旧约研究4——约书亚记 JOS——第 一 课 约书亚记导论
目录
一、介绍
二、作者和日期
传统派观点
批判派观点
福音派观点
进展
完成
三、设计和目的
内容和结构
得胜的征服 (1–12)
支派的产业 (13–22)
圣约的忠诚 (23–24)
原本含义
得胜的征服
太古争战
以色列特别的争战
以色列君王将来得胜
支派的产业
太古人类统管
以色列特别的产业
以色列君王的未来产业
圣约的忠诚
太古人类忠诚
以色列特别的圣约忠诚
未来以色列君王的圣约
四、基督徒应用
奠基
得胜的征服
支派的产业
圣约的忠诚
延续
得胜的征服
支派的产业
圣约的忠诚
成全
得胜的征服
支派的产业
圣约的忠诚
五、结论
一、介绍
世界各地的人在他们民族刚建国时，通常对于发生过的盛大事件感到欣喜。但是当后来的时代面对挑战，失落和失望时，往往必须提醒他们，发生于久远之前那些事件的重大含义。就许多方面而言，这个通常的经历也反映于旧约圣经的约书亚记。以色列人初次进入迦南地的家园时，曾发生一些巨大事件。因此，当后来的时代面对艰难时，就有必要让他们重温那些事件的重要性。
这是约书亚记这个系列的第一课，我们给它的标题是约书亚记导论。我们会看到，当我们了解约书亚记对于古代以色列的含义时，就更能装备自己，去明白这卷书在现今对我们有哪些重要教导。
我们将约书亚记的导论分成三个部份。首先，我们要探讨它书写的作者和日期。第二，我们会介绍它大概的设计和目的。第三，就这本书的基督徒应用，我们会拟订几个要牢记的概括思考因素。让我们先来看约书亚记的书写作者和日期。
圣灵默示约书亚记的书写，给予我们真实的历史记录。不过我们要记住，圣灵也采用圣经人类作者的观点和写作意向，去塑造他们的历史记录。因此，如同研读圣经的其他书卷，我们对于约书亚记的人类作者和他的时代了解越多，就更能理解约书亚记。
就约书亚记的书写作者和日期，我们简略拟出三个观点：第一，传统派观点；其次是现代的批判派观点；第三，是在本课里引导我们的一些基本福音派观点。就这本书的作者和写作日期，让我们先来看古老的传统派观点。
约书亚记的作者没有署名。无论这本书，或是圣经其他经卷，都没有告诉我们这本书最后的集成者或作者是谁。“约书亚记”，这是现今大多数圣经中采纳的书名，原本是在该书写成之后很久才加上去的。但是就这些议题，表述于犹太法典塔木德中的犹太教观点，清楚地总结出古代犹太人和基督徒的传统立场。在塔木德的问答系列里，有个部份是巴巴拉圣卷15，我们读到这些词句：
你说约书亚写了这本书，不过书里不是写着：“耶和华的仆人嫩的儿子约书亚死了”？——所以是以利亚撒完成的。但书里又写着“亚伦的儿子以利亚撒死了”。——所以是非尼哈完成的。正如我们在此看到的，一些有威望的拉比们认定约书亚是这本书绝大部份的作者。但他们也承认书里有些部份是约书亚过世之后才得以写成。他们认为约书亚记24章29节提到约书亚的死，是出自大祭司以利亚撒的记载。而24章33节提到以利亚撒的死，则是以利亚撒的儿子非尼哈所写。按着这个传统派观点，约书亚记成书的年代很早，是书里那些事件发生过后不久就写成了。
事实上，几乎没有任何证据支持塔木德这些特定的声明。当然我们无需全然排除约书亚，以利亚撒，和非尼哈对于圣经这本书可能有的贡献。从早先的出埃及记17章14节，我们看到约书亚参与了以色列古老历史记录的保存，还有约书亚记8章32节，和24章26节，提到约书亚督导上帝的律法的书写，作为敬拜聚会之用。按着这样的脉络，祭司和利未人，例如，以利亚撒和他的儿子非尼哈在处理和教导圣经话语上，必然扮演重要的角色。
接续下去，我们将会注意到约书亚记的作者在撰写他这本书时，也依赖一些写成的资料，因此约书亚，以利亚撒，非尼哈，以及其他一些人很有可能对于这些资料有其间接的贡献。
约书亚记就其书写，给了我们一些线索。在18章里提到有七个支派还没有分得地业。他们来和约书亚讨论，他就派遣那些支派的人走遍那些地方，画明地势，他们就去了并带着报告回来。对我而言，18到20章的描述，讲到这些支派如何分地，他们所得的城邑，接壤的地界等，这三章的叙述可能就是早先那些被派遣去侦查地业的人所带回来的报告。24章告诉我们约书亚在律法书里写的，很可能包含他那时与以色列的子孙所立的圣约；那很可能也是摩西写的同一本律法书，因为提到约书亚在耶和华面前写下来——他书写，又呈献在耶和华面前——就像摩西的文件,置放在会幕里耶和华面前为圣物；因此约书亚记是有可能明确提到约书亚与民立约的这个部份内容。如果对那地的描述，还有约书亚记结尾的立约，都是真实的话，那么书里关乎一些战役的细节叙述，也可能因着有关的意向和目的，很早就由约书亚写成了。— 契珀·麦但以理博士记住约书亚记的作者和日期的这些传统派观点，我们来看现今一些反对圣经绝对权威的学者们通常所持的批判派观点。
现今多数批判派学者对于约书亚记的看法，深受马丁・诺特写于1943年的申典历史（或申命记历史）所影响。简单而言，诺特认为申命记，约书亚记，士师记，撒母耳记，和列王纪是在巴比伦被掳时期，由一个所谓的申典作者所编辑写成的。根据这个观点，整个申典历史，包含申命记，是在巴比伦被掳时期，从一些早先写成的资料撰集而成的。这些书卷的主要目的是要显明以色列人理当承受临到南北王国败亡和被掳的审判。
在过去数十年，绝大多数的批判派解经学者认同诺特的许多中心观点，特别是巴比伦被掳时期书卷的人类作者和日期。不过，仍然有许多批判学者反驳，说诺特没有指出旧约这几卷书的各自独特神学观点，他们认为诺特忽略了出现于这些书卷中带着积极、盼望的前景展望。
探讨了关乎本书作者和日期的传统派观点与批判派观点之后，我们来思考一些当代的福音派观点—-就是认定圣经全然权威的学者们所持的观点。在这系列课程里，这些观点将会引导我们对约书亚记的研讨。
之前我们已讲过，约书亚记的作者没有署名。因此，福音派学者们对于本书的作者和日期持有一些不同的观点。但是有两个看法是有助于我们的探讨。首先，我们要来看本书所谓的书写辑成的进展，其次，我们要它完成日期的可能范围。让我们先来看约书亚记书写辑成的进展。
当我们说到书的进展时，我们想的是，就如旧约其他的人类作者，约书亚记的作者也不是从第一个字开始写起，而是将一些已写成的资料汇集编写而成书。我们之前看到，塔木德和批判派的解经学者都认为这本书反映出一些编辑的过程。因此 整体而言，福音派学者们也认同该书作者对早先资料的使用。
在某种程度上我们确切知道这是真的，例如在10章13节，作者直接引用他所说的雅煞珥书。我们对该卷书了解甚微，但显然作者和他原本读者们都知道。除此外，在这个课程系列里，我们会一再看到作者收录摩西五经的一些部份内容和各种来自圣经之外的一些文本。要重新建构这些未经鉴定的资料，必然会涉入许多的猜测。不过，知道本书的作者采用早先的资料，例如雅煞珥书，能帮助我们理解，为何约书亚记读起来有些部份是重复而不太连贯。
在鉴定本书最后模式完成的日期时，采用早先的资料也有助于我们避免一个常见的错误。约书亚记有15处讲到某些情况，直到如今，都是真的。通常，这样的语句指的是作者的时代。可是就如列王纪上8章8节的例子，有时，“直到如今”可能指的是早先资料的年代。
虽然福音派学者普遍同意约书亚记的成书有着书写辑成的进展过程，可是我们仍然要问：这本书是何时达到完成阶段？何时它被编撰辑成现今我们在圣经里看到的这个样式？
就如旧约的其他书卷一样，我们无法准确鉴定出作者何时把约书亚记编撰辑成它最后的样式。证据只容许我们鉴别出最早和最晚的可能日期。但是，我们继续这系列的课程时，若把这个可能的时间范围存记于心，就能对作者如何编撰他的书，以期影响他的原本读者，我们就会有许多洞见。
我们用两个步骤来看约书亚记完成的时间范围。首先，我们要考量书卷完成的最晚可能日期。其次，我们要查看最早的可能日期。让我们先来看约书亚记写成的最晚可能日期。
要确定约书亚记最后辑成的可能最晚日期的方法之一，就是查看书之外的资讯。有证据显示，本书的作者是有意识的参与建构现今许多学者所谓的以色列主要历史，就是路得记除外，从创世记延伸到列王纪的历史。这个观点之所以重要，是因为这些书卷形成一个时间轴线，一个接一个，像连环圈的链结。
让我们这么想：摩西五经来自摩西的时代，形成这个历史“锁链”的最初五个圈环。创世记从创造开始，以约瑟和他的兄弟们在埃及结束。出埃及记假设创世记是存在的，因为它是从约瑟的过世开始，以摩西和以色列人在西乃山结束。利未记进一步记载在西乃山发生的一些事情，而民数记添加以色列人从西乃山行进到摩押平原的记录。申命记结束摩西五经，记载摩西在摩押平原的讲道和他的去世。
同样的，约书亚记是主要历史里申典部份的第一个圈环。这个部份强烈依赖申命记的神学观点。约书亚记的作者从摩西过世开始，进展到约书亚去世。士师记从约书亚记的结尾接续以色列的历史，而撒母耳记从撒母耳兴起，担任以色列最后一个士师开始，以大卫的统治为结束。列王纪是主要历史的最后阶段，始于大卫的过世，终结于被掳巴比伦。就此含义上，列王纪是来自于所有早先的申典历史书卷。这个事实告诉我们一个关键资讯，约书亚记完成的可能最晚日期，必须早于列王纪写成的时间。
这个看法很有帮助，因为我们对于列王纪的书写有更多的了解。列王纪的最后事件是记载在列王纪下25章27到30节，我们看到大卫的王室后裔约雅斤在主前561年从巴比伦监狱被释放出来。因此我们可以确定列王纪在此日期之前尚未完成。除此外，列王纪没有报导主前539年以色列被掳得释放的重要事件。如果这个事件发生于列王纪作者书写的时候，我们难以想象为何作者不提以色列人的脱离被掳。因此，按着主要历史的顺序，约书亚记最后完成的日期可能是在巴比伦被掳时期。
将这个可能最晚的日期存记于心，我们现在朝另一个方向探讨。约书亚记完成的可能最早日期是何时？我们不难看出，约书亚记达成最后样式的最早日期可能是士师的时期，那是约书亚过世之后的时代。我们来思考作者在书的结尾处，24章31节写的：
约书亚在世和约书亚死后，那些知道耶和华为以色列人所行诸事的长老还在的时候，以色列人事奉耶和华。（约书亚记24章31节）注意这段经文提到约书亚死后……那些……长老还在，顺着这些脉络，我们读到，在那些知道耶和华为以色列人所行诸事的人还在世时，以色列人事奉耶和华。对于以色列属灵光景的这个正面评价，暗示该书作者的一些事情。他必然知道，约书亚过世之后的下一个时代没有延续忠心的事奉耶和华，那也是士师记强调的一个事实。因此，这节经文显示，本书完成的最早可能日期是在以色列的士师时期。
约书亚记其他经文也提到发生于士师时期的事件。例如，约书亚记19章47节，讲到但族的人迁移到北方的一个新领域；根据士师记18章27到29节，这个事件发生于士师时期。所以，我们可以持平的说，这是本书完成的最早可能日期。 但是，我们也必须提到，有许多解经家争论，认为君王时期是另一个可能时段。因着各种原因，他们总结说，这实际上是约书亚记完成最早可能日期，我们不能排除这种可能性。这个观点的主要证据显示于约书亚记11章21节，我们读到这些话语：
当时约书亚来到，将住⋯⋯犹大山地、以色列山地所有的亚衲族人剪除了。（约书亚记11章21节）我们在此读到，这节经文将“犹大山地”或是南国和“以色列山地”或是北国区分开来。
对某些人而言，把犹大和以色列作了区分，显示本书不可能在大约主前930年以色列国分裂之前写成。不过，我们也注意到七十士译本，旧约圣经的古希腊译本，并没有作这样的区分。学者们对于希伯来文本或是希腊译本，哪个具有更好的代表性，意见不一。因此，约书亚记11章21节或许能确认王国的分裂，但也无法确定那就是最早的日期。
如果把这些证据汇集起来，那么约书亚记成书的最早可能日期是士师时期，而延至后来的君王时期也是有可能的，或者甚至晚到巴比伦被掳时期也无法完全排除。稍后我们会看到，意识这个可能的成书时间范围，能帮助我们更充分的掌握约书亚记想要传递的那些挑战。
记住我们对于约书亚记书写作者和日期的探讨，我们现在来思考导论的第二个部份，这本书的设计和目的：作者如何建构约书亚时代的历史记录？他为何要如此建构？
每当我们研读类似约书亚记这样的圣经历史书时，最要紧的是记住，同样的历史事件可以用许多方式来叙述，而不会引起错误。每个记载历史事件的圣经书卷，将历史如此结构，为的是要达成某些特别目的，与此同时向原本读者强调某些特定观点。
我们会在后面几课里更详细研讨这些问题，目前，我们要以两个步骤来描绘约书亚记的设计和目的。首先，我们要介绍其总体的内容和结构，就是这卷书整体的布局；其次，我们要评论它的原本含义，就是作者希望给予他原本读者的影响。让我们先来探讨约书亚记的内容和结构。
约书亚记有24章，包含许多不同种类的文体，有叙述，报告，讲道，以及可能来自不同线索的人物和地点的名单。因此，解经家以不同的方式来分析约书亚记的结构细节。但是就大尺度脉络而言，不难看出其结构和内容怎样编织安排的。
旧约圣经学者们以不同方式辨认圣经各个书卷的文体种类。整体而言，约书亚记有三种主要文体，它包含我们所谓的叙事或故事，例如像是我们通常知道的耶利哥战役的故事，诸如此类的叙述。它也有长串的名单，地域的名单，上帝所赏赐，让各族的人承继的地业，一个又一个的地名，列出一长串。它还有一些部份是记录的讲道，是某个人对另一群人演讲。你可以看出，这三个主要类别，大致对应着约书亚记的三个主要部份。第一个部份主要是叙事，第二个主要是地区名单，第三个主要是讲道。不过问题来了，因为就在那三个主要文体里，你会发现在某个文体的部份，另外两个文体通常也悄然掺入。因此，当我们探讨约书亚记的这些不同部份和不同文体时，要把这样的结构谨记在心，才能在研读中注意它们的出现。解经家，特别是解读旧约的新手，新学生常会有的困惑，就是他们没有认出这些不同的文体，没有照它们该被处理的方式来处理。因此，当我们探讨约书亚记时，如果你没有注意那些不同文体，以及它们在书里的不同部份是怎样混合在一起，那么就会导致很多的困惑与不解。— 理查德·伯瑞特博士简而言之，约书亚记有三个主要部份，每个部份以一个陈述开始，显示时间上的重大转变。第一个部份是1到12章，着重于以色列得胜的征服迦南——约书亚如何带领以色列人对迦南人取得决定性的胜利。这个部份始于1章1节，时间点是摩西死了以后，上帝对约书亚的委任。
这头12章报导了约书亚征服迦南地时发生的许多事件。它们始于以色列人渡过约旦河，以及在耶利哥和艾城的初步得胜。紧接着这些得胜，是对着基利心山和以巴路山举行重申圣约的仪式。然后叙述转移到约书亚与应许之地南部地区诸王联军的重大争战，接续下去是报导约书亚对抗北方地区诸王的联军。
本书的第二个部份，13到22章记载以色列各支派的产业，在以色列每个支派各自取得分配的产业时，如何持守全民族的合一。这个部份始于13章1节，时间点的声明是：约书亚年纪老迈。
约书亚记第二个主要部份，首先确立了上帝赏赐给以色列产业的范围，其疆域包含约旦河以东和约旦河以西的地方。接着仔细解释，有哪些领土是分给在约旦河以东定居的几个支派。然后又描述上帝如何将约旦河以西的广大领域分给犹大，以法莲和玛拿西支派，以及把较小的领土分给剩余的支派。当约旦河东和约旦河西的支派产生冲突时，我们看到他们是如何按着上帝子民的身份，持守民族的合一。
约书亚记第三个主要部份是23和24章，这个结尾部份引导我们注意以色列圣约的忠诚——以色列人对上帝圣约的忠诚与否，将会影响他们的未来光景。23章1节始于一个声明，让我们警觉时光的流逝。我们读到已经多日⋯⋯约书亚年纪老迈。这个时间点的提醒在14节得到呼应，在那节经文里，约书亚说道：我现在要走世人必走的路。
这本书最后两章着重于约书亚临死之前的两个大聚会。第一个大聚会可能是在示罗举行，那是约书亚的时日和日后士师时期一个具有重要作用的圣地。结尾的另一个大聚会是在示剑，是亚伯拉罕在迦南地筑第一座祭坛的地方。所有以色列人全聚集在这两个大聚会里，约书亚警告他们不要公然违逆上帝的圣约。这本书的主体结束于约书亚带领全以色列民众，重申他们唯独效忠上帝的承诺；他们誓言要弃绝所有外邦的神祗，并按着上帝与他们先祖设立的圣约，单单事奉祂。紧接这个重申圣约的誓言，本书以约书亚的过世和几个后续事件的后记为结束。
就约书亚记的设计和目的，我们已经探讨了它的内容和结构，现在要探讨的是，我们该如何总结约书亚记的原本含义？作者写这本书的目的何在？
就许多方面而言，约书亚记的作者和圣经其他书卷的作者用意一样，希望借着他的书尊荣上帝，也希望把上帝立约的原则应用于原本读者的心思、行为、情感等各方面，而扩展上帝的国度。但当我们研读约书亚记时，也会辨认出作者写这本书对原本读者传递的重点。
有许多方式可用来总结约书亚记的原本含义。为了本课的目的，我们以这些字句总结如下：
约书亚记书写的目的，是向面临类似挑战的后来时代讲述，在约书亚时代以色列得胜的征服，支派的产业，和圣约的忠诚。我们可以看到，这样的结论提到了约书亚记的三个主要部份：得胜的征服，支派的产业，和圣约的忠诚。但是作者为何要着重这几个方面？如同我们的结论所提示，首先，他的用意是提醒他的会众，在约书亚的时日所发生的事情。其次，他的书写要告诉后来的时代和他们所面对的类似挑战。让我们来看这两个目的，先来谈论为何作者要写关乎约书亚时代的事迹。
每个熟悉约书亚记的人都知道，这本书清楚讲述约书亚领导以色列人时所发生的一些事迹。包括以色列人得胜的征服迦南地，约书亚将产业分给以色列众支派，并且要百姓忠于上帝的圣约。因此我们可以说，作者的中心主旨之一，就是告诉他原本读者，在那个世界⋯⋯ 就是约书亚时代的世界，所发生的一些事情。许多旧约经文都强调，以色列人往往因着忘记上帝在过往对他们先祖所做的事，而迷失道路。当约书亚记的作者在24章31节，把自己和原本读者，与“那些知道耶和华为以色列人所行诸事的”长老区分开来时，他在暗示这正是那些原本读者面对的一个问题。
约书亚记的原本读者，无论他们是处于士师时期，君王时期，或是巴比伦被掳时期，他们需要被提醒，在约书亚的时日所发生的事情。为此基本而言，作者是要给予他的原本读者一份真实记录，记载在约书亚时代所成就的事迹。
其次，如同我们的总结所示，写约书亚记也是要针对 后来时代传讲他们面对的挑战。本书的作者处于两个世界之间，约书亚时代的那个世界，以及他原本读者所处的他们的世界。为此，这个作者不但只是给予一份真实的史料记录，也书写了以色列得胜的征服，产业的分派，以及对圣约的忠诚，这几个重点成为那个世界与他们的世界之间的接触点和关联性。如同其他的圣经书卷作者，他经常提出一些历史背景，乃是构成他原本读者目前的特权与责任的缘由。他也提出他们可以效法或是应当拒绝的榜样。还有少数几次，他以约书亚时代的事例，为其原本读者生活经历的预表。
这些关联让我们看到作者的一些用意。一方面，他希望他的原本读者记得在约书亚时代发生的事情。可是另一方面，他并不要他们机械地重复约书亚时代以色列人所作的。他的原本读者乃是处于另一个时代，他们需要以合宜的方式，把那些历史记载应用在他们的生活里。
我相信约书亚记的信息深深影响它原本读者。就他们进入应许之地而言，上帝所作的应许全都应验了，一个都没有落空。我认为其核心含义，就是要教导以色列人上帝是信实的；祂过去到如今是信实的，将来仍旧信实。这对于他们进入士师时期尤其重要，因为在士师时代，我们看到他们被描述成各人行他们自己认为是正的事情；然而他们本来蒙召是要忠于耶和华的。因此，约书亚记给予他们的信息，就是要他们看到约书亚的生平和那些与他同行的人是如何忠诚，对比他们当时的光景，他们的时代没有真心跟随约书亚的脚步。那是一个要他们悔改的呼召，让他们回转成为他们原先蒙召该有的样式。— T. J. ·贝茨博士有时，当代的解经家们难以理解原本读者怎样将这个历史记载应用于他们生活中；毕竟作者在他书里没有阐明这些事。但我们需要记得，作者和读者也能从他们当时已有的书卷——我们熟知的摩西五经中，学到一些观点。存记这些看法，那么作者关于“那个世界”的记载，对于“他们的世界”的一些影响，也就不像原来看上去的那样难以识别了。
要理解以色列得胜的征服对于原本读者的影响，我们要思考摩西五经所奠定的基础。约书亚记的这个部份记载了约书亚的伟大战绩；但是从摩西五经导出的有关争战的三个基本观点，有助于他们明白要如何应用约书亚记的这个部份。
太古争战. 首先，本书的作者和他原本读者知道他们所介入的争战，是根植于上帝和撒旦的太古争战。创世记3章15节指出，在人类堕落犯罪之后，整个人类历史，上帝和撒旦就一直对抗着。这个无形的对抗显现在地上，就是蛇的后代⋯⋯那些臣服撒旦权势的人，与女人的后裔⋯⋯那些服事上帝的人，他们两者之间的抗争。这就是为何约书亚记没有把以色列的争战简化到只是人为的战争。相反的，约书亚记5章14节，作者提到天使担任耶和华军队的元帅。这节经文显示约书亚和以色列军队是参与上帝和祂的天军都涉入的争战。还有，约书亚记23章16节显示，作者也认为迦南地的神祗与迦南人一起对抗以色列人。约书亚记的原本读者从以色列当年得胜的征服，有许多可学的，因为就如约书亚时代的以色列人，他们知道自己也是介入上帝与撒旦，以及他们各自跟随者之间延续的对抗里。
以色列特别的争战. 其次，摩西五经也清楚显示，约书亚的征服迦南，乃是以色列特别的争战。即使原本读者从以色列的征服有很多可学的，他们和后来时代却无需效法当时的每个细节，因为摩西五经清楚表明，约书亚的时代乃是非同寻常的。
创世记15章13到16节，上帝告诉亚伯拉罕，他的后代要在埃及被奴役有一段时间，因为亚摩利人的罪孽——另一个迦南人的别称——还没有满盈。但是到了约书亚征服他们的时代，迦南人的罪孽已经如此深重，以致上帝要全然灭绝他们，就像祂在亚伯拉罕时代要毁灭所多玛和蛾摩拉一样。
这就是为何约书亚记的作者要用摩西五经的字，希伯来文的动词 charam חָרַם 和名词 cherem חֵ֫רֶם 来描述迦南人的灭绝。就约书亚的征服迦南，约书亚记6章17、19、和21节词语的叙述，这些字词的意思不是单单的“毁灭”，而是全然归诸耶和华，或是灭绝他们，以此呈献于耶和华。因此，当以色列人在迦南地作战时，乃是认同上帝对于迦南人滔天大罪所作的公义审判。他们灭绝迦南人，把掳获的每个物品呈献给上帝，以此来尊荣敬拜上帝。
我们知道，在约书亚时代，这个灭绝迦南人，以此奉献于耶和华的命令是极不寻常的，有几个原因，第一，在申命记20章10到20节，摩西指示要全然灭绝迦南人，但是吩咐以色列人可给迦南地之外的人提供和平协定。约书亚记9章，约书亚和基遍人立约时，就是认定这个区分，因为他以为他们是从迦南地之外来的。
除此之外，当我们回顾在约书亚之前和之后，上帝与撒旦之间以不同方式延续的抗争，更清楚显示约书亚的征服有其极不寻常的性质。只举几个例子，在约书亚之前，创世记11章1到9节，上帝和祂的天军与悖逆的人类在巴别塔作战，但是这个征战没有涉及人类的军队，只是把人们分散。还有创世记14章1到24节，亚伯拉罕在上帝的帮助下去争战，但是上帝并没有命令他要全然灭绝那些仇敌。此外，在出埃及记12章12节，我们看到，上帝在埃及的瘟疫中，直接对埃及人和他们的神祗作战，以色列人则是处于被动状态，上帝并没有杀死每个埃及人。还有出埃及记14章，以色列人在红海，顺服跟随上帝形成争战态势，然而是上帝摧毁了埃及的军兵。
在约书亚之后，也有类似的情况。撒母耳记有描述，大卫靠着上帝超然的帮助，与以色列的许多仇敌争战，但是上帝并没有把祂的仇敌全然毁灭。列王纪也显示，大卫的许多王室后裔也是如此。而以色列的先知预言， 以色列被掳的终结必将呈现出这个争战需要上帝无上奇妙的介入。
我们看到，在摩西五经和整个旧约，将上帝与邪恶延续的对抗，以不同方式来展现。这警示我们，约书亚的征服不是所有战役的规范。那些原本读者在他们的时代，固然要从约书亚学到许多争战的教训，然而征服迦南本身则是一个极不寻常的审判时刻。不像其他的战役，在那个时刻上帝乃是定意，除了喇合家人之外，迦南人全部都应该要被灭绝。
迦南人的罪孽是随着时日而增长，直到罪恶滔天。我认为，创世记15章已经暗示我们，亚摩利人的罪要盈满。直到那时上帝的子民才会占领那地。经文暗示，上帝看着迦南民族的堕落败坏，知道他们的败坏达到极点，就要倾倒出祂的公义；而祂使用的器皿就是以色列民族，并非他们道德高尚或纯正。他们乃是弱小民族，也受制于罪，就如我们看到约书亚之前的时代所行的，甚至在征服迦南之后还是犯罪。但重点是上帝按着祂的恩典，呼召那个民族归属祂，用他们来消灭清除另一个民族，因为若容许他们继续存活，他们会败坏以色列人。上帝让以色列人进入迦南的另一个原因，就是要去除灭每个住在那里的人。上帝不要祂的子民被迦南人的宗教仪式，偶像崇拜和他们的罪所败坏，不要祂的民族顺应他们周围那些民族的生活样式。祂要他们跟从祂，以祂为王。以色列人是进入了那地，但他们没有按交托的完全歼灭那地的人。因此，在约书亚记里，我们看到片断描述。而在接续的书卷士师记里，我们看到更充分的描述。以色列民族日益败坏，越发陷入罪的漩涡而败落，没有显出与上帝立约关系该有的品格，却越来越像周围那些国民的样式。这本是上帝要以色列人避免的，才命令他们进去除灭那地的人。— 凯文·拉比牧师以色列君王将来得胜. 第三，本书作者也从摩西五经得知，约书亚的征服只是朝向以色列君王将来得胜的一步——就是所期盼的要永久统管全世界的那位君王。之前，在创世记49章10节先祖雅各也声明，君尊的犹大家要领受万民的归顺。在士师时期，士师记1章1和2节记载犹大支派得到领袖的职分，以此肯定对犹大君尊家系的期盼。在王朝时期，从诗篇72篇可以看到，这个期盼的实现是从大卫家室得到具体印证。而在许多经文里，以色列的先知们也预言，当大卫的那个伟大子孙征服所有民族时，也是被掳时期的终结之时。
因此，就像约书亚时代的以色列人，那些原本读者知道他们也是更加伟大计划里的一部份。为此缘故，他们绝非只是回溯约书亚时期的所作所为，而是要把征服迦南时所发生的，应用于他们当时的生活，就如上帝延续将历史推向以色列君王未来的普世得胜。
就本书的第二个部份，以色列各支派的产业，作者希望他的原本读者也持有相同的神学异象。
太古人类统管. 首先，作者从摩西的书中知道，以色列占据迦南地，乃是根植于上帝在太古呼召人类统管全地的谕令。上帝在太古时期就命定，当祂忠诚的形象充满并制伏全地时，全世界就要成为祂的国度。这个呼召首次记载在创世记1章26到30节，稍后在创世记9章1到3节又加以确认。因此，约书亚记记载以色列各支派的产业，与原本读者有着明显关联。如同约书亚时代的以色列人，这些原本读者也蒙召承受上帝对人类的托付，要去制伏统管全地。
以色列特别的产业. 其次，本书的作者从摩西五经也知道，上帝已经确立以色列特别的产业，在约书亚时代，将迦南地分给以色列支派，代表这个产业继承的初步实现。例如，在创世记15章18到21节，上帝应许亚伯拉罕，要把从埃及河到幼发拉底河之地，赏赐给他的后裔。因此从摩西五经的字句，约书亚记经常用希伯来动词 nachal נַ֫חַל，意思就是去承受，还有名词 nachalah נַחֲלָה， 意思是承受的产业，来指明以色列拥有的土地。这些词语显示以色列的土地乃是从上帝而来的永久产业。
为此缘故，原本读者对于约书亚分授产业给众支派，有许多可学的。在士师时期，以色列支派间的不和睦，加上其他民族的侵扰，中断了约书亚的得胜。在君王时期，有些君王虽然扩张了以色列的地界，但也遭受不少挫折和失败。而在巴比伦被掳时期，则是只有少数上帝的子民还留在那块土地上，承受其他国家的暴政统治。因此，当原本读者试着以他们的方式来服事上帝时，约书亚分授产业给以色列各支派，对于他们而言会有深刻的启发。
以色列君王的未来产业. 第三，本书作者也知道，以色列人得迦南的产业，乃是往前达成以色列君王的未来产业的其中一步。时候到了，以色列这位伟大公义的君王要拥有所有土地，以实现上帝对人类最初的呼召，要统管制伏全地。前面提到，创世记49章10节宣告，犹大的君尊后裔得到万民的归顺时，要治理全地。除此外，创世记17章4节，上帝应许亚伯拉罕，说：你要作多国的父。这就是为何在诗篇2篇8节，上帝特别对大卫家如此说道：我要将列国赐你为基业，将地极赐你为田产。以色列的先知们也多次声明，大卫的伟大后裔要将土地从地球的一极延伸到另一极。保罗把这些旧约的观点作了总结，罗马书4章13节他如此写着：上帝应许亚伯拉罕和他的后裔，必得承受世界。本书的作者给予他原本读者的提示非常清楚，他们要把从约书亚记读到的内容，按着上帝的带领，应用于他们当时的生活，以达成这个承受普世产业的目标。
罗马书4章，我们看到保罗解释亚伯拉罕和他的后裔承受产业的应许是包含全世界。这可能让我们起初有些惊讶，因为我们想到应许之地只不过是沿着地中海东岸的一小块地。然而保罗由此理解，亚伯拉罕之约乃是全球，普世性的。因此我们常讲到子孙，亚伯拉罕的后裔，包含的不只是他的肉身后代，也包含那些跟随亚伯拉罕脚踪，就是信心的脚踪，相信上帝诸般应许的人。事实上，保罗强调，不只是犹太人，还有相信基督的外邦人，都是亚伯拉罕的子孙，是按着上帝的应许为后裔，这是加拉太书3章结尾的信息。因此，罗马书4章，保罗讲到上帝应许，亚伯拉罕的后裔因着信心要承受世界，他的确是延伸同样的理念。— 丹尼斯·约翰逊博士如同本书的第一和第二部份，约书亚记的作者期望他原本读者也持守从摩西五经而来的神学观点，来应用第三部份——以色列蒙召要有圣约的忠诚。
太古人类忠诚. 首先，本书的作者从摩西五经认识圣约的忠诚，乃是根植于人类忠诚于上帝的太古要求。身为上帝的形象，把我们与上帝借着圣约联结起来，这个联结使得我们需要忠诚的服事祂。创世记1到3章以及何西阿书6章7节明示，上帝在亚当里与所有人类所立之约都需要顺从；而创世记6和9章，上帝与挪亚所立之约，显示所有人类都需要按着圣约来服事上帝，对于任何时代的人都是如此。因此，原本读者从约书亚在他时代蒙召忠诚于圣约有许多可学的，而他们如同其他人类一样也需要如此忠诚的服事上帝。
以色列特别的圣约忠诚. 其次，原本读者也要知道以色列特别的圣约忠诚。作者慎重的指出，在征服迦南的时代，约书亚劝诫百姓要继续忠于上帝的圣约，而百姓也立誓要如此行。
原本读者已经知道创世记17章上帝与亚伯拉罕所立的圣约，在此，上帝要人以割礼，作为在祂面前纯正、无可指摘的承诺。接着是在出埃及记19到24章，上帝与摩西所立的圣约，并且在申命记一书里重新阐明，清楚显示以色列人要遵守摩西的律法。如今，在本书的第三部份，约书亚着重于以色列人若是不履行这些要求，特别是弃绝假神。他们会面对的各种试炼，他指出如果他们不忠诚，可能会遭遇的灾难，挫败，甚至被掳离开应许之地。
到了约书亚记原本读者的时代，这些试炼都开始出现。士师时期，以色列经历连串的灾难。君王时期，因着百姓和君王一再的拜偶像，而引发更多的审判临到他们。到巴比伦被掳时期，失去应许之地的凶兆已经成为可怕的事实。因此，原本读者需要就他们当时所面对的上帝审判，来思考约书亚对以色列人的警告。
未来以色列君王的圣约. 第三，约书亚时代所发生的事，也预示上帝未来会与以色列君王的圣约。我们知道创世记49章10节表明，上帝已经命定犹大的后嗣为君王治理以色列。而创世记17章6节也显示以色列将会有君王。虽然在士师时期，以色列没有法定的君王，但是像士师记21章25节，和撒母耳记上2章10节哈拿之歌的结尾，都显示即使在这个时期，忠信的人们已经期待要借着以色列君尊的家室来得到拯救。
如果约书亚记是写于以色列的君王时期或是巴比伦被掳时期，原本读者就必须把约书亚呼召要对上帝信守圣约，关联到上帝和大卫王朝立约。在撒母耳记下7章以及诗篇89和132篇，我们看到上帝与大卫所立之约，是如何强调忠诚的必要性。大卫的君尊家族必须忠于上帝，因为他们在上帝面前是是代表以色列百姓。
除此外，根据以赛亚书53章11节的预言，因着主耶和华的义仆——以色列全然公义的君王，替代的受死，将来会有恒久的赦免临到；而这位伟大的君王就是耶稣，就是耶利米书31章预表的，要带来新约的基督。当基督再来，更新万物时，这个圣约要全然成就。当原本读者将约书亚信守圣约的吩咐应用于他们的生活时，他们必须这么作，乃是因为他们处在上帝与祂子民设立不同圣约的进展过程中。
因此，在我们试着明白约书亚记的原本含义时，要记得作者希望他的读者认识约书亚时代发生的事情，然而他也希望他们以与自己时代和处境合宜的方式，将他写的历史记录，例如得胜的征服、分授各支派产业，和信守圣约的呼召，都应用于他们的生活中。
就约书亚记的导论，我们已经探讨了它的人类作者和日期，以及这本书的设计和原本目的。现在要来探讨本课的第三个主题：基督徒应用，在我们跟随基督时，约书亚记如何影响我们的人生？
“耶稣”这名字的希伯来文就是“约书亚”。这个简单的事实提醒我们，从基督徒的观点，耶稣履行的或是完成的，就是约书亚时代开始的工作。就许多方面而言，我们要从基督所成就的,来把约书亚记应用于我们的人生。身为基督的跟随者，我们越了解约书亚和耶稣之间的关联，就越能理解这本书对我们的影响。正如之前讨论的，本书的作者叙述以色列人在约书亚带领之下，经历得胜的征服，支派产业的分配，和对圣约的忠诚，为的是引导以色列后来的时代。但是作者也明白，在未来某个时候，以色列会出现一个大君王，他将会达成约书亚记里所指向的所有目标。
当约书亚率领百姓去赢得那些战役时，他是带领整个民族去征服应许之地。当他们失败，犯罪时，他代表整个民族去求告，为他们代求，然后率领这个蒙应许的民族进入应许之地。这就是主耶稣基督的写照。基督率领上帝的子民进入应许的产业，就如希伯来书4章描述的。他身为上帝国度的中保，为上帝的子民祈求代祷，担负新约国度，就是主耶稣基督的教会，大祭司的职事。所有的写照都是为着新约时代。— 韩瑞克·特坎尼克牧师广义来说，身为以色列的弥赛亚，耶稣以两个主要方式达成这些目标。首先，当我们比较耶稣与在约书亚带领之下，以色列所成就的那些美善事——他征服迦南，在应许之地最初的产业，以及愿意忠诚持守上帝的圣约——我们就可以看到耶稣是如何扩展和至终达成每个目标的。第二，当我们对比耶稣所成就的，和以色列人的失败——他们无力按着命定去歼灭所有迦南人，他们为支派的产业争执吵闹，以及他们不能继续持守对上帝圣约的忠诚——我们就看到耶稣实际上翻转了以色列的这些失败。借着这些方式，耶稣得以成功的征服全地，继承万有，并在全世界确立对圣约的忠诚。
但是，基督徒现今对于约书亚记的应用，必须记得一个重点：上帝是定意要随着时间而展现弥赛亚对这些目标的实现。
根据旧约的预言，第一世纪在巴勒斯坦的许多犹太人确切的相信弥赛亚要征服全球，承受世界，并将圣约的忠诚传扬到各处。但是这些犹太人也认为祂会以迅雷不及掩耳之势，摧毁邪恶完成一切。对比之下，耶稣和新约圣经的作者却一再解释，耶稣要建立的国度是以三个互相关联的阶段逐渐展开的。
借着对国度每个阶段的分别探讨，我们能确定基督徒应用约书亚记的可循方向。
首先，我们借着查考在国度奠基时耶稣所成就的，来看基督是已经怎样实现约书亚记所设立的盼望。其次，我们要查看在国度延续的阶段，祂是如何正在实现约书亚记。第三，我们要探讨在国度成全的阶段，当耶稣荣耀再临时，祂将要完成的事情。让我们先来看基督国度的奠基。
新约多处经文教导说，耶稣奠定上帝的国度，乃是祂荣耀的普世征服的最初阶段。但是我们比较约书亚记里以色列得胜的征服和耶稣第一次来临时的作为，会发现显著的不同。耶稣不像约书亚举起一把物质的利剑，而是遵循双重策略：祂取得了对撒旦和它鬼魔的终极得胜；同时，祂也向人们宣扬福音，就是国度的“好消息”，向人警示要来的审判，并彰显上帝对人的怜悯。
约翰福音12章31和32节，耶稣描述这个双重策略。他如此说道：这世界的王要被赶出去；我⋯⋯要吸引万人来归我。这就是为何在歌罗西书2章15节，使徒保罗描述耶稣的死乃是祂胜过一切执政掌权的，废除他们权势的时刻。还有在以弗所书4章8节，保罗也说道：当基督升上高天的时候，祂从那些服事撒旦国度的人中掳了许多俘虏，并且把他们赏赐给了人 。
关于基督国度的奠基如何为上帝的子民实现普世基业的盼望，新约也强调两个观点。一方面，希伯来书1章2节解释说，上帝借着祂儿子晓谕我们，又早已立祂为承受万有的。而在马太福音28章18节，当耶稣说：天上地下所有的权柄，都赐给我了，祂乃是告诉门徒们，祂自己已经领受这个基业。
另一方面，新约也强调，当耶稣将圣灵浇灌于祂的教会时，那是分授普世基业的先兆。如同以赛亚书44章3和4节的预言所显示的，圣灵的浇灌有朝一日要更新整个受造界。因此，以弗所书1章14节保罗讲到圣灵浇灌教会，乃是我们得基业的凭据；还有哥林多后书1章22节和5章5节，他讲到圣灵乃是将要临到子民的凭据——是我们将来在新天新地得基业的保证。
此外，新约也宣告，当耶稣引入新约的时代，基督国度的奠基也强调圣约的忠诚之重要性。路加福音22章20节，耶稣引述耶利米书31章关乎新约的预言，对祂的门徒说道：这杯是用我血所立的新约。新约的作者们清楚表明，耶稣在十字架上承受上帝永恒的审判，成为真信徒最后的赎罪祭。
但是我们要记得，耶稣初次的降临，并没有让新约全然在地上实现。因此祂与祂的使徒和先知们继续指引真信徒们要忠于上帝，因为我们尚未全然成圣。除此之外，我们当中也有假弟兄，就是保罗在哥林多后书11章26节和加拉太书2章4节所说的。信守圣约的呼召依然存在，因为我们还在等候新约的全然实现。
就许多方面而言，在国度奠基阶段，基督徒如何应用约书亚记，那么就新约所教导的，关乎基督国度的延续阶段，其应用也是类似。
新约描述耶稣国度的延续，乃是借着圣灵在教会运作，将祂的得胜征服扩展到全球的一个时期。正如保罗在哥林多前书15章25节讲的：基督必要在天作王，等上帝把一切仇敌，都放在祂的脚下。教会的使命如同耶稣和祂的使徒与先知们所作的，不是拿起物质的利剑，而是继续使用耶稣初次来临时所设立的双重策略。
一方面，我们要在世上更多地方进一步击败撒旦和邪灵。如同以弗所书6章12节告诉我们的：我们不是与属血气的争战，乃是与那些⋯⋯管辖这幽暗世界的，以及天空属灵气的恶魔争战。而另一方面，我们在世上代表基督，向人宣扬福音，就是警示他们上帝将来的审判，和给予赦免与永生的恩典。用哥林多后书5章20节的话来说，我们作基督的使者，⋯⋯替基督求你们与上帝和好。
在教会历史中耶稣国度延续的整个时期，我们也看到上帝子民得普世基业的盼望是不断地进展。当世界各地越来越多人尊耶稣为主，上帝命定祂要承受一切所有的事实，也就越来越明显。同时，基督会继续把圣灵的基业凭据播撒在世界上越来越多的人群中。 加拉太书3章29节告诉我们：你们既属乎基督，就是⋯⋯照着应许承受产业的了；还有罗马书8章16和17节也如此说：我们⋯⋯是后嗣，就是上帝的后嗣，和基督同作后嗣。
就许多方面，在基督国度延续的阶段，约书亚所强调圣约的忠诚依然是真实的。当教会扩展到全世界时，对于有得救信心的人，新约宝血的全面救赎遮盖他们的罪。那些在基督里的人命定是免于永恒的审判。然而在这个阶段，教会蒙召要信守圣约仍然非常重要。
一方面，真信徒对上帝的专注忠诚要日益增长，他们需要留意经文的警示，例如希伯来书12章14节说道：要追求⋯⋯和睦，并要追求圣洁，非圣洁没有人能见主。另一方面，需要警告在我们当中的假弟兄，他们需要悔改而得救，因为希伯来书10章26和27节如此说道：“我们⋯⋯若故意犯罪，赎罪的祭就再没有了；唯有战惧等候审判和那烧灭众敌人的烈火。”
忠于圣约并更新心志，是约书亚记的重要主题之一。在约书亚记里，当约书亚率领百姓打完每个战役之后，都会按着圣约所示，举行庆典，重申他们对主耶和华圣约的忠诚。身为基督徒，这个主旨对我们也很重要，因为我们也是与上帝立约的人——就是基督以祂的血和我们所立的新约。对圣约的忠诚，这个主题关联到主所作的每件事——就是主的恩慈和祂的恩典。因此，当上帝以恩慈对待以色列人，实现对他们的应许，约书亚提醒那些百姓要在圣约里对上帝忠心诚实，那是至关重要的。这个提醒对我们也同样重要，因为上帝在基督里恩慈的对待我们，我们也借着祂恩典的作为而得救。因此，我们要忠于上帝，就是应该对祂的顺服，遵守祂的诫命律令。当我们活出顺服、信实和忠心的生活样式，就是对主从起初为我们所行的表达感恩。上帝主动与我们立约，赐予我们诸般的祝福和恩慈；而我们以在圣约里的顺服和忠诚，回应祂的祝福与恩慈。— 谢里夫·根迪牧师探讨了基督国度奠基和延续阶段的彰显，基督徒该如何应用约书亚记，接着，我们要来简短的讨论国度的成全阶段。根据约书亚记，我们该如何期盼在基督里的未来和至终的成就？
毫无疑问，新约明确表示基督国度的成全乃是祂普世得胜征服的辉煌结局。那时祂会全然击败撒旦和一切邪灵。当耶稣荣耀地返回时，上帝对不信之人的怜悯也告终止。到那时，比起耶稣对上帝的每个人类仇敌的处决，上帝在约书亚时代对迦南人的审判只不过是小意思。正如我们在启示录19章14和15节读到的：在天上的众军⋯⋯跟随祂⋯⋯有利剑从祂口中出来，可以击杀列国。
当基督再来成全祂的国度时，祂的普世产业或基业——就是祂承受万有的权利，也得以全然实现。从启示录11章15节，我们读到：世上的国，成了我主和主基督的国。而这个普世国度要分授给所有跟随基督的人。根据马太福音25章34节，在末日审判时，王要向那些相信基督的人说，来⋯⋯承受那创世以来为你们所预备的国。
唯有在基督国度成全时，呼召上帝子民对圣约的忠诚的警示才告结束。当基督再来时，那些未曾以得救信心来俯就祂的人，要承受上帝永远的审判。而所有的真信徒要进入新创造里，领受新约圆满的祝福。启示录22章3节告诉我们，那时，再没有咒诅，在城里有上帝和羔羊的宝座，祂的仆人都要事奉祂。
事实上，新约要我们记住，在祂的国度奠基、延续、和成全的阶段，基督如何履行约书亚记的主旨。当我们这么作时，以色列人在约书亚时代的征服，得产业，对圣约的忠诚，会使得我们更认识基督初次来临时所作的奇妙作为。这些事教导我们如何在每天的生活中事奉上帝，也指引我们走向历史的最终结局。那时普世的征服得以完成，新创造的基业属于我们，而我们也会被确定是上帝在基督里信守圣约的子民。
在约书亚记导论这一课，我们提出三个关键议题。首先，我们论及本书的人类作者和日期，包括传统派，批判派和福音派对这问题的观点。其次，我们查考约书亚记的设计和目的，讨论了这本书的内容和结构，和它的原本含义。第三，我们探讨从约书亚记引出的一些基督徒应用，查看基督在上帝荣耀国度的奠基、延续和成全阶段，如何实现约书亚记里确立的那些盼望。
在古代的以色列人面对他们当时的挑战时，约书亚记提醒他们，上帝在约书亚的生平为他们所成就的大事。就许多方面，我们现今也面对类似的挑战。但我们将从这系列课程看到，约书亚记给以色列机会，重新热切认知上帝在他们岁月的作为。它也同样给予你我更新的机会。当我们更多地了解这本书，不只是更认识上帝在旧约里，借着约书亚所作的事情，同时也会更认识上帝借着更伟大的约书亚，我们的救主耶稣，已经成就，正在成就，将要成就的所有事。
The Book of Joshua: An Introduction to Joshua
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INTRODUCTION
It's common for people around the world to delight in the grand events that took place when their nations were founded. But when later generations face challenges, loss and disappointment, it's often necessary to remind them of the significance of those events from long ago. In many ways, this common experience is reflected in the Old Testament book of Joshua. Grand events had taken place when the Israelites first entered their homeland in Canaan. But as later generations faced hardships, it became necessary for them to learn afresh how important those events were.
This is the first lesson in our series on The Book of Joshua, and we've entitled it, "An Introduction to Joshua." As we'll see, when we learn what the book of Joshua meant for ancient Israel, we'll be better equipped to see how much it has to offer us in our day as well.
Our introduction to the book of Joshua will divide into three parts. First, we'll explore its authorship and date. Second, we'll introduce an overview of its design and purpose. And third, we'll sketch several broad considerations we need to keep in mind as we make Christian applications of our book. Let's begin with the authorship and date of the book of Joshua.
AUTHORSHIP AND DATE
The Holy Spirit inspired the book of Joshua so that it would give us true historical records. But we also have to remember that the Holy Spirit employed the perspectives and purposes of Scripture's human authors to shape their historical records. So, as with every other portion of the Bible, the more we know about the human author and his times, the better we'll understand the book of Joshua.
We'll briefly sketch three perspectives on the authorship and date of Joshua: first, traditional outlooks; second, modern critical outlooks; and, third, some basic evangelical outlooks that will guide us in this lesson. Let's turn first to ancient, traditional outlooks on the authorship and date of our book.
Traditional Outlooks
The book of Joshua is anonymous. Neither the book itself, nor the rest of Scripture tells us who its final compiler or author was. The title, "The Book of Joshua," that appears in most of our modern Bibles, was added to the book long after it was written. But the tendencies of traditional ancient Jewish and Christian positions on these matters are nicely summarized in the rabbinical perspectives expressed in the Talmud.
In a series of questions and answers in the part of the Talmud known as Tractate Baba Bathra 15, we read:
[You say that] Joshua wrote his book. But is it not written, "And Joshua son of Nun the servant of the Lord died"? — It was completed by Eleazar. But it is also written in it, "And Eleazar the son of Aaron died" — Phinehas finished it.
As we see here, leading rabbis identified Joshua himself as the author of the vast majority of our book. But they also acknowledged that certain parts of Joshua had to have been written after Joshua died. They attributed the account of Joshua's death in 24:29, to the high priest Eleazar. And they assigned the account of Eleazar's death in 24:33, to Eleazar's son, Phinehas. From this traditional perspective, the book of Joshua came to be written very early, soon after the events of the book.
In reality, there is little to no evidence to support the specific claims of the Talmud. But we should not entirely dismiss the possibility that Joshua, Eleazar and Phinehas contributed to this book of the Bible. As early as Exodus 17:14, we learn that Joshua was involved in the preservation of Israel's early historical records. Also, Joshua supervised the writing of God's law for ceremonial use in passages like Joshua 8:32 and 24:26. And along these same lines, priests and Levites like Eleazar and his son Phinehas had important roles in handling and teaching the Scriptures.
In a few moments, we'll note that the author of Joshua relied on a variety of written sources as he composed his book. And it's possible that Joshua, Eleazar, Phinehas and others like them, at the very least, indirectly contributed to these sources.
The book of Joshua gives us some clues as to its writing. In chapter 18 it tells of seven tribes that had not received their allotment, and so they talked with Joshua about this and he commissioned men from those tribes to go into the land and to write a report about what the land looked like and they came back with that report. It seems to me that, probably, that served as the description that's found in chapters 18–20, when they're talking about these tribes were allotted their land, it describes the cities that they took and the boundaries of the land. And so, that portion of that three chapters is probably an early writing that the men who sent out to reconnoiter the land came back with that description… Chapter 24 tells us that Joshua wrote in the book of the law, and probably that included at least the covenant that he was making with the children of Israel at that time. That this was probably the same book of the law that Moses had written in is suggested because Joshua will set it up before the Lord — he writes it; he puts it before the Lord — in the same way that the material of Moses was placed before the Lord, apparently in the tabernacle as a sacred deposit. And so, this portion of Joshua is also probably explicitly mentioned in the book of Joshua. If it's true that we have the description of the land, and we have the account of the covenant that's found at the end of Joshua, then it's probably true that the other accounts having to do with the battles, that contained so much detail, are probably also written very early and by Joshua, for all intents and purposes. [Dr. Chip McDaniel]
With these traditional outlooks on the authorship and date of Joshua in mind, let's consider modern critical outlooks — points of view commonly held by modern scholars who reject the full authority of Scripture.
Critical Outlooks
Most recent critical scholars on Joshua have been deeply influenced by Martin Noth's work, The Deuteronomistic History, written in 1943. In brief, Noth's view was that the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings were written during the Babylonian exile by someone usually deemed, "the Deuteronomist" And from this perspective, the entire Deuteronomistic history, including the book of Deuteronomy, was composed from a variety of earlier written sources during the Babylonian exile. The main purpose of these books was to demonstrate that Israel deserved the judgment of defeat and exile that had befallen the northern and southern kingdoms.
Throughout the decades, the majority of critical interpreters have affirmed many of Noth's central perspectives, especially dating the authorship of the book sometime during the Babylonian exile. Still, many critical scholars have rightly argued that Noth failed to identify the unique theological outlooks of the individual books of this portion of the Old Testament. And they've argued that Noth overlooked the positive, hopeful outlooks that also appear in these books.
Having looked at traditional and critical outlooks on the authorship and date of our book, let's consider some modern evangelical outlooks — perspectives held by scholars who affirm the full authority of Scripture. These perspectives will guide our approach to the book of Joshua throughout these lessons.
Evangelical Outlooks
As we've already noted, the book of Joshua is anonymous. And as a result, evangelicals have held to a number of different outlooks on its authorship and date. Still, it will be helpful to make two observations. First, we'll look at what we may call the compositional development of the book. And second, we'll explore the range of possible dates for its completion. Consider first the compositional development of Joshua.
Development
When we speak of our book's development, we have in mind that, like many other Old Testament authors, the author of Joshua didn't write his history de novo, or entirely from scratch. Rather, he compiled a variety of written sources as he formed his book. As we just saw, both the Talmud and critical interpreters maintain that our book reflects some kind of compositional development. And, by and large, evangelicals also acknowledge our author's use of sources.
We know for certain that this is true to some degree because, in 10:13, our author quoted directly from what he called, the Book — or scroll — of Jashar. We don't know much about this book, but clearly the author and his original audience did. Beyond this, as we'll see throughout this series, time and again our author incorporated portions of the Pentateuch as well as extra-biblical texts of various sorts. We can't reconstruct these unidentified sources without straying into a lot of speculation. But knowing that our author used earlier sources, like the Book of Jashar, helps us understand why his book feels repetitious and disjointed at times.
This use of earlier sources also helps us avoid a common mistake when identifying the date of our book's final form. On fifteen occasions, the book of Joshua says that this or that circumstance was true "to this day." Naturally, it's easy to think that the phrase "to this day" refers to the time of the author. But, as is clearly the case in passages like 1 Kings 8:8, sometimes the phrase "to this day" may actually refer to the days of earlier sources.
Although evangelicals generally agree that there was some kind of compositional development of the book of Joshua, we're still left asking, when did this book reach its completion? When was it brought together as we have it now in the Bible?
Completion
As with many Old Testament books, we can't identify precisely when our author brought the book of Joshua to its final form. The evidence only allows us to identify a range of possibilities for the earliest and latest likely dates. But, as we'll see in these lessons, when we keep this full range of possibilities in mind, we gain numerous insights into how our author shaped his book to impact his original audience.
We'll look at this range of time for the completion of the book of Joshua in two steps. First, we'll consider the latest possible date of completion. And second, we'll examine the earliest possible date. Let's start with the latest possible time when Joshua could have been written.
One of the best ways to determine the latest possible date of Joshua's final composition is to look outside of the book itself. There's good evidence that our author consciously contributed to what many scholars today call Israel's Primary History — the history that stretches from Genesis through Kings, excluding Ruth. This perspective is important because these books create a timeline, one after the other, like interlocking links.
Think about it this way: The Pentateuch comes from the days of Moses and comprises the first set of five links in this historical "chain." Genesis begins with creation and ends with Joseph and his brothers in Egypt. Exodus assumes the existence of Genesis because it picks up the chronology with the death of Joseph and ends with Moses and Israel at Mount Sinai. Leviticus takes us further by reporting events that took place at Mount Sinai. Numbers adds a record of the travels of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab. And Deuteronomy completes the Pentateuch with Moses' speeches on the plains of Moab and with Moses' death.
In a similar way, the book of Joshua is the first link of the subsequent Deuteronomistic portion of the Primary History — the portion that depended heavily on the theological outlooks of the book of Deuteronomy. The author of Joshua began with the death of Moses and continued through Joshua's death. Judges picks up the history of Israel where the book of Joshua ends. Samuel begins with the rise of Samuel as the last judge of Israel and ends with David's reign. And Kings forms the last stage of the Primary History by beginning with the death of David and ending with the Babylonian exile. In this sense, the book of Kings flows out of all the earlier books of the Deuteronomistic history. And this fact tells us something crucial about the latest likely date for the completion of Joshua: It had to have been completed before the book of Kings was written.
This observation is helpful because we know a lot about when the book of Kings was written. The last event reported in Kings appears in 2 Kings 25:27-30. Here we learn that David's royal descendent, Jehoiachin, was released from prison in Babylon in the year 561 B.C. For this reason, we can be certain that Kings was not completed before this date. And more than this, the book of Kings stops short of reporting Israel's all-important release from exile in 538 B.C. It's unimaginable that the writer of Kings wouldn't have mentioned Israel's deliverance from exile if it had occurred by the time he wrote Kings. So, in keeping with the order of Israel's Primary History, the very latest the book of Joshua could have been completed was during the period of the Babylonian exile.
With this latest possible date in mind, we should look in the other direction. What was the earliest possible date for Joshua's completion? It isn't difficult to see that the earliest the book of Joshua could have reached its final form was during the period of the judges, a generation or so after the death of Joshua. Consider what our author wrote near the end of his book in 24:31:
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel (Joshua 24:31).
Notice that this passage refers to "the elders who outlived Joshua." And along these lines, we also read that, "Israel served the Lord" throughout the lifetimes of those who "had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel." This positive evaluation of Israel's spiritual condition implies something about our author. He must have been aware that the next generation after Joshua's death did not continue to serve God faithfully — a fact highlighted in the book of Judges. So, this verse indicates that the earliest possible date for the completion of our book was the period of Israel's judges.
Other passages in Joshua also reference events that took place during the period of the judges. For example, Joshua 19:47 mentions the migration of the Danites to a new territory in the North. This event took place in the period of the judges, according to Judges 18:27-29. So, it's fair to say that this is the earliest possible date for the book's completion.
Now, we also should mention that many interpreters have argued for a date during the period of the monarchy. For a number of reasons, they've concluded that this is actually the earliest possible date of final composition. And we cannot rule out this possibility. The primary evidence for this outlook appears in Joshua 11:21, where we read these words:
Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim … from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel (Joshua 11:21).
As we see here, this verse distinguishes "the hill country of Judah," or the southern kingdom, from "the hill country of Israel," or the northern kingdom.
This distinction between Judah and Israel has suggested to some that our book could not have been written before the kingdom of Israel was divided in approximately 930 B.C. But having said this, it's important to note that at least one version of the Septuagint — the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament — does not make this distinction. And scholars disagree over whether the Hebrew or Greek version represents the better reading. So, while it's possible that Joshua 11:21 acknowledges the division of the kingdom, it isn't certain.
If we bring all of this evidence together, the very earliest possible date for Joshua's completion was sometime during the period of the judges. But a later date during the period of the monarchy is also possible. And even a date as late as the period of Babylonian exile isn't out of the question. As we'll see in a moment, recognizing this full range of possibilities helps us grasp more fully the kinds of challenges the book of Joshua was designed to address.
Keeping in mind what we've learned about the authorship and date of the book of Joshua, we should now turn to a second introductory consideration: the book's design and purpose. How did our author design his record of the days of Joshua? And why did he design it in this way?
DESIGN AND PURPOSE
Whenever we study a book of biblical history like Joshua, it's always important to remember that the same historical events can be told in many ways without introducing errors. Every biblical book that reports historical events organizes the history it reports in order to accomplish particular purposes and to emphasize certain perspectives for its original audience.
We'll look into these matters in much more detail in later lessons, but at this point we'll sketch the design and purpose of Joshua in two steps. First, we'll introduce its overarching content and structure, the large-scale arrangement of the book. And second, we'll comment on its original meaning, the impact our author hoped to have on his original audience. Consider first the content and structure of Joshua.
Content and Structure
The book of Joshua consists of twenty-four chapters that contain many different types of literature. We find narratives, reports, speeches, as well as lists of people and places that probably came from a variety of sources. Because of this, interpreters have analyzed the structural details of Joshua in different ways. But it's not difficult to see how its structure and content work together on a large scale.
Old Testament scholars have different ways of designating or identifying genre within various books in the Bible, but in general terms, the book of Joshua has three main types of literature within it. It has what we would call narratives or stories, those sorts of things that we would normally understand like the story of the battle of Jericho, those kinds of things. It also has long lists, geographical lists, of places that various tribes inherited that were given to them by God and would list one place after another, after another, after another. And then it also has sections where there is speech, or speeches that are given by a particular person to another group of people. And you can see if you just think about it in those three big categories that those correlate roughly to the first major division and the second major division and a third major division of the book. The first is primarily narrative, the second is primarily geographical lists, and the third is primarily speeches. But the problem comes up in this way, and that is that within those major or umbrella genre designations you also have the other two always sort of seeping in… And so, as we deal with these various sections and these various genres in the book of Joshua, it's very important to keep them in mind and to be able to spot them as you go along. One of the greatest points of confusion that interpreters have, especially new interpreters or new students of the Old Testament, is that they will not recognize these various genres and won't treat them in ways that they need to be treated. And as we approach the book of Joshua, as anyone approaches the book of Joshua, if you don't focus on those various genres and how they're mixed together in different parts of the book, then it will lead to a great deal of confusion. [Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr.]
In brief, Joshua has three main divisions. Each division begins with a statement indicating a significant shift in time. The first division, in chapters 1–12, focuses on Israel's victorious conquest of Canaan — how Joshua led Israel to a decisive victory over the Canaanites. This division begins in 1:1 with the temporal notice that God commissioned Joshua, "After the death of Moses."
Victorious Conquest (1–12)
These twelve chapters report a number of events that took place during Joshua's conquest of the land of Canaan. They begin with Israel's crossing of the Jordan and initial victories at Jericho and Ai. And these victories are followed by a covenant renewal ceremony in the vicinity of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. The narrative then moves to Joshua's major campaign against an alliance in the southern regions of the Promised Land. And this record is followed by Joshua's campaign against an alliance in the northern regions.
Tribal Inheritances (13–22)
The second division of our book, in chapters 13–22, deals with Israel's tribal inheritances — how the national unity of Israel was maintained as particular inheritances were allotted to the tribes of Israel. This division begins in 13:1 with the temporal statement, "Now Joshua was old and advanced in years."
This second major division of Joshua first established the extent of territories that God granted to Israel, both in Transjordan — the lands to the east of the Jordan River — and in Cisjordan — the lands to the west of the Jordan River. It goes on to explain in some detail the specific allotments of lands to the tribes who received permission to settle in Transjordan. And it also spells out how God granted large territories west of the Jordan to Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as lesser territories to the other tribes of Israel. And when conflict arose between the tribes of Cisjordan and Transjordan, we learn how they maintained their national unity as the people of God.
Covenant Loyalty (23–24)
The third major division, in chapters 23, 24, closes our book by giving attention to Israel's covenant loyalty — how Israel's loyalty and disloyalty to the terms of God's covenant would shape their future. It begins in 23:1 with another statement that alerts us to the passage of time. We read, "A long time afterward, when, Joshua was old and well advanced in years." And this temporal notice is reinforced in verse 14 with Joshua's words, "I am about to go the way of all the earth."
These last two chapters of our book focus on two assemblies that Joshua held near the time of his death. The first of these assemblies probably took place in Shiloh, a holy site that played an important role in Joshua's day and later in the period of the judges. And it closes with a final assembly at Shechem, the place where Abraham built his first altar in the land of Canaan. All of Israel gathered at these assemblies, and Joshua warned them against flagrant violations of God's covenant. Then the main body of our book closes with Joshua leading the people of Israel in renewing their commitment to be loyal to God alone. They vowed to reject the gods of all other nations and serve the God of their fathers according to the terms of his covenant with them. Following this covenant renewal, the book closes with an afterword that includes Joshua's death and several subsequent events.
We've explored the design and purpose of Joshua by considering the book's content and structure. Now we're in a position to ask how we should summarize the original meaning of Joshua. What was our author's purpose for writing his book?
Original Meaning
In many ways, it's fair to say the author of Joshua wrote with purposes that every biblical author shared. He designed his book to honor God. And he sought to further God's kingdom by applying the principles of God's covenants to the concepts, behaviors and emotions of his original audience. But as we study the book of Joshua, we can also identify the special emphases that our author had for his audience as he wrote his book.
There are many ways to summarize the original meaning of Joshua, but for our purposes, we'll express it along these lines:
The book of Joshua was written about Israel's victorious conquest, tribal inheritances and covenant loyalty in Joshua's day to address similar challenges facing later generations.
As we can see, this summary refers to the three main divisions of the book of Joshua: victorious conquest, tribal inheritances and covenant loyalty. But why did our author focus on these matters? As our summary suggests, first, he sought to remind his audience about events in Joshua's day. And second, he wrote to address later generations and the similar challenges they faced. Let's look at both of these purposes, starting with why our author wrote about Joshua's day.
Everyone familiar with the book of Joshua knows that it deals most explicitly with events that took place when Joshua led Israel. These include: Israel's victorious conquest of Canaan, Joshua's division of Israel's tribal inheritances and Israel's covenant loyalty to God. So, it's fair to say that one of our author's central purposes was to inform the original audience of what had happened in "that world" — the world of Joshua's time. Many Old Testament passages stress that the Israelites often lost their way because they forgot what God had done for them in the past. Our author hinted that this was a problem for his original audience when, in 24:31, he distinguished himself and his audience from those who "had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel."
The original audience of our book needed to be reminded of what had happened in the days of Joshua, whether they lived in the period of the judges, during the monarchy, or during the Babylonian exile. So, on a basic level, we may say that the author of Joshua wrote to give his original audience a true record about what had been accomplished in Joshua's day.
In the second place, as our summary suggests, the book of Joshua was also written to address the challenges of later generations. Our author stood, as it were, between two worlds: "that world" — the world of Israel in Joshua's day — and "their world" — the world of the original audience. For this reason, our author didn't simply write a record that was true to historical facts. He also wrote about Israel's victorious conquest, the distribution of tribal inheritances and the call to covenant loyalty to provide meaningful points of contact or connections between "that world" and "their world." Like other biblical authors, he frequently pointed out historical backgrounds that explained the origins of his audience's current privileges and responsibilities. He also presented models for them to emulate or reject. And on a few occasions, he wrote accounts of Joshua's times as foreshadows of his original audience's experiences.
These kinds of connections reveal something about our author that we need to keep in view. On the one side, he wanted his audience to remember what had happened in Joshua's day. But on the other side, he didn't want them to return to doing things precisely as Israel had done in Joshua's day. His original audience lived in a different time. And they needed to apply his historical record to their lives in ways that were appropriate for their own day.
I believe that the original audience of the book of Joshua were greatly impacted by its message… All of the promises that God made, all of them were fulfilled to Israel concerning their coming into the Promised Land. Not one of them failed. And I think this is, at the core, to teach the people, God is faithful; God has been faithful and will remain faithful. And this is especially important in their moving into the time of the judges, because in the time of the judges we see them described as a people who are doing what's right in their own eyes, but what they've been called to is faithfulness to Yahweh. And so, this is a message to them that they see in the life of Joshua and those who were faithful along with Joshua, in light of where they are now, where this generation is not truly following in the footsteps of Joshua. And it is a call to them to repent, really, and come back to who they were called to be. [Dr. T. J. Betts]
Now at times, modern interpreters have difficulty grasping how the original audience was meant to apply this historical record to their lives. After all, our author didn't spell out these matters in his book. But we need to remember some viewpoints that our author and his audience would have learned from the Scriptures available in their day — what we know as the Pentateuch. With these perspectives in mind, the implications of our author's record of "that world" for "their world" are not as difficult to discern as it may first appear.
Victorious Conquest
Consider how the Pentateuch set the stage for understanding the implications of Israel's victorious conquest for the original audience. This division of our book gave a record of Joshua's great victories. But three basic outlooks on warfare, derived from the Pentateuch, helped them see how to apply this part of Joshua.
Primeval conflict. In the first place, both our author and his original audience knew that they were engaged in a war that was rooted in the primeval conflict between God and Satan. Genesis 3:15 indicates that throughout human history, after the fall into sin, God and Satan have been in conflict. This invisible conflict is visible on earth in the struggle between the seed, or descendants, of the serpent — people who serve satanic powers — and the seed, or descendants, of the woman — people who serve God. This is why the book of Joshua doesn't reduce Israel's conflict to just a physical war. Rather, in Joshua 5:14, our author referred to the angelic "commander of the army of the Lord." This passage indicates that Joshua and the army of Israel were participating in a battle involving God and his angelic army. And, as passages like Joshua 23:16 indicate, our author also recognized that the Canaanite's satanic gods stood alongside the Canaanites in opposition to the people of Israel. Joshua's original audience had much to learn from Israel's conquest because, just like the Israelites in Joshua's day, they knew they were engaged in this ongoing conflict between God and Satan and those who served them.
Israel's special conflict. In the second place, the Pentateuch also made it evident that Joshua's conquest was Israel's special conflict. While the original audience could learn a great deal from Israel's conquest, they, and the generations to come, were not to imitate it in every detail. The Pentateuch made it clear that Joshua's day was extraordinary.
In Genesis 15:13-16, God told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in Egypt for a time because "the iniquity of the Amorites" — another name for Canaanites — "[was] not yet complete." But by the time of Joshua's conquest, Canaanite sin had grown so offensive that God called for their total destruction, much like he had called for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Abraham.
This is why our author drew from the vocabulary of the Pentateuch and described Canaan's destruction using the Hebrew verb charam and the noun cherem. As Joshua 6:17, 19 and 21 illustrate, in the context of Joshua's conquest, these terms didn't mean simply "to destroy." Rather, they meant "to devote wholly to the Lord" or "to destroy in devotion to the Lord." So, when the Israelites made war in Canaan, it was an acknowledgment of God's just judgment against flagrant Canaanite sin. And they destroyed and dedicated everything they conquered as an act of honoring God in worship.
We know that this command for utter destruction and devotion to the Lord in Joshua's day was extraordinary for a number of reasons. For one, in Deuteronomy 20:10-20, Moses directed total destruction for the Canaanites, but he commanded Israel to offer peace treaties to peoples outside the land of Canaan. Joshua himself acknowledged this distinction in Joshua 9 when he made a treaty with the Gibeonites, believing they had come from outside of Canaan.
In addition to this, the extraordinary character of Joshua's conquest becomes evident when we recall how the ongoing conflict between God and Satan took different forms, both before and after Joshua. To mention just a few examples, before Joshua, in Genesis 11:1-9, God and his heavenly army went to war against rebellious human beings at the Tower of Babel. But they did this without a human army and simply scattered the people. In Genesis 14:1-24, Abraham fought with God's help, but God didn't order the total destruction of Abraham's enemies. In Exodus 12:12, we learn that God went to war against the Egyptians and their gods during the plagues on Egypt. But Israel was passive, and God didn't kill every Egyptian. In Exodus 14, at the Red Sea, Israel followed God obediently in battle formation, but it was God who destroyed Egypt's army.
Similar variety also appears after the days of Joshua. As the book of Samuel explains, David fought many of Israel's enemies with God's supernatural help. But God didn't devote all of his enemies to utter destruction. The book of Kings indicates that the same was true of many generations of David's royal descendants. And Israel's prophets predicted that the end of Israel's exile would unfold in connection with war through unrivaled, miraculous divine intervention.
As we can see, God's ongoing conflict with evil unfolded in a variety of ways in the Pentateuch and throughout the Old Testament. This alerts us to the fact that Joshua's conquest wasn't the norm for all battles. Of course, the original audience could learn many lessons about warfare in their day from Joshua. But the conquest itself was a time of extraordinary judgment. Unlike many other battles, God determined at that time that the Canaanites — with rare exceptions like Rahab — fully deserved utter destruction.
The sin of the Canaanites gradually grew over time to be particularly heinous. In the book of Genesis there is an allusion, Genesis 15, I believe, to the sin of the Amorites reaching its full measure. It's not until then that God's people will take possession of the land. So, there is this notion in the Scriptures that God is watching the Canaanite nation as it declines and understands that when their decline reaches a certain point that his justice will be poured out. The instrument of his justice is the nation of Israel, but not because the Israelite nation had great moral rectitude or anything of that sort. They're a very small nation. They're given to great sin, as we've seen even in the generation prior to Joshua coming into that, and even in their conquest there is sin. But the fact of the matter is God, in his grace, has called that nation to himself and is using that nation to exterminate and remove another nation that, if allowed to live there, is going to corrupt them. And that's another reason that God allowed the Israelite nation to go into Canaan, and they were to destroy everyone living there. God didn't want his people to be corrupted by the religious practices, their idolatry, the sin of the people living there, and he didn't want his nation to become patterned after the nations around them. He wanted them to follow him, with him as their king. And so, the Israelite nation went in and, of course, did not complete that task entrusted to them. And so, even within the book of Joshua, we see rumblings of it, what we see in fuller expression in the book after — the book of Judges — where the Israelite nation is increasingly corrupt and becomes more and more involved in a spiral of sin and decline, less characteristic of those that are in covenant relationship with God and more like the nations around them, all something that God sought to avoid by commanding the Israelites to go in and remove those living there. [Rev. Kevin Labby]
Future victory of Israel's king. In the third place, our author also knew from the Pentateuch that Joshua's conquest was but one step toward the future victory of Israel's king — the anticipated king who would reign over the whole world forever. Early on, the patriarch Jacob announced, in Genesis 49:10, that the royal family of Judah would receive "the obedience of the peoples." In the period of the judges, this hope in Judah's royal line was acknowledged in the leading role given to the tribe of Judah in Judges 1:1, 2. During the monarchy, the fulfillment of this expectation was identified specifically with the house of David in passages like Psalm 72. And in many passages, Israel's prophets predicted that the exile would end with the victory of David's great son over all nations.
So, like the Israelites in Joshua's day, the original audience knew they were part of something much greater than themselves. And for this reason, they were never simply to go back to what Joshua did. They had to apply what happened in the conquest of Canaan to their own day as God continued to move history toward the future worldwide victory of Israel's king.
Tribal Inheritances
Our author expected his audience to have similar theological outlooks on the second division of his book concerning Israel's tribal inheritances.
Primeval human dominion. In the first place, he understood from the books of Moses that Israel's possession of Canaan was rooted in God's primeval call for human dominion over the earth. God had ordained from primeval times that the earth would be turned into his kingdom as his faithful images filled and subdued it. This call was first reported in Genesis 1:26-30, and later confirmed in Genesis 9:1-3. So, the record of Israel's tribal inheritances in the book of Joshua was clearly relevant for the original audience. Like the Israelites of Joshua's day, the original audience was also called to participate in God's commission to humanity to have dominion over the earth.
Israel's special inheritance. In the second place, our author rightly understood from the Pentateuch that God had established Israel's special inheritance. And the distribution of lands to Israel in Joshua's day represented the initial fulfillment of this inheritance. For instance, in Genesis 15:18-21, God promised Abraham an inheritance for his descendants that extended from the border of Egypt to the river Euphrates. So, drawing from the vocabulary of the Pentateuch, the book of Joshua frequently refers to Israel's possession of their land with the Hebrew verb nachal — meaning "to inherit" — and the noun nachalah — meaning "inheritance." This terminology indicates that Israel's land was an enduring possession from God.
For this reason, the original audience had much to learn from what Joshua had done in distributing their tribal inheritances. In the period of the judges, disharmony among the tribes of Israel and troubles from other peoples disrupted Joshua's successes. During the monarchy, Israel's kings expanded Israel's lands, but they also experienced setbacks and losses. And of course, during the Babylonian exile, only a small remnant of God's people remained in the land. And they remained there only under the tyranny of other nations. So, Joshua's distribution of Israel's tribal inheritances offered the original audience great insight as they sought to live in service to God in their own day.
Future inheritance of Israel's king. In the third place, our author also knew that Israel's inheritance of Canaan was but one step toward the future inheritance of Israel's king. At the appointed time, Israel's great and righteous king would possess every land and nation as he fulfilled humanity's original call to have dominion over the entire earth. As we've mentioned, Genesis 49:10 declares that one day a royal son of Judah will reign until he receives "the obedience of the peoples." In addition, in Genesis 17:4, God promised Abraham, "You shall be the father of a multitude of nations." This is why in Psalm 2:8, God said specifically to the house of David, "I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." Israel's prophets announced many times that the land of David's great son would extend from one end of the earth to the other. And Paul summarized these Old Testament outlooks in Romans 4:13 when he wrote, "The promise to Abraham and his offspring [was] that he would be heir of the world." The implications for our author's original audience were clear. They were to apply what they read in the book of Joshua to the ways God was leading his people in their times toward the goal of this worldwide inheritance.
We see in Romans 4 that the apostle Paul interprets the promise of inheritance for Abraham and his offspring to include the whole world. And that may surprise us at first. We think of the Promised Land as only a strip of real estate along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. But this is really of a piece of the way Paul understands the Abrahamic covenant to be global, to be worldwide. So often he will talk about the seed, the children of Abraham, including not just his biological descendants, but really those who follow in the footsteps of Abraham, that is, the footsteps of faith, who trust in the promises of God. In fact, Paul emphasizes that not only Jew but also Gentile who believe in Christ are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to God's promise — end of Galatians 3. So when Paul says in Romans 4 that the promises that Abraham's children, by faith, will inherit the whole world, he's really just extending that same understanding. [Dr. Dennis E. Johnson]
Covenant Loyalty
Just as with the first and second divisions of our book, the author of Joshua expected his original audience to keep certain theological outlooks from the Pentateuch in view as they applied the third division — Israel's call to covenant loyalty.
Primeval human loyalty. In the first place, our author understood from the Pentateuch that covenant loyalty was rooted in the primeval requirement of human loyalty to God. Simply being images of God binds us to God by covenant, and this bond requires loyal service to him. God's covenant with all of humanity in Adam required obedience, as indicated in Genesis 1–3 and Hosea 6:7. And God's covenant in Noah, in Genesis 6, 9, revealed that all human beings are required to serve God by covenant. Because this is true of all people in all times, the original audience could learn much from Joshua's call for covenant loyalty in his day. They, like all other human beings, were obligated to God's loyal service.
Israel's special covenant loyalty. In the second place, the original audience also had to be aware of Israel's special covenant loyalty. Our author was careful to note that, in the time of the conquest, Joshua exhorted the people to remain faithful to God's covenant. And the people vowed to do so.
The original audience would have known of God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17. Here God required circumcision as a commitment to being blameless before him. And the covenant God made in Moses — in Exodus 19–24, and renewed in the book of Deuteronomy — made it clear that Israel was to obey the law of Moses. Now, in the third division of our book, Joshua focused on the trials that would come to Israel if they didn't fulfill these requirements, especially the requirement of rejecting false gods. And he set before them the possibilities of troubles, defeat and exile from the Promised Land if they were unfaithful.
By the time of the book's original audience, these trials had already begun to unfold. In the period of the judges, Israel had entered into cycles of troubles. During the monarchy, more judgments came on Israel because of the repeated idolatry of the people and their kings. And during the Babylonian exile, the threat of losing the Promised Land had become a horrific reality. So, the original audience had to consider Joshua's warnings to Israel in light of God's judgments that they were facing in their own day.
Future covenant with Israel's king. In the third place, what happened in Joshua's day also anticipated that God would make a future covenant with Israel's king. We know that Genesis 49:10 indicates that God had ordained for a king of Judah to reign. And Genesis 17:6 also indicates that Israel would have a king. Although Israel had no legitimate king during the period of the judges, passages like Judges 21:25 and the end of Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2:10 indicate that even during this period, the faithful looked for deliverance through Israel's royal family.
Now, if the book of Joshua was written during Israel's monarchy or during the Babylonian exile, the original audience had to relate Joshua's call to covenant loyalty to God's dynastic covenant with David. In passages like 2 Samuel 7 and Psalms 89, 132, we see how God's covenant with David focused on the necessity of loyalty. David's royal line had to be loyal to God because they represented the people of Israel before God.
In addition, according to the prophecy of Isaiah 53:11, eternal forgiveness would come in the future because of the substitutionary death of "the righteous one, [the Lord's] servant," Israel's perfectly righteous king. And this great king is none other than Jesus, the Christ who brought the new covenant predicted in Jeremiah 31. This covenant will come in its fullness when Christ returns and makes all things new. As the original audience applied Joshua's call to covenant loyalty to their own times, they had to do so in the light of where they stood in these developments of the covenants God had made with his people.
So, as we seek to understand the original meaning of the book of Joshua, we always have to keep in view that our author wanted his audience to learn what had happened in Joshua's day. But, he also wanted them to apply his record of the victorious conquest, tribal inheritances and the call to covenant loyalty in ways that were appropriate for their own times and circumstances.
So far in our introduction to the book of Joshua we've looked into its authorship and date, as well as its design and original purpose. Now we're in a position to introduce the third main topic of this lesson: Christian application. How should the book of Joshua impact our lives as we follow Christ?
CHRISTIAN APPLICATION
In Hebrew, the name "Jesus" is "Joshua." This simple fact reminds us that, from a Christian perspective, Jesus fulfills, or completes, what began in Joshua's day. And in many respects, applying the book of Joshua to our lives flows out of this fulfillment in Christ. The more we grasp this connection between the book of Joshua and Jesus, the more we can understand the impact this book should have on us as followers of Christ. As we've seen, the author of our book wrote about Israel's victorious conquest, tribal inheritances, and covenant loyalty under Joshua's leadership to guide later generations of Israel. But our author also understood that sometime in the future, a great king of Israel would come, and he would accomplish all of the goals pointed to in the book of Joshua.
When Joshua was leading the victorious battles, he was leading the nation to conquer the Promised Land. He advocated on behalf of the nation when they failed and sinned. He interceded for the nation and then led the promised nation into the Promised Land. This is all a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ led God's people into their promised inheritance, as it is written in Hebrews 4. He advocates on behalf of God's nation, prays for the nation, and intercedes for the nation, and does the work of the high priest for the New Testament nation, which is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this is a picture meant for the time of the New Testament. [Rev. Henryk Turkanik, translation]
Broadly speaking, as Israel's Messiah, Jesus fulfills these goals in two main ways. First, when we compare Jesus with the good things Israel accomplished under Joshua — the conquest of Canaan, the initial inheritance of the Promised Land, and Israel's loyal covenant service to God — we can see how Jesus expands and ultimately fulfills each goal. And second, when we contrast Jesus' accomplishments with Israel's failures — their inability to destroy all the Canaanites as commanded, their bickering and arguing over their tribal inheritances, and their failure to remain loyal to God's covenant — we can see that Jesus actually all of Israel's failures. And by these means, Jesus wages victorious conquest over the entire earth, he inherits all things, and he establishes covenant loyalty everywhere in the world.
But to understand how to make Christian applications of the book of Joshua today, we need to remember something: God determined that the messianic fulfillment of these goals would unfold over time.
On the basis of Old Testament prophecy, many Jews in first century Palestine rightly believed that the Messiah would win a global conquest, inherit the world, and spread covenant loyalty everywhere. But these Jews also believed that he would do this quickly and catastrophically. In contrast, Jesus and the authors of the New Testament explained time and again that the kingdom Jesus established would unfold gradually in three interconnected phases.
We'll gain an orientation toward the Christian application of Joshua by looking at each phase of the kingdom separately.
Inauguration
First, we'll consider how Christ fulfilled the expectations established in the book of Joshua by examining what Jesus accomplished in the inauguration of his kingdom. Second, we'll investigate how he fulfills the book of Joshua during the continuation of the kingdom. And third, we'll explore what Jesus will accomplish during the consummation of the kingdom at his glorious return. Consider first the inauguration of Christ's kingdom.
Victorious Conquest
The New Testament teaches in many places that Jesus' inauguration of God's kingdom was the initial phase of his glorious worldwide victorious conquest. But when we compare Israel's victorious conquest in the book of Joshua with Jesus' first advent, we see a distinct difference. Rather than taking up a physical sword as Joshua did, Jesus followed a twofold strategy: He began the ultimate defeat of Satan and his demons. And he also proclaimed the gospel, or "good news" of the kingdom, to human beings by warning them of judgment to come and offering them God's mercy.
In John 12:31, 32, Jesus described this twofold strategy when he said: "The ruler of this world [will] be cast out. And I … will draw all people to myself." This is why, in Colossians 2:15, the apostle Paul described Jesus' death as the time when, "He disarmed the rulers and authorities … by triumphing over them." And it's why Paul also said, in Ephesians 4:8, that "when [Christ] ascended on high he led a host of captives," from among people who served the kingdom of Satan, "and he gave [them as] gifts to men."
Tribal Inheritances
The New Testament also emphasizes two perspectives on how the inauguration of Christ's kingdom fulfilled the hope of a worldwide inheritance for God's people. On the one side, Hebrews 1:2 explains that "[God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things." In Matthew 28:18, Jesus told his disciples that he had received this inheritance when he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
On the other side, the New Testament also stresses that Jesus distributed a foretaste of his worldwide inheritance when he poured out the Holy Spirit on his church. As prophecies like Isaiah 44:3, 4 indicate, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will one day renew the entire creation. So, in Ephesians 1:14, Paul spoke of the Holy Spirit poured out on the church as "the guarantee of our inheritance." And, as he put it in 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5, the Spirit is "a guarantee" of what is to come — our future inheritance in the new heaven and new earth.
Covenant Loyalty
In addition, the New Testament announces that Christ's inauguration of the kingdom emphasized covenant loyalty when he ushered in the new covenant age. Alluding to the prophecy of a new covenant in Jeremiah 31, Jesus told his disciples in Luke 22:20, "This cup … is the new covenant in my blood." And New Testament authors made it clear that Jesus bore the eternal judgment of God on the cross as the final atonement for true believers.
But we must remember that Jesus did not bring the fullness of the new covenant to the earth in his first advent. So, he and his apostles and prophets still instructed even true believers to be faithful to God because we are not fully sanctified. And more than this, there are "false brothers" among us, as Paul called them in 2 Corinthians 11:26 and Galatians 2:4. The call to covenant loyalty still goes forth because we wait for the new covenant to be completely fulfilled.
Continuation
In many respects, our Christian applications of the book of Joshua in regard to the inauguration parallel what the New Testament also teaches about the continuation of Christ's kingdom.
Victorious Conquest
The New Testament describes the continuation of Jesus' kingdom as a time in which his victorious conquest expands across the globe through his Spirit at work in the church. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:25, "[Christ] must reign [in heaven] until he has put all his enemies under his feet." But in our mission as the church, we don't take up physical arms any more than Jesus and his apostles and prophets did. Instead, we continue with the twofold strategy that Jesus established in his first advent.
On the one side, we further the defeat of Satan and evil spirits in more and more parts of the world. As Ephesians 6:12 tells us, "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against … the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." And on the other side, we represent Christ in the world today by proclaiming the good news that warns human beings of God's coming judgment and offers them the mercy of forgiveness and eternal life. In the words of 2 Corinthians 5:20, "We are ambassadors for Christ… We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
Tribal Inheritances
We also see that our anticipation of a worldwide inheritance for God's people is furthered throughout the continuation of his kingdom in church history. The fact that Jesus is God's appointed heir of all things has become more and more evident as people everywhere embrace him as Lord. And Christ continues to distribute the down payment of the Holy Spirit to more and more people throughout the world. As passages like Galatians 3:29 tell us, "If you are Christ's, then you are … heirs according to promise." In the words of Romans 8:16, 17, "We are … heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ."
Covenant Loyalty
In many ways, we can also see how Joshua's emphasis on covenant loyalty remains true during the continuation of Christ's kingdom. As the church spreads throughout the world, the full atonement of the blood of the new covenant still covers the sins of all who have saving faith. Those who are in Christ are destined to be entirely free from eternal judgment. But it's still important for the church throughout the ages to be called to covenant loyalty.
On the one side, true believers still need to grow in their devotion to God. They need to take to heart the warnings of passages like Hebrews 12:14 where it says, "Strive for peace … and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." And on the other side, false brothers still among us need to be warned so that they will repent and be saved. As Hebrews 10:26, 27 puts it, "If we go on sinning deliberately … there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume [God's] adversaries."
The theme of covenant loyalty and renewal is one of the important topics in the book of Joshua. After almost every war where Joshua led the people in the book of Joshua, we see that there is a ceremony for renewing the covenant and loyalty to the Lord within the context of the covenant… This theme is very important to us as Christians because we too are in a covenant with the Lord — the new covenant that Christ made with us by his blood. The theme of covenant loyalty is related to something the Lord did, to the benevolence of the Lord and the Lord's grace. So, as the Lord showed kindness to Israel and fulfilled his promises to them, it was important for Joshua to remind the people of the importance of being loyal and faithful to the Lord within the covenant. The same exact thing is applicable to us too. The Lord showed us kindness in Christ, and we receive salvation through the work of his grace. As a result, we are to be faithful to the Lord, and this should be shown in our obedience, that is, in obeying the Lord's commands and statutes. When we live the life of obedience, faithfulness and loyalty, we express our thankfulness to what the Lord has done for us from the beginning. The Lord is the one who takes the initiative in the covenant by giving blessings and benevolences to us, and we respond to these blessings and benevolences by our obedience and loyalty within the context of the covenant. [Rev. Sherif Gendy, translation]
Consummation
Having seen how Christian application of the book of Joshua appears in the inauguration and continuation of the unfolding kingdom of Christ, we should turn briefly to the consummation of the kingdom. How should we apply our hope in Christ's future and final fulfillment in light of the book of Joshua?
Victorious Conquest
Without question, the New Testament indicates that the consummation of Christ's kingdom will be the grand finale of his worldwide victorious conquest. He will complete the defeat of Satan and evil spirits. And when Jesus returns in glory, the time of God's mercy toward unbelievers will end. At that time, God's judgment against Canaan in Joshua's day will seem small compared to the judgment that Jesus will bring against every human enemy of God. As we read in Revelation 19:14, 15, "The armies of heaven … [will follow] him… From his mouth [will come] a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations."
Tribal Inheritances
Of course, when Christ returns at the consummation of his kingdom, his worldwide inheritance — his right as heir of all things — will be fully realized. As we read in Revelation 11:15, "The kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ." And this worldwide kingdom will be distributed to all who follow Christ. According to Matthew 25:34, on the day of final judgment, "the King will say to those [who believe in Christ], 'Come … inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'"
Covenant Loyalty
And only in the consummation of Christ's kingdom will the warnings calling God's people to covenant loyalty end. When Christ returns, those who haven't come to him in saving faith will come under God's eternal judgment. And all who are true believers will enter the new creation where the blessings of the new covenant will be received in their fullness. As Revelation 22:3 tells us, at that time, "No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in [the city], and his servants will worship him."
In effect, the New Testament calls us to remember how Christ fulfills the themes of Joshua in the inauguration, continuation and consummation of his kingdom. When we do, Israel's conquest, inheritance and covenant loyalty in Joshua's day enrich our awareness of the wonder of what Christ established in his first advent. They teach us how we are to live in service to God every day of our lives. And they point us toward the grand finale of history when the conquest will be completed, the inheritance of the new creation will be ours, and we will be vindicated as God's loyal covenant people in Christ.
CONCLUSION
In our "Introduction to Joshua," we presented three crucial issues. First, we touched on the authorship and date of the book, including the traditional, critical and evangelical outlooks on these matters. Second, we examined the design and purpose of Joshua by considering the content and structure of the book, as well as its original meaning. And third, we explored some Christian applications that can be drawn from the book by looking at how Christ, in the inauguration, continuation and consummation of God's glorious kingdom, fulfills the expectations established in Joshua.
The book of Joshua reminded ancient Israelites of what God had accomplished for them through the life of Joshua as they faced challenges in their day. And in many ways, we face similar challenges in our lives today. But as we'll see in this series, the book of Joshua offered Israel opportunities to renew their zeal for what God was doing in their day. And it offers you and me opportunities for renewal as well. As we learn more about this book, we'll not only grow in our awareness of what God did through Joshua in the Old Testament, but we'll also grow in our awareness of all that God has accomplished, is accomplishing and will accomplish through our greater Joshua, Jesus our Savior.
Dr. Seth Tarrer (Host) is Visiting Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at Knox Theological Seminary. Dr. Tarrer received his M.Div. from Beeson Divinity School and his Ph.D. from University of St. Andrews. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and has taught at seminaries in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Medellin, Colombia. He is the author of Reading with the Faithful: Interpretation of True and False Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah from Ancient Times to Modern (Eisenbraums, 2013) .
Dr. T. J. Betts is Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Rev. Sherif Gendy is Director of Arabic Production at Third Millennium Ministries.
Dr. Dennis E. Johnson is Academic Dean and Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California.
Rev. Kevin Labby is Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Church in Winter Springs, FL.
Dr. Chip McDaniel is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. is Co-Founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries.
Rev. Henryk Turkanik ministers with the Church of Free Christians, Poland.