Study Desk

Then she said to them, "Go into the hills so that the king's men will not accidentally find you. Hide there for three days. After the king's men come back, you can go on your way."

Then Joshua said to the priests, "Take the Box of the Agreement and go across the river in front of the people." So the priests lifted the Box and carried it in front of the people.

(During harvest time the Jordan River overflows its banks, so the river was at its fullest.) The priests who were carrying the Box came to the shore of the river. When they stepped into the water,

So Joshua chose one man from each tribe. Then he called the twelve men together.

So the Israelites obeyed Joshua. They carried twelve rocks from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one rock for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They did this as the Lord had commanded Joshua. The men carried the rocks with them. Then they put the rocks at the place where they made their camp.

The Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people what to do. This is what Moses had said Joshua must do. So the priests carrying the Holy Box stood in the middle of the river until everything was done. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the river.

So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come out of the Jordan River."

The Lord your God caused the water in the Jordan River to stop flowing so that you could cross it on dry land—just as the Lord had stopped the water at the Red Sea so that we could cross it on dry land.

The Lord did this so that all the people in this country would know that he is very powerful. Then they will always be afraid of the Lord your God."

So the Lord dried up the Jordan River until the Israelites finished crossing it. The kings of the Amorites living west of the Jordan River and the Canaanites living by the Mediterranean Sea heard about this and became very frightened. After that they were not brave enough to stand and fight against the Israelites.

So Joshua made knives from flint rocks and circumcised the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.

This is why Joshua circumcised the men: After the Israelites left Egypt, all the men who were able to serve in the army were circumcised. While in the desert, many of the fighting men did not listen to the Lord . So the Lord promised that they would not see the "land where much food grows." He promised our ancestors to give us that land, but because of those men, he forced the people to wander in the desert for 40 years. That way all those fighting men would die. So all the fighting men died, and their sons took their place. But none of the boys who were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. So Joshua circumcised them.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "You were slaves in Egypt, and this made you ashamed. But today I have taken away that shame." So Joshua named that place Gilgal. And that place is still named Gilgal today.

The commander of the Lord 's army answered, "Take off your sandals. The place where you are standing is holy." So Joshua obeyed him.

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together and said to them, "Carry the Holy Box of the Lord . Tell seven priests to carry the trumpets and march in front of it."

So Joshua made the priests carry the Holy Box of the Lord around the city one time. Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.

So then the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the trumpets, they began shouting. The walls fell down, and the people ran up into the city. So the Israelites defeated that city.

Joshua talked to the two spies. He said, "You made a promise to the prostitute. So go to her house and bring her out and all those who are with her."

So the two men went into the house and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, all her family, and all those who were with her. They put all the people in a safe place outside the camp of Israel.

So the Lord was with Joshua, and Joshua became famous throughout the whole country.