JOSHUA

The book of Joshua records the efforts of the Israelites to force their way into the land of Canaan and to find places to settle down among the people who were already living there.

Joshua, the Israelite general who succeeded Moses as leader of Israel, was the director of these campaigns. He led them in battle against kings who opposed their entry into Canaan, and he supervised the allocation of territory in which to settle. At the end of the book, he led the assembled tribes in a solemn ratification of God's covenant.

Isreal's military conquest of Canaan symbolizes the spiritual warfare of Christians against godlessness, and their settlement among the remaining Canaanite people symbolizes the hazards that Christians face in the midst of a hostile world.