Since theology school, I have always been fascinated with different Bible characters. Recently, I have been leaning more toward understanding who Joshua is. While researching about Joshua, I came across an interesting question, if he went to heaven. This threw me into even deep and extensive research. I consulted with various pastors and fellow theologians to get to know their biblical interpretation of Joshua’s eternal destination. Last week, in a forum that I opened where we discussed Bible characters, one of the members wanted to know if Joshua went to heaven. The other members also found this question interesting and were eager to know what I had to say. Because I had conducted extensive research about Joshua and his eternal destination, I was in a position to answer them satisfactorily. So, did Joshua go to heaven?
Theologians believe that Joshua went to heaven because of his rock-solid faith in God. However, the scriptures do not provide information on what happened to Joshua after his death. What we know, according to Judges 2:7-22 is after his death, another generation came up, and they had no idea of God. Thus, the Israelites kept sinning against the Lord.
Join me as I discuss some fascinating facts about Joshua; I will be sharing more about what kind of man Joshua was, what happened to him in the Bible, how he died, and what his mistakes were. Please keep reading to be enlightened more.
What kind of man was Joshua in the Bible?
Joshua imitated the example of Moses in his youth. He had the experience of being close to God because when Moses would finish with the Lord, he would remain in the tent. He was among the twelve spies whom Moses sent to Canaan, and only Caleb and he came back with good news to encourage the Israelites.
He was first mentioned in the Bible during the time when the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites, Moses called him to lead the war, and from this event, he was known as the warrior of God. Under his leadership, the walls of Jericho were leveled down to the ground. He was gifted with the spirit of leadership to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua encouraged the people to Choose God above everything; he was obedient to the Lord and did everything that God had commanded Moses to do. In Joshua 21:45, the bible records that during his leadership, none of God’s promises to Israel failed.
What happened with Joshua in the Bible?
Joshua began his life as a slave in Egypt, but he grew up to become one of the greatest leaders of Israel after Moses. Through his obedience to God, he led the Israelites into the Promised Land. He also led the Israelites into Crossing River Jordan successfully as the priest a. Under his godly leadership, he conquered the Land of Canaan, and he assigned each of the 12 tribes of Israelites a portion.
Joshua did not only have military leadership skills but was a faithful servant of God. On their way to the Promised Land, Joshua urged the Israelites to forsake gods and remain faithful to God. Joshua tells the Israelites in the book of Joshua 24:15 that if serving God seems undesirable to them, then they should choose for themselves whom they will serve, but for him and his family, they will serve God.
What was Joshua’s Mistake according to the Bible?
According to the Bible, Joshua made a mistake when he failed to consult God when he was making a peace treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:3-27). The Gibeonites tricked him during the making of this agreement. Gibeon was only located twenty-five miles from the Israelites’ camp, and it was among the targeted places to be destroyed. In Deuteronomy 20, God instructed his people to destroy cities that are in Canaan and only make peace with those cities that are outside Canaan. It happened that the Gibeonites somehow knew about this and decided to trick the Israelites about their location.
They assembled some men and changed their way of life, including food and dressing, just to look as if they were coming from far. When they came to the Israelites’ camp, as usual, Joshua was supposed to seek God’s guidance first, but he was blinded and went ahead and made the peace treaty together with the elders leaning on their own understanding and decision. As a result of this mistake, they were in a covenant with a city that was within Canaan, which was not according to God’s plan.
Did Joshua sin against God in the Bible?
The Bible does not record Joshua sinning against the Lord. However, Achan, who was an Israelite and fought the Jericho battle together with Joshua, did (Joshua 7). There was a time when Joshua sent an army of 300 men to capture the city of Ai. However, the troop returned defeated, and this caused panic among the people of Israel. Joshua wondered why the Lord had abandoned them and thought about how Israelites may have sinned against the Lord. The Lord instructed Joshua to do a sanctification ceremony and remove those who had sinned. It was later discovered that it was Achan (Numbers 32:23). However, as mentioned, the Bible does not provide information if Joshua had sinned against the Lord. But as seen earlier, there was a time he relied on his own understanding to make a decision, which is the nature of any human being at some point.
How did Joshua die in the Bible?
The Bible records in the book of Judges 2:6-10 that Joshua died at the age of 110 years, possibly due to old age. The scripture notes that during his days, the Israelites served the Lord. When he died, he was buried in Timnath-heres with his inheritance boundaries in Ephraim, the hill country. When he was old, Joshua called the elders of Israel and warned them against having fellowship with the native population because it would lead them against the covenant way of the Lord. He urged the people to be loyal to God, who has been faithful to them.
Do Christians believe Joshua went to heaven after he died?
Though the Bible does not provide any information on the eternal destination of Joshua, Christians have a reason to believe that he went or will go to heaven. This is because, reading through the scriptures, Joshua served the Lord obediently. He maintained his rock-solid faith in God, led the Israelites faithfully, and because of that, God allowed him to successfully lead the Israelites to the promised Land. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua makes a declaration to serve the Lord, and he dies as a faithful servant. All this points towards the possibility of Joshua going to heaven.
As a devout Christian, I have always been passionate about the Christian faith. This inspired me to pursue a degree in Religious studies and a Masters in Theology in college. I have also been privileged to teach 4 Christian courses in a college and university. Since I am dedicated to spreading the word of God, I am actively involved in the Church. Additionally, I share his word online and cover diverse topics on the Christian faith through my platform. You can read more about me on the about us page.
