Transcript of Radio Show #395:
Book of Joshua, Part 4
A new series in the Old Testament, beginning with the book of Joshua, following the book of Deuteronomy.

Radio Show...

This program continues on various series of different topics of Bible studies and theology such as end times, prophecies, Old Testament, New Testament, daily living, etc. as the subject matter comes up.

The e-book on End times, Prophecies and Revelation, answering the questions “where are we in the events of the end times?” and “Are we now in the tribulation?” is available on this web site, which you can find throughout the pages.

Opening Narrative

Hello and welcome to another exciting radio program today on end times and prophecies and scriptures to live by... which is all about old-time gospel and worship music, praying for needs and preaching the Word of God....

And remember this radio programs Virtual Church for the Spiritual Unchurched is broadcast every Sunday at 7 am and 7 pm pacific time... and if you unfortunately miss it for whatever reason at any time, you can hear the program any time after that for 4 weeks...at my web site TimingRevelation.com

So, we continue today in the new series started a few weeks ago, based on my book “The Horizontal Chronology of the Four Gospels”...

And I did mention to you before that with this series begins the start of the 8th year of these radio programs Virtual Church for the Spiritual Unchurched.

As you already know In this series we look at the four gospels in a new light as they are presented by chronological events taking place within the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which are presented separately in the Bible ...

It is all the same gospel.... but in chronological order of events taking place, which lets us hear or see side by side who reported and what each said on these events taking place in the gospels.

So, we continue today, with the new series from the book of Joshua in the Old Testament, which is the book following Deuteronomy.

We will begin here right after this opening music, prayer and worship...

Prayer
Praise God Doxology
Worship music

Narrative 1

Alright so last week we began to read about the Fall of Jericho and how the Israelites were to go about it with the priests, the trumpets and the shouting, etc..

Let's read the last 4 verses to get back into the story taking place...

The book of Joshua, chapter 6 and verses 8 to 11:

verse 8_” So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them.

9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.

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.”

and verse 11_”So 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.

So let's continue to read what took place the next day:

Still in chapter 6 of Joshua, now verses 12 to 21:

verse 12_” And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.

14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

15 But 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.

16 And 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!

17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

And you remember that story a couple of programs ago.

18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

Now right here later on we're going to be reading about someone who stole some items... so they are now warned to not take anything at all from the city and the places that they are going to be destroying.

19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.

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.

21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

In other words, everything.

And again some people don't like to hear this part of history, but remember the land had become totally evil – totally -- as we can't even imagine right now... we talked about that in earlier programs... God needed to cleanse the earth of the atrocities and worship of other evil gods...

Music interlude

Station ID

Narrative # 2

22:50

Alright, so they utterly destroyed all that was in the city... we just read in verse 21...

...let's continue with verses 22 to 27 of the book of Joshua, still in Chapter 6 :

Now verse 22_” But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.”

You remember the incident of the two spies who made a promise to save Rahab earlier on when they had been sent by Joshua to spy the land... so here we see Joshua making good on their promise...

verse 23_”And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.

24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

Now there is a great amount of on-going work by many individuals and groups seeking evidence of the destruction of Jericho and so far no-one has come up with a consensus to the exact biblical story. However there is an interesting comment in the Liberty Commentary on this verse:

It says, “The object of this solemn vow was to preserve Jericho as a spot devoted to God forever. This curse involved the refortification of Jericho, not simple its future inhabitation. The words “foundation” and “gates” refer to the establishment of a fortified wall around the city.”

And it gives here a list of other books scriptural verses for reference. And it continues, “It is obvious that the city of Jericho was reinhabited for a short time after its destruction. The first attempt, however, to refortify the city is recorded in 1 Kings 16:34. In the reign of King Ahab, a reckless man by the name of Hiel attempted to rebuild the walls of Jericho and in so doing lost two of his sons in the fulfillment of this curse.” And it gives reference to the Jewish Historian Josephus about this as well.

27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.

Now next we will read about the consequence of anyone who would take or steel any of the items from the city that I made reference to earlier as the warning was given to the people.

Chapter 7, we read about the sin of Achan...

So in the next chapter, chapter 7, we read of a great incident about the sin of Achan who was a descendant of the tribe of Judah. He committed a very accursed thing according to the Lord God and therefore the people had lost in battles.

To make a long story short – which you can read on your own in chapter 7 -- Joshua had to find out what this accursed thing is and who it was that caused it that God was terribly displeased about.

And this story is very tragic for the people of God and required a very costly punishment whereby when Joshua found out who had done this terrible thing – which was to have taken some covetous items from the enemies they were fighting with and had hidden them in his tent... and you probably – if you've been a believer for some time – you probably remember the story... which ends up in great punishment for Achan and his whole family being stoned to death.

Again you can read that in chapter 7, verses 1 to 26.

Music Interlude

Narrative #3

Chapter 8

Then in chapter 8, we read about the capture and destruction of another city, the city of Ai. And here also, there were fierce battles and the Lord was with them and gave them victory over the enemies...

and I'm going through these chapters in quick summary, but do encourage you to read the stories all the way through – especially if you like war stories and intrigues, because they are very akin to what we go through in our battles against spiritual enemies...

... remember Ephesians 6:12 warns us: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".

This passage of scripture is within the book of Ephesians which speaks of the spiritual warfare that we have to face in this life and give us the need to put on "the whole armor of God" to stand against the "wiles of the devil".

So it is good to be familiar to the physical battles that God's people have had to endure throughout history and generations – even up until today. But we also see the spiritual and physical victories that God so faithfully brings us through.

And so in the last part of chapter 8, we read of the recording of the law of Moses in commemoration of the victories over the cities of Jericho and Ai.

So let's read that in
the book of Joshua verses 30 to 35...

verse 30_”Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal,

31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

v.32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.

33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.

35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.

Wow, that's quite something to read about the history of God and God's people forging through the generations leading to where we are today...

History – His Story... God's story.

Music Interlude...

Narrative 4

So let's continue His Story... so in chapter 9 – we read of the deceit of the Gibeonites which is quite another intriguing story in itself, which Israel had to endure and overcome... followed by the rest of the 24 chapters of the book ...

and again I summarise for the sake of time that it would otherwise take to get through this complexed book written for the purpose of continuing the history of Israel through the Pentateuch – meaning the 5 books of the Hebrew Bible ascribed to Moses.

But I do encourage you to read it through, it is very fascinating – especially if you like history and war action.

This book of Joshua demonstrates God's faithfulness to His covenant, His holiness, His just judgments against sin and disobedience when the people stray from the Holy commandments and warnings... and against the enemies of His people... and ultimately God's salvation and redemption through His demonstrated faithfulness.

And all of this leading us to the book of Judges...

Joshua transitions us through the
--entrance into the promised land -chapters 1 to 5 of Joshua
--the conquest of the promised land -chapters 5 to 12
--the apportionment of the promised land -chapter 13 to 22
--and the final summons to covenant loyalty in the promised land – chapter 23 to 24
and finally the death of Joshua and the subsequent conduct of the people of Israel...

So let's read the last verses of the book of Joshua

from verses 26 to verse 33 of the chapter 24:

verse 26_”Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

v.27_“And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” (See again we have a warning to not deny their God – and of course to us too, our God.)

28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

And now in verses 29 to 33, we read about the Death of Joshua and Eleazar

So 29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

Wow, this really brings the emotion of the reader to a human reality of family and people.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

(and this goes all the way back to Genesis and Exodus, a request by Moses to be buried in Shechem... His bones were brought from Egypt all the way to here to be laid to rest in the parcel of ground appointed.

And verse 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

The final note from the Liberty Commentary, to this passage, is this: “With the passing of Joshua and Eleazar, an era in Israel's history comes to a close. But also with the deaths of these stalwart servants of Jehovah, the children passed into a much darker period of history.”

As we shall see in the next book in line – the book of Judges. I personally call it the “Roller Coaster of Israel”, which entail a recurring theme of spiritual apostasy. Cycles of compromise, apostasy, oppression, repentance and deliverance – the “Roller Coaster” -- for some 200 years plus.... although there are no official consensus on the timing of this portion of history – but it's about 200 years.

Music interlude

Closing Narrative…

Oh how wonderful to appreciate what Jesus has done in our lives to save us from sin by Grace... and how He continues to keep us by His on-going and unlimited Grace...

...that wonderful Grace that comes into our life the moment that we receive Him as for who He is -- the Saviour of mankind and of every individual like you and me personally...

... and this Jesus the Son of God who came to give His life for you and me is the same Jesus who's life we've been reading about in these series of programs right now, and who's death on the cross we will see as we go through the gospel story to where He gave Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God that took the sin of the world...

...but right now, the question is:

...do you know this Jesus that we're talking about? If you don't know the Lord...

...Just say this prayer, “Lord come into my heart, come into my life, I turn to you right now and ask for forgiveness, I repent of my sins and receive your work on the cross... I receive your gospel as it was delivered through your blood shed on the cross in my place, and I thank you, Amen...

The Blessing

Before I dismiss the service today, I want to read to you the Blessing that was read to the people of God in Numbers 6:24-26 which is the benediction from God to you today:

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

I hope and pray that you will come back next Sunday at SpiritFM.ca, 7 am and 7 pm pacific time. And if you want to hear the service again at any time, you can go to my website at TimingRevelation.com, and click on the Radio Shows navigational tab along the left side. The replays are available there for five weeks, then they are transcribed into articles as new radio shows are put up.

I encourage you to go to your Bible and read further on the scriptures that were given throughout the program today. And if you like these programs and you've been blessed, call or write the station and let them know... if you said the prayer and have accepted the Lord or you've been healed or touched in some way by the Holy Spirit, write to me on the contact form of this web site...

...and this web site is also where you will find the Free Offer of the “Christian Growth and Maturity Chart” that I talked to you about in the last weeks... you will see the graphic on any page called “Get your free CGM Chart”, click on it and it will take you to a page that will tell you about it and how you can subscribe to my newsletter to get your free copy of the Chart sent to you.

Until next week, Maranatha, the Lord is coming, very soon. Goodbye and Blessing.

/DMH

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Blessings,