GET READY
Joshua was the leader who followed Moses and led the Israelites in conquering Canaan. In Hebrew his name is pronounced “Yeh-shoo-uh” and means “Lord our Salvation.” The Greek form of Joshua is “Jesus.”
Author
Most scholars believe that Joshua or someone close to him (such as one of the priests) wrote most of this book. Obviously someone other than Joshua wrote the final section describing his death and burial. At the same time, the description and detail of the book points to an author who was actually a participant in the events. The book probably reached its finished form fairly soon after Joshua’s death (which is commonly accepted as about 1375 BC).
Context
The book begins with God telling Joshua: My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites,[1:2].
After forty years in the desert the Israelites are poised to enter the land God promised Abraham. The years have hardened them and built them into a nation and an army. Joshua and his lieutenant, Caleb, are the only men still alive who walked out of Egypt with Moses (who died because he disobeyed God at Meribath-kadesh [Deut 32:51]).
The generally accepted date is 1406 BCE. Most authorities agree that the conquest of Canaan took twenty-five years (an Egyptian record of Merenptah from c. 1200 BCE refers to Israel as an established nation).
Structure
Joshua has four main sections:
- Opening: a brief introduction of Joshua and God’s directive: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,[1:9].
- Military Campaign: the narrative account of Joshua’s leadership of the Israelite conquest of Canaan [chapters 1-12].
- Distribution of the land: a detailed description of the division and distribution of the land to the twelve tribes of Israel, including the Cities of Refuge and the Levite towns [chapters 13-21].
- Conclusion: Joshua’s last years and his final message to the people [chapters 22-24].
Major Themes
Even though Joshua is primarily a history of the conquest of Canaan, the book contributes to our understanding of God and faith.
- Trust: Joshua trusted God’s promise to be with him [1:5, 9] throughout the campaign. The Israelites were successful when they trusted God and Joshua; they failed utterly when they did not trust.
- Faithfulness: God warns Joshua to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go,[1:7]. God wanted to eliminate the idolatry of the Canaanites because he knew that trying to mix true and false religion will lead to turning away from worshipping God. At the end of the book Joshua challenges his people to choose who they will worship – as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, [24:15].
- Preparation: At the very start of the campaign Joshua gives the Israelites three days to “get their provisions ready,” [1:11]. There are two aspects of preparation: the first is prayer – making sure we know what God is directing us to do, and the second is the physical planning and preparation of provisions and weapons – which even includes strategic offensives, night marches and trumpets [actually ram’s horns, 6:3]. Joshua was successful because he trusted God, but he was also a smart military planner and leader.
Joshua is unusual in that it includes the failures as well as the victories, the scoundrels along with the heroes.
The book also includes the detailed (almost legalistic) distribution of the land among the tribes. Here is one example: And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son; and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh, and ends at En-rogel; then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim; then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim), [Josh 15:5-10].
GET INTO THE WORD
1. Who wrote this book? When was it most likely written? What is the author’s position with the people? Who is his boss? Why is his name significant?
2. What is the situation as the book opens? What is the challenge for the writer? What is the challenge for the people? How have they prepared for this challenge?
3. What are the major parts of the book? Who is the central figure in the narrative? Who is the real commander of this campaign?
4. Why do you suppose the author included the detailed description of the distribution of the land? What does this tell us about God’s plan for the Israelites? What might it tell us about God’s plan for our lives?
5. What does Joshua teach about God and faith? What are the major themes of this book? What does the book teach us about God’s purposes for his people? How might these teachings apply to the church today? How might they apply in our daily lives?
NOTES . . .
Major events of the conquest of Canaan:
- Spies are sent into Jericho.
- Israel crosses the Jordan (Note that God again stops the water so the people can cross).
- Israel circumcises all the men.
- Jericho is destroyed.
- Achan sins and is punished.
- Ai is destroyed.
- Joshua renews the Mosaic covenant.
- The Gibeonites trick Israel and are not killed.
- The sun stands still and Israel defeats the Amorites.
- Israel defeats five kings.
- Israel defeats the northern kings.
- Israel does not conquer all of the Canaanite rulers, although God promises Joshua he will complete the conquest.
Things devoted to destruction:
God had said that an individual or property involved in idolatry must be destroyed: A person specially set apart by the Lord for destruction cannot be redeemed. Such a person must be put to death, [Lev 27:29]. God wanted to keep the Israelites from being infected by the Canaanites’ sin.
14: Jericho taken and destroyed — Joshua 6:1-25
GET READY
What’s the most unusual or difficult project you’ve had to tackle recently? How did you prepare for your work? Who did you consult about good approaches? Did you get any weird advice? How did you react to it? Did you follow it? How did things work out?
THE WORD
6Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. 2The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers.3 You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, 4 with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. 5When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” 6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”
8 As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 10 To the people Joshua gave this command: “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.
12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 21 Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her — they brought all her kindred out — and set them outside the camp of Israel. 24 They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. NRSV
GET INTO THE WORD
1. Who is in charge of the campaign against Jericho? How does God direct Joshua to attack the city? What do you suppose he thought about the plan? How would you have responded?
2. What does Joshua tell the people about the plan? How do you suppose they felt when they heard it? What sort of questions might they have asked Joshua?
3. How did the people respond to the plan? How many days did the plan take to carry out? What do you think they did when they weren’t marching around the city?
4. What was different about the seventh day? How many times did they march around the city? Why is this number significant [see Notes]? What did the people do after the last circuit of the city? What happened then?
5. What did Joshua direct the Israelites to do after they had taken Jericho? What happened to the people? To their livestock? To their possessions? Why was this drastic action necessary [see Notes]?
6. Who was the only group spared in the destruction of the city? Why were they not killed? What happened to the family [see Notes]?
GET PERSONAL
When you face a difficult situation do you ask God to be on your side – or do you seek to be on God’s side? Are you currently involved in one of God’s “crazy” campaigns to extend his kingdom? What keeps you going even though it looks like it will never work?
NOTES . . .
6:1. Jericho— the town is already more than 4,000 years old when the Israelites arrive. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world because it sits on the major north-south trade route at the entrance to the pass into the interior of
Palestine.
6:2. I have handed — God makes his promise to Joshua specific regarding Jericho – but then gives Joshua a battle plan that appears to be absolute nonsense. Even though it goes against all his military experience, Joshua doesn’t even wince. He gathers his priests and leaders and repeats God’s instructions.
6:3. March around — Jericho was not a very large city at the time — soldiers could easily march around it in less than a day.
6:4. Seven — Biblical writers use “seven” as the symbol for completeness.
Ark — God will lead the campaign against Jericho by his presence in the Ark of the Covenant, just as he led the Israelites during the Exodus.
Ram’s horn [Hebrew “Shophar”] — a type of trumpet made from the horn of a ram; it was a ritual horn used primarily for summoning people or leading them (as here), not for music.
6:17. Devoted to the Lord for destruction — see Note above.
6:23. Rahab — Joshua honored the spies’ promise to Rahab and her family [get the details at Joshua 2:]. They were placed outside the Israelites’ camp in accor-dance with the Mosaic Law on cleanli-ness. Rahab’s faith saved her family and put her in the Messianic line [check Matt 1:5].
Memory Verse
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, [Joshua 24:15].
Next Lesson:
Judges 4: Deborah and Barak
This reminds me of Sodom and Gomorrah; It is so difficult to me to think that a whole nation/city could be evil; everyone. Talk about being judged by the the company you keep–imagine some poor soul traveling through and he is destroyed with everyone else just because he was there. Wrong place at the wrong time? Was God just showing his power? Does this make the people worship because of fear instead of love of God?