I’m sure Moses is better off with You than on Earth.  I wonder how well Joshua is going to do?

“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,

Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 

From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

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. 

Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them. 

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh 1:1-9).

Joshua told the people to prepare themselves because in three days they would be going over the Jordan to possess the land, and they agreed to do whatever God told them to do. 

Joshua then sent two men to check out Jericho.  When they arrived they went to Rahab’s, a harlot, and stayed there.

“And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country” (Josh 2:2).

So the king told Rahab to give him the men but she had hidden them on the roof so when the king’s man searched for them they didn’t find them.  She told them that they had just left, but if they left now they would be able to catch them, so they did.

“And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 

And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 

For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 

And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 

Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token” (Josh 2:8-12). 

Joshua’s men agreed and she lowered them down by a cord through the window.

The men then told her to place a scarlet thread on the window so they will now where she was, but if she told anyone of this agreement then they too would be destroyed.

“So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 

And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us” (Josh 2:23-24).

Jericho
The Oldest City in the World

This city developed in the Palestinian territory about 10 thousand years B.C. At the beginning there were only hunters from the Stone Age who lived there. At that time Jericho still had no city status because it had no walls. The oldest urban community has developed about 8 thousand years B.C. because the first walls were built then. At that time around 3 thousand people lived in the city. Archaeologists found the remnants of the canals where the cereals were grown. These canals also flowed with water that swept the plants.

The city was surrounded by ramparts and towers from which citizens could observe the movement of the enemies. The houses were made of dried brick and these houses were made in round.

In the city, dead people were buried under the houses. They were buried in fetus position and without head. People thought the soul of the dead people was in the head so they kept their heads in the houses so that soul would not run away.In the next millenniums a lot of different tribes lived in the city. Because of this there is not much archeological evidence from the earliest periods of the city. Up to 2300 years B.C. there were no major events in the city. In these years Amorites moved to the city and several centuries after Caanans.

So, the city was developed slowly and there are many records of the city in the Bible. The records are from the Old Testament and they say that Jericho was one of the first cities that the Jews had conquered after slavery in Egypt. It happened about 1200 years B.C. and then more than 5 thousand people lived in the city. Jericho was abducted during the Jewish siege.

Today, Jericho is a city or oasis in which lives around 20 thousand people. The city is about 40 kilometers away from Jerusalem. Because of the current war in Palestine there are no many tourists as it was before. However, Jericho is the city that is most appealing to historians and archaeologists. Today many people consider this is not the oldest city and they think it’s just a trick which attracts tourists.