Contemplative Bible Reading

Joshua 2:24 (New International Version)

They said to Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”

Joshua had sent three spies into Jericho to learn about the city and its defenses. This is the end of the report that the three spies gave. The people of Jericho and the surrounding area were melting in fear at the thought of Joshua and God’s people coming their way.

Why? Why were people afraid? Joshua was leading a nation without a land. Joshua’s group had wandered about in a wasteland for 40 years. It seemed as if they couldn’t find their way or walk in a straight line.

But there was another perspective here. Joshua commanded an army of about 600,000 men. Add the women and children and we have about two million people coming into the neighborhood. And then there is the livestock they had – sheep and camels and goats and … goodness. I cannot imagine how that all worked. How do you move two million people on foot? Just the noise of them walking would frighten me. Consider the cloud of dust they stirred.

Given this second perspective, I understand how the people of Jericho melted in fear. I better understand the miracles that God performed daily as he shepherded the wandering people for 40 years.