Day 99 – Joshua & the Sun/Conquests

• A lot happens in today’s passages, which are packed with stories of full on warfare. It would make quite a film! Today’s narrative passages in Joshua open with the nervous kings of the surrounding territories banding together to go on the offensive against the Israelites.
• Who was under attack in Joshua 10? What did Joshua do to help them?
• How many miracles can you spot in the first reading? You’ll read about a cosmic event in Joshua today, described as the sun standing still in a way that it has never done before or since. Could God do this? Why might He, do you think? You might like to check your study bible notes for more thoughts about this phenomenon, including explanations what what may have happened. Don’t forget that nothing is impossible with God though!
• How many different cities can you read in Joshua 10 -11 that were attacked and defeated? The Israelites were slowly taking the entire land, just as God had promised.
• Joshua had a job to take possession of the physical land. Using what you know of him so far, what words would you use to describe his qualities to do this job and his attitude towards his tasks?
• In the same way, we have a spiritual land to take possession of. For us, it’s Heaven, of course. Jesus has given us the way to do this, but how is your attitude toward fighting towards this land? Are your eyes fixed on Heaven or on this world?
• How often can you find the words “and the LORD gave…” in today’s passages? Who won these battles for the Israelites?
• Notice that even though God is delivering the cities into the hands of Israel, the Israelites are still not perfectly following God’s commands. In Joshua 11, notice the words “but none” (verse 13), “except” (verse 19) and “only” (verse 22). In these verses Israel hasn’t done everything God commanded them to do – i.e. to clear the land of all inhabitants. It’s a reminder to us that sin isn’t just doing wrong things – it’s not doing right things too. It’s also a reminder that God is continually caring for the Israelites, despite their ongoing sin. It’s important to note that death in battle is different from murder, despite the fact you may (understandably) find it hard to consider that when the Israelites didn’t kill everyone, they were sinning (i.e. because they were not following God’s clear command).
• Don’t forget, if you have, that this is real factual history that we’re reading about here. Israel still live in the Promised Land to this day! We’re reading about war on God’s enemies – a holy war for sure – and the sieges we’re seeing in the text are, to be clear, unrelentingly brutal. Critics of Christianity – and Judaism too, one presumes – find much ammunition in these descriptions of God’s commands. How do you think you might respond, both in your own mind and to a critical friend? If you don’t know, make sure this is something you discuss when you next meet up with a leader.
• What can we make of today’s linking passage in the book of the prophet Habakkuk? The passage is a prayer that God will look after the Israelite nation in the future, just as He demonstrably was during the time of Joshua.

If you’re up for a little extra challenge, see if you can find any similarities between Joshua 10:22-24 and Genesis 3:15.

We’ve got two more days with Joshua before we move onto the next instalment of Old Testament history. Clearly the battles were won with God by his side, but Joshua is proving himself – after the mistake we read about yesterday – to be a very capable leader and commander, isn’t he? What have you learned about him in the last week or so?

By the time the first couple of cities had fell, how do you think the mood was amongst the Israelites as they marched on through the south, and then the north, of the country? How different would it have been from the scared group of ex-slaves in the desert as they refused to enter the land?

Today’s passages help remind us that God can work things that would be impossible if we were without Him. You may not always be aware of how God is working in your life, but as Christians, you can know that He is. I pray that this is a comfort to you daily.