The Fellowship Residency Program has introduced me to the idea of reading commentaries alongside scripture. By next August, I will have read through the entire Bible as well as The King in His Beauty, our selected commentary. As I am reading, I am writing a little bit about each of the books of the Bible so you and I can have a more thorough understanding of the scriptures. I invite you to follow along with me as we learn the Bible in its entirety from Genesis to Revelation. This summary does NOT encompass the entire book, but it is a good place to start. I encourage you to read for yourself and begin your own Biblical journal along the way. To read any of my other Residency related posts, click here.
Land – In the book of Joshua, Israel enters and possesses the land. Although it is not paradise, it is a settlement of Yahweh’s sovereignty over his people. Most of the book is structured with words related to land. First, they must “pass over” to enter the land, then “take” the land, “divide” and “apportion” the land, and finally “serve” the Lord in the land. The book revolves around the place where God rules over the people of Israel. This land is not metaphoric but real and important. It is the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham many years before. The overarching theme of the book conveys that Yahweh fulfills His promises. The presence of the Lord with His people is represented by the ark and eventually the sanctuary set up in Shiloh.
Yahweh’s Sovereignty & Grace – Israel did not only receive the land because of the promise. They also received it because of God’s sovereignty and grace. Israel was not powerful and righteous, but God still gifted His people their land due to His covenantal love for His people. We even see people like Rahab who are not God’s people yet are afraid of being conquered because they know that God has promised their land for His people. The battles fought by Israel rightly display the Lord’s sovereignty, because he guarantees that they will triumph over their adversaries and follows through on that promise. From the beginning, the battles seemed absurd and impossible in the eyes of the Israelites. The “battle” of Jericho was a march around the city with horns and trumpets. Yet the victory highlights that the Lord was in control. The miraculous interventions by Yahweh were utilized so that the victory would be appropriately attributed to God as a gift of grace rather than by their own doing. It was clearly not the work of Israel. God also stopped the sun and the moon for a whole day so Israel could defeat their enemies. We see over and over again in Joshua that “the Lord fought for Israel.” God even hardened the hearts of their enemies so that they would be devoted to destruction and be destroyed. Finally, God renews the covenant between himself and Israel in Shechem. Overall, we recognize that human resourcefulness could not explain their victories for even the land was already cultivated and lavish for the people.
Israel’s Call to Obey – The book of Joshua is emphasizing the covenant between God and His people. While leading Israel, Joshua proceeds through the book anticipating that a king is needed and will follow his rule. Joshua quickly learns that he is not the ultimate leader of Israel as he is deceived by the Gibeonites because he does not ask “counsel from the Lord. Joshua, like us today, is called to humble obedience. The same God of the exodus is protecting Israel in the book of Joshua and all He desires in return is obedience. The people are not permitted to enter the land until they have the sign of the covenant, so they were circumcised before possessing Israel. Additionally, before they got to the land, it was made clear that the command to wipe out the inhabitants of the land was given by God. The Canaanites were so evil that they must be completely wiped out. Israel was not exempt from this destruction. Those who believed would be spared, like Rahab. However, Israel was not exempt from being destroyed. Achan “took some of the devoted things.” As a result, 36 Israelites lives were lost due to his disobedience. God tell us that since the Israelites did not obey to the fullest extent, they did not receive the fullest extent of the blessing. Joshua closes the book by reminding the people that they must uphold the covenant by clinging to the Lord, loving him, and resisting worshiping pagan gods or else there would be devastating consequences of destruction. “Devotion to the covenant is expressed in both affections and actions.” Like in Deuteronomy, Joshua hints at the idea that the covenant will be broken as the heart of Israel is not good. Israel is in desperate need of redemption. The book of Joshua canonically points forward towards the coming of the Messiah.
Conclusion – “Israel, like Adam, now lived in a land under the Lord’s care, but they entered the land only because they were obedient to their covenantal King, and they would remain in the land only if they continued to trust and obey Him.”
Themes: Yahweh fulfills His promises. The Lord has a covenantal love for His people. God is the Divine Warrior. God is protector and king.
I read Joshua and the book of Judges when I first had Jaxon and I was up at night nursing him. These were takeaways from each chapter of the book when I was able to do a “deep dive.” Eventually, I would like to do this for each book of the Bible. Unfortunately, this year is not the year for that.
Joshua
1 - Be strong and courageous. Know the law but don’t go spewing the law to others. Model it instead
2 - Rahabs story. She risked it all for her faith. Focused on who God is not who she was
3 - To see God move in mighty ways we must move mighty towards Him
4 - Don’t forgot Gods goodness in the more difficult times
5 - We must fall in humble adoration in worship when we encounter his presence
6 - A lack of obedience cheats yourself from the crazy big plans God has for us
7 - Why are we surprised when things don’t go our war when we are disobedient
8 - The more we obey the easier it will be to act on His commands
9 - Share what God has done for you, because it can draw others to him as well. Ask the Lord before making big decisions
10 - When the Lord is with you, you shall not fail
11 - We must trust and obey he Lord’s plan for us.
12 - History is a way to view Gods history as a promise maker and keeper
13 - God will not quit until the job is complete, and someday we will have our own inheritance
14 - God always follows through. His timing just looks different than ours
15 - Gods promises work.
16 - The enemy is there to find cracks in our faith and use them against us
17 - Get up and move in faith. For God to provide, we must do the work
18 - God is working to make his plan come to fruition; even with the insignificant details
19 - Be second so that others may be first
20 - Jesus is our refuge
21 - We must stop to appreciate the fruition of Gods plan
22 - When being disciplined by God it is another witness that he is Lord of all. Always seek both sides for perspective
23 - Didn’t become confused by Godless counsel or dressing,
24 - God has grace for re-dedication and walking towards God requires walking away from something else