Day 82: Introduction To The Book Of Joshua

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's March the 23rd, and we'll be looking at the introduction to the book of Joshua. Now today we begin the book of Joshua, and we are stepping into one of the great turning points in all of redemptive history.

Promise, Wilderness, and the Beginning of Joshua

For generations, God had been making promises, beginning with Abraham. He swore to give a land, and yet Abraham never possessed it. And his descendants wandered and suffered and were enslaved and delivered and then disciplined in the wilderness.

And now, everything is beginning to change. Moses, the great leader, has died. The wilderness is behind them. The Jordan River is standing in front of them. And Joshua has been tasked with leading this people into the land of promise.

But even here, we have to see clearly that Joshua is not the ultimate hero of this book. The Lord is. And Joshua's very name even means the Lord saves. And that name prepares us to see that this entire book is actually pointing beyond itself to a greater Joshua who is to come.

Conquest, Covenant Faithfulness, and the Lord as Warrior

Now, the book of Joshua itself unfolds as God brings his people into the land that he promised hundreds of years ago to their ancestor, Abraham. It moves through the conquest narratives and into inheritance and covenant renewal.

But underneath all of it is a deeper reality that the Lord himself is going to war on behalf of his people. At the beginning of the conquest, Joshua encounters this mysterious figure, the commander of the armies of the Lord.

And Joshua falls down before him and worships him because this isn't just an angel. This is the Lord himself appearing in human form to lead the people into battle. And the conquest of Canaan is not ultimately Israel's war.

It's God's war. They are to follow God and God will fight their battles. And that sets the tone for everything that follows in this book. Because the victories come not through human strength, but through obedience.

Jericho falls without conventional warfare. And yet defeat comes when Israel sins. And the point is, is the land is not going to be taken by military strength or might, but it's going to be received by the people through covenant faithfulness under the leadership of God.

So as you walk through the book of Joshua, we have to ask the following question. What does it actually look like for God's people to enter into what he has promised them? Because the book shows us that the promises of God are certain, but yet they are possessed through trusting him and through obeying him and through following his lead into battle.

So in that sense, they're sure, but also human agency is important. And in that way, the first thing that we see in the book as far as themes in this book is fulfillment. What God promised to the patriarchs is now taking shape in history.

The second major theme of the book is divine warfare. The Lord himself is the true warrior who secures victory for his people. The third major theme we see is both holiness and obedience and how they work together.

Because Israel's success or failure rises and falls on the strength of their covenant faithfulness. And then finally, the fourth major theme of the book is inheritance. The land is given by grace, and yet it must be taken hold of by faith.

Joshua and Jesus: The Greater Conquest

And in that way, Joshua presses us to look beyond him and beyond this book to Jesus in so many ways. Joshua and Jesus share the same name, the Lord saves. You might not know this, but Jesus in Greek is the same name as Joshua in Hebrew, Yeshua.

What Joshua does in the shadows in the Old Testament, Jesus accomplishes in fullness. And Joshua, he leads the conquest into a defined land. Well, Jesus begins a greater conquest, not limited to Canaan, but extending to the ends of the earth.

Where Joshua drives out the nations, Jesus drives back sin, death, and the dominion of darkness. Where Joshua distributes the territory, Christ secures a kingdom that's going to fill the entire world with his worshipers.

Even the opening vision of the commander of the Lord's armies preparing Joshua and his people for battle points forward to Jesus. Because it shows that the true warrior is the Lord himself. In the Gospels, that same Lord took on flesh and blood and begins the ultimate conquest, not merely of Canaan, but of the world.

And then the final warning at the end of the book of Joshua carries forward as well, because Joshua calls the people to covenant faithfulness. And he warns them that if they turn away from the Lord, they're going to be cut off from the land.

And that warning doesn't fade. It echoes forward in every generation of Judah's history until their covenant God comes and dies and takes the curses of their unfaithfulness upon himself and offers salvation to all who would trust and believe in him.

Reading Joshua as a Revelation of God's Kingdom

So as you read the book of Joshua, I don't want you to treat it like it's a distant history textbook from long ago. I want you to see it as a revelation of how God advances his kingdom. Watch how he fights for his people, how he demands holiness of his people, and how his promises move forward through obedience.

And I want you to read it with your eyes fixated on Christ, because this book is not the end of the conquest. It is the beginning of a far greater and more global one that is to come in Jesus. Now, today, as you step into the book of Joshua, you're going to look at Joshua 1 through 4, where God commissions Joshua, calls him to radical courage, and prepares his people to cross the Jordan under his leadership.

So I pray that you enjoy these chapters today as we enter into this new book. And with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally, and joyfully, and may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely, and we will continue our journey today in the book of Joshua.

God bless you.