The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 of 24 (To update)

The Historical Books Joshua 

Chapter 23

¹ A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, " I am now old and well advanced in years; ³ and you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you.

(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verses 1 to 3)

Oh God my Father, even though You permit us to experience crisis and tribulations in life, You do not allow them to last forever. All have a beginning and an end and all are under Your control. I thank You God for all the battles You have fought on my behalf, throughout these 48 years of life on earth Amen.


⁴ I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west.



(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verse 4)


Oh God, my Father one of our greatest faults is that of attributing for ourselves all that we do instead of attributing it all to You who have used us to perform such works. All praise is to be given to You the Master Creator and not to the creature Amen.


⁵ The LORD your God will push them back before you, and drive them out of your sight; and you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you.



(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verse 5)


Oh God my Father I thank You for fighting my battles, for turning negative situations planned to deceive me into positive ones for my advantage Amen.

⁶ Therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left, ⁷ so that you may not be mixed with these nations left her among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them, ⁸ but hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.

(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verses 6 to 8)

Oh God my Father I pray that we base our lives on the Bible instead of on scientific principles and only psychological theory. I pray that we respect science and technology for what it is in all its goodness, however, we are never to give it first place in our lives. This place is specially reserved for You my God and Father Amen.

⁹ For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day

(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verse 9)

Oh God my Father You have been faithful to us more than we can ever imagine. You have stood by my side many times and have fought for me in many situations. I pray that You continue to do so for I cannot live without You Amen.

¹⁰ One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, as he promised you.

(The Historical Books of Joshua Chapter 23 verse 10)

Oh brothers and sisters whenever we feel the need to fight back or vindicate because we have experienced an injustice we are to stop and give our Lord God and Father a chance to fight for us instead of trying to resolve the issue ourselves and make it worse Amen. Put trust in God He is our advocate and our judge. Amen.

The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 3

The Historical Books

  Joshua

Chapter 

3

1. Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 1)


After such a long time of wandering in the desert, came the time to enter the promised land. Oh God Indeed Your ways our not our ways. At times for our own good You permit us experience a long time of waiting in order to test us before You deliver us from the situation. Oh God waiting is my weakest spot. I cannot bear to wait. About two months ago a person collided into my car, and even though it was not my fault the wardens report somehow was issued against me. Since then my insurance have been in communication with the insurance of the offender in order to convince the offender to accept liability and pay for the damage that he did to my car. Since then I have hassled my insurance company again and again.  I feel sorry for the insurance claims policy manager who patiently keeps up with my bombardment of emails and constant phone calls because I have a problem in waiting for the issue to be resolved.


I am sorry to say oh God that this weakness in waiting emerges in many different situations. I simply am not strong enough to endure the period of waiting. I pray oh God that You give me the gift of perseverance so that I will learn how to control myself, learn to trust in You and in turn make life easy for both myself and even for others.


2. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3. and commanded the people, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come nearer to it."

(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 2 to 4)


Oh God I thank You for fighting my battles for me. As in the case of the people of God You chose to go way ahead of the people in order to prepare the way for them. In contrast to verses 2 to 4, You love us so much that You wish that there is no space between us at all.



5. Then Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." 6. To the priests Joshua said, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 5 to 6)


As a rule of thumb it is best to prepare oneself in a spirit of prayer before undertaking special tasks so that we obtain Your blessing and feel more secure by Your Holy presence.


7. The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 7)


When God chooses us for a particular mission others will realise that the presence of God is with us. It will reflect through our inner selves and pure joy will radiate through us like the waves of a microwave. Amen.


8. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"

(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 8)


When considering the strong flow of the river Jordan one might think that for a while oh God You made a big mistake for the current would be sure to sweep all the priests and the ark away to destruction. However You had other plans. At times oh God we think that You ask us to do things that appear to be impossible or maybe very humanly difficult to achieve, however when You are with us and is according to Your will nothing is impossible to be achieved. All we need to do is, to place all our hope and trust in You.


9. Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God," 10. Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites; 11. the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 9 to 11)


Oh God You are also asking us to draw close to You and follow in Your ways. You will go before us and protect us from our rivers of Jordan that threaten to place us in danger and threaten our well being.


12. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap"

(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 12 to 13)


Oh God the twelve chosen men were one from each tribe. The world contains people from many nations and it would take more than twelve to represent the whole world, therefore You call youths to live the celibate life who are our representatives in Your presence.


14. When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verse 14)


During the trials of life oh God, I do not feel dismayed for although the going appears to be tough and challenging, I am not alone, because You are walking before me and have already experienced the situation before me. Therefore this means to You have taken a high percentage of the burden of the problem and I only need to experience the remaining percentage of the issue.


15. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16. the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

(Joshua Chapter 3 verses 15 to 17)


In order to obtain an idea of this region please click on the following link and refer to Battle of Jericho contents :-

The way to Jericho over the Jordan river


I also invite you to view this videos about the crossing of the river Jordan. The source goes into much depth in relation to this important event:-

The setting of the Jordan area

The Jordan river flow

Oh God when viewing these videos I was totally astonished by the great works that You perform on our behalf. According to one source there was an indication that two tectonic plates moved in order to cut off the river and permit Your people to cross the river, without doubt Your hand was at work throughout the event. Another source the Jordan river flow portrays the strong current of the Jordan which made the crossing for the priests very challenging. This could have caused the priests to panic and think twice before making the crossing however, when we do something in a spirit of faith all doubts vanish as if they had never existed.

Oh God I I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-


Oh God I thank You for all the crisis and challenges that I am experiencing in the present. As much as You intervened in the life of Your people especially during the crossing of the Jordan I am fully convinced that You are able to silence the currents of the rivers that are threatening the well being of both myself and my family. I am convinced that I am not alone and that You are walking before me and that I need not be afraid for You are with me Amen.

The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 of 24

The Historical Books Joshua 

Chapter 22

¹ Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, "You have observed all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed me in all that I have commanded you; ³ you have not forsaken your kindred these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God.

(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 1 to 3)

Oh God my Father how happy I would be if I heard such a declaration from Your lips. How happy I would be to hear directly from You, that You have given me a place in heaven. Even though I know that You died to claim my place in my heavenly home, hearing such a declaration from You would make the world of a difference to me Amen.


⁴ And now the LORD your God has given rest to your kindred, as he promised them; therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 4 to 5)



Oh God my Father, now that You have given me my freedom from the 16 years of bondage that I was living I also give my word to live according to Your ways. As a human I cannot promise to never fail in doing so as You well know, however with Your help I can do so. Amen.



⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away and they went to their tents.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 6)


Oh God, my Father You always send us back with a positive note. You bless us and that blessing is always valid and true Amen.


⁷ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan; but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their fellow Israelites in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them, ⁸ he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver gold, bronze, and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your kindred."


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 7 to 8)


Oh God, my Father, as humans we have a tendency to make preference or positive discrimination where certain people or groups end up advantaged over others and this can be the cause of much stress. I pray that You heal those who feel that they have experienced such a negative attitude Amen.


⁹ So the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had taken possession by command of the LORD through Moses.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 9)


Oh, brothers and sisters, there are times in our lives when we have to say goodbye to both family and friends either on a voluntary basis or against our will. I pray that during such moments our choices are based according to the will of God and not only according to our wills Amen.


¹⁰ When they came to the region near the Jordan that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 10)


Oh God, many times our intentions are good however our timing is not that good. Building an altar to You was very positive, however, building it in the neighbourhood of others which would stimulate others to be angry is not good at all. I pray oh God my Father that we reflect before making decisions so that they are based on prayer and not simply according to our will. Amen.


¹¹ The Israelites heard that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region near the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the Israelites.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 11)


Oh God, my Father, we are so disobedient and this attitude tends to get us into trouble with others and even with You. I pray that You give us a stronger sense of discipline and self-control Amen. Thanks, Jesus.


¹² And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh, to make war against them.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 12)


Oh God my Father how nice it would be if we resorted to dialogue when we have clashed with others instead of taking negative action such as warfare. I pray that we invest time in prayer before making such negative decisions Amen.


¹³ Then the Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead,¹⁴ and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 13 to 14)


Oh God, my Father this was a sort of Vatican council where all the heads of the tribes met. I pray that there is more contact in the Roman Catholic Church between the elders so that pending issues can be resolved for the good of all Amen.


¹⁵ They came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, ¹⁶ Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away today from following the LORD, by building yourselves an altar today in rebellion against the LORD?¹⁷ Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which a plague came upon the congregation of the LORD, ¹⁸ that you must turn away today from following the LORD! If you rebel against the LORD today, he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 15 to 18)


Oh brothers and sisters in the LORD JESUS CHRIST take responsibility of your sins and let us repent from them, for the consequences of our sin have a negative impact both on ourselves and even on the life of others. Amen.


¹⁹ But now if your land is unclean, cross over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle now stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us; only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 19)


Oh God my Father how great You are, even if we are unclean by our sins, You offer us the opportunity of reconciling with You and start again Amen. Blessed be Your Holy Name!


²⁰ Did not Achan son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity!"


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 20)


Oh, brothers and sisters, our sins do not have an impact on ourselves alone but even on those forming part of the circles that we are a part of. Sin is like a virus, it contaminates both the user and those who come in contact with the user Amen. Therefore let us keep our antivirus updated and remain firm in the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion Amen.


²¹ Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, ²² The LORD, God of gods! The LORD God of gods! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the LORD, do not spare us today ²³ for building an altar to turn away from following the LORD; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or offerings of well-being on it, may the LORD himself take vengeance.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 21 to 23)


Oh God may Your will be done. You are our judge and arbitrator in our daily issues. Amen. May You continue to oversee us Amen.


²⁴ No! We did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, 'What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 24)


Oh God, my Father, fear is the basic reason for our doing many sinful actions. Our basic insecurity makes us take measures that at times brings us into trouble with ourselves and even with others. I pray that we learn to place all our trust in You so that we need not experience this negative emotion. Amen.


²⁵ For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no portion in the LORD." 


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 25)


Oh God, my Father I thank You for having opened wide the gates of heaven by means of Your death and resurrection thus allowing anybody the opportunity of being united with You Amen.


²⁶ Therefore we said, 'Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, ²⁷ but to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LOrd in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and offerings of well-being; so that your children may never say to our children in time to come, "You have no portion in the LORD."


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verses 26 to 27)


Oh God, my Father fear and insecurity are the bases of many of our decisions. I pray that I will be free to make decisions since they are the fruit of prayer and not of fear Amen.


²⁸ And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, 'Look at this copy of the altar of the LORD, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 28)


Oh God, my Father many times we use You to cover our errors by focussing on the spiritual side of our lives to simply try and justify our reasons while in truth our intentions may be far from spiritual. I pray that we stop from using You in such a negative way Amen.


²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!"


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 29)


Oh God, my Father our intentions may never be that of replacing You with time for our careers or relationships projects or ambitions, however, we still at times manage to do so. I pray oh God that we always give You the first place in our lives Amen.


³⁰ When the priest Phinehas and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites spoke, they were satisfied.


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 30)


Oh God, my Father, I thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit during synods and Vatican councils where important decisions need to be taken. I pray that You continue to lead us Amen.


³¹ The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites, "Today we know that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD; now you have saved the Israelites from the hand of the LORD".



(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 31)


Oh God, my Father, I thank You for permitting certain events to take place in my life and in the lives of other people, because by such events You speak to us, even though at the time we may not understand the message however after some time You reveal the outcome to us Amen.


³² Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the chiefs returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and brought back word to them. ³³ The report pleased the Israelites; and the Israelites blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them, to destroy the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites were settled. ³⁴ The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar Witness, "For," said they, "it is a witness between us that the LORD is God."


(The Historical Books Joshua Chapter 22 verse 31 to 34)


Oh God, my Father You are my witness in front of others. I do not need any form of defence or testimony. You help me to be humble and admit my errors and give an apology without hesitation Amen

I would like to end this twenty-second chapter of the Historical Books of Joshua with the following prayer:-


Oh God my Father I pray that we bring all our disputes and issues to You and in Your presence, we settle all our differences in the presence of people assigned by You in order to find a solution to the problem Amen. Let us not be too hasty to settle our concerns before the Court of Magistrates when we can come to You our Supreme Judge Amen. I pray for many others such as myself who ended up in Court that You bless all outcomes and decisions. I personally accept all as being according to Your plan for me Amen and I thank You for it. Amen