God gives and Israel inherits is the formula that is repeated from the beginning to the end of Joshua. The spotlight is
not on Joshua's courageous moral example or on timeless principles of conduct, but on God's fulfillment of a historical promise. Even Joshua's name ("
Yahweh Saves!") points away from himself to the real hero of the story.
Joshua is a story of grace.
Israel was not the ultimate seed of God's promise but was rather God's instrument for providing him. God's gracious covenant with Abraham involved key promises including a temporal land and nation and an everlasting inheritance for all nations through his descendant Christ (Gal 3:16).
Entering the land is a gracious gift (Dt 7:6-9; 9:4-8), while
remaining God's holy nation depended on Israel's obedience to the covenant. This echoes Adam's testing in Eden, with the consequent promise of life or death, blessing or curse, enjoyment of God or exile (Ex 19:4-8; 24:3, 8; Dt 11:17, 26; 28:1-68). Even after heeding the serpent, Adam and Eve received God's gracious promise of a Savior, the seed or offspring who would crush the serpent's head (Gen 3:15). Would this seed be Israel? Was Israel the fulfillment of God's promise? Though there was genuine faith and obedience under Joshua, yet ultimately Israel transgressed the covenant (Hos 6:7).
