1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

Lesson 41,  Geography Study Concerning the Scriptures, Israel's Conquest of Transjordan

Israel’s Conquest of Transjordan

From Mount Nebo in the Abarim range in Moab, Moses viewed the Promised Land which he was not permitted to enter.

Deuteronomy 34:1-8,  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, ²And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, ³And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. ⁴And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.  So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. ⁶And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. ⁷And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. ⁸And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

Remember the event at the end of the wilderness wanderings at Meribah where Moses was told to speak to the rock but instead smote the rock twice thus disobeying the Lord. 

And in smiting the rock and saying “Must we fetch you water out of this rock, Moses had denied the glory to God and instead took the glory to himself and Aaron.

Numbers 20:7-13, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ⁸Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. ⁹And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? ¹¹And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. ¹²And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. ¹³This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

So God denied not only Moses but also Aaron the privilege of entering into the promised land.

Somewhere in this majestic hill country he was buried, bringing to an end the period of the wilderness wandering. 

So at this point in the exodus from Egypt and entrance of Israel into the promised land a new General by the name of Joshua takes the lead.

In the economy of man there is always a passing of leadership and leadership’s authority. 

Man comes and goes but God is forever. 

So this passing of authority to Joshua is designed to demonstrate that there is a succession of God’s authority and power. 

God at times chooses to work his will though men and we see in this account that Moses has served God’s purpose and God now appoints another who has demonstrated faith in the past and now will lead His people in the future.

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.

The Lord is the constant. 

Any leader who has the Lord God with him will be successful.

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.

Joshua 3:7,  And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

Joshua 6:27,  So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

As the time drew near to invade the western lands, Joshua is shown to have prepared the people of Israel

He informed the people of what was to come

Emotionally – Joshua 1:10,11,  Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,  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.

He formulated a strategy

Strategically – Joshua 2:1,  And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

His leadership considered future generations:

Domestically – Joshua 4:5-7,  And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: ⁶That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? ⁷Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

And he prepared them spiritually

Spiritually – Joshua 5:2-5,  At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. ³And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. ⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. ⁵Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.

At the properly designated moment, Joshua led a new generation through divided waters, as their fathers had experienced deliverance at the Red Sea

Joshua 4:19,  And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.

Joshua 4:23,  For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: ²⁴That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.

The magnitude and timing of this reproduced miracle accredited Joshua as the bona fide successor of Moses.

So now that Israel, under Moses, had conquered the entire country east of the Jordan and north of the Arnon River it was up to Joshua to lead the people in conquering the land west of the Jordan. 

Three major campaigns (Central, Southern, and the Northern Campaign) which brought much of Canaan into Israelite possession and made possible the division of the land among the tribes are described in the Book of Joshua. 

But because of incomplete victory their were important pockets of resistence that continued for several centuries after the time of Joshua. 

It was not until David’s reign that Jerusalem itself was incorporated into Israelite territory. 

After crossing the Jordan, Joshua established his camp at Gilgal, east of Jericho.

Joshua 4:19,  And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.  (This was the same day that God told the Israelites to take a lamb and set him apart for sacrifice on the 14^th day, Passover)

Joshua 4:10,  And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

From Gilgal spies were dispatched to the strategic, fortified city of Jericho. 

They returned with reports which suggested the wisdom of prompt attack. 

Jericho, (Moon City, a city where the moon god was worshipped) was one of the oldest occupied sites in the Middle East.  It is about seventeen miles northeast of Jerusalem and five miles west of the Jordan.  The location, about 825 ft below sea level, near the Wadi Qelt.  Known as the “city of palm trees”

Deut 34:1-3,  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

Jericho was also famous for such sub-tropical fruits as dates and figs. 

The Jericho oasis was on a main caravan route from eastern Palestine to Ammon.

The record of the conquest of Jericho makes it clear that God gave the city into the hands of the Israelites.

Joshua 6:1-5,  Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. ²And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. ³And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. ⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

The contents of Jericho were burned as a kind of first fruits offering in which everything was devoted to the Lord.