kjv@Joshua:1:1@ Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
kjv@Joshua:1:2@ Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
kjv@Joshua:1:3@ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
kjv@Joshua:1:4@ From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
kjv@Joshua:1:5@ There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
kjv@Joshua:1:6@ Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
kjv@Joshua:1:7@ Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
kjv@Joshua:1:8@ This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
kjv@Joshua:1:9@ Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
kjv@Joshua:1:10@ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
kjv@Joshua:1:11@ Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
kjv@Joshua:1:12@ And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
kjv@Joshua:1:13@ Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
kjv@Joshua:1:14@ Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
kjv@Joshua:1:15@ Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
kjv@Joshua:1:16@ And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
kjv@Joshua:1:17@ According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
kjv@Joshua:1:18@ Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
It is not clear as to what the mechanism God uses to harden hearts is; allowing such or in someway forcing such. It would be easy not knowing why God would want such for us to have difficaulty with this passage. With such passages it is best to give God the bennefit of our doubt and seek through for a more understandable why.
Why? Hearts tend to harden or soften on their own given situations whether reasonably our unreasonably. These peoples hearts had been hard and continue to be unreasonably hard to this day. Perhaps God knowing that their hearts would not soften (or only temporarily) set in motion the final hardening (atleast for this time). Neither do we know the demonic warfare occurring behind the scenes that God may have been cleansing out of the area.
Hopefully we can sense what a thurrough route God caused in this land of Canaan given the numbers and armourment and alliances against Israel. One loss only is reported and that caused by a covetous foot soilder in Ai. There should be no doubt at that time nor this that the one real and true living God is in action and wants this to occur.
Not only do we have the miraculous victory of God over the previous inhabitants of this land, we have the miraculous sustaining of the Israelites in this land for several centuries despite their frequent bends toward idolotry and corruption. Gods work is spotlighted throughout on the center of the world's stage.
The spys were sent early just weeks after the red sea. Caleb was forty then. The wilderness to Jordan crossing 38 or so years. By my count the taking of Canann was approximately 7 years by Calebs math.
Hebron is where Abraham once pitched his tent, where Sarah died, where David had his his first royal residence. It is one of the most ancient cities existing even to this day.
Divided by tribe by lot. The levites having cities but not land. An early form of seperation of church and state? An early attempt to sanctify the priesthood from the corruption and entanglements of state?
The immediate thing that stands out in these passages is that not all the Canaanites were driven out as had been commanded, some were subjegated. We also see that there were still battles to be waged individually by some of the tribes in order to secure their allotment.
And so begins a completely new stage in each of their lives. They have never known there own land and for the past forty plus years been provided for miraculously in the wilderness. Frame of mind and attitudes can quickly change as some squander their inheritance or become in indebted. Some would even have to flee to cities of refuge as setup here.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
