JOSHUA

What do you see in this book that tells you about the original readers?
The original readers are the 2. and 3. generation of the Israelites. And the book of Joshua picks up where Deutoronomy ending in that Moses died and Joshua has taken over leadership of the Israelites. The action in the book takes place when Israel occupies the land of Canaan. The promise that God had given the people, that they should get this country, was on the verge of being fulfilled. The time of nomads was soon past, Israel would become a sedentary nation.

 

What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?

According to the Introduction to Joshua in the Sourceview Bibel (SVB) this book is written by Joshua about 1390 BC. But parts of the book have been written later. For example the paragraph about Joshuas funeral (24:29-33) is supposed to be written by the priest Eleazar, son of Aaron.
 

What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the “Main Idea”.

The first part of the book (ch 1-12) describes when the Israelites were entering the city of Jericho, God had decided that musicians shall go in front of the army for seven days and blow the trumpets. God wanted to test whether they trusted him or not. Joshua and the Israelites did as God told them, and after seven days the walls collapsed and Jericho could be included.

The second part of the book (ch. 13-24) describes how each tribe of Israel, coming from Jacob's 12 sons, are getting their areas in Israel. Before Joshua dies 110 years old, he encourages each tribe of Israel to live close to God:
"So fear the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euprhrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone."(24:14).

A one sentence summary of the “Main Idea” can be:

The Israelites conquer the Promised land, each tribe get theirs area in Israel and  they are encouraged by Joshua to trust in God and serve Him.

What is the primary reason this book was written?

I think it was very important for Joshua to remind the Israelites – both the present and the future generations - not to forget that the conquering of the Promised Land was just possible with God and by obeying Him, and that Joshua was chosen by God to lead his people. Joshua was encouraged to hold on to their faith in God and holding fast to the Law, which would be the people's rules of life in their new surroundings. (1:6-9).

When the time for Joshua to pass away was getting closer, he called together all the elders, leaders, judges and officers (23:2) for one more time encourage them to shun Canaanites ways of living and being faithful to God. He said they must not associate with this nation that still remains in the land, and not mention the names of their gods! The people of Israel shall not swear by them or serve them or bow down and worship them, but hold fast to the LORD their God, as they have done unto this day. (23:7).

Joshua called the nation together for a renewal of the covenant, as his predecessor, Moses had made (chapter 24).

imWhat does this book show about the character and nature of God?

Some scriptures in Joshua that shows some of Gods character and nature (underlined):

1:15&23:1:   The Lord gives them rest 

2:11:            The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens and earth

3:7&6:27:     They will know that I am with you - faithfulness.
4:24:            The Lords hand is powerful
7:26:            So the Lord was no longer angry.
10:8:            ..”for I have given you victory over them”- victorygiver. 

10:14:          The Lord answered such a prayer - one who answer prayers

21:44:          The Lord helped them conquer all their enemies
24:16:          He performed mighty miracles before our eyes - miracle-maker.
24:19:          The Lord is holy and jealous. He will not tolerate serving other gods.

What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

The man Joshua is a foreshadow of Jesus, and his name means the same as Jesus - "the Lord saves." Just as the Bible describes Jesus leading his followers into the kingdom of God, Joshua led the Israelites into the land God promised them.

Personal Application:

I think the story about Rahab (2:4-21) is very fascinating. She was a prostitute that took the risk of hiding the two spies. If the king of Jericho got to know about this, both Rahab and her entire family would have been killed. But I think she had got a revival about the living God as the supreme God of heavens and earth (2:11) and she looked upon her action as their only way to survive.
In Heb 11:31 is said that “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies”.

Point of passion:

My point of passion during my DBS is the Shan-people in Thailand:

The Shan-people mostly came from Burma (now called Myanmar) to Thailand as refugees because of the civil war. Shan does not have refugee status in Thailand, they have no rights and are prone to being misused.
When reading Joshua, I can compare the expectations of the Israelites to get to the Promised Land with the Shan-people’s hope for returning to their own country - Burma/Myanmar. According to Joshua 2:11 is the Lord "your God the supreme God of the heavens". This is a timeless truth and will also be true for The Shan-people when it comes to their hope for returning to Burma.