Joshua began life in Egypt as a slave, under cruel Egyptian taskmasters, but he rose to be the leader of Israel, through faithful obedience to God. Born: Roughly 1530 to 1500 BC in Egypt, probably in the area of Goshen in the northeast Nile delta. Born a slave, like his fellow Hebrews.
He was the son of Nun from the Tribe of Ephraim Moses gave Hosea son of Nun his new name: Joshua (Yeshua in Hebrew), which means "the Lord is Salvation." This name selection was the first indicator that Joshua was a "type," or picture, of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Study Of Joshua There were 2 great powers at the time before & around the time of Joshua. The Hittites in the North in the area of Turkey. & The Egyptians in the South. They would battle in and around Canaan for hundreds of years.
He saw the God s power to bring Isreal out of Egpyt. The plagues released upon Egypt Crossed the Red Sea on dry land. Saw God destroy Egypt s mighty army.
He was able to defeat Amalek by the sword by power of God through Moses. (Ex 17) He was the assistant to Moses. Went with Moses to Mt Sinai when Moses received the 10 Commandments. (Ex 24)
When Moses sent 12 spies to scout the land of Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, believed the Israelites could conquer the land with God's help. (Num 13 & 14)
Angry, God sent the Jews to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that unfaithful generation died. Of those spies, only Joshua and Caleb survived. (Num 26)
God had Moses commision Joshua as the one to lead Isreal into the Promised Land. (Num 27) Joshua as the Hebrew leader would enter & take the Promised Land as God had promised. (Num 32 & Duet 31)
Study Of Joshua At the start of the book, Joshua is roughly in his late 80 s early 90 s. Book covers between 15 to 25yrs. From entering Canaan to Joshua s death.
Lesson 1: Joshua 1 ~ 2 Chp 1 Ver 1 ~ 9 God tells Joshua to take Isreal & cross the Jordan & go into the Promised Land. God will give him the land & no man will stand before him all the days of his life. God directs Joshua to be strong & courageous 3 times because he would be with him. God directs Joshua to keep the law & do all that is written. Meditate on it day & night. It would make his way prosperous & successful.
Lesson1: Joshua 1 & 2 Chp 1 Ver 4 God lays out the Promised Land for Joshua. Ver 4 From the wilderness & this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the Sun, will be your territory
Lesson 1: Joshua 1 ~ 2 Chp 1 Ver 10 ~ 18 Joshua tells the leaders of the Tribes to prepare provisions for in 3 days they would cross the Jordan & possess the Promised Land. Joshua tells the Reubenites, Gadites & half Manasseh to leave their families & possessions & have their valiant warriors to cross over Jordan to help take the Promised Land. They agreed to do as commanded.
Lesson 1: Joshua 1 ~ 2 Study Of Joshua Chp 2 Ver 1 ~ 5 Joshua sent 2 spies to go view the land, especially Jericho. The spies came to Jericho and meet the harlot, Rehab. King of Jericho sent his men to get the foreigners, but she lied and said they had already left the city & that if they pusued them that they could catch them on the road.
Lesson 1: Joshua 1 ~ 2 Chp 2 Ver 6 ~ 21 Rehab hide the spies in the flax on her roof. She told them she knew the Lord had given them the land. She had heard of how God dried the Red Sea for them to escape Egypt & how they had defeated the King Sihon & Og. She ask the spies to spare her and her family. They promised if she kept their secret that anyone in her house when they came would be spared. She lowered the spies outside the city from the window of her house using a scarlet cord. Then marked her house with the cord in the window.
Lesson 1: Joshua 1 ~ 2 Study Of Joshua Chp 2 Ver 22 ~ 24 The report to Joshua that the Lord has given that land and all it s inhabitants over to them and that they fear them. Rehab, through her faith, keeps her word and her & her family would be spared. She would later marry Salmon and give birth to Boaz, becoming part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Lesson 2: Joshua 3 ~ 5 Chp 3 Ver 10 Joshua said to the people By this you shall know the Lord your God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, Hittite, Hivite, Perizzite, Girgashite, Amorite & Jebusite.
Lesson 2: Joshua 3 ~ 5 Chp 3 Joshua & Israel cross over the Jordan on dry land.
Lesson 2: Joshua 3 ~ 5 Study Of Joshua Chp 4 Joshua directs the 12 tribes to gather stones to remember the crossing. Set up a memorial at Gilgal
Lesson 2: Joshua 3 ~ 5 Chp 5 Lord directs Joshua to circumcise again the sons of Israel. Israel celebrated Passover. The manna from heaven stopped once the people of Israel at produce from the land of Canaan.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 5:13-15 While Joshua was by Jericho the Captain of the host of the Lord appeared to Joshua. Joshua fell down on his face before him and worshipped. Angel directed Joshua to remove his sandals for he was on Holy Ground He provided Joshua with instruction for how to take Jericho
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 6:1-5 The Lord explained that Jericho along with it s King & valiant warriors would be given over to Joshua. The Lord instructed Joshua to have the army, priests & the ark march around the city once per day for six days. Then on the 7 th day they where to march around 7 times while the priest blew the ram horns the people were to call out with a battle cry and the walls would fall.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Study Of Joshua Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 6:6-14 Joshua told the plan for how Jericho would be delivered over to the people of Israel. For 6 straight days the armed men lead the priest the ark and the rear guard in silence around the walls of Jericho.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 6:15-19 On the 7th day the people marched 7 times around the walls, the priest blew the ram horns & the battle cry made and the walls of Jericho fell
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 6:20-27 The walls were flattened & the people went straight into the city. The city was utterly destroyed All the people & livestock were killed and the city burned. Only Rehab & her family were spared just as the spies promised her for protecting them & her belief in God. Joshua then condemned the 1 st & last born of anyone who rebuilt the city.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 7: 1 9 Unknown to Joshua, God is angry with Israel, because Achan has taken spoils from Jericho Joshua sent spies to look at Ai. They reported the city is small and can be easily taken. Joshua sends out 3000 men to attack and take Ai, but they were defeated & 36 men were killed. Joshua is devastated, tears his clothes prays to God for what to do.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 7: 10 18 God tells Joshua that Israel had sinned by taking of spoils of Jericho & that the sin would have to be dealt with before they could face another army. God tells Joshua to have the tribes approach in order, then he would identify by the tribe, clan, family & man the on involved. Joshua did as God commanded & Achan of the tribe of Judah was identified by God.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 7: 19 26 Joshua told Achan to be truthful and Achan confessed his sin of taking the robe, silver & gold. Then per God s direction Achan as his family were stoned and with all his possessions burned. A large pile of stones were placed over them.
Lesson 3: Joshua 5 ~ 8 Chp 8: 1 35 God tells Joshua he has give over Ai to him. That the possessions in it the people could have. Joshua set up an ambush per God s direction, where 30,000 men of his army would hide while he & the rest of the army drew the King of Ai & his army out of the city. The city of Ai & it s people were destroyed & once again Israel was victorious. At Mt Ebal Joshua erected an alter & inscribed the law on it per direction of Moses. Offering & sacrifices were made and Joshua read the law to the people standing on Mt Ebal & Gerizim.
Chp 9: 1 13 Kings of the lands across the Jordan joined forces to fight against Joshua & Israel. But when the Gibeonites heard what had happened to Jericho & Ai, they came up with a plan to save themselves. They came to Joshua wearing old clothes & sandals & carrying old wine sacks & bread and pretended to come from a far country. They asked Joshua for a covenant of peace. They said they were their servants based on what they heard God had done for them. Study Of Joshua Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10
Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10 Chp 9: 14 27 Joshua made a covenant with them to let them live & the leaders swore an oath, but he did not consult with God. 3 days later he found out that they from within the land. The people of Israel were angry. Because Joshua & the people had given their oath not to harm them, Joshua told them they would be slaves to Israel, the hewers of wood & drawers of water.
Chp 10: 1 6 Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard what happened at Ai & Jericho & what Gibeon had done, so he meet with Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish & Debir king of Eglon and they joined forces. They decided go and attack Gibeon since they made peace with Joshua & Israel. Gibeon sent word to Joshua of the coming attack on them & to come save them. Study Of Joshua Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10
Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10 Chp 10: 7 11 Joshua marched the Army from Gigal to Gibeon that night. The Lord confounded the Amorites and they killed many of them. The army of Israel pursued them to Beth-horon & down to Azekah, where the Lord killed more of Amorites in a hail storm. More Amorites died from the hail stones, then by the sword of Israel.
Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10 Study Of Joshua Chp 10: 12 15 As Israel continued to pursue the Amorites, Joshua stopped and asked God to stop the Sun & the moon until they destroyed their enemies. God listened to Joshua & fought for Israel & stopped the Sun in the sky for a whole day. Isreal defeated the Amorites & this was written in the book of Jasher.
Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10 Study Of Joshua Chp 10: 16 28 Joshua was told that the 5 Amorites kings were hiding themselves in a cave at Makkedah. Joshua sent men to seal them in the caves while they finished destroying the Amorites. After the battle was done marched Joshua had the kings brought out. Joshua had the leaders of his army put their feet on the necks of the kings & told them God would do this to all their enemies. Joshua killed the kings, hung them & then sealed their bodies in the cave they were found.
Lesson 4: Joshua 9 ~ 10 Chp 10: 28 43 Joshua & Israel marched on & utterly destroyed the following cities, their people & their king. Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron & Debir. Even Horam king of Gezer & his army who came to help Lachish. 3 of these kings were new to power, Lachish, Hebron & Eglon, since their previous kings were killed. Joshua & Israel marched on & utterly destroyed all the people & their kings from Negev to Kadesh-barnea to Gaza to Goshen. Then they returned to Gilgal.
Chp 11: 1 6 Jabin, King of Hazor, heard of Israel s victories in the south & formed an alliance with the kings of Madon, Shimron, Achshaph & the others of northern Canaan to make war with Isreal. Study Of Joshua Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 The Lord told Joshua not to fear for he would cause all them to lie dead before Israel. God command him to destory their chariots & hamstring their horses.
Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 Chp 11: 7 15 Joshua & the army of Israel attacked King Jabin & his alliance by surprise at the waters of Merom. He destroyed their armies & chased them toward Zidon. He destroyed their chariots & crippled their horses just as God commanded. He then turned & attacked Hazor. He killed Jabin, destoryed all its inhabitants & burned the city. The spoils of the city Israel was allowed to take. Joshua left nothing undone that the Lord commanded Moses.
Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 Chp 11: 16 20 Joshua took all the land. The hill country, Negev, Goshen, the lowland & the Arabah. He captured & destroyed the city, it s people & their kings. The war that Joshua & Israel wage to take the promised land was 7 ½ years, based on Josh 14:7 & 14:10. No people made peace with them except the Gibeonites, because God hardened their hearts.
Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 Study Of Joshua Chp 11: 21 23 Joshua & the army of Israel attacked & destroyed the Anakim (Giants) from the hill country & all their cities. None were left in the land only in Gaza, Gath & Ashdod. (Goliath of the Philistines would descend from these people.) Joshua took all the land just as God had told Moses. The war ended & Joshua prepared the give Israel it s inheritance.
Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 Chp 12: 1 6 The kings defeated by Moses were Sihon, king of the Amorites & Og, king of Bashan. Moses & Israel with God defeated them and the land was given over to the tribes of Reuben, Gad & half of Manasseh.
Lesson 5: Joshua 11 ~ 12 Chp 12: 7 24 Joshua & Israel attacked & destroyed 31 kings and took all their land for the remaining tribes. He defeated the kings of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, Adullam, Makkedah, Bethel, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, Lasharon, Madon, Hazor, Shimron-meron, Achshaph, Taanach, Megiddo, Kadesh, Jokneam, Dor, Goiim & Tirzah.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Study Of Joshua Chp 13: 1 14 God tells Joshua he is old & that more land remains to be possessed. Israel needed to take the regions of the Philistines, land east of Egypt & Lebanon & land east of Lebanon. God tells Joshua allot the land & he will drive them out before them. The land that was already allotted to the tribes of Gad, Reuben & 1/2 of Manasseh was clarified again. The tribe of Levi inheritance was offerings by fire to the Lord.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 13: 15 33 Inheritance of Reuben: Area from Arnon valley to Heshbon (city of King Sihon) & from Dead Sea to Jahaz. Inheritance of Gad: Area from Heshbon to Ramoth-gilead & from Jordan river to the land of Ammon. Inheritance of Manasseh: Area from Manhanaim to Mt Hermon & from Sea of Galilee to land of Aram. Including the cities of Og.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 14: 1 15 Joshua, Eleazer the high priest & the elders of tribes came together divide up the inheritance of the land west of the Jordan for the remaining 91/2 tribes. Inheritance of Caleb: Caleb remind Joshua of Moses promise of a special inheritance for spying on the land. Caleb was given Hebron & he drove out all surrounding inhabitants, showing it could be done with God. Study Of Joshua
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 15: 1 63 Inheritance of Judah: Area from the Great Sea to Dead Sea & from Bethlehem to Tamar. Caleb s portion was in Judah s allotment. He drove out the children of Anak. He offered his daughter to whoever captured Kiriath-sepher. His nephew Othniel captured the city & married Achsah. Achsah asked her father for land with a spring & he gave it to them. Judah received over 100 cities & towns. They were unable to drive out the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, so they remained.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Study Of Joshua Chp 16:1 17:18 Inheritance of the sons of Joseph. Inheritance of Ephraim: Area from east of Jehud to east of Shiloh & from Yarkon River to Beth-horon. They took all the land, but could not drive out the Canaanites out of Gezer, so they made them slaves. Inheritance of Half of Manasseh: Area from Great Sea to the Jordan River & from Mt Carmel down to Gilgal. They took all the land, but could not drive out the Canaanites, so they made them slaves. Manasseh asked Joshua for more land, but Joshua told them to go into the hill country & drive out the Canaanites. Not to worry about their chariots for they are a strong people
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 18:1 10 The remaining tribes of the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh. Joshua charges them to possess the rest of the land. So Joshua 3 men of each tribe were selected and sent out to map out the land and layout 7 portions ot the land for the remaining tribes. Once the men returned with their layouts of the land, Joshua cast lots for the remaining divisions of the land.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Study Of Joshua Chp 18:11 19:16 Inheritance of Benjamin (1 st Lot) Area included cities of Jericho, Gibeon & Jerusalem. Inheritance of Simeon (2 nd Lot) Area in the midst of Judah s portion & included cities of Beersheba & Bethul. Inheritance of Zebulun (3 rd Lot) Area was in the north & included city of Rimmon. Inheritance of Issachar (4 th Lot) Area just north of West Manasseh & included the cities of Jerzeel & Jarmuth.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 19:17 19:51 Inheritance of Asher (5 th Lot) Area bordered the Great Sea & ran from Litani to Lishon Rivers. Inheritance of Naphtali (6 th Lot) Area bordered Sea of Galilee & included cities of Kadesh & Hazor. Inheritance of Dan (7 th Lot) Area was just south of Ephraim & included city of Joppa. Sons of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua per the command of the Lord. He was given Timnathserah in Ephraim, so he built a city & lived their.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Study Of Joshua Chp 20:1 9 6 Cities Of Refuge The Lord told Joshua to tell the sons of Israel to select 6 cities of refuge as Moses spoke of. So that a manslayer who kills unintentionally can flee an avenger of blood. So Isreal set aside Kadesh in Naphtali, Shechem in Ephraim, Hebron in Judah, Bezer in Reuben, Ramoth in Gad & Golan in E. Manasseh.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 21:1 42 The heads of the Levites came to Joshua & the sons of Israel & told them that the Lord command Moses to give them cities & fields for their cattle to graze. So they were given cities to live. Sons of Kohath (Sons of Aaron who were Levites) rec d 13 cities in Judah, Benjamin & Simeon. Other sons of Kohath rec d 10 cities in Ephraim, Dan & Manasseh. Sons of Gershon rec d 13 cities in Issachar, Asher, Naphtali & Manasseh. Sons of Merari rec d 12 cities in Reuben, Gad & Zebulun.
Lesson 6: Joshua 13 ~ 21 Chp 21:43 45 The Lord gave Israel all the land which he swore to their fathers to give them & they possessed it and lived in it. No enemies challenged them that the Lord didn t give over to them. All the promises that the Lord made all came to pass. None failed. The promise of the land was fulfilled.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Chp 22:1 10: Joshua called the tribes of Reuben, Gad & half of Manasseh & told them to go home to their inheritance east of the Jordan He complimented them for their commitment to Moses commandment in helping Israel take the Promised Land. He exhorted them to remain obedient to the Law of Moses. At the Jordan the sons of Reuben, Gad & half of Manasseh built a large alter of remembrance.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Chp 22:11 20 Study Of Joshua When the western tribes of Israel heard about the alter that Reuben, Gad & half of Manasseh built they were ready to go to war. They sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, with 10 chiefs from each tribe to the eastern tribes and confronted them about turning away from Lord & building the alter. He reminded them about the sin at Peor & the sin of Achan & how all of Israel suffered. They offered land in the west if they felt their land was unclean. Exhorted them to not rebel against God.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Chp 22:21 34: Then the tribes of Reuben, Gad & half of Manasseh told them that they never built the alter to offer animal sacrifices & violate the Law of Moses. They built it to help later generations remember that they were part of the nation of Israel. Phinehas & the 10 leaders of each of the tribes were pleased to know that they were not being unfaithful to the Lord. The sons of Israel no longer desired to go to war with the eastern tribes.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Study Of Joshua Chp 23:1 16 Joshua near the end of his life, called for all of Israel, it s leaders, elders, judges & officers of the nation. Joshua reminded them: God fought for them and gave them the land. God would help them drive out the Canaanites. Keep & do what is written in the law of Moses from God. All that God had promised was fulfilled & had not failed. Do not let the Canaanites remain amongst them, marry them & start serving other gods. If the they serve other gods they would perish from the land.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Chp 24:1 27 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem & he told the people: 1. God s grace shown to through the history of Israel. Grace shown to Abraham, the promise to Jacob, Israel s Egyptian bondage, defeat of Sihon & Og & conquering the promised land. 2. Israel needs to serve & follow the Lord. Put out idolatry from amongst them & serve God in sincerity & truth. The people responded & said they would serve God & keep his commandments. Joshua reminded them again to remove idolatry & not to serve or worship other gods or God would turn from them & punish them. Then a great stone was established as witness of what was spoken that day.
Lesson 7: Joshua 22 ~ 24 Chp 24:28 33 Joshua dismissed the tribes to their inheritance Study Of Joshua Joshua died at the age of 110 years old & was buried in the land near Timnath-serah. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua & the elders who lived past Joshua. Joseph s bones that were brought back from Egypt were buried at Shechem as he requested to be returned to the land which Jacob purchased. Eleazar died & was buried at Gibeah in Ephraim.