The Book Of Joshua Essay Research Paper

The Book Of Joshua Essay, Research Paper

The book of Joshua begins with the preparation of Joshua and the people of Israel for

invasion of Jericho under the Lord’s presence and leadership. First, Joshua ordered the

people who were to cross the Jordan to Jericho to prepare themselves. Then, he placed

them under strict orders of obedience to his authority (1:10-18). Next, he sent out two spies

to Jericho to retrieve information about the enemy. The spies went to the house of a

prostitue name Rahab, as a cover for their actions. This plan did not work because the king

of Jericho sent men to Rahab’s house to try to find them. She had hidden the well, however,

and was able to convince the king’s men that they weren’t in her house. Since Rahab’s

home was on the wall of the city, she was able to let them down by a rope on the outside of

the wall. Returning to Joshua, they gave their report (2:1-24).

There followed another one of the events that Israel saw as a “wonder” of God. The

river banks of Jordan were undercut in such a way, that they formed a natural dam that

holds the river in check for extended periods of time. According to the passage 3:14-16, the

waters were flooded when this was necessary, and the people boarded the ark of the

covenant and passed easily over opposite Jericho. The ark of the covenant, symbol of the

Lord’s presence with the Israelites, was carried to the midst of the riverbed to remind them

that it was the Lord’s workings that enabled them to cross the flooded river (3:17). A pile

of stones was resurrected as a memorial to the event. The stones were to serve as a teaching

aid for the elders. When asked by children of future generations what the stones meant, the

elders would tell them of God’s deliverance of the people (4:1- 5:1).

After crossing the Jordan, all the men and boys underwent circumcision as an act of

consecration to the Lord (5:2-12). When they had recovered, preparations got under way

for the attack on Jerricho. In a vision, Joshua saw the leader of the Lord’s army. The

purpose of this seems to have been to assure Joshua of divine leadership in the days ahead

(5:13-15).

The numbers here are significant other than for their numerical value. Seven symbolized

completion, ten perfection, and 12 completeness (6:12-16). Joshua was given orders to

carry the arc of the covenant up to Jericho with seven priests carrying seven ram’s horns.

Armed troops were to march ahead of the priests blowing horns also. However no one was

to give the battle cry until Joshua gave the signal. They marched around the walls of Jericho

once in this fashion, and then retired to camp. This was done six days in a row, and then on

the seventh day they marched around the walls seven times before Joshua gave the signal,

and the people yelled a battle cry. The walls crumbled, and the soldiers flooded into the

city. Everything was to be destroyed as an act of dedication to God. Only the prostitue

Rahab, who had helped the spies, was to be spared (6:17-25). Finally, when the city was

conquered, a curses was pronounced upon it to prevent its rebuilding (6:26-27).

As harsh as the requirements of the holy war might seem, an incident involving an

Israelite named Achan would make it seem even more harsh. Strict regulations governed

the disposal of the goods that were captured in the holy war. A violation on the ban of

taking any spoils of war for personal use was punishable by death. In the battle for Ai, the

Israelites were driven back. Unknown to Joshua, Achan had taken certain banned items at

Jericho (7:1). Undoubtedly, word passed that Achan had taken the goods. Such knowledge

would have had a divisive effect on the army if it were known, since others probably had

been tempted to take the spoils of war but had resisted temptation. In any case, when the

battle for Ai was begun, Israel suffered a stinging defeat (7:2-5).

Joshua was perplexed, feeling that the Lord had let him down (7:6-9). But Joshua

was made to realize that such was not the case. Instead, the word came from God that

someone had violated the ban against taking spoils of war (7:10-15). An investigation

revealed Achan as the culprit and, in due course, he confessed his sin (7:16-26).

What follows next, describes the horrible punishment that Achan received. “Joshua

and all of Israel took Achan…and all Israel stoned him with stones; they burned them with

fire, and stoned them with stones (7:24-25). Not only was Achan punished, but also his

family. The destruction of Achan, his family, and all his possessions was looked upon as

the only way to clear the people as a whole of Achan’s sin. When the punishment was

carried out, the battle was renewed and was won (8:1-29). There follows an account of

building an altar on Mount Ebal in the Shechem area.

Gibeonites, having heard of the conquest of nearby towns by the Israelites, decided

that they would rather not have to face su

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