BHB006
Joshua
"The Conquering of Canaan"
Key Verse: Joshua 11:23.
"So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by the tribes. Thus the land had rest from war."
Key Word: "Possess."
Key Theme: The faithfulness of God revealed.
Introduction.
The book of Joshua connects easily with the book of Deuteronomy, in many ways it is an extention of that story as well as an extention of the whole of the Pentateuch.The Pentateuch delivers the promises of God to his people whereas the book of Joshua reveals the fulfillment of those promises through the conquest of the land of Canaan.
Moses led the people of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and Joshua leads the nation in to blessing by conquering the land of Canaan which would ultimately become their homeland. The exploits of the people in their conquering of Canaan expresses their obedience and total faith in an all powerful God. The first seven years of the conquest of Canaan is recorded in chapters 1-12 while chapters 13-24 reflects how the land was divided up among the tribes.
Outline of Joshua
Ch.1. Israel`s one book bible.
Ch.2. The two Spies/Rahad.
Ch.3. The crossing of the Jordan river.
Ch.4. Memorial Stones.
Ch.5. The Passover celebration.
Ch.6. The destruction of Jericho.
Ch.7-8. The destruction of Ai and Bethel.
Ch.8:30-35. The law recorded.
Ch.9-10. The Sun stands still. ( The battle at Gibeon).
Ch.11. The defeat of the Northern Kings.
Ch.12. A list of conquered kings in Canaan.
Ch.13-22. The land divided- the tribes of Israel rewarded.
Ch.23-24. Joshua`s last words to the tribes.
Themes
- The Conquering of the land of Canaan.
- The crossing of the river Jordan.
- Jericho destroyed.
- Destruction of the Canaanite armies.
- The miracle of the Sun that stood still.
- The Division of the land among the tribes of Israel.
Title
The title given to the book Joshua (Yehoshua - Yahweh is salvation) is the name Moses gave him, originally Joshua`s name was Hoshea which means "salvation". Numbers 13:8,16 and Deuteronomy 32:44. At times Joshua is called "Yeshua" which is a form of the name "Yeoshua". This is the Hebrew words which is the equivelent of the greek name Jesous or Jesus. it is a very important name for it reflects the inner meaning of the task of a Saviour.
Authorship
Jewish tradition assigns Joshua as the author of this book which reflects his leadership of the children of Israel. There are three historical facts that where probably inserted later in time, possibily by someone who was a judge.
1.The capture of Ontiel. (ch.15:13-19).
2.The migration of the tribe of Dan to the North. (ch.19:47).
3.The death and burial of Joshua. (ch.24:29-33).
Date
The book covers a sequence of events that took place probably between the 1405-1380 B.C. Joshua died about 1380 B.C.
Canaanite religion from tablets discovered at Ras Sharma revealed them to be brutial, unjust, corrupt their worship activities included infant sacrifice, serpent worship, male and female prostitution. God used the nation of Israel to bring His judgement on their wicket ways and to re-establish His truth.
That truth would be revealed to the nation albeit in a progressive way through the sacrifical system, the keeping of the law of Moses and the temple worship. Eventually joshua who is a type of Christ for his name means, " God is salvation" intorduced the nation to the concept of the coming messiah who would perfectly lead the nation into spiritual victory and holy living.