The Bible - Book of Joshua

1. The Bible - Book of Joshua – 10th
December2016
“Keep thisBook of the Law alwayson yourlips; meditateon it day andnight,so that you may be
careful to doeverything written in it. Then you will be prosperousand successful.”( Joshua1:8).
The Book of Joshua does not explicitly nameits author.More than likely Joshua the son of Nun, the successor of
Moses as leader over Israel,penned much of this book. The latter partof the book was written by atleastone
other person after the death of Joshua. It is also possiblethatseveral sections were edited / compiled following
Joshua's death. The Book of Joshua was likely written between 1400 and 1370 B.C. The Book of Joshua provides
an overview of the military campaignsto conquer the land area that God had promised.Followingthe exodus from
Egypt and the subsequent forty years of the wilderness wanderings,the newly-formed nation is now poised to
enter the Promised Land, conquer the inhabitants,and occupy the territory. The overview that we have here gi ves
abbreviated and selectivedetails of many of the battles and the manner in which the land was not only conquered,
but how it was divided into tribal areas.
The Book of Joshua continues the story of the Israelites after the exodus from Egypt. The book chronicles the
approximately 20 years of Joshua’s leadership of the people after Moses anointed him at the end of Deuteronomy.
The twenty-four chapter divisions of the Book of Joshua can be summarized as follows: Joshua Chapters 1-12:
Entering and conquering the Promised Land. Chapters 13-22: Instructions for distributing the portions of the
Promised Land. Chapters 23-24: Joshua’s farewell address
One of the ceremonial ritualsof Joshua 5 finds its perfect fulfillmentin 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. But when we read Colossians2,itdescribes believers as havingbeen
circumcised in their hearts by ChristHimself, by whom we have put off the sinful natureof our former lives
without Christ. We can learn this from Colossians 2:10-12 “…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is
the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed
by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[a] was put off when you were circumcised by[b] Christ,
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the
working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
The Book of Joshua has an overridingtheological 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 Old Testament is
replete with stories of how the people “forgot” God and His Word and suffered terribleconsequences. For the
Christian,theWord of God is our teaching to livea God fearinglife. If we neglect it, our lives will suffer accordingly.
But if we take to heart the principleof Joshua 1:8,we will be complete and ableto be of use in God’s kingdom as
we can learn from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work.” This way we will find thatGod’s promises that we find in Joshua 1 will beours as well. “Keep this
Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:8-9).
Joshua is a prime example of the benefits of a worthy mentor. For years he remained closeto Moses. He watched
Moses as he followed God in an almostflawless manner.He learned to pray in a personal way from Moses. He
learned how to obey through the example of Moses. Joshua apparently also learned fromthe negative example
that cost Moses the joy of actually enteringthe Promised Land. If you are alive,you are a mentor because
someone, somewhere, is watchingyou. Some younger person or someone that you are influencingis seei nghow
you liveand how you react. This may be at home, Church, at your work placeor simply anyone whom you have
contact with. Someone is learningfromyou and will followyour example. Therefore Christian mentoringis far

2. more than the words that are spoken by the mentor per se, becauseHis or her entire lifeis on display and thattoo
as a Child of God.
Whenwe read the Bookof Joshuawe come across a passage in Joshua10 that containsone of God's
cosmicmiracles.Thoughithas beendebunkedcountless timesoverthe pastseveral decades,ithas
beenreportedwhere NASAthemselves finditimpossible forthemtoexplainsame. Astronautsand
space scientistsatGreenBelt,Marylandwere checkingthe positionof the sun,moon,andplanetsoutin
space where theywouldbe,100 years and1000 yearsfrom now.NASA hadto know thisso theywon’t
senda satellite upandhave itbumpintosomethinglateroninitsorbits.We have to lay outthe orbitsin
termsof the life of the satellite,andwhere the planetswill be,sothe whole thingwill notbogdown.
Theyran the computermeasurementbackandforthoverthe centuriesandit came to a halt.The
computerstoppedandputup a red signal,whichmeantthatthere wassomethingwrongeitherwiththe
informationfedintoit,orwiththe resultsascomparedto the standardsadopted.
At thispointtheycalledinthe relevantdepartmenttocheckitoutand theysaid“what’swrong?”
Althoughtheyranthe computermeasurementbackandforth theytoofoundthat there isa “almost”a
day missinginspace,inelapsedtime.Theyscratchedtheirheadsandtore theirhair.There wasno
answer.Finally,aChristianmanonthe teamsaid,“You know,one time I was inSundayschool and they
talkedaboutthe sunstandingstill.”While theydidn’tbelievehim, theydidn’thave ananswereither,so
theysaid“Showus.” He gota Bible andwentbackto the book of Joshuawhere theyfoundapretty
ridiculousstatement foranyone with“commonsense.”Joshuawasconcernedbecause he was
surroundedbythe enemyandif darknessfell the enemy wouldoverpowerthem.SoJoshuaaskedthe
Lord to make the sun standstill! We can learnthisfrom Joshua10:8,“ The LORD saidto Joshua,“Do not
be afraidof them; I have given them intoyour hand.Not one of them will be able to withstandyou.”
The bible statesthatthe sun stoodstill andthe moonstayed-andhastednottogo downabout a whole
day andenabledthe Israel armyto win.We can read it in Joshua 10:12-13, “On the day the LORD
gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshuasaidto the LORD in the presence ofIsrael: “Sun,standstill over
Gibeon,andyou, moon,over the Valleyof Aijalon.”13
Sothesunstoodstill,and the moon stopped,till
the nationavenged itselfon its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.The sunstopped inthe
middleof the sky and delayedgoingdownabout a full day.”
Who wouldhave thoughtthatscience,the nemesisof faith,wouldinadvertentlybe harnessedtoprove
one of God's cosmicmiraclestrue? Inthisinstance itisthe scientiststhemselveswhoworksohardto
undermine biblical valueswiththeirseculartheoriesonthe originsof manand the Universe,have toeat
the humble pie inreference tothisinstance.