Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
Day 100 and 65
when all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, now
choose 12 men, one from each tribe.
Tell them, take 12 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'll camp tonight.
So Joshua called together the 12 men.
He had chosen one from each of the tribes of Israel.
He told them, Go into 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.
12 stones in all one.
For each of the 12 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 memorial among the people of Israel forever.
So the men did, as Joshua had commanded them.
They took 12 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 for the night
and constructed the memorial there.
Joshua also set up another pile of 12 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, the priests who were carrying the ark stood in the
middle of the river until all of the Lord's commands that Moses had
given to Joshua were carried out.
Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed.
When everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the
Ark of the Lord as the people watched the armed warriors from the tribes of
Reuben Gadd and the half tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan.
Just as Moses had directed these armed men about 40,000 strong, were ready for
battle and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.
That day, the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all
the Israelites, and for the rest of his life, they revered him.
As much as they had revered Moses, the Lord had said to Joshua command,
the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the river bed.
So Joshua gave the command.
As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord's covenant came up out
of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan
returned and overflowed its banks.
As before, the people crossed the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month.
Then they camped at Gilgal just east of Jericho.
It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the 12 stones
taken from the Jordan River.
Then Joshua said to the Israelites, in the future, your children will
ask, what do these stones mean?
Then you can tell them, this is where the Israelites crossed the
Jordan on dry ground for the Lord.
Your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry
until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried
it up until we had all crossed over.
He did this so all the nations of the Earth might know that the Lord's
hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.
When all the Amide kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings
who lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had
dried up the Jordan River, so the people of Israel could cross.
They lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
At that time, the Lord told Joshua, make Flint knives and circumcised
this second generation of Israelites.
So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male
population of Israel at Gibb.
He auth Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old
enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness.
Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born
after the Exodus during the years in the wilderness had been circumcised.
The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for 40 years until all
the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had
died for they had disobeyed the Lord.
And the Lord vowed he would not let them enter the land.
He had sworn to give us a land flowing with milk and honey.
So Joshua circumcised their sons, those who had grown up to take their father's
places for they had not been circumcised on the way to the promised land.
After all the males had been circumcised.
They rested in the camp until they were healed.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, today, I have rolled away the
shame of your slavery in Egypt.
So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they
celebrated Passover on the evening of the 14th day of the first month.
The very next day, they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted
grain harvested from the land.
No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the
land, and it was never seen again.
So from that time on, the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing
in front of him with sword in hand.
Joshua went up to him and demanded, are you friend or foe?
Neither one.
He replied, I'm 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 off your sandals for the
place where you are standing is holy.
And Joshua did as he was told.
Now, the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people
were afraid of the Israelites.
No one was allowed to go out or in, but the Lord said to Joshua.
I have given you Jericho.
It's king and all its strong warriors.
You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days.
Seven priests will walk ahead of the ark, each carrying a Rams horn.
On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times with
the priests blowing the horns.
When you hear the priests give one long blast on the Rams horns, have all the
people shout as loud as they can, then the walls of the town will collapse and the
people can charge straight into the town.
So Joshua called together the priests and said, take up the Ark of the Lord's
Covenant and assign seven priests to walk in front of it each carrying a Rams horn.
Then he gave orders to the people, march around the town, and the
armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.
After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven priests with the Rams horns
started marching in the presence of the Lord, blowing the horns as they
marched and the Ark of the Lord's covenant followed behind them.
Some of the armed men marched in front of the priests with the
horns and some behind the ark.
With the priests continually blowing the horns.
Do not shout.
Do not even talk.
Joshua commanded.
Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout.
Then shout.
So the Ark of the Lord was carried around the town once that day, and then everyone
returned to spend the night in the camp.
Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests again
carried the ark of the Lord.
The seven priests with the Rams horns marched in front of the Ark of the
Lord, blowing their horns again.
The armed men marched both in front of the priests with the horns
and behind the ark of the Lord.
All this time, the priests were blowing their horns on the second day.
They again marched around the town once and returned to the camp.
They followed this pattern for six days.
On the seventh day, the Israelites got up at Dawn and marched around the town
as they had done before, but this time they went around the town seven times
the seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns.
Joshua commanded the people Shout For the Lord has given you the town, Jericho,
and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord.
Only Rahab, the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared for.
She protected our spies.
Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will
be completely destroyed and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel.
Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord
and must be brought into his treasury.
When the people heard the sound of the Rams horns, they
shouted as loud as they could.
Suddenly the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight
into the town and captured it.
They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords, men and
women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, Keep your promise, go to the
prostitute's house and bring her out.
Along with all her family, the men who had been spies went in and brought out
Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her.
They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel.
Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it.
Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for
the treasury of the Lord's house.
So Joshua spared Rahab, the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the
house because she had hidden the spies.
Joshua sent to Jericho, and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
At that time, Joshua invoked this curse.
May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho
at the cost of his firstborn son.
He will lay its foundation at the cost of his youngest son.
He will set up its gates, so the Lord was with Joshua and his
reputation spread throughout the land.
This concludes today's immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.