Joshua Lesson 1
OUTLINE TO JOSHUA
“THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN”
KEY VERSE: Joshua 1:6 “Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”
THEME: Possessing Your Possessions
DATE: 1425 B.C.
WRITER: Joshua (The elders who outlived him wrote the account of his death.) He is also the principle character in the book. Born in Egypt in slavery. Co-laborer with Moses. Always loyal; a trusted captain.
WRITTEN: To give an account of the settlement of the children of Israel in Canaan and show God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise in the covenant with Abraham.
THE BOOK: Number in Bible: 6th of 66 books in Bible. Number of chapters: 24. Number of verses: 656.
Number in order of writing: 1st of 12 history books of Bible.
THE PURPOSE: To give the account of the commission of Joshua, the crossing of Jordon, the conquest of Jericho, the conquest of Canaan, and the charge of Joshua. It also gives practical lessons to God’s children concerning victory in the battles of life.
DIVISIONS: 1. The commission of Joshua, 1:1-9. 2. The course of the spies: 2:9-18. 3. The crossing of Jordon: 3:9-14. 4. The conquering of Jericho: 5-6. 5. The calamity at Ai: 7-8. 6. The conquest of the land: 9-12. 7. The choice of land: 12-24.
FACTS: The conquest and settlement of Canaan. 1. The central campaign. Jericho was quickly defeated as Israel obeyed God. Ai’s conquest was hindered by sin in the camp and Joshua’s trust in his own carnal reasoning. The secrets of victory were faith, courage and obedience. 2. The southern campaign. Joshua made league with the Gibeonites, and a powerful southern coalition, headed by Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, attacked Gibeon. Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal, and the foes were crushed. 3. The northern campaign. Centered around the waters of Merom. Joshua attacked and totally defeated his foes. Final crusades were against the mountain foes, some of whom were giants. All his glorious victories were attributed to God.
OUTLINE: I. Claiming the Land. Decision. Chapters 1-5. 1. Faith believes the Bible (1). 2. Faith counts the cost (2). 3. Faith makes a move (3). 4. Faith strengthens its stand (4). 5. Faith pays the price (5). II. Conquering the land. Dedication to task. Chapters 6-11. 1. Overcoming the world – at Jericho. 2. Confidence in the flesh – at Ai (7-8). 3. Facing the wiles of the devil (9-11). The devil will: A. Seek an agreement through the Gibeonites (9). B. Seize the advantage through the northern threat. (10). C. Stage his attack through the northern threat. (11). III. Colonizing the land. Division of land. Chapters 12-24. 1. Declaring the spoils of victory (12). 2. Dividing the spoils of victory (13-21). A. Statutes of liberty (13-21). B. Statements of equality (20). C. Standards of justice (21). 3. Dedicating of the spoils of victory (22). 4. Defending the spoils of victory (23-24).
MISCELLANEOUS: Joshua the man. Born in Egyptian slavery. Father’s name was Nun. Of the tribe of Ephraim (I Chronicles 7:20-27). Nothing known about his mother. Original names were Oshea or Hoshea (meaning salvation). Moses changed it to Jehoshua (or Joshua). Meaning “Jehovah is salvation.” (Numbers 13:16). According to Jewish tradition, Joshua was eighty-five years old when he took Moses’ place. He died at one hundred ten years of age. (Joshua 24:9).
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