You are on page 1of 2

Stories of the Saints Digging Deeper

Joshua
Introduction
We see the story of Joshua primarily in the book that bears his name. The book of Joshua is the 6th in the Bible, coming right after the Pentateuch the five books of Moses and completing the story of Moses. Joshua is introduced as Moses assistant (Joshua 1:1, also Exodus 17:9, 25:13), and was one of the 12 spies sent to spy out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13, 14). In fact, the land of Canaan (the land God promised to give to His people, the Promised Land) is the focus of Joshuas life. He is the one chosen to lead the people into Canaan, and his story Is really the story of how God acted mightily for Joshua and the people to give the Promised Land to them.1 Exodus 20 is an example. The chapter details how Moses received the commandments, but the commandments themselves are prescriptive for the people of God. We must be careful when we read Scripture to be discerning about what is solely descriptive and what is prescriptive. In other words, just because something happens in the Bible does not mean that it is something that Gods people should do. While all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness3, we cannot blindly apply principles that were never meant to be applied.4 This is important in general, and is seen profoundly in the book of Joshua, which deals with difficult subjects such as war, plundering, etc. Though we can learn much from the narrative, we cannot make large generalizations as a result.5 And now, back to the story

Be Strong and Courageous


God called Joshua just like he has always called His people: He initiates the call, then promises to be with them as they fulfill their calling. (And this is certainly still true today, not just in the Bible stories.) Joshuas specific call from God was to lead the people into Canaan (1:1-9). Three times God says to Joshua, be strong and courageous (vs 6,7, and 9) while God acts on behalf of the people to give them the land. The book of Joshua is primarily narrative in nature, which means it tells the story of what happened. We call this a descriptive text; it simply describes what happened. Another type of text is prescriptive, which, as its name suggests, prescribes something for Gods people to know and;/or do. Much of Pauls letters are prescriptive; that is, many times Paul tells Christians how they should live in response to Gods grace. 2 It is possible that a narrative, or descriptive text, contains some prescription. The story of the giving of the Ten Commandments in
1

War, Conquest and Salvation


Joshua is called to lead Gods people into the promised land, and the book of Joshua details the various conquests that happened as that happened. There were already people in the land, so in order for Gods people to inhabit it, those people needed to be displaced. This is perhaps a difficult subject to read, since we see God ordering Joshua and the armies of Israel to conquer the peoples of the land, killing and plundering them. We think of God as loving and merciful. How could a loving and merciful God order such a thing?
3 4

Remember that though Moses led the people out of Egypt, he was not permitted to actually enter the promised land due to his disobedience of God (Numbers 20:113). Because of the peoples refusal to enter the land following the reports of the 12 spies (Deut. 1-2 note that Joshua and Caleb both encouraged the people to go up, but were refused), and entire generation was to pass wandering in the wilderness before entering Canaan. Joshua was the leader of this new generation. 2 Ephesians chapter 5 is a good example of a prescriptive text.

1 Timothy 3:16 This deals with the larger question of hermeneutics, which we just do not have space to deal with here. Hermeneutics is the way in which one interprets Scripture. There are sound and unsound principles of interpretation, and a disciple of Jesus will do well to follow the sound ones. 5 A good example is the battle of Jericho in Joshua, God gives specific instructions to his people how to fight: march, blow trumpets, and when the time is right, shout. To make that type of fighting a countrys strategy for all war-fighting would be absolutely foolish. The point of the story is that God was acting and delivering Jericho to Israel, and it was not by their own hand that they gained the city. It was by Gods hand.

Stories of the Saints Digging Deeper


We need to remember that yes, God is loving and merciful. He chooses to save His people through no merit of their own, including the nation of Israel. Yet He is also perfect and just, which means that rebellion against His will and Word must be dealt with. So the question is not, why would God drive out people from their land, as if they were innocent. The question is, why would God leave anyone alive? Even the Israelites deserved death. So God is not being unfair. He is executing His just judgment against the people of Canaan through Israel. Interestingly, the only people saved from the judgment on Jericho were the prostitute Rahab and her family (6:22-23). Why were they saved? Because they had acted to protect the spies that Joshua had sent (2:1-24). So then, were they waved because they had done something good? On the surface, that might seem to be true. But read Rahabs words in 2:8-13. She already believed in God as the One True God (v. 11), so her actions were done as a result of the faith she already had. So her faith led to her action and to her earthly salvation. And the same is true of every one of Gods people: we are first given faith by God, which takes hold of the grace that is also given by God, by which we are saved. This all then leads to doing good things in response. it was for Joshua and the people, Gods covenant with us forms the foundation for the whole of our lives. This week, as a response to this story of God and Joshua, devote some time to prayer asking for the Spirits guidance, and then think of some ways to be intentional about remembering and being renewed (feel free to note the examples above!). Then take some time to do those intentional things.

Covenant Renewal and Remembering


Covenant renewal is an important focus of Joshua. After the people cross through the Jordan river on dry land (3:1-17 yes, it happened again!), they build an altar of stones to commemorate Gods action and to remember them forever (4:1-9). We also see renewals in 8:30-35 and 24:1-28. These happen in response to Gods mercy shown in specific ways, and become important reminders for the people about how God has acted in the past and will continue to act. This is one, and perhaps the most, important element in the life of a Christian disciple: remembering Gods action and the renewal that brings. As we gather for weekly worship, we remember Gods action and thank Him for it, and we are renewed for another week. As we read the Bible, pray, and go through life together with other Christians, we remember and are renewed. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Just like

You might also like