Synopsis of " has twenty-four chapters. The first half, or the first twelve chapters, covers the conquest of Canaan, while most of the second half covers the division of the conquered land between the various tribes of Israel. The last couple of chapters are devoted to s final words. The Message of the Old Testament, Location 3500 The theme of the book concerns the irresistible power of God s people in overcoming the world and taking permanent possession of their promised inheritance, provided only they maintain a perfect trust in God s strength and permit no sin of disobedience to break their covenant relationship with Him. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Pg. 285 brings the history of the Israelites from the edge of the Jordan into the fulfillment of God s promise centuries earlier to Abraham in Genesis 12 that his descendants would one day possess this land. In, we see the rise of a new leader for the nation who continues to lead God s people by the commands of God s Law. God goes before His people in battle and brings judgment on the inhabitants of the land for their sins. By the end of, the land has been divided among the tribes of Israel, and challenges the Israelites to remain faithful in order to continue receiving the blessing of living in the Promised Land. God s sovereignty and faithfulness to His promises is central with the obedience of His people the only appropriate response. Author: Unknown [Old Testament Theology] assumes that a single anonymous individual carefully collected relevant source data and shaped this material into a consecutive account that spans Kings. Old Testament Theology, Pg. 198 I. The Land Is Taken By The Hand Of God (1-12) a. Key Verses i. Nearly 700 years later the fulfillment of the Gen 12 promise 1:2 4 (ESV) 2 Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. ii. God s man leading by the hand of God and the Word of God 1:5 8 (ESV) 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 1
courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful 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. This courage is to be directed in two ways: first to the battles ahead (v. 6), and second to the keeping of God's commandments, in the form of the Book of the Law (1:7-8), which thus stands over the whole action of the book. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 989 iii. The corporate effort of Israel All for One and One for All 1:14 17 (ESV) 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise. 16 And they answered, All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! The Israelites choice to conquer and divide the land of Canaan fills almost all of. In that sense, this is what the book is about. But preceding all this activity, and continuing through it, you find an important subtext. The people do this because they have vowed to fear and obey God. The Message of the Old Testament, Location 3568 iv. Rahab a child of God by faith (Heb. 11:31) 2:18 19 (ESV) 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. v. Confirmation of God s faithfulness 3:10, 13, & 17 (ESV) 10 And said, Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 2
Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. vi. Remembering God s faithfulness for generations to come 4:20 24 (ESV) 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, When your children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? 22 then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. vii. Renewal of the Covenant 5:5 8 (ESV) 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. viii. The manna is replaced with an abundance of the land 5:11 12 (ESV) 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. ix. It is the Lord who will go before them in battle 5:13 15 (ESV) 13 When was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 3
man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And went to him and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come. And fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, What does my lord say to his servant? 15 And the commander of the Lord s army said to, Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And did so. Clearly, it is not but the Lord himself, who is the general in charge of this campaign: the Lord is the one who will grant success to the Israelites. The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 80 x. Evidence of God s power in battle with the walls of Jericho 6:20 (ESV) 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. xi. One sin of one individual marred the entire nation 7:1 (ESV) 1 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel. xii. Placing blame wrongly on God 7:7 (ESV) 7 And said, Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! xiii. God s patience with in revealing the real problem 7:10 12 (ESV) 10 The Lord said to, Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. xiv. Obedience to Deut. 27 8:30 35 (ESV) 30 At that time built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 4
in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them. xv. Israel makes a covenant with people of the land (Gibeonites) without consulting God 9:14 15 (ESV) 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them. xvi. God again shows that his hand is on Israel s side 10:12 14 (ESV) 12 At that time spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. xvii. Judgment for the sin of the inhabitants of the land 11:20 & 23 (ESV) 20 For it was the Lord s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses 23 So took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. It is not only a victory but also an act of judgment, a claim that it is right that Israel and not others should possess this land. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 1032 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 5
We have already recognized that God patiently waits until the evil in the land of Canaan has grown to a point at which he is compelled to judge its people (Genesis 15:16) But a key to understanding the command to clear Canaan of the Canaanites is to recall God s holiness and to be reminded of just how much is at stake in the Israelites remaining faithfulness to the Lord. The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 84-85 II. The Land Is Divided (13-22) a. Key Verses i. While the land in general was conquered not all inhabitants of the land were driven out 13:1 (ESV) 1 Now was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. This is one of the main problems people have with understanding the Bible. They do not understand that we have a sovereign God, who can act without negating our own actions and responsibility. The Message of the Old Testament, Location 3686 ii. The land was divided as commanded 14:5 (ESV) 5 The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land. (see Appendix B) iii. Caleb is given is special inheritance for his faithfulness 14:13 15 (ESV) 13 Then blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. iv. Examples of those still in the land: 1. 15:63 (ESV) 63 But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. 2. 16:10 (ESV) 10 However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor. 3. 17:12 13 (ESV) 12 Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 13 Now when the people of Israel grew strong, FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 6
they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. The major cities have been taken and serious alliances broken, but individual places are left for each tribe to win. Just as Israel s obedience to God s revelation completes the covenant, so Israel s response to Yahweh s victories completes the conquest. The human effort must cooperate with the divine initiative. Obedience must accompany miracle. Old Testament Theology, Pg. 208 v. God s mercy even for grave unintentional sin 20:1 4 (ESV) 1 Then the Lord said to, 2 Say to the people of Israel, Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. vi. The fulfillment of the God s promises 21:41 45 (ESV) 41 The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. 42 These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities. 43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Although the conquest is achieved by means of several battles, the narrative stresses throughout that the Israelites are entirely dependent upon the Lord for their success. The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 79 vii. Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Mannasseh return home 22:4 6 (ESV) 4 And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 7
with all your soul. 6 So blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. viii. The western tribes build an altar 22:10 & 12 (ESV) 10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. ix. A civil war averted 22:26 29 (ESV) 26 Therefore we said, Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, You have no portion in the Lord. 28 And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you. 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle! III. The Future Of The Nation Put Before Them (23-24) a. Key Verses i. A call to obedience for future generations 23:2 6 (ESV) 2 summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, I am now old and well advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left. Deuteronomy 27-28 has made it abundantly clear that if Israel sins in a similar manner [as the inhabitants of the land of Canaan], they will also feel the effects of the wrath of the Lord. Israel has no moral free pass in these FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 8
Takeaways from : accounts. They are simply the human instruments of divine intervention in human affairs and are on this mission based on a once-in-history revelation from God through Moses. Old Testament Theology, Pg. 200 ii. s final charge 24:14 18 (ESV) 14 Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 16 Then the people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God. The land is like a second Eden. And as for Adam and Eve in the garden, Israel is not free to exploit the land at will. Israel always lives in the land with the Lord, and his laws contain many instructions about how to manage the land properly. The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 83 reminds us of the centrality of God s Word in fulfilling what God has planned for us. is challenged to have God s Word constantly on his heart so that he can do all that it calls him to do. Likewise, God s Word is central to our lives to make sure we do not sin against Him. is a great picture of how God works sovereignly through His people and their faithfulness. So the book should teach us that while we might think things are being accomplished by our own power, we are only able to accomplish those things that honor Him that God sovereignly works in us to accomplish. challenges us with the same exhortation to the Israelites put away your idols and serve the Lord with all of your heart. Seeking Christ in the Old Testament serves as a type of Christ whose name was changed (Num. 13:16) to meaning Yahweh saves and the actual Hebrew name of Jesus. led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, and likewise Christ leads His children to their eternal rest. FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 9
It foreshadows what God is doing today as he calls together his people into his place under his rule. Having led this conquest, was a type of Jesus Christ, our great captain who has conquered not a passing earthly kingdom but sin and sin s horrible offspring, death. And Christ calls us to follow in his train. The Message of the Old Testament, Location 3551 Works Cited Archer, Gleason L. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody, 1998. Bartholomew, Craig G., and Michael W. Goheen. The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. Dever, Mark. The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006. ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008. Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament: a Book-by-Book Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Walton, John H. Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994. FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 10
Appendix A Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament, Pg. 38 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 11
Appendix B The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 82 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 12