Story 04: Joshua

Joshua 1:God's Commission to Joshua

Joshua Commanded to Cross the Jordan
1
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the
LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: 2"Moses
My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all
this people, to the land which I am giving to them--the children of Israel.
3
Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I
said to Moses. 4From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great
river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea
toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5No man shall be
able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I
will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
6
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an
inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7Only be
strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the
law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the
right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8This Book
of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it
day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in
it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have
good success. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage;
do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you
wherever you go."
The Order to Cross the Jordan
10
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11"Pass
through the camp and command the people, saying, "Prepare provisions for
yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to
possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess."'

Joshua 2: Rahab Hides the Spies

Rahab Hides the Spies
1
Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy
secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and
came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 2And it was
told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from
the children of Israel to search out the country."
-- 15
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house
was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 16And she said to them, "Get to
the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the
pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way." -- 21Then she
said, "According to your words, so be it." And she sent them away, and
they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
22
They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until
the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did
not find them. 23So the two men returned, descended from the mountain,
and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all
that had befallen them. 24And they said to Joshua, "Truly the LORD has
delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the
country are fainthearted because of us."

Joshua 3: Israel Crosses the Jordan

Israel Crosses the Jordan
1
Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia
Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged
there before they crossed over. 2So it was, after three days, that the officers
went through the camp; 3and they commanded the people, saying, "When
you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the
Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
5
And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the
LORD will do wonders among you." 6Then Joshua spoke to the priests,
saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people."
So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7
And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the
sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will
be with you. 8You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the
covenant, saying, "When you have come to the edge of the water of the
Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan."' --
14
So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the
Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
15
and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the
priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan
overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16that the waters
which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very
far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went
down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and
the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17Then the priests who bore the
ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of
the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people
had crossed completely over the Jordan.

Joshua 4:
11
Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over,
that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the
people. -- 14On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel;
and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.
15
Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 16"Command the priests who
bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan." 17Joshua
therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan."
18
And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of
the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the
priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to
their place and overflowed all its banks as before.

Joshua 5:
The Commander of the Army of the LORD
13
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes
and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn
in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or
14
for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of
the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and
worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"
15
Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take your
sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did
so.
Joshua 6: The Destruction of Jericho
The Fall of Jericho
1
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none
went out, and none came in. 2And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have
given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3You
shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the
city once. This you shall do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear seven
trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march
around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5It shall
come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when
you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a
great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people
shall go up every man straight before him."
6
Then Joshua - called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the
covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before
the ark of the LORD." 7And he said to the people, "Proceed, and march
around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the
LORD."
10
Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout or
make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your
mouth, until the day I say to you, "Shout!' Then you shall shout." 11So he
had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they
came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
-- 15But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the
dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same
manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16And
the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that
Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! –
20
So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it
happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people
shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people
went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Joshua 10: The Sun Stands Still

The Sun Stands Still
1
Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how
Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it -- as he had done to
Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king--and how the
inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,
2
that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city -- 5Therefore the
five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the
king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered
together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon
and made war against it.
6
And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do
not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for
all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered
together against us."

7
So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him,
and all the mighty men of valor. 8And the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not
fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them
shall stand before you." 9Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly,
having marched all night from Gilgal. 10So the LORD routed them before
Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the
road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and
Makkedah. 11And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the
descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from
heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died
from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.
12
Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up
the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:
"Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon." 13So
the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge
upon their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst
of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14And there
has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the
voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. 15Then Joshua returned,
and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.