The Book of Joshua

READ: JOSHUA 1:1-9; 3:7-17; 6:12-20; 23:1-11

Have you ever read the book of Joshua? It starts right after Moses dies and the Israelites are finished wandering the desert for forty years. They’re finally ready to enter the Promised Land—the land of Canaan, which God had promised to give them generations ago. The beginning of this book shows that, though Joshua is a new leader, he is like Moses was for the people of Israel. Joshua sends spies to scout out the Promised Land in Joshua 2, like Moses did in Numbers 13:2. And Joshua has the Israelites cross the Jordan River in Joshua 3, similar to how Moses had the people cross the Red Sea in Exodus 14.

Once they’re in the Promised Land, the Israelites have several battles with the people who are already living there. One of their early battles is against Jericho, and God tells Israel to do a lot of marching and not much fighting. Then God destroys the city walls, and in this way Israel defeats Jericho. This actually shows how God is the one fighting these battles, not the Israelites. And through each battle, God is teaching them to trust Him and be obedient to His commands because He loves them, and He is working on their behalf.

The latter part of the book of Joshua records how they divide up the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. This can seem like a long, boring list for us readers today, but for the Israelites, receiving this land was part of God’s promise to their forefather Abraham, and they got to see this portion of the promise come true (Genesis 12:7; 17:8).

At the very end of the book, Joshua gives speeches—not unlike the speeches Moses gave at the end of Deuteronomy. Joshua calls the Israelites to a life of faithfulness and obedience to God. This life of faithfulness and the victories it produces point us toward Jesus.

Jesus is the Son of God, and He is also a descendent of Abraham. Only Jesus could be completely obedient to God the Father, and through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave, He won the final victory over sin and death. And, just as the Israelites got to see a portion of God’s promise fulfilled when they received their land in Canaan, we’ll get to see how Jesus completely fulfills God’s promise of restoration for the whole earth (Hebrews 4:8-9; Revelation 21:1-5). • Naomi Zylstra

• Where do you see God’s faithfulness in the book of Joshua? And what questions do you have?

• Can you think of any ways you’ve seen God’s faithfulness in your own life?

“But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.” Joshua 23:8 (NIV)