Joshua: Footsteps of Faith

The book of Joshua is not merely an interesting historical record of Israel's conquest of the Promised Land through God's amazing power. It is that, but so much more. It's a narrative intended both for the Old Testament saint and points the New Testament Christian to his/her inheritance. 

Joshua's message is one of victory and warning and a recounted story of contradictions. On the one hand, God gave the land that he had promised to the nation. On the other hand, the people failed to possess the land completely, allowing some inhabitants to remain. God fulfilled his side of the bargain, but the Israelites did not finish the job. The Canaanite peoples then became a damaging influence on Israel over the years. 

The theme of Joshua is interwoven with the message of the apostles—we are to fully take hold of our inheritance. As believers today, we know inheritance of the land of Israel was merely a black-and-white photo of the real thing; the true inheritance of every believer is God himself. The push of Joshua for the Christian is that we should never live with the enemy dominating our life—"Sin will have no dominion over you" (Romans 6:14). Christ has finally and forever defeated every enemy, just as the Lord did for Israel in the Old Testament. Our enemies today are not flesh-and-blood Canaanites but sin, Satan, and the world. The Christian is promised victory in their path of sanctification in the measure of his/her obedience to God; we triumph when, with God's power, we walk by faith.