When Bible readers come to the book of Joshua in the Old Testament they find Israel’s newest military leader, Joshua, the son of Nun, is set to replace the greatest prophet in Israel’s history, Moses. He is to lead the battered and weak wilderness-wandering Israelites triumphantly against the Canaanites within the land promised to their patriarch, Abraham, so that they can finally occupy the promised inheritance.
This paper will argue that Joshua, the author of the book and successor to Moses (Deut 31:1-8), deliberately contrasts the salvation of the Gentile-lying-harlot, Rahab, with the judgment and excommunication of Achan of Judah in the composition of his biblical narrative (Josh 6:15-8:1). Furthermore, this paper will argue that the two prophets, Isaiah and Hosea, deliberately refer to this narrative and reverse the imagery of Achor, a place of judgment, by suggesting that it will become a place of hope and a place of rest by means of the salvation wrought through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa 65:10; Hos 2:14-23). Moreover, this paper will suggest that the narrative structure of Joshua 2:1-8:2, more specifically Joshua 6:15-8:2, and the reversal of the imagery of judgment by the prophets reveals that the inclusion of ethnic “outsiders” among God’s covenant people was always YHWH’s intention; it was not merely acquisition of the land.
This paper, therefore, will propose an interpretation of Joshua 6:15-8:2 in light of messianic themes in Isaiah 65:10 and Hosea 2:14-23. The Valley of Achor becomes a Door of Hope through Jesus the Messiah. The place which would certainly recall thoughts of judgment upon faithlessness as well as thoughts of anguish and defeat, now becomes for Israel, by means of the Messiah’s cross-death, a door of hope. The wrath that Israel deserves is poured out on the one greater than Joshua, Jesus the Messiah. They will receive the ultimate blessing of eschatological rest through the Messiah, “they will lie down in safety” (Isa 65:10). The narrative of Joshua 6:15-8:2 points the reader forward to the restoration YHWH wrought through the work of his Messiah, Jesus. Rahab’s inclusion among the Israelites as well as Achan’s excommunication and death serve as a reminder that the inheritance is no longer based on genealogical descent (Matt 1:5). The reversal of judgment imagery by the prophets Isaiah and Hosea causes readers of the narrative to look for eschatological salvation and rest from One greater than Joshua, Jesus the Messiah.