How long did joshua lead israel

Joshua portrays the Lord as their general, the One who would lead His people in victorious battle if they would trust and obey.

Joshua recounted a 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 became a damaging influence on Israel as years went by. In this book we find accounts of faithfulness: Rahab the harlot Joshua —21 , the battle of Jericho —27 , and Caleb the warrior — The book of Joshua was written to the descendants of those who conquered the land, as a historical account of how they had come to settle there.

It celebrates God as general, defender, and king. It shows the geographical boundaries given to each tribe of Israel. Even more significantly, the book of Joshua serves as the connecting narrative between the days of Moses and the days of the judges, during which the book was first circulated. That which Moses began and endured in the wilderness, Joshua was able to claim victoriously in the land. So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. He died at the age of years. We have already been told that Moses was 80 years of age when he stood before pharaoh in Egypt Exodus We have already been told that Israel would wander for 40 years in the wilderness. The sum of those two numbers equals years. Also, Aaron died at the age of years and he was 83 years when he stood before pharaoh! Numbers lists twelve men who were the spies sent to the Promised Land.

More than likely they were contemporaries and similar in age. If this is true, then Joshua and Caleb, another spy, would have been similar in age. Note, that this Caleb was the son of Jephunneh Numbers In Joshua Caleb states,. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart.

Joshua NASB. Was Joshua also 40 years of age? Numbers tells us that Joshua was an attendant to Moses. Consequently, most likely Joshua was years of age when he helped spy out the land. If that is a correct assumption, then he would have been years of age when he entered the Promised Land since the spies visited the Promised Land after the Israelites wandered for 38 more years.

That is, years of age plus 38 years of wilderness wanderings equals years. It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. Joshua was probably years of age when he helped to spy out the Promise Land after Israel sinned by not trusting God. The Israelites had to wander for an additional 38 years in the wilderness.

This means that most likely Joshua was years of age when he entered the Promised Land. The people assure Joshua they will be faithful to the covenant, but Joshua reluctantly accepts this assurance, worried that obedience for Israel will prove quite difficult.

SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List God Moses David. Themes Motifs Symbols. Important Quotes Explained. Summary Joshua. Page 1 Page 2. Summary After the death of Moses, God calls on Joshua to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River and take possession of the promised land. Test your knowledge Take the Joshua Quick Quiz. Popular pages: Bible: The Old Testament.