Joshua My Commander

By Toni C. Clark

Biblical characters like Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab come alive, and their experiences of faith, tragedy, and triumph are made real. Joshua was twenty when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. He became a minister to Moses, and before he died, the great Prophet Moses anointed Joshua to lead the people to the promised land.

Joshua must overcome self-doubt and uncertainty through faith and trust in God's plan. He becomes a leader who is greatly feared and also loved. He takes sixteen-year-old Tal into his care after the young man's parents perish in a landslide.

Tal is not yet of age to join the warriors of Israel on the battlefield but is commissioned to remember all he sees. He becomes Joshua's minister, and they share a passion for fulfilling God's allocation of the territories to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Joshua's first task is to take the people across the Jordan River and seek victory at the Battle of Jericho. Tal witnesses the incredible fight and accompanies Joshua on to Ai, Makkedah, Libnah, and all the places God promised to the people. Over the years, they encounter ferocious battles, miracles, and personal triumphs and defeats.

Finally, after many bloody victories, Joshua and Tal reach the place of Joshua's inheritance, Timnath Serah, in the land God allocated to the Ephraim tribe. They make a home and build a welcoming city in the shade of majestic oak and cypress trees. Joshua seeks peace within his soul and strives to live out his remaining life with his family, never giving up hope for God's chosen people.

This story is based on historical events, times, and places. The characters are actual and imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798886161854

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Joshua My Commander

Toni C. Clark

ISBN 979-8-88616-184-7 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88616-185-4 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Toni C. Clark

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Aloneness at Almon Diblathaim

Chapter 2

The Elder

Chapter 3

With a Purpose

Chapter 4

The Mountains of Abarim

Chapter 5

Racing in the Plains of Moab

Chapter 6

Haggling

Chapter 7

Sihon, No More

Chapter 8

The Proposal

Chapter 9

The Wedding

Chapter 10

The Stranger

Chapter 11

Abel-Shittim

Chapter 12

The Dawn of Revenge

Chapter 13

The Spear of Phinehas

Chapter 14

My Friend Is God's Enemy

Chapter 15

The Plague

Chapter 16

From Ashes to Dust

Chapter 17

The Divorcement

Chapter 18

The Day Joshua Was Blessed

Chapter 19

The New Commander's Spies

Chapter 20

Crossing the River Jordan

Chapter 21

Jericho

Chapter 22

Home-Taking

Chapter 23

The Taste of Honey

Chapter 24

The Sin at Ai

Chapter 25

Erasing the Sin of Ai

Chapter 26

From Ai to Shechem

Chapter 27

Treaty for Gibeon

Chapter 28

Five Dead Kings

Chapter 29

Secret Intentions

Chapter 30

Weaving the Basket

Chapter 31

Waters of Merom

Chapter 32

To Philistia

Chapter 33

When Children Cry

Chapter 34

Making Maps

Chapter 35

The Bris

Chapter 36

Slaying a Giant

Chapter 37

A Million Voices

Chapter 38

The Adoption at the Tabernacle at Shiloh

Chapter 39

Foundations

Chapter 40

Roosters and Hens

Chapter 41

Venom

Chapter 42

Take Possession

Chapter 43

The Meeting Place

Chapter 44

The Warning and Farewell

Chapter 45

Epilogue

About the Author

For my son, Robert James.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

—Joshua 24:15

The Section of Joshua, Old Testament, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860)

To my readers:

This is a historical fiction novel, a story based on historical facts and blended with details that could have happened. From the Bible, the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Joshua support the events. Our imaginations will help us gain an intimate understanding of the characters of the Old Testament scriptures.

Prologue

God the Creator made the earth, and then He made Adam to live upon it. God then created Eve to be Adam's wife. Together they lived in the Garden of Eden, and God's presence was with them. The Garden was a perfect place, and Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with God. Then Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and sin came to the world. They were banished into the wilderness and God cursed the ground.

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life (Genesis 3:17 NIV).

God told them the land would produce thorns and thistles, and they would eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of their brows, they would eat their food until they returned to the ground. Since from it you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Adam and Eve brought two sons into the world. The oldest was Cain, and then Abel was born. When Cain was a man, he became angry with his brother. He rose from the ground where they were sitting, and Cain killed Abel. Cain could not hide the sin of murder from God, so he fled to a land called Nod.

Adam and Eve bore a third son and named him Seth. They also had many other sons and daughters. Adam gave Seth faithful instructions as the years went by, and Seth honored God. He grew to become a righteous man, and he had many children. It was at that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. They petitioned the Lord God for all things, and they praised Him. They sought a relationship with Him.

Five generations later, it came to be that a man named Enoch was born from the line of Seth. Enoch was married and had many sons and daughters. He lived in complete and beautiful harmony with God's will—he had a close relationship with the Lord. Enoch did not live among the corrupt generations of Cain from the land of Nod, for they did not worship God. Indeed, Enoch feared that if he associated with the unrighteous, he would be affected by their wickedness. So Enoch spent his time in solitude, walking faithfully with the Lord God. Because of his piety, he was taken to heaven and did not see death—God took him away.

Enoch was one of the last men who walked with God. Within a few hundred years, mankind was incessantly filled with violent thoughts. They sinned in terrible ways. The Lord God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intention of his heart was continuously evil. God was grieved and said He would destroy man and all the animals, erasing them from the earth. He would cleanse the world of His creation.

However, one man found favor in the Lord's eyes. A man named Noah was born to Enoch's grandson, Lamech. Now, Noah was not sinless, but like his great-grandfather, Enoch, he walked with God.

Ten generations had passed from Adam to Noah, nearly a thousand years. It would be the last generation before God brought a great flood over the earth. The Lord explained to Noah, Everything on the earth will die. But I will establish my covenant with you. The Lord told Noah to build an ark of gopher wood and provided him with the measurements and specifications.

This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits (Genesis 6:15 NIV).

Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. He was to take seven male and female pairs of each type of clean animal on the ark with him and one male and female pair for each kind of unclean animal. He was told to bring food for his family and the animals. Noah took his wife and sons—Ham, Shem, and Japheth—into the ark. His sons' wives also followed. Then in seven days, it began to rain. It rained for forty days and forty nights—torrents of rain. The entire world was covered with water. Noah and his family and the animals with him on the ark were spared from destruction by the flood that came over all the lands. They were on the ark for almost a year.

When Noah brought his family out of the ark, God told them to be fruitful and multiply. God said that never again would all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and God gave the rainbow as a sign of this covenant.

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:13 NIV).

From the line of Shem, who was Noah's second son, came a man who was called a Hebrew because he came from the other side of the water. Abram was born in the city of Ur in Babylonia around three hundred and fifty years after the great flood, which was two thousand years after Adam. Abram's father was Terah, an idol merchant.

By the time of Abram, mankind had again fallen out of a relationship with God. The fathers did not teach their sons about the Lord God and instead made gods out of wood and silver and other things that were not alive. But Abram sought truth beyond his father's lifeless idols because he had an innate feeling that there was one Creator. He spoke of his belief to others.

God revealed Himself to Abram as El Shaddai, which means I am God Almighty, and He initiated the b'rit—a covenant. God promised Abram that if he would leave his home and his family and go forth, he would be the father of many people. So God gave him the name Abraham, which means father of a multitude.

When Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were very old, God gave them a son. They named him Isaac, which means laughter because his birth filled Abraham with great joy. Isaac grew to become a righteous man, and he married Rebekah. They had twin sons named Esau and Jacob. And it came to be that Jacob was later to be called Israel—he had twelve sons, and their descendants became the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob's Twelve Sons

Reuben—meaning behold a son

Simeon—meaning God hears

Levi—meaning joined

Judah—meaning let God be praised

Dan—meaning judge

Naphtali—meaning my wrestling

Gad—meaning good fortune

Asher—meaning happiness

Issachar—meaning man of hire

Zebulun—meaning dwelling

Joseph—meaning may God add

Benjamin—meaning son of my right hand

By God's plans, the tribes of Israel came to live in Egypt to escape a terrible famine in their land called Canaan. They lived in Egypt for many generations and prospered. However, there came a day when Pharaoh Hatshepsut, the ruler of Egypt, saw how the Hebrew people had multiplied. He became concerned, fearing the multitudes of Hebrews would threaten the way of life in Egypt.

Around 1500 BC, which was about two thousand and three hundred years after Adam, a child named Moses was born in Goshen, which was in lower Egypt. He was the son of Amram and Jochebed, Hebrews from the tribe of Levite, which was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses was the youngest of three children. He had a sister called Miriam, elder to him by seven years, and a brother named Aaron, who was three years older than Moses. And when Moses was born, Pharaoh issued a decree that all Hebrew infants were to be killed because the Hebrews were populating too quickly.

Jochebed crafted a small papyrus vessel to save her child from slaughter, and it was made waterproof with tar and pitch. She placed Moses in the tiny boat and set it floating among the reeds on the bank of the Nile River. By God's wisdom, Moses, the child of Hebrew slaves, was found floating in the river and adopted by an Egyptian princess—the daughter of Pharaoh himself. Thus, Moses was raised in the royal palace as a prince of the Egyptians and educated in a civilization unsurpassed by any people. He learned to read and write prolifically, and he knew the ways of Egyptian laws and religions.

Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action (Acts 7:22 NIV).

Moses witnessed the administration of justice under Pharaoh and his son, Thutmose III. When Moses was forty years old, he became angry with an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave; he fought with the taskmaster and accidentally killed him. Moses buried him in the sand. When this became known, Moses feared for his own life and fled from Egypt to the desert land of Midian. There he lived and married a daughter of Jethro, a woman named Zipporah, in agreement to tend Jethro's flocks.

After about forty more years, Moses was tending his flock on Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai. In a wide crevice of the mount, he saw a burning bush. Moses was curious and approached the bush, and God called out to him to remove his sandals, for he stood on holy ground. God spoke to Moses from the bush—it was on fire but did not burn—and said he was chosen. God demonstrated His power to Moses and revealed His holy name, which is Yahweh.

Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6 NIV).

God told Moses to go back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of four hundred years of slavery and into the land promised to their forefather, Abraham. Moses was wary. He was not confident the Hebrews would follow him out of Egypt. So Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and tell them that God has sent me, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?

God said to Moses, ‘I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I Am has sent me to you' (Exodus 3:14 NIV).

God anointed Aaron, who was Moses's older brother, to go with Moses to Egypt, and they persuaded the people of Israel to follow them. Among those who were quick to follow was a young man named Joshua, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim which came from Jacob's son named Joseph.

Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh, but he would not let the Israelites leave Egypt. So God sent ten devastating plagues on the Egyptians, the last plague being the death of the firstborn in the fields and in every home whose doors were not marked with a lamb's blood. The angel of death swept through Egypt to kill all the firstborn, except in the houses where blood had been painted on the doorway—death passed over those places.

As instructed by Moses, the Israelites had slathered lamb's blood on their doorposts. They did not see death that night. However, Pharaoh's own young son died during the tenth plague when the angel of death passed over. Pharaoh then understood the power of God, and he allowed Moses to take the Israelites out of Egypt.

As Moses led the Israelites southward, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he changed his mind. He and his great army chased the Israelites and drove them to the Sea of Reeds, also called the Red Sea.

Moses prayed and asked God to spare the Israelites, and he was given the power to raise his hand and divide the water. Moses led his people through the parted sea, and Pharaoh and his army chased after. Then when the Israelites were on dry land, Moses raised his staff. The sea came together in a rush, and the huge torrents of water drowned the Egyptians.

Moses led the people onward, and they camped at Mount Horeb. He went up toward the apex of the mount where, for forty days, he spoke with God. Moses was given God's Ten Commandments written on slabs of stone, and they were presented to the Israelites.

In a given time, Moses then sent forth twelve spies, including Joshua and a man named Caleb, son of Jephunneh. Joshua was aged twenty years, and Caleb was forty. The spies ventured through the land chosen by God for the Israelites. When they returned to give their report, ten of the spies did not speak favorably and thought the Israelites should return to Egypt, where at least they had food to eat and water to drink. Only Caleb and Joshua assured Moses and the people that the land promised by God was a land of milk and honey. They said God would help them battle the pagan people who occupied the promised land. Yet the other ten spies and the people rebelled and disbelieved.

God was angry with the Israelites for doubting, and He said they would thus wander in the wilderness for forty years. Not one from their generation, except Caleb, Joshua, and the priests, would live to see the promised land.

When the forty years were nearly over, the Israelites were camped at Almon Diblathaim. Moses told the people it was time to journey closer to the promised land. Joshua became Moses's minister, and in time, he would lead God's battles to prepare the way into the land.

Chapter 1

Aloneness at Almon Diblathaim

The morning light had yet to pierce the darkness, but Tal could not slip back into sleep. He was afraid he would dream again about his mother and father, and the dreams would not be pleasant. Even while awake, he had visions of them lying beside one another in their rocky grave. He could still hear the loud rumble when the rocks tumbled down the mountainside. The sound of his mother's terrified scream as the large boulders descended from above her would not leave his thoughts. Father had been standing beside her. He instantly pulled her into his arms as if his body would protect her flesh and bones, but there was no escaping death. They were entombed in the landslide, buried in the mound of rocks and dust. In that instant, they were cut off from life.

Tal rubbed his arms to warm his skin. The night air was cool, and his loneliness in the empty tent also brought a chill to his body. He had been alone before but could not remember those days; he only knew of the story because his mother had told it several times over the years. She had recited it when they sat by the hearth or when she tucked him into the blankets before he fell asleep.

As his mother had said, the tribes were on the western edge of the wilderness at a place called Kadesh Barnea. From the Ephraim tents on the far west of the encampment, the women had gone a short distance into the plains to gather wood for their fires. Yotam, the man who would become his father, had called out to his wife, Adinah, be careful not to take any wily vermin into your basket!

She laughed at him, the big strong warrior who was always so quick to tease.

On that day, the faint breeze was dry and hot; the ground was hard and dusty. Nevertheless, thick patches of grasses and flowers grew here and there. Adinah had walked only a short distance when she heard a faint cry. She let the basket resting on her left hip fall to the ground, then she pushed the scarf from her head. Then with immense anticipation, she turned to where she thought the noise came from. Perhaps it was a wounded animal, but the sound seemed like the cry of a small child. She quickly walked—almost ran—toward the cry, then the child lifted his head from the ground. Adinah swept him up into her arms and held him close, feeling the warmth of his little body against her chest. The child whimpered and instantly fell asleep.

Yotam and Adinah did not have children of their own. They had been married for more than forty years, and both hoped it was only a matter of time before God would give them a son. On that day, Adinah did not bring back wood for the fire; she brought back a young child who was frail and faint. Adinah took him into the tent and laid him on a blanket, then let cool water drip from her fingers into his mouth. She swathed his sunbaked skin with aloe and wiped the dried blood from the bottom of his feet.

Yotam and other men went into the valley to look for the child's people. Men from the camp of Judah went into the mountains to search but found no one. The following morning, Yotam continued to look for the child's parents. He found no one, but he did locate a pool of fresh water in the crevices of the valley. The stones near the edge of the pool glistened with the golden light of the rising sun, so the child was called Ben-Tal, meaning my son of the morning dew.

Later that day, Yotam and Adinah presented the child to Elishama, son of Ammihud, the leader of their tribe. Elishama immediately took the child into his arms and looked into his face for a long moment. Yes, Elishama said, this child will belong to the tribe of Ephraim of Joseph, and his parents will be Yotam and Adinah. God has blessed us this day.

Tal wished he could remember that day when he was lifted from the ground and born into Adinah's arms and she became his mother. He wished he could remember what it felt like when Elishama stared into his face, but he could recall none of those things. It seemed all he could remember was his mother's scream just before death took hold of her and the sound of people rushing past and tossing rocks aside in hopes of finding her and his father. It had been Joshua who had come and called them away. Let them sleep, he said, and everyone turned and brushed the dust from their hands. They went back to their tents.

Tal pushed himself up from the sleeping mat and tried to ignore the lonely silence around him. He washed his face and hands, then pulled a long tunic over his head and smoothed it down over his hips. His mother had favored the cloth, and it felt soft and precious against his skin. With trembling hands, he wrapped a green sash around his waist, then he lifted the tent curtain and stepped outside to slip on his sandals. The morning light was beginning to creep up over the mountains. He stared into the waning darkness and wondered what he should do at the moment and for all the days to come. Likely, he would continue to collect manna for the camp of Ephraim. He would also continue to serve as a messenger and deliver small baskets of supplies or parchments of words to other tribal camps.

Tal did not hear Joshua approach the tent and was startled when he saw him. Joshua was a large man, standing higher than Tal's father and with a broader chest. His feet should have made a pounding against the earth, yet he had approached in silence.

Good morning, Tal, Joshua said. He put his hand on Tal's shoulder, immediately aware of how tall the boy had grown.

Joshua was a strong man with a commanding voice, yet kindness was within him. There was no need to fear him, but Tal felt apprehension creep into his chest. He wanted to reply, but he could not make the words.

Joshua laughed softly. Now I know you have a voice because I have heard it many times. Did you sleep well?

Tal nodded, then decided to be truthful. Well, a bit fairly.

I am sorry you spent the night alone in your tent. I should have come sooner. Those who mourn should not be alone.

Lifting his chin, Tal provided his answer. I do not mourn. Yotam and Adinah were the only parents I have known, but they made me promise that when they died, I would not mourn. Not even for a day.

Lifting his hand from the boy's shoulder, Joshua nodded. We may choose not to mourn, but our hearts can still feel heavy. Your parents died, and you have no other family. This would make a person's heart ache.

Tal nodded and looked down. My father once told me the Lord God gave us life, so we should make our days matter and live with righteousness. We should not wallow in self-pity.

At a loss for words, Joshua looked away.

I will not wallow in self-pity, Tal said, but I beg you, Master, do not send me to live with another family. According to law, I am the age of a man, and a man can care for himself. I do not want to be sent to live with others.

You are indeed a man and capable of living on your own. Therefore, I have not come to send you to live with another family. Joshua took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. Your father and mother will always live in our memories, and you should do everything possible to bring honor to your father.

Yes, Tal said, lifting his chin, I will honor my father.

Your father was a wise and righteous man. For many years, Yotam was my minister. I valued his hard work, and I respected his honesty. Indeed, he served me well. I want you to honor him by taking his place as my minister. You will sleep next to my tent. Tal, I want you to serve me.

Looking down to the ground, Tal's voice was low and wavering. Master, I would be honored to serve you, but perhaps it is not an honor to be given to me. When my parents adopted me, they did not know from where I came. Therefore, my blood may be of the enemy.

There was a slight smile on Joshua's lips, but it quickly abated. He cleared his throat. First, do not call me Master. I am only a man, a servant to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Second, when Yotam and Adinah took you as their son, we were encamped at Kadesh Barnea. Outside our encampment was the wilderness for as far as a man can see. A small child could not have crossed the wilderness on his own. So I am certain you were from one of our tribes.

Tal raised his head. How could this be? If I were from one of our tribes, would not my mother or father have claimed me?

Consider this, Joshua said, crossing his arms over his chest, a short time after leaving Egypt, we took a census of all men twenty years and older. At the time, the count was more than six hundred thousand, not including women or children. Now that census was almost twenty-five years before you were born, so imagine how the number had grown by the time you came into the world.

Tal's narrowed his eyes and pondered Joshua's words.

So among all those people, it might be that a child from one of our camps wandered away and was presumed dead. He put a hand on Tal's shoulder again. When Yotam and Adinah took you as their son, your blood became their blood and that of their ancestors.

Tal's eyes grew wide, and his brows were lifted.

Joshua spoke with a softer