All True After All: Joshua, Wars, and His Tomb

Children of God have often been accused of practicing “mind control,” and we do not shrink from that accusation.  If we do not control our own minds with the Word of God, Satan will.  As sons and daughters of God—who are the BORN AGAIN—we are directed to control the ground between our own ears.  The Bible calls it the renewing of the mind, where the saint is transformed unto the glory of God. Romans 12:1-2:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Supernatural resources are in place to augment the clearing, the cleaning, the renewing, of the mind, and those resources are the living Word of God ministered to the redeemed by God’s Holy Ghost. John 14:26:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  

If you have yet to be baptized in the Holy Ghost as they were on the Day of Pentecost where they spoke in other tongues, please visit the Holy Ghost series.

Imagine the power to control your thoughts only unto good and the edification of all those who associate with you.  II Corinthians 10:4-5:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Mind control is a premium specialty of the blood-bought.  Dear visitor, have you yet to be BORN AGAIN as Jesus directs in John 3:3?

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.    

In just a moment, I will invite you to follow me in a simple prompt, and if you do, everything will change for you today. Today, all your sin and shame will be washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Today, all of Satan’s bondages in your life will be shattered.  Today, you will be BORN AGAIN, born a very real, second time, this time of the Spirit of God. Today will be the best day of your life, and as you walk in Christ, tomorrow will be better. Here is the prompt I promised: Click onto Further with Jesus for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Joshua 6:2-5:

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams'' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram''s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

GOD SAID (and Joshua speaks), Joshua 24:15:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

GOD SAID, Ezekiel 18:31-32:

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

MAN SAID: Everybody knows the Bible is just an ancient book with no real scientific credibility!  It was written by ancient men and its time, like them, has long passed.  I follow the science! What do I know about science, you ask?  Well…nothing.  But, so what?!

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 1134 that will, for the 1134^th time, certify the pure and perfect supernatural inerrancy of God’s beautiful Book. All of these faith-building features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the saints and as bait for the fishers of men.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.

Thank you for coming.  May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth.

From Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1, the credibility of the ancient record documented in the Holy Bible has been maligned, ridiculed, and scorned by Biblical minimalists, incessantly attempting to discredit God’s Word.  For all their striving, their antichrist chatter has only found itself minimalized by one discovery stacking upon another.

One of the four proof categories on the GodSaidManSaid navigation bar is Archaeology, which includes the disciplines of sociology, ancient history, geology, microbiology, paleontology, and more.  This category fully establishes what skeptics would call the most outrageous Biblical claims.  The Archaeology category will shock and please the disciples of faith.  It addresses and certifies:

◉ Creation;
◉ A paradise called Eden;
◉ Adam and Eve, the parents of us all;
◉ The fall of man;
◉ Men living to a thousand years;
◉ Noah and the global flood;
◉ The Tower of Babel and one common language spoken by all on the earth;
◉ Abraham, the father of faith;
◉ Sodom and Gomorrah;
◉ Joseph the kingmaker and his coat of many colors;
◉ The Hebrews’ slavery in Egypt;
◉ Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. 

And it keeps going until the King of Glory, Jesus Christ, hanging upon Calvary’s Cross between two thieves—a despised and ridiculed, naked pauper—to His staggering, miraculous resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven to sit on the right hand of God.  All of these accounts are true and righteous altogether.

After Moses died, the charge of leading the Israelites into the promised land fell to Joshua, the son of Nun.  Joshua is the mighty man of God who lead the attack against the Canaanite city of Jericho, which brought down the foreboding walls of Jericho with the exception of one corner upon which sat the house of Rahab the harlot. Rahab was given amnesty from the utter destruction awaiting Jericho when she hid the Jewish spies from the authorities pursuing them. Joshua is the mighty man of God who sought God to stop the sun from going down until the Israelites had slew their enemies.  God honored Joshua’s request and the sun did not go down for about a whole day.  Joshua 10:13-14:

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

If that seems beyond credible to you, visit the GodSaidManSaid feature “Missing Day No Longer Missing” for more.

Be of good cheer, child of faith, God’s record is true, totally true! The book Bible Believer’s Archaeology was written by John Argubright, and writes the following about the wars Joshua fought:

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, Moses handed over the leadership of the Hebrew nation to Joshua, who brings the children of Israel into the promised land.

According to the Bible, after entering Canaan, Joshua had to go to war with the inhabitants of the land.

There is an amazing piece of evidence to support this.  A letter has been found that was written by a man named Abdi-Heba, Governor of Jerusalem, to an unnamed Pharaoh, requesting aid from Egypt in fighting the approaching Hebrews.

The letter states the following:

“Why do you not hear my call for help? All the governors are lost; the king, my lord, does not have a single governor remaining! Let the king send troops and archers, or the king will have no lands left.

All the lands of the king are being plundered by the Habiru (Hebrews).  If archers are here by the end of the year, then the lands of my lord, the king, will be saved, but if the archers are not sent, then the lands of the king, my lord, are lost.”

(El-Amarna Letter EA.286)  [End of quote]

You’ll read the following in Joshua 10:1-5:

1 Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

3 Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,

4 Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

Argubright continues:

The Bible states in Joshua 10:26 that Joshua defeated these kings, captured them, and killed them, including the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek. 

It is very likely that Abdi-Heba and Adoni-Zedek are one and the same man.  The reason being is that “Adoni-Zedek” is a title rather than the actual name of the king.  Adoni-Zedek means the “Lord of Zedek,” similar to the name Melchi-Zedek, which means “Prince of Zedek,” who was the ruler of Salem according to Genesis 14:18.  The Hebrews would have associated this title with the prince of Salem, an early name for the city of Jerusalem.

So the letters written by Abdi-Heba, trying to stop the advancing Hebrews, were likely written by either Adoni-Zedek, mentioned in Joshua 10:1, or Adoni-Bezek, another king mentioned in Judges 1:7, who was defeated by Joshua and buried in Jerusalem.

The letters from Abdi-Heba seem to have been written to either Amenhotep II or Amenhotep III.  Since one of the letters from Abdi-Heba mentions that the pharaoh, from whom he was requesting help, had conquered the land of Naharaim and the land of Cush, this would likely point to Amenhotep II who indeed had military campaigns against both countries. This letter also mentions that the ‘Apiru (Hebrews) were at one time known as slaves.  The letter states:

“The arm of the mighty king conquers the land of Naharaim and the land of Cush, but now the ‘Apiru have captured the cities of the king … Behold Zimreda, the townsmen of Lachish have smitten him, slaves who had become ‘Apiru (Hebrews).”

(El-Amarna Letter EA.288)

The time frame of this letter also corresponds to the dating found in the Bible.

According to I Kings 6:1, the Exodus was 480 years before King Solomon built the temple, which occurred in 1012 BC.  That would date the Exodus at approximately 1486 BC, and their entering into the land of Canaan around 1446 BC.

According to historians, Amenhotep II began his reign somewhere between 1450 and 1425 BC, right in the middle of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan.

Fascinating!

Other letters requesting aid from Egypt have also been discovered that were written during the same time frame as well.  These letters are part of what are known as the Amarna tablets.

The following letter is from a man named Shuwardata, governor of Gath, who mentions “the chief of the Hebrews,” a possible reference to Joshua himself.  It states:

“May the king, my lord, know that the chief of the ‘Apiru (Hebrews) has invaded the lands which your god has given me; but I have attacked him.  Also let the king, my lord, know that none of my allies have come to my aid, it is only I and Abdi-Heba who fight against the ‘Apiru chief.

Zurata, the prince of Accho, and Indaruta, prince of Achshaph, were bribed with fifty chariots by the ‘Apiru so that they would not come to my help; now they are against me.  I plead with the king, my lord, if you agree, send Yanhamu, and let us quickly go to war, so that the lands of the king, my lord, might be restored to their original boundaries!”

(Ancient Near Eastern Texts 487)

Shuwardata, governor of Gath, is also mentioned in the following letter from a man named Milkilu, a prince of Gezer, with whom he was allied:

“Let it be known to the king that there is a great hostility against me and against Shuwardata.  I ask the king, my lord, protect his land from the approaching ‘Apiru.”

(El-Amarna Letter EA.271)

These two men later seem to have offered allegiance to Joshua, as evidenced from a second letter from Abdi-Heba, governor of Jerusalem:

“Let it be known what Milkilu and Shuwardata did to the land of the king, my lord! They sent troops of Gezer, troops of Gath … the land of the king went over to the ‘Apiru.”

“But now even a town near Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi (Bethlehem) by name, a village which once belonged to the king, has fallen to the enemy.  … Let the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to restore the imperial lands of the king! But if no archers are sent, the lands of the king will be taken by the ‘Apiru people.  This act was done by the hand of Milkilu and Shuwardata.”

(El-Amarna Letter EA.290)

This letter is interesting because, even though Joshua destroyed most of the inhabitants of the cities he came across, the city of Gath was spared.  Joshua 11:22 states: There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.

Another letter indicates that the prince of Gezer and the prince of Shechem surrendered to Joshua during the conquest of the land:

“See the actions taken by Milkilu (prince of Gezer), and the sons of Lab’ayu (princes of Shechem), who have handed over the land to the ‘Apiru.”

(El-Amarna Letter EA.287)

This letter also confirms the Bible in that these two cities were also spared in Joshua’s conquest, and they are mentioned together in Joshua 21:21.

These and many other Amarna letters, all dating to this same time frame, mention cities that had either fallen to or were fighting against the advancing Hebrews.  These cities match exactly with the cities Israel had captured, as listed in the Book of Joshua as well as in Judges Chapter 1.

The cities and lands include Lachish, Gezer, Ashkelon, Hazor, Gath, Keilah, Acco, Bethlehem, Gaza, Jerusalem, Achshaph, Carmel, Beth-Shean, Megiddo, Shechem, Makkedah, Ajalon, Zorah, as well as a mention of the land of Canaan itself. So there is no doubt that the ‘Apiru or Habiru mentioned in the Amarna letters were the Biblical Hebrews.

Another amazing find that confirms the Book of Joshua was found on the walls of an Egyptian temple at Medinet Habu. The walls contained a list of cities that Ramesses II recorded as enemy towns.  The cities are represented on a wall by a man bearing a shield, and within the shield is the name of the city.  Among the list of cities were Janum, Aphekah, and Hebron.

Joshua 15:53-54 states that among the cities on the border of the children of Judah were “Janum …, Aphekah, … Kirjath Arba (Hebron).”  [End of quotes]

A Closer Look at the Evidence, a book written by Richard and Tina Kleiss, expounds upon the accuracy of the Biblical record.  Excerpts follow:

Dr. Robert Dick Wilson (1856-1930), a graduate of Princeton University at age 20, spent 45 years of his life making a scientific study of the Old Testament.  He was one of the most brilliant language and Bible scholars of all time.  In order to accurately understand the Bible, Dr. Wilson not only mastered Hebrew and all related languages, but was fluent in every language into which the Bible was translated up to 600 AD.  His primary goal was to be qualified to speak with authority in matters relating to the text of the Bible.  Wilson wanted to “reduce Old Testament criticism to an absolutely objective science; something that is based on evidence and not opinions.” One of the many areas he researched were the records of the 29 kings of Egypt, Israel, Moab, Damascus, Tyre, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, which are referred to in the Bible and found on monuments.

After studying documents that were up to 4,000 years old, he found that the Bible correctly named every one of these ancient kings, placed them in the correct country, and listed them in correct chronological order.  No other document even comes close to the accuracy of the Biblical account. Since the original names in the Old Testament frequently carried specific meanings, all that is connected with them has tremendous significance.  Robert Wilson’s painstaking work formed the foundation for proving the accuracy of these Old Testament passages.  Dr. Wilson concluded that the Bible’s perfect accuracy reflects the absolute truth of Scripture and a Mastermind as its author. [End of quote]

The July 28, 2022 headline in the Jerusalem Post reads, “First Archaeological Dig Begins at Site Believed to be Joshua’s Tomb.”  Two paragraphs follow:

Archaeologists have begun digging at Khirbet Tibnah in the West Bank, a site where humans have settled for about 4,000 years and which is believed to be where the biblical Joshua lived and was buried, the excavation project at the site announced on Monday.

The site is also identified as Timnath-heres or Timnath-serah, a town which, according to the Book of Joshua, was given by the Israelites to the prophet and was where he lived and was buried.  The tomb of Caleb is also believed to be at the site. [End of quotes]

The CompletePilgrim.com  had this to say of Joshua’s tomb:

Of all the major figures of the Exodus period, Joshua was the last survivor.  His life and death in the 14^th century BC marked the end of Jewish prehistory and the beginning of the Israelite nation.  His tomb was the last major shrine associated with the Exodus to be constructed.  It has the distinction of being one of the most reliably-known tombs from the pre-kingdom era, and is thus one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Israel.

The subsequent military campaigns of Joshua in Canaan have since become legendary, beginning with his miraculous triumph over the mighty city of Jericho.  Joshua spent the remainder of his years conquering the petty kingdoms of Canaan, dividing the lands among the Israelite tribes and overseeing the settlement of the cities of the territory of Ephraim.  He established his own home at Timnath-Heres.  There he later died and was buried in what was probably Israel’s first state funeral.

As much as Moses was the savior of the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, Joshua was the great hero who united the people and established Israel as a nation.  His tomb became a revered place, and was remembered and visited by pilgrims even in later years when the other great Holy cities of Ephraim had waned in importance.  The ancient town of Timnath-Heres, now the Palestinian city of Kifl-Hares, still receives many visitors at what is arguably the greatest surviving shrine of the Exodus period.

The Tomb of Joshua is a surprisingly unassuming place.  Occupying only a small street corner in the middle of downtown Kifl-Hares, it can be easily mistaken for a walled compound of a typical residence of the neighborhood, such as might belong to a local middle class citizen.  Unfortunately, this sacred Jewish site is usually best recognized by the Arabic graffiti which is usually scrawled all over its outer walls.

The town of Kifl-Hares is located in the Palestinian territory, not too far from Tel Shiloh, about twenty miles north of Jerusalem.  Because of its location, the Tomb of Joshua has had difficulties during the last few decades.  The site has been vandalized on a number of occasions, and the few Jewish pilgrims that still trickle in often come in the company of Israeli soldiers.  As of this writing, no other visitor information was available. [End of quotes]

Archaeology shouts quite loudly YES!! to the perfect accuracy of God’s perfect Book. When you approach life from unbelief and its subsequent disobedience, you end up in a state of utter confusion where upside down seems right-side up.  Choose faith.  Choose life and live. Deuteronomy 30:19:

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Today, choices are being made.  Choose wisely.

GOD SAID, Joshua 6:2-5:

2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams'' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram''s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

GOD SAID (and Joshua speaks), Joshua 24:15:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

GOD SAID, Ezekiel 18:31-32:

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

MAN SAID: Everybody knows the Bible is just an ancient book with no real scientific credibility!  It was written by ancient men and its time, like them, has long passed.  I follow the science! What do I know about science, you ask?  Well…nothing.  But, so what?!

 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

“First Archaeology Dig Begins at Site Believed to be Joshua’s Tomb,” JerusalemPost.com, July 28, 2022

Argubright, J., Bible Believer’s Archaeology, Argubright, 2013

Kleiss, R., & T., A Closer Look at the Evidence, Search for the Truth Ministry, 2005

Kramer, H., “Tomb of Joshua,” TheCompletePilgrim.com

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