March 31: Judges 1:1 – Judges 3:30

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan – Judges 1 (A repeat of what happened in Joshua)

• Upon the death of Joshua, Israel asks God who will go first against the Canaanites to fight them. God tells them that the tribe of Judah will lead them, and Judah invites the tribe of Simeon to join them. Together they go against the Canaanites, and God gives them over to them. They find Adoni-bezek (a king), capture him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. He later dies in Jerusalem.
• Judah goes on to conquer several other cities in the area, including Jerusalem, Hebron, and Debir. Before they conquer Debir, Caleb promises to give his daughter Acsah to the man who attacks and conquers Kiriath-sepher. Othniel (son of Caleb's brother Kenaz) conquers the city and gets Acsah as a wife. She requests springs from her father, and he gives her them to go with the field he has already given her.
• Judah and Simeon capture other towns in Canaan. 

Failure to Complete the Conquest

• God is with the tribe of Judah, and they take possession of the country, but they fail to drive out the people living in the plains, who had chariots.
• The tribe of Benjamin fails to drive out the Jebusites in Jerusalem. They also attack Bethel, and kill all but one man and his family (he had showed them a way into the town). The man and his family build a new town in the land of the Hittites.
• The tribe of Manasseh fails to drive out the people living in several cities. The Israelites make the people of these towns their slaves.
• The tribe of Ephraim fails to drive out the people of Gezer, so the Canaanites there continue to live among them.
• The tribe of Zebulun fails to drive out the people living in Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites there continue to live among them.
• The tribe of Asher fails to drive out people from several cities. They move into the area and live among the peoples.
• The tribe of Naphtali fails to drive out the people in two cites and move in to live among them.
• The tribe of Dan is pushed back into the hill country by the Amorites, but the descendants of Joseph increase their strength and make the Amorites their slaves.

Israel's Disobedience – Judges 2

• The angel of the Lord tells the people that they have been disobedient to God by not driving the Canaanites out of the land as He instructed. He tells the Israelites that these people will now be thorns in their sides. The people lift up their voices and weep, then sacrifice to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

• Joshua dies at the age of 110 years, and Israel buries him in Timnath-heres. All of the other people of this generation die, and the generation afterward does not know the Lord or what He had done for Israel.

Israel's Unfaithfulness

• The Israelites serve the Baals, abandoning God. They go after other gods, provoking the Lord to anger. God gives them over to plunderers.

The Lord Raises Up Judges – Judges 2 & 3

• God raises up judges who save them from the hands of those who plunder them. But Israel does not listen to the judges. Whenever He raises up a judge, He is with the judge, and the judge saved the people from their enemies. The people return to their evil ways after the judge dies, and God decides he will no longer drive out any nations from among them.
• The five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites that live on Mount Lebanon remain in the land. Israel now lives among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They marry with these people and worship their gods.

Othniel

• God is angered, and He sells them into the hand of the king of Mesopotamia, who they serve for eight years.
• Israel cries out for a deliverer, and God raises up Othniel, the son of Kenaz (Caleb's younger brother). The Spirit of God is on him, and he goes to war against the king of Mesopotamia, who he conquers. Israel rests in the land for forty years, then Othniel dies.

Ehud

• Israel again does what is evil in God's sight, and God strengthens the king of Moab, who along with the Ammonites and Amalekites, defeats Israel. The people of Israel serve the king of Moab for eighteen years.
• Israel again cries out for a deliverer, and God raises up Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite. Ehud makes a double-edged sword and binds it to his thigh under his clothes, then goes to the king of Moab, who is quite overweight. After presenting a tribute to the king, he sends everyone else away from the roof chamber and tells the king that he has a message for him from God. He gets up from his seat and thrusts his sword into the king, all the way to its hilt, then closes and locks the doors as he leaves.
• The king's men find the doors locked and think he is relieving himself, but after a while, they open the doors with the key and find the king dead.
• Ehud escapes into the hill country of Ephraim, sounding the trumpet. The people of Israel go with him to war against the Moabites, subduing it, and Israel rests for eight years.

March 26: Joshua 12:7 – Joshua 15:19

Kings Defeated by Joshua – Joshua 12

• The thirty-one kings defeated by Joshua are listed.

Land Still to Be Conquered – Joshua 13

• Joshua is in advanced years. God points this out to him and tells him that there remains much land to possess. He lists the lands and promises that He will drive out the peoples there, and that Joshua is to divide the land among the tribes.

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

• Israel drives out all the people of the lands except for the Geshurites and Maacathites, who remain. The tribes of Israel receive their inheritance, with the exception of the tribe of Levi.
• The lands given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh are described.

The Inheritance West of the Jordan – Joshua 14

• The remaining tribes receive their inheritance from the lands to the east of the Jordan.

Caleb's Request and Inheritance

• Caleb goes to Joshua to request his inheritance, as promised by Moses. Joshua blesses him and gives him Hebron, formerly called Kiriath-aba. The land rests from war.

The Allotment for Judah – Joshua 15

• The land given to the tribe of Judah is described.
• The land given to Caleb is described.

March 3: Numbers 14:1 – Numbers 15:41

The People Rebel – Numbers 14

• The people raise a great cry and grumble against Moses and Aaron, asking why God has brought them out of Egypt and the wilderness to die at the hands of those who inhabit the Promised Land. They question whether it would be better to return to Egypt, and plot to choose a new leader.
• Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before the people. Joshua and Caleb tear their clothing and claim that the Promised Land is an exceedingly good land, and that if the Lord delights in His people, He will bring them into it. They claim that the land's inhabitants will have their protection removed from them, and that the Hebrew people shouldn't fear them because God will be with them. The Israelites want to stone them.
• God asks Moses how long the people will despise Him and not trust Him, then says He will strike them with a pestilence, disinherit them, and make of Moses a nation much more mighty than they are.

Moses Intercedes for the People

• Moses points out that if God wipes out the Hebrew people, their enemies will hear of it and claim that the people died because the Lord could not bring His people into the land He swore to them. Moses asks God to remember His claim that He is slow to anger. abounding in steadfast love, and forgiving of iniquity, and he begs God to pardon the people's iniquities.

God Promises Judgment

• God agrees to pardon the Israelite's behavior, but warns that none of the people who have seen His signs yet have put Him to the test will be able to enter the land God promised to their forefathers. God will bring Caleb into the land, and his descendants will possess it. He tells Moses that since the Amalekites and Canaanites dwell in the valleys, the Israelites are to set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.
• God tells Moses and Aaron to instruct the people that all of them who have grumbled against the Lord will not be permitted to enter the Promised Land. The only ones allowed to enter the land will be Joshua and Caleb and the Israelite children. The rest will die in the wilderness, and their children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years due to their parents' faithlessness.
• The ten spies who grumbled against the Lord die of a plague sent by God.

Israel Defeated in Battle

• The people mourn greatly. They get up early in the morning and go into the hill country, saying they will now go to the land the Lord promised them.
• Moses instructs them not to disobey the Lord (as God has said they will not enter the Promised Land) because if they do, God will allow them to be destroyed by their enemies. The people ignore Moses' words, and the Amalekites and Canaanites defeat them and pursue them to Hormah.

Laws about Sacrifices – Numbers 15

• God tells Moses to again tell the people about how they are to make their sacrifices when they come into the Promised Land. In addition to the various offerings (see Leviticus 1–7), these now must be accompanied by appropriate quantities of meal, oil, and wine. When they reach the land, they are also to bake a loaf of bread and present it to the Lord.

Laws about Unintentional Sins

• God tells Moses to again tell the people how they are to atone for sins done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation (see Leviticus 4).

A Sabbathbreaker Executed

• While in the wilderness, the Hebrew people find a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath. He is brought to Moses and Aaron, and God tells them that the man is to be put to death. He is stoned to death outside the camp.

Tassels on Garments

• God tells Moses to instruct the people to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. The tassel is to remind them of the commandments of the Lord.

March 2: Numbers 11:1 – Numbers 13:33

The People Complain – Numbers 11

• The Hebrew people complain, and God hears them. His anger is kindled, and the fire of the Lord burns among them and consumes some of the outlying parts of the camp. The people appeal to Moses, and he prays to God. The fires then die down.
• The people again complain, this time that they want meat, fruits, and vegetables to eat (instead of the manna they are always given).
• Moses hears the people weeping at the doors of their tents. The anger of the Lord blazes hotly, and Moses is displeased. He asks God why he has not found favor with Him and gives an account of everything he had done as instructed. Moses begs God for meat for the people, claiming he cannot bear the burden he has been given alone.

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

• God tells Moses to gather for Him seventy of the elders of Israel and bring them to the tent of meeting, and He will come down and talk with them there. God tells Moses that He will take some of the Spirit placed on Moses and place it on the elders. Moses is then to tell the people to consecrate themselves, for tomorrow they will eat meat. They will have meat for a month, until they are tired of it, because they have rejected the Lord.
• Moses does as instructed. The Lord comes down in a cloud and rests upon the seventy elders, and they prophesy, but they do not continue doing it.
• The Spirit rests on Eldad and Medad, who are still in the camp. They prophesy in the camp, and a man comes to the tent of meeting to tell Moses. Joshua tells Moses to stop them, but Moses refuses, saying he wishes all the men would receive the Spirit of the Lord. Moses then returns to the camp.

Quail and a Plague

• A wind blows in, bringing quail  from the sea. The people gather the quail for a day and a half and spread it for themselves all around the camp. Because of their greed, God's anger is kindled, and He strikes the people with a plague. The people then journey on to Hazeroth.

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses – Numbers 12

• Moses has married a Cushite woman, and Miriam and Aaron speak against him. The Lord hears their complaints, and calls Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the tent of meeting. There, He comes down as a pillar of cloud, stands at the entrance, and calls Aaron and Miriam to Himself. He points out that He trusts Moses completely and questions why they weren't afraid to criticize Moses, then leaves.
• When the cloud removes from over the tent, Miriam is leprous. When Aaron sees this, he apologizes and begs Moses to ask God to heal her. Moses does so, but God tells him that she should be shamed for seven days. So she is put out of the camp for seven days, and the people don't march until she is brought back into the camp. They then set out for the wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent into Canaan – Numbers 13

• God tells Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan—twelve men, one from each tribe. The spies are:
1. Shammua, from the tribe of Reuben
2. Shaphat, from the tribe of Simeon
3. Caleb, from the tribe of Judah
4. Igal, from the tribe of Issachar
5. Hoshea (Joshua), from the tribe of Ephraim
6. Palti from the tribe of Benjamin
7. Gaddiel, from the tribe of Zebulun
8. Gaddi, from the tribe of Mannaseh
9. Ammiel, from the tribe of Dan
10. Sethur, from the tribe of Asher
11. Nahbi, from the tribe of Naphtali
12. Geuel, from the tribe of Gad
• Moses sends the men into the Negeb to get an overview of the land and its people and fruits. The men spy the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, then into the Negeb. In the Valley of Eschol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes and carry it on a pole. They also gather figs and pomegranates. 

Report of the Spies

• After forty days, the spies returned to Moses in the wilderness of Paran. They bring word to the Hebrew people that the land "flows with milk and honey, and with this fruit," but that the people who dwell there (the Nephilim, Hittites, Jebusites, Amalekites, Amorites, and Canaanites) are strong and the cities are large and fortified.
• Caleb quiets the people and insists that they should go and occupy the land, because they are well able to overcome it. The other spies (aside from Joshua) insist that they would not be able to overcome the inhabitants there.