shoulders, as a son who is carried on his father's back. V. 13. And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, the rich blessings which would come upon it from above, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, the waters under the ground, which fed the springs and rivers, v. 14. and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, produced and matured by his kindly heat, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, matured in the course of the year, as one month followed the other, v. 15. and for the chief things, the summits, of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, the great forests and thickets clothing the mountain ranges, v. 16. and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, whatever the earth produces in precious gifts, and for the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Ex. 3, 2. 4. Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren, the most eminent or illustrious of the sons of Jacob. V. 17. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns, of the fierce wild-ox; he would occupy a position of such power as to be able to trample on all his enemies; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. The power of Ephraim especially, but also of Manasseh, was afterwards such as to give to the tribe of Joseph the leadership in the northern nation. V. 18. And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out, since he would be successful in his campaigns, as well as in his shipping and his commercial interests; and, Issachar, in thy tents, in the grazing and agricultural pursuits. V. 19. They shall call the people unto the mountain, invite them to share their prosperity, to take part in their rich sacrificial meals on the hill of the Lord's Sanctuary. There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, bring such offerings as would establish their fellowship with Jehovah; for they, not only these two tribes, but the entire nation, shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand, the riches of both the sea and of the mines of the dry land would flow into the coffers of Israel. V. 20. And of Gad he said, Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad, the Lord who gave to this tribe a large and rich territory; he dwelleth as a lion, having the nature of a lion in battle, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head, he is so fierce in battle that he inflicts not only dangerous, but mortal wounds. V. 21. And he provided the first part for himself, a place of habitation

as befitted a leader of the tribes, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, of the leader, was he seated, this fine region was expressly set aside for him; and he came with the heads of the people, joined them in the campaign west of Jordan, he executed the justice of the Lord, and His judgments with Israel, in fulfilling the precepts of Jehovah, for herein the righteousness of the people consisted. V. 22. And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp, with all the latter's fierceness and sinuous strength in battle; he shall leap from Bashan, as did the lions and leopards in attacking the herds of cattle in that land of rich meadows. V. 23. And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, with the good will of the Lord, and full with the blessing of the Lord; possess thou the west and the south, a region which combined the advantages of a location near the sea, the Mediterranean, with a mild climate, for the Sea of Galilee was his eastern boundary. V. 24. And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children, or, more fortunate than the sons, exceptionally blessed; let him be acceptable to his brethren, as their good will and that of Jehovah rested upon him, and let him dip his foot in oil, namely, by the possession and enjoyment of a very rich inheritance in Canaan. V. 25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, his fortresses, castles, should be of strong metal, his dwellings should be as strong and impregnable as if built of iron; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be, he should preserve his youthful strength throughout his life and thus be able to defend himself successfully against all attacks. And now Moses, in summarizing, rises to the very heights of poetical fervor. V. 26. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Israel, the people of righteousness, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky, always ready to hurry to Israel's assistance with almighty power. V. 27. The eternal God is thy Refuge, literally, "dwelling is the God of eternity," of olden times; not only does He offer to His people the protection, the refuge, of His almighty power, but also that of a secure dwelling-place in Him who has proved His kindness and mercy a thousand times; and underneath are the everlasting arms; He who sits upon the throne of His majesty in the heavens is at the same time on the earth with all the loving care of a mother holding her children in her arms, or of an eagle bearing her young on her pinions, chap. 32, 11. And He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee and shall say, Destroy him. This is true of all the enemies of Israel, of the congregation of the Lord. V. 28. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone, separate from other people and secure in the protection of Jehovah; the foun

tain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine, in a rich and fertile country; also his heavens shall drop down dew, provide sufficient moisture for all purposes, as much as the land required. V. 29. Happy art thou, O Israel, endowed with salvation! Who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the Shield of thy help; and who is the Sword of thy excellency, a weapon both of protection and of attack? And thine ene

mies shall be found liars unto thee, they would simulate friendship in order to escape annihilation; and thou shalt tread upon their high places, in a great triumph over all opponents. The spiritual Israel, the congregation of believers in the New Testament, are the people of salvation in the full sense of the word, having been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, Eph. 1, 3.

The Death and Burial of Moses. MOSES DIES AND IS BURIED BY GOD. — V. 1. And Moses went up from the Plains of Moab, where the children of Israel were still encamped, unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is, to its very summit, that is over against Jericho. Cp. chap. 32, 48-51. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, on the eastern side of Jordan, unto Dan, a town in Northern Perea, v. 2. and all Naphtali, later the land of Galilee, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, in the approximate center of Canaan, and all the land of Judah, directly opposite his station, unto the utmost sea, the Mediterranean Sea, v. 3. and the south, the plains beyond the Dead Sea, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, for these grew in the lowlands of Jericho, unto Zoar, at the extreme southern end of the Dead Sea. This viewing of the entire country was a "proof of his generally unimpaired strength of vision, which the soaring flight of faith rendered more penetrating." V. 4. And 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, Gen. 12, 7; 15, 18; 28, 13; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, it was a last favor which the Lord granted to His faithful servant, but thou shalt not go over thither. V. 5. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, namely, on Mount Nebo, according to the word of the Lord, chap. 32, 50. V. 6. And He, the Lord, buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor, in some mountain valley not far from Nebo; but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day, its exact location was not revealed. From the letter of Jude, v. 9, we know that the archangel Michael contended with the devil for the body of Moses. Thus God, through His angel, saved the body of Moses from the last consequence of death under the control of Satan, from corruption. The body of Moses was taken to heaven after his burial and there changed to a spiritual

body. Thus it was possible for Moses to appear with Elijah at the transfiguration of Christ. This fact gives us a strong guarantee for the final fulfilment of our hope, of the resurrection of the body.

AN APPRECIATION OF MOSES. V. 7. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, he had lost nothing of his keen bodily vision, nor his natural force abated, he had retained his full strength until the end. V. 8. And the children of Israel wept for Moses, held a great mourning for him, in the Plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended, a fine expression of their appreciation of this great prophet of the Lord, which is properly copied by grateful congregations and larger church-bodies to this day. V. 9. And Joshua, the son of Nun, who now took up the leadership of the children of Israel, was full of the spirit of wisdom, as it was needed for the practical problems of life; for Moses had laid his hands upon him, Num. 27, 18. 23; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. That was the result of the long years of work which Moses had spent in teaching the people. V. 10. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, Ex. 33, 11; Num. 12, 6. 8, with whom Jehovah was on such intimate terms, whom He filled with such divine power, v. 11. in all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, v. 12. and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel, during the entire wilderness journey. Only one prophet is greater than Moses, by his own testimony, namely, the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. Through His life, suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation He earned for us the eternal redemption from the power of death and hell.

The Book of Joshua, so named from its principal character, the successor of Moses, under whose leadership the conquest of Canaan was successfully carried out, covers a period of about twenty-five years (B. C. 1450 to 1425). It takes up the history of Israel after the death of Moses, begins with the commission of the Lord to Joshua, describes in detail the campaigns of the army of Israel, the great successes as well as the occasional reverses, and finally gives an account of the last addresses of Joshua, of his farewell, and of his death. The work entrusted to Joshua was one requiring great intellectual and tactical ability, but above all an unwavering trust in God. Canaan was occupied by great nations and strong, inhabiting strongly fortified cities and able to place armies in the field consisting of skilled warriors. Joshua was fully qualified for the task set before him, since he had not only been associated with Moses during the entire wilderness journey, but was also full of the spirit of wisdom, Deut. 34, 9, possessed of true military ability, and had perfect faith in the word and promise of God, this trust being the source of all his strength and courage.

The chief object of the book is to offer the historical proof of the faithfulness with which God fulfilled the promise made to the patriarchs that He would give the land of Canaan to His chosen people. Accordingly, we are told how the Lord helped Joshua and Israel con

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quer and occupy Canaan: He led them through the Jordan on dry ground; He fought for them against the heathen inhabitants of Canaan; He drove those wicked, immoral, and foul nations out from before them; He divided the land by lot among the victorious tribes of Israel, and brought them to rest in that "good land flowing with milk and honey."

So far as the author is concerned, the Book of Joshua was probably not written by this great leader himself, although some of the sections, especially the reports of the division of the land, were undoubtedly copied from his notes. Events are related in the book which did not take place until after the death of Joshua, such as Caleb's taking possession of his inheritance at Hebron, chap. 15, 13-19, cp. with Judg. 1, 10-15, the taking of the city of Laish by the Danites, chap. 19, 47, cp. with Judg. 18. Nevertheless, the writer was a contemporary of Joshua, who probably survived him for many years, and it is assumed that one of the elders who entered Canaan with Joshua wrote the book, chap. 5, 1. The very latest date which may be accepted for the composition of the book is that of the time of Samuel, and there are some believing scholars who have regarded this prophet as the author.1)

1) Concordia Bible Class, 1919, 31-34; Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 26. 27.

Joshua Assumes Command of Israel. JOSHUA FORMALLY COMMISSIONED. V. 1. Now, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, after the completion of the thirty days' mourning for this great prophet whom the Lord so signally distinguished, Num. 12, 7.8; Deut. 34, 5. 8, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, not his servant, but his assistant, who had been pointed out some 'time before as the successor of Moses, Num. 27, 15-23, had been expressly designated as such by Moses, Deut. 31, 7, and had appeared before the people in that capacity, saying, v. 2. 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, for Canaan proper was always spoken of as including the territory west of the Jordan only. These words were not spoken to Joshua through the high priest's Urim and Thummim, upon which he had been told to rely in

case of difficult questions, Num. 27, 21, but were an immediate revelation of the divine will, in the same way in which the Lord had communicated with Moses. V. 3. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses, Deut. 11, 24. V. 4. From the wilderness, the Desert of Arabia on the south and southeast, and this Lebanon, the mountain range in the north, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, who apparently had been overlords of this entire region at one time and were still occupying the country northwest of the Sea of Chinnereth, afterward that of Galilee, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, the Mediterranean Sea, shall be your coast. Cp. Deut. 11, 24. 25. V. 5. There shall not any man, namely, of the kings and inhabitants of the country, be able to stand before thee, withstand him successfully, all the days of thy life, Deut. 31, 8. As I was with Moses, so I will be

with thee; I will not fail thee, let him sink down in helplessness by withdrawing his hand, nor forsake thee. V. 6. Be strong, firm, mighty in the trust of Jehovah, and of a good courage, altogether undismayed; he must lay hold boldly and with a strong hand, and when he has done so, allow nothing to drive him from his position of firm adherence to Jehovah; for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Cp. Deut. 31, 7. 23. This condition is still further expanded. V. 7. Only be thou strong and very courageous, said with greater emphasis than in v. 6, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law which Moses, My servant, commanded thee, for the leader of the people must be an example to all his followers. Turn not from it, namely, from the roll of the written Law as it was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, to the right hand or to the left, as the slightest deviation was a transgression, that thou mayest prosper, make use of the proper wisdom and thus be successful, whithersoever thou goest. V. 8. This book of the Law, as it had been written by Moses and delivered into the hands of the priests, Deut. 31, 26, shall not depart out of thy mouth, he should teach it, study it, discuss it; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, trying to penetrate ever more deeply into its scope and meaning, and thus becoming qualified to speak more clearly, pointedly, and powerfully to the people, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, namely, in the thoughts of the heart and in the deeds of the hands; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, make headway on the path of duty before him, and then thou shalt have good success, because of the application of practical wisdom given by the Lord. The Lord now summarizes His charge to Joshua, introducing it by a rhetorical question for the sake of greater effect. V. 9. 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. Thus the assurance gains in strength when to the positive command to be courageous is added the negative to lay aside all fear, as in Deut. 31, 6. 8. We Christians have a similar promise of victory over all our enemies and the eventual enjoyment of the heavenly happiness. But we also have the command of God to read, study, and hear the Word of God to arrange our whole life in accordance with its precepts. Then we also shall have success in the things we undertake under the guidance of God.

THE FIRST GENERAL ORDER OF JOSHUA. V. 10. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, v. 11. Pass through the host and command the people, for as

keepers of the genealogical records they were also superintendents of the mustering and were primarily concerned with any order pertaining to the mobilizing of the army, saying, Prepare you victuals, food for a journey or campaign; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, along whose eastern banks their encampment extended, to go in to possess the land which the Lord, your God, giveth you to possess it. This order went forth on the seventh of Nisan, chap. 4, 19. V. 12. And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to half the tribe of Manasseh spake Joshua, saying, v. 13. Remember the word which Moses, the servant of the Lord, this being the usual manner in which he is now referred to, commanded you, saying, The Lord, your God, hath given you rest, having permitted them to settle in peace, and hath given you this land, they had their possession on the east side of Jordan. V. 14. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, fully equipped and arrayed in battle order, all the mighty men of valor, and help them, v. 15. until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as He hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord, your God, giveth them. Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession and enjoy it, make use of all the owners' privileges, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you on this side Jordan toward the sun-rising. Cp. Num. 32, 17-27. V. 16. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go, a fine expression of allegiance and loyalty, of obedience and brotherly love. V. 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. With this assurance and guarantee they were ready to follow Joshua anywhere. V. 18. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death;

only be strong and of a good courage, a call with which the two and one half tribes intended to give Joshua the assurance which he needed at the beginning of his difficult work that he could depend upon the people whom the Lord had given into his charge. In the New Covenant it is also the will of God that His children help one another in the severe spiritual battles which they must fight, giving one another all possible encouragement at all times. They are assured, even now, of eventual entrance into their rest. "He who follows the Word of God acts wisely and happily, but he who follows his own reason acts unwisely and to no profit." (Luther.)

Spies Sent to Jericho.

THE SPIES AT RAHAB'S HOUSE. V. 1. And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent out of Shittim, a town in Moabitis, where he had his headquarters, this probably having taken place even before the officers of the host made the proclamation throughout the camp, two men to spy secretly, this having reference both to the manner in which the command was given, and the form in which it was carried out, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho, both the city and its vicinity. Jericho was located in a beautiful and fertile valley, noted for its palm-trees, some six to eight miles from the Jordan, and the entire neighborhood was thickly settled. And they went and came into an harlot's house, where their stay would arouse the least suspicion, named Rahab, and lodged there, prepared to stay there overnight. V. 2. And it was told the king of Jericho, probably by some of the watch who had marked the coming of the strangers, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the country. This was the natural conclusion which the men of Jericho would reach in finding men of Israel in their city. V. 3. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house; for they be come to search out all the country. The king's messengers did not search her house, but made their demand at the door, relying on her supposed loyalty to produce the spies. V. 4. And the woman took the two men and hid them, just as soon as the servant in charge of the door had informed her of the identity of the callers, whereupon she appeared at the door in person, and said thus, There came men unto me, literally, "True, there came to me men," but I wist not whence they were; v. 5. and it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out, for the gates were closed at sunset, and the short twilight was rapidly succeeded by the falling of darkness; she implied that the spies must have taken advantage of the dusk to make their escape. Whither the men went I wot (know) not; pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. V. 6. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, those of the Orient being flat and usually parapeted, and hid them with the stalks of flax, unbroken lengths spread out there for the purpose of drying, which she had laid in order upon the roof. V. 7. And the men, the king's messengers, pursued after them, the spies, the way to Jordan unto the fords, where they were most likely to cross; and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they, the keepers, the watchmen, shut

the gate, to prevent the escape of the spies, if they were still in the city. The obvious terror which had taken hold of the king of Jericho showed that the judgment of the Lord upon the Canaanites had already begun, for it was He who took their courage from them.

THE SPIES SAVED BY RAHAB. V. 8. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof, where they were preparing to pass the night; v. 9. and she said unto the men, I know that the Lord, Jehovah, of whom she had heard and toward whom she felt a reverential awe, hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, namely, the fear that they would be exterminated by Israel, Deut. 2, 25; 11, 25, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you, are terrified and utterly discouraged by the obvious assistance which Jehovah had rendered His people. V. 10. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when ye came out of Egypt, Ex. 14, 21; 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, Num. 21, 21-35. V. 11. And as soon as we had heard these things, for Rahab here asserts of all her countrymen what she herself felt, our hearts did melt, said of complete discouragement, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you, they found it impossible to raise a bit of spirit, either to think, plan, or act, so great was their terror; for the Lord, your God, He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Thus Rahab, in concluding, confessed her faith in Jehovah, the true God. It is strange that the miracles of God's almighty power, which wrought faith in the heart of this great sinner, caused the unbelieving hearts of the other Canaanites to become hardened and thus to be condemned to the judgment of death, of extermination. V. 12. Now, therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, in hiding them from the king's messengers, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house and give me a true token, some sign of truth by which they would guarantee immunity to her and her relatives in the general extermination which was sure to come; v. 13. and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, her entire relationship, and deliver our lives from death. The sign of truth which she demanded was the solemn oath that they would save the lives of all her kin. V. 14. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, literally, "our souls instead of yours to die" (they pledged their very souls for the truth of their promise to spare Rahab and her relatives), if ye utter not this our