Week 15, April 5–11: Joshua 1–24

• Sun      Apr 5   Josh. 1–4
• Mon     Apr 6   Josh. 5–7
• Tue      Apr 7   Josh. 8–10
• Wed     Apr 8   Josh. 11–14
• Thu      Apr 9   Josh. 15–18
• Fri        Apr 10 Josh. 19–21
• Sat       Apr 11 Josh. 22–24

The book of Joshua begins with the Israelites preparing to enter the promised land. The last book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy, ended with Moses dying and the Israelites poised to cross into the land God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants. Joshua is Moses’s successor, and he is now tasked with leading the people. God instructs Joshua to pay attention to the law (Josh. 1:8). The word translated “law” here is Torah, and it has a broader meaning than what we think of as law—more like teaching or instruction. This is important because what God is telling Joshua to meditate on is not just the commandments given to Israel at Mt. Sinai, but the whole of the Pentateuch, the whole Torah; and the Torah is mostly narrative—the story of God, the world he created, and the people he loved and redeemed from slavery.

The exhortation to read and meditate on the Torah links the beginning of Joshua back to the end of Deuteronomy (Deut. 32:44–47). This connection forms a sort of literary seam that ties the end of the Pentateuch together with the narrative of Israel’s subsequent history, and this history goes from Joshua through 1–2 Kings. The same emphasis on Torah meditation occurs at the beginning of Psalms as well (Ps. 1:1–1). God’s people were to love him and walk with him throughout their time in the promised land, and the way they were to do that was to read his Torah and meditate on it day and night, and then to live in light of the Torah in order to enjoy a fruitful life with God in the land.

The same applies to us too. This is why we are doing this read thru. We too have been given God’s word, and we too have the great privilege and responsibility to seek the Lord through Scripture. The difference for us is that we are reading the Bible as new covenant Christians. We have the full canon of Scripture. We have the rest of the story, which shows how Christ fulfills all that the Old Testament anticipated. He achieved the righteousness of God that we could never reach by keeping the laws of the Old Covenant.

As we read both the Old and New Testaments we come to understand and appreciate more fully what Christ accomplished. As Christians we read Scripture from the vantage point of the New Covenant, with new, circumcised hearts and with the Holy Spirit to guide us. And we read it with a joyful gratitude for what has been fulfilled completely and perfectly in Christ.

With a few exceptions, the book of Joshua reads like a story of massive success. God’s promises are coming to fruition as the people of Israel move through the promised pand with rapid pace, winning battle after battle and wiping out city after city and king after king. As we read of the land’s allotment to the tribes of Israel, we are meant to see this as a prosperous time in the history of God’s people. Indeed, it is probably the most positive book in the whole OT, from the perspective of Israel and their political and military success in the Land. Overall, the book presents an overwhelmingly victorious picture.

There are, however, a few things that mitigate this positive perspective. The first of these is Achan’s sin and the resulting consequences in chapter 7. Achan takes some of the forbidden spoils of Jericho for himself, and Israel suffers a surprising defeat in their first attack of Ai. Then, in chapter 9, Joshua and the Israelite leaders fail to seek the Lord’s guidance and are duped by the guile of the Gibeonites. In the second half of the book, the narrator mentions a few times that Canaanites remain in the land (Josh. 13:13; 15:63; 16:10; 17:12-13). The Israelites had not removed them entirely, and this hints at what will come next in the book of Judges.

In addition to these details, what can be most troubling about the book of Joshua, at least for us as readers today, is the conquest itself. How do we make sense of the violence? What are we to think of the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, killing all the Canaanites in their path? Perhaps most difficult of all is the idea that this is what God commanded. This can be one of the most challenging parts of the Bible to read, and the most difficult to make sense of in light of what we know about God’s loving character. As disorienting as this can be to our thinking, we can trust that the Lord is good and that somehow the narrative of the conquest in Joshua reveals something true and right about God and his ways in the world.

Here are a few principles to keep in mind as we read Joshua (and other similar parts of the OT):

• The instructions God gives to annihilate other nations and people are limited and apply only to the promised land (Deut 7:1; 20:10–18).
• These commands and this kind of conquest are unique in world history. As Bonhoeffer said, “Israel’s wars were the only ‘holy’ wars the world has ever known.” (Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship, p 138)
• The inhabitants of the land were wicked, violent people (Lev. 18:25–28; Deut. 9:5; 12:31; cf Gen. 15:16). One commentator (on Gen 15:16) sees the conquest under Joshua “as an act of justice rather than aggression.” (Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1–17, p 428) Another commentator says that, like the flood, the conquest can be considered “a form of counterviolence” on God’s part. (McConville and Williams, Joshua, p 112)
• The purpose of destruction was to punish sin and prevent idolatry from infiltrating God’s people (Exod. 20:3–4; 23:24; Lev. 18:1–5, 24–30; Deut. 7:1–5, 16; Josh. 24:14–23).
• Violence is a result of the fall. This includes the violence of the conquest and the violence of the final judgement. Violence has always been a part of humanity since sin entered the picture (Genesis 4, 6). God’s command to commit violence could be seen as a concession that is only necessary because of the violence of the world with sin in it. But it is a necessary means to eradicate sin.
• God’s plan involves future judgement that will take the form of (extreme) violence (e.g. Rev 19:11–14, 20–21).
• God is ultimately the one conquering the land, using Joshua and Israel as his instruments (Deut. 7:17–24; 20:1–5; Josh. 1:6, 9; 6:2; 8:1; 10:8; 11:6). God is the one giving them victory. This is a picture of his final justice (see Revelation).
• There are (dramatic) exceptions to the conquest of Canaan—evidence of God’s grace that play a major role in the story. (e.g. Rahab)
• We should not pit the peaceful, crucified Lamb against the mighty Warrior on the White horse (Rev. 19:11–16).
• God’s ultimate plan is a plan of peace. God’s eternal kingdom will be a kingdom of peace, where swords are beaten into plowshares (Isa. 2:4).

The book of Joshua ends with Joshua giving a charge to the people that is reminiscent of Moses’s words to Israel before he died. Joshua reminds them that God has been completely faithful to his promises, and he will continue to prove himself faithful. If the Israelites are faithful to the Lord, he will give them success and prosperity in the land; but if they disobey his commands, transgress his covenant, and go after other gods, they will suffer the consequences and eventually be removed from the land of God’s promises (Josh. 23:14-16).

Joshua urges the Israelites to choose who they will serve, the Lord or the false gods of Canaan (24:14–15). The people assure him they will serve the Lord (24:16–18). However, Joshua says, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (24:19–20)

The book ends with a covenant renewal ceremony then the death of Joshua, and the stage is set for the book of Judges and for the rest of the story of Israel in the promised land. Next week we will continue into Judges and quickly see how things take a turn for the worse.