Religion & Spirituality
As the Israelites make preparations for their first stop in the conquest of Canaan, God shows them in numerous ways that “The Battle (Ultimately) Belongs to the Lord.” The reminders of this reality are in the text from beginning to end as Joshua has an unusual encounter with a heavenly armed figure and the victory itself arrives through unorthodox means. It is something like a divine reset, especially with the reinstitution of circumcision as a prequel to their next steps, graphically demonstrating that God’s work is always greater than ours, and therefore we can trust and obey no matter what lies ahead.