Joshua - Introduction

Above chart from http://chrisedmondson.blogspot.com/2010/07/joshua-book-of-conquest.html

NOTE: Many scholars believe that the wilderness wanderings and Mt. Sinai are in Saudia Arabia, not as the firs map shows, but rather as the next shows:

Above chart from http://users.netconnect.com.au/~leedas/redsea.html

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Above chart from http://chrisedmondson.blogspot.com/2010/07/joshua-book-of-conquest.html

Above map from www.esvstudybible.org/sb/objects/introduction-to-joshua.html

Above chart from www.foundationsforfreedom.net

Who:

• Moses.
• Eleazar the high priest (and son of Aaron) and his son Phinehas.
• Joshua:
• Joshua, the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim, was born in Egypt and was a young man at the time
  of the Exodus. Right after the Golden calf incident recorded in Exodus chapter 33:11 states that
  Joshua was a young man at this time.
• Joshua’s original name was Hoshea (“salvation”). Moses changed this
  name in Numbers 13:16 to Joshua or Yehoshua (“Yahweh saves”), by prefixing
  the name Yahweh to the root word yasha (saves). And this name is the key to his
  life and work.
• The name “Joshua”, as with the name “Jesus”, means “Jehovah is Savior”
  in Greek.
• Joshua was one of the 12 spies sent by Moses into Canaan. He and Caleb were the only ones who
  wanted to immediately conquer the land because they trusted the Lord’s promises. They are
  frequently mentioned together and may have been the same age.
• Joshua, in 24:26, affirms he wrote the book – except for the account of his death and certain
  explanatory editorial comments that were added later.
• It is difficult to determine how old Joshua was at the time he entered the Promised Land. Scripture
  does not provide an absolute statement, but there are some clues that allow us to date the chapters
  of Joshua. Joshua 24:29 tells us that Joshua died when he was 110 years of age. We know from Numbers
  32:11 that God did not permit any Israelite who was twenty years of age and older at the time that
  Joshua and Caleb returned from the spying out the Promised Land to enter the Promised Land. However,
  Joshua and Caleb were not included because they had believed God and as a result gave a good report
  to the nation of Israel. We do not know how old they were at this time. Scripture does not provide
  us with any important clues about Joshua's age, except that Numbers 11:28 says he served Moses from
  his youth. Consequently, it is not clear from scripture how old Joshua was at the time he entered
  the Promised Land. However, the Reese Chronological Bible complied by Frank R. Klassen (Bethany
  House Publishers, 1977) indicates that the Israelites entered the Promised Land in 1422 B.C. (Joshua
  1) and that Joshua died in 1372 B.C (Joshua 24:29). If this is true, this means that Joshua was
  in the Promised Land for 50 years. Since Joshua 24:29 says he died at the age of 110 years, this
  would imply that Joshua was 60 years old when he entered the land. Also, he would have been 20 years
  of age at the time he gave the good report to the nation of Israel. This agrees with Numbers 11:28.
  Joshua lived about twenty years in Egypt, forty years in the wilderness and fifty years in the promised
  land. He went from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the desert and then to the promised land. In a
  way, that is the journey of a Christian. We are born and live in sin until we put our faith in Jesus.
  We live in newness of life as Christians in this world, a place that is not our home. Eventually
  we die to live in our promised land – heaven where Jesus is waiting for us. - www.neverthirsty.org/pp/corner/read/r00277.html
• He was buried in his own city of Timnath-serah (Joshua 24).

What:

• The book of Joshua begins with the death of Moses and ends with the death of Joshua.
• Moses brings Israel to the edge of the Promised Land, but is not allowed to enter it. After his
  death, God passes the leadership to Joshua, who brings his people into the Promised Land and gives
  them “rest.”
• The book opens at Shittim with Joshua in command, progresses through his victories over the Canaanite
  kings and the allotment of the land and ends in chapter 24 with Joshua’s charge to the people
  to remain faithful to the Lord. In that chapter, before he dies, Joshua recounts their history and
  challenges them to obey the Lord rather than the idols of the land.
• The book of Joshua records the crossing of the Jordan River, the entrance of the people Israel into
  the Promised Land, how God had brought this to pass, the conflicts which arose when they came into
  the land, the partial conquest from the powers of this world that had claimed it for themselves and
  the division of the land among the tribes.
• It tells how God commissioned his people to serve as his army under the leadership of his servant
  Joshua, to take Canaan in his name out of the hands of the idolatrous Canaanites (whose measure of
  sin was now full - Genesis 15:16). It further tells how he aided them and gave them conditional tenancy
  in his land in fulfillment of the ancient pledge he had made to Israel's ancestors, Abraham, Isaac
  and Jacob.
• It took about 6 or 7 years for the tribes of Israel to conquer the Land of Canaan and to overcome
  the military might of the ancient Canaanites according to Joshua 14. It was at this time that Joshua
  divided the land among the tribes and allotted portions according to the Word of the Lord, the size
  of the tribe and by casting lots.
• Joshua is a book of the fulfillment of God’s promises, miracles, history, war, types and (surprisingly)
  is also a prophetic book.
• Joshua also gives us a picture of our Promised Land - remember we are soldiers too (Ephesians 6).

When:

• After the death of Moses (described in Deuteronomy 34), about 40 years after the exodus from Egypt, some time after 1399 B.C., probably 1406 B.C.

Where:

• The book begins in Shittim (Acacias) across the Jordan River into Canaan, to Gilgal (circle) where
  he circumcised the people, kept the Passover and was visited by the Captain of the Lord's host. From
  that camp to Jericho, Ai, the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, Gibeon, the Valley of Aijalon, Hazor,
  Shiloh, Shechem.

Why:

• The purpose of the book of Joshua was to recount the events surrounding Israel's capture and settlement of the land of Canaan—with particular emphasis on God's faithfulness in fulfilling his promise to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Key Verses:

• Joshua 1:2-3: “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—
• Joshua 1:6: “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.
• Joshua 1:8: 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.
• Joshua 1:9: 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.”
• Joshua 3:7: 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.
• Joshua 5:14: 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?”
• Joshua 23:10: Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised.
• Joshua 24:15,18: But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” … It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
• Joshua 11:16, 23: So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills.

Key Words and Phrases:

• God, the Lord
• Conquest
• Strong
• Courageous
• The land
• Possess
• Joshua
• Moses
• Canaan
• Servant of the Lord
• Three times, God repeats "be strong and courageous."

Sections Some Readers Have Trouble Accepting at Truth:

1. The miracle of the standing still of the sun and moon on Gibeon. The record of it occurs in Joshua’s impassioned prayer of faith, as quoted (Joshua 10:12-15) from the “Book of Jasher”.
2. Another arises out of the command given by God utterly to exterminate the Canaanites – called
   Genocide today. The Canaanites had sunk into a state of immorality and corruption so foul and degrading
   that they had to be rooted out of the land with the edge of the sword. Additionally, the seed modified
   by the Nephilim needed to be rooted out and eliminated just as with Noah.

Historical / Archeological Information:

• A letter, from a military officer, “master of the captains of Egypt,” dating from near the end of the reign of Rameses II, gives a curious account of a journey, probably official, which he undertook through Palestine as far north as to Aleppo, and an insight into the social condition of the country at that time. Among the things brought to light by this letter and the Amarna tablets is the state of confusion and decay that had now fallen on Egypt. The Egyptian garrisons that had held possession of Palestine from the time of Thothmes III, some two hundred years before, had now been withdrawn. The way was thus opened for the Hebrews. In the history of the conquest there is no mention of Joshua having encountered any Egyptian force. The tablets contain many appeals to the king of Egypt for help against the inroads of the Hebrews, but no help seems ever to have been sent.
• The letters from Jerusalem (Urusalim) from ‘Abdi-Heba, the local ruler of Jerusalem for the Egyptians, are full of dire news of invasions and desertions by local mayors to the Hapiru/’Apiru--“Lost are the lands of the king”--and imploring the king of Egypt for military rescue. “As the King (of Egypt) has placed his name in Jerusalem forever, he cannot abandon it!” A number of names of Canaanite (Kinahni) cities come up in the Tablets: Ashkelon (Asqaluna), Gaza (Hazzatu), Gezer (Gazru), Hazor (Hasura), Joppa (Yapu), Lachish (Lakisa), Megiddo (Magidda), Shunem (Sunama) and others.
• Kenyon, one of the Archaeologists exploring the ruins of Jericho 1952-1958, had this to say about its walls: “The walls were of a type, which made direct assault practically impossible. An ap­proaching enemy first encountered a stone abutment 11 feet high, back and up from which sloped a 35 degree plastered scarp reaching to the main wall some 35 vertical feet above (fig. 5). The steep, smooth slope prohibited battering the wall by any effective device or building fires to break it. An army trying to storm the wall would have found difficulty in climbing the slope, and ladders to scale it could find no satisfactory footing.

Image from www.truthnet.org/biblicalarcheology/6/conquestcanaan.htm

Divisions:

• The book of Joshua falls into three main divisions:
1. Chapters one through four concern the entrance into the land and all that involves.
2. Chapters five through twenty-one cover Israel's conquest of the land through many battles and conflicts as they came into the land of promise.
3. Chapters twenty-two through twenty-four, including many passages from Joshua's own lips, set before us the perils and dangers in the land.

Key Historical Perspective and Parallel with Ephesians:

• In Genesis, Israel was born as a nation in the call and promises of God to Abraham
  (Election of the nation).
  
  • We were called before the world was made - Ephesians 1:4: Even before
    he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
• In Exodus, the nation was delivered out of bondage in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea
  and was given God’s Holy Law (Redemption of the nation).
  
  • We are redeemed - Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness and grace that
    he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
• In Leviticus, the nation was taught how to worship in view of God’s holiness
  (Sanctification of the nation).
  
  • Our worship is in Ephesians 5:1: Imitate God, therefore, in everything
    you do, because you are his dear children.
• In Numbers, they were tested and numbered as a nation (Direction and Wandering
  of the nation).
  
  • Our warfare is in Ephesians 6:12: For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood
    enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in
    this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
• In Deuteronomy, the law was reviewed and reiterated and closed with the assurance
  that Israel would possess the land (Instruction of the nation).
  
  • Ephesians 1:10: And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything
    together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
• In Joshua, the nation crossed over Jordan and took possession of the land (Possession
  by the nation). If Moses is the symbol of deliverance, then Joshua is the symbol of victory.
  Joshua teaches us that faith “is the victory that overcomes the world” (1
  John 5:4).

Application to Christians:

• Moses has been seen as a type of Christ as ruler, leading His people through the wilderness, with the Promised Land in view. But Joshua is a type of Christ in resurrection, establishing His people in their heavenly inheritance. For this reason Joshua's experience in Chapter 5:13-15 is important. When a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn, Joshua asked him, "Are you friend or foe?" But the answer was, “Neither one, I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
• Another analogy is that Moses represents the law which can bring us only so far, but Joshua representing grace is required to bring us to salvation:
• Galatians 3:24: Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
• John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

• The Book of Joshua gives us, in type, the subject of the Epistle to the Ephesians. The journey across the desert had come to an end, and the children of Israel had now to cross the Jordan led by a new guide, and to take possession of the land of promise, driving out the enemies who dwelt there. It is the same for us. The heavenly places are our Canaan, into which we enter by the power of the Spirit of God, who unites us to an ascended Christ and seats us together in Him in the glory. But, meanwhile, we have to fight the fight of faith against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, in order to appropriate every inch of ground that God has given us to inherit.
  
  Ephesians 6:12: For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
  
• The crossing of the Jordan is a picture of a Christian reckoning on his death and resurrection with Christ and moving into the place of growth and victory.
• The key concept of the book of Joshua is possession through conflict by the power of Yahweh, the Captain of the Lord’s host. In this regard, it is also like Ephesians, for though we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, we must realistically face the fact of our enemies (Ephesians 6:12) and strengthen ourselves by putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-11-18). It is important to realize that Israel’s ownership of the land was unconditional under the Abrahamic covenant, but possession of the land was conditional upon faith and obedience. And so today, conflict and conquest by faith go with laying hold of that which we have positionally in Christ; the experience of our blessings in Christ comes through faith in the midst of conflict.
• The conquests of Canaan portray the Christian’s conflicts with the enemies of the world, the flesh and Satan:
• (a) Taking Jericho pictures victory over the satanic world system that resists our spiritual progress.
• b) The defeat and then victory at Ai illustrates our struggle with and deliverance over the sinful nature and attempt to live the Christian life in our own strength.
• (c) The deception of and experience with the Gibeonites illustrates the deceptions of false religions and the compromises of the world.
• Remember that the Greek name Jesus simply translates the Hebrew name Joshua. Their names are identical. Whatever Israel received in the Promised Land, they received through the hand of Joshua; whatever we receive from God we receive through Jesus Christ, our Joshua.
• I will be with you: Victory is assured not because Joshua is a great leader, or because Israel is a great nation, but because God is a great God, and He says to Joshua, I will be with you. This is enough for any man seeking to do God's will.
• Joshua shows us how to face the challenges that life throws at us and how to deal with the roadblocks
  thrown up to thwart our success – as husbands and wives, as fathers and mothers, as witnesses
  to Christ.
• God has given us a mission that can’t fail because he won’t. God had already given them the land; it was their responsibility now to step out by faith and claim it. You Have An Inheritance That Is SURE. All that we need is in Christ. We are seated with Him and Blessed in Him in the heavenlies. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. He has made us to be more than conquerors. He is the author and perfector of our faith. What more do you need to know that you can live a victorious, joyful life, regardless of the circumstances.
• Where are you in your life’s journey?
1. In Egypt, still in slavery to sin, and you need to be saved.
2. In the wilderness, redeemed, but going nowhere other than in circles - not much closer to God than you were the day you got saved.
3. In Canaan, excited, growing, having the joy of the Lord. They’re not a wilderness wanderer, but a giant conqueror! You struggle with enemies, with the flesh, but you are in the Word, living your life and home in Jesus Christ.
4. An “EASTSIDER”; living on the dead side of Jordan. You are saved, but in the world, living for the flesh, for what you think is right. Occasionally you eat some of the milk and honey from the Lord. You cattle are well fed. You probably have money. But your family is falling apart; there is sin at the door. Satan is having a heyday stealing your inheritance.

Parallels to Christ: Joshua has been regarded as a type of Christ (Hebrews 4:8) in the following particulars:

1. In the name common to both.
2. Joshua brings the people into the possession of the Promised Land, as Jesus brings his people to the heavenly Canaan.
3. As Joshua succeeded Moses, so the Gospel succeeds the Law.

Information about Joshua in Exodus, Numbers and Hebrews:

• Exodus 17:9-10, 13-14: Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
• We’re never really given much of a background on Joshua – he just suddenly appears on the scene in Exodus 17 as a trusted aid to Moses and leader.
• Exodus 24:13,17: So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
• Exodus 33:11: Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.
• Here we see in Joshua a young man who learned from Moses what it means to have fellowship with God. Joshua must have begun by admiring Moses, which drove him to search for the secret of Moses’ life. He found it, made it the driving force of his life and clung to it to the end of his life.
• Numbers 11:26-29: A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!”
• Numbers 13:16: These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
• Numbers 14:6: Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.
• Numbers 27:18-19: The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.
• Numbers 34:17: “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun are the men designated to divide the grants of land among the people.
• Deuteronomy 1:38: Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it.
• Deuteronomy 3:28: Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’
• Deuteronomy 31:23: Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
• Deuteronomy 34:9: Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
• Hebrews 4:8: Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.