And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
— Josh. 5:15
Author: Joshua
Written: c. 1405-1398 BCE
The book of Joshua is the first book of the Prophets, taking place just after the death of Moses, as recorded in Deuteronomy. It tells the story of Israel’s campaign to conquer and settle the promised land over Joshua’s leadership.
Synopsis
Entering Canaan
Israel is currently residing in the land of Moab, near the land which the Lord had promised them. However, they must first conquer Jericho.
Joshua sends two men as spies into Jericho beforehand, where they eventually come to the house of Rahab. The king of Jericho knows the presence of the two spies, so he sent men to hunt them. Rahab hides them from the guards and tells that she knows the Lord had promised them the land (Josh. 2:9). Due to the kindness she has shown them, she asked in return to do the same by sparing her family (Josh. 2:12-13). The spies then hid on a mountain for three days before their return, telling Joshua of what they knew.
Then, all of Israel crossed the Jordan River and camped at Gilgal, which resided east of Jericho. Before battle, Joshua witnesses the Lord bearing a sword (Josh. 5:13-15).
Israel’s Conquest
The Lord ordered Israel to circle around the city of Jericho; only once for six days, but seven times on the seventh day (Josh. 6:4-5). They did this for seven days; and on the last day they shouted, causing the walls to collapse. Everyone who inhabited the city of Jericho was killed. The king was hung, and buried before dusk. They took all of the gold, silver, and bronze and stored it within their treasury, but could not take anything that was deemed accursed.
Joshua did not forget the promise to spare Rahab and her family. They were brought out of her house after the battle had ceased, and had also integrated into the tribe of Israel (Josh. 6:25).
Israel continues their conquest to the city of Ai, which Joshua had sent scouts to determine the size of the enemy army. As there were few in Ai, Joshua only sent three thousand men. Alas, Israel was defeated, only to find out later that Achan had taken things from Jericho that were deemed accursed (Josh. 7:1, Josh. 7:21). For this transgression, he and his family were stoned to death and burned afterward (Josh. 7:24-25).
Then the Lord was with them once again, and they laid an ambush for the people of Ai so that they may overtake the city. The king of Ai had also met the same demise as the king of Jericho. After this, Israel had made their peace offerings, and Joshua assembled everyone to hear the whole of the law that Moses had wrote. Thus, the covenant was renewed.
Then the Hivites learned of what had happened to Jericho and Ai, so they attempted to deceive Joshua by telling him that they came from a faraway land, so that they may save themselves from slaughter. A treaty was made, but then Joshua had discovered that they were indeed not foreigners. So they were cursed and to be slaves under Israel, never to be freed (Josh. 9:23).
Then the news had reached the Amorites, for they heard of what happened to the two fallen cities and the enslavement of the people of Gibeon. So five kings from Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, gathered their men and planned to attack Israel. However, this would end in their defeat as God was at Israel’s side, so the kings have hid themselves inside a cave. Joshua then found out about their whereabouts, and they too were put to death and hung from trees. Then Israel had conquered many of the lands in the south, and continued up to the north.
In total, there were 31 kings that were slain, and the land that they have conquered was divided among the Israelites as the Lord had promised. However, there was still much more land that remained to be conquered.
Themes
Obedience
The story of Joshua shows that when we are obedient to God, He will carry forward with what He has in store for us. On the flip side, if we were to willfully disobey God’s orders, especially to the detriment of others, then we become undeserving of His gifts.
This is most evident in Achan’s disobedience at the city of Jericho.
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
— Josh. 7:1
Not only had Achan suffered the consequences of his transgression (Josh. 7:20-26), but with it also came the deaths of 36 men at the battle of Ai (Josh. 7:5). This emphasizes the importance of thinking about potential consequences of your actions, as they can impact not just yourself, but also that of others.