Joshua #18

Joshua, one of the twelve spies sent to scout Canaan and one of only two who urged Israel to trust God’s promise of the land, is formally commissioned by Moses as his successor. God instructs Moses, “Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him… and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation” (Numbers 27:18-19), so that the people would be obedient to him.

Crossing the Jordan and Jericho

Following Moses’s death, God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous as he leads Israel across the Jordan into the land: “Be strong and of a good courage… Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:6-9). At the Jordan, priests carrying the ark of the covenant step into the river, and the waters upstream are cut off so that “all the Israelites passed over on dry ground” (Joshua 3:15-17). Joshua then has twelve stones set up as a memorial, so that when future generations ask what the stones mean, Israel could recount how “the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD” (Joshua 4:6-7). Joshua’s military campaign then begins with the fall of Jericho: after Israel marches around the city for seven days according to divine instruction, “the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city” (Joshua 6:20), an episode that becomes emblematic of victory achieved through faith and obedience rather than conventional siege warfare.

Conquest and Covenant Renewal

The book bearing his name recounts the broader conquest and division of Canaan among the twelve tribes, campaigns the text presents as executing the land grant first promised to Abraham. Allotments are made by tribe, with Caleb, Joshua’s fellow faithful spy decades earlier, specifically requesting and receiving the hill country he had scouted as a young man (Joshua 14:6-14). Near the end of his life, Joshua gathers Israel to renew their covenant with God, issuing the enduring challenge, “choose you this day whom ye will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15).

Legacy

Joshua completes the journey begun under Moses, fulfilling the patriarchal promise of land first given to Abraham, and stands as the model of faithful, courageous leadership in the transition from wilderness wandering to settled national life.