Autumn 2026: The Book of Joshua
Tuesday 20th October – Joshua 17:14-18:10 ‘Faith and action’
Today I’m being nice to you! (Only today, obviously….) Much of chapters 13-19 of the book of Joshua consists of long and detailed lists of boundaries and towns – which I’m going to spare you, save this one passage! These essentially define the land allotted to each tribe, and in which they can now settle.
At one level, it’s a good reminder that this is an actual historical document which defines boundaries which will be determinative in the life of Israel for centuries to come. At a deeper level, the sub-text to all of this detail is the vital truth that God keeps his promises. Each of these tribes was promised a share of the land: and each now received it.
Today’s passage is interesting, however, because it indicates that, despite their victories, a large proportion of the population that made up the tribes were somewhat reluctant to spread out and now settle in the land (18:3) – one can imagine that ‘safety in numbers’ factored quite high in their considerations.
In that sense, the very practical process of settling down – inhabiting towns, building (or rebuilding) dwellings, farming crops and livestock – was an act of faith. For it was only at this point that the ‘average’ Israelite would have to leave the security of a large and heavily defended camp and live in the land.
So, Joshua has to give seven of the tribes a ‘nudge’ to get on with it (18:3-4). He has to be even more direct with the tribe of Joseph who had already been awarded their land, which is the subject of 17:14-18. ‘Our land is too small,’ they complained. To which Joshua effectively said: ‘Actually, your faith is too small.’ There was a large forested area in their land which could be cleared and settled. This would require facing opposition, but also good old-fashioned hard work: creating brand new settlements alongside the much easier task of inhabiting the existing ones.
It is a healthy reminder that faith and action often go together. To ‘believe’ is not a passive thing: it is active, it thrives when it is lived out day-by-day. You could say that faith works! We demonstrate faith in very practical ways: in how we live, in what we invest in, in taking the opportunities which the Lord gives us.
Perhaps today, spend a few minutes reflecting whether there is a particular part of your faith which God is nudging you to put into practice. And if there’s nothing that stands out, why not ask the Lord to show you any people whom your faith can actively bless today.
Monday 19th October – Joshua 14:1-15 ‘A promise kept’
The bible is a book full of promises. Many of them are made by human beings, and are sadly broken. But there are hundreds made by God as well, and one of the greatest encouragements of our faith is that God keeps them – all of them!
Today’s passage outlines a very personal promise kept. Caleb was one of the two spies (along with Joshua) sent into the Promised Land who faithfully believed that God would help the Israelites to settle there – we reflected on this story early in the series. Most of his colleagues simply looked at the inhabitants they were up against and their faith failed them. As a result, the Israelites had to live in the desert for forty years, and only Joshua and Caleb survived to see the day when the land was finally theirs.
Now, as ‘the land had rest from war’ (v15), is the time for God to honour his promise. Caleb approaches Joshua and asks for a parcel of land – indeed the area where his feet trod when he spied out the country 45 years ago (v9). Looking back at the narrative of the excursion in Numbers 13, the place most explored was Hebron (Numbers 13:22), and this becomes the place given to Caleb (v13): just as God had promised through Moses.
It was a most generous gift, since Hebron has a special place in the biblical narrative: it was where God first revealed to Abraham that he would inherit this land (Genesis 13), and also where he was buried. In time to come it would be the capital of Judah where David would reign for 7 ½ years before he settled in Jerusalem, and later became a ‘city of refuge’. Most probably it was appealing to Caleb because it was very fertile: the Valley of Eshkol is where Caleb and his friends cut a big cluster of grapes to show Moses how good the land was.
What matters here – and our encouragement for today – is that God keeps his promises. He kept them to Caleb and his family; he keeps them to us as well. The consistent theme of much of Scripture is that God is faithful – which is especially good news for us, fragile as we are. As St Paul says later, even when we are faithless, ‘God remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.’ (2 Timothy 2:13).
May God’s faithfulness lift our hearts and our spirits today. Give thanks that God keeps his promises, and then pray these promises confidently for yourself, and others. Amen!
Saturday 17th October – 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 ‘Treasure in clay jars’
To conclude our week, a second reflection on the ‘now and not yet’ of the life of faith:
Early in 1947 two young Bedouin shepherds were idling away the hours in a remote part of the north shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. They were throwing stones into caves to enjoy the sound they made when clattering into the empty caverns. Throwing into one cave, they noticed that the sound made was more of a dull thud.
Intrigued, they climbed up to explore the cave, and found some old jars – which are what the stones must have been hitting. These jars appeared to have some old manuscripts in them. The shepherds didn’t know what to do with them, so they took them back to their family and hung the scrolls out on tent poles while they decided. Their tribe couldn’t agree either, but after a while they were persuaded to try and sell them to a local dealer. The first one they approached in Bethlehem told them they were worthless and returned them. The second paid a few dollars for some of the scrolls, before then re-selling them: and eventually they caught the eye of a scholar, who recognised an ancient text on one of them… and the rest, as they say, is history.
It turns out that these ‘worthless’ items were in fact the (now world-famous) Dead Sea Scrolls. They contain some of the oldest manuscripts of biblical books, as well as other writings from the period, and are now considered to be one of the most important archaeological finds in history. Treasure in jars of clay, indeed.
…all of which segues neatly to today’s passage. The image which forms the heart of the text is one of the most loved in the New Testament, because it captures perfectly what many of us instinctively know to be true. The gospel is the greatest treasure in the world, something whose light we carry around with us in our hearts (as we saw yesterday). This gospel is not just beautiful and true, it is also unbreakable; however, we ourselves are constantly aware of how fragile we are. Like jars of clay, we might look strong on the outside, but we are easily broken.
It is a powerful metaphor for the ‘now and not yet’ of the Christian life. We are already citizens of heaven; we have a hope and a guaranteed future. But life is hard: we are often hard-pressed or perplexed, occasionally even persecuted. We often wish that our lives were stronger: if only we were steel jars, not clay ones! But, Paul says, there’s a reason for our fragility – it reminds us that the saving power is all God’s, not ours (v7). We don’t rely on ourselves, but on our unshakeable, unbreakable God.
Consequently, we can overcome the challenges we face (vv8-9) because it’s not all about us. We don’t face them alone, or try to defeat them in our own strength, but rather we rest on the all-surpassing strength of God, who enables us not to be crushed, abandoned or left in despair. Life is always at work in us – praise God!
Today, give thanks for this treasure that lives in your heart. And pray for any on your heart – others or yourself – to know the truth of these verses. By God’s grace (and God’s alone), we will overcome.
Friday 16th October – Joshua 13:1-7 ‘Now and not yet’
Today’s passage comes as something of a shock. Over the last few chapters, the Israelites have conquered the land in what seems like a whirlwind series of successful encounters. You may be thinking that this all took a matter of a year or two, maybe even a few months.
And yet, here at the beginning of chapter 13, we learn that: (a) it took a very long time – Joshua is now ‘very old’; and (b) there was still a lot of land not conquered yet. Essentially the descriptions of verses 2-7 indicate that the Israelites now held much of the hill country running north to south along the spine of what is now Israel, but the Western plains by the Mediterranean Sea, as well as lands to the north east and south east, were not under Israelite control.
Some of these areas would rarely be under their control in the centuries that followed. Think of all the battles with the Philistines in the book of Judges or under King David – these describe the peoples that live by the Mediterranean Sea, who were never fully conquered during the time of Joshua.
Joshua’s experience in many ways mirrors the reality of our spiritual lives: it is both ‘now’ and ‘not yet’. He is living safely in the kingdom, but there is still some way to go. How true for us, too: yes, we are saved, we are living in the kingdom of God now, and we know can peace and purpose and rest, and many other blessings which God has given us. But it is also ‘not yet’: we are works in progress, not every part of our lives is as it should be. We face struggles and challenges: within ourselves as well as in the world.
Our calling is to be faithful, and stay on the journey. To celebrate what we have now, and also to wait and pray and long for what is yet to come.
As we conclude a challenging few days in this book, let’s sit for a few minutes with the ‘now and not yet’ of our lives. Give thanks for all that God has done for you, and in you. And pray for grace to live with the ‘not yet’. God was faithful to Joshua. He is faithful to us, too.
Thursday 15th October – Joshua 10:1-15 ‘On our behalf’
Chapters 10-12 of Joshua, in whirlwind fashion from 10:28 onwards, detail the Israelites’ successful conquest of much of the land. It’s a hard read, so today’s passage is illustrative, and I’ve chosen it in part because it allows us to keep looking for those ‘echoes of grace’ tucked away in the narrative of battles and blood-letting.
It’s a dramatic story, and begins with five rival kings who unite against Joshua’s army. What is notable here is the contrast with the Gibeonites in the preceding chapter – especially in relation to their motivations for fighting. The Gibeonites were in awe of the fame of the Lord (9:9-10); these kings had heard only of the fame of Joshua (v4).
That Gibeon was able to make a peace treaty with the Israelites is illustrative of the reason for this conquest of the land, as we saw a couple of days ago. God was creating a holy nation, flourishing under his law, who would point to the glory of the Lord, and so cause others to worship this Lord, the one true God. The Gibeonites saw the Lord’s glory (not Joshua’s), and having made peace, they engaged in the worshipping life of Israel by tending to its altar (9:27).
The Amorite kings, however, simply saw this conflict as army versus army, a struggle for power and control. The Lord did not factor into their plans – which proved their undoing, as the Lord intervened to help the Israelites in two striking ways. First, a hailstorm hindered their army’s escape; then, more spectacularly, ‘time stood still’ (v13).
Scholars have long debated whether this actually happened; in the end, you either have to believe that God is able to work miracles, or he isn’t. This is not one which allows for an alternative ‘natural’ explanation. What it did mean is that, as the Amorite army headed eastwards up the hill towards Joshua’s army, the early morning sun would have been in their eyes – and if time ‘stopped’ for a while, would have remained so, putting them at serious disadvantage for the duration of the battle.
So, the narrator concludes: ‘Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!’ (v14) And whilst, after the coming of Christ, this no longer happens in military terms, it is true to say that we sometimes need the Lord to fight for us, even today. Not with armies, but with the powers of heaven to change situations, defend the weak or vulnerable, or bring justice where it has been denied.
Perhaps you can call to mind times when you have felt that the Lord has ‘fought for you’. Certainly many of our sisters and brothers who live with daily persecution need the Lord to ‘fight for them’, since they often have few resources to fight for themselves.
As Christians we are called to be peacemakers: but we have a Lord who is still for us, and loves his people, especially those who are suffering or forsaken by others. Let’s raise our faith today to pray that the Lord will intervene in situations where we need him to ‘fight for us’ – not with the weapons of war, but with prayer, and with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
Wednesday 14th October – Joshua 9:1-27 ‘They did not enquire’
I love a good disguise. I’m hopeless at wearing them myself – being well over 6ft tall, it’s hard to convince anyone that you aren’t who you are. But the world of fiction and entertainment is full of great disguises: I enjoyed reading the Arsene Lupin novels a few years ago, and pretty much every chapter has the hero (anti-hero?) in some get-up or other.
Occasionally disguises find their way into real life too. Arguably even our Lord Jesus himself was briefly ‘disguised’ on the Road to Emmaus, and there are numerous other stories of good disguises in the bible, including the unusual story which occupies our attention today.
After the destruction of Jericho and Ai, the surrounding areas are understandably nervous. Some of the tribes decide that attack is the best form of defence (vv1-2) – but the Gibeonites decide instead on a ‘ruse’. They disguise themselves as travellers from afar (vv4-6), and so win the assurance of protection, since God’s law commanded the Israelites to welcome the stranger and provide for their needs. Having been awarded that protection under oath, even when their deception was brought to light, they remained protected, since it was also forbidden to break an oath (v20).
Although both of these acts of obedience might be said to cast the Israelites in a more favourable light, the real heart of the story is found in v14: ‘The Israelites,’ it says, ‘sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the Lord.’ They made decisions themselves rather than seek the wisdom of God through prayer, and so found themselves caught in a dilemma, where they would end up being disobedient in some way, whichever course of action they took.
The story is in fact a perfect illustration of Moses’ warning, which we looked at briefly yesterday. It never takes long for God’s people to go back to relying on themselves, rather than God. It is a healthy reminder that success in the spiritual life can produce complacency rather than humility, and that it is never wasted time to seek the Lord in prayer for wisdom and guidance on decisions and choices that we make. Whatever decisions and choices you face today, offer them to the Lord. God always repays.
There is another echo of grace here, too. The Gibeonites were hereafter employed as woodcutters and water-carriers, to assist in Israel’s worshipping life (v27). Over a thousand years later, another woodworker would open the way for us to worship the one true God, and would provide water which would quench our thirst eternally, becoming a spring welling up to eternal life (John 4:14). May that same Lord grant us grace to drink from the water of life today.
Tuesday 13th October – Joshua 8:1-35, Galatians 3:13-14 ‘The Tree’
Today’s passage is one of the reasons why most people – even Christians – don’t read much of the Old Testament. It’s also why I thought long and hard about whether to look at Joshua for our Daily Inspirations. Where’s the feel-good factor here, the nugget of encouragement?! It’s tempting to settle for enjoying the Psalms, maybe the last bit of Isaiah and a few other iconic stories, but leave the other 1,000 pages of the Old Testament alone!
And yet: if we believe that ‘all Scripture is God-breathed’ – and bear in mind that St Paul wrote this when the New Testament hadn’t been assembled, so he was referring to the Old Testament – we have to tackle passages like this head-on, and ask the hard questions. Why it is here? Why the destruction?
The central question which the bible addresses, and which is the besetting problem of all human history, is the corruption of the human heart. God made us to walk with him, in loving intimacy and joyful obedience. But we just don’t. Mostly we either won’t, or can’t. This is the universal human condition – but it’s not what we were created to be. So how do we restore this loving relationship, how do we live the kind of life God calls us to?
By the time of Joshua, the people had God’s law, given to them through God’s encounters with Moses. But they were endlessly distracted by the cultures around them: so the solution was to live in a land where there were no other influences. That is why they are told to purge all other inhabitants: to create an environment in which they could obey God’s law completely, and in doing so, become a model society which demonstrated to the rest of humanity the right way to live.
It failed, and even before his death, Moses knew why, and told them so – the problem was not God, or his law, but us: ‘Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you… For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord.’ (Deuteronomy 31:26,29)
Harsh words: but proved true, again and again. The people’s heads were turned by the pagan cultures around them, whose religions not only included worshipping other deities, but some truly abominable practices: child sacrifice was not uncommon in parts of the land they were settling. We need to beware seeing the towns they were fighting against as ‘innocents’ – brutality was normal, and there was little concept of the individual: tribes lived, or died, together.
Ultimately, the Old Testament shows us that we need another way, a better way. And God gave us a radical new solution: he would take the evil of the world – my evil, your evil – upon himself, and then dwell in our hearts directly. This new solution is promised in the Old Testament, but also embedded in ‘glimmers of grace’ throughout its pages. Even here, in this grimmest of chapters, we see it. As the King of Ai is raised on a wooden pole, so we can’t help but think of Someone Else, more than 1,000 years later who would likewise be lifted on a wooden pole, for our salvation. As St. Paul testifies in Galatians 3, the curse of being lifted on a tree becomes the source of grace. God enters into this broken world and redeems even its harshest practices.
Today, give thanks that God led humanity towards a better way. It may be some way off in Joshua, but there are echoes here. Grace is the beautiful, subversive idea which runs like a golden thread through all of Scripture: and which has, gloriously, saved you, and me.
Monday 12th October – Joshua 7:1-26 ‘A lesson in humility’
In 2021 the late Queen Elizabeth memorably declined an award: she was nominated to be ‘Oldie of the Year’ by the magazine of that name, but wrote in reply that she felt she didn’t meet the criteria and hoped ‘someone more worthy’ would be given it instead.
It is a remarkable display of humility to which we became accustomed with the late Queen – all the more notable for being so rare in other walks of life. There are famous examples of actors and musicians who have refused awards in protest, but very few because they felt unworthy to receive it.
After the euphoria of the victory against Jericho, today’s passage marks a downturn in Israel’s quest to settle in the Promised Land. The presenting issue is one of obedience: they were specifically instructed by the Lord not to profit from their conquest by taking ‘devoted things’ from those they overcame. This could in some instances refer to religious artefacts which contravened their status as God’s people – but in this case it was just valuable ‘stuff’. A chap called Achan pinched a beautiful robe, as well as some gold and silver, and hid it in his tent (v21).
The result was disastrous: Israel incurred God’s displeasure and lost their favour in battle. They were routed by a tiny hamlet called Ai (which means ‘The Ruin’, just to emphasise how far their star had fallen – they were beaten by non-place!) and realised that something was desperately wrong.
Achan and his family sadly paid the price for his wrongdoing, but there is more going here. Yes, we learn from this that obedience and purity matters; but things had started to go wrong before Achan’s greed got the better of him. Joshua was specifically instructed by God not to go into battle without enquiring of the Lord (Numbers 27:21, which we looked at previously): and yet here, he sends out spies and then warriors on his own initiative. It seems the victory at Jericho temporarily went to his head as well.
Most poignantly, this passage reminded Israel that their success was entirely due to God: not their bravery or their tactics or their military skill. They only succeed if God is with them. This hard but vital lesson in humility runs throughout the history of the Old Testament – but it is a word for us today, as well.
Ultimately, everything we are and do relies on God. Naturally, we offer our time and energies, and our skills are important, too. But it’s risky to give ourselves too much credit; as Mary says in her beautiful song: ‘God has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.’
May God grant us grace to choose humility today and this week, trusting in his mighty power and love to lift us up, for every circumstance and situation.
Saturday 10th October – Joshua 6:22-27 & Matthew 1:5-6 ‘Rahab’s destiny’
Our week began with Rahab. It’s fitting that it ends with Rahab, too – as she is indeed spared, along with all her family. Her courage and faith were rewarded, not just with life, but with a place in God’s people: ‘she lives among the Israelites to this day’ (v25).
As we reflected yesterday, this is a beautiful story of grace and redemption in the middle of a robust narrative of conflict. Somehow Rahab had grasped who the Lord was – despite, as far as we know, never having encountered the Israelites directly before – and was prepared to risk her life to serve this Lord. It is a wonderful reminder of how God’s grace is at work in all kinds of places and all kinds of people. No-one is beyond God’s love, or reach.
But there is a beautiful post-script to this story – one we don’t learn in Joshua, but only many centuries later, at the start of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 1:5-6). After the events at Jericho, Rahab is freed from prostitution and marries a man called Salmon, one of the Israelite settlers. They have a family, including a son called Boaz. This is the Boaz who marries Ruth in the Old Testament story who bears her name. Boaz is King David’s great-grandfather… in other words, Rahab is King David’s great-great-grandmother! And therefore also, by definition, a direct descendant of Jesus himself.
It is fitting that a woman of such faith and courage should have a bigger part to play in the story of scripture. It also reminds us that when God rescues us, he also gives us a new purpose in life. We all have a valuable part to play in God’s kingdom coming: there are ‘good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ (Ephesians 2:10) We may be aware of (some of) those things which God has planned for us; we may even feel we have largely fulfilled them, one way or another; or we may still be wondering. Perhaps God is pointing you in a new direction, or stirring something new in you?
Grace saves us as we are. But it doesn’t leave us as we are. We journey with the Lord, in faith and hope. May Rahab’s story inspire us this week, and renew our desire to live fruitful lives, for God’s glory. Grace is truly the fuel for life.
Friday 9th October – Joshua 5:13-6:21 ‘The fall of Jericho’
The story of the fall of Jericho is one of those iconic Old Testament stories. Packed with drama, and involving a mighty miracle, it’s been a staple of Sunday Schools for generations…. but many of us reading it as adults may feel somewhat more ambivalent. The children’s version is a rip-roaring tale of derring-do; the adult version may well feel a certain horror at the levels of destruction involved, including the slaughter of residents that would nowadays fall foul of the Geneva Convention.
How do we reconcile these conflicting feelings? Many Christians read stories like Jericho and decide that most of the Old Testament really isn’t for them. The God they see described seems rather more severe than the God revealed in Christ: and yet the New Testament insists that we worship a God who is ‘the same, yesterday, today and forever.’ How do we make sense of this?
Here it’s valuable to introduce the vital concept of Progressive Revelation. This means that God reveals himself gradually to human beings. It’s not that God changes, but rather that the human culture of the time can only cope with a certain level of revelation – until the time of Christ when we finally get a full picture of who God really is.
The events at Jericho may trouble us now: but they were ‘normal’ at the time. Twice in the preceding centuries Jericho had been destroyed in similar fashion by other invaders. Situated in an oasis, it was a key strategic settlement. Human life then was not accorded the same value as it is now: a value primarily influenced by Christian theology over the last 2,000 years.
The God who is progressively revealed in the bible would, in time to come, make the value of all life clear to humanity. But at this point in time, in the second millennium BC, what the people needed to understand was that this God was Lord of all the earth, and that, having settled in the land, this people were to live conspicuously holy lives dedicated to this Lord. If Israel failed militarily, other cultures would automatically have assumed that their God was pathetic and unworthy of worship. Humanity simply wasn’t ready yet for the idea that true love and authority is manifested in gentle and selfless service – ‘weakness’, if you like.
The story of Rahab (to which we return tomorrow) is in fact the key pointer towards the direction of theological travel which the bible will undertake. A story of grace and redemption hiding in the rubble of Jericho. Such stories are seeded through the Old Testament like jewels hidden in a tapestry – or treasure in a field, as Someone once said.
Today, let’s give thanks that this God continued to reveal himself over time. And let’s pray that God continues to reveal more of himself – in truth, beauty, love and grace – to all of us. There’s always more to receive!
Thursday 8th October – Joshua 5:1-12 ‘Essential preparations’
Back in London where we used to live, the area next to us – called Furzedown – had no pubs in it. This was a surprise, since it was a relatively affluent area with a large number of houses: plenty of people in other words, who would gladly have used a local place to meet and socialise. The reason Furzedown had no pubs was because, 300 years previously, the land had been owned by Quakers, and they had put a restrictive covenant on the land banning the sale of alcohol.
Although the land had long since been sold and developed, the covenant was unbreakable. 300 years later, you still had to walk into another area to buy a drink. (As an aside, this made it an extremely desirable area to live in – very safe and quiet!)
A covenant is a word rarely used nowadays: mostly, we use ‘contracts’. But it’s a very important and powerful word, particularly in our journey of faith. A covenant is a solemn and unconditional promise, rooted in love. It’s not a contract, which breaks when one side doesn’t honour it. A covenant pledges one party to the other unconditionally. A Christian marriage is a covenant, whereas a civil marriage is formalised with the ‘contracting’ words.
The different language is significant, and the ‘x-factor’ of the vows made in a Christian marriage is rooted of course, in God’s eternal love. And this in turn goes back to the fundamental building block of God’s relationship with us. What God makes with his people is not a contract, it’s a covenant: a binding promise based on unconditional love.
This covenant was first made with Abraham in Genesis 12, and re-stated several times. Significantly for today’s passage, the outward sign of this covenant between God and his people is the circumcision of all males (Genesis 17).
During their time in the desert, this ritual had been allowed to lapse (v5): but now, before God’s people embarked on their entry into the Promised Land, every male was circumcised (v8). This might seem a strange way of preparing for what lay ahead; but what it symbolised was the people’s determination to live under God’s covenant, to be obedient to him. Thus, they also celebrated the Passover (v10) – another great commemoration of God’s saving love and power in their lives.
After Christ, we no longer need to undergo this physical marking: for which, I imagine, most of us are very grateful! Instead, what we offer is what St Paul vividly describes as a ‘circumcision of the heart’ (Romans 2:29). It is our hearts that mark us as God’s beloved, and where God dwells by his Spirit.
Give thanks today that God has made his covenant with you: fully and unconditionally. And as that beautiful thought lifts our hearts in praise, dedicate yourselves and your day to this loving Lord.
Wednesday 7th October – Joshua 4:1-24 ‘The power of remembering’
In both of our churchyards you’ll find War Memorials. These were erected after the Great War as our communities – like thousands around the country – tried to come to terms with the horror of what had happened. 27 men lost their lives from two small villages in four years. I learned recently that stonemasons around the country were inundated with work in 1919-21, because so many communities were commissioning their own ‘stones of remembering’.
The power of memorials is not just for communities, though. Every month I receive applications from families to put stones in one or other of our churchyards to commemorate a loved one. It’s always powerful to read how a family tries to sum up what their loved one meant to them in a few words etched into stone. If you walk around any of our churchyards you’ll see hundreds of these ‘stones of remembering’: and each one is primarily a memorial of love.
Our passage today centres on Israel’s own ‘stones of remembering’. The people had just witnessed a great miracle – able to walk through the Jordan in flood season, as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. Before the episode finishes, however, Joshua commands one last thing: 12 stones are to be taken from the river-bed – stones which could only be picked up because the river had temporarily stopped flowing – and placed on the west side of the Jordan as a sign of what God had done. ‘These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel for ever.’ (v7) They were a nation’s ‘stones of remembering’.
Throughout the bible we are encouraged to remember, as part of our story of faith. To remember who God is, to remember what God has done for us, and for others. To remember times when God has saved us, or blessed us, or indeed times when we have neglected God and returned to him.
As I’ve said before, our memory is our identity. Remembering the past inspires our present and gives us hope for the future. Israel was soon to move on from this place of remembering: they had work to do and a land to settle in. But there’s a reason Joshua told them to mark this place ‘for ever’. It would be somewhere they could return to, to remind themselves of their story with God, of how God had been with them. The narrator notes that these stones ‘are there to this day’ (v9).
Today, take a few moments to remember. There may be loved ones that come to mind, people we want to give thanks for. And let’s also remember our journey with God: perhaps there’s a particular moment that comes to mind, too. Let that memory fill your heart, inspire you, and give you grace for your ongoing journey this day.
Tuesday 6th October – Joshua 3:1-17 ‘Following the Ark’
Once, when asked how he made decisions about church life and leadership, a well-known Christian leader replied: ‘I look to see what God is already doing and then try to follow that.’
If you’re anything like me, it’s easy sometimes to lose sight of the literal meaning of the word ‘follower’: it automatically implies the leader is ahead, and we are, well, following. For many of us, we might say that we are doing our best to keep up!
There’s been a lot of talk about ‘leadership’ in Christian circles over the last generation, but all good leaders know their authority and fruitfulness rests on the extent to which they themselves follow Someone greater – the Lord. Our leadership is ultimately defined by how closely we follow. We see what God is up to, and throw our energies into that, and pray for grace to stay close to the Lord and not head off on our own.
And this is not just a good strategy for churches or leaders, it’s a great pointer for all of us. We go where God leads us. Sometimes that is very clear, at other times less so. But it’s always a great question to ask ourselves: what is God up to in our lives? In what ways are we growing, or being challenged, or being prompted? What buttons is God pressing at the moment?
In today’s passage, the people of Israel are given one very clear and simple command: follow the Ark. The Ark symbolised God’s presence with them: and where the Ark led, they followed – literally. As the decisive moment comes to cross the Jordan, the Ark leads the way, and the people are called to exercise faith and follow.
Let’s note, too, that this exercising of faith was active. The priests carrying the Ark had to put their foot in the water before it began to dry up. It’s a healthy reminder that faithful following starts with prayer, but usually continues with action. As the people obey, so God works an amazing miracle, and the nation crosses safely into the Promised Land.
Today, as followers of Jesus, let’s pray for grace to see clearly where God is leading us, where he is at work in our lives – and let’s pray for equal grace to be faithful in following, wherever that may be.
Monday 5th October – Joshua 2:1-24 ‘Rahab’s testimony’
If I was to ask you to name any of the great confessions of faith in the bible, I wonder which you might recall? Perhaps it would be Solomon’s great prayer at the dedication of the Temple; or David’s poetic psalms; or Isaiah’s encounter with the living God; or Peter’s and Thomas’ impassioned recognitions of Jesus’ identity; or Paul’s erudite sermons and beautiful phrasing?
Not many of us would mention this passage: and yet here, tucked away in this chapter, is one of the great confessions of faith. And even more wonderfully, it comes from a most unlikely source.
Rahab is one of the forgotten heroes of the Old Testament, whose actions here pave the way for what follows. As a prostitute she was considered the lowest of the low, not least by the standards of Israel’s law. I suspect she was visited by Joshua’s spies, not because she was expected to be helpful, but as the easiest ‘cover story’: who would raise an eyebrow at two young male travellers visiting a prostitute?
But when called upon, she acts with extraordinary bravery: risking her own life to hide them, and sending the King of Jericho’s soldiers off in the wrong direction. Even more amazingly, she gives her reasons for her courageous – you might say foolhardy – behaviour: ‘I know the Lord has given this land to you…’ (v9). What she says next (v11) is astounding: ‘the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’
The wording of this confession of faith is matched in only two other places in the Old Testament: by Moses and Solomon. It is unprecedented among those considered to be outside God’s people. And yet Rahab, this ‘woman of the world’, says something which puts her on a par with Moses the friend of God, and Solomon the wisest king.
Truly the kingdom of God is like that mustard seed, which grows in the most extraordinary ways and among the most unlikely people. Rahab had eyes to see what so many others missed, and in doing so, not only saved the spies but her family too – more on that in a few days’ time.
We are, all of us human beings, born with a ‘God-shaped hole’, that desire to seek something – or Someone – beyond ourselves; and ‘our hearts are not at rest until they find their rest in You’ (St Augustine). Let’s be inspired by the example of Rahab to pray with renewed hope for that God-shaped hole to bear fruit in those we love, and in others we didn’t expect. And – praise be to God – in us, too!
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