Joshua
What is Joshua about? • Joshua tells the story of how a second generation of former slaves succeeded in invading and possessing Canaan, thus inheriting the land that God had promised to Abraham and his seed hundreds of years earlier. • Everything has to do with the Israelites covenant loyalty to Yahweh.
When was Joshua written? • The story of Joshua is told from the perspective of a later time, as the narrator repeatedly mentions certain kinds of memorials that “are there to this day” (4:9; 5:9; 7:26; 8:28-29; 10:27), as are many of the Canaanite people (13:13; 15:63; 16:10).
Where in the world are we?
Conquest of the Land
Basic Outline 1:1-5:12
Israel’s entrance into the land.
5:13-12:24 Israel’s (partial) conquest of the land. 13-21
Israel’s distribution of the land.
22-24
Israel’s renewing of the covenant and pledged loyalty to Yahweh.
Joshua story parallels with the Exodus story • The miraculous crossing of the Jordan (3-4) echoes the previous crossing of the Red Sea during the exodus. • Joshua’s encounter with “the commander of the Lord’s army” (5:13-5) and Moses encounter with Yahweh in the burning bush.
Joshua story parallels with the Exodus story • The renewal of the rite of circumcision and the celebration of the Passover. (5). • Joshua’s farewell speech (23) repeats language from Moses’ farewell speech in Deut. 7.
Lessons from Joshua 1. This is God’s holy war, not theirs. - God stops the Jordon River. - God brings the walls of Jericho down.
2. The people of Israel are to enter the fight themselves. - After Jericho, the people have to enter warfare as any other army would. - The gift of Manna ceases. (5:11-12).
Lessons from Joshua 3. Though the people of Israel are now to enter the fight themselves, they cannot forget their dependence on the Lord. - The peace treaty with the Gibeonites after Joshua “did not inquire of the Lord.”
4. Faithfulness to Yahweh is more important that ancestry. -Achan, a man from Judah, and his family lose their inheritance in the land because of unfaithfulness, while Rahab, the foreigner, and her family, gain the inheritance because of faithfulness.
Joshua Joshua contributes to God’s story of redemption by bringing closure to the covenant Promise of the Land made in Genesis (and throughout the Pentateuch), thus setting the stage for the next phases of the story.
When was Joshua written? • The story of Joshua is told from the perspective of a later time, as the narrator repeatedly mentions certain kinds of memorials that “are there to this day” (4:9; 5:9; 7:26; 8:28-29; 10:27), as are many of the Canaanite people (13:13; 15:63; 16:10).
Where in the world are we?
Conquest of the Land
Basic Outline 1:1-5:12
Israel’s entrance into the land.
5:13-12:24 Israel’s (partial) conquest of the land. 13-21
Israel’s distribution of the land.
22-24
Israel’s renewing of the covenant and pledged loyalty to Yahweh.
Joshua story parallels with the Exodus story • The miraculous crossing of the Jordan (3-4) echoes the previous crossing of the Red Sea during the exodus. • Joshua’s encounter with “the commander of the Lord’s army” (5:13-5) and Moses encounter with Yahweh in the burning bush.
Joshua story parallels with the Exodus story • The renewal of the rite of circumcision and the celebration of the Passover. (5). • Joshua’s farewell speech (23) repeats language from Moses’ farewell speech in Deut. 7.
Lessons from Joshua 1. This is God’s holy war, not theirs. - God stops the Jordon River. - God brings the walls of Jericho down.
2. The people of Israel are to enter the fight themselves. - After Jericho, the people have to enter warfare as any other army would. - The gift of Manna ceases. (5:11-12).
Lessons from Joshua 3. Though the people of Israel are now to enter the fight themselves, they cannot forget their dependence on the Lord. - The peace treaty with the Gibeonites after Joshua “did not inquire of the Lord.”
4. Faithfulness to Yahweh is more important that ancestry. -Achan, a man from Judah, and his family lose their inheritance in the land because of unfaithfulness, while Rahab, the foreigner, and her family, gain the inheritance because of faithfulness.
Joshua Joshua contributes to God’s story of redemption by bringing closure to the covenant Promise of the Land made in Genesis (and throughout the Pentateuch), thus setting the stage for the next phases of the story.
