Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 3:1-8.  Let’s go!

Joshua 3:1-4a (NIV) 
1  Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 
2  After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 
3  giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 
4  Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.

On verses 1-4a:  Here Joshua and the Israelites are preparing to cross the Jordan River on their way to Canaan, also known as the promised land.  Joshua orders his officers, who in turn order the people to move out and follow two things: (1) the ark of the covenant, which was an ornate, gold-plated box that symbolized the presence of God; and (2) and the priests carrying that ark.  That way they knew which way to go (v4).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 2:14-24.  Let’s go!

Joshua 2:14-21 (NIV) 
14  “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” 
15  So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 
16  Now she had said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” ……

On verses 14-21:  So that the Israelite army would know which house to spare, the Israelite spies tell Rahab to tie a scarlet cord to her window.  That way when the Israelites were attacking the city of Jericho, they would see the scarlet cord in Rahab’s window and know to leave that house alone.

This reminds me of an earlier incident in Exodus 12, where Moses instructs each Israelite family to take the blood of a lamb and put the blood on the doorframe of their house.  That way, when God was going through the land, He would see the blood of the lamb, pass over that house and spare the family inside.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 1:10-18.  Let’s go!

Joshua 1:10-15 (NIV) 
10  So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 
11  “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'” 
12  But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 
13  “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ ……

On verses 10-15:  Joshua is leading the Israelites toward Canaan, also known as the promised land.  To get there, Joshua and the Israelites would need to go west and cross the Jordan River.  However, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, though they were part of the Israelites, had an agreement with Moses, Joshua’s predecessor, that instead of settling in the promised land west of the Jordan River, they could settle in the land just east of the Jordan.  Joshua respects and upholds this agreement, telling the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that their wives, children and livestock may stay in the land just east of the Jordan, but that the men from Reuben, Gad and Manasseh must still cross the Jordan River with the rest of the Israelites and help the rest of the Israelites fight and take over the promised land.