Joshua
Take up the book and follow Joshua's invitation to
"Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.
For many people, the ruthless military campaigns recorded in the Book of
Joshua make its 24 chapters among the least edifying scripture readings.
Nevertheless, the book is indisputably part of the Bible, and so, part of the
divine revelation God has given us to ground our faith. We thus ignore or
discard this text at our own peril!
The name "Joshua" is a Hebrew word meaning "the Lord
saves." When the Hebrew scriptures were translated intro Greek,
"Joshua" was rendered "Jesus," so our Savior's Name was
actually derived from the name of the hero of this book of the Bible, who was
the assistant and eventual successor of Moses. For this reason, a number of the
Church Fathers commented on how Joshua pre-figured Jesus as Savior.
The Book of Joshua can be divided in three parts. Chapters 1-12 give the
account of the Israelite conquest and settlement of the Promised Land,
including the miraculous crossing of the Jordan (chapter 3 - today's reading)
and fall of Jericho (chapter 6). Chapters 13-21 relate details of the division
of the land among the Israelite tribes. Finally, chapters 22-24 recount
Joshua's last words and deeds, including the renewal of the covenant. While the
lectionary only covers a small portion of Joshua, the book is a fairly easy
read (particularly the first half), and so we should take up the book and follow
Joshua's invitation to "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD,
your God."