J10-23: Before Jerusalem, Gilgal Was The Official Holy Location Of God And His Priesthood

^“So Y’hoshua attacked all the land — the hills, the Negev, the Sh’felah and the mountain slopes — and all their kings; he left none but completely destroyed everything that breathed, as Adonai the God of Israel had ordered.  Y’hoshua attacked them from Kadesh-Barnea to ‘Azah and all the land of Goshen, as far as Giv‘on.  Y’hoshua captured all these kings and their land all at the same time, because Adonai the God of Israel fought on Israel’s behalf. Then Y’hoshua returned, and all Isra’el with him, to the camp at Gilgal.“-Joshua 10:40-43

Alrighty, today we’re going to finish up Joshua Chapter 10.

So the closing verses give us a nice and succinct summary of the attack Israel launched to take the southern region of the Promised Land.

We’re told they conquered the area from Kadesh-Barnea all the way up to the city of Gaza (yup, that Gaza mentioned in the news all the time).

Interestingly, there’s also a reference to an area called “all the land of Goshen”.

Okay, just so there isn’t any confusion, this is absolutely NOT referring to the land of Goshen that Israel resided in while they were in Egypt.

Again, places having the same names was not an unusual occurrence. 

Finally, the chapter concludes with Joshua and his army returning to headquarters in Gilgal.

We need to talk to about Gilgal for a quick minute here because this is the place where the Tabernacle was set up and where the High Priest, the common priests and the Levites would conduct their sacred rituals for Adonai for many decades to come.

That’s right, Gilgal would be the “temporary” location for the Wilderness Tabernacle in the Promised Land before it would be moved to Shiloh many years later.

So here’s the key thing you need to know.

Wherever the Tabernacle was located, that area became the place of overriding importance for the people of Israel in the Holy Land.

Why?

Because think about it.

The sanctuary was where the people had to go for the so-called pilgrimage festivals.

And the Tabernacle was not only where the people went to present their sacrifices, it’s where they had to take their firstborn sons to redeem them.

So just understand this key historical point.

After the children of Israel crossed over Jordan into Canaan, whenever the Lord summoned His people to come together for a holy gathering, for many, many decades, the place He called them to was Gilgal.

It would be a good 3 centuries or so until Jerusalem replaced Gilgal as the official place of God and His Priesthood when the Tabernacle was moved to Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount).

NEXT TIME WE BEGIN JOSHUA CHAPTER 11