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JOSHUA OUTLINE DATE: c. 1400-1370 BC There are some scholars who believe the book was not written until about 800 years after then events at the end of the period of the kings. AUTHORSHIP: Basically the book appears to have been written by Joshua. There are two passages which apparently could not have been written by him 15:13-17 (see . 1:9-13), and 24:29-31 (the funeral passage). Earliest Jewish tradition, however, attributes the book to him, with the exception of the funeral passage which is attributed to Eleazar, son of Aaron. Joshua's name was Hoshea (Nu. 13:8) which means "salvation" it was changed to Joshua (Nu. 13:16) which means "Yahweh is salvation" by Moses. The name is translated in Greek as "Jesus". He was from the tribe of Ephraim and was one of the twelve spies sent to spy out the land of Cannan. Num 14:6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes (NIV)
MAJOR THEME: The major theme of the book is God's faithfulness. It also demonstrates that the victorious life must be lived by faith. I. Entering the Land of Canaan 1:1-5:15 A. God's commission to Joshua 1:1-9 1. Instructions to cross into Canaan v. 2 2. The boundaries of the inheritance v. 4 (see Gen. 15:18-21; also Nu. 34:3) Joshua 1:4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-- all the Hittite country-- to the Great Sea on the west. (NIV) Gen 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." (NIV) Num 34:3 "`Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea, (NIV) 3. God's abiding presence vv. 5-9 *(Note the personal nature of this passage.) a. warning v. 7 (1) Obedience b. The Book of the Law v.7,8 (1) Three aspects of personal Bible Study: i. Recitation ii. Meditation iii. Observation c. The Marvelous command and promise v. 9 (1) The abiding presence of God. B. Joshua commands the people 1:10-18
C. Spies sent to Jericho 2:1-24 1. Rahab: Matt 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, (NIV) Heb 11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. (NIV) James 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? (NIV) a. Rahab hides the spies vv. 3-7 b. Rahab helps them escape vv. 8-16 3. The scarlet thread vv. 17-21 4. The spies depart and return to Joshua vv. 22-24 D. The Crossing of the Jordan Ch. 3 The crossing of the Jord was a major crisis of faith for the Israelites. This is the second time they have been at the door to the promised land. 1. The Ark of the Lord will lead the way vv. 1-6 a. Camping three days on the bank v 2 2. The Lord begins to exalts Joshua vv. 7,8 3. Joshua directs the crossing vv. 9-17 E. The Commemoration Ceremony Ch. 4 1. The memorial stones at Gilgal vv. 1-8; 4:20 Josh. 4:1-3,6 1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. . . . 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, `What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." (NIV) Josh. 4:20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. (NIV)
2. The stones in the Jordan v. 9 3. The three tribes on the East cross the Jordan vv. 12-13 4. Joshua is exalted by God v. 14 5. The meaning of the memorial stones vv. 21-24 F. The Circumcision of the people 5:1-8 1. The fear of the Canaanites v. 1 2. God commands circumcision vv. 2-8 a. Circumcision had not been practiced during the wandering in the wilderness v. 6 G. Manna ceases 5:9-12 H. The Captain of the Lord's host 5:13-15 1. A theophany - preincarnation appearance of God II. The Conquest of Canaan 6:1-12:24 A. The victory at Jericho 6:1-27 1. God's instructions vv. 3-5 a. An act of faith and obedience 2. God’s judgement on Jericho v. 7, 21 a. See Gen 15:16 3. Rahab and her family are spared vv. 22-25 4. The oath vv. 26,27 (see 1 Ki 16:34) B. The sin of Achan Ch.7-8 1. Israel defeated at Ai 7:1-15 2. Achan's sin revealed 7:16-23 3. Achan's sin is judged 7:24-26 4. Ai is conquered 8:1-29 a. Joshua plans the battle vv. 1-17 b. The city is captured vv. 18-27 c. The city is destroyed vv. 28,29 5. The alter at Mt. Ebal 8:30-35 (Deut. 27) C. The conquest of Southern Canaan 9:1-10:43 1. The deception of the Gibeonites 9:1-27 a. The confederacy of the kings 9:1,2 b. The ruse of the Gibeonites 9:3-15 c. Israel discovers the deception 9:16-27 2. The five Amonite kings unite 10:1-6 a. To fight Gibeon v. 5 b. Gibeon sends for Joshua v. 6 3. Israel fights against the Amonites 10:7-15 a. The Lord confounds Amon v. 10 b. The Lord sends hail upon Amon v. 11 c. The sun stands still vv. 12-14 4. Israel is victorious 10:16-43 a. The five kings are executed vv. 22-27 b. The rest of the southern region is conquered vv. 28-43 D. The conquest of Northern Canaan 11:1-15 E. A Summary of the Conquest 11:16-12:24 (see v. 22 - Anakim – giants) III. The Division of the Land among Israel 13-22 A. The Lord instructs Joshua 13:1-7 B. The division East of the Jordan 13:8-33 C. The division of Canaan 14:1-19:51 1. Caleb's request 14:1-14 2. The inheritance of Judah 15:1-53 3. The inheritance of Ephraim 16:1-10 4. The inheritance of the half-tribe of Manasseh 17:1-18 a. Manasseh's complaint vv. 14-18 5. The Tent of Meeting is set up at Shiloh 18:1 6. The survey of the land 18:2-10 7. The inheritance of Benjamin 18:11-28 8. The inheritance of Simeon 19:1-9 9. The inheritance of Zebulun 19:10-16 10. The inheritance of Issachar 19:17-23 11. The inheritance of Asher 19:24-31 12. The inheritance of Naphatali 19:32-39 13. The inheritance of Dan 19:40-48 14. The inheritance of Joshua 19:49-51 D. The cities of refuge Ch. 20 1. the provision for the cities vv. 1-6 2. The names of the cities vv. 7-9 E. The cities of the Levites Ch. 21 F. The Transjordanian tribes sent home 22:1-9 1. These are the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh v. 1 G. The altar they built and the controversy 22:10-34 IV. The Last Days of Joshua 23-24 A. Joshua's farewell address 23:1-24:28 1. Instructions to the leaders 23:1-16 2. Instructions to the people 24:1-28 a. A capsule history vv. 2-14 b. Joshua's challenge to the people v.15 c. The response of the people vv. 16-19 d. Conditions of the covenant vv. 20-28
B. The death of Joshua 24:29-33 1. Joshua is buried vv. 29,30 2. Joseph is buried v. 32 3. Eleazar son of Aaron dies v. 33 |