the next stop was further up in the same direction, it appears that he took the whole nation along with him to Ay. They camped close to the battle site. (v. 9, 13)
2. “and you will do to Ay and to her king just what you did to Y’rikho and her king, except that you may take its spoils and its animals as plunder for yourselves. Set yourself an ambush for the city from behind it.”
Oh, by the way, this time you can have the spoils. Now that Israel was wide awake and the sin is removed from the camp, YHWH knows their hearts are right and it is safe to allow them a reward. How sadly ironic! If only Akhan had waited for YHWH’s timing instead of desiring instant gratification, he would have spared himself and Israel so much grief. Who knows what he could have had if he had been patient? But he acted out of season, out of order, and out of command. There is a time for everything, but we do not get to determine when that time is. Y’rikho was a test, and everyone had done well on it except him. But the wise would recognize that Ay held a different kind of test. Each human being thinks he should get the biggest cut of the plunder or at least an equal share. But YHWH had already made the rules about this situation: the spoils are divided between the soldiers and the rest of the people, but those who did not fight have to give 10 times more to the priests than those who did. (Num. 31:26ff) Would they follow what Moshe had said? We have to use not the Republican or Democratic definition of what is fair, equitable, and just, but YHWH’s definition. If we invent our own definitions, how solid could they ever be? If we follow our own hearts and minds, we end up betraying ourselves. YHWH does not take our individual preferences into account when He decides what is best for all of Israel.
3. So Y’hoshua rose up along with all the people of war to go up to Ay, and Y’hoshua chose 30,000 men—capable, valiant ones—and sent them at night,
Choosing is part of the leader’s job, but how did he determine who was bravest? He had watched the battle at Y’rikho and seen who was the first to pick up stones against Akhan. But some were bound to complain that he did not pick them. So what? YHWH gave the choice to Y’hoshua.
4. and gave them orders, saying, “Look, you will be an ambush for the city from behind the city; don’t go very far away from the city, but all of you be ready,
He chose ten times as many as came the first time, and he sends them on a night operation. And what is going on wit this ambush? It might seem that Y’hoshua had stopped trusting YHWH, and was using the world’s techniques. But he was simply using everything that he had at his disposal to get the job that YHWH had given him done. There is no more of the arrogance that says, “YHWH is with me, so nothing can go wrong.” He has learned that one cannot get away with doing anything he wants just because he knows YHWH’s name. YHWH had never told Y’hoshua to send only 3,000, though with the size of the town (v. 25), all other things being equal, this would have been a reasonable estimate on the part of the spies. But they were overconfident and look at the results. This time YHWH made things much clearer, and had Y’hoshua oversee every step directly. Behind the city: This may imply that the city only had one gate, and would not be as watchful on the other side, where they did not feel as vulnerable. Be ready: a favorite phrase of the later Y’shua was “be watchful”. Though we may have to await the readiness of the Kingdom, we are not to become so deeply involved in other pursuits that we do not notice when it is time to do what we really came here for. He would give the signal, so they had to be ready—and wait. Don’t wait for the crisis to be upon you and then complain that you have no supplies, when you could have been prepared. But just because one is ready, it does not mean it is time to act. Jumping the gun can cost lives too. Always be ready to speak, but do not unleash information until everything is ready. But if we do the right thing in the right season and for the right reason, YHWH will underwrite our efforts—but do not expect anything from Him if our motivation or timing is wrong.
5. “and I and all the people who are with me will approach the city, and what we will do when they come out to meet us like the first time is that we will run away in front of them
6. “when they come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the city—because they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us just like the first time!’ So [once] we have run away in front of them,
Drawn them away: far enough from the city that they are effectively cut off from being able to retreat into it. Y’hoshua used the failure of last time to his advantage as a strategy this time, rather than writing it all off as a waste.
7. “then you must rise up from [where you are] waiting in ambush, and take possession of the city; thus YHWH your Elohim will hand it over to you.
He will not answer us before we take the first step. His promises do not come to us; we have to go where He tells us they are. We will receive His provision after we start moving.
8. “Then once you have captured the city, you must set the city on fire. You must do as YHWH has said; see, I have given you orders.”
We have no promise of success if we do not do it His way. But here is the hard part: No one else has heard directly from YHWH, so all they have to go on is what Y’hoshua says. This is the complete opposite from the way most people today think, but Y’hoshua’s word is YHWH’s word, because he is the one YHWH has put in charge. Yes, it is a dangerous thing, but that is how YHWH’s Kingdom works. If we follow him and he turns out to be wrong, it is Y’hoshua’s problem, not ours. If they want to be part of this victory, they have to do it his way, for when we hear from the leader YHWH has constituted, we are hearing from YHWH. One cannot say he is trusting YHWH when he does not trust YHWH’s chosen leader. But how many times has he proven himself since Moshe first authorized him to choose warriors (Ex. 17)? A tree is known by its fruit. It is nothing less than arrogant rebellion to eat from the tree for many years, then one day decide to say the fruit is poisonous because he has stopped liking the way it tastes.
9. So Y’hoshua sent them off, and they went to [wait in] ambush, and they remained still between Beyth-El and Ay, to the west of Ay, and Y’hoshua passed that night in the midst of the people.
Ay was about twelve miles west-northwest of Y’rikho; Beyth-El is on the ridge of the mountain range that forms the “backbone” of the Land of Israel. They could follow the base of the Aravah’s western rim part of the way there, as the Aravah (Great Rift Valley) widens out north of Y’rikho, making it somewhat more passable, though we know from 7:3 that part of the way was laborious. After that they would have gone up one of the ravines, possibly the one mentioned in verse 11. In the midst of the people: possibly to keep his eye on what was going on in the camp, so nothing like what occurred at Y’rikho would occur again.
10. Then Y’hoshua rose early in the morning [to shoulder the burden] and mustered the people, and he and the elders of Israel went up before the people of Ay,
He did not waste time, but set an example of getting out of bed to do what needed to be done. The leader must rise up first, but the people must follow closely behind, not lag back, waiting to see what becomes of him before proceeding. He also does not lead from a distance, sending men to fight while he sits in safety, but says, “Follow me.” He only asks us to do what He has already done—unless we have been letting the leader do everything, and it is now our turn to take the risks he has already taken. Y’hoshua had learned to lead by following Moshe, and that is the only way anyone can become a true leader. Our hesitancy to trust someone else is what keeps us in exile, for the only way to show we trust YHWH is to trust those He has put in charge. Mustered: or, inspected. Before: possibly in full view of the city’s watchmen.
11. and all the people of war who were with him went up and came near and arrived opposite the city, and encamped to the north of Ay, with the steep gorge between them and Ay.
The steep gorge is why they did not attack the city directly; they would have the disadvantage of low ground right beneath the walls, where they would be an easy target. Thus they drew them away from tyhe city for a fight. But the steep gorge also protected them, because the men of Ay would have to struggle up the other side of the gorge to attack them.
12. Then he took about 5,000 men and set them as an ambush between Beyth-El and Ay to the west of the city,
This appears to be a second ambush group—further reinforcement.
13. and they stationed the people—the whole camp that was to the north of the city--with its heel to the west of the city, and that night Y’hoshua walked into the middle of the gorge.
14. So then the king of Ay noticed, and the men of the city hurried and got up early to meet Israel for battle—he and all his people—at the appointed time, toward the Aravah, but he was not aware that [there was] an ambush for him from behind the city.
Not aware: He thought he easily could do the same as he had done last time. His overconfidence made him grow slack concerning intelligence and reconnaissance. This ignorance and arrogance would lead him right into the trap.
15. But Y’hoshua and all of Israel let themselves be “beaten back” before them—that is, they ran away by way of the wilderness.
They used this tactic to “fake them out” so they would be in a better position to be surrounded.
16. Then all the people who were in the city were called [to their aid] to pursue them, and they chased after Y’hoshua and were [thus] drawn away from the city,
17. and there was not a man left in Ay or Beyth-El who had not gone out after Israel, and they left the city open when they chased after Israel.
Beyth-El: When did the other city join in the fight? When they saw that they would be next, and when Ay had already taken the brunt of the attack, but appeared to be winning now—the way of the coward. Open: Again they were assuming they had seen the whole army, because of how small it was the last time they had come up, and so they assumed they were between their city and all of the enemy. YHWH used this arrogance to Israel’s advantage. Our gates—like the openings of our bodies—are our most vulnerable places. Like the Medieval castles, it is best to have a small re-closeable window cut into the gate so we can screen out who is at the door before we throw it wide open.
18. Then YHWH told Y’hoshua, “Stretch forth the javelin that is in your hand toward Ay, because I will deliver it into your hand!” So Y’hoshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
YHWH gave them the general plan first, and the details as they were needed.
19. Then when he stretched out his hand, the ambush got up quickly from its place and ran and entered the city and captured it, and hurried and set the city on fire.
Stretched out: This was understood as his signal to attack, though Y’hoshua might not have known why YHWH was telling him to strike this dramatic pose, just as He often had the prophets do something odd but symbolic. This time the people actually paid attention and responded correctly—a bigger miracle than any parting of the sea you’ve ever seen!
20. Then the men of Ay turned to look behind them, and they noticed that, lo and behold, the smoke of the city was rising into the skies, and there was no strength in them to escape this way or that. So the people who had “fled” to the uninhabited land turned themselves back toward the [group that was] pursuing.
Strength: literally, hand. They could turn neither to the right hand nor the left. They were thrown off balance. They came to the horrifying realization that they were not winning after all. When one thinks he is gaining ground against YHWH’s people, he will soon be on the run.
21. That is, when Y’hoshua and all Israel saw that the ambush [group] had captured the city and that the city was going up [in] smoke, they turned around and started striking down the men of Ay.
22. And those [others] came out of the city to meet them, and they ended up [right] in the middle of Israel—those from this [side] and those from that [side], and they struck then down until there was not a survivor or fugitive left to them.
23. But they took the king of Ay alive and made him approach Y’hoshua.
This was for sport or so that their leader could have the privilege of killing him himself.
24. Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ay in the field—in the uninhabited land into which they had chased them—and all of them had fallen by the mouth of the sword until they were finished off when all Israel had turned back to Ay and struck it with the mouth of the sword.
25. And all who fell that day, from men as well as women, came to 12,000—all the men of Ay.
It was indeed not very large. The spies would have been right that 3,000 soldiers were enough, were it not for the Akhan factor. But guilt makes a big difference. He did not want to remind YHWH of their past failure, so he used a different tactic this time:
26. And Y’hoshua did not withdraw his hand [with] which he held out the javelin until he had exterminated all the natives of Ay.
He finished the job; he could not afford to stop at some point and say, “Enough is enough; let’s have mercy now.”
27. Israel only seized the animals and the spoils of that city for themselves, in compliance with YHWH’s word [by] which He had given orders to Y’hoshua.
How was there plunder if they had burned the city? In stone buildings, mainly the roofs would have burned, but the main thing they would have set on fire was the gates, further preventing the inhabitants from having a place to return to by “burning their bridges”. This time they obeyed completely. They probably only took the spoils that had no association with idolatry, having learned the lesson from Akhan. They were probably very hesitant to even get close to any “garments from Shinar”!
28. And Y’hoshua burned Ay up, and turned it into an everlasting mound of ruins—a desolate place to this day.
And so it remains to THIS day. The ruins of Ay have been discovered by archaeologists, and the burned level that identifies it with this time included much gold that was left behind, because it was in the form of idols. Its very name means “twisted ruin”; who would rebuild a city like that?
29. And the king of Ay he hung on a tree until the time of evening, and as the sun went [down] Y’hoshua gave the order and they took his corpse down from the tree and threw it into the gap of the city’s gates, and raised up over it a large [rounded] heap of stones to this day.
They let the king die slowly because he had been so arrogant. This would have been called a war crime today, but its purpose was to recount to our children the battles we have won, and why we needed to fight them—to let them see what becomes of those who oppose the righteous.
30. At that time, Y’hoshua built an altar to YHWH the Elohim of
Israel, on Mount Eyval,
Mt. Eyval: on the north side of Sh’khem, some twenty miles nearly due north of Ay and Beyth-El; they would have traveled along the mountain ridges to get there. Y’hoshua obeyed this command (Deut. 27:4ff) as soon as the path to the mountain was clear. This is probably the main reason they chose to take Ay second, because the first time they went, YHWH had not specified what city to take next. Ay was the only major obstacle that stood in the way of obeying this command (since they "got Beyth-El for free"), so it was the logical choice of where to attack.
31. as Moshe, the servant of YHWH, ordered the descendants of Israel [to do], as it is written in the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, “an altar of unaltered stones on which no iron [tool] has been wielded”. And on it they caused ascending offerings to go up to YHWH and slaughtered peace [offerings].
Unaltered stones: symbolizing doctrines unshaped by the opinions of men. No sin offerings were made here because it was not the Tabernacle altar. They probably slaughtered many of the animals they had just taken as plunder out of thankfulness to YHWH that no man was lost. An altar has been found on Mount Eval that may well be this one.
32. And he wrote there over the stones a copy of the Torah of Moshe which he had written, in front of the descendants of Israel,
It was limed over so there would be a smooth surface to write all these words on. (Deut. 27) Though the specific tactics changed at each location, the Torah itself was set in stone, literally. To maintain the flow, we get to decide the “how” at certain times, but this is not “every individual doing what is right in his own eyes”, as we see through the book of Judges. The lowest common denominator in Israel is “rulers of tens”. Within that group, all must follow the same way of walking out the Torah, but the Torah itself is the solid foundation every part of Israel must agree upon. Because of all they had gone through, they might understand the Torah better, and they were now an army, not merely shepherds, but they were still the same people and the Torah was still the Torah. It is our constitution. Its words--those that Y'hoshua wrote down just as Moshe had said them--are still the words we are to live by.
33. with all of Israel and its elders and its writing-officials and its judges standing on this [side] and that [side] of the Ark, paralleling the Levitical priests [who were] carrying the Ark of YHWH’s covenant—the newcomer and those born [among the nation] alike, half close toward the front of Mount Grizim, an half of them close toward the front of Mount Eval, just as Moshe the servant of YHWH had commanded, to bless the people of Israel.
Newcomer: like Rahav, there may have been others from surrounding towns who, knowing there would be no mercy once Israel arrived, joined them before they arrived at their towns and became counted as part of Israel. The same holds true today: Israel will bring down any philosophy that rises against Y’shua, so now is the time to surrender.
34. And after [they did] thus, he read aloud all the words of the Torah, the blessing as well as the curse, according to whatever is written in the scroll of the Torah.
This was commanded in Deut. 11:29.
35. There was not a word of anything that Moshe commanded that Y’hoshua did not read right in front of the whole congregation of Israel, as well as the women, the toddlers, and the sojourners who were walking among them.
Not just the men, and not in separate groups. All received the Torah and became responsible for it together. His word was what brought the victory, so going back to dwell in it was the next step before attempting any further battles. Among them: The particular word implies being close to the middle of the group, not on the sidelines. The sojourners: Though we just had to go through a season of destroying what inhibits our obedience to YHWH, that is not what we are really about. Who we really are is a people who are a refuge even for sojourners. The shepherd’s rod must always balance out the spear that must sometimes be in our hands.
THE BOOK OF
Y'hoshua
(Joshua)
INTRODUCTION: Y’hoshua’s name means “YHWH saves.” He was renamed as such by Moshe, being born as Hoshea (which merely means “salvation” in the abstract sense) the son of Nun. He had been Moshe’s constant companion ever since Moshe ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah from YHWH. He was thus trained very thoroughly and knew Moshe’s mind well enough to carry on his mission with the same spirit. He is the namesake as well of the Messiah, who will lead Israel back into our Land again after all Israel is reunited. In many ways he foreshadows the One who bore his name, which we will spell Y’shua here to make the distinction in identities clearer. By learning about the former, we will gain many insights about the latter’s mission.
5:2-6:1 is a special reading for Passover
