Introduction to Joshua

Moses was barred from bringing the people into the promised land (Num 20:2-13; 27;12-14; Deut 1:34-40; 3:23-28; 4:21-22; 32:48-52), but Joshua was appointed as the successor to Moses (Deut. 31:7, 14; 34:9; Josh. 1:1) who would do what Moses could not. Note that the text directly connects the two things: Moses’ sin and being barred from going in and Joshua being appointed to succeed Moses. Even at the very end of Deuteronomy it mentions the sentence being carried out—Moses dies on the top of Mt Pisgah with the LORD repeating that he may look at the land from afar but not go over there personally (Deut 34:1-8)—and that is immediately followed by the note that Joshua assumed the mantle of leadership (Deut 34:9).

Traditionally, it has been assumed that Joshua wrote the book that bears his name, as well as the final chapter of Deuteronomy about the death of Moses (Deut 34).

Outline

ESV Study Bible

1. Crossing into the Land (chs. 1–5)
2. Taking the Land (chs. 6–12)
3. Dividing the Land (chs. 13–21)
4. Serving the Lord in the Land (chs. 22–24)

The Ethical Problem of the Conquest

Aspects of the Problem

1. Israel takes land and entire cities from another people.
2. Everything is devoted to destruction (Josh. 6:17, 21).
3. This appears to go beyond “just war”; it raises questions of ethnic cleansing or genocide.
4. The conquest is explicitly commanded by God.

Responses

1. It is no different in principle from the flood or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
2. The Canaanites’ extreme wickedness had reached its appointed measure (Gen. 15:16; Deut. 9:4–5):
   • Idolatry (Deut. 7:1–5; 1 Kings 21:26)
   • Sexual transgressions (Lev. 18:1–5; 20:22–24)
   • Child sacrifice and sorcery (Lev. 18:21; 20:1–5; Deut. 12:31; 18:9–14)
3. “Devoting to destruction” was necessary so the Canaanites would not lead Israel into idolatry and abominable practices (Deut. 20:16–18).
4. Israel, too, faced being “vomited out” of God’s holy land if it followed Canaanite customs (Lev. 18:24–28; 20:22–23). God’s standard applies equally; there is no favoritism based on race or ethnicity.
5. There was opportunity to make peace with Israel (Deut. 20:10–11; Rahab; Josh. 11:19–20).
6. The conquest serves the grand purpose of God’s redemptive history, fulfilled in Christ.

Joshua as a Type of Christ

1. The Name Is the Same

• “Joshua” means “YHWH is salvation.”
• Iēsous is used in the Septuagint and in Hebrews 4:8.
• It is the same name as “Jesus” in the New Testament.

2. The Land Is a Type of Our Heavenly Inheritance

• Land (eretz) (1:2)
• Inheritance (nachalah) (11:23)
• Territory (gebul) (1:4)
• Rest (nuach) (1:13; 21:44; 23:1; cf. Heb. 4:1–11)
• Possession (achuzzah) (22:4)

3. The Conquest Pictures the Day of Judgment

• Revelation 8: the trumpets and the fall of Jericho.
• Revelation 19–20: Christ’s second coming.

4. Joshua Causes the People to Inherit the Land

• “You shall cause this people to inherit the land” (1:6).
• This reflects the king’s duty to keep the law (Deut. 17:18–20; 1 Kings 9:1–9).
• Joshua has a kingly role “at their head” (Deut. 31:3).
• He is commanded to obey God’s law (1:7–8; cf. Ps. 1:2–3).
• Joshua is pessimistic about the people (24:19–20, 31; cf. Deut. 31:29).

New Testament Quotations and Allusions to Joshua

Joshua	New Testament
Joshua	Heb. 4:8: “If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on” (Ps. 95:7–11).
Rahab	Matt. 1:5: the genealogy of the Messiah.
1:5	Heb. 13:5: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
2:1ff.	James 2:25: “Was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (cf. Heb. 11:31).
3:14	Acts 7:45: The tent of witness—the ark of the covenant—was “brought in” to the land under Joshua.
6:4, 6	Rev. 8: the seven trumpets of judgment.
6:20	Heb. 11:30: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down …”
6:17, 22–25	Heb. 11:31: “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
11:4	Rev. 20:8: The nations gathered against the people of God: “their number like the sand on the sea.”
14:1ff.	Acts 13:19: “… [God] gave them their land as an inheritance.”
23:9; 24:18	Acts 13:19: “After destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan …”
24:32	John 4:5; Acts 7:15–16: Shechem.