The Book of Joshua

And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

Joshua 24:24

The book of Joshua begins with the Israelites’ entering into the Promised Land with their new leader, Joshua. God has fulfilled the promise made to the Israelite people and after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness the community that was freed from slavery has finally arrived in the land of Canaan.

God’s original promise to Abraham was that his descendants would be blessed and many and they would be given the land of Canaan. While it took hundreds of years and difficult times in Egypt, the book of Joshua tells the story of God following through on this original promise. Towards the end of Joshua, the Israelites and God renew their covenant with one another.

For us today, the book of Joshua provides us with a picture of how we can understand our relationship with God. God can be trusted to keep God’s promises and so in response to God’s faithfulness, we commit ourselves to acts of service in the world.

Peace,
Pastor Nate Preisinger