Joshua Chapter 1: God Commissions Joshua

The book of Joshua is all about entering, conquering, and settling in a new land. The Israelites are to go into and live in the land which God had promised to give them, and where their forebears had dwelt many centuries before.

This chapter kicks off the story. Joshua has taken on the leadership of the Children of Israel, and he is commissioned to lead the people across the river Jordan and to take the land.

The inner meaning of this story is not a political one but, because it is in the Bible, it’s a personal or spiritual one. The land of Canaan represents our own personal life (see Apocalypse Explained 569[5]). We have some high ideals and good intentions, which are represented by the people of Israel, and we have some of the common human failings - being self-centred, critical, greedy, judgmental (you name it!). These traits are represented in the Book of Joshua by the several tribes of Canaan who have taken up residence there while Israel was in Egypt. Their tribal names have meanings like ‘low-lying’, and ‘mud-dwellers’. Conquering them symbolizes our need – with God’s help – to overcome our low-life human shortcomings and instead be led by God’s truths (Arcana Caelestia 4816).

Joshua is commissioned by God to lead the people (Arcana Caelestia 8595). Moses has died, and now Joshua is in charge. In commissioning him, God describes several things that we also need to relate to personally. First, we are told we need to cross the river Jordan to go into the land. A river is a very definite boundary and this tells us that there is a sharp distinction between our old life and our new life, without shades of grey.

Next Joshua is told that every place your foot treads upon shall be yours. This brings out our need to use God’s truths practically by living and doing them rather than intellectually just thinking about them, because our ‘foot’ is the lowest point of our body which directly touches the ground (see Heaven and Hell 97). The ground we walk on is life itself.

Then, the borders of the land of Canaan are described by namem and these give us ideas about our need to be challenged (wilderness), to think well (Lebanon), to do good (Hittites), and much more (the Great Sea). Then God says that if we make our decision to live God’s truths, nothing will be able to stand in our way.

After this come the famous words ‘Be strong and very courageous’ (Arcana Caelestia 6343). These come several times in chapter 1, to encourage us and to hold us in the strength of God’s power. We are also told not to turn to the right hand or the left, meaning that we are to obey God and do what is right without deviating. After a great start we can so easily slow down and turn away.

The Book of the Law shall not depart from our mouth but we must meditate on it day and night and keep it in our mouth, in our mind, our heart and our actions and our intentions.

Joshua then gives orders to the leaders to get the people ready to go. This means, for us, that our realisation that we must follow God and conquer our life needs to trickle down from our mind into every part of us in the smallest detail of this and this and even that. And to always be ready.

The last part of chapter 1 is about some of Israel’s tribes – Reubenites, Gadites and half of Manasseh. Earlier on, these tribes made the decision that they would rather settle on the east side of the river Jordan where there were good pastures. Moses had told them ‘Yes’ but now Joshua says that before they do, all the men must go with everybody into Canaan and fight and only then return over the Jordan to be with their wives and children and flocks.

This is telling us that there is place in our lives for external pleasures and possessions, but only when we have owned and lived the things of God first (Arcana Caelestia 870).

8595. 'And Moses said to Joshua' means a Divine influx into truth that engages in conflict. This is clear from the meaning here of 'saying' as influx, since it passes into truth that engages in conflict, represented by 'Joshua', the reason why this influx is Divine being that 'Moses' represents Divine Truth, that is, truth which goes forth directly from the Lord (this truth, since it is wholly Divine, is what flows into any truth of faith whatever and causes it to be a truth); and from the representation of 'Joshua' as truth that engages in conflict. 'Joshua' clearly represents truth that engages in conflict because he was commanded to fight against Amalek, that is, against falsities arising from interior evil. This is what the truth made militant through an influx of Divine Truth has to fight against. God's truth itself which goes forth directly from the Lord does not engage in conflict but is peaceable, being peace itself, since it goes forth from the Divine Goodness of the Lord's Divine Love. But to become militant it flows in among such angels as have a burning zeal for what is true and good, and when roused by that zeal they go into battle. This is the origin of the truth engaging in conflict that is represented by 'Joshua'.

[2] Because such truth was represented by 'Joshua' he also became the leader of the children of Israel after Moses, led them into the land of Canaan, and fought the nations there. This also explains why, when he came into the land of Canaan, there appeared to him the Angel of Jehovah with his sword drawn in his hand, who called himself Commander of Jehovah's army, Joshua 5:13-15. 'His sword drawn in his hand' means God's truth that engages in conflict, in its power.

'The sword' means truth engaging in conflict, see 2799, 4499; as unceasing conflict against falsities and evils, 8294.

'Hand' means power, 878, 4931-4937, 7518, 8050, 8153.

And by 'the nations' in the land of Canaan are meant the falsities and evils that must be fought against, 8054.