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← Anchored: History: A Plain-Language Study Guide to Scripture - Volume Two

Anchored · Book 2

Anchored: History: A Plain-Language Study Guide to Scripture - Volume Two

JOSHUA: Part 1 (Chapters 1–5)

Volume 2: History

Meet your teachers: Pastor Eli Grace (warm and relational; focuses on what God has already done for you: grace and faith) and Teacher Naomi Cross (grounded and structured; focuses on how faith shows itself in action: obedience and works).

Book Snapshot: Joshua

The name: “Joshua” (Hebrew Yehoshua , “The Lord saves”) is the same name as Jesus ( Yeshua in its shorter form). It’s a quiet, beautiful detail: the man who leads God’s people into the promised land shares the name of the One who leads God’s people home for good.

Welcome to Volume 2. The first five books (the Law) ended with Israel camped at the edge of the promised land, and Moses dead. Now the story moves forward: the actual entering, conquering, and settling of the land. Joshua is a book about promises kept , and about the courage it takes to step into what God has promised.

CHAPTER 1: “Be Strong and Courageous”

The World Back Then

Moses, the towering leader of forty years, has just died. Israel is leaderless at the most critical moment imaginable, right before entering a land full of fortified cities and armies. Everything hangs on whether God will show up for the next leader the way he did for Moses. Chapter 1 answers that immediately.

The Story (Free Paraphrase, verse by verse)

v1-2 After Moses died, [G] the Lord spoke to Joshua , Moses’ longtime assistant: Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to the Israelites.

v3-5 [G] “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses… No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

v6-9 Three times God charged him: [G] “Be strong and courageous.” He was to obey all the law Moses gave, not turning from it, and to keep the Book of the Law always on his lips, [G] “you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.” And once more: [G] “Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

v10-11 Joshua ordered the officers to tell the people to get their supplies ready, because in three days they would cross the Jordan to take the land.

v12-15 Joshua reminded the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh (who had settled east of the Jordan) of their promise: their fighting men were to cross over and help the other tribes take the land before returning to settle.

v16-18 They pledged full loyalty: Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. And they echoed God’s own words back to their new leader: “Be strong and courageous!”

Deep Dive: What “success” means here Teacher Naomi: Notice how God defines success in verses 7-8. It’s not military genius or luck, it’s tied directly to staying anchored in his Word : meditate on it day and night, be careful to do it, and then you’ll prosper. This is the same picture Psalm 1 paints: the person who meditates on God’s law “day and night” is like a tree planted by water. Real success, in God’s framing, grows out of a life rooted in his Word. Pastor Eli: And I don’t want anyone to hear that as pressure, “get it perfect or fail.” Look at what surrounds the command: I will never leave you nor forsake you (v5), “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (v9). The courage God asks for isn’t self-confidence; it’s God -confidence. Joshua isn’t told “be strong because you’re impressive.” He’s told be strong because I am with you . That changes everything. Courage, biblically, is just trusting that God is really there. Teacher Naomi: That’s the balance, isn’t it, God says “be strong and courageous” (our part) and “I will be with you” (his part). Both are true. He doesn’t do our courage for us, and we don’t manufacture it alone. We step out; he shows up.

Deep Dive: What “success” means here Teacher Naomi: Notice how God defines success in verses 7-8. It’s not military genius or luck, it’s tied directly to staying anchored in his Word : meditate on it day and night, be careful to do it, and then you’ll prosper. This is the same picture Psalm 1 paints: the person who meditates on God’s law “day and night” is like a tree planted by water. Real success, in God’s framing, grows out of a life rooted in his Word.

Pastor Eli: And I don’t want anyone to hear that as pressure, “get it perfect or fail.” Look at what surrounds the command: I will never leave you nor forsake you (v5), “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (v9). The courage God asks for isn’t self-confidence; it’s God -confidence. Joshua isn’t told “be strong because you’re impressive.” He’s told be strong because I am with you . That changes everything. Courage, biblically, is just trusting that God is really there.

Teacher Naomi: That’s the balance, isn’t it, God says “be strong and courageous” (our part) and “I will be with you” (his part). Both are true. He doesn’t do our courage for us, and we don’t manufacture it alone. We step out; he shows up.

Key Words

“Be strong and courageous” : the theme command of the whole book, said to Joshua by God, by Moses before (Deut 31), and by the people here. Courage rooted in God’s presence.

“Meditate” : not empty-minded, but chewing on God’s Word continually, letting it shape your actions.

Key Themes

Courage grounded in God’s presence, not self-confidence

Success defined as a life rooted in and obedient to God’s Word

God’s faithfulness carrying over from one leader to the next

Big Idea

God’s charge to Joshua is “be strong and courageous”, but the reason is never “because you’re capable.” It’s always “because I am with you.”

Try It

God tied Joshua’s courage to staying anchored in his Word “day and night.” What’s one simple way you could keep God’s Word in front of you more consistently this week, so courage has something to stand on?

Connections

Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Moses first gave Joshua this same charge and promise

Psalm 1:1-3, meditating on God’s law “day and night,” like a tree by water

Hebrews 13:5, Never will I leave you nor forsake you, applied to all believers

Matthew 28:20, Jesus: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”

CHAPTER 2: Rahab and the Spies

The World Back Then

Before attacking Jericho, a walled city and the gateway to the land, Joshua sends spies. What follows is one of the most surprising faith stories in the Bible: the hero isn’t an Israelite soldier, but a Canaanite woman with a shameful reputation, living in the very city marked for destruction.

The Story (Free Paraphrase, verse by verse)

v1 Joshua secretly sent two spies from Shittim: Go, look over the land, especially Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

v2-7 The king of Jericho heard and sent word to Rahab to hand over the men. But she had already hidden them on her roof under stalks of flax. She told the king’s messengers the men had left at dark and sent the pursuers off on a false trail toward the Jordan.

v8-11 On the roof, Rahab made a stunning confession of faith: “I know that the Lord has given you this land… We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you… Our hearts melted in fear… for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

v12-14 She asked them to swear that, because she had shown them kindness, they would spare her family when they took the city. The spies agreed: Our lives for your lives!

v15-21 She let them down by a rope through her window (her house was built into the city wall) and told them to hide in the hills for three days. The sign of the agreement: she was to tie a scarlet cord in her window, and gather her family inside; anyone in the house would be safe.

v22-24 The spies hid, then returned to Joshua and reported: The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.

Deep Dive: Why is Rahab a hero of the Bible? Pastor Eli: This one gets me every time. Rahab is everything you wouldn’t expect God to use: a Canaanite (an outsider), a woman with a shameful profession, living in a doomed pagan city. And yet she is the one who sees clearly what’s true: “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (v11). While the mighty city trembles, this woman quietly puts her faith in Israel’s God, and stakes her whole family’s life on it. Teacher Naomi: And the New Testament doesn’t forget her. Hebrews 11 lists Rahab among the great heroes of faith . James 2 points to her as an example of faith that acts : she didn’t just believe, she risked her life on it. And most stunning of all: Matthew 1 places Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus himself . This outsider, this former prostitute, becomes a great-great-grandmother in the line of the Messiah. God’s grace reaches the kind of person religious people write off. Pastor Eli: Some readers also notice the scarlet cord in her window (v18), a scarlet sign that marked out a household to be spared from death, hung in a window during the days before judgment fell. It’s hard not to hear an echo of the Passover, where the blood on the doorframe marked out those to be spared. I’d hold that connection gently rather than force it, but the pattern is beautiful: a scarlet marker of rescue for anyone who takes refuge inside. Teacher Naomi: Held gently, yes, but the through-line is real either way: rescue comes to those who put their trust in God and take shelter under the sign he provides. Rahab believed, acted, and was saved, along with everyone who stayed inside with her.

Deep Dive: Why is Rahab a hero of the Bible? Pastor Eli: This one gets me every time. Rahab is everything you wouldn’t expect God to use: a Canaanite (an outsider), a woman with a shameful profession, living in a doomed pagan city. And yet she is the one who sees clearly what’s true: “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (v11). While the mighty city trembles, this woman quietly puts her faith in Israel’s God, and stakes her whole family’s life on it.

Teacher Naomi: And the New Testament doesn’t forget her. Hebrews 11 lists Rahab among the great heroes of faith . James 2 points to her as an example of faith that acts : she didn’t just believe, she risked her life on it. And most stunning of all: Matthew 1 places Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus himself . This outsider, this former prostitute, becomes a great-great-grandmother in the line of the Messiah. God’s grace reaches the kind of person religious people write off.

Pastor Eli: Some readers also notice the scarlet cord in her window (v18), a scarlet sign that marked out a household to be spared from death, hung in a window during the days before judgment fell. It’s hard not to hear an echo of the Passover, where the blood on the doorframe marked out those to be spared. I’d hold that connection gently rather than force it, but the pattern is beautiful: a scarlet marker of rescue for anyone who takes refuge inside.

Teacher Naomi: Held gently, yes, but the through-line is real either way: rescue comes to those who put their trust in God and take shelter under the sign he provides. Rahab believed, acted, and was saved, along with everyone who stayed inside with her.

Key Words

Rahab : the Canaanite woman of Jericho whose faith saved her family; later named a hero of faith (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25) and an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

Scarlet cord : the red marker in her window identifying the household to be spared.

Key Themes

God’s grace reaching the outsider and the written-off

Faith that doesn’t just believe but risks and acts

Rescue for those who take shelter under the sign God provides

Big Idea

The hero of the Jericho story isn’t a soldier: it’s a Canaanite woman with a shameful past who believed God was who he said he was. And God wrote her into the family line of Jesus.

Try It

Rahab was the kind of person religious people write off, yet God saw her faith and honored it. Is there a way you’ve written yourself off as too far gone for God to use? What would it look like to believe he sees you the way he saw her?

Connections

Hebrews 11:31, By faith the prostitute Rahab… was not killed

James 2:25, Rahab as an example of faith proven by action

Matthew 1:5, Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus

Exodus 12:21-23, the Passover blood marking households to be spared (the echo)

CHAPTER 3: Crossing the Jordan

The World Back Then

The Jordan was at flood stage in spring, at harvest time (3:15), so crossing on foot looked impossible. The ark of the covenant, a gold-covered chest holding the stone tablets of the law, stood for God’s presence among his people.

The Story (Free Paraphrase, verse by verse)

v1-6 Early in the morning, Joshua and all Israel came to the Jordan and camped before crossing. The officers told the people to follow the ark of the covenant carried by the priests: keeping a distance behind it, since you have never been this way before. Joshua said, Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.

v7-8 [G] The Lord told Joshua , “This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses.” The priests carrying the ark were to go and stand in the river.

v9-13 Joshua told the people this would be the sign that the living God was among them and would drive out the nations: the moment the priests’ feet touched the Jordan’s waters, the river, then at flood stage, would be cut off and stand up in a heap.

v14-17 So it happened. As the priests stepped into the water, the flow stopped, piling up far upstream near a town called Adam. The priests stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while the whole nation crossed over on dry ground.

Deep Dive: Another sea parted, but notice the difference Teacher Naomi: Any reader who just came through Exodus will feel the echo instantly: God stops a body of water so his people can cross on dry ground . The Jordan crossing deliberately mirrors the Red Sea. But there’s a meaningful difference. At the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his staff and the waters parted before anyone moved. Here, the water doesn’t stop until the priests actually step into it (v15). The people had to take the first step of faith, feet in the water, before they saw God act. Pastor Eli: That’s such a real picture of how faith often works. Sometimes God parts the water first and we walk through the gap. But often he waits for us to step toward the edge, to put a foot in, before the way opens. It’s not reckless; it’s trusting the God who has already told you what he’ll do. The priests didn’t stand safely on the bank waiting for proof. They walked into a flooding river carrying the ark, and then the ground appeared. Teacher Naomi: And note where the priests stood, right in the middle of the riverbed, holding the ark, while everyone else crossed (v17). God’s presence (the ark) went into the hardest, most exposed spot first and stayed there until every last person was safely across. The leadership and the presence of God bore the risk so the people could pass in safety.

Deep Dive: Another sea parted, but notice the difference Teacher Naomi: Any reader who just came through Exodus will feel the echo instantly: God stops a body of water so his people can cross on dry ground . The Jordan crossing deliberately mirrors the Red Sea. But there’s a meaningful difference. At the Red Sea, Moses stretched out his staff and the waters parted before anyone moved. Here, the water doesn’t stop until the priests actually step into it (v15). The people had to take the first step of faith, feet in the water, before they saw God act.

Pastor Eli: That’s such a real picture of how faith often works. Sometimes God parts the water first and we walk through the gap. But often he waits for us to step toward the edge, to put a foot in, before the way opens. It’s not reckless; it’s trusting the God who has already told you what he’ll do. The priests didn’t stand safely on the bank waiting for proof. They walked into a flooding river carrying the ark, and then the ground appeared.

Teacher Naomi: And note where the priests stood, right in the middle of the riverbed, holding the ark, while everyone else crossed (v17). God’s presence (the ark) went into the hardest, most exposed spot first and stayed there until every last person was safely across. The leadership and the presence of God bore the risk so the people could pass in safety.

Key Words

Ark of the covenant : the sacred chest that represented God’s throne and presence

Consecrate : to set yourself apart for God

Key Themes

Faith that steps forward before the way is fully clear

The Jordan crossing echoing the Red Sea: God brings his people through

God’s presence going first and bearing the risk for the people

Big Idea

God went ahead of his people into the river before he asked them to step in, and the waters stopped when their feet touched the edge.

Try It

Where is God asking you to take the first step before you can see the way through?

Connections

Exodus 14:21-22, the Red Sea crossing this deliberately echoes

Joshua 1:5, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you,” now proven publicly

Hebrews 11:29, the crossing of the sea “by faith”

CHAPTER 4: Stones of Remembrance

The World Back Then

Ancient peoples often set up standing stones to mark a treaty, a boundary, or a great event. Gilgal, the first camp west of the Jordan, became an important center in Israel for generations.

The Story (Free Paraphrase, verse by verse)

v1-9 [G] God told Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes take a stone from the middle of the Jordan, where the priests stood, to carry over and set up as a memorial. Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the riverbed itself.

v10-18 The priests stood firm in the middle of the Jordan until everything was done and all the people had hurried across. Then, as the priests carrying the ark came up out of the riverbed and their feet touched dry land, the Jordan’s waters returned and overflowed its banks as before.

v19-24 The people camped at Gilgal, where Joshua set up the twelve stones. He explained their purpose: In the future, when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them… so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

Deep Dive: Building something you can point to and remember Pastor Eli: I love this so much. God has them build a little pile of stones (a physical, visible marker) for one reason: so that later, when the kids ask “what are these stones for?”, the parents get to tell the story of what God did (v21-22). It’s the same instinct we saw all through Deuteronomy: remember, and pass it on. God knows we forget, so he builds in reminders we can literally see and touch. Teacher Naomi: And there’s real wisdom here for anyone who wants faith to last past their own lifetime. The stones turn a one-time miracle into a permanent teaching moment . Every time a child asked about them, a parent got to rehearse God’s faithfulness out loud. Faith gets passed down not by lecturing, but by having markers (stories, traditions, objects) that prompt the telling. What are the “stones” in your life that make you tell the story of what God has done? Pastor Eli: For a lot of us that might be a journal, a date written in a Bible, a photo, an object on a shelf, something that makes you stop and go, “let me tell you what God did right here.” These stones say: don’t just experience God’s faithfulness and move on. Mark it. Build something you can point to.

Deep Dive: Building something you can point to and remember Pastor Eli: I love this so much. God has them build a little pile of stones (a physical, visible marker) for one reason: so that later, when the kids ask “what are these stones for?”, the parents get to tell the story of what God did (v21-22). It’s the same instinct we saw all through Deuteronomy: remember, and pass it on. God knows we forget, so he builds in reminders we can literally see and touch.

Teacher Naomi: And there’s real wisdom here for anyone who wants faith to last past their own lifetime. The stones turn a one-time miracle into a permanent teaching moment . Every time a child asked about them, a parent got to rehearse God’s faithfulness out loud. Faith gets passed down not by lecturing, but by having markers (stories, traditions, objects) that prompt the telling. What are the “stones” in your life that make you tell the story of what God has done?

Pastor Eli: For a lot of us that might be a journal, a date written in a Bible, a photo, an object on a shelf, something that makes you stop and go, “let me tell you what God did right here.” These stones say: don’t just experience God’s faithfulness and move on. Mark it. Build something you can point to.

Key Words

Memorial : a sign that helps people remember what God has done

Gilgal : Israel’s first camp in the land, near Jericho

Key Themes

Marking God’s faithfulness with something visible you can point to

Turning a one-time act of God into a lasting story for the next generation

Remembering as a deliberate practice, not an accident

Big Idea

God had them stack twelve stones so that years later, when a child asked “what do these mean?”, someone would get to tell the story of what God did. Faith lasts when we mark it and tell it.

Try It

The stones existed to prompt the question “what do these mean?” so the story could be told again. What’s one “stone” you could set up in your own life (a note, a date, an object) that would remind you (and others) of something God has done?

Connections

Deuteronomy 6:20-25, telling the next generation the story when they ask

Exodus 12:26-27, “when your children ask you” (the Passover)

Psalm 78:4-7, telling the next generation God’s deeds so they set their hope in him

CHAPTER 5: Ready for the Land

The World Back Then

Circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17). The generation born in the wilderness had not received it, and Passover, the yearly meal recalling the escape from Egypt, had not been kept on the way.

The Story (Free Paraphrase, verse by verse)

v1 When the Canaanite and Amorite kings heard how God had dried up the Jordan, their hearts melted and they lost the courage to face Israel.

v2-9 [G] God had Joshua circumcise the new generation : the males born during the forty years in the wilderness had never received this covenant sign. Once healed, God said, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place was named Gilgal (which sounds like the Hebrew for “roll”).

v10-12 Camped at Gilgal, Israel celebrated the Passover on the plains of Jericho. The day after, they ate the produce of the land for the first time, and the very next day, the manna stopped. After forty years, it was no longer needed; they would now eat the fruit of the land of Canaan.

v13-15 Near Jericho, Joshua saw a man standing with a drawn sword. “Are you for us or for our enemies?” Joshua asked. “Neither,” he replied: “but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.” Joshua fell facedown in reverence. The commander said, “Put off your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy.” And Joshua did.

Deep Dive: Getting the heart right before the battle Teacher Naomi: Here’s something striking about God’s timing. Israel is camped in enemy territory, right next to the fortified city they’re about to attack, and what does God have them do? Not sharpen swords. He has them get circumcised (renewing the covenant sign) and celebrate the Passover (remembering their rescue). Before a single battle, God re-centers them on who they are and whose they are . Identity and worship come before warfare. Pastor Eli: And notice the manna stopping (v12). For forty years it appeared every morning: utterly dependable. Now, the moment they can eat the land’s own food, it quietly stops. God’s provision didn’t fail; it changed form for a new season. That’s worth remembering when a way God used to provide for you seems to end: often it’s not abandonment, it’s a new season with new provision. The God of the manna is also the God of the harvest. Teacher Naomi: Then that last scene (v13-15) reframes the whole conquest. Joshua asks the commander of the Lord’s army, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and the answer is essentially, “Neither: I didn’t come to take your side; I came to take command.” The question was never “is God on our side?” but “are we on his ?” And “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy” is the exact thing God said to Moses at the burning bush. Before the walls of Jericho ever fall, Joshua is on his face, worshiping. The battle belongs to the Lord, and it starts with reverence.

Deep Dive: Getting the heart right before the battle Teacher Naomi: Here’s something striking about God’s timing. Israel is camped in enemy territory, right next to the fortified city they’re about to attack, and what does God have them do? Not sharpen swords. He has them get circumcised (renewing the covenant sign) and celebrate the Passover (remembering their rescue). Before a single battle, God re-centers them on who they are and whose they are . Identity and worship come before warfare.

Pastor Eli: And notice the manna stopping (v12). For forty years it appeared every morning: utterly dependable. Now, the moment they can eat the land’s own food, it quietly stops. God’s provision didn’t fail; it changed form for a new season. That’s worth remembering when a way God used to provide for you seems to end: often it’s not abandonment, it’s a new season with new provision. The God of the manna is also the God of the harvest.

Teacher Naomi: Then that last scene (v13-15) reframes the whole conquest. Joshua asks the commander of the Lord’s army, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and the answer is essentially, “Neither: I didn’t come to take your side; I came to take command.” The question was never “is God on our side?” but “are we on his ?” And “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy” is the exact thing God said to Moses at the burning bush. Before the walls of Jericho ever fall, Joshua is on his face, worshiping. The battle belongs to the Lord, and it starts with reverence.

Key Words

Gilgal : the camp where the stones were set up and the new generation circumcised; the name echoes “rolling away” the reproach of Egypt.

“Commander of the army of the Lord” : a mysterious divine figure Joshua worships; his words (“take off your sandals… holy”) echo the burning bush of Exodus 3.

Key Themes

Identity and worship coming before the work and the warfare

God’s provision changing form for a new season (manna to harvest)

The real question isn’t “is God on our side?” but “are we on his?”

Big Idea

Before Israel fights a single battle, God has them renew their identity, remember their rescue, and worship. The conquest doesn’t begin with a sword: it begins with Joshua on his face on holy ground.

Try It

Joshua learned the question wasn’t “is God on my side?” but “am I on his?” Where in your life have you been asking God to bless your plan: when the better question might be whether your plan is lined up with his ?

Connections

Exodus 3:5, “Take off your sandals from off your feet” said to Moses at the burning bush

Exodus 12: the Passover, now celebrated in the land for the first time

Exodus 16:35, the manna that fed them forty years, now stopping

Colossians 2:11-12, circumcision as a picture of inner transformation in Christ

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