The Book of Joshua - Conquest and Settlement - Kenneth B. Alexander JD

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      The Bible is Divine revelation from the Father. In Matthew 16:13-19 Jesus asked His disciples “Who do you say I am?” (v.15). Simon Peter, the boldest of the disciples, spoke up and said “You are Christ [Messiah] the Son of the living God” (v.16). Jesus said to Peter: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona [son of Jonah; a man]: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven”. Christ was saying that Peter the man was blessed because man, flesh and blood, had not revealed this to him but God the Father.

      The word “reveal” is “Apokalupto” in Greek meaning: “to remove a veil or covering, exposing to open view what was before hidden” (see also Apokalupsis meaning “revelation”, one of three words in the NT referring to the second coming of Christ). Therefore Peter, a man of flesh, had spoken what was formerly concealed, exposing it to open view. He revealed what was in essence the coming of the Lord Jesus. This “revelation” did not come from man but was revealed by the Father in Heaven (from the spiritual realm).

      Christ said further: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [a stone], and upon this rock [large rock, bedrock] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. (Verse 17). The word “Peter” is in Greek “Petros”, a small stone. The rock referred to in the scripture (“upon this rock”) is Petra in Greek which means a large rock or bedrock. What was this bedrock? The BEDROCK is the REVELATION from the Father to human flesh (Petros the stone). Thus it was the revelation of Christ coming from the Father that would be the bedrock upon which Christ would build His church. God planned to build His church on the bedrock of divine revelation. Likewise the Bible is the source of this bedrock of revelation upon which we can build a walk with God.

      The content of the Bible is not mere words but Spirit. Jesus said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (John 6:63). Books written by men may convey ideas, inspiration or emotion but the words in the Bible convey spirit. Not just spirit but the Spirit of the Lord whereby we change into His image from glory to glory. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Co 3:18). By absorbing the Bible we change into the image of Christ.

      The Bible strengthens our first love relationship with the Lord. In the Bible Book of Revelation John wrote to the church at Ephesus as follows: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance [steadfastness], and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your FIRST LOVE. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent” (Revelation 2:2-5). The most important commandment is that we love the Lord first above all else.

      There are 233 different English versions on the market. It has been translated from the original languages into over 2000 languages. The version that we will use here is the New American Standard Bible LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1977 ed and 1995 ed. We will occasionally use the The Holy Bible : King James Version 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. If another version is used it will be noticed in the text.

       Kenneth B. Alexander. (2012). Mysteries of the Bible, lulu.com Pub.

      Introduction to Joshua

      The Book of Joshua is the sixth book of the OT - the first of the Former Prophets (i.e., the historical books, which conclude with Nehemiah). In broad outline, the book tells of Israel’s conquest of Canaan under Joshua after the death of Moses (chaps. 1-12) and Joshua’s subsequent distribution of the land among the tribes (chaps. 13-19). Six cities are then designated places of asylum (chap. 20), and forty-eight are reserved for Levites (chap. 21). The east Jordan tribes then return to their Transjordanian territory (chap. 22). In his old age, Joshua delivers a valedictory address (chap. 23). In another address, he challenges the tribes to commit themselves to God alone (chap. 24). The book ends with notices of Joshua’s death, the interment of Joshua’s remains and Israel’s faithfulness to God until Joshua’s contemporaries died (24:29-33).

      The book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses going up “to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah.” There the Lord showed Moses the land that the sons of Israel were to possess. “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:5–6).

      The book of Joshua opens with God’s promise to Joseph, after Moses died, concerning the same Promised Land and His intention for Israel to inhabit it. The Lord was now speaking directly with Joshua as He had to Moses. These things we will find in almost every servant of the Lord. Our present spiritual reality does not come by looking back to a dead prophet or reformer. It comes by wrestling with the Word of a live one. God has a Word to say to you now as He did with Joshua. Listen to it, and you will have a struggle over it. This is what Joshua faced when God gave him this simple statement: “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” Joshua 1:2–3. This is what God conveyed to Moses: “I have given you all the land where your foot shall tread” (Deuteronomy 11:24).

      For your foot to stand on your inheritance, you will have to “fight a troop and leap a wall” as David did (Psalm 18:29). The initiative was clearly defined to the children of Israel, along with the heritage that they had received by promises and covenants from God. Promises and covenants do not have their fulfillment until the time comes when men with the initiative of faith move in and believe that they can possess what God has promised them. The true battle is a continual contest to enter in and possess what God has given you. At no time does a promise of God look realistic, humanly speaking. Always a promise of God seems to be a future “pie in the sky” by the illusion and interpretation of men. God says, “I have given it to you.”

      “Oh, thank You, Jesus. We will write a song about the promised land and sing it for the next hundred years.” Why use a promise of God as some soothing syrup, as some downer in moments of tension, or as an upper when you are so low that you must be pepped up to believe that “in the sweet by-and-by it will all come to pass.” Not so with the Israelites with Joshua. They had to possess the promise NOW no matter how unlikely the result appeared.

      As we read about Joshua, we see the basis of what our attitude should be. Do not get your eye on the crowd. Keep your eye on the Word that God is bringing forth. Otherwise you will see many faults to criticize. Nothing else can ever be as important as the purpose God has to fulfill. For this reason we must have a compassion that refuses to judge harshly. Moses anger kept him out of the Land. We must contend for the fulfillment of the will of God despite the opposition of those around you. This is the attitude we see in Joshua, and in some ways he was more successful than Moses. Moses saw the glory of God, and he was transformed as few men have ever been in all of history (Exodus 34:29). Few have ever known the things that Moses experienced as he talked with God (Exodus chapters 33 and 34). In spite of all that God spoke to Moses, he had a way of focusing on the people and their problems. When he came down from the mountain after a visitation from God, and saw what the people were doing, he smashed the stone

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