Study Desk

At sunset Joshua told his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw them into the same cave where they had been hiding and covered the opening of the cave with large rocks, which are still there today.

During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish, but Joshua also defeated him and his army; no one was left alive.

So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy by attacking them at the waters of Merom.

Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this, and then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it. Joshua did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.

Sihon king of the Amorites lived in the city of Heshbon and ruled the land from Aroer at the Arnon Ravine to the Jabbok River. His land started in the middle of the ravine, which was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half the land of Gilead

half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities where Og king of Bashan had ruled. All this went to the family of Makir son of Manasseh, and half of all his sons were given this land.

"Now then, the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for forty-five years from the time he said this to Moses during the time we all wandered in the desert. Now here I am, eighty-five years old.

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

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

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

The people from the tribes of Joseph said to Joshua, "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 the Lord gave his people?"

After the leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun his land also.

The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites peace, and he has kept his promise. Now you may go back to your homes, to the land that Moses, the Lord 's servant, gave you, on the east side of the Jordan River.

But be careful to obey the teachings and laws Moses, the Lord 's servant, gave you: to love the Lord your God and obey his commands, to continue to follow him and serve him the very best you can."

They also sent one leader from each of the ten tribes at Shiloh. Each of them was a leader of his family group of Israelites.

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

With his help, one Israelite could defeat a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do.

"It's almost time for me to die. You know and fully believe that the Lord has done great things for you. You know that he has not failed to keep any of his promises.

Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true, and in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you and that he will destroy you from this good land that he gave you.

But I, the Lord , took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children, including his son Isaac.