Joshua

Original reader:

After the death of Moses, Joshua is elected by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. (1:2) So as you can see this book is written to the new generation of Israel who will be entering the land that God is giving them. 

Author:

It is believed that Joshua wrote the book of Joshua. The evidence to back this belief up is many times it is written "The LORD spoke to Joshua" (1:1, 3:7, 4:1;15, 7:10, etc) In ending it also states that Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God's Instructions. (24:26)

Main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and one sentence summary of the main idea:

One repeated theme I see in the book of Joshua is "be strong and courageous" (1:6;9;18, 10:25) We see this take shape in many forms, God speaking to Moses as he leads the people of israel, the people saying it to Moses and Moses to the people though at different times. Another repeated theme i see in this book is, God speaks a promise to Joshua and fulfills it. God tells Joshua He has given him victory over his enemies and as Joshua walks in faith those promises are fulfilled. (1:3 fulfilled in 2:9, 6:1 fulfilled in 6:20, 8:1 fulfilled in 8:22-23, 11:6 fulfilled in 11:8, 21:43) Another repeated theme displayed is covenant. Joshua makes a covenant with Israel, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the LORD. (23:25) In conclusion these are the main themes repeated throughout the book of Joshua.

The book of Joshua is the conquest to take the land that God promised Joshua and the israelites.

Primary reason book was written:

The primary reason Joshua was written was for Israel to see the faithfulness of God. God had previously prepared Israel for the Promise Land and He was now giving them that land. By the end of the book we see the whole fulfillment of God's promise. (21:43) It was also written for the future generations to know of God's faithfulness

Character and Nature of God:

The biggest character trait of God in the book of Joshua is God's faithfulness. As I mentioned in the above question we see God fulfill his promise to Israel and bring them into the Promise Land. (21:43) We see the favour of God shown to Rahab the prostitute because she kept the treaty she made with the spies, so God spared her and her families lives when Israel destroyed Jericho. (6:23) We also see the judgement of God brought on Achan and his family because Achan disobeyed God and took plunder for himself after God told Israel not to take any possessions for themselves when they captured Jericho. The result of this was Achan and his family was stoned to death. (7:25) As you can see this is some of God's character and nature displayed in Joshua

God's redemptive plan:

The meaning of the name "Joshua" is One whom God saves. So you can see that as Joshua leads the people of Israel into their possessions it is symbolic and foreshadows Jesus being the One who will bring people to the glory of God. Secondly the scarlet cord that provides safety of Rahab and her family symbolizes safety through the blood of Christ. (2:17-22)

Personal Application:

Joshua 1:8

"Study this book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do."

I feel that through this verse God is saying that in order to be prosperous in all you do is to know the word of God. For it is applicable to our everyday circumstances.

POP

I have a desire to help mentor and raise up the youth into their true identities as sons and daughters of God. I feel that the above verse is a key that will help teach me and grow me in my knowledge of God's word and that the result of that I can speak into youth lives.