Study Desk

So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy and attacked them at the river of Merom.

Long ago the Lord commanded his servant Moses to do this. Then Moses commanded Joshua to do this. So Joshua obeyed God. He did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.

They defeated King Sihon of the Amorites living in the city of Heshbon. He ruled the land from Aroer at the Arnon Ravine to the Jabbok River. His land started in the center of that ravine. This was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half of the land of Gilead.

Og ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all the area of Bashan. His land ended where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived. Og also ruled half of the land of Gilead. This land ended at the land of King Sihon of Heshbon.

The land also included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei. (Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei were the cities where King Og had lived.) All this land was given to the family of Makir son of Manasseh. Half of all his sons got this land.

One day some people from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. Caleb said to Joshua, "You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. The Lord was speaking to Moses, his servant. The Lord was talking about you and me.

Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh. Joshua gave him the city of Hebron as his own.

And that city still belongs to the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. That land still belongs to his people because he trusted and obeyed the Lord , God of Israel.

Othniel was the son of Caleb's brother Kenaz. Othniel defeated that city, so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife.

Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph's first son. Manasseh's first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier, so the areas of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family.

The tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua and said, "You gave us only one area of land, but we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land that the Lord gave his people?"

The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites peace. And now, he has kept his promise, so now you can go home. The Lord 's servant Moses gave you the land on the east side of the Jordan River. Now you can go home to that land.

But remember—continue to obey the law that the Lord 's servant Moses gave you. You must love the Lord your God and obey his commands. You must continue to follow him and serve him the very best that you can."

Remember what happened at Peor? Was the sin we committed there not bad enough? Because of that sin, the Lord punished his people with a terrible sickness. And we are still suffering from that sin.

"‘Remember how Achan son of Zerah refused to obey the command about things that must be destroyed. That one man broke God's law, but all the Israelites were punished. Achan died because of his sin, but also many other people died.'"

With his help, one man from Israel could defeat 1000 enemy soldiers, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised.

"It is almost time for me to die. You know and really believe that the Lord has done many great things for you. You know that the Lord your God has not failed in any of his promises. He has kept every promise that he has made to us.

Every good promise that the Lord your God made to us has come true. But in the same way, the Lord will make his other promises come true: If you do wrong, bad things will happen to you. You will be forced to leave this good land that the Lord your God has given to you.

But I took your father Abraham out of the land on the other side of the River. I led him through the land of Canaan and gave him many children. I gave Abraham his son Isaac.

And I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. To Esau, I gave the land around the mountains of Seir. Jacob and his sons did not live there. They went to live in the land of Egypt.