42. B.C. 1451 to 1426

B.C. 1451 to 1426

Chapter II

Timeline View:

1. The inhabitants of the land appear to have trusted very much to the obstacle which their fortified towns would offer to the progress of the Israelites; but the capture of two such strong places as Jericho and Ai awoke them from this confidence, and showed them the necessity of some decided course of action. Among the “kings” of that part of Palestine in which the invaders lay, five are named, who, headed by Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, confederated together to resist them. Had the states in this quarter been disposed to make overtures of peace, or even of tribute, they would doubtless have been prevented by the knowledge that the Israelites were bent on dispossessing them altogether, and were under orders to enter into no treaties with them. The knowledge of this did not, however, hinder the inhabitants of Gibeon from attempting to obtain by stratagem what they knew would be refused to a direct application. Ambassadors were sent to the Hebrew camp at Gilgal, cunningly dressed up and disguised to appear as travel-worn men, whom the renown of the Lord’s marvellous acts in behalf of Israel had drawn from a far country, to enter into engagements of friendship and peace with a people so highly favored. Deceived by their appearance and by their professions, the Hebrews entered into the proposed engagements, without previously consulting their Divine King. For this neglect they were very soon punished by discovering how they had been outwitted; and then they sought counsel of the Lord as to the binding nature of an obligation incurred under such circumstances. They were told that a covenant so solemnly contracted, must be held binding; but that its terms did not prevent the Gibeonites being reduced to servitude. A tribute of labor, in hewing wood and drawing water, was therefore exacted from them. Joshua 11.

2. The kings, whose confederacy we have just mentioned, were much troubled at the defection of the Gibeonites and at the alliance they had formed. Determined to punish them first, the five kings made their appearance in arms before Gibeon. The inhabitants in this extremity sent to claim the protection of Joshua, who immediately went, at the head of a strong force, to their assistance. A rapid march by night brought him unexpectedly upon the besiegers, who were routed with great slaughter; those that fled were hotly pursued all the day. The fugitives were sorely distressed also by a shower of large stones, by which the Lord evinced that He fought for Israel; and when, under the covering of advancing night, many of them seemed likely to escape into the fortified towns, the light of clay was prolonged at the request of Joshua, who, urged by the strong impulse of his faith, which taught him that even such a manifestation of the Divine power would not be refused, cried, “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and then, moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” Being ignorant of the true system of astronomy, Joshua described what appeared to him and those who heard him to be the only means of producing the desired result. His mandate was obeyed; the day was lengthened; or, in the sense in which Joshua and the people understood it, “the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,” until the desired objects had been secured. As the worship of the Canaanites and other idolaters ultimately resolves itself into the worship of the heavenly bodies, of which the sun and moon are the chief, nothing could more strikingly evince the omnipotence of the God whom the Hebrews worshipped, than this proof, that the most glorious objects of the material world, of which men made to themselves gods, were but the creatures of his power.

3. The five kings were found hid in a cave near Makkedah, from which, when the pursuit was over, they were brought out, and the principal Hebrew officers set their feet upon their necks, which was a well-known act and symbol of victory in the East. They were then slain and hanged upon trees until the evening, as the king of Ai had been. At evening, as the law required d (Deu 20:16-17), they were taken down, and their bodies were returned to the cave which had been their refuge. With his usual military skill, Joshua took advantage of the panic which his signal success and the attendant miracles had on this occasion inspired, and overran and reduced the greater part of the country from Gibeon southward to the desert frontier, including the cities of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Debir, and Hebron. The attack on Debir it was commanded by Caleb, who, according to a romantic oriental usage, announced that he would give his daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who should first enter the town, or most distinguish himself in the assault. The prize of gallantry was won by Othniel, Caleb’s own nephew, whom we shall hereafter recognize as the first “Judge” in Israel. After all these victories Joshua led back his army to Gilgal.

Persian Chariot

4. The success of this campaign gave great alarm to the princes of the north, who united in a very powerful league, headed by Jabin, king of Hazer. The allies took the field with such a vast force as seemed fully equal to the task of crushing the invaders by one stroke. Their army comprehended a proportion of horses and chariots of war—and this is the first occasion on which horses are mentioned in Palestine, and the first time that they were brought into action against the Israelites, who themselves had no cavalry till long after. In dealing with this very formidable host, the Hebrew general followed his usual course: he penetrated into Upper Galilee by rapid marches, and falling upon the enemy when least expected, defeated them with tremendous slaughter. This great loss so broke the power and spirits of the Canaanites, that, while Joshua lived, no other powerful combination could be formed against the Israelites, who occupied themselves in reducing in detail the petty kings and cities of the country. In the course of five years, thirty-one of these little states were subdued. This was the period of merciless and exterminating warfare, to avoid the horrors of which, it appears that some of these nations emigrated to foreign lands; and there are traditions which might lead us to trace some of them to the northern shores of Africa. The towns which the Israelites were unable to occupy or defend, they destroyed. These were chiefly such as were situated in the plains; for of those that stood on hills Hazor only was destroyed.

Mounts Ebal and Gerizim

5. At the end of five years, Joshua had reduced the greater part of the country from the mountains of Seir to those of Lebanon. The portion lying to the south of the great plain of Esdraelon was the most completely subjugated; and it seemed proper to determine without further delay to what tribes that portion should belong. The southern part of this territory was given to Judah, and the northern part to Ephraim, and the unprovided half tribe of Manasseh. Thus five tribes were provided for: two-and-a-half on each side of the river Jordan. This first distribution of territory seemed a suitable occasion for the removal of the tabernacle from Gilgal to the interior of the conquered country. Shiloh, in the territory of Ephraim, and near the center of the land, was the place chosen; and there it continued above 450 years, until the time of Samuel. It appears to have been on the way to this place that the Israelites, in passing by the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, went through the august and striping ceremonial which Moses had long before directed to be celebrated in that place, and whereby he had wisely provided that the assembled people should, on taping possession of their inheritance, once more solemnly declare their acceptance of the institutions which had been given to them (Deuteronomy 27).The fundamental laws were inscribed on plastered pillars, and sacrifices were offered on a large altar of unhewn stone. Then, six of the tribes stood on Mount Ebal, and the other six tribes on Mount Gerizim; while the ark with the priests and Levites was stationed in the valley between. In that vast audience, the load voices of the Levites proclaimed blessings on the obedient, and curses on the disobedient to the law; and each clause of blessing and of curse was met by a grand responsive “Amen!” from the thousands of Israel for the blessings from Gerizim, and for the curses from Ebal.

6. The five or six following years were consumed in a desultory warfare with the unconquered states. It would appear that the existing population did not yet need all the country, and found enough to occupy them in what they had already acquired. At all events, the first ardor of action had so much subsided, that at length Joshua rebuked the tribes for their backwardness in taking full possession of their heritage. Anxious, however, that the territorial distribution should be settled before his death, he determined that all that remained to be done with regard to such a distribution should be at once effected, leaving the tribes to assist one another in getting complete possession of the domains which fell to them. As it appeared probable that the portions already given were too large in proportion to the whole, it was deemed necessary that properly qualified persons should be sent through the land to survey it, and to enter the particulars in a book. It is not improbable that some kind of map was constructed on this occasion; and, altogether, the circumstance is interesting as indicating the earliest territorial survey on record.

7. The result of this operation manifested that too much land had been given at the previous distribution, and that the seven remaining tribes could not be adequately provided for out of what remained; and room was therefore made for two other tribes in the portion which had been assigned to Judah, and for one in that which had been given to Ephraim. To prevent disputes, the seven portions were distributed by lot to the seven tribes; and that the determination of the lot were divinely directed was evinced by the fact, that the position and territory given to each of the tribes corresponded exactly to the prophetic descriptions given by Jacob and by Moses The lot gave to Simeon and Dan the two portions which had been formed out of the territory of Judah, and to Benjamin that which had been taken from Ephraim. The four portions in the north, forming what was afterwards called Galilee, were assigned by the lot to Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. The tribe of Levi had no territory assigned to it; but each of the tribes gave four towns with their suburbs for the residence of the Levites, whereby the members of that tribe were equally and judiciously dispersed through the country; and, although there was but one tabernacle and one altar, a determinate localization, in every tribe, was made of the institutions and officers of the Divine King. Of the forty-eight cities given to the tribe of Levi, thirteen were allotted to the priesthood, all in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Six of the forty-eight, at proper distances from each other, were made cities of refuge for the man-slayer. These were, on the west of the Jordan, Hebron in Judah, Shechem in Ephraim, and Kedesh in Naphtali; and on the east, Bezer in the wilderness, Ramoth in Gilead, and Golan in Bashan.

8. This important operation having been completed under the direction of Joshua and Eleazer, the high-priest, it seemed proper to dismiss to their homes the warriors of the tribes beyond the Jordan, who, according to agreement, had hitherto accompanied the other tribes, and assisted them in their warfare. Joshua, therefore, called them together, and, after acknowledging their services, and exhorting them to maintain their allegiance to the Divine King, and their union with the other tribes, sent them away with his blessing. The returning tribes having crossed the Jordan, erected, at the passage of Bethabara, a great altar, which threatened to produce a serious misunderstanding between them and the tribes on this side the river. The law allowed but one altar for sacrifices; and it was hastily concluded that the trans-Jordanic tribes designed to destroy the unity of the nation, by setting up a separate altar and a separate establishment on their side the river. This apprehension so awakened the indignation and zeal of the other tribes, that they assembled in large numbers at Shiloh, bent on making war with their brethren, unless a satisfactory explanation were afforded. Delegates were sent to remonstrate with them, and to invite them to come and share the country west of the Jordan, if they deemed that river so great a barrier as to disconnect them from the central altar and establishment at Shiloh. The charge Was, however, replied with horror by the suspected tribes, who explained that the altar was not intended by them for sacrifices, but for an abiding monument of their common origin, interest, polity, and worship—of that very unity which they were charged with an intention to dissever. This statement was received with great satisfaction, and the name of Ed, “a Witness,” was given to the altar of memorial.

9. Joshua appears to have lived about fourteen years after the second division of the lands. During this period, the people ceased to prosecute the war against the Canaanites. It would seem that the several tribes having as much land and as many towns as they at present wanted, applied themselves to agriculture and the pursuits of settled life, and each tribe became too much engrossed in its own concerns to assist the others in getting full possession of their territory. It was well that they took so early and decided a turn towards their intended vocation as an agricultural people, and that the old inhabitants were not too rapidly expelled before the Hebrews were able to take their place and to occupy their cities; but it was dangerous to them as the peculiar people, that they were in a position to form connections with the idolaters, and to be contaminated by their abominations. There was also reason to fear that the Canaanites, by being left alone, would in time gather strength again to make head against the chosen race. All this happened accordingly, but not in the time of Joshua.

10. Although the old patriarchal idolatries and those t Egypt were secretly practised by some individuals, yet the people were, upon the whole, obedient to the Divine King, and therefore prosperous, during the life of Joshua. To confirm them in their obedience, Joshua, in his latter days, convened two general assemblies, in which he earnestly exhorted them to be faithful to God; and on the last occasion he caused the covenant, by which the Lord had become their sovereign, to be solemnly acknowledged and renewed. As a standing memorial of this transaction, a stone was set up under a tree that grew near the sanctuary, and a record of it was made in the Book of the Law. Soon after this, the illustrious warrior and devoted upholder of the theocratical institutions, died at the age of 110 years.

Idolatry Worship