Praying All of Scripture: Joshua
Author: Daniel Owens, PhD
January 29, 2026
Joshua 1:1, 2, 9
1After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel…. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 13:1
Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.”
Joshua 23:14–16
14“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, 16if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
Joshua 24:14–15
14“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
***
Once when I was in high school, I was tasked with removing a tree stump from our front yard. The stump was growing right over the pipe that connected our house to the city water supply. Unfortunately, I accidentally plunged a pick right through the pipe. To my chagrin, my dad had to come home from a church choir retreat and bring a guy who was good with plumbing. Eventually, they repaired the leak and finished the job I had started so badly.
Trying to finish a job well can be very difficult. All kinds of unexpected problems can pop up. This is certainly the case when it comes to the Book of Joshua.
The book is a key turning point in the Bible. It chronicles not only the transition from Moses’ leadership to Joshua’s, but also Israel’s conquest of the land, which represented God keeping his promise to Abram in Genesis 12:7. Joshua gives us a complicated picture, one of God’s faithfulness to keep his promise but Israel’s shaky and incomplete obedience, leaving the nation spiritually vulnerable time and time again.
The book begins with God strengthening his leader in Joshua 1:1–9. God calls on Joshua to begin leading Israel, to follow God’s instructions given through Moses, and to courageously take the land by God’s power.
In many ways, Joshua succeeds, though we find along the way that not everyone is committed to keeping God’s word. For example, Achan takes spoil from Jericho (Josh. 7:1), leading to a defeat at Ai (Josh. 7:4–5). Overall, however, we see God keeping his promises and going with Joshua and Israel to give them victory. This leads us to the conclusion stated in Joshua 11:23 that Joshua took all the land. But just two chapters later, we learn that much of the land remains to be possessed (Josh. 13:1). How do we resolve the tension here?
The Book of Joshua presents a complex picture of spiritual reality. God proves faithful to Israel in this process, but Israel does not prove to be entirely faithful to him. And so Joshua calls Israel to covenant faithfulness to their faithful God, lest they lose the land (Josh. 23:14–16). The book concludes with the familiar challenge, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15).
The narratives of Joshua capture our imagination, even if the tribal allotments do not. Today, Christians can see the conquest of the land as an analogy to the expansion of God’s kingdom through the gospel (Matt. 28:19). While we wait for Jesus to return, we are commanded to make disciples of all nations. Israel killed the Canaanites, but we are to mortify our sinful flesh (Rom. 8:13) and battle Satan and his minions (Eph. 6:11–12). We labor with the same assurance that Joshua enjoyed, that Jesus is with us (Matt. 28:20).
And so we can pray,
O God, who has called us in continuity with Moses and Joshua, Jesus and Paul, to proclaim the good news of your kingdom to the entire world, we trust you to be with us wherever we go. Help us to be strong and courageous, not to let your instruction depart from our mouths, but to meditate on it day and night, that we may be careful to do everything written in it. We know that much remains to see all nations confess your name, so we trust you to be faithful to all the good things you have promised concerning Jesus and his church, that they may be fulfilled and that we may enjoy your kingdom forever. Keep us from transgressing your covenant with us, that your anger might not be kindled against us. Help us to serve you in sincerity and in faithfulness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Daniel Owens is NCC’s Pastor of Discipleship. Earlier chapters in this series will be found in the NCC Blog.
BACK