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Introduction

For information about the author of this book, see Joshua. He was probably also the author of the last chapter of Deuteronomy.

This book describes Israel’s conquest and settlement of the promised land. Joshua is in charge of leading Israel for God from the beginning of this book to the end. James Ussher’s chronology measures the timespan of the book to be about 25 years (1451 BC to 1427 BC).

As the New Testament describes the fulfillment of what God had promised in the Old Testament, so the book of Joshua describes the fulfillment of what God had promised in the five books of Moses. Specifically, God began promising Abraham descendants and a land in Genesis 12:1-7. Throughout the remainder of Genesis, as well as the rest of the books of Moses, God repeated and elaborated upon those promises. The book of Joshua is an extensive description of how those promises were fulfilled when the army of Israel, over half-a-million strong, took the promised land.

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Joshua 1

This chapter should be read in conjunction with Deuteronomy 34; the two chapters fit well together in their description of Israel’s transition from Moses’ leadership to Joshua’s. (See related BSN note on Deuteronomy 34.)

God’s Charge to Joshua

Josh 1:1-9 – This charge to Joshua is useful also to men today if we accept it as the responsibility we take on when we marry. Contrary to current American thought, the decision to marry and the decision to have children is the same decision even though the role of husband precedes that of father. If the justification for saying this is not obvious to you, please read the book The Honor of Marriage.

Joshua’s Charge to the People

Josh 1:10-11 – What these people have waited 40 years to do is going to happen within three days. Imagine the anticipation they felt! What God had waited 4,000 years to do was going to happen within three days of the crucifixion. Imagine the anticipation He felt! #FJOT

Joshua’s Reminder to the Two and a Half Tribes

Josh 1:12-15 – Joshua is reminding the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh of their promise to help the rest of the tribes conquer the land west of the Jordan River even though these two and half tribes are settling east of it, pursuant to the discussion and agreement recorded in Num 32.

The Response to Joshua

Josh 1:16-18 – It’s not crystal clear whether this response to Joshua is coming from all the tribes or only from the two and a half tribes he just addressed, but, either way, it’s a fitting response. May your family always be similarly responsive to your leadership.

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Joshua 2

Two Spies

Josh 2:1-7 – This is not the first time that Israel has sent spies to scout the land of Canaan for military intelligence. Recall that in Num 13, Israel sent twelve spies on such a mission. Recall also that ten of the spies came back with a “bad” report, claiming that the Israelites had no hope of winning against the Canaanites. However, two of those twelve spies – Caleb and Joshua – came back with a very optimistic view of what Israel could accomplish with the Lord’s help. Perhaps for this reason, Joshua decided to only send two spies this time. These two men, who go unnamed, know what kind of report Joshua expects from them!

***** This is also not the first time we have heard a story about someone lying to aid the cause of God. Recall that Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all of Israel’s newborn males, but the midwives spared the males and deceived Pharaoh about the matter. Both the Hebrew midwives (Ex 1:20-21) and Rahab (Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25) were commended rather than condemned. This does not mean that God gives us a license to lie, but it does mean that there are some occasions in life where we are faced with two evils and we must choose the lesser one.

One Harlot

Josh 2:8-14 – Rahab reminds us of certain sinners in the New Testament – people who had reputations as sinners, but who – through repentance – showed great and unexpected virtues. Sinners like Zaccheus and Saul of Tarsus. Notice that in negotiating with the two spies, Rahab is seeking protection not exclusively for herself, but rather for…

“my father”
“my mother”
“my brothers”
“my sisters”
“with all who belong to them”

What caused this woman to turn her heart toward home? If Rahab could derive from Israel’s escape through the Red Sea (Ex 14-15) and Israel’s defeat of Sihon and Og (Num 21:21-35) a conviction about God being with Israel, how much more we should be able to derive, through the many miracles Jesus performed, including His resurrection from the dead, that God was – and is – with Him. Therefore, let us learn from Rahab and repent based on the divine power we have had reported to us.

A Scarlet Thread

Josh 2:15-21 –#FJOT – This is not the first time we have heard of a scarlet thread in the Bible. Recall that one was mentioned in the story of how a midwife distinguished the birth order of Judah’s twin sons, Perez and Zerah, by Tamar. Rahab’s scarlet thread, of course, has a very different purpose. But both scarlet threads can be reminders to us that there is a scarlet thread that runs throughout the Bible – the blood shed by all God’s representatives in service to the salvation of the human race. This bloodletting began with Cain and characterized the lives of prophets in the Old Testament and apostles in the New Testament. And, of course, bloodshed is seen most dramatically and most importantly in the life of our Lord. His words in the Bible are printed in red to remind us of the blood He shed for us. This is the most important scarlet thread of all.

Josh 2:16 – #FJOT – It has become impossible for me to read any reference to three days in the Old Testament and not immediately wonder if it is not in some way, however faintly and whether individually or cumulatively, pointing to Jesus being raised on the third day after His crucifixion.

The Spies Escape

Josh 2:22-24 – The two spies deliver a good report of Israel’s prospects for victory – just what Joshua was hoping to hear.

Josh 2:22 – Ditto to the #FJOT note on Josh 2:16 above.

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Joshua 3

Israel Crosses the Jordan River on Dry Ground

Josh 3:1 – The Jordan River marked the western boundary of the land of Canaan. It ran a generally straight line from mountains that were to the far north, down through the Sea of Galilee, eventually emptying into the Dead Sea in the far south. Thus, on a map, the Jordan River presents a vertical line dividing east from west. The land east of the Jordan, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea (about 150 miles away), was Canaan. This is the land Israel was to inherit, but for which they had to fight.

Josh 3:2 – See #FJOT note on Josh 2:16 above.

Josh 3:3 – When Israel crossed the Red Sea, they crossed as a crowd. In crossing the Jordan River, by contrast, they are crossing according to a clear order. This is a result of all Moses had done with them in the wilderness – building the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant, establishing the tribe of Levi as priests for the entire nation, and establishing an order in which the tribes should arrange themselves as well as for moving from place to place. This is just like what happened in creation: where God saw chaos, He established order.

Gen 1:2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Gen 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Gen 1:4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

And so on. Since we are made in His image (Gen 1:26, 27), this is what we should do during our time on earth – bring order where we find chaos.

The ark of the covenant was central to the order in which God through Moses put Israel. The covenant was the agreement, the defined relationship, between God and Israel. The ark represented Israel’s heart, and within it were contained the commandments of God. In our age, we are under the new covenant but it still must be cherished in our hearts to be effective. Jesus’ commandments should be engraved on our hearts as they were engraved on Moses’ tablets. And it is not the blood of animals that marks this covenant, but rather the blood of the Son of God Himself.

Luke 22:20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Thus Jesus is our Joshua – both by name and by type – leading us into the kingdom of God. We, too, have to fight – though spiritually, not physically.

2 Cor 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
2 Cor 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
2 Cor 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

We follow Jesus by following His covenant…wherever it leads us. In other words, wherever the commandments of Jesus lead us, we will go.

1 John 3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

This following of His commandments begins, of course, with our loving Jesus our Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then our neighbors.

Matt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matt 22:37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Matt 22:38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matt 22:39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

Taking this to the next step for men, our closest neighbors are our wives and children. We are to love our wives and teach our children.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

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Eph 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Whenever we read of the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament, and we will read of it often, we should think of it in this way.

Josh 3:4 – Following the new covenant commandments will take us places we have not gone before – “for you have not passed this way before.”

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

We have a better covenant than Abraham, but we still have to follow our covenant the way he had to follow his – that is, without knowing exactly where it’s going to lead us.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

We may have one destination after another while we are on earth. However, the final destination we are seeking is not on earth – it’s in heaven! Every step we take here should be with a view to whether it’s getting us closer to our desired destination there. For Paul goes on in his letter to the Hebrews to say of Abraham…

Heb 11:9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
Heb 11:10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

And later in this letter Paul will write…

Heb 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

The old covenant was about occupying a certain piece of real estate; the new covenant is about going wherever the love of God leads us. And this is a way we have never fully traveled before. Thus it is written, “for you have not passed this way before.”

Josh 3:7 – #FJOT The day that God raised Jesus – that is, Joshua – from the dead was not merely the day God exalted Jesus; it was the day God “began” to exalt Jesus, for there were more glories to come. Notice Peter referring to Messiah’s “glories” (plural) which would follow His “sufferings.”

1 Pet 1:11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Jesus’ first additional glory after being raised from the dead was to be seated at the right hand of God in heaven (Ps 110:1). Even that wasn’t the last of His glories, for “the day of Christ” was still to come (Phil 1:6, 10; 2:16). What glory would be left to bestow on Jesus at His second coming? There were only two things listed in the OT prophecy below that had not been fulfilled when the New Testament documents were being written. (I put them in bold print.)

Is 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

These last two glories were checked off in the coming of the kingdom of God: The Second Coming Reveals Christ to Be God and Father.

Josh 3:10 – For more on the peoples listed in this verse, see the Canaanites. Although “Canaanites” are one of the nations mentioned, all on the list were considered Canaanites.

Josh 3:17 – God’s intention was obviously for the crossing of the Jordan River to remind the Israelites of their crossing of the Red Sea. As there was a boundary to cross in leaving the land of slavery, so also there was a boundary to cross in entering the land of freedom. Misery was to be found if excessive time was spent getting from the first boundary to the second – which, alas, occurred for the Israelites. That time in between ended up lasting forty years. We under the new covenant should learn to be on guard lest having been released from our slavery to sin should end up going around in circles rather than entering the promised land of the kingdom of God.

***** One key difference between crossing the Red Sea and crossing the Jordan River was that the ark of the covenant featured prominently in the latter but had not even been constructed when the former took place. The point for us is that we know what slavery to sin is like because it’s our point of origin, but we have to be taught how to live in the kingdom of freedom. That’s what’s new.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

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Rom 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Of course, newness is altogether appropriate for a new covenant.

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Joshua 4

Memorial Stones from the Jordan River Crossing

This chapter tells what happened after Israel crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. Joshua had the Israelites set up twelve memorial stones to commemorate the event so that generations to come would be reminded of what the Lord did here for Israel – and not just here on this day but also all that He did in the years preceding to bring them this far.

If these twelve stones are still in place and visible to the human eye, they are not easily found. The same can be said of the ark of the covenant, the stone tablets, Aaron’s rod that budded, and so on. This tells us something. What it tells us is that nothing on earth is eternal – not even the earth itself.

Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

The words of Jesus are still here, more accessible than ever – not because they are etched in stone at some sight-seeing venue, but because they keep getting copied. That copying now takes digital form as well as mechanical form while in the beginning it could only take handwritten form. It is the hunger to hear His words that causes us to keep copying them more and more. And even if we forgot them and all copies on earth were destroyed, they would still be preserved and treasured by heavenly beings.

***** All those limitations of earthly forms of memorial aside, Joshua was wise to set up memorial stones and we as men are wise to do the same for our families. We are wise to seek innovative ways to impress upon ourselves and our children memories that deserve to be cherished – memories of things God has done for our families, both universally and individually. Make sure your family makes a history with God – and then records it in memorable ways as well. If those memorials only last a few hundred years, think how much good they’ll do. And how many new memorials will result because of them.

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Joshua 5

Israel Is Circumcised

Josh 5:1 – Notice that it’s not just those who are present when God does something amazing who are affected by it; people who were not present can also be moved once they’ve “heard” about it. This is the power of the word of God.

Josh 5:2-7 – The original plan for Israel did not call for it to spend 40 years in the wilderness before entering the promised land. It would have been a year or two at most, but Israel’s rejection of God’s plan in Num 13-14 (10 of Israel’s 12 scouts predicting defeat and, as a result, the whole nation deciding to return to Egypt) caused God to sentence them to 40 years in the desert, at which time a new generation would be ready to take the reins.

Josh 5:8-9 – “Gilgal” means “rolling,” which gave the Israelites a memory hook to recall the life they were putting behind them. We likewise want to see the reproach of our old lives “rolled” away from us as we keep moving on in the new life.

Eph 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

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1 Cor 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
1 Cor 6:10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 6:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

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1 Pet 4:1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
1 Pet 4:2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
1 Pet 4:3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
1 Pet 4:4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
1 Pet 4:5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Ours is a circumcision of the heart. And ours is a spiritual journey from a spiritual Egypt to a spiritual promised land. And ours is a spiritual reproach that needs to be “rolled” away.

Josh 5:10-12 – When the need for an extraordinary miracle passes, God resumes supplying us by means of ordinary miracles.

Josh 5:13-15 – When, in the next chapter, the walls of Jericho “fall down flat” (Josh 6:5, 20), it is this commander and the forces under him who will be responsible for it – not Joshua and the forces under him. This battle would be the Lord’s. Lord, hasten the day when all our battles are yours, for as long as some are still ours, we’re wasting time.

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Joshua 6

The Walls of Jericho Come Down

As with the crossing of the Jordan River, the ark of the covenant was front and center for Israel in the battle of Jericho. The covenant defined the relationship between God and Israel; Israel’s faithfulness to the covenant would determine their fortunes – blessings if obedient, cursing if not (Lev 26; Deut 28). When leaving the slavery of Egypt, Israel’s mind was mainly on getting out of Egypt. At this point, it’s on getting into the promised land…and winning!

Josh 6:10 – The extended silence would’ve made the shout of Israel’s army all the more terrifying to the city’s inhabitants.

Josh 6:15 – The increase from once around per day to seven times around on the seventh day would’ve heightened the tensions for the city’s inhabitants.

Josh 6:17 – Rahab and her family were saved in the way that the Israelites were saved the night of the first Passover – by assembling in a protected house. In Egypt for the Israelites, it was blood on the door (Ex 12:7); in Jericho for Rahab and her family, it was a scarlet thread (Josh 2:18). For us, it is the words of Jesus in red.

Josh 6:20 – Everything else about the battle of Jericho was fanfare; it was the city walls “falling down flat” that made all the difference. And that was the work of God through His army identified in Josh 5:13-15.

Josh 6:25 – Rahab’s life follows a course that was followed by Ruth after her. That is, as Rahab from Canaan came to “live in the midst of Israel” so Ruth from Moab came to live in the midst of Israel as well. ***** There is yet another connection Rahab appears to have with Ruth. It is that Matthew in his genealogy of Jesus lists Rahab as having been the mother of Boaz (Matt 1:5) who married Ruth. Thus Rahab was King David’s great-great-grandmother, and Ruth was his great-grandmother. This also, of course, meant both women were part of Messiah’s genealogy. Like Bathsheba (Matt 1:6), Rahab and Ruth may have originally considered unworthy of being part of Jesus’ genealogy – but He made them worthy.

Josh 6:26 – Roughly 500 years after the battle of Jericho, a man named Hiel the Bethelite would violate Joshua’s oath and thereby bring its curse on his family by attempting to rebuild Jericho (1 Kings 16:34).

Josh 6:27 – #FJOT

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Joshua 7

Israel Is Defeated at Ai

Josh 7:1 – Achan’s sin in partaking of Jericho’s spoils was a clear violation of a direct order Joshua had given his soldiers before the wall fell down:

Josh 6:17 “The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
Josh 6:18 “But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it.

Achan’s sin was very much like Adam’s and Eve’s: it was doing something the Lord had explicitly said not to do. But, at this point, no one was the wiser. It appeared Achan was getting away with something. He should have remembered what Moses had said in the wilderness:

Num 32:23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

What were Eve, Adam, and Achan thinking – that God would not see or care? As the story unfolds, God will show that He did see, and just how much it bothered Him.

***** Achan’s sinned was in the battle of Jericho, but its affects on Israel did not show up until the battle of Ai. Sins effects are not always immediately seen.

Josh 7:2-3 – This is now the third time we have heard of Israel sending spies ahead to help preparations for battle. The first time was the twelve spies Moses sent to scout the land of Canaan (Num 13), and the second was the two spies Joshua sent to scout the city of Jericho (Josh 2). In this case, Joshua is sending spies to scout the city of Ai (usually pronounced as if it were two separate letters “A”-“I”). The confidence of the spies has grown each time.

Josh 7:4-5 – Notwithstanding the spies’ confidence, this first battle with Ai was a disaster. Israel was routed, and shaken by the defeat.

Josh 7:6-9 – Joshua, being a godly man, knows to go to the Lord about this matter. Moses had said in his song of warning he gave the people before he died (Deut 32) that being defeated in this way was a sign that God had withdrawn His favor from His people.

Deut 32:30 “How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the LORD had given them up?

(For more on this dynamic, see the BSN notes on “Ichabod” at 1 Sam 4:19-22 and Luke 23:31.)

***** Notice also that Joshua’s plea was not, “O God, You’ve done us wrong by letting us down!” Rather, Joshua’s concern was the Lord’s name – that is, His reputation. This is the same logic he’d seen Moses use in his intercessions with the Lord on Israel’s behalf. And it’s the same logic Jesus gave us in the way He taught us to pray:

Matt 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Matt 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

Even though God was obviously displeased with His people because of the sin of Achan, He will answer Joshua’s inquiry because Joshua has approached Him in the right way.

Josh 7:10-15 – Our hidden sins will do us in. We can hide them from other people, but we cannot hide them from the Lord. They cripple our walk with the Lord.

Josh 7:16-21 – God is not rooting out this kind of sin publicly through Jesus Christ as He did at this time in Israel. That is, He’s not dealing with nations from the top down; He dealing with individuals in every nation from the bottom up.

1 Tim 5:24 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.

Achan was a man whose sin was not evident; that is, it did not go before him to judgment. Rather, it followed after. Let’s repent of all our sins while we are on earth so they won’t have to be revealed when we go to heaven. (Everyone goes to heaven, but not everyone goes to the same place in heaven once they get there; there are lots of very different places on earth, but there are way more different places in heaven because heaven is so much bigger than earth.)

Josh 7:21 – Note that it was when Achan “saw among the spoil…” that he got off track. Lust is aroused so often through the eyes. Be careful what you look at.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Sometimes you can’t help what you happen to see, but you can avoid staring.

Josh 7:22-26 – “Achor” meant “trouble.” By naming the valley this way, the Israelites were establishing a memory hook for themselves and subsequent generations. The sting can be taken out of sin if we remain determined to learn from it.

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Joshua 8

The Conquest of Ai

Josh 8:1-29 – #FJOT Because Israel failed to keep the command of the Lord regarding things under the ban in the battle for Jericho, it was defeated at the first battle of Ai. Now, in order to get Israel back on track, God was going to have to take personal control of all the planning and Joshua was going to have to be involved in the execution every step of the way. Thus Josh 7 follows the pattern of Adam’s and Eve’s fall in the garden and Josh 8 follows the pattern that God pursued in redeeming creation. In other words, Josh 7 represents a condensation of Gen 1-3 and Josh 8 represents a condensation of the rest of the Bible (Gen 4 through Rev 22). It was a simple but profound failing (Josh 7 and Gen 1-3) that required a complex but even more profound redemption (Josh 8 and Gen 4 through Rev 22). (Repairs take longer than vandalism.) And don’t overlook the personal involvement of Joshua – who has the name of Jesus and is a type of Christ – that was required. God provided both a master plan and a Master.

Josh 8:29 – This plan of redemption would even require God to be treated as the king of Ai was treated – “hanged…on a tree until evening.” Only God would spring forth from the grave in which He was placed.

Josh 8:30-35 – Moses gave the instructions for this commemoration of the blessings and curses of the Law in Deut 11:26-32 and revisited the subject in Deut 27:1-13. In the wake of Achan’s sin and the evil it brought on Israel, this was the perfect lesson for Joshua to teach at this time. Going forward, Israel should have its mind set on obedience to the covenant if it expected blessings and not curses.

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Joshua 9

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel

Josh 9:1-2 – There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9). When God manifests His presence and power, those who would otherwise be rivals with each other unite with each other to resist Him.

Luke 23:12 Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

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Acts 4:27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

This is just the way things work in the world, for as it says in the Psalms:

Ps 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
Ps 2:3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

And so these Canaanite kings, united together in the hope of stopping Israel’s conquest of their land, were doing nothing but what Satan always inspires those in the grip of their sins to do.

Josh 9:3-15 – The inhabitants of Gibeon undertake another of Satan’s ways – deceit.

Josh 9:7 – How tragic that the Israelite leaders even had a sense that the Gibeonites might be attempting a deception – but ignored that internal warning.

Josh 9:14-15 – Given the questionable nature of the Gibeonite claims (Josh 9:7), it is all the more tragic that Israel did not seek the mind of the Lord on the matter before joining themselves in covenant to the Gibeonite people.

Josh 9:16-21 – Just as Jacob’s deception did not relieve Isaac of the responsibility to keep his word, so Gibeon’s deception did not relieve Israel of the responsibility to keep their word.

Josh 9:22-27 – The covenant between the Israelites and the Gibeonites did not prohibit the former from subjugating the latter. So that’s the way Israel played the hand they had dealt themselves. This is the way of a righteous man.

Ps 15:4 …He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

Had Joshua and Israel’s other leaders been righteous and wise, they would have inquired of the Lord before making the promise.

Prov 20:25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”
And after the vows to make inquiry.

As it was, Israel had made its bed and now had to lie in it.

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Joshua 10

The Day the Sun Stood Still

Josh 10:1-5 – After news that Israel had conquered Ai and made peace with Gibeon had spread through Canaan, one of its kings – the king of Jerusalem – formed an alliance with four other kings.

Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem
Hoham, king of Hebron
Piram, king of Jarmuth
Japhia, king of Lachish
Debir, king of Eglon

Their initial purpose was to attack Gibeon.

Josh 10:6-11 – Once attacked by the five Amorite kings, the Gibeonites invoke their treaty (covenant) with Israel by calling for a rescue. Joshua and Israel oblige, and, the Lord being with them, successfully repelled the five kings. In fact, the Lord was with Israel so powerfully that at one point, He had killed more of the enemy with His hailstones than the Israelites did with their swords.

Josh 10:12-15 – As if the hailstones weren’t enough, when Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still so that Israel could complete the conquest, the Lord granted it.

Joshua Executes Five Kings near the Cave at Makkedah

Josh 10:16-23 – While the five kings are in hiding, Joshua takes out their armies.

Josh 10:24-25 – This imagery fits with the imagery of the messianic promise in Ps 110. #FJOT

Ps 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Josh 10:26-27 – #FJOT While we do not see crucifixion per se mentioned in the Old Testament (unless you want to count Isaiah’s uncanny prophetic description in Is 53), we do see repeated references to “hanging on a tree” as means of shaming the person executed. Joseph’s jail mate, the Egyptian baker, was hung on a tree (Gen 40:19, 22; 41:13) was one case; the king of Ai was another (Josh 8:29). Moses even codified this in the Law.

Deut 21:22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Deut 21:23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

Jesus bore the shame that we – not He – deserved. How much more then should we be willing to bear shame for His name…as the apostles were.

Acts 5:40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
Acts 5:41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

What irony! He suffers our deserved shame and we suffer His undeserved shame.

Josh 10:28 – Joshua conquers a sixth king.

Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Canaan

Josh 10:29-43 – This last section of this chapter should be paired with the first section of the next chapter.

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Joshua 11

Joshua’s Conquest of Northern Canaan

Josh 11:1-15 – This first section of this chapter should be paired with the last section of the previous chapter.

Summary of Joshua’s Conquests North and South

Josh 11:16-22 – This section summarizes the entire conquest of Canaan to date.

The Conclusion of Warfare

Josh 11:23 – The war of conquest for the land of Canaan is here concluded. Israel had not driven all the Canaanites from the land, and this will be an ever-present problem for them in the years and centuries to come. That aside, Israel did conquer Canaan. The land of Canaan was now the land of Israel. That last sentence is worth repeating and emphasizing: The land of Canaan was now the land of Israel. Think back to God promising this land to Abraham and later giving Jacob the name Israel. Think of all the patience God had to exercise in order to bring about this outcome. God is faithful. ***** “Thus the land had rest from war.” – As with creation, God has designed that productive effort should lead to rest. God is not the driver of appetites that cannot be satisfied or projects that never conclude.

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Joshua 12

Catalog of Defeated Kings

In this chapter, Joshua lists all the Canaanite kings who have been defeated by Israel. It’s a pretty impressive list of wins for a bunch of former slaves with no military experience. Maybe God really was with them.

Josh 12:1-6 – In this first section of the chapter, Joshua shows deference to Moses by listing all of Israel’s victories that occurred before Joshua took over – including the defeats of Sihon and Og. Joshua could have mentioned that even when Moses was in charge, it was he Joshua who was leading the army on the battlefield…but he didn’t. #FJOT

Josh 12:3 – The “Sea of Chinneroth” is what the Sea of Galilee was called in Joshua’s day. Sometimes it was spelled “Chinnereth” or “Kinnereth.” It was in the northern part of Canaan. The “Salt Sea” was the Dead Sea. It was in the southern part.

Josh 12:7-24 – In this section, Joshua lists all the kings defeated by Israel during his tenure as Israel’s leader.

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Joshua 13

Joshua Divides Canaan Among Israel’s Tribes

Josh 13:1-7 – Although victory over the land of Canaan had been declared (Josh 11:23), there were still pockets of land to be conquered. The Lord through Moses had warned Israel that they should not stop short of a full and complete conquest.

Num 33:55 ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live.

Because Israel did not fully drive out all the inhabitants of the land, they did end up with “pricks in their eyes” and “thorns in their sides.” For example, the Philistines would torment the Israelites not just in the time of Joshua, but during the times of the Judges (including Samson) and into David’s time (Goliath being a notable example). ***** Even though they failed to clear all the land of Canaanites, Israel still had to occupy the land that they had cleared. This meant apportioning the land to every family through the various tribes. There were nine and a half tribes who were to receive land in Canaan proper (meaning west of the Jordan River) – the two and a half tribes already having been given their land east of the Jordan per the agreement worked out in Num 32.

The Inheritance of the Two and a Half Tribes East of the Jordan River

Josh 13:8-14 – This is the land east of the Jordan River assigned to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Josh 13:15-23 – This was the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben (east of the Jordan River).

Josh 13:24-28 – This was the inheritance of the tribe of Gad (east of the Jordan River).

Josh 13:29-31 – This was the inheritance of the half-tribe of Manasseh (east of the Jordan River).

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Joshua 14

The Inheritance of the Nine and a Half Tribes West of the Jordan River

Josh 14:1-2 – Eleazar the priest is serving alongside Joshua as Eleazar’s father Aaron served alongside Moses. This verse provides the first bookend of the division of the land among the nine-and-a-half tribes; Josh 19:51 provides the other.

Josh 14:3 – Moses had apportioned the land for Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan River, but he did not allocate cities for some of the Levites there. Joshua and Eleazar will take care of this when they parcel out the Levite cities for all twelve tribes in Josh 21.

Josh 14:4 – Recall that Jacob gave a double portion of inheritance to Joseph for his service to the family. Half of that was given to Joseph’s first son Manasseh and the other half to his second son Ephraim. This keeps the number of tribes for distribution of the land at twelve when you leave out the tribe of Levi.

Josh 14:5 – In all that Joshua and Eleazar are doing, they are following the Law the Lord gave through Moses. Moses casts a long shadow. Joshua is not free-lancing – he’s executing the plan God gave Moses. #FJOT Types of Christ

John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Caleb Makes a Request

Josh 14:6-12 – Caleb is referring to the events of Num 13-14 when he and Joshua alone out of the twelve spies believed that Israel – with God’s help – could take the land from the Canaanites.

Joshua Grants Caleb’s Request

Josh 14:13-15 – Hebron is where the Judahite David will first become king (2 Sam 2:1-4).

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Joshua 15

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Judah

These descriptions of apportioned territory are easier for us to comprehend by looking at a map. Maps are often in the back of a Bible. Additionally, you can find Bible maps for free by searching online.

Josh 15:13-19 – Caleb takes his promised land and awards his daughter Achsah as a wife to Othniel. We will see Othniel again in Judg 3:7-11 as one of Israel’s judges.

***** In the New Testament, James says…

James 4:2 …You do not have because you do not ask.

Caleb asked Joshua for a desired piece of land (Josh 14:6-15)…and received. Now his daughter Ashsah, like a chip off the old block, asks her father for springs…and receives them.

Josh 15:63 – It would be roughly 400 more years before Israel would drive the Jebusites from Jerusalem – in the time that David was king.

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Joshua 16

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Ephraim

Josh 16:10 – Another example of Canaanites not completely driven out of the land. (The BSN note above on Josh 13:1-7 explains why this was a problem.)

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Joshua 17

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Manasseh

Josh 17:3-6 – The story of the daughters of Zelophehad is told in Num 27:1-11 and Num 36.

Josh 17:12-13 – It was a recurring problem for the the twelve tribes that they did not completely drive out all the Canaanites when they first conquered the land. The BSN note above on Josh 13:1-7 explains how God had warned them about this…but to no avail.)

Josh 17:14-18 – God’s blessing on Joseph had made his tribe particularly fruitful among his brothers’. Only Judah rivaled him in the number of descendants. And if you can find a map of how the land was divided among the twelve tribes, you’ll see that Joseph (through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh) were allocated more land than any of the other tribes. They were telling Joshua they needed even more land, but wanted it to be “easy” land – that is, land that wasn’t occupied by Canaanites with “chariots of iron.” Joshua was having none of it. He told the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh to put on their big boy pants and take from the Canaanites – not from their fellow Israelites – whatever additional land they needed.

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Joshua 18

The Tabernacle Is Placed in Shiloh

Josh 18:1 – Shiloh was home for the tabernacle until the temple was built in Jerusalem. This marks the interim phase of Israel’s place of worship. In all three phases, this place of worship was central in the nation’s life.

First Phase – The tabernacle, like a camper or mobile home, is moved about the wilderness from one place to another for 40 years.
Second Phase – The tabernacle stays in one place – Shiloh – because Israel was now staying in one place. Shiloh was in the center of Canaan, much as Washington DC was established in the center of the 13 new states.
Final Phase – The tabernacle is replaced by a permanent temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was slightly south of Shiloh (20 miles) and therefore slightly south of the center of the country, but Shiloh was in Ephraim’s territory while Jerusalem was in Judah’s territory. Since Israel’s future lay with David and his greater descendant (the Messiah), the relocation of the nation’s capital made sense. It also helped that Jerusalem was a more defensible location, as demonstrated in how long it took Israel to take it. (David captured Jerusalem roughly 400 years after Joshua conquered Canaan.)

When Messiah came, He would render physical place in the matter of worship obsolete.

John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Jesus is our eternal Shiloh. #FJOT

Gen 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Five Tribes Assigned; Seven More to Go

Josh 18:2 – Moses had assigned the land east of the Jordan to the two and a half tribes who asked for it. As for the promised land itself, Joshua has assigned land to the larger tribes first: Judah and the two tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). Now he turns to the remaining seven tribes.

Josh 18:3 – Those of us who procrastinate need such prods from God. For other such motivators, see Judg 18:9; 1 Kgs 18:21; 2 Kgs 7:3-4.

Josh 18:4-6 – The larger tribes of Judah and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) would secure the southern and northern sections of the land, respectively. The other tribes would be fitted in and around them. Since the promised land was now Israel’s, they would have to defend it and Joshua was placing the strongest tribes in strategic positions. Relevant to this point, recall that Joshua had described their conquest of Canaan in a “divide-and-conquer” way, addressing southern Canaan in Josh 10 and northern Canaan in Josh 11.

Josh 18:7 – Joshua reminds us why the the tribes of Levi, and the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan are not under consideration in this phase of land allocation.

Josh 18:8-10 – Since Shiloh has become the provisional capital of Israel (Josh 18:1), this is where the land allocation for the remaining tribes will be settled once the remaining surveys have been completed.

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin

Josh 18:11-28 – The tribe of Benjamin was significant first of all because Benjamin was Rachel’s second child and she died in the birthing of him – Rachel being Jacob’s first love. Benjamin was also Jacob’s twelfth and last son. The territory assigned to Benjamin was nestled tightly between Ephraim (on the north) and Judah (on the south).

The tribe of Benjamin would – in about 350 years – produce Israel’s first king, Saul (1 Sam 9:21), When the kingdom of Israel split in two after the reign of King Solomon, Benjamin was the only tribe that remained united with Judah. This was in no small part a reflection of the relationship David had with King Saul and especially his son Jonathan. Almost a millennium after that, another Benjamite named Saul, better known as the apostle Paul (Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5) would come on the scene…and leave his mark on the world, which was the mark of Christ.

The city of Jerusalem sat on the border of Judah (Josh 15:63) and Benjamin (Josh 18:28; Judg 1:21). This was yet another connection between the two tribes.

Lastly, it’s even worth remembering how, long before all this, Judah pled with Pharaoh’s servant (Joseph) for the welfare of Benjamin – even offering to take Benjamin’s place (Gen 44:18-34)! #FJOT

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Joshua 19

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Simeon

Josh 19:1-9

Josh 19:9 – That Judah’s territory was large enough to absorb Simeon’s tribe was fitting given the respective prophecies Jacob had spoken about his sons in Gen 49. Judah was to be ascendant over the three born before him (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi).

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Zebulun

Josh 19:10-16

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Issachar

Josh 19:17-23

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Asher

Josh 19:24-31

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Naphtali

Josh 19:32-39

The Territory Assigned to the Tribe of Dan

Josh 19:40-48

Josh 19:47 – The city of Leshem was in the far north of the promised land. When it was renamed “Dan,” this set the stage for the eventual expression “from Dan to Beersheba” For ancient Israelites, this was like saying, “From Bangor, Maine to Key West, Florida” since Dan was Israel’s northernmost city and Beersheba was its southernmost.

Joshua’s Inheritance

Josh 19:49-50 – Since Joshua was an Ephraimite, it made sense that he would choose to inhabit a city within the territory allocated to the tribe of Ephraim.

Conclusion

Josh 19:51 – This verse provides second bookend of the division of the land among the nine-and-half tribes; Josh 14:1-2 provides the first.

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Joshua 20

6 Cities of Refuge

Josh 20:1-9 – These “cities of refuge” were first directed by Moses in Num 35:6-34, and again in Deut 19:1-13. The three cities chosen for this designation on the eastern side of the Jordan River (where the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were to dwell) were named in Deut 4:41-43. And those three designations are repeated here in verse 8, after three cities for Canaan proper (the western side of the Jordan River) are named in verse 7.

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Joshua 21

48 Cities of the Levites

Josh 21:1-42 – The tribe of Levi did not receive a territory of their own like the rest of the tribes. Instead, they were given individual cities and pasture lands within the territories of all the other tribes. This gave all tribes local access to the Levites – Israel’s priests.

This allocation to the Levites included the six cities of refuge (see BSN note above on Josh 20:1-9 for more on these special-purpose cities).

Josh 21:43-45 – This passage sounds two recurring themes of the book of Joshua:

The Lord keeps His promises.
The Lord gives His people rest.

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Joshua 22

The Two and a Half Tribes Return to Their Inheritance

Josh 22:1-9 – The account of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh requesting to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan River rather than actually in the land of Canaan which was to the west of the Jordan was first reported in Num 32. This wrinkle in the plan has been mentioned several times since, mainly because a condition of the promise to grant their request was that the two and a half tribes would fight alongside the nine and a half tribes until the latter’s land was secured. Since that has now been accomplished, the two and half tribes are free to return to their inheritance where they had left their wives, children, and livestock before all the fighting began.

The Offensive Altar

Josh 22:1-12 – The two and a half tribes – Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh – build an altar on the east side of the Jordan River, offending the nine and a half tribes. It seemed to the nine and a half that the two and half were violating the law of the Lord through Moses that all sacrifices were to be made at the altar in the tabernacle.

Josh 22:13-16 – Rather than attack the two and half tribes without notice, the nine and a half tribes send a delegation to them under the direction of Phinehas the priest, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron.

Josh 22:17 – The “iniquity of Peor” spoken of here was first reported in Num 25. This incident would quickly come to mind for everyone present because Phinehas had made a name for himself in dealing with that matter and he was here the leading spokesman for the nine and a half tribes against the two and half tribes.

Josh 22:19 – Here is the essence of the problem: the two and a half tribes, by building this altar, seem to be disrespecting the tabernacle that sits in Shiloh. That tabernacle was to be the only place that sacrifices were offered – more specifically, the only place there was to be an altar.

Josh 22:20 – The Achan incident is recorded in Josh 7.

Josh 22:21-29 – The two and a half tribes ably defend their action in building the altar. It was for memorial purposes only.

Josh 22:30-31 – Phinehas and the rest of the delegation graciously accept the explanation given by the leaders of the two and half tribes. I say “graciously” because one could wonder why the two and half tribes didn’t inform the nine and half tribes of the rationale for the memorial before it was built.

Josh 22:32-33 – When the delegation brings back word to Shiloh, it is accepted and warfare is called off.

Josh 22:34 – The obvious issue in this incident was the perception that the Law of Moses was being violated, but the less obvious background reality to the misunderstanding was that all parties had a concern not just for their own generation but for future ones as well. This narcissistic age in which you and I live shows practically no concern for future generations – even for the one staring them in the face. Instead, like Canaanites, the present generation uses children for selfish purposes – as accessories and collectibles which are either boasted about or discarded. We must separate ourselves from such attitudes lest we be caught in the wrath that is surely coming. (Judgment Is upon Us) (Repentance Is Required)

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Joshua 23

Joshua Reviews His History with Israel

Josh 23:1-16 – According to Ussher’s Chronology, Joshua is giving this farewell to his countrymen about a quarter-century after he took over for Moses. In this chapter, he reviews what he has experienced with them (that is, what is recorded in the book of Joshua to this point), and draws conclusions that should guide Israelite behavior after he is gone. Specifically, he wants the Israelites to know that they will prosper greatly if they are faithful to God and suffer miserably if they do not. This is just the way that Moses and all the prophets exhorted the people of God: by pointing out both the kindness and the severity of God as manifested in His blessings and curses.

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Joshua 24

Joshua Reviews the History of Israel from Abraham’s Time

Josh 24:1-28 – Joshua essentially makes the same point in this speech (chapter) as he did in the previous one, except that in this one he draws from the entire history of Israel beginning with Abraham (recorded in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua to this point) – not just what he and his contemporaries had experienced in their lifetimes.

The Remainder of the Book of Joshua

Just as last part of Deuteronomy was likely written by Joshua (see BSN note on Deut 34), so this last part of the book of Joshua was likely written by the author of the book of Judges (Samuel).

Josh 24:29 – Joshua dies at the age of 110. He lived almost as long as Moses who died at 120 (Deut 34:7).

Josh 24:30 – Joshua is buried in the place he had chosen for his inheritance (Josh 19:49-50).

Josh 24:31 – #FJOT “Israel [the New Testament church, which was the church that Jesus built as He promised in Mt 16:18] served the LORD [God] all the days of Joshua [Jesus] and all the days of the elders [the apostles] who survived Joshua [Jesus], and had known all the deeds of the LORD [God in Christ] which He had done for Israel [the New Testament church; that is, those who believed in Jesus].

Josh 24:32 – This act was to fulfill the promise Joseph extracted from his brothers before he died (Gen 50:24-25) – a promise Moses was careful to remember when Israel departed from Egypt (Ex 13:19). That is, Joseph believed God’s promise to his great-grandfather (Abraham), his grandfather (Isaac), and his father (Jacob/Israel) that their descendants would eventually receive the land of Canaan as an inheritance. In anticipation, Joseph requested that his bones not remain in Egypt but rather be relocated to Canaan when that blessed time came. In making this request, Joseph was merely living out his faith.

***** Moses had written about the Shechem land purchase in Gen 33:18-20. The city of Shechem was in the land allotted to Ephraim (Joseph’s son) by Joshua, near its border with Manasseh (Joseph’s other brother). Thus Joseph’s bones were appropriately being relocated to land inherited by his descendants. (Had his remains been relocated to the Cave of Machpelah – where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah were buried – his bones would have been inappropriately buried near Hebron, which was in the territory assigned to the descendants of his brother Judah.)

Josh 24:33 – Aaron’s four sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (Ex 28:1). All four ministered as priests, but Nadab and Abihu lost their lives by not treating the Lord as holy (Lev 10:1-3). Phinehas was Eleazar’s son. Nadab and Abihu did not have sons (1 Chr 24:2), but since Eleazar and Ithamar did, Aaron’s priesthood continued on through them (1 Chr 24:4-5). Unlike Aaron, Jesus is not “prevented by death from continuing” in His priestly role.

Heb 7:23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,
Heb 7:24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

This is but one of the ways in which Jesus has “a more excellent ministry.”

Heb 8:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

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