According to the commentary of the Jewish Bible, the Talmud, the author of the book of Joshua is said to be Joshua himself. Joshua 24:29-33 records what would happen after Joshua died. This short passage would have been added on by someone else and not written by Joshua himself. The span of time recorded in the book of Joshua is about 24 years. According to the Antiquities of the Jews book Josephus wrote, he divided the lifetime of Joshua into 3 separate segments.

1. 45 years in the land of Egypt
2. Departed from Egypt and co-worked with Moses for 40 years
3. Took over Moses and led the people of Israel when he was 85 years old

Joshua died at the age of 110. He would have been a leader in the land of Canaan for 25 years. How many years did the people of Israel have to fight to conquer the land of Canaan? Likely 7 years, based on what Caleb said.

Joshua 14:7, 10-12
7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.

Caleb mentioned that he was 40 years old when he was sent by Moses to spy the land of Canaan. The people of Israel then had to wander the wilderness for 38 years. By then, Caleb would’ve been 78 years old. After they conquered the land of Canaan, Joshua started to divide the land of Canaan to become the inheritance of the 12 tribes. Caleb was 85 years old at this point in time. This shows there was 7 years between crossing River Jordan to attack Canaan, to dividing the land of Canaan. These 7 years of war would’ve been the most memorable war for the people of Israel. It was also the most important war. The land they conquered wasn’t very big but its significance was truly great, because it’s a historical beginning for the people of Israel. They have their own land. They can establish their own kingdom - a kingdom of priests. More importantly, whatever God said to the people didn’t fall to the ground.

Joshua 23:14-16
14 “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

Joshua mentioned he was going the way of all the people of the earth. His final words was a reminder for the people of Israel. He implored the people that every word God had spoken came to pass. None failed; all had been fulfilled on the people of Israel. But they must not forget something: the word of God always coming to pass doesn’t just apply to blessings, but also to curses/woes. If the people don’t obey and transgress His commandments; worship idols instead of the true God, then all the calamities God promised would come upon the people. None of the words of God would fail; all would come to pass.

After dividing the land for the people of Israel, why did Caleb still need to fight the people of Anak? Caleb said to Joshua he was as strong as the day Moses sent him to spy out the land of Canaan. Even though he would be going against the Anakim and they had fortified cities, with God with him, he would be able to drive them out.

Didn’t the people of Israel already conquer Canaan? Why was there still the need to fight?

Josh 11:23, 13:1-2, 6-7
23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war. 1 Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. 2 This is the land that yet remains: … 6 all the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as the Brook Misrephoth, and all the Sidonians—them I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. 7 Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”

These two passages seem to be contradictory. Chapter 11 says Joshua took all the land and divided it according to the tribes, and the land rested from war. But chapter 13 says God told Joshua he was old and advanced in years and there was much land to possess; God also instructed Joshua to distribute the land to the children of Israel. Even though there were still unconquered lands and undefeated enemies, God wanted Joshua, by faith, to distribute the land to the tribes. This was so the different tribes would bear the responsibility to drive out the enemies. Of course God would help them as He had promised to drive out the enemies from the people of Israel. This shows the conquest of Canaan took place over two phases. In the first phase, large pieces of the land of Canaan was conquered. 12:24 records Joshua was victorious over 31 kings, which is why they were able to divide the land amongst the children of Israel and why the verse recorded that the land rested from war. However, the land resting from war refers to a temporal and not permanent rest, because in reality there were still unconquered lands and enemies to defeat. The children of Israel didn’t truly have rest yet. They still had to fight.

The content of the book of Joshua can be divided into 3 parts:

1. Entering into the land of Canaan (1-5)

In Chapter 1, God encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous to enter the land of Canaan for conquest. Joshua encouraged the 2.5 tribes to help the rest of the tribes conquer Canaan.

Chapter 2 records Joshua sending the spies to Jericho. They were saved by Rahab. These spies then promised Rahab that she and her family would be saved. Why did Joshua send spies? Didn’t he learn from history about the sending of spies? It was because of the sending of 12 spies in the past and 10 bringing back a bad report that caused Israel to not be able to enter Canaan. To take the step to spy on the land sounds good, but it just harmed them. Why did Joshua do this then? He did learn from history. Notice he didn’t send 12 but 2 spies. This shows his intent of sending spies was different from when the 12 spies were sent.

Chapter 3 records the people crossing River Jordan.

Chapter 4 records the people laying down 12 stones as a memorial in Gilgal.

In Chapter 5, after they crossed River Jordan and before fighting the first battle, God commanded the people to be circumcised in Gilgal. Being circumcised is having a covenant with God and being His children. By birth, they were descendants of Abraham but without circumcision, they wouldn’t be considered the people of God but instead be driven from the people of God. These people aged 40 and above who entered the land of Canaan were called the people of God by name but actually hadn’t entered God’s covenant yet; they had to be circumcised first. This would symbolise that these people were fighting on behalf of God; that this was a holy battle. It wasn’t just a tribe on the earth fighting people for their own sakes. At the same time, before they even fought the first battle, God appeared to Joshua to say He was the commander of the Lord’s army. This shows this is a battle for the Lord and that God Himself is personally leading his army against the enemies. It’s a holy war, not a human war.

2. Conquest of the land of Canaan (6-12)

Joshua and the people of Israel fought 7 years and killed 31 kings. This shows they had fought many battles. But Joshua only specially records 4 great battles. Chapter 6 records the battle against Jericho. Chapter 7-8 records the battle against the City of Ai. Chapter 9-10 records the southern campaign where the southern kings came together to go against Israel. Chapter 11-12 records the northern campaign; the enemies of the north came together to attack. 3 of these battles can be considered great battles, but why was the battle against the City of Ai considered a great battle too? Numerically, the people of Ai was few; it was a small city and it was a small battle, but it’s classified as a great battle.

Joshua 7:3-5
After spying on the City of Ai, the spies reported that it was a small city which only required a small group to be sent. Everyone was confident and assured victory was theirs. But there was a great unexpected result; a great tragedy. v5 says the hearts of the people melted and became like water. v6 tells us Joshua and the elders tore their clothes and poured ashes on their heads. It was a way of showing how lamentable the situation was. Joshua pleaded with God and asked why such a thing happened. God pointed out clearly to them why they were defeated.

Joshua 7:10-12
Because of the sin of Achan, God was no longer with the people of Israel. Hence, they were defeated. When they obeyed God’s command to remove the accursed things, victory was theirs. Although the Battle of Ai seemed to be a small battle, it was a great warning to the people of Israel. This is why Joshua also considered this as equal in significance to the other 3 battles.

Regarding the southern kings coming together to fight, there was special mention of the Gibeonites who tricked the Israelites to make a covenant with them. The lesson is: The enemy may not fight us with sword and spear. The enemy also uses schemes to trick us. That’s why Paul encourages us not to remain as children lest we be deceived and tossed to and fro by various doctrines. There’s also a record of God’s special miracle which stopped the sun and moon from moving. It was a day’s length when the moon and sun remained where they were. To unbelievers, this isn’t something scientific and it’s impossible. But to believers, this is the power of God and it’s a miracle that has never been seen and rarely seen in the future.

3. The division of the land of Canaan (13-24)

Half of the content of the book of Joshua records the division of the land to the tribes of Israel. Usually we would skip over them when we read it. Or if we don’t skip them, we would just briefly scan through them. Because when we read it, it seems very dry and we can’t find any meaning from them. But if we think a little deeper, we would realise it is truly meaningful and contains interesting things. For example, how can one be fair when dividing the land? How is the division of land reasonable? If we have a lot of children and need to divide them amongst many, we will realise how difficult it is to divide our inheritance and really be fair in our division. When the land was divided, a particular tribe made some noise because they thought it was unfair. Do you know which tribe it is and why this tribe was so daring to raise such a complaint? During the division of land there would be arguments. As a leader, how would such disputes be resolved? Because we’re a church; a big family, there’ll definitely be disputes. How do we resolve disputes amongst brethren? We must learn from the wisdom of Joshua when he was leader; how he faced these disputes and resolved these issues. When the land was being divided amongst the 12 tribes, the 12 tribes then was given the land, but in Revelation when we read about the number of those who were saved, we notice the tribe of Dan isn’t in the list in Revelation. What must have happened to cause the tribe of Dan to be removed from the list of those who were saved? Is it linked to the division of the land in the book of Joshua? These are questions that will be discussed later.

Chapters 13-19 tell us about the various tribes and what parcels of land they were supposed to inherit.

Chapter 20 has a special mention of God instituting the cities of refuge. This was so people who commit manslaughter have a place to run to to be saved. The penalty of killing is death. But not all who kill are supposed to die. Sometimes it’s unintentional. It’s manslaughter not murder. This person can flee from the avenger of blood (the person who avengers the one who died) and the run to the city of refuge. This is God’s mercy and righteousness.

Chapter 21 is about the cities the Levites are supposed to be given. The tribe of Levi weren’t supposed to receive any inheritance because God is their inheritance. So God instructed every other tribe to give up 4 cities for the tribe of Levi to live in. They received 48 cities in all. In terms of number of cities, they received more than some of the tribes. Amongst 48 cities, 6 of them were to be cities of refuge. Why were the cities of refuge chosen from the 48 cities of the Levites? Because the Levites were the servants of God. Apart from participating in religious work, they also had the duty of teaching the people the law of God. They were respected and trusted by people. Amongst the 12 tribes, they could be considered the middle ground. Since their cities were distributed amongst the 12 tribes, it’s most suitable for the 6 cities of refuge to be chosen from the 48 cities of the Levites.

Chapter 22 records the 2.5 tribes who built an altar which led to a dispute between the two sides. This dispute almost led to an in-fighting between brethren. In such a great crisis, how was it ultimately so peacefully resolved? This is another area we must specially pay attention to.

Chapter 23-24 records the final encouragement of Joshua. It is a special reaffirmation of the Israelites’ faith. Joshua said to the people of Israel, “If you think it’s evil for you to serve God, choose who you will serve today. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.” (24:15) These are famous words we are familiar with. But are we like Joshua, affirmed of these words?

The last segment of Joshua records Joshua being buried.

The Importance of the Book of Joshua

The book of Joshua is a very important part of the Old Testament history because it seems to be a conclusion of the 5 Books of Moses - the Pentateuch.

Themes:

1. Genesis: sin of man
2. Exodus: salvation/deliverance of man
3. Leviticus: to be consecrated; to separate holy from unholy
4. Numbers: the journey of faith
5. Deuteronomy: to keep God’s commandments
6. Joshua: receiving of the inheritance

The theme of the 1st book Genesis (that records creation) is about the sin of man. The theme of Exodus is the salvation/deliverance of man. The theme of Leviticus is to be consecrated; to separate holy from unholy. The theme of Numbers is the journey of faith. The theme of Deuteronomy is to keep God’s commandments. And the theme of Joshua is the receiving of the inheritance.

Without the book of Joshua, the first 5 books would not be complete. The relationship between Joshua and the Pentateuch is just like Acts of the apostles and the 4 gospels. If the 4 gospels weren’t continued by the Acts of Apostles, the salvation of God would not be complete. Because we wouldn’t see the promised Holy Spirit coming upon man; we wouldn’t see God’s promise of establishing the Kingdom of God - the church. If Joshua doesn’t continue from the 5 books of Moses, God’s salvation is not complete, because we don’t read of the promise of God being fulfilled. We don’t see it as a fact that the people of Israel receive the promised land. God through the hands of Moses led the people out of Egypt. From henceforth, they were delivered from a life of slavery. Joshua’s hands led the people into the land of Canaan. The people could receive the inheritance; the land flowing with milk and honey; the promised land Canaan. These were the 2 parts of God’s salvation plan. If there was only the Exodus from Egypt but not the entering into Canaan, salvation would not be complete.

Our life of faith is the same as the theme in the Pentateuch and Joshua. First, recognise we have sinned. Second, we are delivered by God. Third, lead a life consecrated. Fourth, walk this journey of faith. Fifth, keep God’s commandments. Finally/sixthly, receive the promises of God. If we are unable to ultimately receive the inheritance in heaven, then Paul says we are worse off than the unbelievers. This is why the book of Joshua is such an important book to us. It records historical events but it’s not a historical book. Although we often say the book of Joshua is one of the historical books based on the way we divide the Bible, based on the way the Hebrew Bible sectionalises the books, Joshua belongs to the former prophets. The former prophets include Judges, Samuel and Kings. All the content of these books do record things about history, but they actually come from the angle/perspective of the prophets and are written in such a manner. These books don’t merely record the events in history but also records of God’s mark in history. This is so that people can, through history, see the wondrous workings of God; see God’s salvation to some people and punishment to others; to teach people to repent and turn to God and fear Him. More importantly, we must see that God speaks to the people through history. All the words God spoke in history have come to pass one by one.

Joshua 21:43-45
43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

The book of Joshua records the history of the people conquering Canaan. This history shows clearly what God promised their forefathers came to pass. God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan and become a great nation. One man Abraham becoming a people is a possibility. But to become a great nation is unimaginable, especially when we read of the history of the people of Israel becoming slaves in Egypt for 400 years. They could not overthrow the Egyptians. How can such a weak people who were slaves of Egypt be able to overcome them, leave from them and establish their own kingdom? It is an impossible dream. But the book of Joshua tells us after 400 years, God fulfilled His promise. This fact is not just significant to them, it’s all the more significant to us today because God’s promise isn’t just for Abraham’s descendants to become a great nation. It also included a promise that all people of the earth will be blessed through the descendants of Abraham.

Gal 3:16, 29
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Through Jesus Christ we have become descendants of Abraham. Hence we are able to receive the promised inheritance of God. The book of Joshua records how the people conquered and entered Canaan are lessons for us. Their success is what we must also pursue after. Their failures are a warning to us. Because our lot is to receive this better inheritance in the Kingdom of God. We also have to fight this good fight. We must read the book of Joshua with the eyes of the prophets, so we won’t think it’s just very dry history. It’s actually a fight for life; a record of how life is won. When we have fought the good fight, we too can receive the more beautiful reward in heaven. Let’s put in effort to learn from the book of Joshua because God through his servant recorded this history as a lesson for us; to teach us that these lessons aren’t only for ourselves but also to teach our children; to teach us how to keep the commandment of God; to teach us how we have to face the battle of our faith; to teach us how we ought to finally receive the inheritance - the land of Canaan.