When Joshua was old and the Lord had given the people rest from their enemies, who did Joshua call to gather to talk to?

Who has fought for them?

How did Joshua divide the nations that remained? Why? What were they to do?

What is courage, according to verse 6?

What might be the result of not following all the words of the Book of the Law of Moses?

Who had been able to stand against the Israelites, to that day?

How could one man chase a thousand?

What would happen if they went back and clung to the remnant of the nations they had driven from among them?

How much of God’s promises did Joshua say had been fulfilled for them?

Therefore, what would be the natural result if the people chose not to follow the words of God’s law?

Thought Questions

Looking back through world history and the greatest kings, generals, and conquerors, how many of them have refused to take any credit themselves for their victories, but instead have given glory to God? What does that tell you about Joshua? Who do you give credit to for your victories?

How does courage relate to keeping God’s commandments? Have you experienced that it requires courage to keep God’s law?

What seems to be the one recurring transgression that Joshua (and God) repeatedly warns against in this chapter, and elsewhere in the book of Joshua? Why is the commandment not to serve other gods the first one? 

We no longer sacrifice animals to the gods of the ancient Middle East, but are there other things in your life that might be “gods” that you worship more that the True God? What effect is this having in your life? How can you choose to worship and serve God above all other gods?

How might you, personally, keep from being drawn toward worshiping other gods, whatever that temptation might be in your life?

Why would God be so angry as to threaten the judgments in verses 15-16? Is His punishment arbitrary or natural?

My prayer is:

I give you credit for the victories in my life;

That I would have the courage to keep Your commandments;

And that I would serve no other gods before You.

Which two and a half tribes did Joshua speak to?

What words of praise did he have for them?

What instruction did he give them then?

Where was the land of their possession?

What was Joshua’s parting command to them?

Were they to return empty handed? What were they to do with the riches they had acquired?

What did the people of these two and a half tribes build by the Jordan River?

Who heard about this building project? What was their response?

Who did the Israelites send as the leader of the delegation to speak to the eastern tribes? Who comprised the delegation with him?

What was the treachery that Phineas’ delegation accused the two and a half tribes of committing? 

What episode in their history did he refer to in comparison? How did they feel about the results of that episode even to that time?

What were they afraid that God would do as a result of those tribes rebelling?

What did the accusing party suggest that the two and a half tribes should do to solve the problem if they felt that the land was unclean?

What other example did Phineas give as a comparison to the rebellious sin they accused the two and a half tribes of?

What was the first response of the accused tribes?

Explain the reason that the people of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad gave for their actions.

What was the altar intended for? What was it not intended for?

What was the reaction of Phineas and his delegation to the defense made by the two and a half tribes? What did the delegation do after that?

What name did the tribes who had set up the altar give it?

Thought Questions

What encouraging words did Joshua have for these eastern tribes at the beginning of the chapter?  Would you like to hear such words in your life? Was there a commandment attached to it? Would you be discouraged to hear that there was a “catch”? What were the reasons why they were told to continue to obey?

Read Numbers 32. Have you ever felt that you were accused of false motives? What lessons can we learn from how the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half of the tribe of Manasseh had to face this situation—before an entire nation—not once, but twice?

What were some of the positive ways that the other Israelite tribes from the west approached the situation? What were some of the negatives?

Think about how the eastern tribes responded to the accusations of their brothers, not only in this situation, but in the previous one recorded in Numbers 32. Don’t you think it would have been discouraging to be accused of such things? What was their response? Did they display defensiveness? How were they able to handle the accusations with such grace? What was the result?

When people have a different way of doing things, contrary to the established methods or conventions, are they always being rebellious? Are they always to be commended? How can you tell whether they are moving along with the truth or not, and what standard can you use to tell?

What “altars of witness” or remembrance have you built in your life to remind others and succeeding generations what the Lord has done for you?

My prayer is:

That my conscience would be clean from continually obeying the Lord, so that any accusations or misrepresentations against me would be unfounded;

That, if accused, I would be able to respond with clarity and grace, always in love and never in angry defensiveness;

And that I would have an “altar of witness” to always remind me and others of the amazing things God has done in my life.

Review the role of the tribe of the Levites: read Deuteronomy 18:1-8. Why didn’t the tribe of Levites receive a section of the land?

Who did the tribal leaders of the Levites approach with their request?

What exactly did they ask for? Who had told them what they were supposed to receive?

How were the cities chosen?

Were the Levite cities all near each other? Which tribal lands did they have cities in?

(Verse 43) How much of the land did God give them that He had promised?

What else did God give them at that time?

How much of God’s promises were fulfilled?

Thought Questions:

Throughout the book of Joshua, we have seen how peacefully the different tribal leaders have approached the national leadership to ask for land for themselves, and how peacefully it was granted to them. How does this contrast with what you know about the violent nature of how land was generally settled by other heathen peoples? Why do you think violence was sometimes needed to conquer the surrounding nations?

Why do you think the Levites waited to receive their homes until the rest of the tribes had received theirs? 

What do you think was the reason behind the Levites receiving only cities within other tribes’ lands, and did not receive land of their own? Why were the cities of the Levites scattered throughout the rest of the tribes? Shouldn’t they just have all been near Jerusalem, where the temple was?

How does your church take care of its pastors or other leadership? What do you, personally do to take care of them? Do you pray for your church leaders, or give them words or tokens of encouragement?

Do you believe church leadership should be paid well for what they do? What does the system of land distribution for the Levites tell you about the best way to reward church leadership?

How can verses 43-45 help you through difficult times? Was the establishment of the land always simple and painless for the Israelites? What was the result (inasmuch as they were willing to keep God’s commandments and follow Him)?

My prayer is:

That I, like the Levites, would be a light and a good influence to my community, wherever I am;

That I would pray for and take care of my pastors and other church leaders;

And that I would remember the words of Joshua 21:43-45 when I am discouraged.

Who was continuing to give these instructions to Joshua?

What type of cities did God tell Joshua to appoint? Who had he given these instructions to first?

Under what conditions might a person be required to flee to one of these cities? What will the cities be a refuge from?

What is the process for entrance once a person reaches the city gates? Who will he present his case to?

What will the elders of the city do if the avenger of blood pursues the person? Why?

How long must the manslayer remain in the city? What can he do after that?

What are the names of the six cities of refuge mentioned here?

Are these cities of refuge only for the Israelites? 

Who does the manslayer need to appear before for his trial? 

Thought Questions

Read Numbers 35:9-34 and Deuteronomy 19:1-13 to compare the command to Moses to the command given to Joshua to be carried out. What further description of murder vs. unintentional manslaughter do you find there?  What does this detailed description of appropriate vengeance tell you about the early Israelite society?

What impression does verse 4 give you regarding the system of justice—and love—that was given to the people? 

Much has been said about the symbolism of the cities of refuge for Christ’s mercy and help for us, as sinners. What connections do you make? 

Looking at your past personal sins, which of them might fall under the category of “intentional” as opposed to “unintentional?” Why do we need God’s mercy even for our unintentional sins? Can even unintentional sins hurt other people, and God?

Have their been any instances in your life where you have committed sin, but you believe that God’s mercy shielded you or someone else from the natural consequences of that action?

My prayer is:

Praise to God who has given a real system of protection and mercy to His people, even if they are guilty sinners;

Understanding of the difference between “intentional” and “unintentional” sin, and the understanding that even unintentional sin causes pain and requires God’s mercy.

Where did the congregation of Israel assemble and set up their temple?

What was the state of the land at that time?

How many tribes had not yet received their inheritance?

What was Joshua’s statement to the Israelites?

How many men did Joshua send to go through the land? What exactly were they to do?

How many parts were they do divide it into? Who got the south, and the north?

When the men were to return to Joshua with the report, was was he going to do?

Which tribes had already received their portion?

How did Joshua choose the land division?

Which tribe came up first? Between which two tribes were they assigned?

Whose territory was Simeon’s land within? Why? (19:9)

What were the last five tribes to be given land, and how many cities did they have in each? Look on a Bible map of the placement of the territories to visualize it.

When all of the tribes had been placed in their land, who finally got a city to live in? 

Thought Questions

What was the scene set in verse 1 of chapter 18? Would you have liked to be there?

Why do you think the seven tribes neglected to claim their land? Are there blessings from God that you rightfully can claim, but just haven’t? What’s stopping you?

Did God just drop the people off in their new country, or was there some work that the people had to do to claim these blessings?

What was the procedure for dividing up the rest of the land among the seven tribes? Was the work of division done simply by a handful of men? See verse 10. Do you trust what the Lord has guided, or do you argue against it? 

(19:49) Why did Joshua wait until all of the tribes were settled to claim his own land? On the other hand, was he hesitant to accept the city that he desired to live in? It took a long time, but was Joshua finally able to receive exactly what he wanted from the Lord? How does that make you feel about the requests you present to God?

My prayer is:

To see the blessings that God has given me, right before my eyes, and to claim them and to give thanks and enjoy them.

To understand what God has provided for me without my input, and what role I have to play in claiming His provisions.

And to trust the way God leads His people, in whatever manner He chooses, knowing that He is interested in providing His people with what they need and want.

What nation formed the southern boundary of Judah’s territory?

What two bodies of water formed its eastern boundary?

What notable city is close to the northern border (but not in it)? (verse 8)

What was to be Judah’s western border?

Which tribe did Caleb settle among? According to whose command?

What was the name of Caleb’s town?

Whose three sons did Caleb drive out?

Which city did Caleb go to next?

What did he offer for the one who attacked and took over that city?

Who took him up on it?

What did Caleb’s daughter ask for?

What is the significance of the long list of cities in vs. 21-62?

Read vs. 21-62 to see if you recognize any of the cities from other stories.

What happened to the inhabitants of Jerusalem?

Ch. 16: What were some of the border landmarks of the tribes of Joseph? Find their territory on a map.

What were the two sub-tribes named after the children of Joseph? (verse 4)

In what territory did the Ephraimites have some cities?

Where did the tribes of Joseph fail to drive out the Caananites?

Thought Questions

According to Joshua 15:12 and 46-47, Judah’s borders were to extend to the Mediterranean Sea. When you look on a map of the territory though, it does not—there is Philistine territory there, including the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gaza. Why did this not happen? What was the result?

What might the “Philistine cities” symbolize in your life? That is, what are you hesitating to drive out from your life, either from fear or from desire to hang on? Looking at the result of the existence of the Philistine strongholds for a long time thereafter, but especially through David’s time, what might be the result of not conquering them now?

How do you think 85-year-old Caleb was able to drive out three sons of Anak (who were probably rulers of their territory)? Who were the Anakim? See Deut. 9:2.

Why do you think he offered his daughter in marriage to the person who could take Kirjath Sepher?

Why could elderly Caleb take over the land of three major Anakim but the rest of the people could not fully take over Jerusalem, Gezer, and many of the Philistine cities?

Do you think God has a plan for the “borders of your territory,” literally or figuratively? Have you taken Him up on them? What has gotten in your way?

My prayer is:

That I would follow the will of God in going boldly to the places where He has led me;

That God would give me the strength to have victory in ousting the “Philistine cities” from my life, before they cause more problems;

And that I would not be afraid of the giants in my life, but trust God to help me overcome them in order to do His will, no matter how feeble I might feel.

What three authorities were responsible for distributing the land to the children of Israel?

How was their inheritance decided? Who had commanded that?

Where had Moses already given land to two and a half tribes? What tribe received no inheritance of land?

What two tribes came from the sons of Joseph? 

What did the Levites receive, instead of plots of land?

Where was Joshua at this time?

Who approached Joshua? Who was his family?

Who did Caleb say gave instructions about him to Moses? Where did that happen?

How old was Caleb when Moses sent him to spy out the land?

What effect did the other spies with Caleb have on the people? What was Caleb’s approach?

What was Moses’ vow to Caleb? Why?

Who kept Caleb alive 45 years after that? 

How does Caleb describe his physical strength at that time?

What does Caleb ask Joshua for? What is his plan?

What town does Joshua give Caleb? What was its former name?

Thought Questions

How were the priest and the rulers of the country able to work together in this situation? Does this unity always work, and under what conditions?

Why do you think they just cast lots for the distribution of the land? How would you feel about the government of your country deciding on matters like this by lot? Who was ultimately deciding here?

What was Caleb’s story? (Review Numbers 13 and 14) What does Caleb’s statement “I brought back word to him as it was in my heart”? How can you apply this in your life?

What was the immediate result for Caleb’s decision to be faithful to God’s promises? (Numbers 14:9-10) What was his eventual reward? Is it worth going against the flow, even suffering ridicule, to be honest and willing to follow God’s will?

Is there a time in your life where you were willing to “wholly follow the Lord [your] God” (vs. 9), amidst contradiction from others? What was the eventual result? Can you think of instances in other peoples’ lives, as examples?

Do you have physical and mental strength? Where do you find your source of strength? Can you think of elderly people that you know who have committed their lives to following God’s will and have been rewarded with that strength into their old age?

What is your dream to accomplish, even in this life? Is there anything wrong with earthly dreams and goals? Can God grant you those dreams?

Did Caleb just sit and wait for God to fulfill his dreams? What did he do to pursue them? What can we learn about our role in the process?

My prayer is:

That, like Caleb, I would be willing to “wholly follow the Lord my God” even under pressure from others to turn away;

That I would be able to reap the rewards of my faithfulness in a long life and pursuit of my dreams;

And that I would understand that earthly dreams and goals are not wrong, but that I would be willing to pursue them by asking for them and even being willing to work hard for them.

On which side of the Jordan were the kingdoms discussed in verses 1-6?

What was the name of the first king, and what was his kingdom?

What was the name of the second king, and what was his kingdom? (vs. 4)

Who had conquered these two kingdoms? What tribes were their lands given to?

Starting at verse 7, where is the geographical location of the kingdoms listed below it?

What are some of the geographical features listed in verse 8?

How many conquered kings are listed between verses 9-24?

Look at a Biblical map of these regions at that time, and compare with a modern map. What countries are these places in now? What are the names of some of the places that are mentioned (i.e. The Arnon River, Mount Hermon, Sea of Chinneroth, etc)

(13:1) What message did the Lord have for Joshua?

What land was yet to be possessed?

How did the Lord command Joshua to divide this land? (vs. 7)

What other two tribes (besides half of Manasseh) received land east of the Jordan River?

What kingdom’s land did they inherit, which Moses had already defeated and cast out?

What peoples did the children of Israel fail to drive out then?

Which tribe did not receive inheritance land? What was their inheritance instead?

What was Reuben’s territory?

What other kingdom, in that territory, had Moses defeated?

What was Gad’s territory?

What was half of the tribe of Manasseh’s territory?

Thought Questions

Much of the Old Testament, at least the books of Kings and Chronicles, are taken up with lists of unknown place names and people. Why are these lists part of Holy Scripture that has been handed down to us today? Is it only because they are mixed in with the stories, or is there anything we can gain from the presence of these lists today? 

What is happening in this land today? 

After Joshua had conquered all of those kingdoms, why did the Lord say that there was still much land to be possessed? Is there a difference between conquering most of the original possessors of the land and actually moving in? Can we make a spiritual application to this in our lives? See Luke 11:24-26.

In the beginning of chapter 13, the Lord lists the nations that the Israelites had not yet fully overcome. Did they ever manage to do so? See Judges 2:1-3 and 3:1-6. What was the result?

Why do you think the Israelites had not fully performed their task of eradicating the people God had told them to? In their case, do you think it was compassion to the people?

With all the horror stories of genocide in our more modern world, what do you feel about the concept of God telling the Israelites to eradicate the native people groups of the land? Knowing what we know of the big picture (and the results), do you see God’s wisdom? How would you explain this to someone who thinks it is unfair?

What were some of the people like who God has had to eradicate? (See Genesis 19:1-9)

How do these stories compare to the stories of genocide that we know of more recently? Did God give specific instructions and reasons for them, or were they humanly devised?

My prayer is:

That, for a spiritual application, I would be bold to eradicate the evil influences ruling my life, and not only so, but replace them with influences that will draw me closer to God and His will;

To be able to understand what I can of the difficult questions of history in the Bible and how God’s perfect character has worked in them, and to be able to explain the best that I can;

But to also acknowledge that I can never truly understand every difficult work of God.

Who was the king that organized the great alliance?

Name the kings involved in the alliance and their territories.

Describe the scene of the vast combined army.

Where did the huge army converge?

What did the Lord tell Joshua concerning them? What were His instructions?

What did Joshua and his army do? How many were left after Joshua chased them?

Which instructions did Joshua carry out?

What city did Joshua attack next? Why?

What other cities did Joshua burn besides Hazor?

What did the Israelite army do with the spoil and livestock from these cities? What happened to the people?

How much did Joshua do of what the Lord had commanded Moses?

Describe the territory that Joshua conquered. 

How many cities had made peace with the Israelites? Who did? Why had it happened this way?

How much of the Anakim were left in Israel? Where were they?

How was the land that had been conquered distributed? 

By the end of the chapter, what was the status of the land?

Thought Questions 

What is it about this chapter that is most striking to you? Is there a limit to how much God can defend us from according to His will?

Although the alliance of multiple kings sounds frightening and insurmountable, how was it actually an advantage in this case? 

What is the tone of this chapter? Did Joshua or any of the Israelites sound fearful of this vast army of powerful kingdoms? What key verse in this chapter that gives hope? How did Joshua respond to that?

Why do you think most of the peoples of the land (with the only exception of the Hivites from Gibeon) didn’t try to make any type of peace treaties with Israel? 

What does it mean when the Bible says “the Lord hardened their hearts” (Exodus 4:21, Deuteronomy 2:30)? Does it sound like, in all of those cases, the people’s hearts were pretty hardened to begin with? What was God trying to accomplish in those circumstances?

My prayer is:

Not to limit God’s power in my mind;

To understand that working against the Lord always ultimately results in destruction;

And to keep my heart softened to the workings of God’s Spirit.