Study Desk

"He let them rule the highlands, and they ate what grew in the fields. They found wild honey among the rocks; their olive trees flourished in stony ground.

Their cows and goats gave plenty of milk; they had the best sheep, goats, and cattle, the finest wheat, and the choicest wine.

"The Lord 's people grew rich, but rebellious; they were fat and stuffed with food. They abandoned God their Creator and rejected their mighty savior.

They will die from hunger and fever; they will die from terrible diseases. I will send wild animals to attack them, and poisonous snakes to bite them.

The Lord will take revenge and punish them; the time will come when they will fall; the day of their doom is near.

These teachings are not empty words; they are your very life. Obey them and you will live long in that land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy."

They showed greater loyalty to you Than to parents, brothers, or children. They obeyed your commands And were faithful to your covenant.

They invite foreigners to their mountain And offer the right sacrifices there. They get their wealth from the sea And from the sand along the shore."

They took the best of the land for themselves; A leader's share was assigned to them. They obeyed the Lord 's commands and laws When the leaders of Israel were gathered together."

Be determined and confident, for you will be the leader of these people as they occupy this land which I promised their ancestors.

until they have occupied the land west of the Jordan that the Lord your God has given them. When he has given safety to all the tribes of Israel, then you may come back and settle here in your own land east of the Jordan, which Moses, the Lord 's servant, gave to you."

They answered Joshua, "We will do everything you have told us and will go anywhere you send us.

Then Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Acacia with orders to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho. When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

"Some men did come to my house," she answered, "but I don't know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn't find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them." (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.)

The king's men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.

She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.

The spies went into the hills and hid. The king's men looked for them all over the countryside for three days, but they did not find them, so they returned to Jericho.

Then the two spies came down from the hills, crossed the river, and went back to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened,

The next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel got up early, left the camp at Acacia, and went to the Jordan, where they camped while waiting to cross it.

Then he told the priests to take the Covenant Box and go with it ahead of the people. They did as he said.