The Bible in a Year
“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.” — Joshua 11:23
As we continue our journey through Scripture together, we arrive at one of the great summary moments in the Old Testament. Joshua 11:23 brings the long and exhausting conquest of Canaan to a powerful conclusion. After years of battle, struggle, and uncertainty, the Bible records three simple outcomes: the land was possessed, the land was distributed, and the land finally rested.
Those three movements—possession, inheritance, and peace—tell us something important about how God works in the lives of His people.
The first truth we see is the possession of the land. The verse says, “Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses.” This statement reminds us that Israel’s victory was not merely the result of military strength or clever strategy. The foundation of their victory was the promise of God.
Years earlier, God had told Moses that Joshua would lead the people into the land (Deuteronomy 1:38). From a human perspective, that promise seemed almost impossible. The land was filled with fortified cities and powerful armies. Yet the book of Joshua repeatedly emphasizes the same reality: God fought for Israel.
Joshua 10:42 explains it plainly: “The Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.”
That truth should encourage every believer who faces what appears to be an overwhelming challenge. When God makes a promise, He does not abandon it halfway through the story. The obstacles may be real, and the battle may be long, but the outcome ultimately rests on God’s faithfulness rather than human ability.
Matthew Henry once wrote, “Those who follow the Lord fully shall find Him faithful to perform His word.” That is exactly what we see in Joshua’s life. The same God who promised the land also ensured the victory.
But the story does not end with conquest. The second movement of this passage is the partitioning of the land. After Joshua conquered the territory, he distributed it among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance.
That moment carries deep spiritual significance. The land was not merely conquered territory; it was a gift from God to His people. Each tribe received its portion according to the Lord’s design.
When we read this through the lens of the New Testament, we begin to see a beautiful parallel with the work of Jesus Christ. Joshua’s name in Hebrew is Yehoshua, meaning “The Lord saves.” It is no coincidence that the Greek form of that name is Iēsous—Jesus.
Joshua led Israel into their earthly inheritance, but Jesus leads believers into an eternal one.
The apostle Paul captures this connection in Ephesians 1:11 when he writes, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance.” Through Christ’s victory at the cross, believers receive something far greater than land or territory. We receive the promise of eternal life and fellowship with God.
Peter describes it this way: “An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).
The earthly inheritance Joshua distributed eventually faded with time. Nations rose and fell, borders shifted, and the land experienced conflict again. But the inheritance Christ gives His followers is secure forever.
The final statement of Joshua 11:23 brings us to the third movement: peace in the land.
The verse concludes, “And the land rested from war.”
Those words carry emotional weight when we remember everything Israel had endured. The conquest of Canaan involved many battles, difficult decisions, and moments when the people had to trust God completely. Yet eventually the war ended, and the land entered a season of rest.
Rest in Scripture often symbolizes more than the absence of conflict. It represents the settled peace that comes when God’s purposes are fulfilled.
The book of Hebrews picks up on this idea and applies it to the believer’s spiritual life. Hebrews 4 speaks about entering God’s rest, a state of trust and peace that comes from relying on God’s completed work rather than our own striving.
But here is an important insight: the rest came after the battle.
Joshua did not ignore the presence of evil in the land. He confronted it. He fought against it with determination because allowing evil to remain unchecked would have destroyed the peace God intended for His people.
In many ways, that same principle applies to our spiritual lives. Victory over sin rarely comes through passive avoidance. It comes through deliberate resistance and faithful obedience to God.
John Owen famously wrote, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” His words echo the same reality Joshua understood. If we desire peace in our lives, we must confront the forces that threaten it.
This does not mean believers fight with human weapons or human strength. Instead, we engage the battle through prayer, repentance, and obedience to God’s Word.
The apostle Paul speaks about this spiritual struggle in Romans 12:1–2 when he calls believers to present their lives as living sacrifices and to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. That transformation is part of the ongoing battle against sin and the pursuit of holiness.
When we read Joshua 11:23 in light of the entire biblical story, we see more than a military victory. We see a picture of God’s faithfulness, Christ’s redeeming work, and the promise of ultimate peace for God’s people.
One day, the battles of this life will end. The struggles against sin, the hardships of faith, and the conflicts that mark our present world will finally give way to the rest that God has prepared.
Until that day, we walk forward with confidence. The God who kept His promise to Joshua will keep His promises to us.
For a deeper study of Joshua’s conquest and its theological meaning, see this helpful commentary from BibleProject:
https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-joshua/
As we continue reading through the Bible together this year, passages like this remind us that the story of Scripture is ultimately the story of God’s faithfulness.
He makes promises.
He fulfills promises.
And He brings His people into the inheritance He has prepared for them.
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My Dear Brother Brother Pastor Hogg.
Reading the opening Scripture from Joshua raised questions I’m struggling with over the WAR between Theocratic Israel vs Theocratic Iran with US Christian Nationalism mixed in.
I view it as Armageddon aka the great Day of the Battle of Almighty God unfolding Day by Day before our very eyes described in the Revelation of Jesus Christ 16: 13-16.
Even so I believe there is still time for repentance. before it gets much worse.
An Old Testament Extremist Jewish Religious Establishment became the base for the Netanyahu government in January 2023. They will not accept 2 States. They provoked Palestinians to act on their Legal Rights under the Geneva Convention to resist the ILLEGAL Israeli usurpation of their land on October 7.
Jews did not exist when Abraham received notice of “the Promised Land.” A promise is a promise. It cannot be taken by force.
That promise is for this whole Earth, not just that blood soaked small sliver of land people have been indoctrinated to see as the Holy Land when this opening line in Isaiah 66:1 says very clearly to me, this whole Earth is Holy Land – Thus says the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
The Torah commands a Single State;
And if a stranger sojourn with you in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwells with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19: 33-34
The same Principle is recorded by the Prophet Ezekiel in other words 900 Years after Leviticus;
“And it shall come to pass, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be to you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourns, there shall you give him his inheritance, say the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 47: 32-33
The opening Prophecy of Isaiah is explicit in Chapter 1:2-4
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken; (for all generations?)
Children I have raised and exalted, yet they have rebelled against Me.
An ox knows his owner and a donkey his master’s crib; Israel does not know, my people does not consider.
Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook the Lord; they provoked the Holy One of Israel; they drew backwards. (from the Jewish Tanach)
It seems to me these words of Christ in the Revelation confirm Isaiah’s Prophecy as it applies to the Netanyahu regime in Israel Today. Israel didn’t exist when the Revelation was written.
[9] I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but you are rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Revelation 2
Verse 9 in Revelation 3 reinforces 2:9
[9] Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
I respect your Pastoral guidance which guides me daily as much, if not more. than the Pope’s.
Am I wrong seeing it as I do?
There is no right or wrong when trying to understand the world by the scriptures. There is only discernment, and you have chosen the purist form of it. In some ways, you remind me of Quakers. No, hold to your views and know that God will take this where He wants it to exalt the humble and humble the exalted. Keep to your humble way and speak. You seek only one approval.