An Overview of Joshua

Joshua’s Placement in the Bible

• The Jewish canon is divided into The Law, The Prophets, and the Writings. Joshua is contained in The Prophets
• In the Christian canon, Joshua is usually considered to be a historical book.
• David Dorsey includes Joshua as part of the historical conclusion of the books of the law, which is covered from Numbers 10:11 through Joshua 24:33
• Follows Deuteronomy, precedes Judges

Dating of the books

Deuteronomy: 1400 B.C

Joshua: 1400 B.C. to 1382 B.C.

Judges: roughly 1382 BC to 1065 BC

Deuteronomy

• This book emphasizes the exclusive claims of YHWH, the covenant God of Israel.
  • Second giving of the law
  • Blessings and curses of obedience
  • Proceeded by recitation of God’s work for His people; mercy throughout the desert
• After 40 years in the desert, focus is forward-looking.
  • anticipates a central location for worship, once Israel takes the land.
  • “the land,” is a word that is mentioned over a hundred times in this book.
• Deuteronomy is one of the most frequently quoted books of the Old Testament in the New. Jesus quotes it frequently—if Jesus had a favorite book, wouldn’t you want to read it? Wouldn’t you want to understand it, and love it?

Joshua

• The book of Joshua is a book filled with strenuous warfare, and yet the Bible clearly teaches us that it is a book that points toward rest.

Judges

• it is a book of cycles, a book of ups and downs.
• It is a book that contains astonishing heroism and appalling grotesqueries
• Itemizes some of the great works of faith that the great heroes of the faith performed.
• The Bible describes the flaws of most of these heroes—but the Bible describes them in heroic terms nonetheless.
• Some of these exploits were acts of triumph and conquest, and others were acts of sacrifice and martyrdom, but all of them were empowered by faith.
• Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah, were all men of faith. Because the book of Judges is so grim, and because there is so much unfaithfulness in it, we sometimes fail to recognize how much actual success was achieved in the book. Ehud gave the people peace for eighty years (Judg. 3:30). Gideon gave them peace for forty years (Judg. 8:28).

Joshua’s Organization

David Dorsey

Overview

• Wilderness journey: Numbers 10:11-21:20
• conquest of Transjordan under Moses: Numbers 21:21-3:29
• Moses exhortation to serve Yaweh in light of lessons from Yaweh’s past blessings and punishments: Deut. 4-11
• Laws of life in Canaan: Deut. 12-26
• Moses exhortation to serve Yaweh in light of the prospects of Yaweh’s future blessings or punishments: Deut. 27-34
• Conquest of Canaan under Joshua: Joshua 1-12
• Allocation of Canaan: Joshua 13-24

Joshua

• Initial success in entering Canaan: Joshua 1-8
• Israel’s conquest of the rest of Canaan: Joshua 9-12
• Allotment of the land of Canaan: Joshua 13-24

Doug Wilson

• Crossings 1-5
• Conquest 6-12
• Allocation 13-21
• Worship 22-24

Dale Ralph Davis

• Entering the Land: Joshua 1-4
• Taking the Land: Joshua 5-12
• Possessing the Land: Joshua 13-21
• Retaining the Land: Joshua 22-24

Themes of Joshua

Holy-ness

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train1 of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” – Isaiah 6:1-7

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is pan open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” – Romans 3:10-18

Holy War

When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction. – Joshua 8: 24-26

I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, reach holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” – Revelation 5:6-10

Holy Rest

“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 tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” – Joshua 11:23

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4