The History of Joshua

The book of Joshua finds itself in the Old Testament right after the Law of Moses. The Law also known as the Pentateuch, lays the foundation for the people of God as the nation of Israel and provides a framework for the entirety of Scripture.  The Pentateuch ends with Deuteronomy which is Moses’ second giving of the Law to the second generation of the people of Israel who had been wandering into the wilderness for forty years. The Pentateuch ends right at the cusp of Israel entering the Promised Land of Canaan, which was promised to Abraham hundreds of years ago. Joshua begins with Moses passing away and an Israelite under him, Joshua, taking his place to conquer Canaan. Thus, the book of Joshua, which is traditionally said to be written by Joshua himself, details the historical account of Israel taking the land.

The Theology of Joshua

The biggest theological theme in the book of Joshua is that of God’s promises being fulfilled to the people of Israel through the conquest of Cannan. It is most directly the fulfillment of the promise Yahweh made to Abraham when He called him in Genesis 12, saying, “Go from your country…to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” (Gen. 12:1-3 [ESV]). Additionally, in chapter seventeen, Yahweh tells Abraham, “I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God,” (Gen. 17:8). This promise is continued through Abraham’s lineage through Issac, to Jacob, finally landing to Moses. This is most clearly seen in Exodus 6 when Yahweh said to Moses, “I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to 

Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD,’” (Ex. 6:8).

Starting in Moses, through the Exodus, and landing in Joshua through the conquest, centuries of these promises of God are fulfilled. The main point one learns about God in Joshua is that He keeps His promises. Everything is working toward His plan because everything is ordained and owned by Him. The land was always His, He was only working out a plan to develop His people into a nation whose salvation could be seen by the world. God fulfills His promises for His name’s sake and thus for His people’s good. God is God-centered, even in His keeping of His promises.

The God-centeredness of God reveals another key theme found in Joshua; Yahweh is the only true God that should be worshiped by His people. The Canaanites may have been living in the land, but the land is ultimately God’s. When the Israelites came into the land, they were to utterly wipe out the Canaanites in order to keep Israel from the idolatry found in the world. Israel must also be God-centered. God’s common grace extends to all but His covenantal love falls on His people. As He says in Isaiah, “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you,  I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life,” (Is. 43:4). When God stops the sun and throws large stones from heaven so that “there were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword,” (Jos. 10:11), He is showing that His promises must be fulfilled and no number of sinful humans will not thwart His covenant.

The History of Judges

The book of Judges comes directly after the book of Joshua. As was just discussed above, Israel had entered into the Promised Land, though already failed to keep God’s commands on multiple occasions. Regardless, Israel makes a promise to serve Yahweh even though Joshua warns them, saying, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God… 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,” (Jos. 24:19-20). As Israel enters into the time of the judges, they fail yet again to conquer the land as Yahweh commanded, they disobey, and Joshua dies. This is continued throughout Judges as Israel is seen time and time again to fail in keeping the promise they made. Everyone in Israel continuously did “what was right in his own eyes,” (Jug. 17:6) which happened to be not what was right in Yahweh’s eyes.

The Theology of Judges

This story from Judges continues the theology from Joshua; God is faithful to His promises but Israel is not. Through a disheartening repetition of events, Israel again and again breaks their promises and throws themselves at false gods. Yet in this sheep-like, repetitive disobedience, God continues to show grace. He disciplines His people, yet always returns with grace through a judge. He is constantly shown to be the Savior of His people, while Israel is shown to constantly walk right back into the danger Yahweh just saved them from. 

In Joshua, Israel confidently proclaimed that they could follow God on their own. They completely missed the point of God delivering the Canaanites into their hands through His own power. Instead of looking to Yahweh, they thought that they could do something to follow Him. Judges is a prime example of what happens when God’s people try to follow Him in their own strength. It is a cycle of trying on one’s own, falling into sin, dying, and crying to God for help. Israel could not save themselves; they constantly needed a divine Savior. There was no lasting salvation because as soon as God saved them, they tried again to keep it in their own hands.

Joshua and Judges for the Modern Christian

The theological themes of Joshua and Judges have direct implications for how modern Christians ought to live their lives. The Christian must realize that God never breaks His promises; He is always faithful. If He has promised that all works together for good to those who are in Christ, then the Christian must believe that. If He promised that He would return, giving relief to His own and destroying those opposed to Him, His children must take confident solace in that throughout their days. It may take longer than expected, maybe even hundreds of years as with Israel, but God will accomplish His purpose, no matter how bad things look to those who have fallen, finite minds. This could not possibly be seen more clearly than in the fulfillment of hundreds of years of promises in Joshua and the continued keeping of His promises through continuous rebellion in Judges.

Additionally, Christians must remember that their salvation has nothing to do with them. Although those in Christ are no longer in sin, they are still fallen. They will never keep the Law perfectly. Christians must not look to themselves for their salvation. Instead, they must look to the divine Savior who brings them lasting salvation through His own work. This will keep those in Christ from falling into despair and repetitive sin, but bring hope that they are not their own. Their salvation is safely hidden within the hands of the divine Savior who rescued Israel from Egypt, brought them into the Promised Land, and displayed grace upon grace through their continued rebellion. Christians follow and are united to the same God. They must look back on His wondrous deeds to have hope for the future. God does not change; He remains the keeper of promises and the giver of grace.