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 30: Joshua 22:1 – Joshua 24:33

The Eastern Tribes Return Home – Joshua 22

• Joshua calls to himself the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh and tells them that they have fulfilled their duties to the tribes now west of the Jordan. He instructs them to return to their lands and to remember all of God's statutes. Joshua blesses them and sends them home. The tribes return home.

The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness

• When the Gadites, Reubenites, and half tribe of Manasseh return home, they build a large altar on the western shore of the Jordan. When the people of Israel on the western side see it, they meet at Shiloh to plan to go to war against them (misunderstanding the purpose of the altar). They send Phinehas (son of Eleazar the priest) as well as ten other men to the three tribes, who question them about the "breach of faith" they have committed against God and remind them of the breaches of faith in the past.
• The people of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh proclaim that if they did this as a breach of faith, may the Lord not spare them. They claim that they build the altar in fear of the Lord and so their children would see it and worship Him—an altar of witness.
• Phinehas and the ten men return to the other tribes of Israel and report what they learned. The people bless God, and the tribes of Reuben and Gad call the altar "Witness."

Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders – Joshua 23

• A long time afterward, after God had given Israel rest from their surrounding enemies, Joshua (who is now old) summons all Israel. He tells them that he is advanced in age and that God has given them what he promised, and tells them to keep all the statutes listed in the Book of the Law of Moses. They are not to mix with other nations or worship their gods. He exhorts them to love the Lord, and then tells them that he will soon die. He again warns them not to serve or bow down to other gods.

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem – Joshua 24

• Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summons the elders, heads, judges, and officers. Joshua reminds them how God gave Abraham Canaan, and Isaac and Jacob and Esau lived there. Then Jacob and his children went to Egypt (by way of Joseph's selling into slavery), until He brought them out of Egypt into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. Joshua goes on to recount how God finally brought them to the Promised Land and drove out all the people there. God gave them land that they had not labored and cites that they hadn't built.

Choose Whom You Will Serve

• Joshua exorts Israel to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness. The people respond that far be it from them that they would forsake Him and worship other gods, because of all He has done for them.
• Joshua reminds Israel that they are witnesses that they have chosen to choose God and tells them to put away the foreign gods among them and incline their hearts to God. He makes a covenant with the people and writes this in the Book of the Law of God, then sends the people back to their homes.

Joshua's Death and Burial

• Joshua dies, being 110 years old. The people bury him in his own inheritance in Timnah-serah. Israel has served the Lord throughout Joshua's time as leader. 
• The people bury the bones of Joseph, brought from Egypt, in Shechem, on the piece of land that Jacob had bought from Hamor, the father of Shechem.
• Eleazar, the son of Aaron, dies, and they bury him at Gilbeah, the town of Phinehas his son.

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 25: Joshua 10:1 – 12:6

The Sun Stands Still – Joshua 10

• Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, learns that Joshua had captured and destroyed Ai, just as he had Jericho, and that he made peace with the Gibeonites. He and his people are afraid, so he sends messengers to other kings in the area, asking them to help him destroy Gibeon. All of the kings move their troops into place to attack.
• The men of Gibeon send messengers to Joshua, begging him to come protect them.
• Joshua and his army leave Gilgal for Gibeon. God tells Joshua not to fear, for He will give all of them over to him. The Israelites destroy the Amorite armies, some by the sword and others by a hail storm from God.
• Joshua prays that God would make the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over Aijalon. The sun and moon stand still until Israel had defeated all of its enemies.
• Joshua and the Israelites return to their camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

• During the fight, five kings escape and hide in a cave. When Joshua learns where they are, he tells his commanders to cover the openings of the caves with rocks and place guards there. Joshua and his troops continue the slaughter of their enemies, then return to the camp where the cave is. He has the men bring the kings to him, then put their feet on the kings' necks, and Joshua killed each one and had him impaled on a pole and hung until evening.
• That evening, Joshua tells the commanders to take the kings down, throw their bodies into the cave, and place stones in front of it.

Conquest of Southern Canaan 

• Joshua captures the town of Makkedah and kills everyone in it, including the king. He then moves on to Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir, conquering the entire region, then returns to Gilgal.

Conquests in Northern Canaan – Joshua 11

• When the kings of northern Canaan hear about what has happened, they gather together to fight Joshua and the Israelites. Despite their great number, God tells Joshua not to fear them. Joshua and his men attack, and God gives them victory, allowing him to conquer the entire region. He takes control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. The land rests from war.

Kings Defeated by Moses – Joshua 12

• The kings defeated by Moses are listed: King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan. Their lands were given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

March 24: Joshua 7:1; 1 Chronicles 2:7; Joshua 7:2 – Joshua 9:27

Israel Defeated at Ai – Joshua 7:1–15; 1 Chronicles 2:7

• Achan, of the tribe of Judah, steals some of the devoted things, and God is angry at the Israelites.
• Joshua sends some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai. The warriors return and tell Joshua that it won't take more than two or three thousand men to attack them. Three thousand soldiers are sent, but Ai defeats them, which paralyzes the Israelites with fear.
• Joshua and the elders tear their clothes, throw dust on their heads, and fall on their faces before the ark of the covenant. Joshua asks God why He brought them across the Jordan if the Amorites were going to defeat them. He asks God what he will say to the people and what will happen to His great name.
• God tells Joshua to get up and goes on to explain that Israel has broken his covenant by stealing things that were set apart for Him. He instructs Joshua to get up and tell the people to purify themselves and that they will never win a battle until the set-apart things are returned. God then says the Israelites must present themselves in the morning, and He will point out the guilty clan. The man who stole the items is to be burned, along with all his belongings.

The Sin of Achan

• The next morning, all the tribes assemble and the tribe of Judah is singled out. Achan is shown to be the man who has stolen the items set apart for God. Joshua addressed him, and Achan admits that he took a robe from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold and buried them under his tent.
• Achan's tent is checked and the stolen items are found. Achan and all his belongings are taken to the valley of Achor, where he and his family were stoned and their belongings burned.

The Fall of Ai – Joshua 8

• God tells Joshua not to fear, and to take his men back to Ai to fight, because He will give them over to the Israelites as He did Jericho. This time they will keep the plunder and livestock for themselves.
• Joshua sends thirty thousand men. Five thousand will hide behind the town to ambush it. The other twenty-five thousand soldiers will attack the town and run away, and the people will chase them. The ambushing soldiers are then to take the town and burn it, and together the thirty thousand men attack the people of Ai. Only one person of Ai survives (the king) and he is brought to Joshua. Joshua impales the king on a sharpened pole and leaves him there until evening, when the Israelites took down his body, threw it in front of the town gate, and covered it with rocks.

Joshua Renews the Covenant

• Joshua builds an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal following God's commands to Moses on altar building. All the Israelites divide into two groups facing each other, and between them stands the Levitical priests and the ark of the covenant. Joshua reads to them the blessings and curses Moses wrote in the book of instruction.

The Gibeonite Deception – Joshua 9

• All the kings west of the Jordan hear about what happened to the people of Ai. When the people of Gibeon hear it, they turn to deception  to save themselves. They dress in old ragged clothing and bear dry and moldy bread when they greet the Israelites at Gilgal, and they tell Joshua that they've come from a distant land and wish a peace treaty.
• The Israelites question how they would know that they're not from the area, and the Gibeonites show them the bread and again insist they're from a far-off land. The Israelites examine the bread, but do not consult with God. Joshua makes a peace treaty with them, guaranteeing their safety.
• Three days later, Israel learns that the people were from nearby, and they set out to go to the towns. They cannot attack the towns, though, because they have made the treaty. They make the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers.
• Joshua questions the Gibeonites why they lied to them. They tell him that they knew God had given over the lands to Moses, so they feared for their lives. Joshua doesn't allow the people of Israel to kill them, instead making them servants of Israel.

March 23: Joshua 3:1 – Joshua 6:27

Israel Crosses the Jordan – Joshua 3

• Joshua and the Israelites set out from Shittim. They reach the Jordan, and after three days officers go through the camp and instruct the people that when the ark of the covenant is taken up by the Levites and carried, they are to follow, but they must stay 2000 cubits back from it.
• Joshua tells the people to consecrate themselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among them.
• God tells Joshua that He will exalt him in the sight of Israel, so they will know God is with him, just as He was with Moses. Joshua explains to the people that when feet of the Levites carrying the ark rest in the waters of the Jordan (which has overflowed its banks due to the rainy season), the river will stop flowing. This happens as proclaimed, and the people cross the Jordan on dry land.

Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan – Joshua 4

• God tells Joshua to pick twelve men, one from each tribe, and have them each gather a stone from the Jordan River bed. They are then to lay the stones down where they lodge that night, and the stones are to be a memorial to the Hebrew people forever.
• The men do as instructed, and the Israelite people pass over. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh are all armed and ready for battle. The people stand in awe of Joshua, just as they did with Moses. The people cross the river bed in haste (on the tenth day of the first month), while the priests remain in the river bed.
• God commands Joshua to have the priests bearing the ark to come up out of the Jordan, and when they do, the waters again flow. The twelve stones are set up at Gilgal as a memorial.

The New Generation Circumcised – Joshua 5

• When the kings of the Amorites and the Canaanites hear about how the waters dried up so the Israelites could cross the Jordan, they lose their will to fight them.
• God instructs Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise all the men of Israel (all the males who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised, but their sons had not). God is raising up their children to take the place of their parents, who didn't obey God, so He wants them circumcised. The people remain encamped until all the men have healed, and God tells Joshua that He has rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them.

The Commander of the Lord's Arm

• When Joshua is passing by Jericho, he sees a man standing before him with a sword drawn. Joshua asks him if he is for Israel or for their enemies. The man claims he is the commander of the Lord's army, and Joshua falls on his face before him and asks the man what he says to his servant (Joshua), The man tells him to take off his sandals, for he is standing on holy ground. Joshua removes his sandals.

The Fall of Jericho – Joshua 6

• Jericho is shut up inside and outside because of the Israelites. God points out to Joshua that He has given Jericho over to him. All the men of war are to march around the city once a day for six days, and priests are to bear the ark of the covenant and ram horn trumpets. On the seventh day, they are to march around the city seven times, and on the seventh time, the priests will blow the trumpets. The people are to all shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat.
• Joshua instructs the people what to do, and they do it. Jericho is destroyed by the Israelites, and only Rahab and her family within her house are spared (and taken in by Israel). Except for the silver and gold, the entire city is burned.
• Joshua informs that people that if anyone tries to rebuild Jericho, they will be curse. The Lord is with Joshua, and his fame is in all the land.

March 22: Deuteronomy 33:1 – Deuteronomy 34:12; Joshua 1:1 – Joshua 2:24

Moses' Final Blessing on Israel – Deuteronomy 33

• In his final blessing on Israel, Moses individually blesses each tribe (with the exception of Simeon's tribe).

The Death of Moses – Deuteronomy 34

• Moses goes up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo (the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho). God shows him all of the Promised Land, which He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
• Moses dies, and is buried in the valley of Moab, his eyes "undimmed" and his vigor "unabated." The people weep for him for thirty days.
• The people of Israel now obey Joshua, who has been commissioned to lead them.

God Commissions Joshua – Joshua 1

• God tells Joshua that Moses has died and that he will lead the people into the land promised to them. He promises Joshua that He will be with him, and that he is to be strong and courageous because He will be with him wherever he goes.

Joshua Assumes Command

• Joshua tells the tribe leaders to have the people ready themselves to travel for three days. He tells the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that God has prepared a place for them and they are to stay there until they're commanded to move. The tribe agrees.

Rahab Hides the Spies – Joshua 2

• Joshua sends two spies to Shittim to view the land. They go there and stay in the house of Rahab, a prostitute.
• When the king of Jericho hears about this, he sends word to her to bring out the spies, but she tells him that the men came to her but then left, going out of the city gates around dark. She had hid the spies on the roof, and she goes to them and tells them that she knows God has given the land to the Hebrew people, as she has heard all that God has done for them.
• She asks the spies to deal kindly with her, since she has dealt kindly with them. The men promise, and she lets them down out of her house (on the city wall) by a rope. She tells them to hide in the hills for three days so the pursuers won't find them.
• The spies tell her to place a scarlet cord in the window that she let them out of, and to gather all her family into the house, then head into the hills. After three days they return to Joshua and tell him that surely the Lord has given the city over to them.

March 20: Deuteronomy 29:2 – Deuteronomy 31:29

The Covenant Renewed in Moab – Deuteronomy 29

• God has Moses remind the people of everything that has happened in the last forty years, and how God has sustained them. He encourages the people to accept the covenant offered by God.

Repentance and Forgiveness – Deuteronomy 30

• Moses continues to address the Israelites, encouraging them to return to God. He tells the people that on this day, he is giving them a choice between death and life. If they love the Lord, He will prosper them, but if they turn away and refuse to listen to Him, their lives will be short.

Joshua to Succeed Moses – Deuteronomy 31

• Moses reminds the people that he is 120 years old and no longer able to lead them. He is not allowed to cross the Jordan River into the land, and Joshua will now lead them. Moses calls Joshua before all the people, and tells him to be strong and courageous as he leads the people, because God will go before him.

The Reading of the Law 

• Moses writes all these instructions in a book and gives it to the priests, who place it in the ark of the covenant. He reminds the people that at the end of every seven years, at the Feast of Booths, they will celebrate a time of release.

Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel

• God tells Moses that the day approaches when he will die, and He tells him to bring Joshua to the tent of meeting so God can commission him. God tells Moses that he is about to die and then informs him that the people will again forsake Him and break His covenant.
• God instructs Moses to write a song and teach it to the people, that it will be a witness for God. Moses teaches the song to the people.
• Moses tells the priests to summon all the leaders of the people so Moses can speak to them,

March 13: Deuteronomy 3:21 – Deuteronomy 5:23

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Promised Land – Deuteronomy 3:21–29

• Moses reminds the Israelites how he told God of His greatness and then requested that he might cross into the Promised Land but God told him not to ask again and then instructed him to go to the top of Mount Pisgah and look at the land from there. God then told him to encourage and strengthen Joshua, because he would be the one to lead the people into the land.

Moses Commands Obedience – Deuteronomy 4

• Moses instructs the people to listen to the statutes and rules he is teaching them, and to remember what happened when they disobeyed and worshiped Baal at Peor. He then recounts how he was called to the top of the mountain and given the Ten Commandments.

Idolatry Forbidden

• Moses reminds the people that they are forbidden to make any idols and warns them that if they do make idols, their time in the land will be short. He tells them that if they obey the Lord, He will not leave them, destroy them, or forget their covenant.

The Lord Alone Is God

• Moses reminds the Hebrew people that the Lord alone is God, and if they keep His commandments, things will go well for them and their children and their days in the land will be prolonged.

Cities of Refuge

• Moses sets apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan as cities of refuge: Bezar for the Reubenites, Ramoth for the Gadites, and Golan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

• The laws already given (the Ten Commandments) are reintroduced.

The Ten Commandments – Deuteronomy 5

• Moses summons all of Israel and reminds them of the commandments God gave them at Horeb:

1. No other gods before God.
2. No graven images.
3. No taking the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
5. Honor your mother and father.
6. No murder.
7. No committing adultery.
8. No stealing.
9. No bearing false witness (lying).
10. No coveting what belongs to others.

March 10: Numbers 32:1 – Numbers 33:56

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead – Numbers 32

• The people of Reuben and the people of Gad go to Moses and Eleazar and ask if they can take their livestock and inhabit the lands of Jazer and Gilead in the Promised Land.
• Moses asks them if they intend to stay there instead of going with the rest of Israel across the Jordan River to fight the peoples living there. He reminds the men of their forefathers, who angered the Lord by spying the Promised Land and then discouraging the people from going into the land that the Lord had promised His people. Moses points out that if these men turn away from God, He will again abandon them in the wilderness.
• The men reply that they will build pens for their animals and small walled cities for their families, and will still fight with Israel and won't return home until all of Israel has its inheritance.
• Moses agrees that if they will fight with Israel to overcome those living in the Promised Land, the land on the east side of the Jordan will be theirs. However, if they don't keep their word, their sin will find them out. He gives word to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of Israel, and assigns the land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. The tribes each build multiple towns.

Recounting Israel's Journey – Numbers 33

• At God's command, Moses keeps a written record of the march of the Israelite people, starting in Egypt (as they left slavery). He records every place where the people stop.
• While Israel is camped near the Jordan River on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, God tells them to cross the river and take possession of the Promised Land. They are to drive out all peoples and then divide the land by tribe size using a sacred lot.

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.

February 8: Exodus 22:16 – Exodus 24:18

Laws about Social Injustice – Exodus 22

• God gives the Hebrew people laws about social justice, including seduction of virgins, sacrificing to other gods, treatment of widows and orphans, consecration of the firstborn, lying, treatment of others' livestock, and mistreatment of the poor and the sojourner.

Laws about the Sabbath and Festivals – Exodus 23

• God gives the Hebrew people laws about the Sabbath and festivals, including letting fields lie fallow every seventh year, resting on the Sabbath, keeping the feasts (Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Harvest, and Feast of Ingathering), and giving the first fruits to the Lord.

Conquest of Canaan Promised

• God tells the Hebrews that He will send an angel before them, leading them to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They are not to bow down to their gods, but to overthrow them, and God will throw into confusion all the people that come against them.
• God will send His terror before the Hebrews—hornets will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites in one year, driving them out until the people of Israel inhabit all their land. God will set their border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates. They are not to bow to their gods, and He will drive these peoples from the land so they will not be a snare.

The Covenant Confirmed – Exodus 24

• God calls Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders to Him to worship, although Moses is the only one permitted to come near to the Lord. Moses goes to the people and conveys the Lord's instructions to them, and they agree that they will follow His rules.
• Moses writes down God's words and builds an altar to Him at the foot of the mountain. Young men offer burnt offerings and sacrifices. Moses reads the book of the covenant to the people (which they agree to be obedient to), then takes the blood in the basins (from the sacrifices) and throws half on the altar and the rest on the people.
• Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the elders go up the mountain, where they behold God and eat and drink with Him. The Lord tells Moses to come up and wait there so God can give him tablets of stone with the laws and commandments on them. Moses takes his assistant, Joshua, and does as instructed.
• The glory of the Lord dwells on Mount Sinai, and a cloud overtakes it for six days. On the seventh day, God calls out to Moses and the glory of the Lord appears to him. Moses enters the cloud and stays on the mountain for forty days and nights.