The end of the Wilderness wandering and preparation for the conquest of the land. Discussion of geography. Why the location of Israel is important and why the invasion started from the east through Jericho instead of from the south as had previously been attempted under Moses.
The spies Joshua sent to Jericho had a very different focus than those Moses had sent 38 years before. Joshua's spies were to assess the morale and fighting spirit of the fortress Jericho that sat astride the route from the Jordan valley up to the saddle of Benjamin. Similarly, God stopped the flow of the Jordan so that Israel could cross dry shod. This served to assure the Israelites that God was indeed on their side and would help them to prevail.
The crossing of the Jordan on dry ground and the meeting of the Commander of the Army of the LORD closes a chiasm that began with Moses at the burning bush and the crossing of the Red Sea. This was a definite morale booster for Israel and a source of great dismay to he inhabitants of Jericho who would have been able to watch the whole things from the city walls.
Jericho sat at the entrance to the route from the Jordan valley to the Saddle of Benjamin. As such it needed to be destroyed so that Joshua could leave the Israelite women and children behind in safety while the warriors moved west and fought the Canaanites. The events of the reduction of Jericho prefigure the seven trumpets of Revelation.
After the reduction of Jericho, Israel turned to capturing the Saddle of Benjamin, with Ai being the first target. Reconnaissance reported that Ai was a soft target and only a small force would be needed. Because a man in Israel had disobeyed God and taken spoil from Jericho, that force was routed. Once the sinner had been dealt with, Joshua took his entire force up and captured both Ai and Beth El. From there he turned north and went to Shechem and renewed to Covenant as commanded by Moses.
Gibeon lies in the Saddle of Benjamin astride the north- south ridge route as well as the east-west route from the Jordan Valley to the coastal plain. It was a major city in a very strategic location. After the destruction of Ai, the Gibeonites knew that they were next and so planned a deception to get Israel to make a covenant and spare them from destruction. Once that covenant was made, the southern Canaanite kings attacked Gibeon forcing Israel to defend it.
After the series of battles attendant to the 'long day', Joshua continued with the conquest of the south. With that complete, the King of Hazor gathered an army of all the peoples in the north. They gathered at the waters of Merom; very many horses and chariots. Joshua came up from the south and destroyed that army as well as all of the towns from which they had come.
Although there was still much land to conquer, Joshua proceeded to define tribal allotments on the west side of the Jordan River. For political reasons, he began with Judah and Joseph, putting them astride the central ridge and separated by the Saddle of Benjamin. The remaining seven tribes sent out survey parties and divided the rest of the land into parcels. Those parcels were assigned by lot, one to each tribe.
Having conquered the land, Joshua released the eastern tribes to return to their land and their families. These tribes built an altar by the Jordan to serve as a witness that they would always be a part of the people of God. As his final official act, Joshua and the tribal elders renewed the covenant with God.
Joshua is important both for historical and for prophetic reasons. Historically, it gives contest and background for the rest of Scripture. Prophetically, it prefigures the return of Messiah and the displacement of God's enemies.
