Joshua is one of the Bible’s great books of courage and faith. God told Joshua: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them — to the Israelites" (verse 2). The keynote in God’s encouraging address is the repeated call to be strong and courageous (verses 6-7, 9).

The basis of Joshua’s confidence and strength was God’s promised presence and power (1:6). But the key to Israel’s success in the Conquest, Joshua’s effective leadership, and God’s saving presence with His people would be Israel’s fidelity to the book of the law. (Thomas L. Constable, "A Theology of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth," in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, ed. Roy B. Zuck, p. 97)

The Israelites promised obedience: "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go" (verse 16). Sadly, this expression of faith was to prove shallow. Consequently, much of the land was subdued only by toilsome warfare.

Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, decided to protect the Israelite spies because she recognized the God of Israel as the true God. The Scriptures commend her faith: "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient" (Hebrews 11:31).

Rahab’s faith was well founded (Joshua 2:8-11) and brought her great honor. Through her son Boaz, she became an ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5-6, 16).

The example of Rahab illustrates how God often uses people with simple faith to accomplish his will. It does not matter to God what kind of past they may have had. "Many would assume that Rahab — a pagan, a Canaanite, and a prostitute — would never be interested in God. Yet Rahab was willing to risk everything she had for a God she barely knew. We must not gauge a person’s interest in God by his or her background, life-style, or appearance" (Life Application Bible, NIV, commentary on Joshua 2:8-13).

It was springtime, and the Jordan River — usually about 100 feet wide — had swollen to a width of roughly a mile and was overflowing its banks. This seasonal flooding was caused by the melting snows on Mt. Hermon feeding the headwaters of the Jordan.

As the priests stepped into the water, God miraculously held back the floodwaters. The Israelites then crossed over, opposite the city of Jericho (verses 15-16; see also Psalm 114:5).

The Israelites crossed the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month (verse 19). This was the final step in a journey they had begun on the same day 40 years earlier. Then, by selecting the Passover lambs (Exodus 12:2-3), they had made their first response of faith to the God who was leading them to salvation from Egypt. Now, by entering the land God had promised their forefathers — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — they consummated their covenant with God. To commemorate this event, God commanded the Israelites to build two monuments — one where the priests had stood in the water (Joshua 4:9) and the other at Israel’s campsite at Gilgal (verse 20).

The Israelites now entered a new phase in their relationship with God. Moses had continually exhorted the people to take possession of the land (Deuteronomy 1:21; 3:18; 4:1; 8:1; 11:8, 31). He also delineated their additional responsibilities — under the terms of their covenant with God — once they possessed the land (Deuteronomy 12:10, 29-31; 18:9; 19:1; 27:3). As the Israelites began to possess the land, so these responsibilities outlined in Deuteronomy became incumbent upon them.

The Jordan crossing also resonates historically with the Israelites’ earlier crossing of the Red Sea. Then, God had miraculously allowed the Israelites to escape from Egypt; now, he miraculously enabled them to enter the Promised Land. These experiences of Israel foreshadow Christian baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Baptism pictures Jesus Christ enabling repentant individuals to escape from the bondage of sin and to enter into a new phase in their relationship with God.

The rite of circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17), had not been practiced during Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness.

Joshua now supervised the circumcision of the males of the new generation at a place they named Gibeath Haaraloth (meaning "hill of foreskins"), which was later renamed Gilgal (Joshua 5:9). This act marked the renewal of the relationship between God and his people.

"The reproach of Egypt" (verse 9) refers to Israel’s national disgrace of enslavement in Egypt and homelessness in the wilderness of Sinai. God "rolled away" this reproach when he had the Israelites circumcised at Gilgal (the name Gilgal is related to the Hebrew word galal, which means "roll" or "roll away"). Israel’s bondage was completely removed. Since circumcision represented a renewal of the covenant, the Israelites were now ready to keep the Passover — the annual festival that commemorated their deliverance by God from slavery in Egypt (verse 10).

To next article in this series

Copyright © 2002 Worldwide Church of God