David G. Firth - The Message of Joshua

Ant. J osephus, Antiquities

esv English Standard Version

hcsb Holman Christian Standard Bible

lxx Septuagint

MT Masoretic Text

niv New International Version

nrsv N ew Revised Standard Version

reb Revised English Bible

The book of Joshua has been a companion for some years now. I first began reflecting on it seriously while working in South Africa in 199396, when its themes of leadership and land were particularly important as the process of dismantling apartheid began though it was always the unfashionable text in comparison with Exodus. It was in the chapel of the Baptist Theological College in Randburg that I first preached on a passage in it. On my return to Australia I preached through the whole book at St Ives Baptist Church when I took up the pastorate there; if anyone manages to trace tapes of those sermons they will probably find some echoes of them here, though my thinking on the book has moved on considerably since then. In particular, the challenges of New Atheism were not yet on the horizon, which meant I could take a far more innocent position on the issues of violence and warfare which have troubled so many than I can now. Perhaps I should have been more aware of them even then rather than waiting for others to point them out, but in the context in which I was working the issues of leadership seemed more pressing.

Since my move to the UK in 2003 I have continued to wrestle with this challenging text. The issue of violence within it has become much more important, and it is no exaggeration to say that Joshua has been the centre of a storm, becoming the text to which many point when wishing to dismiss the claims of biblical faith. God, it is claimed, emerges as a moral monster who practises genocide, and not the good and holy one that the gospel has claimed. This is not an issue of the book of Joshua in relation only to non-believers; it has also become a problem for many Christians, one that has been of evident importance in places where I have lectured and preached. I have had these people particularly in mind as I have written this book, though I hope it is not focused too narrowly so that we miss out on other important themes within Joshua.

As always, the writing of a book such as this is something that happens with the support of others. Although it is passing through enormous changes at the moment, St Johns College, Nottingham, has been a congenial place to think, pray and write, and I want to record my thanks to the staff and students for making it so. As always, my wife Lynne has been a source of continued support and encouragement, and it has been a particular delight to have found the odd day to write in the library at Cliff College where she works. I can never thank her enough, but I hope that noting it here might at least be a start.

david g. firth

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