They ran the computer measurements backwards and forwards over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared with the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, ‘It’s perfect.’ The head of the operation said, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Well, we’ve found there’s a day missing in space in a lapsed time.’ They were puzzled and there seemed no answer. Then one man on the team remembered he’d been told at Sunday school of the sun standing still. They didn’t believe him but as no alternative was forthcoming they asked him to get a Bible and find it – which he did in the book of Joshua 10:12-14 ‘And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed – and hasted not to go down about a whole day.’ The space men said, ‘There is the missing day.’
Well, they checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua’s day was 23 hours and 20 minutes – not a whole day. They read the Bible again and it said about a day! These little words in the Bible are important. But they were still in trouble because if you can’t account for 40 minutes you will be in trouble 100 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits. Then it was this same man who remembered somewhere in the Bible it said the sun went backwards. The space men told him he was out of his mind but they got out the Bible and found how Hezekiah on his death bed was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him he was not going to die and Hezekiah asked what the sign should be. And Isaiah said ‘This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward 10 degrees or go back 10 degrees?’ And Hezekiah answered ‘It is a light thing for the shadow to go down 10 degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees’. And Isaiah cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow 10 degrees backward by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. (2 Kings 20)
Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes. So 23 hours and 20 minutes in Joshua plus 40 minutes in 2 Kings make the missing 24 hours which they had to log in the log book as being the missing day in the universe.
In all honesty, I must add that many regard this report as unreliable, even fraudulent.
The southern campaign continued with victories over Bethel and Lachish (which we know from archaeology were destroyed between 1250 and 1200 BC). The whole region was subdued.
(iii) The north
Having defeated the south, the people turned to concerns in the north. The northern kings were aware of the Israelites’ success by then, and so united their forces for battle. Once again, however, God assured the Israelites of victory: their enemies’ chariots were burned and their horses hamstrung.
The cities on the mounds were the only ones not totally destroyed, apart from Hazor which Joshua burned. Archaeologists confirm that that city was ruined by fire at this time, between 1250 and 1200 BC.
With the conquests over, we are given an interesting summary of the Israelites’ activity, including the statement that the Lord hardened the hearts of the nations so that they came against Israel in battle. Clearly their sins were so great that complete extermination was the only solution.
3. DIVIDING
Before progressing any further, we must establish the distinction between occupation and subjugation. Occupation refers to places; subjugation refers to peoples. Whilst the land was theirs, since the people were subjugated, the Israelites still had much land to occupy. Much of the rest of the book is taken up with this process.
The allocation of land was decided by national lottery, leading some to believe that God sanctions the sort of lottery which currently operates in many countries, including Britain. There is, however, an important distinction to be understood. Lotteries are arranged so that humans cannot influence the outcome. Israel chose the lottery specifically so that God could influence the outcome. After all, if God could control the sun, this was nothing to him.
(i) The east bank
The land itself is fascinating, and Joshua records how it was surveyed. The same size as Wales, it is the only green part of the Middle East. The Arabian desert lies to the east, the Negev desert to the south. The rain comes from the Mediterranean.
Moses had promised that the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh would be given fertile land east of the Jordan, providing they helped in the battle for Canaan. Joshua honoured this pledge.
Throughout the division of the land, the key word was ‘inheritance’. The land was an inheritance for Israel, not just for a while, nor just for the lifetime of the victors, but as a permanent home to pass on to their descendants.
(ii) The west bank
At Gilgal: 2½ tribes
Caleb was one of the spies who had given a positive report about the land when the 12 spies were sent in 45 years before. Now, at the age of 85, we read that he was just as strong as he had been at 40. He approached Joshua and asked that he might be allowed to take the hill country that he had been promised all those years before. Joshua blessed him and gave him the town of Hebron.
The daughters of Manasseh reminded Joshua of Moses’ promise to give them land too. The people of Joseph claimed to be too numerous for the land they were given and so were also allotted forested areas to clear.
The book outlines in considerable detail the towns and villages that were allotted to each tribe, with occasional reference to other matters. We read, for example, of the Israelites’ failure to defeat the enemy when Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites in Jerusalem.
At Shiloh: 8½ tribes
Several tribes remained without allotted land, so each tribe selected men to survey the territory in order to divide it further.
(iii) Special cities
Refuge
There were six special cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan, where those guilty of manslaughter could flee when they were chased by those intent on revenge. Within Jewish law there was a distinction between accidental, unintentional killing and premeditated killing. These cities enabled the law to be applied.
Levites
When the land had been allotted, the text makes it clear that the Levites received no land as such, no specific territory. We are told that the Lord was their inheritance – serving God was sufficient for them. Of course, the individual Levites had to live somewhere and towns with pastureland were allotted to them, scattered amongst the other tribes.
(iv) The altar on the east bank
Towards the end of Joshua we are told how a potential tragedy was averted. When the two and a half tribes returned across the Jordan to their territories on the east bank, Joshua urged them to be careful to love God, walk in his ways and obey his commands. However, no sooner had they arrived home than they built an altar at Peor, by the Jordan. The other tribes regarded this as idolatry and immediately declared war. Fortunately, they decided to talk before the first blow was struck. The ‘guilty’ tribes claimed that the new altar was their way of remembering that they were still part of God’s people on the other side of the river. This pacified the concerned tribal leaders and war was avoided.
Joshua’s commitment
The last two chapters are a moving finale to the book. Joshua was conscious of his advancing years, and had served, like Moses, for 40 years. He knew he was going to die soon and so wanted to make provision for the future of the nation.
It is important to note that whilst Moses appointed Joshua as his successor, Joshua did not appoint a successor for himself. This may seem strange, but from then on the job of leadership could not be left to just one man. The leadership needs were different, the people were scattered across the land, and one man could not lead