Study Desk

The people of Reuben and Gad said, "This altar is a witness to all of us that the Lord is God." And so they named it "Witness."

you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive these nations out as you advance. Rather, they will be as dangerous for you as a trap or a pit and as painful as a whip on your back or thorns in your eyes. And this will last until none of you are left in this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God.

they cried out to me for help, and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt. "‘You lived in the desert a long time.

Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought you, but I gave you victory over them. You took their land, and I destroyed them as you advanced.

As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the Lord , and after his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything that the Lord had done for Israel.

and Judah went into battle together. The Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek.

They found Adonibezek there and fought him.

He ran away, but they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

The people of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people and set fire to the city.

After this they went on to fight the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the foothills, and in the dry country to the south.

They marched against the Canaanites living in the city of Hebron, which used to be called Kiriath Arba. There they defeated the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

The people of Judah went with the people of Simeon, and together they defeated the Canaanites who lived in the city of Zephath. They put a curse on the city, destroyed it, and named it Hormah.

The Lord helped the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they did not capture Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These people living along the coast had iron chariots, and so the people of Judah were not able to drive them out.

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to attack the city of Bethel, at that time called Luz. The Lord helped them. They sent spies to the city,

So I tell you now that I will not drive these people out as you advance. They will be your enemies, and you will be trapped by the worship of their gods."

and that is why the place is called Bochim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord .

As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the Lord , and even after his death they continued to do so as long as the leaders were alive who had seen for themselves all the great things that the Lord had done for Israel.

They stopped worshiping the Lord , the God of their ancestors, the God who had brought them out of Egypt, and they began to worship other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and made the Lord angry.

They stopped worshiping the Lord and served the Baals and the Astartes.