Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. – Joshua 17:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 13, 2019): Joshua 17

Oscar Wilde argued that “Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them.” Wilde’s comment today would likely draw the anger of our egalitarian society. How could Wilde make such a comment? Anything a man can do, a woman can do, and probably do better. But a close examination of Wilde’s comment reveals an egalitarian mind at work. Wilde believed in breaking down traditions and borders. His comment does not argue that women should be forbidden to do certain things, but that they can have more fun because they have more barriers that they can cross and more walls that they can, and should, knock down. Wilde seemed to be arguing for the feminine revolution that we have experienced over the last century. And maybe, by this time in our history, we should have arrived at gender equality. But the truth is that even after a century there are still more battles that need to be fought.

Of course, the gender fight has not always been pleasant. And the other side of the question asks why a woman should have to fight and knock walls to receive things that men get automatically on the basis of their sex. It is a good, and very appropriate, question. 

One of the problems that we have in reading the bible is that we read the book with 21^st Century eyes.  We read with our morals, our beliefs.  But it wasn’t written in a time that reflected our values. When taken as a whole, we do see movement – books written later do reflect more of the things that we believe – but the most recent books in the Bible were still written over 1900 years ago. And it is unfair to impose our morality on these writings.  One of these problem areas is the role of women. Women in the Bible often seem to exist as second class citizens, and we are continually reminded that in the Bible, women did not seem to count. When we read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, we understand that the underlying truth is that it was five thousand men that were counted on that day. Women and children were present, but they didn’t count.

But there is another reality that we need to understand when we read the Bible alongside the mores that we know existed from other writings. If we are willing to do that, we find something very surprising.  The Bible is a step ahead of its time. The Bible is actually shaping the culture of its day. 

The story Zelophehad’s daughters is a good example.  In the ancient world in which the daughter’s lived, men dominated the social and political scene.  When it came to dividing up the land, these ladies weren’t even considered.  But God changed the reality of their lives.  Maybe it doesn’t seem like much to us – but in the ancient world, it was huge. Here, women could receive an inheritance and own property (as long as there were no men to inherit). And this was a dynamic change from the norm. In other cultures, even ones much more recent in world history, women were forbidden to inherit and own property. But here we see a spark of equality. Much more needed to be done, but with the daughters of Zelophehad, at least the process could be started.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 18

This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans: The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon … - Joshua 16:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 12, 2019): Joshua 16

The Greek storyteller Aesop argued that we should “be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.” It is something that we need to understand about ourselves. None of us are good at everything, we do not know everything nor do we need to know everything. And when we meet someone who knows more than anybody else and is better than everyone else, this attitude should be a warning to us and caution should be exercised. Because the person that we are dealing with is someone who either does not have the sense to know their limitations or is so insecure that they are unwilling to admit what it is that they do not know.

Joshua 16:4 gets the birth order right for the sons of Joseph; Manasseh was older than Ephraim and in ancient times, that meant something. The firstborn son was responsible for the care of the family. He would receive a double portion of the inheritance of his father, not because he was better, but because of the responsibilities of the father would be downloaded to him. Care for the land and the family business and debts incurred were all bestowed upon to the firstborn son. And because of this, the firstborn son also received a special blessing.

But Jacob, on his deathbed, had reversed all of these traditions of the firstborn when it came to his grandsons, born to the house of Joseph. Jacob, over the objections of the children’s father, had given the blessing and the double portion to Ephraim, the younger son. Cynically we might argue that this was because Jacob, the younger son of Isaac, had stolen both the birthright and the blessing from his older brother, Esau. He was not content with his lot as the younger son and fought with deception to change his standing in the family politics. Maybe he wanted to give to his grandson the benefit that he had claimed for himself in his family. And our reality is that none of this should have mattered. Manasseh could still, without the blessing, have been the one to work harder and longer and make something out of himself and his family, even though the title of firstborn was no longer his to claim.

But that was not Manasseh’s reality. The tribe of the firstborn son at the time of Israel’s invasion into Canaan was the larger of the two tribes fathered by the oldest sons of Joseph. According to Numbers 26, the population of Manasseh was 52,700, and the population of Ephraim was 32,500. Yet, even though Manasseh was the older son and his descendants were larger in number than his younger brother’s descendants, here, it is Ephraim that is mentioned first.

Of course, probably part of that is that Joseph was a descendant of Ephraim and not Manasseh. Joseph gave his family first mention as he begins to discuss the inheritance of the sons of Joseph. But even that is a fulfillment of the blessing that Jacob gave to his younger grandson. As Israel took the Promised Land, they were led by a descendant of Ephraim, and as time marched forward, the ten Northern tribes of Israel would become known by the name of this one tribal name, Ephraim.  

And none of that would matter, as the nation of Ephraim would lose sight of their God and disappear from the pages of history in the Assyrian captivity, leaving only Judah and Benjamin to carry on the story of God. Maybe they should have struggled harder to do what was right, then to be content at being first.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 17

Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah. – Joshua 15:63

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 11, 2019): Joshua 15

Jesus reminded those who listened to his “Sermon on the Mount’ that “a town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). The town or city on a hill was a metaphorical description that was supposed to describe his followers. There is something that is supposed to be fundamentally different about us that is intended to shine out to the world. I am convinced that that something was love. And the truth is that we have failed to love. As we recently moved through the Christmas season0, one of the familiar Christmas readings often includes this passage from Isaiah.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them (Isaiah 11:6).

The reality of this prophecy is that love will reign between animals, which I believe that should be interpreted as being people and groups, where love does not usually reign. Maybe it means that there will be love in politics between conservatives and progressives, or even between Muslims and Jews and Christians within our society. It is this kind of love that seems to define the reign of the Messiah in our lives.

The truth is also that a city on a hill is easy to defend. Again, moving back to our illustration that Jesus intended the city on a hill to be one built on love, when I love I don’t have to worry about who it is that might overhear me. No videos are showcasing my hate that can be brought up by my enemies. I don’t have to defend myself; I just have to love consistently.

The book of Joshua says that Jerusalem was never taken by Israel. The Jebusites continued to live in the city, in the midst of Israel. And part of the problem was that Jerusalem was literally a city on a hill. It was impossible to miss, but it was also easy to defend. Jerusalem had a supply of fresh water, and it had a way of disposing of the waste. There is no evidence that love existed between Jerusalem and the rest of the area, just an uneasy truce between Israel and the Jebusites of Jerusalem. One group knew that they now lived amidst the enemy and the other was willing to allow the city to exist because they did not believe that they possessed the capability to take the city.

And this was the condition that would exist for the first four centuries of Israel’s history until David decided to take the city by moving his army through the sewer system. Davis would then make the city his capital, calling it the City of David. The comment that the Jebusites still lived in Jerusalem might give us some indication of when the Book of Joshua was written; that the Book of Joshua was written sometime before David took Jerusalem, sometime before 1010 B.C.E.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 16

(Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war. – Joshua 14:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 10, 2019): Joshua 14

George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were not the first father-son Presidents of the United States. That honor actually goes to the second President of the United States, John Adams, and the sixth President, John Quincy Adams. And, yes, it is interesting that just like the father and son George’s who served in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the first father-son Presidents also shared a name – in this case, John. (Maybe this is the real reason Jeb Bush couldn’t win the Republican nomination in 2106; his name was not George.)

History will reveal which Bush might have been the better President. Or maybe not. After all, the discussion still rages almost two centuries after the father and son John’s served as Presidents. And part of the problem is that it is hard to judge the reigns of any two presidents. Each president has different problems that they have to deal with during their presidency. In the case of the two John Adams’s, the first was a capable and honest man who served in the infancy of the nation. John Quincy, on the other hand, served in a time when the question of slavery was starting to rage in the nation, and some have questioned whether his opposition to slavery was ill-advised, simply because it tainted his presidency at a time when the United States was not yet willing to consider the abolition of slavery

As far as the two George’s were concerned, the signature problem of the first George, George 41, was the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the reunification of Germany. The second George, George 43, was defined by the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Both Bush’s had to deal with significant historical moments for the nation. But they didn’t have to deal with the same or even similar historical moments.  

What all his has to with Arba and the Anakites is this; actually, while Arba may have been famous during the time of Joshua, to say that he was the most famous of the Anakites is a little misleading. Arba was not really and Anakite. Arba was the father of Anak, and the Anakites are named after the son and not the father. We know very little about either of these men from our point in history, but we are told that both were very important men during Joshua’s day. Anak, the son, had a people named after him; incidentally, they were a family of giants. But while Anak was apparently an instrumental leader of the people named after him, his father, Arba, was also a very important leader. And Arba had a city named after him.

And that city was now under the control of Caleb and Israel. Caleb drives the descendant’s of Arba and Anak out of the territory that was granted to him, as the fighting of Israel in Canaan ends and Israel gains its rest.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 15

This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, - Joshua 13:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 9, 2019): Joshua 13

Is it possible that we never get to “done?” At least, not as long as we are still able to take a breath, or maybe even more importantly, while we are still able to string together a few thoughts. If God leaves us with breath and the ability to think, then we are not done. Not yet.

God speaks to Joshua and reminds him that there is still much that needs to be done. In Joshua’s defense, he was getting older, or maybe just plain old. It happens to all of us. And we should not hear this as a condemnation of Joshua’s actions in Canaan. The problem with Joshua is not that he moved too slowly or that he gave too little of himself in the taking of Canaan. As far as we can tell, Joshua was an able leader who kept Israel together as they made their initial steps into Canaan. He divided the land and was a great commander of the army as Israel took control of the land. Joshua even seemed to do well at leading the nation spiritually.

But what Joshua failed at was realizing that the nation would have to continue after him. Israel was not going to die with Joshua. But Joshua struggled with leading Israel into that next step. (And I get it, I struggle there as well.) God’s instruction to Joshua here does not seem to be a “Joshua; you have to try harder” message. It is “Joshua you have to change the way that you think and lead” message. The time had come for Joshua to stop leading Israel and to start preparing another leader to continue the process. The job was not done and, as Joshua grows older, it becomes clear that the process will extend long past Joshua’s lifetime. It was time for Israel to change its tactics and find another way to take the land, under a leader who was trained by Joshua, just as Joshua had been trained by Moses.

But Joshua couldn’t make that transition. He couldn’t think past his point of done. It probably wasn’t that he didn’t care about the next steps. But Joshua was approaching done and doesn’t seem to be able to think past that point. The fight in Canaan would end not because the land had been taken, but because Joshua had become too old to continue the fight. For the next three and half centuries, until the reign of Samuel, the High Priest’s, leadership in Israel would be both episodic and regional. There would be no national leader until Samuel and the advent of the monarchy of Israel. And it wouldn’t be until the reign of King David that the process, which God here reminds Joshua is not finished, would continue.

Joshua’s failure was not that he did not fully take the land, but that he failed in preparing a leader that could finish the task. And we need to recognize that while the way we continue to honor God’s demands might change and that priorities could shift, we are not done either.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 14

… the king of Jericho – one - the king of Ai (near Bethel) – one. – Joshua 12:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 8, 2019): Joshua 12

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is with these words that one of the best-known Space Operas finds its beginning. It is the story of Luke Skywalker, his sister, Princess Leia, as well as the space rogue Hans Solo and the wise man Obi-Wan Kenobi, all of whom pool their strength to defeat the evil Darth Vader and his compatriots. The original movie, released on 1977, introduced us to planets like Tatooine, the home that Luke Skywalker can’t wait to leave, and Yavin 4, a moon that circles the gas giant Yavin Prime, and the moon provides a home to a rebel base that Vader wants to destroy.

But don’t bother searching out the real Tatooine or Yavin 4. They don’t exist anywhere outside of the “Star Wars” franchise. And we don’t expect them to exist. We know that these far off places are the products of some writer’s imagination. By the way, both Tatooine and Yavin 4 might exist someday. We seem to tend to take elements of fiction and try to fashion them into a reality that reflects what it is that we have imagined. But even then, they will not be the Tatooine or Yavin 4 that exist in the “Star Wars” universe, with all of the character that these places reflect in fiction.

The importance of Jericho and Ai and the rest of this list of cities are that it anchors the events of Joshua in reality and often helps to provide not only a place where the stories being told happened, but they give us a time frame as well. The events described in Joshua did not happen in a fictitious galaxy, far, far away. They took place in our galaxy, and in places that exist in our space.

Today, Jericho is a city that exists in the Palestinian Territories at the north end of the Dead Sea. It is home to around 20,000 people. It is believed to be a city with a long history and is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the World. Jericho still exists in the same spot that it existed during the days of Joshua. We have a place that we can point to and say this is where Joshua defeated the King of Jericho.

Ai is a little harder to pin down, but we still recognize it as a historic city and a city that the original readers would have likely known. Ai was destroyed long ago, which gives us a hint as to the timing of Joshua’s story, and yet we can still try to find the historical place Joshua and his army fought their battles. Currently, the best option for the city of Ai is found at that archeological site et-Tell, located not far, just a little north and west, of Jericho. The et-Tell archaeological site which would also fit with the story that Joshua tells, and a place where Joshua eventually deposed exactly one king who was leader over the city.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 13

No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive. – Joshua 11:22

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 7, 2019): Joshua 11

Bangambiki Habyarimana in his work “Pearls of Eternity” argues “Don't be afraid to bite on a giant, learn from the mosquito.” Of course, there is the other side of the equation. Being a mosquito and coming close to me, which many seem to like to do during mosquito season, is a dangerous proposition. Many mosquitos find their death by coming a little too close to me, especially when they approach in a way that allows me to hear them.

It is not that there is no danger in coming close to the giant. But as far as the mosquito is concerned, biting the giant is a matter of survival. The mosquito may die if they come close to me, but they will die if they don’t at least try to take their bite out of the giant in their midst. We all face giants in our lives, but sometimes we fail to recognize that giants, with all of the dangers that they present, must be faced and cannot be avoided.

Israel’s reality was they knew that they had to take Canaan, and their great fear was that there were giants in the land. But the other reality is that, notwithstanding some of the comments that we find in the Book of Joshua, Israel seemed to do the minimum that they needed to do when they took the Promised Land. This passage indicates that Israel did not clear out and take Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, a decision that would come back to haunt them later in their history. But there were also other cities that Israel did not attempt to defeat in Joshua’s taking of the land. One of the most prominent undefeated cities within the vicinity of Israel was the city of Jebus, the home of the Jebusites, and probably better known as Jerusalem. Jebus or Jerusalem would not be taken for another four hundred years, only falling to Israel during the reign of David.

David and Israel would also have to deal with another holdover from the failure of Israel during the days of Joshua. His name was Goliath, and he was a descendant of Anakite giants that Joshua failed to deal with living in Gath. Instead of Joshua, it was the young David who had to play the role of the mosquito attacking the giant, because not dealing with the giant’s in our lives does not mean that the giants will go away, it just delays the confrontation to another time and place. Confronting the giant is always dangerous, but it also necessary. Don’t leave the confrontation until tomorrow. We can confront our metaphorical giants knowing, just as was true with Joshua and David, that God has promised to be with us, and that he will stand with us in the midst of the fight.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 12