God's education of Israel in faith: the exodus and the conquest of the promised land.

If we consider how God frees the people from Egypt "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm," how, after 40 years, Joshua leads the people into the land and how Jericho, Ai, the southern kings, and then the northern kings are successively conquered, there is a line. A line that begins with a God who miraculously provides for His people in every way, to a God who, while continuing to support His people, makes much more use of the people's own insights and talents. In this article, I want to clarify this.
We know the story of the Exodus. After ten plagues strike the land of Egypt, the people set out on their journey. And upon arriving at the Red Sea, they immediately face their first challenge. Pursued by the Egyptians, they see the water before them. However, Moses' staff parts the water, and the people escape. Then we read how God provides food in the form of manna and water. When Moses looks back on this period he says: I have led you through the wilderness forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, neither have your shoes worn out on your feet; you have eaten no bread, neither have you drunk wine nor strong drink; that you may know that I am the LORD your God (Deut 29:5-6).
At the end of the desert journey, we read a remarkable story (Num. 20). The people arrive at the place that would later be called Meribah and again complain about the lack of water. God then instructs Moses to take the staff from God's presence. This is not Moses' staff, but Aaron's staff. And Moses is to speak to the rock. This is a clear sign. God will help His people if they serve Him. Not with the mighty arm visible in Moses' staff, but through His presence, as manifested in the service of the priests. And of which Aaron's staff was a symbol. We know the outcome: Moses disobeys and strikes the rock with the staff, while also emphasizing that he is the one who will give it water. As punishment, Moses is not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
When the people then have to travel around the land of Edom and can't get through, they grumble again. Then God sends serpents as punishment (Num. 21). Moses is instructed to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and if anyone bitten by a serpent looks at it, they won't die. Initially, it's another miraculous story. Couldn't God have simply made those serpents disappear? That's true, but this also fits into the ongoing theme of God's upbringing of Israel. The Rabbis read the text as not saying that God sends serpents, but that God stops restraining them. In other words, those serpents were always there during the wilderness journey. But the people forgot that it was God's intervention that prevented them from bothering them. Now He shows that this is far from self-evident. And when God instructs Moses to put that serpent on a pole, it's not meant to glorify the serpent. Quite the opposite. The idea is that people are forced to look up, past the serpent to heaven, and realize that it is God who can free them from this plague.
The next story I want to draw attention to is the crossing of the Jordan. The comparison with the crossing of the Red Sea inevitably comes to mind. But the contrast is all the more striking. At the Red Sea, there was fear, and there was only a narrow path through the water. At the Jordan, the people are confident. And the water is stopped 25 kilometers upstream, creating a very wide passage. The pillar of cloud, which had preceded the people all this time, is absent. In the desert, the Ark always led the way. Now we see the priests with the Ark enter the Jordan first, but then pause so that the people enter the land first. This is more than symbolic. The way in which God will lead the people changes. The people will have to take responsibility for themselves. The Exodus began with the celebration of Passover. When the people reach the other side, Passover is celebrated again. The circle is complete. And, as we read, the manna stops. The people will have to eat of the produce of the land.
What's striking is that God instructs Joshua to erect a pile of stones, but if we read carefully, Joshua actually erects two piles of stones, and also gives two explanations for this. Twelve stones are erected in the middle of the Jordan. But twelve stones are also taken from the Jordan and used for a memorial on the land. The twelve stones on the land are a reminder of the crossing of the Jordan, a symbol of Israel's self-confidence on the eve of the conquest of the land. The stones in the Jordan, where the priests stood, on the other hand, are a symbol of God's action.
In the following chapters, we read about the conquest of the land. First Jericho, then Ai and Bethel, then the southern kings, and finally the northern kings. And here, too, there's a pattern. Jericho falls to the Israelites without them having to lift a finger. They march around the city, seven times on the seventh day, and then the wall collapses. The battle against Ai initially fails due to a transgression by one of the people. However, the second time, Joshua devises a ruse. A small portion of the army is ambushed behind the city. The rest will engage in battle, flee, and thus lure all the fighting men out of the city. Crucial to this plan is the timing of the men's escape from the ambush to take the city. If they move too early, the ruse will be discovered prematurely. However, if they act too late, they will endanger the rest of the army. We read in Joshua that it is God Himself who indicates when Joshua is to lift the spear, as a signal for the ambushing army to come out (Josh. 8:18). During the conquest of the southern kings, God intervenes twice: once with heavy hailstones, and once by causing the sun to stand still at Gibeon. However, when we read about the conquest of the northern kings, we read that God gave them into the hands of the people, but otherwise, the emphasis is strongly on Joshua's actions.
At the end of his life, Joshua takes stock (Joshua 24). God has given the entire land to Israel. The way God leads the people has changed. From a clear intervention by God, to a situation in which Joshua used his strategic insight to overcome the kings. From a pillar of cloud, Moses' staff, and manna, to a role in which God gives more responsibility to the people themselves. You could say, to a more mature faith. But even then, God was no less present. Just in a different way. And that's why Joshua calls on the people to choose whom they will serve: the idols or the God of Israel. And the people understand. They choose to serve that God. A God who no longer intervenes directly with a mighty hand, but a God who has brought the people to maturity. Through trial and error, the people will have to learn to serve and follow God.
The contrast with Moses' farewell speech is stark. Moses elaborates on the blessings the people receive when they serve God (Deut. 28:1-14), and even more on the curses (Deut. 28:15-68). If they forsake God, they themselves will be struck by the plagues of Egypt (Deut. 28:27, 60). In his farewell speech, Joshua approaches the people differently. He invites them to reflect on what God has done and how He gave the land to Israel as their inheritance. And he presents the people with a choice: who will you serve? We know the answer: they want nothing more than to serve God. It is a choice not made because of the consequences of forsaking God, but a choice based on God's mighty deeds. A mature choice, you might say.

Bas Krins