Book 6 - Joshua

Deuteronomy ends with a huge emotional shift. Moses dies. A whole generation passes away. The people are standing at the edge of the land they were supposed to enter forty years earlier.

Now the leadership passes to Joshua. He is not Moses. He is not the one who confronted Pharaoh or climbed Mount Sinai or broke the tablets or spoke with God as a friend. He is the next guy. The guy stepping into a role that probably felt too big, too heavy and too legendary to ever fill.

Joshua opens with God saying something simple and strong. Be strong. Be courageous. I will be with you. That is the tone of the entire book. A new leader. A new generation. A fresh start.

What Joshua Is About

Joshua is about stepping into what God promised long before. The Israelites finally enter the land that had been waiting for them since Abraham’s time. This book is about courage and obedience and learning how to move forward instead of circling the same wilderness again.

It is also about a transition from wandering to building. From surviving to settling. From reacting to leading.

The Story

Crossing the Jordan

Joshua begins by doing something that looks familiar but happens in a new way. The people come to the Jordan River at flood stage. God tells the priests to step in first while carrying the ark of the covenant. As soon as their feet touch the water, the river stops flowing. The people walk across on dry ground, just like at the Red Sea, but this time the next generation experiences it for themselves.

They set up twelve stones from the riverbed as a reminder of what God did. A memorial for future generations who did not see it firsthand.

Rahab and the Spies

Before the crossing, Joshua sends two spies into Jericho. They meet Rahab, a woman with a complicated past who hides them at great risk to herself. Her decision changes her life and her family’s future. This part of the story shows that faith often reveals itself in unexpected places and unexpected people.

The Battle of Jericho

Jericho is the first major city they face. Instead of a battle plan, God gives them instructions that sound more like a parade. Walk around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, walk around it seven times and blow the trumpets.

The walls collapse and the city falls. It is one of the most well-known scenes in the Bible and a reminder that not every battle is won by strength or strategy.

Settling the Land

After Jericho, the rest of the book covers victories, setbacks, and the process of dividing the land among the tribes. Some chapters read like geography. Some read like history. Some read like strategy sessions. It paints a picture of a people finally rooted after decades of wandering.

Joshua’s Final Words

At the end of the book Joshua gathers the people for a final challenge. He retells their story. He reminds them where they came from and what they have seen. Then he tells them to choose who they will serve going forward.

He says the line people still quote today. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Then Joshua dies and the leadership baton is passed once again.

Why Joshua Still Matters

Joshua is about stepping into new seasons with courage. It is about facing things that look too big or too strong and learning that fear does not get to have the last word.

It is also about inheritance. Not money. Not property. More like identity. Joshua reminds us that our future does not have to look like our past. You do not have to wander forever. You do not have to repeat the patterns you grew up with. You can move forward.

Joshua is also deeply honest about leadership. About how hard it is to step into something you did not choose. About how intimidating it can be to follow someone legendary. About how every new chapter requires both strength and humility.

Scene to Remember

The priests stepping into the Jordan River while the water is still rushing. They have to get their feet wet before anything happens. Once they do, the river stops and the people cross into their future. It is a picture of courage in motion.

Spotlight: The Walls of Jericho (Joshua 6)

Jericho is one of those stories almost everyone has heard of in some form. Even if you have never opened the Bible, you have probably heard someone say something like “the walls came tumbling down." But the actual story is about a lot more than that.

Jericho was a powerful city with massive walls, the kind of place that looked impossible to conquer. The Israelites had just crossed into the land God promised them, but this was their first real test. Everyone else in the region had better weapons, stronger armies, and real fortifications. Israel had none of that.

So God gives Joshua instructions that make no sense on paper. Walk around the city once a day for six days. Bring the priests. Carry the ark. Keep everyone quiet. On the seventh day, walk around seven times, blow the trumpets, and then shout.

That is the plan. No siege weapons. No strategy meetings. No human explanation.

To the people inside the walls, it probably looked ridiculous. To the people outside the walls, it probably felt ridiculous.

But the point of Jericho is not about walls falling as much as it is about trust. Not blind trust. Experienced trust. This generation had grown up hearing stories about the Red Sea, the manna, the cloud, the fire. Now they had to decide whether any of it mattered.

When the seventh day came and the trumpets sounded, the walls collapsed. The city that looked impossible to overcome suddenly wasn’t.

Jericho is a story about facing something that looks way too big for you and having to choose between fear and obedience. Between what makes sense and what is right. Between what looks impossible and what is possible.

It is less about the walls and more about the people walking around them, quietly asking themselves, “Do we trust the One leading us or not?”

Spotlight: Crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3–4)

Everyone knows about the Red Sea. Even people who do not believe in God know that story. Moses raises his staff, the waters pull back, and the people walk through.

The Jordan River story is not as well known. No blockbuster moment. No Hollywood-style drama. But it is just as important.

The people have been wandering for forty years. They are finally at the border of the land their parents were too afraid to enter. The future is right across the river. But the Jordan is overflowing, fast and dangerous. Crossing it with families, animals, and entire tribes is not exactly simple.

God tells Joshua how it will work. The priests will step into the river while carrying the ark. As soon as their feet touch the water, the river will stop flowing and the ground will dry up. And the whole nation will walk through.

No dramatic staff in the air. No giant gesture. Just a step by step moment of trust.

And that is what happens. The priests step in. The waters pull back. The people cross over. And for the first time in their lives, they stand in the land they have only heard stories about.

Later, they stack twelve stones from the riverbed as a reminder for their children and grandchildren. A way of saying, “We crossed here. God got us through. Do not forget this story.”

Crossing the Jordan is not meant to be a huge spectacle. It is meant to be a picture of transition. From wandering to belonging. From fear to courage. From old stories to new beginnings.

Most people do not know this story, but they know the feeling behind it. The feeling of standing on the edge of something new. The feeling of not being sure if you are ready. The feeling of having to take a step before you can see what happens next.

That is the crossing of the Jordan River.