The Living Bible (69 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Then Moses climbed from the plains of Moab to Pisgah Peak in Mount Nebo, across from Jericho. And the Lord pointed out to him the Promised Land, as they gazed out across Gilead as far as Dan:
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“There is Naphtali; and there is Ephraim and Manasseh; and across there, Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea;
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there is the Negeb; and the Jordan Valley; and Jericho, the city of palm trees; and Zoar,” the Lord told him.
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“It is the Promised Land,” the Lord told Moses. “I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give it to their descendants. Now you have seen it, but you will not enter it.”
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So Moses, the disciple of the Lord, died in the land of Moab as the Lord had said.
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The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but no one knows the exact place.
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Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was perfect and he was as strong as a young man.
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The people of Israel mourned for him for thirty days on the plains of Moab.
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Joshua (son of Nun) was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the people of Israel obeyed him and followed the commandments the Lord had given to Moses.
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There has never been another prophet like Moses, for the Lord talked to him face to face.
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And at God’s command he performed amazing miracles that have never been equaled.
After the death of Moses, the Lord’s disciple, God spoke to Moses’ assistant, whose name was Joshua (the son of Nun), and said to him,
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“Now that my disciple is dead, you are the new leader of Israel.
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Lead my people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
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I say to you what I said to Moses: ‘Wherever you go will be part of the land of Israel—
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all the way from the Negeb Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Euphrates River in the east, including all the land of the Hittites.’
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No one will be able to oppose you as long as you live, for I will be with you just as I was with Moses; I will not abandon you or fail to help you.
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“Be strong and brave, for you will be a successful leader of my people; and they shall conquer all the land I promised to their ancestors.
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You need only to be strong and courageous and to obey to the letter every law Moses gave you, for if you are careful to obey every one of them, you will be successful in everything you do.
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Constantly remind the people about these laws, and you yourself must think about them every day and every night so that you will be sure to obey all of them. For only then will you succeed.
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Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
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Then Joshua issued instructions to the leaders of Israel to tell the people to get ready to cross the Jordan River. “In three days we will go across and conquer and live in the land which God has given us!” he told them.
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Then he summoned the leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and reminded them of their agreement with Moses: “The Lord your God has given you a homeland here on the east side of the Jordan River,” Moses had told them,
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“so your wives and children and cattle may remain here, but your troops, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan River to help them conquer their territory on the other side;
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stay with them until they complete the conquest. Only then may you settle down here on the east side of the Jordan.”
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To this they fully agreed and pledged themselves to obey Joshua as their commander-in-chief.
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“We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses,” they assured him, “and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. If anyone, no matter who, rebels against your commands, he shall die. So lead on with courage and strength!”
Then Joshua sent two spies from the Israeli camp at Acacia to cross the river and check out the situation on the other side, especially at Jericho. They arrived at an inn operated by a woman named Rahab, who was a prostitute. They were planning to spend the night there,
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but someone informed the king of Jericho that two Israelis who were suspected of being spies had arrived in the city that evening.
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He dispatched a police squadron to Rahab’s home, demanding that she surrender them.
“They are spies,” he explained. “They have been sent by the Israeli leaders to discover the best way to attack us.”
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But she had hidden them, so she told the officer in charge, “The men were here earlier, but I didn’t know they were spies.
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They left the city at dusk as the city gates were about to close, and I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them!”
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But actually she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath piles of flax that were drying there.
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So the constable and his men went all the way to the Jordan River looking for them; meanwhile, the city gates were kept shut.
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Rahab went up to talk to the men before they retired for the night.
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“I know perfectly well that your God is going to give my country to you,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you; everyone is terrified if the word
Israel
is even mentioned.
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For we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and how you ruined their land and completely destroyed their people.
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No wonder we are afraid of you! No one has any fight left in him after hearing things like that, for your God is the supreme God of heaven, not just an ordinary god.
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Now I beg for this one thing: Swear to me by the sacred name of your God that when Jericho is conquered you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families. This is only fair after the way I have helped you.”
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The men agreed. “If you won’t betray us, we’ll see to it that you and your family aren’t harmed,” they promised.
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“We’ll defend you with our lives.” Then, since her house was on top of the city wall, she let them down by a rope from a window.
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“Escape to the mountains,” she told them. “Hide there for three days until the men who are searching for you have returned; then go on your way.”
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But before they left, the men had said to her, “We cannot be responsible for what happens to you unless this rope is hanging from this window and unless all your relatives—your father, mother, brothers, and anyone else—are here inside the house.
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If they go out into the street, we assume no responsibility whatsoever; but we swear that no one inside this house will be killed or injured.
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However, if you betray us, then this oath will no longer bind us in any way.”
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“I accept your terms,” she replied. And she left the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
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The spies went up into the mountains and stayed there three days, until the men who were chasing them had returned to the city after searching everywhere along the road without success.
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Then the two spies came down from the mountains and crossed the river and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them.
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“The Lord will certainly give us the entire land,” they said, “for all the people over there are scared to death of us.”
Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia and arrived that evening at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped for a few days before crossing.
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On the third day officers went through the camp giving these instructions: “When you see the priests carrying the Ark of God,
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follow them. You have never before been where we are going now, so they will guide you. However, stay about a half mile behind, with a clear space between you and the Ark; be sure that you don’t get any closer.”
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Then Joshua told the people to purify themselves. “For tomorrow,” he said, “the Lord will do a great miracle.”
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In the morning Joshua ordered the priests, “Take up the Ark and lead us across the river!” And so they started out.
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“Today,” the Lord told Joshua, “I will give you great honor, so that all Israel will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.
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Instruct the priests who are carrying the Ark to stop at the edge of the river.”
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Then Joshua summoned all the people and told them, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God has said.
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Today you are going to know for sure that the living God is among you and that he will, without fail, drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites—all the people who now live in the land you will soon occupy.
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Think of it! The Ark of God, who is Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the river!
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“Now select twelve men, one from each tribe, for a special task.
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When the priests who are carrying the Ark touch the water with their feet, the river will stop flowing as though held back by a dam, and will pile up as though against an invisible wall!” Now it was the harvest season and the Jordan was overflowing all its banks; but as the people set out to cross the river and as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,
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suddenly, far up the river at the city of Adam, near Zarethan, the water began piling up as though against a dam! And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was empty. Then all the people crossed at a spot where the river was close to the city of Jericho,
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and the priests who were carrying the Ark stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan and waited as all the people passed by.