PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Joshua
Blaikie, William Garden · 126,607 words · 168 reading sections
Fourth Series, 1890-1.
EDITED BY THE REV. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. _Editor of "The Expositor"_ BY WILLIAM GARDEN BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D. London HODDER AND STOUGHTON 27, PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCXCIII _Crown 8vo, cloth, price 7s. 6d. each vol._ Colossians. By A. MACLAREN, D.D. St. Mark. By Very Rev. the Dean of Armagh. Genesis.…
257 wordsSECTION 2_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
The Psalms. By A. MACLAREN, D.D. Vol. I. 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By JAS. DENNEY, B.D. The Book of Job. By R. A. WATSON, D.D. Ephesians. By Prof. G. G. FINDLAY, B.A. The Gospel of St. John. By Prof. M. DODS, D.D. Vol. II. The Acts of the Apostles. By Prof. STOKES, D.D. Vol. II. 1 Kings. By Ven. Archdeacon FA…
814 wordsSECTION 3_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
The difference between the two methods, as an able writer remarks, is substantially this, that "the one regards the Hebrew books as an unfolding of God's nature, and the other as an unfolding of the nature of man." The naturalistic method claims emphatically to be scientific. It reduces all events to historical law, a…
985 wordsSECTION 4_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
It is vain to account for this extraordinary faith in the land as theirs, and this remarkable assurance that it would be the scene of unwonted blessing, apart from a supernatural communication from God. To suppose that it originated in some whim or fancy of Abraham's or in the saga of some old bard like Thomas the Rhym…
907 wordsSECTION 5_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
6. Nor could the law of Moses, first given in such circumstances, have acquired the glory which surrounded it ever after, had there been no manifestation of the Divine presence at Sinai. The people were greatly dissatisfied, especially at their delays. The only course that would have quieted them was to push on towards…
918 wordsSECTION 6_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
* * * * * And now we come to Joshua, and to the book that records his achievements. Joshua was no prophet; he made no claim to the prophetic character; he succeeded Moses only as military leader. Consequently the Book of Joshua contains little matter that would fall under the term "revelation." But both the work of J…
754 wordsSECTION 7_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
But recent critics have taken a different view. Ewald maintained that, besides the Jehovist and Elohist writers of whose separate contributions in Genesis the evidence seems incontrovertible, there were three other authors of Joshua, with one or more redactors or revisers. The view of Kuenen and Wellhausen is similar, …
821 wordsSECTION 8_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
If we compare the criticism of the Book of Joshua with that (let us say) of Genesis, the difference in the clearness of the conclusions is very great. By far the most striking basis of the criticism of Genesis is the feature that was noticed first--the occurrence of different Divine names, Elohim and Jehovah, in differ…
672 wordsSECTION 9_Introductory: The Book Of Joshua._
* * * * * It has generally been assumed by spiritual expositors that there must be something profoundly symbolical in a book that narrates the work of Joshua, or Jesus, the first, so far as we know, to bear the name that is "above every name." The subject is considered with some fulness in Pearson's "Exposition of the…
641 wordsSECTION 10_Joshua'S Antecedents._
Four hundred years is a long way to go back in tracing a pedigree. Joshua's might have been traced much farther back than that--back to Noah, or for that matter to Adam; but Israelites usually counted it enough to begin with that son of Jacob who was the head of their tribe. It could be no small gratification to Joshua…
816 wordsSECTION 11_Joshua'S Antecedents._
On whatever grounds Joshua was appointed, the result amply vindicated the selection. On Joshua's part there is none of that hesitation in accepting his work which was shown even by Moses himself when he got his commission at the burning bush. He seems to have accepted the appointment with humble faith and spirited enth…
753 wordsSECTION 12_Joshua'S Antecedents._
It is remarkable what a hold that incident at Rephidim has taken on the Christian imagination. Age after age, for more than three thousand years, its influence has been felt. Nor can it ever cease to impress believing men that, so long as Moses holds out his rod, so long as active trust is placed in the power and prese…
726 wordsSECTION 13_Joshua'S Antecedents._
More than three thousand years have sped away, but have the servants of God on an average reached the measure of Joshua's patience? Prayers unanswered, promises unfulfilled, sickness protracted during weary years of pain, disappointments and trials coming in troops as if all God's waves and billows were passing over th…
766 wordsSECTION 14_Joshua'S Antecedents._
Not long after this Joshua was appointed to another memorable service. After the law-giving had been brought to an end, and the host of Israel had removed from the mountain to the borders of the promised land, he was appointed one of the twelve spies that were sent forward to explore the country. Formerly his name had …
663 wordsSECTION 15_Joshua'S Antecedents._
We can hardly doubt that in their long marches and quiet encampments the twelve men had many a discussion as to what they would advise, and that the ten felt themselves beaten both in argument and in faith by the two. Long before they returned to the camp of Israel they had taken their sides, and by the sides they had …
751 wordsSECTION 16_A Successor To Moses._
JOSHUA i. 2. There are some men to whom it is almost impossible to find successors. Men of imperial mould; Nature's primates, head and shoulders above other men, born to take the lead. Not only possessed of great gifts originally, but placed by Providence in situations that have wonderfully expanded their capacity and…
766 wordsSECTION 17_A Successor To Moses._
Of other sections of the Church the same remark has been made, and sometimes it has been turned to an unfair use. If in the second generation, after a great outburst of power and grace, there are few or no men of equal calibre, it does not follow that the glory has departed, and that the Church is to droop her head, an…
701 wordsSECTION 18_A Successor To Moses._
It was no mean impression of Moses that God meant to convey by the designation, "Moses My servant." It was not a high-sounding title, certainly. A great contrast to the long list of honourable titles sometimes engraved on men's coffins or on their tombs, or proclaimed by royal herald or king-at-arms over departed kings…
735 wordsSECTION 19_A Successor To Moses._
And now Joshua must succeed Moses and be God's servant as he was. He must aim at this as the one distinction of his life; he must seek in every action to know what God would have him to do. Happy man if he can carry out this ideal of life! No conflicting interests or passions will distract his soul. His eye being singl…
813 wordsSECTION 20_Joshua'S Call._
And this brings us to our last application. Our Lord Himself, by a beautiful analogy in nature, showed the connection, in the very highest sense, between death and life--"Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it beareth much fruit." "Without shedding of blood there is no r…
675 wordsSECTION 21_Joshua'S Call._
On the one hand, therefore, compliance was physically impossible, and on the other, even if possible, it would have been fearfully perilous. But it is never God's method to give impossible commands. The very fact of His commanding anything is a proof of His readiness to make it possible, nay, to make it easy and simple…
733 wordsSECTION 22_Joshua'S Call._
It was a great thing for God to announce that He was now in the act of turning His old, old promise into reality,--that the land pledged to Abraham centuries ago was now at length to become the possession of his descendants. But the gift could be of no avail unless it was actually appropriated. God gave the people the …
650 wordsSECTION 23_Joshua'S Call._
It is a grand truth, of which we never can make too much, this bountifulness of God, and the delight which He has in being bountiful. It is emphatically a truth for faith to apprehend and enjoy, because appearances are so often against it. Appearances were fearfully against it while the Israelites were groaning in thei…
751 wordsSECTION 24_Joshua'S Call._
One geographical expression, in the delimitation of the country, demands a brief explanation. While the country is defined as embracing the whole territory from Lebanon to the Euphrates, it is also defined as consisting in that direction of "all the land of the Hittites." But were not the Hittites one of the seven nati…
774 wordsSECTION 25_Joshua'S Call._
And this is crowned with the further assurance, "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee,"--an assurance which is extended in the Epistle to the Hebrews to all who believe. We are so apt to view these promises as just beautiful expressions that we need to pause and think what they really mean. A promise of Divine presen…
308 wordsSECTION 26_Joshua'S Encouragement._
JOSHUA i. 6-9. God has promised to be with Joshua, but Joshua must strive to act like one in partnership with God. And that He may do so, God has just two things to press on him: in the first place, to be strong and of a good courage; and in the second place, to make the book of the law his continual study and guide. …
754 wordsSECTION 27_Joshua'S Encouragement._
But there is no source of courage like that which flows from the consciousness of serving God, and the consequent assurance that He will sustain and help His servants. Brief ejaculatory prayers, constantly dropping from their lips, often bring the courage which is needed. "Now, therefore, O God, strengthen my hands," w…
752 wordsSECTION 28_Joshua'S Encouragement._
But, on the other hand, the instances are numberless of men attaining to great intimacy with the Divine will and to a large conformity to it, through meditation on the Scriptures. To many the daily portion comes fresh as the manna gathered each morning at the door of Israel's camp. Think of men like George Müller of Br…
953 wordsSECTION 29_Joshua'S Encouragement._
It was thus that Joshua had to justify his name,--to show that he was worthy to be called by the name of Jesus. The work of Jesus may be said to have been symbolized both by that of Moses and that of Joshua. Moses symbolized the Redeemer in rescuing the people from Egypt and their miserable bondage there; as "Christ ha…
602 wordsSECTION 30_Joshua'S Charge To The People._
JOSHUA i. 10-18. God has spoken to Joshua; it is now Joshua's part to speak to the people. The crossing of the Jordan must be set about at once, and in earnest, and all the risks and responsibilities involved in that step firmly and fearlessly encountered. And in the steps taken by Joshua for this purpose we see, wha…
663 wordsSECTION 31_Joshua'S Charge To The People._
Yes, the people generally; but already an arrangement had been made for the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the river. How, then, were they to act in the present crisis? That had been determined between them and Moses when they got leave to occupy the lands of Sihon and Og, o…
707 wordsSECTION 32_Joshua'S Charge To The People._
The inquiry in its full scope is too wide for our limits; let us restrict ourselves to the element in respect of which the transjordanic tribes had the advantage of the others--the element of time. What do those who have received their benefits early owe to those who are behind them in time? The question leads us firs…
787 wordsSECTION 33_Joshua'S Charge To The People._
We pass over the case of the early settlers in colonies, because there is hardly any obligation more generally recognised than that of such settlers to lend a helping hand to new arrivals. We go on to the case of Churches. The light of saving truth has come to some lands before others. We in this country have had our C…
913 wordsSECTION 34_Joshua'S Charge To The People._
In point of fact a great change had been effected on the people at last. Moses had laboured, and Joshua now entered into his labours. The same thing has often occurred in history, and notably in our own. In civil life how much do we owe to the noble champions of freedom of other days, through whose patriotism, courage,…
655 wordsSECTION 35_The Spies In Jericho._
JOSHUA ii. It was not long ere Joshua found an occasion not only for the exercise of that courage to which he had been so emphatically called both by God and the people, but for calling on others to practise the same manly virtue. For the duty which he laid on the two spies--detectives we should now call them--to ente…
887 wordsSECTION 36_The Spies In Jericho._
[6] It is somewhat remarkable that the present village of Riha, at or near the site of the ancient Jericho, is noted for its licentiousness. The men, it is said, wink at the infidelity of the women, a trait of character singularly at variance with the customs of the Bedouin. "At our encampment over 'Ain Terâbeh (sa…
726 wordsSECTION 37_The Spies In Jericho._
Again, she explained the reason for this faith. "We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed." The woman has had an eye to see and an ear t…
836 wordsSECTION 38_The Spies In Jericho._
We have to notice further in Rahab a determination to throw in her lot with the people of God. In spirit she had ceased to be a Canaanite and become an Israelite. She showed this by taking the side of the spies against the king, and exposing herself to certain and awful punishment if it had been found out that they wer…
781 wordsSECTION 39_The Spies In Jericho._
Some commentators have laid considerable stress on the line of scarlet thread that was to be displayed in the window by which the spies had been let down, as a token and remembrance that that house was to be spared when the victorious army should enter Jericho. In that scarlet thread they have seen an emblem of atoneme…
633 wordsSECTION 40_Jordan Reached._
JOSHUA iii. 1-7. The host of Israel had been encamped for some time at Shittim on the east side of the river Jordan. It is well to understand the geographical position. The Jordan has its rise beyond the northern boundary of Palestine in three sources, the most interesting and beautiful of the three being one in the n…
718 wordsSECTION 41_Jordan Reached._
The appointed day for leaving Shittim has come, and Joshua, determined to lose no time, rises "early in the morning." Nor is it without a purpose that so often in the Old Testament narrative, when men of might commence some great undertaking, we are told that it was early in the morning. In all hot climates work in the…
1,017 wordsSECTION 42_Jordan Reached._
Thirdly, the people were instructed,--"Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you." It is an instinct of our nature that when we are to meet with some one of superior worldly rank preparation must be made for the meeting. When Joseph was summoned into the presence of Pharaoh, and they brought…
985 wordsSECTION 43_Jordan Reached._
It is an experience which has been often repeated in the case of those who have had to undertake difficult work for their Master. Of all our misapprehensions, the most baseless and the most pernicious is, that God does not care much about us, and that we have not much to look for from Him. It is a misapprehension which…
743 wordsSECTION 44_Jordan Divided._
JOSHUA iii. At Joshua's command, the priests carrying the ark are again in motion. Bearing the sacred vessel on their shoulders, they make straight for the bank of the river. "The exact spot is unknown; it certainly cannot be that which the Greek tradition has fixed, where the eastern banks are sheer precipices of ten…
690 wordsSECTION 45_Jordan Divided._
The priests passed on before the people, and stood firm in the midst of the river until the whole host had passed. It was both a becoming thing that they should go before, and that they should stand so firm. It is not always that either priests or Christian ministers have set the example of going before in any hazardou…
659 wordsSECTION 46_Jordan Divided._
It is to be especially remarked that God took into His own hands the prescription of the method by which this great event was to be commemorated. It seems as if He could not trust the people to do it in a way that would be free from objection and from evil tendency. It was assumed that the event was worthy of special c…
693 wordsSECTION 47_Jordan Divided._
"When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion. The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs. What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jorda…
658 wordsSECTION 48_Jordan Divided._
No doubt the expectation of spiritual benefit from the waters of the Jordan is one cause of the annual pilgrimage thither, and of the strange scene that presents itself when the pilgrims are bathing. It seems impossible for man, except under the influence of the strongest spiritual views, to avoid the belief that someh…
448 wordsSECTION 49_Circumcision And Passover--Manna And Corn._
JOSHUA v. 1-12. The first two facts recorded in this chapter seem to be closely connected with each other. One is, that when all the Amorite and Canaanite kings on the west side of the Jordan heard of the miraculous drying up of the waters and the passage of the Israelites, "their heart melted, neither was there spiri…
819 wordsSECTION 50_Circumcision And Passover--Manna And Corn._
Two other points in connection with this transaction demand a word of explanation. The first is the statement that "all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised" (ver. 5). If the view be correct that the suspension of circumcision was part of …
867 wordsSECTION 51_Circumcision And Passover--Manna And Corn._
The remembrance of the past is often an excellent preparation for the trials of the future, and as often it proves a remarkable support under them. It was the very nature of the Passover to look back to the past, and to recall God's first great interposition on behalf of His people. It was a precious encouragement both…
677 wordsSECTION 52_Circumcision And Passover--Manna And Corn._
More generally, this occurrence in the history of Israel, the cessation of one provision when another comes into operation, exemplifies a great law in providence by which the loss of one kind of advantage is compensated by the advent of another. In childhood and early youth we depend for our growth in knowledge on the …
748 wordsSECTION 53_The Captain Of The Lord'S Host._
[9] "Life of Rev. Charles Simeon," p. 125. Lastly, of all exchanges in room of old provisions the most striking is that which our Lord thus set forth: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." If we should think of lif…
1,003 wordsSECTION 54_The Captain Of The Lord'S Host._
It is not likely that Joshua found any cause to discuss the question that modern criticism has so earnestly handled, whether this being that now appeared in human form really was Jehovah. And as little does it seem necessary for us to discuss it. There seems no good reason to reject the view that these theophanies, tho…
707 wordsSECTION 55_The Captain Of The Lord'S Host._
It was not in this spirit nor in this attitude that the Angel of the Covenant had met with Jacob, centuries before, a little higher up the river, at the confluence of the Jabbok. Yet there was not a little that was similar in the two meetings. Like Joshua now, Jacob was then about to enter the land of promise. Like him…
870 wordsSECTION 56_The Captain Of The Lord'S Host._
The first answer to the question "What saith my Lord unto His servant?" is somewhat remarkable. "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Rationalists have explained this as meaning that this was an ancient shrine of the Canaanites, and therefore a place holy in the eyes of Isr…
898 wordsSECTION 57_The Captain Of The Lord'S Host._
And hence, too, the reason why, in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the falling down of the walls of Jericho is specially accounted for as the result of faith: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days" (ver. 30). The act of faith lay in the conviction that God, who had prescr…
471 wordsSECTION 58_The Fate Of Jericho._
JOSHUA vi. 8-27. The instructions of Joshua to the priests and the people are promptly obeyed. In the bright rays of the morning sun, on the day when Jericho is to be surrounded, the plain between the Jordan and Jericho, a space of some five miles, may be seen dotted over with the tents of Israel, arranged in that ord…
1,014 wordsSECTION 59_The Fate Of Jericho._
Far more effectual has this brave and thorough method of doing the Divine will proved than all the contrivances of compromise and worldly wisdom. The attempt to serve two masters has never proved either dignified or permanently successful. "If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him;" but do not attem…
880 wordsSECTION 60_The Fate Of Jericho._
It is the prerogative of faith to believe that the same law of Providence is ever in operation, and that the rapidity with which some great drama is to be wound up may be as striking as the slowness of its movement was trying in its earlier stages. May we not be living in an age destined to furnish another great exampl…
858 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.