Archive for April 2024

Joshua 13-14,  Psalm 77,  Mark 2:13-17,  1 Corinthians 5  Joshua 13-14: Joshua himself is getting old (13:1), so God gives him instructions fitting the need to pass on a legacy. “There remains very much land to possess” (13:1). This reality is reiterated later again in verse 13, and refutes an academic critical position that the…

Joshua 10-12,  Psalm 76,  Mark 2:1-12,  1 Corinthians 4   Joshua 10-12: Now the conquest begins to speed up, lessons having been learned and positions taken. Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, sees which way the wind is blowing and decides to fight against it—he gathers an army to attack Gibeon, recent allies with Israel (10:1-5). The Gibeonites…

Joshua 8-9,  Psalm 75,  Mark 1:35-45,  1 Corinthians 3  Joshua 8-9: Having then dealt with the “sin in the camp” that chapter 7 described, Joshua is once more commanded to attack Ai, this time given leave to keep some of the plunder, and assured that God would give the city into his hands (8:1-2). Again,…

Joshua 6-7,  Psalm 74,  Mark 1:21-34,  1 Corinthians 2  Joshua 6-7: First victory, then defeat. Joshua is commanded by the LORD (presumably the commander of the army of the Lord who appeared to him at the end of chapter 5) how to defeat Jericho. The inhabitants are shut up within the fortifications of Jericho (6:1),…

Joshua 3-5, Psalm 73, Mark 1:9-20, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31  Joshua 3-5: More stunning events in the story of the Book of Joshua. God determines to exalt Joshua in the eyes of Israel (3:7), that they would honor him as they had Moses, and does so by performing—through Joshua’s instructions—an astonishing miracle. The ark of the Lord will stand…

 Joshua 1-2,  Psalm 72,  Mark 1:1-8,  1 Corinthians 1:1-17   Joshua 1-2: With Moses now dead and Joshua the new leader (Deut. 34; Joshua 1:1), the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land (Joshua 1). The great beginning to this magisterial and mighty Book of Joshua begins with instructions, full of promise, from the LORD to…