In this episode of Reading Through the Bible Together, we’re reading Joshua 9–16, where victory continues, but so do lessons about discernment, faithfulness, and finishing what God started.

In chapter 9, the Gibeonites deceive Israel, and the leaders make a covenant without seeking the Lord. It’s a reminder that even in success, prayerlessness leads to compromise. Yet God weaves even their mistake into His larger purposes. Then we see dramatic victories as the Lord fights for Israel, even causing the sun to stand still. The land is being taken not by Israel’s brilliance, but by God’s promise and power.

But the story shifts from conquest to inheritance. The land is surveyed and divided. Caleb stands out as a picture of persevering faith, asking for the very hill country still occupied by giants. The promise made decades earlier is now received because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.

Joshua 9–16 teaches us that entering God’s promises requires both dependence and endurance. Partial obedience leaves unfinished work. Wholehearted faith presses forward. And it points us to Jesus, the true and better Joshua, who secures our inheritance and empowers us to walk in it fully.

If you haven’t read Joshua 9–16 yet, pause and do that now, then come back and let’s read it together.

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