The Conquering of the promised land

(The history of ancient Israel)

After Moses died on top of Mt. Nebo and Israel as a nation mourned for their beloved leader chosen by God, God told Joshua he should now get Israel ready because at the end of the year they were free to go over the Jordan river to enter into the core of the holy land a conquer the Canaanite nations: he was now going to communicate with Joshua just like he did with Moses and be with him as Israel’s new leader to lead them into finally conquering Canaan to inherit their permanent home:

Joshua 1:1-6

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua…: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them...Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.' 

So Early in the morning, the Aaronite priests blew the trumpets to signal Israel to march out to the Jordan river to camp to get set to cross over in three days' time (when the 40 years of punishment would be officially over) to mainland Canaan to conquer the Canaanite nations:

Joshua 3:1

“Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.”

Once they set up camp at the river, the officers rode throughout the entire camp to warn the people to get their things/families ready theses three days to cross the Jordan river to fight and conquer the Canaanite nations:

Joshua 1:10

“...the officers of the people [said]:… ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’ [1] 

So for three days they got prepared, and finally on the third day the officers told Israel on that day when they saw the ark of the covenant being carried by the Levitical priests they were to get into their marching orders and follow them across the river into mainland Canaan so they didn’t get lost, but they had to also stay about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters away from them and no closer to the Ark as they followed across the Jordan river:

Joshua 3:3-4

"After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: 'When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits (about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters) between you and the ark; do not go near it.'

Joshua also said to confirm to Israel that God would definitely fight their battles against these Canaanite nations he would perform a miracle for Israel to prove he was telling the truth: he would stop the flooding Jordan river from flowing so they could cross into the core of Canaan:

Joshua also said to confirm to Israel that God would definitely fight their battles against these Canaanite nations he would perform a miracle for Israel to prove he would telling the truth: he would stop the flooding Jordan river from flowing so they could cross into the core of Canaan:

Joshua 3:9-13

” Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you….as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.

So, God was going to let them cross on dry land again in the middle of a body of water so they could get into the mainland of Canaan: So, Joshua ordered the priest to get the ark of the covenant and carry it to lead Israel:

Joshua 3:6

 “Joshua said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.’

So, they each carried on of the rod of the ark and began to carry it towards the flooding Jordan river:

Joshua 3:6

 “So they took it up and went ahead of them.”

Once Israel saw the art of the covenant, they began to march out of the camp towards the river as well:

Joshua 3:14

“...the people broke camp to cross the Jordan,…”

The Jordan river was flooding at this time of year so there was a lot of water to cross if God did not stop the water from flowing:

Joshua 3:15

 “Now the Jordan is at flood stage..."

But when the priest's feet touched the river's edge the river instantly stopped flowing and piled up in a huge heap far upstream: 

Joshua 3:15-16

"...Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away,…”

Eventually, the bottom of the river could be seen, and the priests walked into the middle of the riverbed to continue to stop the river from flowing then all Israel began to cross the rived bead to the other side to Canaan until all of Israel had walked to the other side:

Joshua 3:17

 “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Once all of Israel crossed over to mainland Canaan God told Joshua to tell the priest to come out of the river: once they got out of the riverbed, the river continued to flow as normal:

Joshua‬ 4‬:1-18

“When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,...’Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.’ And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.

After that, all of Israel was amazed and like Moses everyone put their trust in him as truly God’s leader for them:

Joshua‬ 4‬:14

“That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him…”

After over 40 year (and ultimately 470 years for when Israel himself and his descendants first left Canaan) of Israel waiting to get to their destination, finally the Israelites had come back into their ancestral homeland: Canaan to finally conquer it from the native Canaanite nations and finally have their permanent homeland God promised them! 

After finally entering the promised land, they set up camp in Gigal: the eastern boarder of the city-state of Jericho:

Joshua‬ 4‬:19‬‬‬‬

“...the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.”

Joshua‬ 4‬:19‬‬‬‬

“...the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.”

Some Canaanites saw this miracle God did for the invading Israelites they already feared; and word spread through Canaan about this miracle and all the kings of the Canaanite nations became very afraid and shut their gates to hid behind their gate walls from the Israelites:

Joshua 5:1

“Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites."

Several days later, when Israel arrived at the first (and major) city-state of Canaan to conquer and destroy called Jericho; the entire city was on lockdown in fear of the Israelites and their conquering God’s power: there was no way to get in the city nor get out to keep Israel from coming in and killing them all:

Joshua‬ 6‬:1‬‬

“Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.”

God them told Joshua that he was going to let them have this city-state as their first conquering of mainland Cannan:

Joshua‬ 6‬:2

 “Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.’

So God told them to march around the city (stating today) once a day for six days in a row while the Levitical priests walked in front of Israel carrying the ark while blowing the shofar trumpets, but on the seventh day they were to march around Jericho seven times instead of one; after marching around the seventh time the priest were to blow a loud blast and then the whole army of Israel was to shout: when they did the wall of Jerico would fall down so they could invade and destroy the Jerichoan Canaanites and conquer the city state of Jerico as their first possession of the promised land:

Joshua‬ 6‬:3-5

“...March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of [seven] rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.

So God was going to perform a miracle and forcefully bring the wall of Jerico down! So, Joshua got the Levitical priests to carry trumpets and the holy ark and got the army to march around the city:

Joshua 6:6-7

 “So Joshua…called the priests and said to them, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.’ And he ordered the army, ‘Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.’

So, the army marched around the city for the day and once they were done, they returned back to camp for the day:

Joshua 6:11

“...circling it once….the army returned to camp and spent the night there.”

The army came out early in the morning each day and marched around the city once before returning to camp for the rest of the day for six days, but on the seventh day they marched around the city seven times and at the end of the seventh march Just before the priests blew the loud blast on the shofars, Joshua said the city was now theirs’s to conquer, but to not take any of the treasure as loot: all the treasure was to go for God’s holy treasury:

Joshua 6:16-19

“The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord….keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.’

So, the priests blew their trumpets and the whole army shouted; and when they shouted the wall of Jericho fell down; Jericho was now defenseless:

Joshua 6:20

“When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed;…”

Once the wall collapsed Israel charged in and began killing all the Jerichoan Canaanites (and even all their domesticated animals) and soon everyone (if they did not find a way to escape) were killed and Israel officially conquered Jericho and the surrounding land!

Joshua 6:20-21

“...so everyone charged straight in, They…[killed]…[all the]…men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys… and they took the city.

After they conquered the city-state the got the treasure of Jericho and burn the whole city to the ground: destroying all the Canaanite god’s and idols with it to never be lived in again:

Joshua 6:24

“Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house."

However, one Judahite named Achan that helped destroy Jericho, saw the beautiful and luxurious treasures of Jericho and wanted some for himself/family so despite the warning Joshua gave to them he secretly took some with him back to his home tent as his personal treasure:

Joshua 7:1

 “…Achan…of the tribe of Judah, took some of them.

Because one Israelite broke the rule, God became angry with all of Israel for disobeying him:

Joshua 7:1

“the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things…So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.”

But Joshua and the rest of Israel had no idea someone had took the forbidden treasure and that God was angry at them; after conquering Jericho Joshua lead the confident army to conquer the next Canaanite city-state of Ai which was also fortified in fear of Israel; since Ai was much smaller than Jericho the fight should have been nothing to conquer and kill at the Aian Canaanites; So Joshua only sent 3,000 men to conquer the city:

Joshua 7:3-7

“...So about three thousand went up;…”

However, little did Israel know that God was not going to help them win this war but would allow them to be defeated by these Canaanites: So, as the army came to the city gates and fought with the local Canaanites warriors, but to their surprise, they were being quickly defeated leading the army to retreat but the Canaanite warriors chased them and killed many men before they let them go:

Joshua 7:4-5

 “but they were routed by the men of Ai,… They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. “

When Joshua and all of Israel saw and heard this, they knew they were in trouble: Their God was angry with them and once all the other Canaanite kingdom heard about their defeat, they would kill all these invaders!

Joshua 7:5

“At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.”

Joshua was so confused and shocked he immediately tore his clothes in a sign of horror and sadness and ran immediately to the Ark of the covenant and put his face in the ground in sadness once the elder saw Joshua do this, they also tore their clothes in shame and went to the ark sprinkling their heads in dirt as a sign of mourning for the trouble they were in:

Joshua 7:6

“Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord,…The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.”

They stayed there doing this for hours until evening:

Joshua 7:6

“...[they]…remain..[ed]… there till evening.”

Finally at evening, Joshua spoke out to God asking him why he ever wanted Israel to cross the Jordan river just so they could all be killed by the Canaanites: and if they were all killed where would that leave all his promises to Israel (Jacob) and his sons?

Joshua 7:7-9

 And Joshua said, ‘Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?

After Joshua said this, God was angry that Joshua was down on his face for so long and told him to stand up, and then told him the reason they lost the battle today: He was not helping them because one Israelite broke his covenant for them not to take the devoted treasure but did anyway   responded and told them why they lost: because they sinned against him by taking some of the forbidden Canaanite goods and he would not be supporting them anymore until they found and killed the thief that broke his command:

Joshua 7:10-12

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant,They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.’

But Joshua had no idea anything had been stolen let alone how to even find the thief: however tomorrow God would single the thief out  so they could kill him for his sin: So God commanded Joshua to tell Israel that they were to consecrate themselves (prepare by cleaning themselves up staying away from romance/sex etc.) and then early the next day come out in groups of each tribe, there God would call one tribe out the thief was in. Then call the specific clan out, then family out then finally single out the thief:

Joshua 7:13- 14

Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man.’’

And when the thief was identified they were to be killed and burned up with everything else they owned because they had done a terrible thing to their nation and God!

Joshua 7:15

 “Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!

So Joshua left the Ark of the covalent and gathered a meeting of all of Israel together to tell them to consecrate themselves and to come early in the morning and assemble tribe by tribe so God could single out the thief so he could be destroyed, God singled out the tribe of Judah from the twelve tribes, and then he singled out the Zerahite clan from the other three clans, then he singled out Zimri’s family from the rest of the Zerahite families, then he singled out the thief: Achan!

Joshua 7:16-18

“Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan…was chosen.”

Joshua and all the other Israelites now knew the guilty thief, he asked him to not lie and make God out to be a liar (which is impossible) but honor him by telling the truth:

Joshua 7:19

“Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.’ ”

Joshua 7:20-21

“Achan replied, ‘It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.’ ”

After he confessed Joshua immediately sent two messengers to go get the stolen items from out of his tent; so they immediately ran to his tent and found the stolen items and brought them back so the entire community and God could see the items he stole:

Joshua 7:22-23

 “So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.”

Once he was officially found out as the thief Joshua and Israel arrested Achan and his children and got all his possessions: his tent, his cattle, and all his other possessions along with the stolen forbidden treasures and took them to a local valley nearby and surrounded them to kill them and burn everything of Achan’s:

Joshua 7:24-25

“Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, ‘Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today. ”

So, Israel stoned Achan and his children and animals, and then lit them all on fire with his possessions and burnt them to ash:

Joshua 7:25-26

“Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.”

After they burned him and everything of his, God’s wrath was satisfied by killing the thief, so he was no longer angry at Israel:  

Joshua 7:26

“Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.”

So they named this valley Achor (Hebrew for ‘trouble’) because Achan broke God’s commands and brought trouble on all of Israel by making God angry at them and losing a war:

Joshua 7:26

“Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor [ Hebrew for ‘trouble’] ever since.”

After they got through, God then contacted Joshua again and told him he was now going to let them conquer Ai, and this time they could keep the treasure and keep the animals for themselves. 

Joshua 8:1-2

“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves.

They conquered the city and killed all the men, women, and children and took all their treasures and animals (except for the Canaanite idols: they smashed them and/or burned them).

Joshua 8:3-27

“So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. …the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.”

After killing all the Canaanites and taking all their treasure the Israelite army then burnt the entire city with all the dead bodies in it until it was only an ashy heap and stuck the King on a sharp pole until evening:

Joshua 8:28-29

“So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins,...He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening.”

News of the Canaanite city-states of the total destruction of Jericho and Ai spread to the other Canaanite cities once they heard these aggressive foreigners were now invading Canaan intending to conquer the entire area and kill all the local native Canaanite nations, they got together to try to stop them/destroy them:

Joshua 9:1-2

“Now when all the kings…heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

So in many wars lasting for many years Israel boldly fought these Canaanite alliances and marched out to fight them; God said he was going to let them win and destroy these Canaanite kingdoms:

Joshua 9:7-8

 “So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you. ”

And Israel’s army: though greatly outnumbered and overpowered by even some man-eating giants, with God’s help they fought and defeated all the Canaanite nations that fought them and killed all (Or the majority) of the native Canaanites and burnt many of their cities for many years:

Joshua 9:10

“The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely…”

However Joshua was getting very old and unable to fight as well (at the beginning of the invasion he was already well over 40 years old since he was over 20 years old before the 40 year punishment so by this time Joshua was getting extremely old) : God took notice of this: they had taken some land but this was only a small portion of the land: they had yet to destroy and run out the native nations of the entire area originally given to Israel through Abraham (which covered a big land area of the Middle East):

Joshua 13:1

“When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, ‘You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

So, before he died and left Israel without a leader before they officially settled in the newly conquered land then Israel would officially be established in some of their land and continue to conquer and destroy other nations as they become more powerful.

Joshua 9:6-7

“…allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you,divide it as an inheritance among thetribes…”

So, Joshua began diving the conquered land of the core of Canaan between the Israelite tribes.

During this time God also commanded to Joshua that the Core of their camp: specifically his home the temple (thus his presence) would from now on be in the city of Shiloh since they now conquered a lot of the core of Canaan he decided to move and live in from now on in his holy temple at the city of Shiloh:

So the camp moved from Gigal to Shiloh until the land was finished being divided and the tribes of Israel that had been in this wandering camp for well over 40 years now were finally dismissed to travel to their permanent inheritance of land:

Joshua 18:1-2

“The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The country was brought under their control,…”

At Shiloh, Joshua summoned all of Israel to discuss dividing the conquered land between rest of the tribes clans and families:

However during this time of dividing the conquered land ,for some reason, Israel had stopped fighting to conquer more of their inheritance from the natives (Most likely because Joshua was too old to fight anymore):

Joshua 18:3

“So Joshua said to the Israelites: How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?’

Israel had stopped fighting like they should have been, yet Joshua ordered the land they had conquered to be examined and recorded in detail by three men from each tribe to complete dividing up the inheritance between the Israelite tribes:

 Joshua 18:4

Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me.

So, for many more years, Israel took a break fighting other native Canaanite/other nations and focused now on dividing the land up for each tribe, clan, and family to finally settle in the wonderful fertile land of the core of Canaan obeying the instructions Moses told them from God on how they should settle:

Joshua 18:5

 “So the Israelites divided the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

However by the time the men went through the conquered land and wrote a detailed description of it and then came back to Shiloh and then Joshua divided the land to the rest of the tribes of Israel, many more years had passed and now Joshua was very old but even though Israel during this time had not really been fighting anymore battles against the natives: thus conquering more land; their inheritance, God had finally given them rest (not hostilities or invasion: no battles or war) from the hostile nations around them and the Canaanite nations still remaining in the conquered land during all these years:

Joshua 23:1

“After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua [was now],…a very old man,…”

So after all the tribes, clans and families of Israel were told their specific inheritance of land to go to right before being dismissed to leave Shiloh, Joshua and all of Israel went to the city of Shechem (a city given to the tribe of Ephraim; also the land where the burial tomb was where all their patriarchs were buried in, and was to bury his and all the Josephites [the Ephraimite’s and Mannasehite's] patriarch Joseph whose bones they got out of Egypt to bury them in this cave way over 40 years ago) to addressed them all one final time right before he died to tell a very important message from God right before they finally went to enjoy their land God gave to them:

Joshua 24:1

“Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.”

He said all of them had personally witnessed how their God had fought for Israel against all these strong well fortified (and some even possibly man-eating giants) Canaanite nations that their parents/grandparent felt so overwhelmed by permanently destroying most of them in the land they conquered:

Joshua 23:2-9

I am very old. You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand [being conquered/destoyed] you. ”

SO, accordingly they were to obey everything God commaded to them (originally through Moses; now written in a scroll called “the scroll/book of the law of Moses”) if they wanted God to continue to fight for them against the last of these natives in their land and to continue conquering new land.

Joshua 23:6

Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses,…”

 Also, Joshua reminded them for the natives that were left in their lands they mostly conquered and were about to go settle; when they did get to their inheritance and happened to live beside surviving Canaanites natives, they were to not have any relationships with them: that meant not making agreements/treaties with them, definitely not have fellowship with them and intermarrying with them and definitely not letting them teach them about their false gods and begin to worship them instead of their one true God!

Joshua 23:7-8

Do not associate with these nations that remain among you;… [do not] turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you andintermarry with them and associate with them,do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Instead they were to do what their God told them to do and fight them and complete destroy all of them until there were no Canaanite natives left in Israel! If they disobeyed their God and choose to have fellowship with and intermarry with the native Canaanites instead of running them out, God would no longer help them fight for more land/to run the rest of the Canaanites out but instead leave them there to become traps and burdens to Israel as punishment for disobeying his orders until Israel had become so corrupted by the remaining Canaanites that they once again broke their covenant to their God, and God destroy them with curses for disobedience from the land he had given them:

 Joshua 23:13

then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

Concluding all this, right before he died of old age Joshua gave one final warning to all of Israel before they were dismissed to their inheritance: Obey their God and NEVER worship any other false God: God had been faithful to bless and honor them just like he did for their faithful ancestors Israel (Jacob), Isaac, and Abraham and all his promises for Israel came true, but if they broke his covenant once again he would make sure to curse them with what he promised their parents/grandparents to curse them like he did their Egyptian oppressors until they died from the promise land for their betrayal:

  Joshua 23:14-16

Now I am about to go the way of all the earth (die). You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.

 But Israel; learning their lesson in the desert wilderness punishment for 40 years, were fiercely loyal to their god and said in response to this that they would never forsake their good God to go worship other false Canaanite gods: they would all keep their covenant with their god and do everything he commanded them to do:

Joshua 23:21

 “But the people said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the Lord.’

In response to this Joshua said they were witnesses that from now on Israel would be loyal to their god and never break the sacred covenant with him ever again:

Joshua 23:22

“Then Joshua said, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.

And in response all of Israel confirmed this:

Joshua 23:22

’Yes, we are witnesses,’ they replied.”

So Joshua reread them all the commands for them written in this scroll to refresh their memories and recorded in this scroll all the events that happened to him and recorded Israel’s vow to now always obey their laws.

Joshua 23:25-26

“On that day Joshua…reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God.”

After he got through doing this, he got a very large stone and set it under an oak near the temple of the Lord:

Joshua 23:26-27

“Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord. ’See!’ he said to all the people. ‘This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.’

This stone would be a memorial to their vow there: that if they or any of their descendants broke their promise to their God by breaking his commandments this rock would then be a memorial of their treachery.

After all this time, he finally dismissed the camp of Israel tribe by tribe to go to their permanent land: to never again wander in a camp nor be foreigner/slaves in another nation: they finally had land to call their own!

Joshua 23:28

“Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.”

Then the holy temple of God was permanently moved to Shiloh and Joseph's bones were buried in the cave with his ancestors' bodies:

Joshua 23:32

“...Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem…This became the inheritance of Joseph’s [specifically Ephraim’s] descendants.”

And then Joshua, this amazing man of God who completed leading God’s people to their land, finally died at age 110 and was buried in his inherited land .

Joshua 23:29-30

“After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.”

after well over 400 hundred years, Abraham descendants finally got their land God promised them; even though they had much more land to conquer. This ends the history of ancient Israel and the beginning of the nation of Israel in the holy promised land. 

(Back to the history of ancient Israel)

Sources:

[1]

(Note:

technically the officers did not say the exact words here; it was Joshua saying these words here telling the officers what to say to Israel, but they actually did say this to Israel later just not as recorded here so the author (me) took some Biblically inspired liberties of this text to keep with the story here and make it like the officers said it.)