May 22nd: The conquest

Imagine the difficulties involved if you were required to haul yourself and everything you own up a 4,000 foot mountain. Imagine further that the mountain was laden with large rocks, making passage extremely difficult. And let’s add in that the outside temperature during your trek is anywhere from the mid-90s up to about 110 or so. Oh, and one more thing. Imagine that there are cities of people at the top of this mountain that want to kill you.

If all that is hard enough to fathom, then think what it would be like if an entire nation of about two million people had to make such a journey. It would be pretty amazing, wouldn’t it? Well, this is exactly how the Bible describes the beginning of the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land during the time of Joshua. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the nation across the Jordan River and proceeded to attack and conquer the nearby city of Jericho . . . well, he had the Israelites march around the city seven times--you remember the story. The next target of the Israelites was the city of Ai, which was several miles inland. Ai was also about a 4,000 foot climb from Jericho, up very rugged, rocky mountains.

You might recall that the Israelites were initially unsuccessful in taking the city of Ai. Their warriors were chased out of the city, and many were killed on the jagged rocks during their hurried descent. But eventually the Israelites took the city, and over time the Israelites made the climb and occupied Ai and other conquered cities. How many Israelites were there at the time? Well, the book of Numbers records that prior to the conquest, there was around 600,000 men in Israel. Most scholars reckon that there were about two million Israelites when one accounts for women and children as well.


On May 22nd, our group took our first field trip outside of Jerusalem. We began the day in the city of Jericho (see “welcome sign,” first photo). Jericho is one of two places that we went that is in Palestinian-controlled territory (Bethlehem was the other), which means that we had to pass through a check point and provide our passports in order to access the areas. The Palestinian areas were much different in look and feel from Israel. For the most part, they were poorer, and more run down. My guess is that the average westerner would feel much less secure in these places.


Nevertheless, we had no problems in Jericho. The second photo that you see is of the modern city of Jericho. What is noteworthy about this photo are the mountains in the background, which surround the city from the northwest counterclockwise to the southwest (the Jordan River is to the east). Of course, the main site in Jericho is the excavation of the Canaanite city that was attacked and destroyed by Joshua. The third photo that you see is the excavation site. In the foreground is some of the remains of one of the lower city walls (after it crumbled, of course). It the middle ground, you may be able to detect the remains of one of the higher city walls (ancient near east cities were often on hills or mounds, with concentric walls to ensure adequate defense).

After touring Jericho, we took a bus ride up the 4,000 foot mountains to an observation post close to the biblical city of Ai. The fourth photo is me at the observation post. In the background are the rock-laden mountains leading back toward Jericho.


As I took the bus ride and then looked out over the observation post, a few thoughts came to my mind. First, I could see the truth in passages like Joshua 7:3-5, which states that Joshua’s spies initially recommended that only a few men go up to take Ai, so as not to wear out all the troops. I can certainly see why such a campaign would have tired even the most rugged of troops. This passage also describes how this first group was repelled from Ai and chased back down the rocky terrain. I can imagine how frightening it must have been to be running for your life down a steep mountain with large jagged rocks everywhere.

The second thought I had was how difficult it must have been to get two million people, give or take, with all of their livestock and other belongings, up the 4,000 foot climb. The logistics and plan of movement would have to have been quite elaborate. And it must have taken a long time. I can understand why it would have taken not only years, but generations, for the Israelites to occupy the Promised Land.

One last thought. When I looked out to the west from Jericho to the great swath of high, dry mountains, I thought, “I can see how the Israelites might have been very discouraged after entering the Promised Land to see the awesome task before them.” But then I remembered that God had given them enough information about the land to allow them to walk in faith. Specifically, Moses had previously sent spies into the land, and two faithful spies—Joshua and Caleb—had returned to tell not only of the “milk and honey” that flowed there, but that with God’s help, they could surely conquer the land.

Our study of the path of the conquest took about half the day, so in the afternoon we visited three or four other biblical sites. But the Jericho-to-Ai portion of the field trip once again reminded me of the saying that kept coming up over and over on this trip: The Bible brings the land to life, and the land brings the Bible to life.