MSB Book Notes on Joshua:
This is the first of the 12 historical books in the OT.  It is named for the exploits of Joshua, Moses' understudy, whom Moses commissioned to take over for him and lead the people into the Land of Promise.  Joshua means "Jehovah saves", or "the Lord is salvation", and corresponds to the NT name Jesus.

The author of this book is not named, but the most likely writer is Joshua himself.  An assistant to Joshua possibly added the comments concerning Joshua's death (24:29-33).  Others think this section could have been written by the high priest Eleazar or even his son Phinehas.  Joshua 6:25 indicates that this part at least, was written while Rahab was still alive.  Most likely, the book was written from 1405-1385 BC.  

Joshua takes over after Moses death - about 1405 BC - with the 40 years in the wilderness concluding and invasion of Canaan pending.  At the time, Joshua is 90 years old, and will die 20 years later, at 110.  By this time, the majority of Canaan has been conquered and it's people killed or driven out, and the land has been divided among the 11 tribes.  

Chapter 1

2024 - 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. [Jos 1:4 ESV], much like the passage in Deuteronomy.
Compared to here:
24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. [Deu 11:24 ESV].
That second one says from the Euphrates to the Med flat out.  Joshua was sitting on the banks of the Jordan when God said this.  So the Joshua quote says from the Jordan to the Euphrates to the east, and from the Jordan to the Med to the west.  
But Israel has never in their history possessed all this territory.  What they did possess is the land that Moses saw from Mt. Nebo, described this way:
1 ...Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. [Deu 34:1-3 ESV].
What Moses saw is what they actually did conquer.  What Moses saw is how far they got before they began to stray from God so badly that he would no longer help them. 
God tells Joshua what is to come.  Joshua is to lead the people in the conquest of Canaan, the fulfilling of God's promises to Abraham through them.  But there is a requirement.  This command:
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. [Jos 1:7 ESV]
The Law was part and parcel to what was to come.  It was not temporary, and it was not to be discarded once they were successful.  All was conditional on keeping the law, and doing so with care and attention to detail.

These first verses are sort of God's commission, given to Joshua.  In that commission is the following:
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. [Jos 1:8 ESV]

Joshua gives three days notice for the people to prepare to enter Canaan.  The time has come.  It must have been quite exciting.  He reminds Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh of the promise they made to Moses, to go and help their brothers fight against Canaan, even though the land they want has already been taken.  They promise to follow Joshua in whatever he commands them to do.

Chapter 2
Spies sent to Jericho.  They visit Rahab, who hides them from the king.  MSB says this was a good place to go and remain inconspicuous as they gathered information about the city.  Further, she lived on the wall, where they might be able to make a quick getaway if necessary.  And sure enough, they were recognized as both strangers to the city and as Israelites.

When the king's men come looking, she admits the men were there - since it was known anyway - but says they not only left, but went right out the gate, just before it closed.  She says she had no idea who they were.  This would seem a common fib from prostitutes.  She encourages the king's men to pursue the spies - who are hidden on the roof.  They go, and the gate is again shut behind them, which is why the two spies had to be let down on a rope.

This is Rahab's confession of faith:
11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. [Jos 2:11 ESV]

In return for her provision, they agree to save alive her and her father's house when they come back to take the city.  She lets them out of the city by a rope from her window, since the gates are shut.  
As they are leaving, they work out the details of who promised what and the conditions that must be met for the promise to be honored.

The spies get safely back across the Jordan and report all to Joshua.  They are very confident about the success of the coming campaign.

Chapter 3
As Israel crosses the Jordan, the Ark of the Covenant is carried before them, by the Levites.  The people are to stay back 2000 cubits, to be sure they go the right way.  The Lord also speaks to Joshua, and instructs him.  It would seem that at this time, God is communicating directly to Joshua, as He had with Moses.  These verses:
7 The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'" [Jos 3:7-8 ESV]
God lets Joshua know that He is about to promote him in the eyes of the people.  It won't just be that Moses said so, nor will it be that they have said so, but God is going to make it clear to all that He has chosen Joshua to lead, and that as He was with Moses, so he will be with Joshua.

Joshua says as the priests enter the water of the Jordan, the water from upstream will pile up, and they will cross on dry land.  The water is stopped well upstream, as the river is in flood this time of year.  The city where it piled up is called Adam.  Hard to resist the pun there.  A dam.  Where the water was piled up.  

Chapter 4
One man of each tribe takes a stone from the middle of the Jordan while it is dry, and they build an altar where they lodge that night.  The Bible says those stones are there to this day.  "This day" was the time when the book of Joshua was written.  MSB says written around 1400 BC.  It had been completed before David was king, and MSB has scriptures for that.  The stone altar was set up at Gilgal.  

2023 - This verse:  14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. [Jos 4:14 ESV].  When the people - this whole new generation of people - see what is perhaps the first miracle of God they've ever witnessed, and they know that it is all going as Joshua told them it would, Joshua becomes more than a leader to them.  More than some guy who had Moses' favor and so was picked to succeed Moses.  They see that God is working according to what he told Joshua to tell the people.  This is a much bigger deal than winning an election!

Chapter 5
The book of Joshua has so far been a resumption of pure historical  narrative.  It has been a chronological, almost daily journal, of the  entry into Canaan to push out those currently there, and inhabit the  land.  Israel is taking over the land promised to them.

The miracle God did drying up the Jordan for the people to pass over, struck fear deep into the hearts of those they were about to conquer, taking much of the fight out of them.  These Canaanite nations must have had spies out there, keeping tabs on where Israel was and what they were doing.  They would want to be prepared and ready when Israel arrived at their gates.  Even though they saw Israel's first move into Canaan, it did not make them feel prepared and ready.  Seeing that God went before them and dried up a river in spring flood long enough for millions to cross, had the opposite effect.  It was obvious that they were not going to be stopped.  2023 - Perhaps the Canaanites were thinking they had a lot more time to get ready, because Israel could not cross the Jordan while it was in flood.  So this miraculous crossing not only showed a supernatural power behind Israel, but meant that attack was at the very doors.

These verses:
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time." ... 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. ... 9 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. [Jos 5:2, 7, 9 ESV]
I don't know why the knives had to be made of flint, but here is the explanation for why this had to be done, and what it symbolized.   MSB says what was rolled away was the ridicule the Egyptians had heaped on them.  Gilgal means "rolling"

Israel observes Passover in the Land of Canaan for the first time.  Beginning the next day, the manna did not fall.  They ate off the land from then on.

2024 - This verse:  10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. [Jos 5:10 NASB95].  Observed on the 14th, on the evening.  ESV says in the evening.  NKJV says at twilight.  Evening is the time from sundown until full dark.  This is also twilight.  So before the 14th ended, Passover was observed.  We pretty much have to read that as "the lambs were slain at twilight".   In terms of the death angel visiting Egypt, you would have wanted those doorposts painted red before the angel came "at night".  That angel was coming about midnight.  So plenty of time to kill the lambs and and paint the doorposts.

These verses:
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14 And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15 And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. [Jos 5:13-15 ESV]
I should have noticed this myself, but didn't.  MSB notes point out that this was Jesus, incarnate.  A Christophany.  Jesus is the commander of the Lord's army.  Note that Joshua worships this "angel", but unlike the angels in Revelation, this one does not tell him to stand back up.  This one doesn't say "only God should be worshiped".  This one is worthy of worship.  And just to be sure we don't miss who this is, Joshua is told to take of his sandals, just as Moses was told to take his off before God at the burning bush.
There is more here, too.  This commander of the army IS God, because he is worshiped, and under the Sinai Covenant, "The Lord our God, the Lord is One".  He says he is the commander of the army of the Lord - speaking of God in the third person.  So He is not God?  So here in the OT is an unmistakable indication that God does not operate as a single entity, but He operates separately depending on the task at hand.  God Himself does not command armies.  This role is in Jesus - and he is seen coming with his army again in Revelation.   

Chapter 6
They are to take Jericho by blowing rams horns while marching around it each day for a week.  It says this:
[Jos 6:5 ESV] 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him."

Wasn't Rahab's house built into the wall?  Apparently that little part did not fall, because after the walls fall, and after Israel has killed every living thing in the city except for Rahab and those in her house, Rahab is rescued out.  Here were the instructions from Joshua to the army on the seventh day:
17 And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. ... 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD." [Jos 6:17, 19 ESV]
Rahab and all hers to be saved alive.  The only people - men, women, or children - that would survive this.  Gold, silver, bronze, and iron declared holy, and to become part of the tabernacle treasury.  Nothing else would survive - no clay or wood pots, no clothing, no jewels, no livestock, no food stores...only Rahab and metal.

A note in TCR says that the phrase translated "flat" is literally "under itself" in Hebrew.  So the wall fell down under itself.  The picture I get is that the base of the wall crumbled and what was above it crashed down since there was no longer any foundation.  But some could have come down intact while other places disintegrated into rubble.  We also don't know how high up on the wall Rahab's house might have been.  We know it had a red scarf hanging out the window.  My guess is that the walls crashed down around her house, and only her house was left standing.  

This verse:
25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. [Jos 6:25 ESV]
That she was alive "to this day" gives us a clue as to when the book of Joshua was written.  Rahab the harlot was still alive, and named as a witness to the events recorded.

2023 - Jericho was shut up tight, and anticipating a siege - the common method of taking a strong city in those days.  There was probably speculation about whether Jericho would be able to hold out a year, or two years, and so on, or whether Israel might in fact give up after a time and go away.  There was likely a lot of food and water stored up in the city, and it would have been packed with people from the surrounding area.  And in seven days it fell, completely and totally, and the people inside - men women children and animals - all still healthy and unhindered in any way by the siege, die by the sword.  Each is personally killed by an Israelite.  Cowering in corners, hidden in "safe rooms", running away screaming for their lives, alone and in groups, they are all stabbed or sliced with swords by the men of Israel.  This would have changed forever the look in the eyes of these men, this army of Israel.  Before this time, wandering around for years in the desert,  they had seen very little of violent death.  Violence wasn't allowed.  And now, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, die screaming before them.  They saw God's power when the walls fell down, and then they were changed by God's orders and afterward looked at the world in a different way.

Chapter 7
Achan loots some valuable items from Jericho, though all were told that the gold, silver and bronze of Jericho would go into the Temple treasury.  Achan's lineage is given, so that the whole family would be ashamed I suppose.  He was ultimately from the tribe of Judah, but he got greedy and kept things that had been forbidden.

Before this was discovered, Joshua plans to take the little city of Ai next in the campaign.  He sends spies up to look it over.  They are confident that this little place can be take with 2 or 3000 men.  The whole army is totally not needed.  So that's what Joshua sends.

But this backfires.  This little force is routed by the men of Ai, so that they run away.  36 are killed.  Seems very few, but the implication is that Jericho was taken with no losses at all.  Now this little city defeats Israel and some are killed.  This was devastating to morale, and the rest of Israel is now scared to death.  Had already forgotten about Jericho I guess.

Joshua cries out to God.  He is thinking in military terms, not in God terms.  His prayer before God expresses his worry that when word of this defeat gets out, the Canaanites will be encouraged, and mobilize against them, surround them, and wipe out the people of God entirely.  Joshua has apparently discounted his meeting with the Commander of the Army of the Lord.  He has forgotten the Jordan drying up.  He has completely misinterpreted the meaning of the defeat at Ai, and put it entirely in earthly terms.
Good FB post.  Don't we sometimes interpret difficult times in terms of our own understanding, rather than trying to pull out of our circumstances the lesson that God wants us to understand?  We should always try to understand circumstances - good or bad - in terms of God's working, rather than our own understanding.

Here is God's immediate answer:
10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. [Jos 7:10-11 ESV]

God tells him to get up.  ESV puts an exclamation point after it, though I have a hard time thinking God was "exclaiming".  God says this defeat is not about strategy, or tactics, or any other human cause or reason.  This is about sin.  This has happened because of someone's sin affecting the whole people. The Covenant we're working under here was a covenant with the whole nation of Israel.  As one they would be blessed, as one they will be punished.  So the people who died in the first battle at Ai were not the ones who had sinned.  They were paying for the sin of another.  This is an important principle to remember as we go on, and we see the things that happen to this nation.  Remember, God is dealing with a national covenant with Israel.  At this time in their history, the individual covenant, with individual men - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - are contained within the national covenant, they are not separate.  I think today, the Sinai covenant is just gone, yet Israel survives because of the previous covenants.  From 70 AD to 1948, God was preserving Abraham's descendants so that they can ultimately received the promises - in the Millennial Reign.  God did not need a nation to preserve them, so there was no nation.  There is no guarantee that the nation formed in 1948 is the Millennial nation.  The current nation of Israel, very secular and not so very much God-fearing, may well be wiped off the earth also, and another rise to take it's place when God decides the time is ripe.
2023 - The above is a good proof text for the Old Covenant being a national covenant.  The sin of just one man has brought a curse on the whole nation.  

A procedure is invoked to help Joshua identify the sinner.  He is to be burned, with all he has.  The procedure would take some time.  First the tribe with the sinner would be made known, then the clan, then the household, then man by man, family by family they would come.  Imagine waiting in that line, knowing you were the one.  It will be like that at final judgement.  Each knowing his guilt, and knowing that fire is the punishment...
Also, note that in this case, the cure for judgement on the whole nation is the rooting out and elimination of the sin of one man.
Wouldn't this be a contrast to the FB post above!  God's wrath toward the nation is not appeased by national repentance, but by the cleansing out of the one(s) who has willfully sinned against God.

Achan is found out.  He confesses to Joshua what he has done, in all the details.  He is no longer making any attempt to hide his sin.  This confession does not remove the consequences of his sin.  Saying we're sorry does not undo what has been done.  He, his family including sons and daughters, all who knew of the sin and did nothing, are stoned and burned in Achor.  So many stones are thrown that they make a great heap of stone.  When Joshua was written, that heap was still there, presumably with the bones of Achan and his family buried beneath it.  To this day it is the valley of Achor.  Achor means "trouble".
(Not sure where I got the part about "those who knew of the sin and did nothing".  That part is not at all apparent in the ESV.  There is an MSB note about this though.  Probably where I got the idea.  MSB note says his family was regarded as co-conspirators with him.  They helped cover his guilt and they withheld information from others.  We saw several places where those who knew of sin and didn't report it were also punished.  This same principle - where family members aware of the sin are also punished, is seen in Korah's rebellion (Nu. 16), and we know from a later verse that not all Korah's family was wiped out, but only those who supported him, Haman's fall (Est 9:13, 14) and after Daniel's escape (Dan 6:24).
Never take the low road, even when it is in support of your family.  A possible, but difficult to word, FB Post.
That was then...

Chapter 8
God sends the people back to Ai, and this time they can take it's spoil and it's livestock for themselves.  They are to ambush the city from behind.  God doesn't just send them to Ai, he tells them what strategy the army is to use in taking it.

This is successful and 12,000 people of Ai - which was every last one of them - is killed.  The king of Ai is hanged on a tree until sunset.

Here is a phrase that has been showing up a lot.  I didn't think too much of it the first time I saw it, but it has showed up again in the story of Achan, and now in the destruction of Ai.  Looking for all the places it has shown up would be a good study.  The phrase is "devoted to destruction".  It is interesting because each time this phrase is used, TCR has a footnote that goes like this:  "That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)".  Apparently this phrase is quite complex, and implies that those things being killed are an offering, like a bull or a goat.  Not sure I understand all the implications of this.  Would be a good study.

Joshua builds an altar, and writes all the laws given him via Moses on the stones, and then he reads them aloud, blessings and curses, with all the people, and the sojourners among them, all present.  Wonder why Joshua waits until after Ai to do this?  Maybe Jericho and Ai were geographically "in the way" until after they were destroyed? 

Chapter 9
Following the victories at Jericho and Ai, word spreads quickly through  Canaan.  In order to defend themselves against Israel, the various kings  of Canaan form a "defensive alliance" and plan to work together to stop  the Isreali offensive.  All but one, that is.

The Gibeonites plan an elaborate deception to get Israel to agree to peace with them - though they are lying about where they are from - rather than join with all the Kings beyond the Jordan to fight Israel.  They make it look like they came a long way - from a far country - to make peace.  In fact, they were right over the hill.  Gibeonites and Hivites are apparently the same, according to vs 7.  This was a good plan.  Remember that the instructions to Joshua as to nearby countries was to wipe them out, sparing none, but countries further away were to be given the option of surrendering as slaves, in which case they were to be spared.  We cannot tell-at least I cannot tell-whether the Gibeonites had somehow learned of this distinction, or they just happened upon the one deception that would spare them.  

Joshua agrees to peace with them, before consulting with God or the priest. This verse:
14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. [Jos 9:14 ESV]
It probably seemed a trivial thing to check their story.  It was simple to check.  No need to involve God in the process.  But here, as in all cases, it is best to check with God rather than to depend on human understanding.
Possible FB post.
After three days, Israel learns what has happened.  The Gibeonites/Hivites have four cities.  Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.  Three of these sound familiar.  This would be a good study - to see where these cities show in later in Israel's history.  But they do not go back on their word, they let the Gibeonites live, but as slaves, not as free.  They were never to be free.

The people are upset with their leaders over this "peace" they've made with the Hivites.  But the leaders say their word is binding on the people, and that the Hivites must be allowed to live.  However, they will not be free, they were promised life, not freedom, not autonomy.  This verse:
21 And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them. [Jos 9:21 ESV]

Joshua, now fully aware of the deception, asks them why they did it, and this is their answer:
24 They answered Joshua, "Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you--so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. [Jos 9:24 ESV]
So it seems they did know what fate lay in store for them, and they had learned of it through spies or other such means.  It isn't mentioned here, but it seems very likely that they also knew that a less severe fate was decreed for far countries.  And they used this information to save their own lives.  

Wasn't King Saul from Gibeon? No, that was Gibeah...or are they the same?  Saul was a Benjamite and I found references that the land around Gibeon was given to the tribe of Benjamin.  Gibeon will show up many more times per the word search I did.  This verse:
28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath-jearim--fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans. [Jos 18:28 ESV]  Sure looks like Gibeah and Gibeon are the same place.  K-j is listed here also in the lands given to Benjamin.  I think it is in Gibeah that the whole tribe of Benjamin is nearly wiped out over a terrible incident, and then worse is done to preserve them.  And from the survivors of these things, we get Saul, first King of Israel.
When the Philistines manage to capture the Ark of the Covenant, and figure out pretty quickly that they want to give it back, they give it to the people in Kiriath-jearim, where it resides for 20 years.  
Could go on with this I suspect, but, moving on now....

2022 - I have wondered before just how much labor would be involved in burning all those sacrifices - in the Tent and in the Temple.  Especially during feasts there would have to be a roaring fire from morning to night.  And this story tells us where that labor came from.  It was these deceptive Hivites, these Gibeonites, who decided they would rather be living woodcutters and water drawers than dead soldiers.  I have also wondered where all that wood came from.  That is another question I guess.

Chapter 10
The Amorites, upset at the Gibeonites for making peace, get together and bring war against Gibeon. This seems very foolish.  The real danger to them all is Israel and her army.  Instead of mobilizing against Israel, they instead turn on one of their own - the Hivites - and combine the five Amorite armies against them.  At best, even if victorious, this is going to reduce their army.  

For their part, Gibeon appeals to their new "masters" for help against the Amorites.  Joshua comes to their aid with the whole army of Israel.  God says not to fear them, and so Joshua attacks at the end of an overnight march.  The Amorites panic and run, and Israel chases them.  God sends stones (later it says hailstones), dropping from heaven, to kill the Amorites.  God kills more with these stones than Israel kills with the sword. So the poor strategy of the Amorites seems to have been God's way of bringing them all together so that their army can be routed and make conquest of the Amorites a much easier thing than it might have been.  As God used Pharoah to show the whole world His power, he now manipulates the Amorites to deliver on His promises to Israel.  There is that proverb about the hearts of kings being as a river to God, and He turns it where ever He wills.

Joshua prays for the sun and moon to stop to give Israel more time to complete the slaughter of the Amorites.  God obliges.

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel. [Jos 10:13-14 ESV]
If the inhabitants of Canaan were not already afraid of a nation who's God fights for it by drying up rivers in flood, dropping stout walls straight to the ground with trumpets, and by raining down hailstones large enough to kill on an escaping army, now the sun and moon stand still in the sky.  Who could gather the courage to try and fight such a nation?
There is a good MSB note on The Book of Jashar.  Says it may be the same as the Book of War mentioned in Nu 21:14.  It is also mentioned in 2Sa1:18, and a portion is recorded in Jos 10:12,13.

The five Amorite kings hide in a cave.  Joshua has them sealed up while he continues to dispatch their subjects and invade their cities.  When all this is done, and Israel has returned to camp and is resting, Joshua opens the cave.  Joshua has the soldiers of Israel put their feet on the necks of the five kings, to show that God will deliver Kings to their hand.  Then Joshua kills the kings, and hangs them on five trees until sundown, and then takes them down and seals the bodies back in the same cave.

Israel undertakes a journey of conquest into the Southern part of the land they were promised.  They are everywhere successful, and they kill everything breathing:
40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the LORD God of Israel commanded. [Jos 10:40 ESV]
Here is that phrase yet again - "devoted to destruction".  It has been used six times in this chapter alone.  It means that every man, woman, child, all the livestock - anything that breathed, was put to the sword.  Absolute unmitigated conquest of all this land - except for Gibeon and the Hivites - so far.

This "sews up" the central and southern parts of Canaan.  From Jerusalem south through the Negev, and on to the Mediterranean coast.  They kill everything alive in this part of Canaan.  Then they go back to the original camp at Gilgal.

Chapter 11
Jabin, King of Hazor, recruits the Kings of the north, east, and west to fight together against Israel.  The army he raises is as the sand of the sea.  They come and camp to make war against Israel.  God tells Joshua that He will give them to him, so Joshua attacks first, routes them and sends them fleeing.  They are all killed, and then Joshua hamstrings the horses and burns the chariots, as God had commanded him.  This verse:
15 Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. [Jos 11:15 ESV]
Do not forget that Joshua is not doing these things of his own accord.  We have been told repeatedly why these people were to be so completely wiped out, leaving no descendants, no women who worship other gods, none of that.  These people were entirely evil, sacrificing their own children to gods made with human hands.  Decadent, sinful, beyond repentance.  Israel was executing God's judgement on them, and at the same time claiming the promises God had made as far back as Abraham.  God is using Israel as the instrument of judgement here, just as He will later use Assyria and Babylon to execute justice on Israel for becoming even worse than these that were "devoted to destruction".

Why would these kings continue to fight in view of Joshua's string of victories?
20 For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses. [Jos 11:20 ESV]
In the same way He made the Amorite kings do a foolish thing in attacking Gibeon, so that they would be easy pray for Joshua and the army, He also delivered the rest of these kings, so that they were easily defeated.  

These verses:
21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. [Jos 11:21-22 ESV]
The giants are defeated, with only a few remaining.  Goliath will come from these that weren't killed.  These Anakim were a big part of why 10 of the spies said they shouldn't go in the first time.  They get short shrift here, as if Joshua and the army defeat them easily.  Likely there were so few left that as a race of giants, they were now doomed to die out.  They could not reproduce themselves.

I have heard many say that Israel has never yet inhabited all the land of promise.  What then of this verse:
23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. [Jos 11:23 ESV]
That looks to me like Israel had all they were supposed to have at that time, else Joshua would still be fighting.  Perhaps the promises to Abraham, and the additional land promised to him that Israel as a nation has never possessed, will be included in the Millennial kingdom?

Chapter 12
A recounting of the defeat of Og and Sihon under Moses, east of the Jordan.  It says that Og was one of the remnant of the Rephaim.  So he was likely a giant.  These two kings were defeated during Moses' leadership, and the land of these kings was given to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.  So this is all east of the Jordan.
Then a recounting of kings defeated under Joshua, west of Jordan, in Canaan.  31 Kings defeated.

Chapter 13
Starts this way:
1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. [Jos 13:1 ESV]
So Israel had not yet conquered all the land that God intended for them to have.  That earlier verse, then, was about a "waypoint" or "milestone", not about a completion of the campaign.

Next, God gives Joshua a list of what still needs to be taken. Of note are all the regions of the Philistines, which includes Gaza - still a pain today, Lebanon, also still a problem today.

God tells them to go ahead and divide the land, including these unconquered territories.  Least I think that's what it says.  Then there is a detailed description of the land Moses gave the tribes that stayed on the East side of Jordan.

Chapter 14
Eleazar and Joshua divide up the land on the west side of Jordan to the remaining 9 1/2 tribes.  This is done by lot.  
Caleb requests the land he walked through when he was among the 12 who spied out the land.  God had promised him this, so he gets a share of his own.  Hebron was the land that Caleb received.

2023 - This verse:
12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said." [Jos 14:12 ESV].  The sense here is that the land Caleb is requesting is still occupied territory.  Caleb is again showing his great faith.  He is asking for a place that still has fortified cities inhabited by giants who are likely to be quite annoyed by tiny men trying to drive them from their homes!  God had promised Caleb a place to live, but Caleb does not assume that place will just fall into his lap.  Caleb does not assume that he will get his inheritance without a fight, he assumes that God will do what he said He would, in ways that Caleb cannot even imagine.  When we pray, do we ask God to help us conquer giants, or to give us all green lights on the morning commute?  Do we ask God to help us knock down towering walls or to find a front row parking place at Walmart?  Two points...first, the things we pray for tell us what limit we put on God's power.  We ask small because we believe He is small.  And second, what we ask for tells us what we are willing to tackle while believing that God is on our side. We ask small because our commitment is small.  It occurs to me that if all I pray for is a good parking spot at Walmart, Satan might give me that spot just to make me feel proud of my "great faith" which has led to this answered prayer...and so convince me that this is as much as I can expect from God, and keep me from asking for anything more.  I mean, why wouldn't Satan do that?  Reading this verse about Caleb made me feel ashamed.  You know what else?  Caleb was 85 years old when he made this request!  Caleb knew that with God, it ain't over 'til it's over!!!  So let's just all stop whining about OUR limitations and remember that God doesn't have ANY, and let's set our sights on that impossible thing we want to pray for, and then do something that we cannot do without God's help to make it happen!
FB post for next Monday

Chapter 15
Description of the land given to the tribe of Judah.  Caleb's portion is within Judah, but is his.
The description is very detailed and even lists the cities that were included.  I note that the cities include some in Gaza - Ekron, Ashdod, etc.  These were held by the Philistines when the land was granted to Judah.  Apparently, Judah was still supposed to go to war to take those cities and wipe out their inhabitants.  I don't think they did that.  And the Philistines pestered them for centuries.  So the lesson here is that God told Israel to wipe out those already living in the land.  Where they did so, things were peaceful, but where they did not do that, the native people were a thorn to Israel from then on.  To this day in fact!

2024 - The term "Brook of Egypt" is used a few times in these chapters.  I always thought it was the Nile, such that Israel's land went from the Nile to the Euphrates.  That is not so.  So actually is a Brook of Egypt.  It runs sort of NW into the Mediterranean Sea, The "Way to Shur", a main road at that time, crosses the Brook of Egypt, west of Kadesh-Barnea.  It is a little further west that the border of modern day Israel but not much further.

The Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, and Josh 15:63 says they are there to this day.

Chapter 16
This is a short chapter.  Only 10 verses.
Descriptions of the areas allotted to each tribe continue.  The land given to Ephraim and Manassah, then specifics about what was given to Ephraim.  The Ephraimites failed to drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, but they do forced labor for them to this day.  They kept them as slaves, but they didn't kill them.

Chapter 17
The details of what was given to Manassah.  One clan had only daughters.  A special allowance was made so that they could inherit their father's portion of the allotment.  They had been granted this concession by Moses, possibly years and years before.  They are coming now to claim what was promised them, not to request something not previously granted.  These exceptions are made time and again in the OT.  The Bible should stand out as an example of the fair treatment of women, within their God-ordained roles, instead of being shouted down as a chauvinistic playbook.

Ephraim and Manassah complain that they have not been given enough of an allotment.  Joshua gives them some forested land that they could clear in order to raise their livestock there.  But they will have to conquer it to use it.  Joshua tells them that God will help them to conquer it.  

Chapter 18
1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them. [Jos 18:1 ESV]
So this is when Shiloh was established as the home of the Tent of Meeting.  This is where sacrifices to God during the feasts would have to be made.  This is where the Aaronic and Levitical priesthoods would be centered at this time.  Shiloh is about 20 miles NNW of Jerusalem.  

The map of the allotments in MSB has a couple of interesting things.  To start with, the tribe of Dan is given land that borders the Med, south of Ephraim's portion and north of Judah's.  But I was thinking that later Dan would be the northernmost tribe, because "all Israel" will be referred to as the land from Dan to Asher...or maybe Dan to Naphtali - I'll keep an eye out for the phrase.

I also note that Manasseh seems to have gotten the lions share of the land, both East and West of the Jordan.  Yet in chapter 17 they complain they don't have enough.  Manasseh was the first born, but when Joseph brings his sons for Jacob to bless, Jacob gives Ephraim the primary blessing.  This is where the double portion that would have been Reuben's goes instead to Joseph.  Jacob says E and M would inherit as his own sons, though they were grand sons.  And they do...but why does Manasseh get "double double" so to speak?  Manasseh's reasons for requesting extra is that God has made them a much larger tribe than the others.  Not sure if any of that has weight.  MSB does not go into detail.

Well...this keeps bothering me.  Since the Levites got no allotment, there were 11 sons of Jacob to inherit the land.  But Jacob added Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons.  So 13 portions.  The eldest son - whomever he was - seems to have been given a double portion - so that is now 14 portions.  Manasseh was the oldest of Joseph's sons, and Reuben was not in good graces, so Manasseh would get 2 of 14, leaving 12 portions.  The math works out this way, and the only question I still have is why it was Manasseh and not Ephraim that got the double portion.  Here is the verse:
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, 'God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. [Gen 48:20 ESV]
So the only way to read this is that Ephraim will be first in preeminence, not first in population or land area.  That kind of has to be what it's about.

Seven tribes had still not received their land.  Joshua asks these seven why they delay going in and taking possession of the land.  He sends out a team to divide the remaining land into seven portions, bring him the report, and he will cast lots before the Lord to determine ownership.  It seems the remaining land was spied out, since it still had at least some Canaanites in it even after 45 years of war.  They spied it out and divided it up before they began to conquer it.  

And why is it now up to each tribe to rid their allotment of Canaanites instead of having the whole army of Israel finish the job?  I never saw anything that changed the way things were to be done.  Nor did I see mention of when Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh went back to their own lands east of the Jordan.  When were they released from service?  Surely there is still land to conquer?

There are also these two verses to consider:
23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. [Jos 11:23 ESV]
15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war. [Jos 14:15 ESV]
How do these two previous verses fit in with this verse:
3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? [Jos 18:3 ESV]
Doesn't this imply that the job was not yet done?
Again, there is nothing in MSB that explains what was going on here.

Apparently the "survey" trip was accomplished, and then lots were cast.  The allotment to Benjamin is described in the remainder of this chapter.

Jerusalem is not actually in the land given to Judah, as I always thought, but is within Benjamin's portion.

Chapter 19
Detailed descriptions of the land given to Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, and for Joshua.

This verse:
9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. [Jos 19:9 ESV]
Recall that all these "parcels" are being selected by lot - so God is selecting them.  However, it is unlikely that God said Judah had too much land.  I suspect this was a human decision, or that Eleazar or Joshua were told by God that Judah's was too large.  Otherwise, why would they have decided to break it up more by putting Simeon in there?  Someone had to decide to create another "territory" within the previously established boundaries of Judah.  

Looking at the map, Zebulon and Issachar seem to be sort of "scrunched" into the small area between Asher/Naphtali/Dan and the huge area West of Jordan allotted to Manasseh.  There is a city called Bethlehem within the boundaries of Zebulon, far to the north of Jerusalem and from where we put it on maps of Jesus' birthplace.  

The primary cities contained within each tribes allotment are named here.  These few chapters would be a good reference later when cities are named for various reasons, and we could follow the history of each tribe and the things that went on within the territory allotted to each tribe.  Or maybe not...there was apparently more than one Bethlehem.  There also seems to be more than one Ramah, because I don't see how it could be the same place that Jos 18:25, 19:8, 19.29, and 19:36 all reference.  Could be it was right on an intersection of several tribes and so a convenient landmark, but 18:25 names it as a city within the land given to Benjamin, which is right next to Judah.  I found a map that also places it here, in Benjamin, but on the northern border of Benjamin, almost in Ephraim.  Which I think the prophecies of Christ say is where it is...But in 19:8 it is sort of the extremity of the land given to Simeon.  But...Judah is between Simeon and Benjamin.  In 19:29 there is a Ramah associated with the boundary of Asher, far in the north.  Tyre is within the boundary of Asher also.  This must be a different Ramah.  In 19:36 Ramah is a city within the boundary of Naphtali, which also lies far to the north and has a common border with Asher.  So maybe the Asher/Naphtali Ramah is one, Benjamin has one, and Simeon has one.  It's a stretch, but this Ben/Sim could somehow be the same one.  It would not surprise me to learn that the actual boundaries were "gerrymandered" a bit.

This verse:
9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. ... 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. [Jos 19:9, 47 ESV]
Leshem is north of the Sea of Galilee, so it is still in the extreme northern part of Israel.  The cities named as in Dan's territory in vs 40-46 are all further south, and west of the territory of Dan.  Apparently Dan was driven out of this area - possibly by the Philistines since Gath was west of there.  Joppa is mentioned as a boundary, and it shows up on the expanded map around Eshtaol and Ekron.  So I had this all wrong.  I thought Dan was originally in the north and was driven south.  In fact, it was the other way around.  This is another event to watch for in the unfolding history of Israel.

This finishes the dividing of the land.

Chapter 20
Designation of the cities of refuge.

Kiriath-arba has a very familiar ring to it.  I think we've seen it several times already.  It was one of the cities of refuge.  Yes...Sarah died here.  This is also called Mamre - which we have seen many times, and Hebron, which we've seen and will continue to see.

Kedesh, Shechem, Kiriath-arba/Mamre/Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth in Gilead, and Golan were the six Cities of Refuge.

Chapter 21
Names of the 48 cities, with their pasturelands, given to the Levites.

Kiriath-arba, a city of refuge, was given to the Levites.  Again, there is a whole list of cities given to the Levites that can be used as I continue to read, that might add context to things that are still to come.  It would be nice to know that someone arrived in a certain city, and then to know that it was a Levite City of Refuge within the territory of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.  This would flesh out many of the events recounted as I continue to read.  I hope I will take the time to look these up...and that I will remember that when I search for a city, it is the references to it in the book of Joshua that will add this context.

Oh my...vs 17 says that Gibeon, in Benjamin, was given to the Levites.  Gibeah/Gibeon turns out to be a pretty bad place at the end of Judges.

It also seems that many Cities of Refuge were given to the Levites.  I specifically noted that five of the six went to the Levites.  Bet that other one is in there too, I just missed it.  

43 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. [Jos 21:43 ESV]
I have heard many times that Israel never possessed all the land promised them.  That they were always in a smaller portion.  This verse disagrees with that.  This is the second such verse, saying they received all that was promised.
 
I am wondering if there is a difference in what was promised to the descendants of Abraham and what was promised to the nation of Israel.  And I am wondering if it will only be during the millennial that the descendants of Abraham - in flesh and in spirit - will hold that land.  Only way to find out if Abraham's promise was different is to look up each promise individually.  
That little booklet from Charlie is a good place to start.

2024 - It may all come back to the land that God showed Moses...though he did show Moses Gilead, which is east of the Jordan, and Israel has no land there at this time.  God says, in vs 45, that "not one word" was left unfulfilled at the end of Josh 21.  But Israel's Eastern border was nowhere near "the river" at that time.  So there is a difference in the promises to Israel and the promises to Abraham.  I wonder if it is all that stuff about Israel being promised the land of those other tribes, as here:
11 "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. [Exo 34:11 ESV].  I'm not sure ANY of this is east of the Jordan.
This next list is expanded a little, but there are just so many verses about these nations that Israel was to conquer.  All are between the Jordan and the sea:
1 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, [Deu 7:1 ESV]
17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, [Deu 20:17 ESV]
10 And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. [Jos 3:10 ESV]
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?" [Jos 9:7 ESV]
19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. [Jos 11:19 ESV]
5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. [Jdg 3:5 ESV]

The chapter ends with this verse:
45 Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. [Jos 21:45 ESV]
I see no way for anyone to claim at all, ever, that Israel never had all the land it was promised.  It most certainly did.

Chapter 22
Reuben, Gad, and one half of the tribe of Manassah have done as they promised, and accompanied Israel in the conquest of Canaan.  Now they return to the East side Jordan with great wealth for their tribes.  Israel is still camped at Shiloh at this point.  So here is the record that these tribes had done as promised, and that a general state of war no longer existed.  Perhaps the situation is that all the fortified cities, all the armies, all the organized resistance of the Canaanites has been eliminated, and all the remaining tribes need do is a little mopping up in order to fully possess the land allotted to them.  I also suppose that not all of them did so.  Maybe none of them did so.

This verse of explanation:
7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, [Jos 22:7 ESV]

As they leave Canaan, these tribes made a sizable altar on the West side Jordan.  The rest of Israel is so angry about this that they gather to make war on Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh.  But first a delegation is sent to these East Side tribes to inquire about this altar.  These verses:
16 "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the LORD by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the LORD? [Jos 22:16 ESV].
Notice that they are angry about a breach of faith against God, who has not ordered any such altar, and in fact commanded that only one altar was going to be acceptable to Him.  This is also not about inter-tribal jealousy.  The 10 tribes do not want the 2 tribes to bring damnation on them all.  The reason the 10 believe this is such a big deal goes all the way back to Peor, when the snakes visited everyone, not just the guilty, as found in these verses:
17 Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD, 18 that you too must turn away this day from following the LORD? And if you too rebel against the LORD today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. [Jos 22:17-18 ESV]

2021 - 18 ... And if you too rebel against the LORD today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. [Jos 22:18b ESV]
Here is a principle that we rarely discuss.  Israel was a people set apart, as 12 tribes.  Within that people, we have seen God's wrath directed toward individuals - that one guy who kept gold at Jericho, Miriam, toward tribes (or have we???), toward groups comprised of multiple tribes - the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and now we see a group of tribes in rebellion.  And we see the warning that if they do this, God will be angry not only with them, but with all of Israel for what this one group is doing.  I wonder if this applies today?  The group that is set apart today is the church.  It occurs to me that when I rebel, when I fail, when I fall short - and continue in that state - I might be bringing God's wrath/punishment/retribution on my local church, and on the church in the world.  Could the principle be that the more "rebellion" there is in the church as a whole the more general will be God's anger toward it?  As time went on, God eventually got angry enough to scatter the northern tribes, and later he allowed the rest of Israel to go into captivity, keeping only a few for himself.  Is that also how it will go with the church in our time?  It will grow smaller and weaker as time goes on because of the dilution of the church by the culture?  Aren't we already seeing that with whole denominations accepting things that are absolutely not according to God's written word - homosexuality, female clergy, and so on?  As the world grows more sinful, the church is also undeniably getting smaller and smaller, until we get to a time like the days of Noah, when the little remnant that remains of the church is raptured out.  So.  The point of this is that we each need to remember that when we embrace some sin, continue in some secret sin, we do not sin alone, we do not invite wrath on ourselves only, but on our families, our neighbors, and most of all, on our church.  It is never just about us with God.  It never has been.
Possible FB post or website article.  However, reading on, this may be too broad an application.  But maybe not...they had taken their eyes off of the Oneness of God.  They were making a secondary place to worship - a lesser place - and it looked as if they were in rebellion.  Turned out they were not, but still.

And this last is even more to the point:
19 But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. [Jos 22:19 ESV]
The 10 tribes offer to further divide the land of Canaan, and to bring these other tribes home, rather than have them feel like they must disobey God in order to worship God.  And that line that says don't make us rebels by being rebels yourselves.  Here is another statement of how God deals with nations as opposed to individuals.  Here is how sometimes the innocent fall with the evil, here is how good people are taken into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity because of the pervasive and widespread sin of a nation as a whole.  While this may apply as a general principle of how God works, it was specifically about how God dealt with Israel, according to the conditional covenant in place with that nation.  I don't think it really works this way with say, the US of A, and I do not think viruses are God applying the curses of the Sinai covenant on the US.

God had said all were to worship at the place where He put His name.  This was the Tent of Meeting, which was at Shiloh.  By building another altar, these three tribes were repeating an earlier sin - for which God had punished the nation, not just the individual sinners.  The 10 remaining tribes will go to war rather than let this sin, which will affect both they and their children, stand un-reproached.

The three tribes answer that if they are guilty as charged, then kill them.  But unlike the earlier incident, they have not sacrificed on this altar, and they built it to the one God, not to any other.  They haven't built it as a place of worship but as a memorial, that as the generations pass, this altar will remind their descendants to the west that they are brothers to the descendants to the east.  Therefore, as brothers, those from the East of Jordan will always be welcomed into the tabernacle, and later the temple, to worship God as Israelites and not kept at a distance, as strangers.

Chapter 23
Opens with this verse:
1 A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, [Jos 23:1 ESV]
So we have moved many years past the time when peace prevailed in Canaan, and the events of chapter 22 are now long past.  We're moving quite a few years ahead in time.   

2024 - This:
5 The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. [Jos 23:5 ESV].  There was still work to be done.  There were still peoples in Canaan that were to be driven out of the land, and their land and their goods were to be taken.  This happens as Joshua is near death.  Joshua dies at the age of 110.  I believe he was 80 when they crossed the Jordan.  We do not know how long that initial campaign too, or how old Joshua was when he parceled out the land of Canaan.  But we DO know that 30 years after they started, they were still not done.  They were "in" all the places God had given them, but they had not accurately followed God's commands concerning that land, as to it's previous (and unfortunately still current) inhabitants.  The military might of Canaan was broken during the Joshua campaign.  There were no longer any Canaanites "in charge" in Canaan.  They  had no kings and their gods were outlawed.  But many of the people were still there.  Those not in the armies of Canaan and many born since that campaign were still in the land. 

Joshua is old.  He gives advice, and reminds those in Israel of what God has done, and continues to do for them.  He warns them not to mix with those left in Canaan - those they didn't kill - nor to say the names of their gods aloud, nor to swear by those gods, or serve them or bow down to them.
6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. [Jos 23:6-8 ESV]
Here is the second or third time now that the people are commanded not to even say the names of the foreign gods in the land of Canaan.  I have a hard time thinking this "rule" has changed.  I plan to be very careful of this in the future.

In this verse, Joshua admonishes Israel to stay a pure nation, and not to intermarry or mingle with the remaining Canaanites, but to push the rest on out of the land:
12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you. [Jos 23:12-13 ESV]
Joshua makes it clear that the covenant in place between God and Israel is conditional.  If they turn to other gods, all their blessings will turn into curses.

2024 - It is about more than just turning to the gods of Canaan.  Even to associate with its people, whom God has declared to be irredeemably evil and deserving of physical, earthly death, will not only lead to trouble, but ISRAEL WILL FORFEIT THE LAND!!!

2024 - But then, what does this mean?
14 "And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. [Jos 23:14 ESV].  ALL have come to pass, not one has failed...what can that mean given the previous few verses saying it was not all done?  That God has promised to fight for them, and get rid of the military resistance of Canaan, but then leave the clean up to them?  Or perhaps God had been faithful THUS FAR as Israel carried out God's plan to possess Canaan.  There'd been nothing, SO FAR, that God had said he'd do that he had not done.  But the job was not over, or there would not have been these warnings about "thorns in their eyes".  God was still prepared to help them as they finished the job, but he was not going to do it without them.  Yes, this seems like the best interpretation.

Here is another statement that all God promised Israel has been fulfilled.  This must refer to promises about the land they were given:
12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you. [Jos 23:12-13 ESV]

Not one has failed...

Chapter 24
Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel to Shechem.  He recounts the history of the nation, beginning with Abraham's father Terah, who worshiped other gods.  He sums it all up this way:
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." [Jos 24:15 ESV]

Here are some interesting verses:
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. [Jos 24:25-26 ESV]
Are these additional rules and laws that Joshua alone adds to the Law of Moses, and puts in place?  This covenant is between Joshua and the people, not God and the people?  Hmm...
MSB note on 26 says Joshua expanded the canon beyond the five books of Moses. That is, the book of Joshua also became part of the "Bible" they had at that time.  I think this is also a good indication that the book of Joshua was written by Joshua himself, and in this verse he "consecrates" the book as Holy Scripture.  This sets a precedent for the addition of more books to the OT, and eventually a whole NT.  

After Joshua receives a renewed commitment to God from the people, he dies, at the age of 110.

The verses from 29-33 would have been written by someone else, as they first say that Joshua died.  Then there is a bit of a "cleaning up" of the story line.  No successor to Joshua is named.  Joshua was hand picked to take up the leadership of Moses when Moses died.  No one succeeds Joshua.  Instead, leadership now passes to the priesthood.  The nation is becoming a theocracy at this point.  

One last thing, in the last verse of Joshua, written by someone else after Joshua died:
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim. [Jos 24:33 ESV]
Here is Gibeah yet again.  The new High Priest, Phinehas, is from that city.  This is in the land granted to Benjamin.  This city will be very prominent in the last pages of the next book, Judges.