Joshua

Summary

Joshua is a book that many pastors approach with caution. It includes conquest, judgment, and difficult ethical questions. It also includes deep encouragement about the Lord faithfulness, the necessity of courage under the word, and the reality that God keeps His promises. A commentary on Joshua must therefore help the preacher do two things at once. It must read the book in its own context, and it must teach us how to speak about judgment and mercy with reverence, honesty, and biblical control.

This volume aims to guide readers through Joshua narrative movements, key speeches, and covenantal themes. Joshua is not simply a record of battles. It is a theological narrative about the Lord giving rest, about the people receiving the land as gift, and about the danger of compromise and forgetfulness. It is also a book that culminates in covenant renewal, pressing the people to choose whom they will serve. That ending makes clear that Joshua is not chiefly about military triumph. It is about the Lord claim over His people.

For preaching, Joshua demands careful tone. You must not sanitise the text, and you must not preach it with a swagger that forgets the holiness of God. A helpful commentary gives you the exegetical footing needed to preach with sobriety and confidence, while also pointing toward the larger storyline of God bringing His people into promised rest.

Strengths

The strongest feature is attention to book shape. Joshua moves from entry and initial victories, through distribution and settlement, toward covenantal exhortation. When that shape is clear, you can preach Joshua as a coherent story rather than as a string of famous episodes. This volume helps you keep the map, so your people can see where they are in the narrative and why it matters.

A second strength is the help it gives for handling speeches and covenant language. Joshua contains major theological moments, such as the call to meditate on the law, the memorial stones, the encounter with the commander of the Lord army, and the covenant renewal at the end. These are the points where Joshua reveals its heart. A commentary that explains them clearly equips you to preach Joshua as theology, not as ancient warfare reportage.

A third strength is that it encourages careful moral and pastoral application. Joshua is not a direct template for the church mission. It is part of redemptive history. A commentary that keeps you from careless appropriation helps you preach the text faithfully, showing what it reveals about the Lord and His purposes, and then moving to Christ and the kingdom with care rather than with slogans.

Limitations

Readers looking for a quick sermon aid may find parts of the commentary heavier than expected. Joshua benefits from sustained reflection, and this volume may require more time than a weekly schedule sometimes allows. You may also want additional resources specifically on the ethical questions raised by conquest narratives, especially if your congregation will press those questions hard.

Another limitation is that Joshua invites deep connections to Hebrews and to the theme of rest in Scripture. A commentary can signal that, but you may still want a biblical theology resource to help you craft those links with richness and precision.

How We Would Use It

Use it to plan a Joshua series that gives your people the whole arc. Let it help you handle the hard passages without flinching and without overreaching. Keep returning to the book own emphasis, the Lord keeps His word, the people are called to wholehearted loyalty, and compromise is spiritually ruinous. Then, from that foundation, move carefully to Christ, the true leader who brings His people into lasting rest.

It is also valuable for training leaders to handle Old Testament narrative ethically and theologically. Joshua forces us to preach the Bible as it is, not as we wish it were, and to do so with humility under the Lord.

Closing Recommendation

This is a serious resource for those who want to teach Joshua with fidelity and wisdom. It helps you see the book structure, understand its covenantal weight, and preach with the gravity Joshua requires. Used well, it will strengthen confidence in the Lord promise keeping and deepen reverence for His holiness.