Key word: Success
Finally, after 40 years of messing up, the people are ready to follow the Lord in conquest of the land. It should be noted that removal of the Canaanites by Israel was God’s judgment on them for the iniquity and idolatry and was prophesied all the way back to Abraham (Genesis 15:16) over 500 years earlier. Their removal was necessary to avoid Jewish compromise, pollution and idolatry.
The book will cover about 30 years, from the time of Moses’s death, to the death of Joshua. It covers the conquest of much, but not all the land and its division among the tribes. Bookend in: these details are two powerful sections/statements. The first one is by God as He promises success if Joshua and the people will trust and obey the Lord and His word (1:5-9). The second statement is by Joshua and reflects his life of service to Jehovah (24:14-15).
Key verse: Joshua 1:8 – “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
