If you have read “The Old Testament Connection” you know that God is working in history to fix the broken relationship between us and Him.  You also will know that the Bible is the history of that work.  Much of the Old Testament part of the story is there to help us see how bad our situation really is and how much we need God’s help.  In the New Testament we meet that help, Jesus.  He personally accepted the consequences of our rebellion against God, He died on the cross and suffered separation from God the Father.  For those who will accept the situation and God’s solution, Jesus, the relationship is restored and they are give help,  in the form of the Holy Spirit, to live a God pleasing life.  The remainder of the New Testament gives guidance for those with that new relationship.  It tells us how to live as we wait for God to bring many people into His forever family and eventually return to Earth to be with us personally forever.

A big part of the cause of our disobedience to God, if not the whole cause, is pride.  We want to do it ourselves.  In the Old Testament we find the story of Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, who were given a set of rules to follow.  A chance to live for God on their own.  God even gave them a place to try in, the promised land.  But first the sons of Israel would need to become a large enough group big for this “experiment” (An experiment for us not for God).  It would take over 400 years (Genesis 15:13) before the 12 sons of Israel had enough descendants to be a nation large enough to occupy the promised land.  This was not to be a personal experiment but one which the whole world could watch.

It was in the nation of Egypt that the twelve became 600,000 plus women and children (Exodus 32:28).  They then left Egypt and were led to the edge of the promised land by Moses.  Along the way they had been given the rules, the Law.  They had also been given plans for a place to meet with and honor God.  It was a large tent called the Tabernacle, which they faithfully built. The experiment was all set to begin.  Unfortunately it had already begun and it wasn’t going too well.  Almost immediately they wanted to go back to Egypt, afraid they would starve in the wilderness.   They also began to make false god’s for themselves.  Now on the edge of the promised land they would again fail.  God instructed them to send twelve men into the land to check it out.  Joshua and Caleb were two of these men.  When the men came back they told the Israelites that it was a great land.  Ten of the spies also reported that the people of the area were strong and their cities were well fortified.  The people again were filled with fear and again wanted to return to Egypt and they began to talk about over throwing Moses as the leader.  Caleb and Joshua encouraged them to cross over and take the land, God was going to be with them.  The people would not listen.  So God banished them to the desert for 40 years.  Everyone over 20 would die, wandering in the desert.  Even Moses, the great leader who had spoken face to face with God would not be allowed to enter the promised land.  Only Joshua and Caleb would be spared.  These men would come to be the leaders in Israel after the wandering was done.

The Exodus (the trip from Egypt) began in 1446 BC.  the Israelites spent at least two years in the desert getting the Law and preparing the Tabernacle.  It was probably close to three years when they were banished to wander.  During the forty years they were provided for on a daily basis by God.  He gave them food from Heaven and water from the earth.  At the end of the forty years the people again gathered on the border of the promised land.  Moses repeated the Law which had been give to them by God forty years earlier and gave them other instructions about living in the land.  He reminded them of God’s faithfulness and gave special blessings to each of the 12 tribes, descendants of the twelve sons of Israel.  He appointed Joshua as the new leader then went away to a mountain top where he died, 120 years old.

So Joshua was the new leader, poised on the east bank of the Jordan River with the great and fruitful promised land spreading out before him and the Israelites to the west.  He had been here before, 40 years earlier, encouraging the Israelites that God was with them.  but they failed to do as god had said.  Now at 80 years of age he was to take this new generation across, would they follow?   The land was still filled with strong people in well fortified cities.  Did he still have the faith that God would go before them.

This is the setting of the book of Joshua.  The land of the Canaanites (the then current inhabitants of the promised land) in 14o0 BC.  A good land but one with well established inhabitants.  Inhabitants who were devoted to a number of false gods.  Inhabitants who practiced human sacrifice.  The Israelites on the other hand were a group of nomad shepherds.  God was on their side, He had even given them some instructions to help them,  but would they follow him and receive the blessing or go their own way and be cursed (Deuteronomy 11:26-32)?

A couple of other facts.  Joshua had originally been named Hoshea which means “salvation” (Numbers 13:16) but Moses renamed him, Joshua which means “Yahweh saves” (See “What in a Name”).  Joshua is the Hebrew equilavent of Jesus in Greek.  Since we have already looked at the next part of the history, the period of the Judges, we know they cross, we know they start to take the land.  But we also know they do not displace the inhabitants as they were told to do.  After Joshua they are ruled by a series of governors during the period of the Judges (1370-1050).  As we read this book we will see what happened.  As we look at the journey hopefully we will learn from this experiment?  Let’s explore Joshua and see.