If you are following The Plan you should be through the end of the Book of Joshua.  (Actually, you should have been through the end of the Book of Joshua two days ago, and this is not March 28th, but I got a little behind on my blogging.....)

Moses is now dead and buried east of the Jordan.   God charges Joshua to "...arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel."  So Joshua mobilizes the tribes and sends out spies to Jericho. 

We read the famous story of Rahab in Chapter 2 - and it is clear that the inhabitant of these lands have heard about the Children of Isreal - what God has done for them and what they have done to Sihon and Og, and they are terrified.  "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you."  And, by the way, they should be.

Israel crosses the Jordan, which dries up for them like the Passage of the Red Sea and the Children of Israel set up camp in Gilgal - and a few interesting things happen: 

• First, the sons of Israel are circumcised.  With Flint knives.  Before antiseptic, scalpels, and pain medicine.  Ouch.  It's safe to say they are committed at this point.
• Second, they ate the produce of the land and Manna ceased the next day.   Remember that?  God had been providing for them all this time, and once they eat the produce of the land, the manna stops. 

And then it begins - a devastating war of extermination against those living in the land that God had promised the Children of Israel.

• Jericho falls - "...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."  All except Rahab and here household, that is.
• Ai falls - "...So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day.  And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
• Gibeon saves themselves from destruction with a deceitful treaty, choosing slavery over destruction.    But this upsets some of the Southern Kingdoms (Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon).  They march on Gibeon, where Joshua descends upon the five Kings from Gilgal, and "..the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon...cast down large hailstones from heaven."   Were are told the sun stands still in the sky on this day and the five kings are hunted down..."and afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees."
• Makkedah falls - Joshua "struck it and its king with the edge of the sword.  He utterly destroyed them - all the people..."
• Libnah falls - Joshua "let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho."
• Lachish falls - ".. and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of a sword."
• Horam, King of Gezer falls - coming to the aid of Lachish.  "Joshua struck him and his people, until he left him none remaining."
• Eglon falls - "...They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day..."
• Hebron Falls - "...And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword—its king, all its cities, and all the people who were in it; he left none remaining..."
• Debir Falls - "...they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it. He left none remaining..."

And that's just in the South.   They then turned north, where the northern kingdoms rallied together and fought Israel near the "waters of Merom," with predictable results I might add.

• Hazor falls - "...And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them."

And by this time it just seemed too much work keeping track of each and every city put to the sword - "So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword."

"Then the land rested from war."

Once the warfare ends, they begin dividing up the land among the twelve tribes.   The Tabernacle is erected at Shiloh.  Caleb and Joshua are rewarded for their faithfulness (remember - they are the only two of the original Israelites over 20 who are allowed to cross the Jordan).  They receive Hebron and Timnath Serah as their inheritance.  Cities of refuge are established.  The Covenant is renewed at Shechem (Ch24) and the bones of Joseph are buried there - remember Shechem is the plot of ground that Jacob bought.   Joshua and Eleazar die.

So, there they are - the Children of Israel settled in the land God had promised them.  Mission Accomplished, right?

We'll see - on to Judges....

Blessings.

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Pray.

If you are following The Plan you should be through the end of the Book of Joshua today.

When we last left off, Moses was preparing Israel to take possession of the land that God had promised them, reminded the people of all that God has done for them.  Moses offers this:

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But then God prepares the people of Israel ...through Moses ...one last time - for what will come of the people of Israel.   Oh, and its not good.

And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'  And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

So even as Moses is preparing the people to cross into the promised land and inhabit it as their inheritance, God is working through Moses and preparing the people of Israel for their eventual rebellion.  Gee, I wonder where that idea would come from (http://sothchairman.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F60CA4E01EE9BA02!204.entry)?.   He instructs Moses to write a poem - Deuteronomy 32 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2032-34&version=31;) - as a witness of God against the Children of Israel.

It was interesting to read through these stories over Easter week.  We have read over and over of God's righteous anger at the Children of Israel for their constant rebellion against him.  Despite providing for every need and leading them towards a land of abundance,  they denied him, lost faith, turned towards other gods, and generally complained the entire way. 

Fast forward a bit (well, more than a bit, but you know what I mean) to Easter week and particularly Good Friday.   Jesus is crucified and is subjected to all of that righteous anger - God's wrath - for all of mankind, for all of their sins against him in the past and in the future. 

It is unimaginable.

It is awe inspiring.

Jesus humbling himself as a blood sacrifice for all this rebellion.   Wave after wave of God's anger poured out against Jesus - and he accepts it all - for you and for me.   Then the famous words - "It is Finished." 

It sure is.

So as you are reading through the Old Testament - following The Plan - and you come to those passages when the children of Israel are rebelling against God (and there's lots more of that to come) and wondering about Gods anger and wrath and how that affects us today - remember Good Friday.  Remember Easter.   It is Finished.

Blessings.

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Pray.

If you are following The Plan, you should be through Deuteronomy Chapter 23 by the end of today.

Let's just reset the stage a bit - the Israelites are encamped east of the Jordan and are preparing to enter into the land God promised them.   Two tribes - Reuben and Gad - have settled in these lands, but have agreed to send soldiers across the Jordan when the time is right.   The generation that rebelled against the God has died away and only 3 are left - Moses, Joshua, and Caleb.  Moses is preparing Israel to inherit the promised land, and reminding this younger generation of all that has occurred before them.  So if it sounds like Moses is repeating himself - he is.   As a matter of fact, the word "Deuteronomy" means "Second Law" (thank you Wikipedia!).

Some observations:

• One of the best passages from scripture is Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."  Pretty clear, eh.
• There is this interesting passage in Chapter 4 (25-31) that includes this:

The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Remember this when we get to Judges, Kings and Chronicles.   Because this is EXACTLY what is going to happen.

• Parents take note:  There are some pretty harsh instructions for dealing with wayward sons and daughters - like stoning them to death at the city gates....
• Beginning in Chapter 20, Moses is starting to prepare the people of Israel for Battle.    And once Moses dies and Joshua takes over, it will get very bloody very fast.  So keep reading and stay tuned for the Bible as Saving Private Ryan - The Book of Joshua.

Blessings.

Keep Reading.

Pray