Joshua Leads Israel
Joshua sends spies into the land with far better results than when Moses did the same in Numbers 13-14. He leads Israel into the Promised Land and is presented as a new Moses. Chapter 5 serves as a transition where the people are called back to their roots as a covenant people. Joshua's encounter with a warrior who is commander of God's army makes it clear that what lies ahead is God's battle and Israel will serve as spectators.
 
Jericho & AI
Israel first battles with Jericho and Ai (rather witnesses their miraculous destruction). The results of these two battles illustrate God's faithfulness vs. man's failure. Both battles show that Israel had to be obedient and trust God's commands if they were to have victory.
 
Conquering
Beginning in Chapter 9, Israel battles with a number of Canaanite tribes. A few believe, but most conspire together to destroy God's people.
 
Inheritance
In this section, Joshua divides the Promised Land to the 12 Tribes of Israel. This could be somewhat boring until you realize how exacting God is in fulfilling the promise He first made to Abraham.
 
Joshua's Final Words
Joshua reminds Israel of God's promises and His calling to remain faithful. Like in Moses' speech before his death, Joshua calls the people to make a choice between faithfulness or disobedience.

►Joshua / Chapters 1-24

OT/NT (a): Old Testament (1)
 
SECTION (a): Historical Books (2)
 
PLACEMENT (a): Joshua is the sixth book of the Holy Bible (3), the sixth book of the Old Testament and the first of twelve Historical books.
 
TRADITIONAL AUTHOR (b): The Book of Joshua does not explicitly name its author. More than likely Joshua (4), the son of Nun and successor of Moses (5) as leader over Israel (6), penned much of this book. The latter part of the book was written by at least one other person after the death of Joshua. It is also possible that several sections were edited / compiled following Joshua’s death.
 
TIMELINE: The book of Joshua covers events taking place between 1406 BC (7) and 1356 BC (8). See our Bible Timeline (9) for more info.
 
KEY FIGURES: Achan (10), Caleb (11), Eleazar (12),  Joshua, Phinehas (13) and Rahab (14).
 
SUMMARY (b):  The Book of Joshua continues the story of the Israelites after their Exodus from Egypt (15). The book chronicles the approximately 20 years of Joshua’s leadership of the people after Moses anointed him at the end of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 34:9). The twenty-four chapter divisions of the Book of Joshua can be summarized as follows:
 
Chapters   1-12: Entering and conquering the Promised Land (16).
Chapters 13-22: Instructions for distributing the portions of the Promised Land.
Chapters 23-24: Joshua’s farewell address.
 
The story of Rahab the harlot and her great faith (17) in the God (18) of the Israelites gives her a place with those honored for their faith in Hebrews 11:31. Hers is a story of God’s grace (19) to sinners and salvation by faith alone. Most importantly, by God’s grace, she was in the Messianic line (20) (Matthew 1:5).
 
One of the ceremonial rituals of Joshua 5 finds its perfect fulfillment in the New Testament (21). Verses 1-9 describe God’s commandment that those who were born in the wilderness were to be circumcised when they came into the Promised Land. By so doing, God “rolled away the reproach of Egypt” from them, meaning that He cleansed them from the sins (22) of their former life. Colossians 2:10-12 describes believers as having been circumcised in their hearts by Christ (23) Himself, by whom we have put off the sinful nature of our former lives without Christ.
 
God established cities of refuge so that those who accidentally killed someone could live there without fear of retribution. Christ is our refuge to whom we “have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us” (Hebrews 6:18).
 
The Book of Joshua has an overriding theological theme of rest. The Israelites, after wandering in the wilderness (24) for 40 years, finally entered the rest God had prepared for them in the land of Canaan (25). The writer of Hebrews uses this incident as a warning to us not to let unbelief keep us from entering into God’s rest in Christ (Hebrews 3:7-12).
 
APPLYING JOSHUA TO MY LIFE (b): One of the key verses of the Book of Joshua is 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law (26) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” The Old Testament is replete with stories of how the people “forgot” God and His Word (27) and suffered terrible consequences. For the Christian, the Word of God is our lifeblood. If we neglect it, our lives will suffer accordingly. But if we take to heart the principle of verse 1:8, we will be complete and able to be of use in God’s Kingdom (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and we will find that God’s promises in Joshua 1:8-9 will be ours as well.
 
Joshua is a prime example of the benefits of a worthy mentor. For years, he remained close to Moses. He watched Moses as he followed God in an almost flawless manner. He learned to pray in a personal way from Moses. He learned how to obey (28) through the example of Moses. Joshua apparently also learned from the negative example that cost Moses the joy of actually entering the Promised Land. If you are alive, you are a mentor. Someone, somewhere, is watching you. Some younger person or someone that you are influencing is seeing how you live and how you react. Someone is learning from you. Someone will follow your example. Mentoring is far more than the words that are spoken by the mentor. His or her entire life is on display.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES: Explore (29) chapter by chapter summaries!
 
COMING UP:  Next up is the book of Judges (30)!

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All Bible verse references linked herein are courtesy of Bible Gateway (a). The narrative (b) offered herein has been published with permission (c) and no monetary gain is being sought. Any footnotes within the narrative have been inserted by The Marion County Manna Project and re-direct to our webpages (unless otherwise noted) for additional spiritual insight and discernment.
 

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The Invitation: If you're seeking additional info about Christianity on a more personal level, consider visiting a Christian Church here in Marion County (31). Introduce yourself to members and ask to speak with someone to learn more about Jesus. Surrendering your life to Christ (32) (f) is the most rewarding, everlasting decision you'll ever make, and it's comforting to have someone guide you as you begin your new life as a child of the Most High! May God shower you with great favor in this endeavor!
 

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Footnotes, Page Credits and External Resources appear below. Consider printing and sharing the offered PDF narrative and other listed resources with family, friends and strangers alike for use in Bible Studies (33), Home/Church Faith Sharing Groups (34), Discipleship Encounters (35) and/or Personal Faith Enrichment!
 
Modifications are welcome at [email protected].
 

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FOOTNOTES:
  (1) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/old-testament
  (2) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/historical-books
  (3) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-good-news
  (4) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/joshua-son-of-nun
  (5) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/moses
  (6) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/twelve-tribes-of-israel
  (7) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/1500-bc
  (8) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/1400-bc
  (9) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-timeline
(10) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/achan
(11) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/caleb
(12) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/eleazar
(13) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/phinehas
(14) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/rahab
(15) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/exodus-from-egypt
(16) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/promised-land
(17) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/faith-in-God
(18) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/god-of-the-bible
(19) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/grace
(20) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-genealogy-matthew
(21) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/new-testament
(22) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/sin
(23) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jesus-christ
(24) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/wilderness-wandering
(25) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/canaan
(26) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-law
(27) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-word-of-the-lord
(28) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/obedience
(29) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/joshua-1-24-chapter-summaries
(30) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/judges
(31) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/listing-by-city
(32) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-gracious-visitor
(33) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-studies
(34) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/christian-education
(35) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/discipleship
 
PAGE CREDITS:
(a) Bible Gateway, New International Version (NIV) Bible, accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.biblegateway.com/

(b) Summary of the Book of Joshua, Got Questions Ministries, accessed October 8, 2020, https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Joshua.html
 
(c) Copyright Policy, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 11, 2020,
https://www.gotquestions.org/about.html
 
(d) Exodus Timeline, Steve Rudd, accessed February 9, 2021,
https://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-route-date-1440bc.jpg
 
(e) Videos, Milestones, Blogs & Poster, BibleProject, accessed September 29, 2020, https://www.bibleproject.com/terms/#use
 
EXTERNAL RESOURCES:
(f)  How Do I Convert to Christianity?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 12, 2020, https://www.gotquestions.org/convert-to-Christianity.html