[Jesus said] “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18
Binding and Loosing
In Matthew, chapter eighteen, Jesus explains that, if a Christian sees a fellow Christian caught in a sin, they have a responsibility to point it out to them.
He goes on to say that if the person refuses to listen to repeated warnings and persists in unrepentant sin, there comes a point when they are to be regarded as an unbeliever. But if they listen, acknowledge their sin, and turn from it, then, Jesus says, “You have won them over.” They are restored, and all is well again between them and God!
Jesus explains why this is true: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).
Jesus is not saying that Christians make statements on earth that somehow become true in heaven. It’s actually the opposite. What we declare on earth simply reflects what is already true before God in heaven.
When a Christian continues to live in sin despite repeated warning from other Christians, that sin is bound to them. It is like a heavy chain they cannot break. As long as they persist in it, they remain guilty before God. Since that is already true in heaven, wouldn’t you want them to know it here on earth? By warning them, you give them the opportunity to turn from their sin and live.
Because when a sinner acknowledges their sin, turns from it, and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness, that burden is loosed. The chains are removed. They are forgiven. Jesus has already paid for that sin by his death on the cross. Forgiveness was won long before they ever sought it. Since that forgiveness is already theirs before God through Christ, wouldn’t you want to announce it to them here on earth?
That is what binding and loosing are all about. You simply declare on earth what is already true in heaven: warning the unrepentant of their danger and assuring the repentant of Christ’s full forgiveness. Thank God for brothers and sisters in Christ who do the same for you!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to confident speak what is true before you in heaven here on earth. Amen.
[Jesus said] “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” Matthew 18:15
Your Brother’s or Sister’s Keeper
With these words, Jesus wants you to know that you are your brother’s or sister’s keeper. Now, because this concept can be so easily misunderstood, it’s helpful to define exactly what Jesus means.
In this case, a brother or sister is someone who belongs to the same spiritual family, someone who shares your faith in Jesus Christ. And this is a brother or sister who has sinned. They have done something God clearly forbids or failed to do something God clearly commands.
This is also someone who needs to be shown their sin. Perhaps they are unaware that what they are doing is sinful. Or perhaps they know exactly what the Bible says but have chosen to continue anyway. Jesus is talking about people who have given themselves over to a deliberate pattern of sin.
Understand, then, what Jesus is not saying. He is not sending you out to confront every stranger you meet. He is not telling you to correct those who think or act differently than you. He isn’t commanding you to challenge people simply because they disagree with you or irritate you. Rather, Jesus sends you to a fellow believer who has clearly wandered into sin and is persisting in it.
Why does he do it? Why does he send us to be our brother or sister’s keeper?
Because deliberate, unrepentant sin is dangerous. Left unchecked, it destroys people’s faith. If someone you loved were heading toward a cliff without realizing it, wouldn’t you warn them? How much more when their eternal life is at stake?
There is another reason too. If a brother or sister repents of their sin, they receive full and immediate forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The Savior who died for every sin has already paid for theirs as well. Wouldn’t you want them to know that? Wouldn’t you want to be the one to tell them that good news?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, strengthen me to act as my brother’s and sister’s keeper. Thank you for allowing me to tell your people what they need to hear. Amen.
[Jesus said] “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” Matthew 18:15
Forgiving and Forgetting
When Jesus lived in this world, he demonstrated again and again his great love for people. He helped them with their physical needs, but more importantly he shared with them the message which satisfied their spiritual needs. He stated that he had come to seek and save the lost. The lost sometimes included people with whom he was well acquainted. Recall, for example, how Jesus went to Peter who had disgracefully denied his Lord and reminded Peter of his sin and then lovingly restored his apostle.
In today’s Bible passage, Jesus is speaking about the personal ministry we have with and for other Christians. When we see a Christian slip into sin and continue to live impenitently in that sin, Jesus wants us to do something about it. Jesus’ concern is not that we try to reform a fellow Christian’s irritating habits or change his personality quirks. He is speaking about living impenitently in a particular sin which defies the Word of God. Can we dare to become apathetic about a person who is in danger of eternal separation from God? Hardly!
Jesus says, “Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Take the initiative. Don’t wait for the person to come to you. And go alone first. Keep the matter as private as possible. Jesus doesn’t want sin spread around.
When you have pointed out someone’s sin, and he listens to you and agrees, then assure him that God forgives him and so do you. Then be sure to leave the sin behind. If not letting go of someone else’s past and forgiven sins is something you struggle with, take this to God in prayer. Ask your heavenly Father to help you forgive and forget the sin of others just as he has dealt with your sin through Christ. God declares, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, as you have forgiven me through Jesus, so help me to forgive others from the heart and gladly do good to those who sin against me. Amen.
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1 When all the kings who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, [1] in the Shephelah, [2] and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea [3] as far as Lebanon (the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites) heard what had happened, 2 they gathered together with one purpose: to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they responded by coming up with a clever scheme: They gathered their provisions as if they were going on a trip. [4] They loaded worn-out sacks on their donkeys and wineskins that were worn-out, split, and mended. 5 They put worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and they put on worn-out clothing. All the bread in their provisions was dried out. It had begun to crumble. 6 Then they came to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal and told him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a land far away. So now, make a treaty with us.”
7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?”
8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
So Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”
9 They said to him, “Because of the Name of the Lord your God, your servants have come from a land very far away. For we heard the report about him and all that he did in Egypt 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were in the area east of the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. 11 Our elders and all the inhabitants of our land said to us, ‘Take in your hand provisions for the journey and go to meet them. You should say to them, “We are your servants, so now make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was hot when we packed for the trip at our houses on the day we set out to come to you. Now, look, it is dried out and has become crumbs! 13 The wineskins were new when we filled them. Look, they have burst! Look at our clothing and our sandals. They wore out because of the great length of the journey.”
14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but they did not seek the word of the Lord. 15 So Joshua made peace with them. He made a treaty with them to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.
16 But three days after they had made the treaty with them, the Israelites heard that they were their neighbors, that is, that they were living among them. 17 So the people of Israel set out and came to the Gibeonites’ cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Be’eroth, [5] and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. So the whole community grumbled against the leaders.
19 All the leaders said to the community, “We swore an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so now we are not able to touch them. 20 This is what we should do with them: We will keep them alive so that there will not be anger against us because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 Then the leaders said to the community, “They shall live!” So they became wood cutters and water carriers for the whole community, just as the leaders had advised concerning them.
22 Then Joshua summoned them and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when in fact you live right among us? 23 So now you are cursed! The name ‘slave’ will never be removed from you. You will always be wood cutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were told very clearly that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land from your presence. We feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we did this. 25 So here we are, in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your eyes to do to us, do it.”
26 So that is what he did to them. He saved them from the hand of the people of Israel so that they did not kill them. 27 On that day Joshua designated them as wood cutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord, for the place the Lord would choose, until this very day.
Footnotes
Joshua 9:1 Or highlands. The word traditionally translated hill country is the same Hebrew word that means mountain. But in many cases, as it does here, it refers to highland regions, not to a mountain peak. This translation retains the traditional rendering hill country for the highland regions of Israel.
Joshua 9:1 The Shephelah is the region of foothills west of the central mountain range of Israel.
Joshua 9:1 Hebrew Great Sea
Joshua 9:4 The meaning of this sentence is uncertain.
Joshua 9:17 The stop mark ′ is inserted into some names as a pronunciation guide. The double vowel in Beer should not be read as one syllable, Beer, but as two syllables, Be-er.
1 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid. Do not be overwhelmed. Take with you the whole military force [1] and get ready to go up to Ai. You see, I have given the king of Ai into your hand with his people, his city, and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king, but its plunder and its livestock you may take as spoils of war for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city on the west side of it.”
3 So Joshua and the whole military force got ready to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, strong warriors, and sent them out during the night. 4 He commanded them, “See to it that you set up an ambush against the city on its west side, not very far from the city. All of you are to be on alert. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When the men of Ai come out to face us just as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 6 They will come out after us until we lure them away from the city, because they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us just as they did the first time!’ and we will flee from them. 7 Then you are to spring up from the ambush and seize the city, and the Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, you are to set the city on fire. According to the word of the Lord you are to act in this way. Look, I have commanded you.”
9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place for the ambush. They lay hidden on the west side of Ai, between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people of the main force.
10 Joshua got up early in the morning, and he mustered the people. Then he went up—he and the elders of Israel—leading the main force of the people to Ai. 11 The whole military force that was with him went up and advanced. They arrived opposite the city, and they camped north of Ai. The valley was between Joshua and Ai. 12 He had taken about five thousand men and set them as an ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
13 This is how they positioned the people: The whole army that had come from the camp was north of the city, but the detachment in the ambush was west of the city. That night Joshua went out into the middle of the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw this, the men of the city got up quickly and went out to face Israel in battle—the king and all his people—at the chosen place [2] facing the Arabah. But he did not know that there was an ambush for him west of the city. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled toward the wilderness. 16 All the people that were in the city were marshaled to pursue them. As they pursued Joshua, they were lured away from the city. 17 So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point toward Ai with the javelin that is in your hand, because I will give Ai into your hand.” So Joshua reached out toward the city with the javelin that was in his hand. 19 The ambush force quickly sprang up from its place and came running as soon as he reached out his hand. Then they went into the city, took it, and quickly set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai turned to look behind them, and, to their surprise, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky! They were not strong enough to escape this way or that, because the people of Israel who had been fleeing toward the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush force had taken the city and that smoke was rising from the city, they turned back and struck the men of Ai. 22 Then the other Israelites came out of the city against the men of Ai so that they were trapped in the middle of Israel, with some Israelites on this side of them and some on that. So Israel struck them down until there was no one left, no survivor, no escapee. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai who were in the open country of the wilderness, into which the men of Ai had pursued them, and when all of the men of Ai had fallen by the edge [3] of the sword so that they were finished off, then all Israel turned back to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 All those who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua did not lower his hand that held the javelin until he had completely destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 But the livestock and the plunder from that city the Israelites took as spoils of war for themselves, according to the word of the Lord that he had commanded Joshua.
28 Then Joshua burned Ai and reduced it to a mound of rubble, which lies in ruins to this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ai on a tree [4] until evening. When the sun was setting, Joshua gave the command, and they took down his corpse from the tree and threw it at the entrance to the gatehouse of the city. Then they erected a large heap of stones over him, which remains to this day.
The Altar at Mount Ebal
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the people of Israel. According to the directions written in the Book of the Law of Moses, it was an altar of uncut stones, upon which no one had used an iron tool. They offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on it, and they also sacrificed fellowship offerings.
32 There on the stones Joshua wrote a copy of the Law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the people of Israel.
33 All Israel with its elders and officers and its judges were standing on both sides of the ark facing the priests from the tribe of Levi who held the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Both the resident aliens and the native-born stood there, half in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded previously, so that the people of Israel could be blessed.
34 After that, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, exactly as all of it is written in the Book of the Law.
35 There was not one word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read aloud before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the children, and the aliens living among them.
Footnotes
Joshua 8:1 Literally the people of war
Joshua 8:14 The battle site may have been chosen by either army or dictated by the terrain.
1 The people of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things. Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things, and the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go up and spy on [1] the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.
3 They returned to Joshua and told him, “All the people do not need to go up. Let about two or three thousand men go up, and they can defeat Ai. Do not trouble all the people with going up there, because there are only a few people in Ai.” 4 So about three thousand men from among the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck dead about thirty-six of them. They pursued them from the city gate as far as Shebarim, [2] and they struck them dead on the way down the descent. So the hearts of the people melted and turned to water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell down with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord until evening—he and the elders of Israel. They also threw dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, “Ah, my Lord God! Why did you bring this people across the Jordan to place us into the hand of the Amorites to exterminate us? If only we had been willing to settle in the area on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Please bear with me, my Lord! What can I say after Israel has turned its back before its enemies? 9 Now the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?”
10 Then the Lord gave directions to Joshua:
You, get up! Why are you falling on your face? 11 Israel has sinned! They have transgressed [3] the covenant that I commanded for them! Yes, they have even taken some of the devoted things. They have stolen! They have deceived! Yes, they have even placed the devoted things that they stole among their own goods. 12 That is why the people of Israel are not able to stand before their enemies. They turned their backs before their enemies because they have become liable to destruction. I will not continue to be with you unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
13 Get up and consecrate the people. You are to tell them: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Things devoted to destruction are in your midst, Israel. You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove the devoted things from your midst.
14 In the morning you are to present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord identifies [4] is to come forward by clans. The clan that the Lord identifies is to come forward by households. The household that the Lord identifies is to come forward one man at a time. 15 Then the man who is caught with the devoted things is to be burned with fire—he and all that belongs to him—because he transgressed the covenant of the Lord and because he committed sacrilege in Israel.
16 Joshua got up early in the morning, and he had Israel come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe of Judah was identified. 17 Then he had the tribe of Judah come forward, and he identified the clan of the Zerahites. Next, he had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by individual families, and Zabdi’s family was identified. 18 Then he had Zabdi’s household come forward one man at a time, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was identified.
19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory now to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him praise. Now tell me what you did. Do not conceal it from me.”
20 Achan answered Joshua, “It is true. I am the one who has sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 Among the plunder I saw an expensive Mesopotamian robe, [5] a fine one, and two hundred shekels of silver and one wedge [6] of gold—it weighed fifty shekels. [7] I coveted them and I took them. Now they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is underneath it.”
22 So Joshua sent agents. They ran to the tent, and there it was! The robe was hidden in his tent, and the silver was underneath it! 23 They took them from the middle of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel, where they poured them out before the Lord.
24 Then Joshua took Achan son of Zerah and the silver, the garment, and the wedge of gold, as well as Achan’s sons and his daughters, his ox, his donkey and his flock, and his tent and everything that belonged to him—so all Israel, led by Joshua, brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you this day!”
Then all Israel stoned Achan to death. They also burned him and them [8] with fire, and they pelted them with stones. 26 They erected a large heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the heat of his anger. For that reason the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor [9] to this day.
Footnotes
Joshua 7:2 Or scout
Joshua 7:5 Shebarim may mean the quarries.
Joshua 7:11 Or broken or violated
Joshua 7:14 Or selects
Joshua 7:21 Literally a robe from Shinar
Joshua 7:21 Or bar
Joshua 7:21 A shekel is about ⅖ of an ounce.
Joshua 7:25 The text does not specify whether this refers to Achan’s family, his possessions, or both.
1 When all the kings of the Amorites who were in the region west of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the people of Israel until we [1] had crossed over, their hearts melted, and they lost all courage in the presence of the Israelites.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise the sons of Israel again, a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives, and he circumcised the sons of Israel at the Hill of the Foreskins.
4 This is the reason Joshua had to circumcise the men of Israel again: All the people who came up out of Egypt—all the males, the fighting men—died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. 5 All the people who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey after they had come out from Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 Yes, for forty years the Israelites walked through the wilderness until the whole nation was gone—all the fighting men who had gone out from Egypt, who had not listened to the voice of the Lord. The Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their sons, whom the Lord had raised up in their place, whom Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since the people had not circumcised them during the journey.
8 When the whole nation had been circumcised, they stayed at their places in the camp until they recuperated.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is Gilgal [2] to this day.
10 While the people of Israel were camped at Gilgal, they celebrated the Passover on the plain near Jericho on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening at sunset. 11 They ate from the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. On that very day they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after the first day that they had eaten from the produce of the land. The people of Israel no longer received manna. Instead, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army Leads the Campaign
13 When Joshua was at Jericho, he looked up and saw a man was standing right there in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?”
14 The man said, “Neither! I have now come as the commander of the army of the Lord.” Joshua fell with his face to the ground and worshipped. Then he said to him, “What does my Lord have to say to his servant?”
15 The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did so.
Joshua 6
1 Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites. There was no one going out and no one coming in.
2 So the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho and its king into your hands even though they are strong warriors. 3 You shall march around the city with all the fighting men. Circle the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Seven priests shall carry seven special ram’s horns [3] in front of the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times with the priests blowing the ram’s horns. 5 When there is a long blast on the special ram’s horn of jubilee, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, [4] all the people shall shout with a loud war cry. Then the wall of the city will collapse on itself, and the people [5] will go up into the city, one man after another.”
The Fall of Jericho
6 So Joshua son of Nun called for the priests and said to them, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant, and seven priests shall carry seven special ram’s horns in front of the Ark of the Lord.” 7 Then he said to the people, “Move out. March around the city. The armed contingent shall march in front of the Ark of the Lord.”
8 When Joshua had given orders to the people, the seven priests with the seven special ram’s horns moved forward in front of the Lord, blowing the ram’s horns continuously, with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord following them. 9 The armed contingent was marching ahead of the priests, who were blowing the ram’s horns, and the rear guard was following the ark. The priests kept blowing the ram’s horns as they went. 10 But to the people Joshua had given the order, “Do not shout and do not let your voice be heard. Do not let a word go out of your mouth until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” 11 So he had the Ark of the Lord go around the city, sending it out to circle the city one time. Then they came back to the camp and spent the night there.
12 Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests lifted up the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the seven special ram’s horns moved forward in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing the ram’s horns continuously. The armed contingent was marching in front of them, and the rear guard was following behind the Ark of the Lord. The priests kept blowing the ram’s horns as they went. 14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 Then on the seventh day they got up early, at daybreak, and they marched around the city seven times, following the directions they had been given. It was only on the seventh day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 Then on the seventh time, the priests blew the ram’s horns, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout, because the Lord has given you the city! 17 The city will be devoted to destruction. [6] The city and everything in it will be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute will live—she along with all who are with her in the house—because she hid the agents whom we sent. 18 But you must keep away from the things devoted to destruction, or you will make yourselves subject to destruction by taking some of the devoted things, and you will make the camp of Israel subject to destruction and bring disaster upon it. 19 But all the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to [7] the Lord. They must go into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 So the people shouted, and the priests blew the ram’s horns. When the people heard the sound of the ram’s horns, they shouted with a loud war cry. Then the wall collapsed on itself, and the people went up into the city, one man after another. So they captured the city. 21 Then they applied the decree of destruction by the edge of the sword to everything that was in the city—both men and women, young and old, and also the oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
22 To the two men who had spied on the land Joshua said, “Go to the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and everyone who belongs to her, just as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had acted as spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and everyone who belonged to her. They brought out all her family members, and they settled them outside the camp of Israel.
24 But the city and everything in it they burned with fire. Only the silver and gold and the bronze and iron vessels were placed into the treasury of the House of the Lord. 25 But Joshua spared the lives of Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and everyone who belonged to her, and she has lived within Israel to this day, because she hid the agents that Joshua sent to spy on Jericho.
26 At that time Joshua swore an oath:
Cursed before the Lord is the man who sets out to rebuild this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.
27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread through the whole land.
Footnotes
Joshua 5:1 Hebrew variant they
Joshua 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for roll away.
Joshua 6:4 Literally ram’s horns of the jubilees. The account uses two different Hebrew words for ram’s horns: shofar, which is the usual word for ram’s horns, and yobel, a special name for the jubilee ram’s horns. The translation uses the rendering special ram’s horns when yobel is part of the expression. Since ram’s horn is the technical name of the instrument, ram’s horns remains the proper form of the name even when there is more than one horn.
Joshua 6:5 Literally when there is a long blast of the horn of the jubilee, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn. These may be two parallel statements referring to one type of instrument.
Joshua 6:5 In Joshua the word people often refers to the rank and file of the army, not to the whole nation. The army was not a standing professional army, but more like the United States National Guard or Reserves.
Joshua 6:17 The Hebrew root cherem, which is translated devoted to destruction, usually indicates that the Lord, as a verdict of his just judgment, has declared that someone or something is to be destroyed completely. In some cases in which there is no reference to a divine decree, cherem may be translated total destruction.
1 After Joshua had gotten up early in the morning, he and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and arrived at the Jordan. They stayed there until they crossed over. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp 3 and gave this order to the people: “As soon as you see the priests from the tribe of Levi carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, you are to set out from your position and follow the ark. 4 But keep a distance between you and the ark—about three thousand feet. [1] Do not get too close to it, so that you can determine which way you should go, because you have never crossed over this way before.”
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
6 Then Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and pass by in front of the people.” So they lifted up the Ark of the Covenant and went ahead of the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You are the one who will give this order to the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant: ‘As soon as you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you are to stand still in the Jordan.’”
9 Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come closer to me and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Then Joshua said, “This is how you will know that the Living God is among you and that he will most certainly drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, [2] the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites: 11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is about to cross over the Jordan ahead of you. 12 So now choose for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. 13 As soon as the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from upstream will be cut off, and they will stand up in one heap.”
14 So the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, and the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of the people. 15 As soon as the priests carrying the ark came to the Jordan, and as soon as their feet dipped into the edge of the water (the Jordan is full and overflows all its banks during all the days of the grain harvest), 16 the waters flowing down from upstream came to a standstill. The waters piled up in one heap, very far away, at Adam, the town that is next to Zarethan, and the waters flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, [3] were completely cut off. So the people crossed the Jordan opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing over on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
The Monument
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord told Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and give them the following orders: ‘Pick up twelve stones from here in the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests are standing securely. Carry them over with you and put them at the place where you will stay tonight.’”
4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had selected from the people of Israel—a man from each tribe. 5 Joshua said to them, “Go to the middle of the Jordan in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. There each man is to lift up one stone on his shoulder. The number will correspond to the number of the tribes descended from the sons of Israel, 6 so that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in the future, ‘What do these stones mean for you?’ 7 Then you shall respond to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. When the ark passed through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will serve as a permanent memorial for the people of Israel.”
8 So the people of Israel did just as Joshua had ordered. They picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, corresponding to the number of the tribes descended from the sons of Israel, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried the stones over with them to their lodging place and deposited them there. 9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the feet of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had stood. [4] They are there to this day.
10 The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people had been accomplished, just as Moses had commanded Joshua. The people moved swiftly and completed the crossing. 11 When all the people had finished crossing, the Ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.
12 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, [5] arranged by their military units, had crossed over ahead of the people of Israel, just as Moses had commanded them, 13 about forty thousand men armed for battle. They crossed over to the plain near Jericho to wage war in the presence of the Lord.
14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they honored [6] him, just as they had honored Moses, all the days of his life.
15 The Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who are carrying the Ark of the Testimony that they should come up out of the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”
18 When the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, as soon as the soles of their feet reached dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and it overflowed all its banks as before. 19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and set up camp at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
20 Those twelve stones that they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 He said to the people of Israel, “When your children in the future ask their fathers, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 you shall teach your children, ‘On dry land Israel crossed over this Jordan.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up in front of us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth would know that the hand of the Lord is strong, so that you would fear the Lord your God always.”
Footnotes
Joshua 3:4 That is, two thousand cubits
Joshua 3:10 There is no known connection between the early “Hittites,” who first appeared during the patriarchal period and who were a Canaanite ethnic group (Genesis 10:15), and the later Indo-European “Hittites” from Anatolia (Turkey).
Joshua 3:16 That is, the Dead Sea
Joshua 4:9 This verse could also be translated there Joshua set up the twelve stones that had previously been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood. It is, therefore, uncertain if there were two monuments or one.
Joshua 4:12 Half of the tribe of Manasseh asked for land in the Transjordan. After they establish themselves there as an independent entity, they are called the half tribe of Manasseh.
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