Month: October 2025

When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword in hand, Joshua went up to hi and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”

“Neither one,” he replied. “”I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”

At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”

The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take of your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. (vv 12-15, NLT)

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you camp tonight.'”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen-one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go to the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder-twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a reminder among the people of Israel forever.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped and constructed the memorial there.

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was harvest season, and the Joran was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until who whole nation had crossed the Joran on dry ground. (vv. 15-17, NLT)

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses My servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on the land I have given you-from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains to the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’No one wil be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with youas I was with Moses. I will not fail you or a abandon you.”

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study the Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is My command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (vv. 1-9, NLT)

[Moses said[ “When you enter the land the Lord you God is giving you, be very careful not imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice you son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.” (vv. 9-14, NLT)

[Moses said] “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving to you. They must judge the people fairly. You must never twist justice or sho partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly. Let tru justice prevail, so that you may live an occupy the land that the Lord you God is giving to you. “

“YOu mst never set o a wooden Asherah pole beside the alter you build for the Lord you God. And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord you God hates them.” (vv. 18-23, NLT)

[Moses said] “You must set aside a tithe of your crops-one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship-the place the Lord your God choses for His name to be honored-and eat it there in His presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always fear the Lord your God.” (vv 22-23, NLT)

[Moses said] “And now Israel, what doe the Lord you God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord you God, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and sere Him with all your hear and soul And you must always obey the Lord’s commandments and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”

“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of His love. And He chose you, their descendants above all other nations, as is evident today. Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.” (vv. 12-16, NLT)

[Moses said] “The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous that other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and He was keeping His oath He had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those tho love Him and obey His commands. But He does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject Him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.” (vv. 7-11, NLT)

[Moses said] “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this has ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire-as you did-and survived? Has any other god dared to take nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, was, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.”

“He showed you these thing so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. He let your hear His voice from heaven so He could instruct you. He let you see His great fire her on earth so He could speak to you from it. Because He loved your ancestors He chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove our nations far greater than you, so He could bring you in and give you their land as you special possession, as it is today. “

“So remember this and keep firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” (vv. 32-40, NLT)