Joshua 20 – Part of the way Israel would show its faithfulness to God would be through carrying out the many details of laws, regulations and government He prescribed. In this chapter, cities of refuge were designated as God had commanded through Moses in Numbers 35. God’s insistence that these cities of refuge show the value He placed on human life, and how Israel was not to be a lawless nation as many of the others were. People who committed involuntary manslaughter would not automatically lose their lives but would have an opportunity to stand a fair trial.
Joshua 21 – Verses 1 – 42: The Levites didn’t have their own land but were scattered throughout Israel in different towns. However, they didn’t simply get integrated within the other tribes, but settled in their own towns designated for them. The fields around the towns may have been available for them to do a little subsistence farming, but owning large plots of land was not God’s plan for them. They were to live on the tithes and offerings of the people so they could devote themselves to the Lord’s work.
Verse 43 – 45: The author of Joshua includes a summary statement of God’s fulfilled promises: all the land was allotted; they had a period of peace; they triumphed over all their enemies. Verse 45 is a summary verse that could summarize all of God’s activities toward humanity; “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel [we could substitute “His people] failed; every one was fulfilled.”
Joshua 22 – Verses 1 – 9: The “Transjordanian Tribes” (the 2 ½ tribes that lived on the east side of the Jordan) had fulfilled their responsibility to their brothers, the other 9 ½ tribes that had to eradicate the Canaanites from the promised land so they could live there. (Moses had commanded them to help the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan in Numbers 32:16-27 and Deuteronomy 3:18). Now they returned home with great wealth because of the plunder of their many battles and with Joshua’s blessing.
Verses 10 – 34: When verse 10 says “an imposing altar,” I take it to mean it must have been very large. At this time in Israel’s history, when they were fresh off the many battles in which God had given them success, all of Israel knew very clearly what it meant to have the LORD on their side. They wanted to make sure they never jeopardized their standing with the LORD again. When news got around about this great altar, the 9 ½ tribes on the west side of the Jordan assumed that either the Transjordanian Tribes were going to be worshipping false gods or making sacrifices to the true God in an unauthorized way and location. Their zeal for the LORD was so strong that they were determined to go to war against them immediately to make sure the nation of Israel was kept pure. Fortunately, it was a misunderstanding, and the Transjordanian Tribes had intended it as a sign for both them and their brothers across the Jordan that they would always have an inheritance with God and remain true to Him.
Thankfully, any conflict was averted. In spite of the misunderstanding, I think God looked at this situation and was very pleased. Both groups wanted the same thing – to continue to love and trust Yahweh in all things, and the zeal they displayed would serve them well in years to come. We could learn from their example, to be very zealous for the ways of the LORD, but also to make sure we have clear communication before we take rash action.
Joshua 23 – In this chapter, Joshua makes it clear that there were survivors from some of the Canaanite nations still in the land. It seems as if Joshua, in this address, is somewhat resigned to the idea that these nations will not be entirely driven out. On the one hand, verse 5 seems to indicate that there is land left to be conquered, but verse 7 takes for granted that some of those nations will remain among them into the future. We know that one group of people (from Gibeon, chapter 9) tricked Israel into making a treaty with them, and another group (the Jebusites, 15:63) refused to be dislodged from Jerusalem. So the fact of the matter was that a Canaanite remnant was going to be living among them into the future. But Joshua made it clear that under no circumstances were they to: associate with the people of those nations; worship their gods, or; intermarry with them or they would be ensnared by them.
Joshua 24 – Verse 2: It sounds a little shocking, but Joshua reminds us that Terah, the grandfather of the nation of Israel (he was Abraham’s dad) was an idol worshipper. It’s likely that they also worshipped Yahweh, the true God, but perhaps as one of many gods. There was evidence of this from Rachel, Terah’s granddaughter, when she stole her family’s household gods (Genesis 31:22 and following). They obviously had some significance to here. Apparently in Abraham, however, God saw something different – someone who was open to the call of the God of the universe.
Verse 12: Many members of Prince of Peace have asked about “the hornet” that was sent ahead of the Israelites to help drive out the Canaanites. The Concordia Self Study Bible suggests two possibilities. Perhaps armies of Egypt had made military campaigns into Canaan years earlier and weakened their defenses. I don’t think that possibility carries much weight. The second is much more likely, that “the hornet” was the fear of the Israelites that was spreading into Canaan long before they ever arrived. That seems more analogous to what a swarm of hornets does and the affect it has on people.
Verse 15: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” This is one of my favorite verses of the Bible. But the rest of verse 15 often causes people angst, especially Lutherans, who are so careful to point at that we can’t choose God as our Savior, but we can only respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. So Joshua’s words, “Choose whom you will serve,” makes some people feel uncomfortable. However, Joshua was not talking about conversion – turning to God from previous ignorance about Him. Instead, he was talking about acting on knowledge of the true God they already had. They knew Yahweh – now they simply needed to continue in that knowledge and live in accordance with it.
Verses 16 – 27: The people respond to Joshua’s challenge by pledging themselves to continue to follow God. Joshua then responds in a surprising way, saying, “You can’t do it,” causing the people to be more determined than ever. Joshua’s words were right on the money, though, because it would only be God’s forgiveness that would keep Israel in a covenant relationship with Him, because they would never be able to keep his laws perfectly.
Judges 1 – The events in Judges 1 overlap with some events already reported in Joshua. Verse 9 – 13, for example, are related in Joshua 15:13 – 19, giving the reader the impression that those events happened prior to Joshua’s death. However, the history in Joshua 15 is documenting the allotment of land to the tribes and what happened with that land, following that theme for what happened years down the road, even after the death of Joshua. Later, the writer of Joshua returns to more events during Joshua’s lifetime. Another possibility is that the writer of Judges backtracks over events that had already been covered in Joshua, as Judges also tells of Joshua’s death in chapter 2.
Verse 3: Since the territory of Simeon lay within Judah’s territory, it was logical for the Simeonites and Judahites to join forces.
Verse 6: Cutting off fingers and toes was a common way in those days of rendering a person unfit for future military duty.
Verse 8: Though Jerusalem was defeated, the Jebusites (see verse 21) still inhabited it, probably as tributaries of Israel. Jerusalem was not permanently inhabited by Israelites until the time of David.
Verse 23: Bethel was named by Jacob when he had his vision of the stairway reaching to heaven at that place.
Verses 27 – 36: Judah and Simeon were more successful in driving out the Canaanites than were the northern tribes. Perhaps that’s why, in later years, the southern kingdom (consisting of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin) was more faithful to God than the northern kingdom (consisting of the remaining tribes). More Canaanites infiltrated the thinking of those living in the north.
Why was it that they were unable to dislodge all those groups? Was God unable to do it? We can infer that something spiritually held them back from doing the job entirely. It may have been a lack of trust or a lack of obedience. Later, when they finally had the strength to drive the people out entirely, rather than destroy them as God had commanded, the pressed them into forced labor. We might call that the more humane option, but it wasn’t the more obedient option, and in later years they would pay for their disobedience when these surviving people led them astray with their false gods.
Judges 2 – Verses 1-5: What specific disobedience did the Malakh Yahweh (angel of the Lord) refer to? Probably just a general lack of zeal to drive out the Canaanites. It wasn’t that God was unable to do it, but that the people were unwilling.
Verses 6 – 23: How does a generation that is so lax in doing God’s will follow after a generation that was so zealous for it? Perhaps the same thing is happening in our country. World Wars 1 and 2 produced a sense of great trust in God in our country. Denominational Christianity was at its peak. When believers go through that kind of a time of great religious fervor, two things happen that can lead to the pendulum swinging the other way in the next generation. First, beliefs are never challenged, so that children are not taught the reasons for their faith. This can easily develop into a religion of obligation rather than a relationship with God that has good, sound reasons and motivations. Second, it may be taken for granted that the faith will always be there so that instruction in the faith can be neglected. Perhaps this is what happened in Israel during the time described in these verses. | 
