The book of Joshua is the first book in the history
category of the Bible. Although the
first five books (see the five previous entries) did contain history, their
primary function was to give God’s laws.
Joshua and the next eleven books are generally categorized as
history. They are not all in
chronological order, and there is some repetition of events. Remember, the Bible is a collection of
independently written manuscripts, many about the same subjects, and all
inspired by God but written by different men from each of those men’s
individual points of view. Just as you
and I might participate in the same event today, we would each write a
different narrative, based upon what we each saw, what was important to each of
us, and how it impacted each of us differently.
The book of Joshua can be divided into three
parts. Chapters 1–4 tell us of the
Israelites finally leaving the wilderness, crossing over the Jordan River, and
entering into Canaan, the Land of Promise.
Chapters 5–21 describe the conquest of Canaan and the many, many
battles involved in that conquest.
Chapters 22–24 contain warnings from Joshua about remaining in the
Promised Land, their final resting place, their place of victory and about staying true to the One True God, not going back to the idols of Egypt or being influenced by the false religions in the land they had just conquered.
Joshua was chosen by Moses to be his successor. Moses was forbidden by God to enter the
Promised Land because of his disobedience (see Numbers 20:2-13). The Hebrew name Yeshua, translated into
English as Joshua, is the same as the Greek name, Iesous, translated into English
as Jesus, both of which mean “God is Salvation.” Beyond their names, we can see parallels
between Joshua and Jesus in this first history book of the Bible, but we must
remember that Joshua was merely a man – he was obedient to God, and he was a
great leader of God’s people, but he was not a pre-incarnate Christ. We can learn a lot from Joshua, and he
pointed the way to Christ, as did many people in the Old Testament. And we can learn a lot from the children of
Israel as we compare their struggles to ours.
Consider the following from each of the three sections of the book of
Joshua:
· The picture we are given of the children of
Israel crossing over the Jordan River into the Promised Land is a picture of a
new follower of Jesus Christ, crossing over from a life of struggling in the
wilderness of sin into a life of promise, a life of victory over sin through
faith in Jesus Christ.
“Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives
life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2, New International Version)
“Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39, New International Version)
· Before they crossed into the Promised Land,
Joshua sent spies into the city of Jericho to assess the strength of their
army. When the spies arrived there, they
found a prostitute named Rahab. She had
heard of the miracles God had done for Israel and she believed in the one true
God. She gave shelter to the spies and
hid them from those who were seeking to kill them, so in return, her life and
the lives of her family members were spared when Jericho was defeated. The spies told her to hang a scarlet cord
from her window so that the attacking Israelite army would know to spare the
people found in her home. (You can read
the entire story in Joshua 2, with the end of the story in Joshua 6:22-25.) The scarlet cord is a parallel of the blood
on the doorposts during Passover, and both the cord and the Passover blood are
pictures of the blood of Jesus which was shed for our salvation on the cross of
Calvary. Rahab was not a descendant of
Abraham, but was a Gentile. Because she
believed in the God of Abraham, and because of her kindness to the spies and
all the children of Israel (evidence that demonstrated her true faith in God),
she was accepted by them and was “adopted” into the family of Abraham. Her prior life as a prostitute was
forgiven. We, too, are adopted into the
family of God when we place our faith in Him, and our former lives are not held
against us. We are forgiven for all our
sins – past, present, and future – when we accept the sacrifice Jesus made for
us, taking the penalty of our sin on the cross.
“By
faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with
those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews
11:31, New International Version)
“In
fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22, New International Version)
“For
this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, New King James Version)
God
was so pleased by the faith of the harlot, Rahab, that she was honored to be in
the genealogy of Christ, as mentioned in Matthew 1:5-6a (New King James
Version): “ Salmon
begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot
David the king.” This is a fulfillment
of the promise found in Joshua 6:25 (King James Version), “And Joshua saved
Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and
she dwelleth in Israel even unto this
day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out
Jericho.”
· And finally, as the book of Joshua closes,
in the last two chapters the Israelites are warned to remain faithful to the
One True God in the Promised Land, their place of victory and rest. They are reminded of all God had done for
them and they were warned not to turn away from Him toward the false gods of Egypt
or of the peoples they had conquered.
“I
have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not
build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which
you did not plant. Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in
truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the
River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord,
choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your
fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve
the Lord.” (Joshua 24:13-15, New King
James Version)
Notice
that the people were reminded that they had not worked for the land they were
given, they did not build the cities which they now occupied, and they did not
plant the vineyards and olive groves from which they now ate. This should be a reminder to us that we
cannot earn a place in heaven, our Promised Land, by anything that we might do.
“For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast.” (Ephesians 2:7-9, New King
James Version)
“Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29, King James Version)
We
are firmly warned about false doctrine that might creep into the family of
believers, just as the children of Israel were warned about false gods.
“As
I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may
command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such
things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s
work—which is by faith.” (1 Timothy 1:3-4, New International Version)
“Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15, New King
James Version)
I
hope you will dig deep into the book of Joshua, deeper than I am able to show
you here. There is so much we can learn
there about God’s promises, His protection, His provision, and His condemnation
of sin. My prayer for you and for myself
this week is the same prayer Joshua prayed to the pre-incarnate Christ, the Commander of the Army of The Lord, in
Joshua 5:14 (King James Version), “What does my Lord say to His servant?” I hope you will listen along with me to hear
God’s answer.
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