Joshua and the Book of Mormon

This week, I reviewed the book of Joshua, summarizing the content of each chapter and identifying related Book of Mormon passages. The book can be divided into four parts:

1. The children of Israel prepare to enter the promised land (chapters 1-5)
2. With divine intervention, they conquer various cities in the land of Canaan (chapters 6-12)
3. Land is divided among the tribes (13-22)
4. Joshua’s final words (23-24)

Here is what I learned:

Chapter	Summary	Related Book of Mormon passage(s)
1	God’s counsel to Joshua	2 Nephi 24:1-3 – God will give Israel rest
2	Rahab protects the Israelite spies	1 Nephi 17:32-35 – God cursed the land against its current inhabitants
3	Crossing the Jordan River
4	The twelve stones
5	Preparation to enter the promised land	Mosiah 7:19 – God fed Israel with manna
6	The battle of Jericho
7	The valley of Achor (Achan’s transgression)	Alma 53:9 – The people were in danger because of iniquity among them
8	The battle of Ai	Mormon 7:4 – We should not fight unless God commands Ambush of Ai is similar to ambushes in Alma 43, 52, 58
9	Treaty with the Gibeonites. Israel is fooled because they didn’t ask God for counsel.	Jacob 4:10 – Take counsel from God’s hand Alma 37:37 – Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings
10	God fights for Israel with giant hailstones, He makes the sun and moon stand still.	Helaman 12:14-15 – God can make the earth stand still
11	Joshua conquers the rest of Canaan, just as God had commanded Moses.	1 Nephi 16:8 – Lehi had done all that God had commanded him to do
12	List of 33 conquered kings
13	Lands for (1) Reuben, (2) Gad, and (3) half of Benjamin. No land for Levi.
14	Caleb receives his inheritance
15	Land for (4) Judah
16	Land for (5) Ephraim
17	Land for (6) Manasseh
18	Remaining tribes explore remaining land. Land for other half of Benjamin
19	Land for (7) Simeon, (8) Zebulun, (9) Issachar, (10) Asher, (11) Naphtali, and (12) Dan
20	Six cities of refuge appointed
21	48 Levite cities established
22	The altar Ed (a witness, not a functional altar)
23	Joshua’s farewell sermon: Cleave unto God	Jacob 6:5 – Cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you Helaman 4:25 – Except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish
24	The people covenant to serve the Lord	Mosiah 5:2-5 – King Benjamin’s people collectively covenant to serve God Alma 30:7-9 – Choose you this day whom ye will serve

Here are my main takeaways:

1. God will fight our battles if we are willing to follow Him (Joshua 10:14, 42, Joshua 23:3, 10).
2. We can avoid deception by seeking counsel from God (Joshua 9:14).
3. We should cleave unto God (Joshua 23:8, 12).
4. Each of us must decide whether we will choose to serve God (Joshua 24:15), but we should remember that our decisions affect the people around us (Joshua 7:1-5, Joshua 22:16-20).

Today, I will trust God to fight my battles. I will ask Him for guidance, strive to stay close to Him, and serve Him.