The Berean Pursuit
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt-all the men of war-had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt. Though all who had come out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness on the journey from Egypt had been circumcised.
For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation's men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.
And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, "Are You for us or for our enemies?"
"Neither," He replied. "I have now come as Commander of the LORD's army."
Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, "What does my Lord have to say to His servant?"
The Commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy."
And Joshua did so.
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
And the LORD said to Joshua, "Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven rams' horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. And when there is a long blast of the ram's horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city."
So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, "Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD."
And he told the people, "Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD."
After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams' horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark.
But Joshua had commanded the people: "Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!" So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.
Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD. And the seven priests carrying seven rams' horns kept marching ahead of the ark of the LORD and blowing the horns. The armed troops went in front of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the horns kept sounding. So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times. After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury."
So when the rams' horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it. At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city-man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her." So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house. And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father's household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.
At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath:
"Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up
and rebuilds this city, Jericho;
at the cost of his firstborn
he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
he will set up its gates."
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.
The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the land." So the men went up and spied out Ai.
On returning to Joshua, they reported, "There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there."
So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
"O, Lord GOD," Joshua said, "why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies? When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?"
But the LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions. This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
Get up and consecrate the people, saying, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man. The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.'?"
So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected. He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected. And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
So Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."
"It is true," Achan replied, "I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.
Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
"Why have you brought this trouble upon us?" said Joshua. "Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!" And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies. And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city."
So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night with these orders: "Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready. Then I and all the troops with me will advance on the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, 'The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.' So as we flee from them, you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And when you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD has commanded! See, I have given you orders."
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.
Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai. Then all the troops who were with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of Ai and camped to the north of it, with the valley between them and the city.
Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. So the forces were stationed with the main camp to the north of the city and the rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.
When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city. Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city. Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city." So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai, and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained. But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well. A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day-all the people of Ai. Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai. Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day. He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.
At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: "an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used." And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and they sacrificed peace offerings.
And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.
Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law-the blessings and the curses-according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.
For the choirmaster. Of David.
The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt; their acts are vile.
There is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Then Jesus told them this parable: "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!' In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents."
Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. The younger son said to him, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.
Finally he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death! I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."?'
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
The son declared, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what was going on.
'Your brother has returned,' he said, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.'
The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, 'Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed a commandment of yours. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
'Son, you are always with me,' the father said, 'and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'?"