Joshua
Conquering the Promised Land
Central Teaching
Empowered by God, Joshua leads the Israelites to conquer and possess the land God promised to Abraham.
Memory Verse
Setting
The book of Joshua is a continuation of the Pentateuch story. In Genesis God makes a covenant with Abraham, promising him land, numerous descendants, and blessings. This promise drives the story from Genesis to Joshua. At the beginning of Exodus, the population of the Israelites has grown, but they are in slavery (no blessing there) and are not in possession of the land. The story running from Exodus to Joshua is about God delivering the Israelites, blessing them with his powerful presence and the Mosaic covenant, and then actually giving them the land promised to Abraham. Therefore, the book of Joshua is a dramatic conclusion to a long, painful journey. At last, the Israelites are going to enter the promised land, drive out the Canaanites, take possession of this wonderful place, and live peacefully at rest.
Immediately west of Jericho were the rugged hills that would later be known as the Judean wilderness.
Message
The action story line of the book of Joshua is about conquering, distributing, and taking possession of the promised land. The theological story line is similar to that of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy: obedience and trust in God result in deliverance, victory, and blessing, while disobedience results in tragic defeat, judgment, and the onset of curses. At the heart of the book of Joshua is the proclamation that God is faithful to his promises. He gives Israel the land of Canaan, just as he promised their forefather Abraham.
Important subthemes run throughout the book as well. Closely related to the themes of “land” and “blessing” is the promise of “rest.” After wandering for years and constantly waging war, the Israelites will be able to settle down on their own farms and raise their families in peace. Another important subtheme emerges from the long episode dealing with Rahab (Josh. 2) and Achan (Josh. 7): inclusion into the people of God is based upon trust and faith in God, not on Hebrew ethnicity.
A final subtheme in the book is the quiet and subtle reminder that the Israelites are not completely successful in driving out all of the Canaanites, something that will come back to haunt them in the book of Judges.
Outline
Interesting Features
- In a book about annihilating all of the Canaanites, the first major story is about the deliverance and salvation of the Canaanite prostitute Rahab.
- The book of Joshua contains the colorful story of Jericho’s walls falling down.
- God parts the Jordan River, allowing Israel to cross over on dry ground, just as he parts the Red Sea in the book of Exodus.
- In a book filled with war, the thematic goal is “rest.”
An aerial view of the archaeological ruins at Jericho
Connections
In contrast to the constant grumbling and disobedience of the Israelites that characterizes the story in Exodus and Numbers, the Israelites in Joshua generally obey God (and his servant Joshua). Such obedience results in tremendous blessings, a basic teaching repeated by God and Moses throughout Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For us, the New Testament is clear that we are saved by faith and not by our deeds of obedience, yet Jesus still stresses the importance of obedience to his teaching and the blessings that result from that obedience (see especially John 14–15).