Joshua

The book of Joshua begins where Deuteronomy ends. Moses having died on mount Pisgah, it is now Joshua who, by divine appointment (Num. 27:18-23,18And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses. (Numbers 27:18‑23) Deut. 1:38, 3:28), leads the children of Israel into the promised land—“unto the land which I do give to them” (Josh. 1:22Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2)). It was not for the lawgiver Moses to bring them into the land of Canaan. They would not claim the land on the ground of their righteousness, but according to the promises made to their fathers (Josh. 1:66Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. (Joshua 1:6)). For the children of Israel, it was simply a question of their entering into that which God had given them for a possession. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you” (Josh. 1:33Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (Joshua 1:3)).
Come out of Egypt, Joshua pictures to us Christ as the leader or captain of His saints. In Hebrew, Joshua means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is translated in the Greek as Jesus (Acts 7:4545Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; (Acts 7:45)). The expression, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life” (Josh. 1:55There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (Joshua 1:5)) is to Joshua. As with the children of Israel, we have One in whose strength we stand—“be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Eph. 6:1010Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)).
The book may be divided historically thus: preparation for entry into the land of Canaan (ch. 1-2); the crossing of the river Jordan (ch. 3-4); circumcision at Gilgal (ch. 5); Jericho destroyed and cursed (ch. 6); the failures and victories of the people (ch. 7-12); division of the land (ch. 13-22); Joshua’s dying charge (ch. 23-24).
While the passage through the Red Sea typifies Christ’s death for the believer, the passage through the Jordan typifies the believer’s death with Christ and being raised with Him. Jordan is not what we have been delivered from, but what we have been brought into. It is resurrection in type, and its application is found in the book of Colossians. “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances.  ... If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Col. 2:20, 3:1).
The wilderness is the character that the world takes when we have been redeemed. It is where the flesh is sifted. Circumcision was not carried out in the wilderness. In contrast, death, and our entrance into heavenly places, judges the whole nature in which we live in this world. Circumcision is the application of the Spirit’s power to the mortification of the flesh. Our Gilgal is found in Colossians 3:5,5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5) “Mortify therefore”. It does not say, “die to sin”. “Mortify” is active power; it rests on the power of that which is already true to faith: “Ye are dead” (Col. 3:33For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)), “mortify therefore” (Col. 3:55Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5))1.
 
1. JND Synopsis, Joshua