Old Testament survey (06): Joshua

Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Have not I commanded thee? 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. (Joshua 1:6-9)

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Overview

Note: The logo for Israel’s Ministry of Tourism shown at the right features Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful and courageous spies, carrying on a pole the fruits they brought back from the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb are considered as the first ever tourists to Israel.

[1] Joshua, from Thru The Bible Radio with Dr. J. Vernon McGee ©, with free downloads Notes & Outlines (PDF), Complete 5-Year Study (MP3), Ai and I (PDF), Have You Crossed Over Jordan? (PDF

The Book of Joshua has a very practical application to the believer today. The Promised Land cannot be a type of heaven since heaven is not a place of conflict and conquest. Heaven is received as a gift of the grace of God. Rather, the Promised Land represents the place to which believers are brought right here in this world today. The Book of Joshua corresponds to the Epistle to the Ephesians in the New Testament where we see that the believer is blessed with all spiritual blessings. The practical possession and experience of them depends upon conflict and conquest. These are never attained through the energy of the flesh, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in the yielded life of the believer. The Book of Joshua is the pattern, and it illustrates the method by which the believer can possess what God has given to him. (Read the complete article)

[2] Book of Joshua, from gotquestions.org (this website is also available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Burmese-Myanmar, Cebuano, Chinese - Simplified, Chinese – Traditional, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malaysian, Persian-Farsi, Portuguese, Quechua, Sesotho, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese, Zulu, and 70 other languages)

The story of Rahab the harlot and her great faith in the God of the Israelites gives her a place with those honored for their faith in Hebrews 11:31. Hers is a story of God’s grace to sinners and salvation by faith alone. Most importantly, by God’s grace she was in the Messianic line (Matthew 1:15).

One of the ceremonial rituals of Joshua 5 find its perfect fulfillment in the New Testament. Verses 1-9 describe God’s commandment that those who were born in the wilderness were to be circumcised when they came into the Promised Land. By so doing, God “rolled away the reproach of Egypt” from them, meaning that He cleansed them from the sins of their former life. Colossians 2:10-12 describes believers as having been circumcised in their hearts by Christ Himself, by whom we have put off the sinful nature of our former lives without Christ.

God established cities of refuge so that those who accidentally killed someone could live there without fear of retribution. Christ is our refuge to whom we “have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us” (Hebrews 6:18).

The Book of Joshua has an overriding theological theme of rest. The Israelites, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, finally entered the rest God had prepared for them in the land of Canaan. The writer of Hebrews uses this incident as a warning to us not to let unbelief keep us from entering into God’s rest in Christ (Hebrews 3:7-12). (Read the complete article)

[3] Joshua, from Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)

Joshua records the consummation of the redemption of Israel of Israel out of Egypt; for redemption has two parts: “out,” and “into” (Deuteronomy 6:23). The key-phrase is “Moses My servant is dead” (Joshua 1:2). Law, of which Moses is the representative, could never give a sinful people victory (Hebrews 7:19; Romans 6:14; 8:2-4).

In a spiritual sense the book of Joshua is the Ephesians of the Old Testament. “The heavenly” of Ephesians is to the Christian what Canaan was to the Israelite and blessing through divine power (Joshua 21:43-55; Ephesians 1:3)

The government, as before, was theocratic; Joshua succeeding Moses as the ruler under God.

Joshua falls into four parts:

1. The conquest, 1-12.
2. The partition of the inheritance, 13-21.
3. Incipient discord, 22.
4. Joshua's last counsels and death, 23, 24.

The events recorded in Joshua cover a period of 26 years (Ussher).

[4] Overview of Joshua (with chart Fighting Without & Within), from Uplook Ministries


Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Taking God’s Gift Of The Promised Land – Spiritual Victory In The Book Of Joshua, by Paul G. Apple

[2] Materials by David Malick

• An Introduction to the Book of Joshua (download Word doc)
• An Argument of the Book of Joshua (download Word doc)

[3] Israel’s Golden Years, by Bob Deffinbaugh

[4] The Captain of the Lord’s Army (Joshua 5:13-15), by J. Hampton Keathley, III (download Word doc)

[5] Follow that Dream: Lessons for Women From Joshua, by Kay Daigle


Sermons on Joshua (be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

Joshua 1:6-9

[1] Sermons by Bobby Earls First Baptist Church, Center Point, Alabama

• Good News for Graduates
• Getting Ready for a Great Day

[2] Sensational Success, by Pastor Jeremy Stephens, Southview Baptist Church

[3] On a Mission From God - Joshua 1, by Robert D. Fannon, New Hope Baptist Church

[4] Point A to Point B - Victory Over Sin, by Jim Oesterwind, Heritage Baptist Church

[5] A Message For Our Graduates, by Shane Robinson

[6] Crossing Jordan 4 - A Promise Land of Freedom and Blessing, by Daniel Waller

[7] Sermons by David Harp

• Where God Guides - God Provides
• A Work in Progress

[8] Three Promises Of God, by Leslie A Wright

[9] Entering Canaan, by Luke Harris

[10] Secret of the Victorious Living, by David Li

[11] Joshua the Faithful Servant, by Rey Cedillo (with some Spanish text)

[12] Who is the Person the God Uses, by Jim Freed

[13] Courage for the Future, by Stephen Rummage

[14] Reflecting on God’s Faithfulness, by Ian S Sinclair

[15] Joshua...doing the right thing, by David L Peterson IV

[16] Be Strong & Courageous, by Wes Brown

Joshua 24:14

[1] Who Will You Obey, by David Palmer, East Side Baptist Church

[2] Whom Will Ye Serve, by Patrick Wraight, 7 Valleys Baptist Church

[3] A Father’s Command, by Robert D. Fannon, New Hope Baptist Church

[4] Ten Habits of Highly Successful Families, by Ed Clavell (with some Spanish text)

[5] Choose you this day whom you will serve, by Daniel Crosby

[6] A Family Design, by Kenneth Morris

[7] Changing the Norm, by Steve Littlefield

[8] Who Will You Serve? by James Bing

[9] fathersday2009, by Michael Trull

[10] Joshua and the Power of Influence, by Rusty Russell

[11] Before There Were Kings 6 - Joshua: The Choice is Yours, by Richard DeRuiter

[12] Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, by Charles Cameron

[13] Choose you this day whom you will serve, by Daniel Crosby

[14] A Heart To Obey, by Kenneth Morris

[15] Creating a Christ Centered Home, by Michael R Dean

[16] Choose You This Day, by Kevin F Allen

[17] I Chose Life, Not Death! by Will Potter


For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.