Revised by Monica Melanchthon (07/23)
Faithful leadership
The first verse of JoshuaThe successor of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. notes the death of MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai., the great leader of Israel. The people are not left bereft, however. God raises up a new leader, Joshua, who is a second Moses–faithful, strong, courageous, proclaiming the word of God to the people, and leading them to fulfill their covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God’s people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. obligations (1:1-9, 16-18; 3:7; 5:1-15; 8:30-35; 23; 24).
God’s faithfulness
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, after the death of the first generation of Israelites to be freed from slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel finally enter Canaan, the land promised to them by God since the time of AbrahamGod promised that Abraham would become the father of a great nation, receive a land, and bring blessing to all nations. (Genesis 12:1-9). God fulfills God’s promises. This is one of the central claims of the Book of Joshua (Joshua 1:3-6; 21:43-45; 23:14).
God’s presence
The Israelites are successful in their battles because God is with them and fights for them (10:14). The ark of the covenantThe ark of the covenant was a box or chest that God commanded the Israelites to make from wood richly adorned with gold. The ark was built to contain the tablets of the covenant (the Ten Commandments). The ark served as a mobile shrine to… is a sign of the divine presence (3:10-11; 6:6; 8:33). At the very beginning of the book, God promises to be with Joshua just as God was with Moses (1:5, 9; 3:7); in the rest of the book, God keeps that promise.
God’s presence in creation
In keeping with the covenant between Israel and Gibeon, Israel comes to the rescue of Gibeon when five kings attack them for being an ally of Israel. God is an active participant, for God rains huge hailstones upon them and kills many more than those killed by the sword. God is said to have responded to Joshua who commanded that the sun stand still and the moon to stop rising until the nation was avenged (Joshua 10:1-14). Joshua is therefore able to lengthen the battle day. Remarkable as this is, what the story highlights is two things: One is the response of creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and…/nature to Joshua’s request and the second is Joshua’s faith – a faith that can stop the earth from moving until the battle is won. Joshua seems to know that creation can also contribute to and assist in God’s salvific work; for creation too awaits its liberation from pollution and decay. God is present through creation. The story emphasizes the role played by nature in the securing of and the settlement in the land of promise.
The land is God’s gift
Land provides one with a sense of home, identity, and belonging and is a primary capital resource for peoples. For ancient peoples, the allocation of land provided a material aspect to God’s blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God’s favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God.. The land sworn to Abraham is fertile – a land of “promise” and this land stands like a fulcrum in the relationship between God and Israel, testifying to both God and the people of Israel. In it, the Israelites were to live in obedience to their God. This obedience serves as both the purpose and condition of the promise of land. The promise that the land holds will thus be realized only when Israel lives a life of obedience to God’s covenant, to justice and equity. “The Lord has given you this city!” (6:16). Along with this affirmation came instructions which were to be obeyed. The land and the cities within it are gifts of God to the Israelites.
Justice for all
Israel was put into the world for the sake of justice and hence was obliged to do justice. Doing justice is an identity marker of Israel and is of special importance. It was theologically intentional and a required practice to attend to the needs of those who were poor and weak – a covenantal obligation. The riches and social assets of the land are understood as common resources that are to be managed and deployed for the enhancement of the community by the empowerment of its weakest and most disadvantaged members. This specific and radical command to do justice is to characterize the whole life of Israel. The story of Achan illustrates the public quality of this demand – for Achan withheld for private purposes the goods of the community, and so did enormous damage to the community (Joshua 7). The public good requires that active social power must be mobilized to augment the entire community and to resist personal enhancement of some at the expense of the others.
Obedience
God calls for obedience on the part of the people. They are told to march around Jericho in a manner no military commander would have devised; but when they obey, they are rewarded with victory (Joshua 6). On the other hand, when they disobey the Lord’s commands (as does Achan in chapter 7), God punishes them. Obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings punishment (23:14-16).
Passing on the faith
Joshua, like Deuteronomy before it, emphasizes the need to pass on the faith to the next generation (see Deuteronomy 4:9-10; 6:4-9). The stones at Gilgal are to serve as a teaching tool for telling generations to come about the parting of the Jordan’s waters (4:5-7, 19-24; see also 8:35; 22:24-29).
Providence
Deuteronomy states that God chose Israel as the Lord’s people not because they were more numerous than any other people, but because God loved them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Joshua continues that theme. God promises to give the people the land in fulfillment of God’s promises to their ancestors, and not because of anything they have done themselves (Joshua 1:3; 24:13). God’s love and gracious providence for God’s people is also evident in the provision of manna that sustained the Israelites through the many years of wandering in the wilderness until they arrived in the land. When Joshua took charge and began to prepare the people for entry into Canaan, and having entered the land, this material substance of divine providence ceased, and the Israelites had to confront the harsh realities that came with settlement and the preparation of the land for living and for life. God’s providence was still available to the Israelites but perhaps in other ways.
Honoring life!
Joshua 20:1-9 speaks of the establishment of the cities of refuge. The land was apportioned to the tribes; much of the Canaanite territory had been occupied; and now it was time to implement the command given by Moses in Numbers 35:1-34. Six cities were to be appointed as cities of refuge for those who had killed accidentally, as a safe haven until a public trial decided on the issue. This was a divine mandate that recognized that offenders deserve to be punished but those who killed accidentally deserve mercyMercy is a term used to describe leniency or compassion. God’s mercy is frequently referred to or invoked in both the Old and New Testaments. and a fair trial. These cities were strategically located on both sides of the Jordan; they provided asylum, safety, and security. The manslayer stays in the city of refuge—-until the death of the residing High PriestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus., for his death cleared the guilt and restored fellowship in Israel. The cities are therefore a visible and tangible expression of God’s commitment to the created order and to the preservation and maintenance of life.
Covenant loyalty
The book begins with the terms of the covenant being recalled and their implications for taking the land and remaining in it. The elements of God’s commission to Joshua set the stage not only for the conquest account but for the Deuteronomistic HistoryDeuteronomistic history refers to the narrative contained in the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings. This narrative, probably written in the age of Israel’s exile (mid-6th century B.C.E.), recounts Israel’s history prior to the exile. as well. The book ends with the covenant renewal ceremony and Joshua’s final speech preceding this ceremony clearly articulates the absolute necessity of faithfulness to the laws for maintaining possession of the land. The Book of Joshua calls the Israelites, and later readers of the book, to covenant loyalty. The most powerful articulation of that call comes at the end of the book, in Joshua 24:15, “Choose this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my householdA household is a living unit comprised of all the persons who live in one house. A household would embrace all the members of a family, including servants and slaves. In the book of Acts, stories are told of various persons and their households, like…, we will serve the LORD”–though, a careful reading of the text makes clear that such choice takes effect only if Israel refuses to serve the Lord, who has already chosen them. Covenant loyalty entails the rejection of all other gods except the Lord (22:10-29; 23:1-16; 24:1-28).
