Apr 10 -14 Moses Dies & Joshua Conquers!

We move through the rest of Deuteronomy in these readings and into Joshua. Moses goes up to Mount Nebo and climbs Pisgah Peak and the Lord shows him the whole land. Then the Lord says to Moses, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, isaac, and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land." Moses died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. Now I would feel to bad for Moses because by the sounds of it where Moses went blows the new land for the Israelites away!
Now Joshua talks directly with the Lord as Moses did. The Lord parts the Jordan river for the people to Israel to cross as he did the Red Sea. The people of Israel cross under the guidance of Joshua who speaks to them the Lords instructions. That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, per the Lords instructions for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

Now we go into the circumcision dance again. No one had been circumcised after the Exodus during the 40 years in the wilderness. So Joshua did as the Lord commanded and made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel. Once they healed the Israealite men started to conquer all the land under the powerful hand of the Lord. Jericho was kind of cool it was surrounded by a huge wall and the gates were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites, rightfully so. The Lord sent a commander of His army to meet with the Israelites. The Lord said to Joshua You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams' horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can and the people can charge straight into the town." So Joshua did as the Lord said and when they shouted the walls of Jericho collapsed and they attached and conquered.

They go on to conquer the cities the Lord has promised them but are tricked by Gibeon. They heard of the whopping Joshua did on Jericho and Ai so they sent ambassadors with worn-out pants and moldy bread to make it seem like they travelled from far away. Outside of the area the Lord had told Joshua to conquer. They tricked him into signing a treaty with them guaranteeing their safety but they did this without consulting the Lord. I know about that kind of mistake! They then figure out they were tricked but can't take back the oath to not kill them so Joshua made the Gibeonites the woodcutters and water carriers for the community of Israel and for the altar of the Lord-wherever the Lord would choose to build it.

The King of Jerusalem heard about the Isrealites destroying towns and how they made peace with the Gibeonites so he rallied up several other kings to go destroy Gibeon. Joshua sent the Isrealite army to go destroy all those Amorites as they were going to attack Gibeon. Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel "Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon." And they did. It is recorded in the book of Jashar that there has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer.

Joshua conquered the whole region of the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes. He left no survivors just ads the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.