Joshua

Josh 20:1 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, Josh 20:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, Josh 20:3 that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. Now that the land was divided, the people were to set up the cities of refuge as commanded by Elohim. The cities were spread throughout the land in order to give a man a chance for justice in the case of an accidental manslaughter. Josh 20:4 'And he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them. Josh 20:5 'Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. This is the difference between murder and manslaughter. Manslaughter is an incident that results in death and it occurs without hate being in the heart of the slayer. Josh 20:6 'And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.'" Elohim considers the spilling of human blood to be very serious on the part of the slayer even if it is accidental. Release from the city of refuge does not occur until the death of the High Priest of that day. This is a beautiful picture of our Messiah and High Priest. Who, through His death and resurrection, rescued us from the captivity of certain damnation due to our sin. Josh 20:7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. Josh 20:8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. Josh 20:9 These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation. Elohim wants justice and mercy to be among His people.

Josh 23:5 "And the LORD your God, He shall thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. Josh 23:6 "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, Joshua is telling the people that they are to do ALL that is written in the Law of Moses (Deut. 5:32-33, 12:32, 28:14, Prov. 4:26-27, Isa. 1:16-18). Do not turn to the right or to the left. Why did John the Baptist come (Matt. 3:1-3)? Josh 23:7 in order that you may not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. Josh 23:8 "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. Joshua told the people to hold fast, or cling, to Yahweh. That obviously means to obey Him and keep His Word. Peter told the Gentiles to do the same thing in the Book of Acts Acts 11:23). Josh 23:9 "For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. Josh 23:10 "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. Josh 23:11 "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. To love Yahweh our Elohim is of the utmost importance (Ex. 20:4-6, Romans 8:28). Josh 23:12 "For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, Josh 23:13 know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. Joshua tells them that they are not to act like the rest of the world around them. We are told as followers of Messiah not to be like the world 1 John 2:16-17).

Josh 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war. This is just as Yahweh had promised Moses (Ex. 23:27-31). The land was given as an inheritance according to their divisions, just as instructed by Yahweh to Moses and then to Joshua (Num. 26:52-55 not shown).

Josh 9:11 "So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us."' Josh 9:12 "This our bread was warm when we took it for our provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. Josh 9:13 "And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these our clothes and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey." They were very clever in their deception. They were eager to make a covenant with Israel. Israel was very easily tricked because they did not inquire of Yahweh before making a decision. Josh 9:14 So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. Josh 9:15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. They made a covenant with these men that they would live in peace with them and not destroy them. Their sin was in not asking for counsel from Elohim. River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]

Josh 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, Josh 8:31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. They wrote the law on stones that were not cut by iron tools. Elohim commanded this through Moses (Deut. 27:5-8). Josh 8:32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. Josh 8:33 And all Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel. The site of war quickly turned into a site of worship. Josh 8:34 Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. Josh 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them. All the words of the law were read to all of the people. The ancient rabbis have said, "If you want to know Elohim, learn His Law." That is what the people did. River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]

Were you told not to partake in the Eucharist if you had sin in your life? Or didn’t conform to their rules? Many churches teach that you couldn’t partake in the Eucharist if your not in the right frame of mind, if your emotions are not just right, if you feel there is sin in your life, you cannot have the bread and wine they serve. You have to confess your sins first, then you can; unless you have been divorced, that’s another rabbit hole they will take you down. That is not what Paul meant in 1 Cor. 11:28-35. 1 Cor. 11:28-32 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. 30For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. Paul was saying… watch and see the clarification! River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]

Josh 4:6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' The importance of teaching our children about Yahweh and the wonderful things He has done for us is spoken of several times in Scripture. Elohim often tells us to use physical items such as these stones and also tassels as reminders to us and our children as to who He is and what our duties are as His people ( Deut 6:20-25). Josh 4:7 then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." Josh 4:8 And thus the sons of Israel did, as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place, and put them down there. Josh 4:9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. Another memorial of twelve stones are placed in the Jordan itself. What is the significance of the number twelve? It would appear in Scripture that the number twelve symbolizes Israel (Ex. 24:4). There were twelve stones on the breastplate of the high priest that represent Israel also (Ex. 28:21). There are numerous passages in the Tanakh where twelve is used to represent Israel and the tribes. Why were there twelve disciples? The likely answer is that they represent all of Israel. They may each be from a particular tribe or at least represent each tribe. We are told, that in the future, the disciples will judge the twelve tribes (Luke 22:14, 29-20). We also see the link between the twelve tribes and the twelve missionaries in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9-14). River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]

Josh 2:1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. It might seem odd that Joshua would send spies into the land since the last time they did it, it was a disaster (Num. 13:25-32). Why would they send spies into the land again? The difference is that Joshua is sending these spies in "secretly." They are not going into the land to see if the land is everything Elohim promised. They are going into the land to help formulate a plan of attack. Joshua kept this from the people in order for them to not get disheartened thinking about what happened forty years earlier. They came to the house of a prostitute names Rahab. River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]

Josh 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. Now we come to the quandary. We know that lying is wrong and is a sin (Prov. 12:22, 6:16-17, Psalm 5:6). It also appears that Elohim blessed Rahab for her actions (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). She is even included in the line to the Messiah (Matt. 1:5-6). Was Elohim approving the lying of Rahab? This has caused critics of Scripture to claim that Elohim condones an "end justifies the means" mentality when it is convenient. That is absurd of course. The fact is, Rahab is not blessed because she lived in a pagan culture. She is not blessed because she was a prostitute and she was not blessed because she lied. She was blessed IN SPITE OF those things. The ensuing verses show that she had a heart for Elohim and she was willing to risk her life to demonstrate that. Josh 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. The Book of the Law is not to depart from our mouths. We are to meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:1-3). Elohim promises in several places of Scripture that we will prosper in His hand if we are obedient. (Prov. 2:1-5, 3:1-2, Matt. 7:21-23, Luke 11:27-28, John 13:15-17, 14:21, Matt. 6:31-33). Scripture is clear. If we want success and prosperity, do not be concerned with the riches of this world. Concern yourself with the Kingdom of Elohim and His righteousness, and all the things you need will be provided to you. Josh 1:15 until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise." THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST. That means they are not going to enter My Kingdom. Heb 3:9-11, 3:17-19, 4:1-11 They shall not enter My rest. That means they shall not enter My Kingdom. River Valley Torah Assembly [email protected]