Joshua-Introduction
Men of the Bible (MOB)
The Book of Joshua
Introduction
The epistle written to the first century Hebrew Christians, those people lived their lives within the traditions of the Jewish religion, to some degree, following the written laws. Although immature in their faith, they acknowledged Jesus Christ as the promised messiah of their holy scriptures. After only a short period of time they began to doubt that merely placing their faith in Jesus was sufficient to secure their salvation. While the legalistic traditions and rituals of animal sacrifices were concrete and tangible, “Faith” was something they couldn’t quantify, nor could they exhibit it to their neighbors. Many began to revert back to their old ways.
The writer of Hebrews clearly showed that following the Old Testament rituals was never, in itself, truly pleasing to the Lord. A single, intangible emotion, faith, was the key that opened the door to eternal life and a personal relationship with our Creator and Sustainer.
A cursory look at the historical events of the Old Testament could easily misguide us to believe that the acts and deeds of the Old Testament heroes is what won their favor with the Lord. But as we look beyond the surface of these stories, we learn that the consistent thread has always been, and will always be, “faith.”
The first reading of the book of Joshua reveals a great warrior, an inspiring leader, and a brilliant military strategist. Surely his great accomplishments won him a special place in God’s heart. But as we dissect his story, we discover the truth. Once again, it was through faith and trust in the Lord, that Joshua won the Lord’s favor. And only because of his obedience to the Lord, did Joshua become a great leader and a victorious conqueror.
As an introduction to this study, I’d like to briefly review where this story fits, historically and chronologically, within the Old Testament. I’ll give you a little background as to who Joshua was, and how he came to be trusted as Moses’ successor, the man who would lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. And finally, I’d like to mention some of the key events in this book, which we will study in depth over the next seven months.
Joshua is the sixth book of the Old Testament. The first five books are commonly know as the “books of Moses” or the Torah in the Hebrew religion. The sixth book is the conclusion of the story, and flows so smoothly from the end of fifth book, Deuteronomy, that many Bible scholars treat the book of Joshua as an integral part of the foundation of the rest of the Bible.
To comprehend the perspective of the Joshua story, let’s go back about seven hundred years (approximately 21 centuries before Christ) to the story of Abraham and God’s covenant with him. In Genesis 12, the concept of the covenant between God and His people is one of the most important theological truths of the Bible. By making a covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless his descendants and to make them His special people. Abraham, in return, was to remain faithful to God and to serve as a channel through which God's blessings could flow to the rest of the world. Let’s look at Genesis, Chapter 12, Verse 1
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3 NASB)
God promised Abraham that his descendants would be given the promised land. The covenant continues in Chapter 17 of Genesis. Let’s look at God’s words in Genesis 17, Verse 6:
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.
7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8 I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. (Gen. 17:6 - 9 NASB)
Abraham had two sons, Ishmael, the son of a maid servant, Haggar, and Isaac, his son by his wife Sarah. Ishmael is recognized today as the father of the Arab nations. Isaac continues Abraham’s lineage of the Hebrew nation. Isaac also had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau’s lineage, the Edomites, enemies of the Israelites, will play a part a little later in this story. Jacob, whose name was changed by God to “Israel,” had twelve sons from four different wives, the descendants of which were identified throughout the book of Joshua, and throughout the New Testament as the twelve tribes.
The story of Jacob’s four wives helps us understand the relationship of the twelve brothers. Very briefly, Jacob was infatuated with Rachel, the younger daughter of Laban, actually Jacob’s uncle. Jacob proposed a deal with Laban, “I’ll work for you for seven years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage.” Laban agreed. After seven years of service, Jacob claimed his bride, but Laban instead tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter, Leah. Laban would force Jacob to serve him for another seven years to earn Rachel’s hand. Leah bore Jacob four sons. After intermittent periods of infertility by both wives, Jacob married two slave women, who each bore two sons. After Leah’s fertility was reestablished, she had two more sons. Finally, Rachel, Jacob’s true love, became fertile, and bore two sons, Joseph and Benjamin.
All this gives us some insight as to why Jacob favored Joseph, and why Joseph’s brothers were madly jealous. As a result of this jealousy, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Through a series of events over decades, the entire Israelite nation became enslaved in Egypt. (around eighteen centuries before Christ.)
There the Hebrew nation remained for four hundred years, until the Lord raised up Moses as a profit who would lead the Israelites out of slavery.
Two hundred-fifty years earlier, Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation, was promised by God “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you......... I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” God’s promise was taught to every descendant of Abraham. These words became the sustaining force to the entire nation of Israel. Two and a half centuries later, the Israelites found themselves enslaved in Egypt. But God’s promise, “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession,” remained in the hearts of the Israelites. As difficult and cruel as their lives were as slaves, they endured with the hope of God’s promise. As we Christian today wait for our Lord to rapture us, so the Jews waited to be redeemed.
But months of slavery turned into years. Years turned into centuries. Surely these people felt abandoned by God. After four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, only the most faithful held on to the hope that God would keep His promise.
Then one day the word spread around the camps. A Hebrew man, raised by none other than the pharaoh’s daughter, killed an Egyptian soldier who was beating a Hebrew slave. Could this be the redeemer? Barely flickering hopes were rekindled. How could we have ever doubted God’s faithfulness?
But Moses, in fear for his life, fled Egypt, and was not heard of in Egypt for forty years. Again, hopes of redemption faded.
As the conditions in the slave camps went from bad to worse, the Hebrews groaned in misery. God heard their cries, and remembered His promise to them.
Let’s turn in our Bibles to Exodus, Chapter 3.
Moses, now a sheep herder in Midian, saw a strange site. A bush on a hill seemed to be burning.
Beginning in Verse 4 - “God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey... (Exodus 3:4-8)
A couple verses later - verse 10 - The Lord told Moses “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10)
Moses, with the promise of God’s guidance, returned to Egypt. With each plague, the Hebrews hearts soared with new hope that this would be the key to their freedom. But time after time, Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Hopes faded, and their slavery continued.
Finally, the tenth plague reigned over Egypt. The firstborn of every family would die. As the angel of death swept through the country, Pharaoh relinquished. “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said.” (Exodus 12:31)
But again, hopes rose and fell like the tides. At the Red Sea, seeing the cloud of dust from the approaching Egyptian army, the people cried out “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11)
And again, the Lord provided for His people. The Red Sea opened, and the entire nation of Israel crossed the sea on dry land. As the Egyptian’s followed, Moses lowered his staff, and the entire Egyptian army was drowned.
Surely the experience of crossing the Red Sea between vertical walls of water would be enough to establish an enduring faith. When they were hungry, God supplied them manna, and when thirsty, He gave them water from a rock. Despite seeing all these things, after only a few weeks of Moses’ absence, their hopes faded and they reverted to idol worship.
The Lord was angry, and solemnly swore: “not a man of this evil generation (including Moses) shall obtain the good land I swore to give to your forefathers. Of the estimated one million adults who experienced the exodus from Egypt, only Caleb and Joshua would live to enter the promised land (Deut. 1:30-38) The nation of Israel was condemned to spend the next forty years wondering in the wilderness.
Now let me paint a picture for you. The Jordan River separated the Israelites from the Promised Land. Unlike almost every river in the world, the Jordan does not empty into an ocean. This river empties into a land locked lake called the Dead Sea (also known as the Great Salt Sea.) To enter the Promised Land, all they had to do was go around the Dead Sea to the south. Sounds logical, pretty simple solution, only one thing stood in their way - the Edomites. But this enemy tribe, the descendants of Esau, refused to let the Israelites pass through their land.
More travels, more battles, and still the nation of Israel was separated from the promised land by the Jordan River. The Jordan is not one of the great rivers of the world. An average man could throw a stone from one bank and hit the other side. The currents are mild, and most of us could swim across the river in ten minutes.
But this river represented an impenetrable barrier. The Promised Land would not be possessed until God’s time was right.
This takes us to the last chapter of Deuteronomy, where we will begin the study of the book of Joshua. Moses, now 120 years, but not sick or weak, was lead by God to the top of Mount Nebo, where he could see the Promised Land. The Lord said, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham...” There Moses died and the command of the Nation of Israel passed to Joshua.
Turn now to Chapter 1 of Joshua.
Let me recap this story. Seven hundred years ago God made a promise to Abraham “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” For four hundred of those years, the nation was enslaved in Egypt. After the exodus from Egypt, the nation wondered forty more years in the wilderness. Seven hundred years of hopes rising and falling. Disappointment after disappointment.
Now, put yourselves in the sandals of the officers of the Hebrew Nation. If you get nothing else from this introduction this morning, imagine the emotions of these men as they heard Joshua’s words, (1:11)
Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’ ”
Before we cover some of the highlights this great book, let’s discuss who was this man, Joshua, and why he was selected to lead the nation of Israel as Moses’ successor?
Like so many of the noted biblical figures, Joshua’s name was changed. As the son of Nun, born in slavery in Egypt, his given name was Hoshea, which means “salvation.” Moses changed his name (Num. 13:16) to Joshua, in Hebrew Yahoshua, which translates “Jehovah is salvation.” In the lineage down from Jacob, Joshua was a descendant of Joseph’s second son, Ephraim.
Toward the end of the Book of Exodus, Joshua makes his first appearance in scriptures. Moses appointed Joshua to lead the Israelites in the battle against the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16). This brief story is a foreshadowing of Joshua’s service. In this battle, the Israelites victory or defeat was directly attributable to God, as the Israelites were victorious only when Moses appealed to God for help by holding up his hands.
Later in Exodus, as a servant of Moses, Joshua accompanied Moses part way up Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Joshua was the first to meet Moses on his return, carrying the stone tablets. (Ex 24:13 & 32:17)
Early in the Book of Deuteronomy, in a dramatic scene, Moses pleaded with God to let him enter the Promised Land beyond the Jordan River. This pleading angered God, and God instructed Moses to climb to a vantage point where he could see the Promised Land. Then God ordered Moses to commission Joshua and to encourage and strengthen him to succeed Moses as the one who would lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. (Deut. 3:21-29)
As we progress through the Book of Joshua, we will see that the single character trait of Joshua’s that qualified him for this great task was his faith. A faith so committed that he continually sought God’s guidance and dutifully followed His every instruction.
Let’s take a look at some of the stories we’ll study in this book.
In Chapter 2, prior to the crossing of the Jordan, Joshua sent in two spies to look over the land, especially Jericho. We’re not told why, I’m sure it was for some spiritual reason, but we find our two spies at the home of a prostitute named Rahab. The King of Jericho, hearing rumors of the two spies, sent a posse to find and kill them. When the posse arrived at her house, Rahab cleverly hid the men, and lied, telling the pursuers that the spies had been there but had left. Probably having never done a noble thing in her life, why did this women risk her life to protect these spies? Could she have somehow truly understood the power of the God of Israel? As a result of her loyalty, when the entire population of Jericho was destroyed, she and all her family were spared.
In Chapter 3, we come to where Israel crosses the Jordan River. Joshua told the people to follow the priests carrying the arc of the covenant. It was spring, and the Jordan was at flood stage. Joshua instructed the priests to begin walking into the river. When they placed their feet in the river, the water from upstream stopped flowing, and piled up in a heap a distance upstream, while the water flowing downstream flowed away, leaving a wide stretch of the dry river bed. The priests remained standing in the Jordan, while forty thousand Israelites, armed for battle, crossed.
This event, much like the crossing of the Red Sea forty years earlier, served two significant purposes. This miraculous event was proof to every Israelite, that the living God was among them, and that He would be their Sustainer in the upcoming battles. We see the second major purpose in the Lord’s words to Joshua in Verse 7 of Chapter 3, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.” (Joshua 3:7 NASB)
In Chapter 5, as Joshua was preparing to battle Jericho, he had an unusual encounter. Let’s look at Chapter 5, Verse 13.
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15 NASB)
Who was this man? We know from Revelation 22:9 that He wasn’t an angel. Moses heard similar words when he approached the burning bush in Exodus 3:4. Why did He deny that He was neither for nor against the Israelites? When we study Chapter 5 we’ll better understand these mysteries.
In Chapter 6 we come to the famed battle of Jericho. Now here’s a strategy that we don’t see employed by our Military leaders today. God instructed the Israelites to have the priests, carrying the arc of the covenant, march around the city once each day, for six days. Now picture this. The arc of the covenant was a finely crafted box, roughly four feet long by two feet high and two feet wide. Four priests carried it by two poles, inserted through rings at the four corners. Now imagine these priest, who probably look about like the Hasidic Rabbis you may see, on any Saturday morning, walking down Yorba Linda Boulevard. Sound intimidating? Maybe the plan was that the people of Jericho would die laughing?
But the reality was, they were dying from fear. The rumors of the powers of the God of the Israelites were well known by now. The people of Jericho did not know what to expect, and rightfully so, they feared the worse.
On the seventh day, the priests marched around the city seven times. The Israelite army surrounded the city of Jericho, the priests blew their rams horns, and the Hebrews shouted. The walls of Jericho, estimated to be twenty five feet high and twenty feet thick, tumbled to the ground. This left the city totally indefensible, and the Israelite army destroyed every living thing (except Rahab and her family.)
Just when we think the Israelites really got this figured out, they encounter the kingdom of Ai, spelled “A” “I”. In Chapter 7, we learn that from a spy report, they believed that Ai could be conquered with only a few thousand men. But the men of Ai routed the Israelites. Now fear gripped the Nation of Israel. Has God forsaken us? What did we do to anger Him? Can we ever again stand against our enemies now that they are no longer intimidated by our God?
Joshua approached the Lord and pleaded. Let’s read Chapter 7, from verse 10.
So the Lord said to Joshua, “Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things.
Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.
Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, “There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst.” (Joshua 7:10-13)
One amongst the Israelites, in complete disregard for God’s instructions, had taken some plunder (gold and silver) from Jericho, and hid it. The only way to cleanse the nation, was to find this offender and kill him and his entire family.
That being done, the army of the Nation of Israel set out again to fight Ai. This time, through a strategic plan, Joshua’s forces totally destroyed Ai, killing every man and women in the city. Was it the strategy that made the difference? The answer then is the same as it is today, as Paul said in Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The next several chapter narrates through numerous battles, and the thirty-one kings defeated by Joshua.
The next nine chapters, Chapters 13 through 21 give us a detailed description of the division of the land between the twelve tribes. I asked John Parker, our senior authority on the Book of Joshua, “how do you handle those chapters?” John’s answer, “They’re dry as dust!” Rather than trudging through them, we’re going to cover all nine of these chapters in one week. Maybe in each small group, a chapter can be assigned to each man, and then he can give a five minute report of the significant points.
As this book, and Joshua’s life draws to an end, Joshua summoned his people together. He reminds the people of what the Lord has done for this nation. Let’s read Chapter 23, from verse 6
Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.
So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God.
For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. (Joshua 23:6-13 NASB)
In the next verse, Joshua adds, “Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)
In 24:13, Joshua echoes God’s words, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13 NASB)
Finally, Joshua challenges the nation of Israel, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve....” Joshua 24:15
Then Joshua responds - anybody - “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
I exhort you, men. Choose for yourselves today, whom will you serve?