93651.6 Joshua

A. Theme and Background.

1. Joshua is a bridge between the last four books which is Israel out of the land to the next seven books which is Israel in the land. The first five chapters of Joshua are Israel entering the land. Chapters six through twelve are the nation conquering the land inhabited by the Canaanites. The Canaanites were just one of the various people groups that inhabited the land but they have their name associated to the land of Canaan. Chapters 13 through 24 is the distribution of the land to the various tribes.
2. Joshua is the anglicized name of the Hebrew “Yehoshua” which means God is deliverance or salvation. It is the name of Jesus in the New Testament as translated from the Greek. It is from this that our mission organization, Joshua Nations, gets its name or “salvation to the nations.”
3. Although the book’s author is not named, it is most likely written by Joshua between 1400 and 1370 BC. The last portion of the book related to Joshua’s death was written by another person.
4. The book of Joshua was traditionally used as an analogy of Christians dying and going to heaven in that crossing the Jordan River was symbolic of death and entering into the Good Land of heaven. A better analogy is that crossing the Jordan is symbolic of our new birth and baptism and the Good Land as representative of our Christian life after salvation where we battle the Canaanites of self, sin, the flesh and Satan and his minions. But we eventually overcome and are victorious.

B. Key verses.

Joshua 1:6-9, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land, I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 24:14-15, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

C. Chapters 1-3.

1. Chapter one: Joshua is installed as Israel’s leader and they prepare to enter the Good Land.
2. Chapter two: Joshua sends out two spies into Jericho in chapter two. They are hidden by Rahab who is called a harlot in both the Old and New Testament. They give her a scarlet cord to Be in the window of her home which is located on the wall of the city. When the Israeli army destroys Jericho, they will spare her and those in her house. The scarlet cord is symbolic of the shed blood of Christ and those in the house are spared death as were those whose houses in Egypt had the blood on the door posts. Rahab later marries an Israelite Salmon, and she becomes part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
3. Chapters three and four: the Israelites cross over the Jordon River. The priests carry the ark and step into the river first. As soon as they step into the river the waters pile up allowing Israel to pass on dry ground. This could be representative of hearing a command from the Lord and stepping out in faith and obedience but not receiving confirmation of the command until the first step is made.

D. Chapters 5-12.

1. In chapter five, the Israelites of the second generation are circumcised fulfilling the covenant of the Lord originally made with Abraham. It was an outward sign of an inward spiritual covenant made with God. In Deuteronomy (10:16) Moses tells Israel to “circumcise your hearts and be stiff-necked no longer. Stephen in Acts chapter seven tells the Jews just before they stone him “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”
2. They eat some of the produce of the land and manna stops the next day. Joshua approaches Jericho and sees a man with a drawn sword. Joshua asks him if he is for them or against them. “Neither” responds the man “but as commander of the army I have now come.” Joshua falls on his face in reverence and is instructed to remove his sandals as this is holy ground. Although commentators are divided as to the man’s identity, this is most likely a Christophany or preincarnate appearing of Jesus. He gives instructions of how the city is to be taken.
3. The conquest of Jericho is described in chapter six. The walls collapse and the city is taken. Rahab and her household are spared. Instructions are given regarding gold, silver and other things which are to be devoted to the Lord. The city is burned. Excavations of the site of Jericho in the 20th century revealed that Jericho did have a wall that collapsed. Pottery with burned barley seeds were also found confirming that Jericho was burned at the time of the harvest as described in the Bible (3:15).
4. Chapter seven begins with Achan taking some of the things devoted to the Lord from Jericho. Due to that sin, the Israelites are defeated by the men of Ai. Achan’s sin is revealed and he, his household and possessions are stoned to death and the Lord’s anger is turned.
5. Chapters eight through twelve describe the various victories of the Israelites over the tribes of Cannan beginning with Ai. Thirty-one kings are listed as those Israel defeated in chapter twelve. The nation is then at rest (11:23).

E. Chapters 13 through the end of the book describe the distribution of the land to the various tribes, the cities of refuge, towns for the Levites, Joshua’s farewell and renewal of the covenant at Shechem. He sets up a large stone as a witness and then he dies at 110 years. It is interesting that today, you can go to Shechem and see a pillar reputed to be the remains of the one set up by Joshua as a witness.

F. Discussion questions, application and passing it on.

1. Joshua exhorts the people in 1:6-9 to “not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Are you meditating daily on God’s Word? Are you hiding the Word in your heart so that you might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11)?
2. Are you serving other gods or idols such as possessions, relationships, entertainment, or have you declared like Joshua “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”?
3. Rahab married into the children of Israel. She is mentioned not only in Christ’s genealogy but also in the so-called faith chapter of Hebrews (11:31). This shows that anyone whose background is clouded by sin can be made righteous in Christ.
4. The story of Achan can be troubling especially when linked to the deception of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five. Are you attempting to hide something from the Lord who, when He comes will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart (1 Corinthians 4:5)?
5. Practice sharing the gospel using the book of Joshua. Consider the imagery of crossing the Jordan and entering into a time where we face constant struggles in our lives but eventual rest. Use especially the story of Rahab and the scarlet cord.