Joshua is the first book of the twelve books of history from Joshua to Esther. The Bible begins with the five books of the law, the books of Moses, and then, starting with Joshua, the Bible continues with the twelve books of history.
The writer of the book of Joshua was Joshua (1:1), whose name means “Jehovah Savior,” or “the salvation of Jehovah” (Num. 13:16).
The time of the writing of this book was 1451-1426 B.C.
The place of the writing of the book of Joshua was the plains of Moab (Deut. 34:8-9).
The content of the book of Joshua is that Joshua led the children of Israel to enter the promised land and to take it, possess it, allot it, and enjoy it. The sequence here is quite significant. First, the children of Israel entered the promised land, and then they possessed it and occupied it. Following this, the land was allotted, apportioned, to each tribe in a particular way. Then they enjoyed the land.
In the book of Joshua there are two types of Christ— Joshua and the good land.
The first type of Christ in this book is Joshua himself. The Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua is Jesus (Heb. 4:8; Acts 7:45). Joshua typifies Christ and grace (Christ) replacing the law (Moses—Josh. 1:2a; John 1:17). It was when Moses the lawgiver died that Joshua came in (Deut. 34:8-9) to bring the people into the good land (Josh. 1:6), typifying the Lord Jesus bringing the people of God into rest, into the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ.
The other type of Christ in the book of Joshua is the good land with all its riches (Deut. 8:7-10) typifying the God-given Christ with all His unsearchable riches (Col. 1:12; Eph. 3:8).
The book of Joshua also reveals two types related to Christ.
The first of the types related to Christ is Israel’s possessing and enjoying the promised land. This typifies the believers’ practical experience of the riches of the blessings in Christ as revealed in the book of Ephesians.
Israel’s crossing of the river Jordan typifies the believers’ experience of the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4a; Col. 2:20), not the believers’ physical death.
Israel’s entering into the good land typifies the believers’ experience of taking over the heavenlies, where Satan and his power of darkness are (Eph. 2:6; 6:12), not the believers’ going to heaven after their death. This is all related to Israel’s possessing and enjoying the good land.
The second type related to Christ is the scarlet thread through which Rahab the harlot was saved (Josh. 2:17-19; 6:17, 22-23, 25; Heb. 11:31; James 2:25). This scarlet thread typifies the blood of Christ by which the believers are redeemed (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
Israel’s taking possession of the good land was in the line of bringing forth Christ by gaining two females—Rahab and Ruth. These two women play a crucial part in the bringing in of Christ. Rahab as the mother of Boaz became one of the ancestors of Christ (Josh. 2:1-21; 6:22-25; Matt. 1:5a). Ruth was another ancestor of Christ (Ruth 4:21; Matt. 1:5b). She was the wife of Boaz and the great-grandmother of David. Matthew 1:1 says, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David.” Hence, Matthew is linked to Ruth and is the continuation of Ruth concerning the bringing in of Christ.
The central thought of the book of Joshua is that God intended to fulfill the promise concerning the good land that Israel might have a place to carry out God’s economy, especially to keep the line of bringing in Christ to the earth through His incarnation in humanity. This book is quite wonderful in this main purpose of Israel’s occupying and possessing the good land for the carrying out of God’s economy.
The book of Joshua has four sections: entering into the good land (chs. 1—5), taking possession of the good land (chs. 6—12), allotting the good land (chs. 13—22), and Joshua’s departure (chs. 23—24).