The first unit of the first chapter of the book of Joshua (1:1-9) details how the conquest and occupation material should be read and identifies the key themes recurrent in the message of the book. This structure encourages us to read Joshua in light of these opening verses. Joshua reads like a military war narrative told from the perspective of God’s relationship with His people. It is about the Lord’s covenant relationship with...
“How do I get to Jesus from here?”
“How do I get to Jesus from here” is a question that I like to ask myself as I process an Old Testament text. In my routine of study this question brings a measure of joyful anticipation to the exegetical process. When I work an Old Testament passage I do realize that the original readers of it would not have clearly discerned how it pointed to Christ. As a result, I must carefully discern the Author’s intention through a...
How Not to Moralize the OT Text
This past week I had the opportunity to present a workshop at the Advancing the Church Conference hosted by Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, PA. Dr. Harbin and Dr. Jordan did an outstanding job organizing the conference and effectively addressing the topic, “We Believe in Preaching.” Dr. Don Carson was the keynote. As a master teacher, he competently illustrated how to use the OT in the life of the church. In the context of Don...
The Lord is Our Divine Warrior
A significant theme used to open the book of Joshua is the Divine Warrior (Josh 1:1-5). The key ideas associated with this theme are victory, fight, and trust. As the Divine Warrior, the Lord promises to terrorize Israel’s enemies and to abide with them as His covenant people. The Lord is presented to us as the Divine Warrior in Exodus 15 in the Song of Moses. In this song Moses sings, the Lord is a man of War, the Lord is His name...