Book of Joshua
Introduction:
We have just finished the Torah, the first five books of the ‘Old Testament,’ (as it is named in the Christian Bible), which is the first section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). The book of Joshua begins the second section of the Tanakh, called Nevi’im (Prophets). The last section is the Ketuvim (Writings).
There is a little controversy about the authorship of the book of Joshua, as he, like Moses, writes of his own death. So, someone else must have written that ‘epilogue’.
The book of Joshua approximately spans the years of 1406 B.C. to 1375 B.C.
Who was Joshua, or Joshua Bin Nun to be more exact? He was a mentee of Moses and his soldier.[1]
1.Joshua’s commission:
After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.
I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Jos. 1:1 – 9. NLT
After Joshua’s divine commission, he ordered the ‘officers of the people’ (administrators), to tell the Israelites to be prepared to cross the Jordan river in three days.
2.Scouting out the land:
Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as scouts secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho [the walled city].” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there. Jos. 2:1 AMP
Joshua is trying to get the lay of the land of Canaan, so that he can get a better sense of the approach for his conquest. Well, someone, (we don’t know who, probably a nosy neighbor of Rahab’s), informed the king of Jericho about the two Israeli scouts (spies).
The king sent his men to tell Rahab to bring the spies out. But she had hidden them upon her rooftop. She told the king’s men that the scouts had been by earlier, but she didn’t know where they were from, and that they had left at dusk.
Rahab returned to the hidden men and said:
“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” Jos. 2:9 – 11. NLT
Rahab asks the spies for a favor for her having hid them:
“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” Jos. 2:12, 13. NLT
They answer her in the affirmative and instructed her to leave a scarlet rope hanging from a window, and when the Israeli army comes, they will be spared. Then they returned to Joshua and reported to him:
“The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” Jos. 2:24 NLT
3.Crossing the Jordan River:
The following day, all the Israelites camped on the bank of the Jordan River. Three days later, the officers instructed the people in what they were to do next:
“When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.” Jos. 3:3, 4. NLT
Only the priests could carry the Ark of the Covenant. It would be certain death for anyone else to touch it.
Jehovah gave specific instructions to Joshua for the priests:
The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’” Jos. 3:7, 8. NLT
Then Joshua addressed all the Israelites, telling them that they will know the ‘living God,’ by His presence, when He drives out all the Canaanites before them, and that will first be preceded by the Ark of the Covenant that would lead them across the river via a miracle:
“When the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, [come to] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing down from above will be cut off, and they will stand in one mass [of water].” Jos. 3:13 AMP
And indeed, it was so. All the tributaries leading into the Jordan were blocked, standing up in great walls of water when the priests stood in the midst of the river, which then became dry land for all of Israel to cross over.
4.Leaving God’s footprints:
…the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’” Jos. 4:1 – 3. NLT
Joshua speaks to the people once more:
“We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Jos. 4:6, 7. NLT
After all the people crossed the Jordan River, the priests crossed over with the Ark, and the tributaries filled the river again.
That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses. Jos. 4:14 NLT
5.Preparing for battle:
God told Joshua to have all the males of this second generation of Israelites to be circumcised. When it was done and the people were healed, God revealed His purpose to Joshua for this ritual:
“This day I have rolled away the reproach (derision, ridicule) of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal (rolling) to this day. Jos. 5:9 AMP
This second generation is being consecrated to have the stain of the Egyptian captivity which covered the first generation due to their disobedience, lifted off them, and are sealing them into a renewal of the Abrahamic covenant.
Given that the people were now consecrated, they were able to celebrate Passover. And on that day, when they ate some of the produce from the Promised Land, the daily flow of the manna from heaven ceased.
And then, the last phase of their battle preparation was sent by God Himself:
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. Jos. 5:13 – 15. NLT
The identity of this ‘commander of the LORD’S army’, can only be deduced to be an angel, and Joshua is revering it (but not worshiping it); or, it could be a theophany (a visible manifestation of God – note the similarity of the exchange about taking off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground, to that of Moses at the burning bush).[2]
However, because we cannot see God’s face and live[3]; thus, he would have to be the pre-incarnate Christ. Regardless, we see that the power of God Himself is with His children.
Now it begins…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Ex. 17:9 – 14; 24:13; 32:17; 33:11. Nu. 13:16; 14:6, 10, 30, 38; 26:65; 27:12, 18, 21 &22; 32:12 & 28; 34:17. Dt. 1:38; 3:28; 31:1, 3, 7, 14 & 23; 32:44.
[2] Ex. 3:5.
[3] Ex. 33:20