God Led and Joshua Followed

This is an analysis of the Old Testament Book of Joshua. But, it is more than that. Few people understand that the Book of Joshua actually starts with Noah and his family. It was Noah who put a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham, because of what Canaan did, which was apparently mocking Noah. It was Noah who pronounced that Canaan and, by implication, the descendants of Canaan would be slaves to Shem and Japheth and their descendants. Later, Abram, a descendant of Shem, would be called by God to go to Canaan to settle. It was in Canaan that God gave Abram a son, who was called Isaac. In addition, God changed Abram's name to Abraham, God promised the entire land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants, and God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. It was Abraham's grandson Jacob who took his family to Egypt, where they were eventually enslaved by the pharaoh. It was Jacob's descendant Moses who led the Hebrews out of Egypt to a new life in the desert of Sinai. It was during the time in the desert regions south of Canaan that Joshua developed into the leader that God needed to bring God's people into Canaan and to conquer the land God promised to Abraham over 500 years earlier. The book of Joshua, therefore, is more about God than Joshua. However, God and Joshua worked as a team to bring Canaan under Israelite control. God provided the plans for each battle and the encouragement to prevail and Joshua provided the leadership to carry out God's plans. In the end, the Israelites became the dominant culture in Canaan, establishing the groundwork for the domination of all of Canaan by the time of David and Solomon.