March 5, 2026 - Joshua 10-13

“As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel” (9:1-2).  The fighting for the land had begun.  Joshua first took the south, then turned north where he “captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms” (11:10) and, thus, effectively conquered the whole.  The task, though, was not complete:  “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess’” (13:1).  Still, it was time to begin to divide the land among the tribes.  Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben had asked for land east of the Jordan River (Numbers 32), and Moses had granted that request on the condition that they help conquer Canaan.  They did, and they received their allotment.  Here’s the thing.  God had promised to give the land to Israel, and he did.  Moses had promised the eastern lands to the three tribes, and Joshua made good on that promise.  How challenging had been the journey to this point!  Yet, promises made, promises kept.  And so, our story continues . . .

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand;

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light.

Take my hand, precious Lord;

Lead me home.   --Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1938)