Author: Traditionally attributed to Joshua
himself, except for the final five verses (24:29-33), which
describe Joshua's death and legacy.
Date: Approximately 1375 BC.
Ten Words or Less: The Israelites capture and settle the
promised land of Canaan.
Details, Please: With Moses and an entire generation of
disobedient Israelites dead, God tells Joshua to lead the people
into Canaan, their promised land.
In Jericho, the first major obstacle, the prostitute Rahab helps
Israelite spies and earns protection from the destruction of the
city. God knocks its walls flat as Joshua's army marches
outside, blowing trumpets and shouting. Joshua leads a
successful military campaign to clear idol-worshipping people -
Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and
Jebusites - from the land. At one point, God answers Joshua's
prayer to make the sun stand still, allowing more time to
complete a battle (10:1-15). Major cities subdued, Joshua
divides the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, reminding
the people to stay true to the God who led them home: "Now
therefore put away... the strange gods which are among you, and
incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel" (24:23).
Key Verses: Be strong and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with
thee whithersoever thou goest. (1:9) | One man of you shall
chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth
for you, as he hath promised you. (23:10) | Choose you this day
whom ye will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD. (24:15)
Unique and Unusual: Joshua is one of few major Bible
characters who seemed to do everything right - he was a strong
leader, completely committed to God, who never fell into
recorded sin or disobedience. Only one mistake mars his record:
Joshua's experience with the
Gibeonites, one of the local groups he should have destroyed.
Fearing for their lives, they appeared before Joshua dressed in
old clothes, carrying dry, moldy bread, claiming they had come
from a faraway land. Joshua and the Israelite leaders "asked not
consel at the mouth of the LORD" (9:14) and agreed to a peace
treaty. When Joshua learned the truth, he honored his agreement
with the Gibeonites - but made them slaves.
So What?: Joshua shows over and over how God
blesses His people. The
Promised Land was His gift to them, as were the military
victories that He engineered.
