Introduction to Joshua
Introduction to Joshua
Soldiers
The church needs the message of the book of Joshua more than ever before. We’re living in a day of reproach and defeat, and the church is no longer “clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Song 6:10 KJV). We look more like prisoners of war.
Whether we like it or not, God’s people are expected to be soldiers. At least Paul thought so: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:3–4 NKJV).
The book of Joshua tells us how to be victorious soldiers and how to claim our rich, spiritual inheritance in Jesus Christ. It tells us how to be strong and courageous as we face our enemies and march forward to claim new territory for the Lord.
New Beginnings
The book of Joshua is the book of new beginnings for the people of God, and many believers today need a new beginning. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel claimed their inheritance and enjoyed the blessings of the land that God had prepared for them, “as the days of heaven upon the earth” (Deut. 11:21 KJV). That’s the kind of life God wants us to experience today. Jesus Christ, our Joshua, wants to lead us in conquest now and share with us all the treasures of His wonderful inheritance. He has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings” (Eph. 1:3 KJV), but too often we live like defeated paupers.
Conquerors
The leading person in the book of Joshua is not Joshua but the Lord Jehovah, the God of Joshua and of Israel. In all that Joshua did by faith, he desired to glorify the Lord. When the Jews crossed the Jordan River, Joshua reminded them that the living God was among them and would overcome their enemies (Josh. 3:10). Through Israel’s obedience, Joshua wanted all the people of the earth to know the Lord and fear Him (4:23–24). In his “farewell addresses” to the leaders (chap. 23) and to the nation (chap. 24), Joshua gave God all the glory for what Israel had accomplished under his leadership.
As you look at your life and the life of the church where you fellowship, do you see yourself and your fellow believers wandering in the wilderness or conquering in the Promised Land?
—Warren W. Wiersbe