On today's episode...

Today we’ll talk about Moses’ successor, Joshua…

and the Israelite community as it got established in the promised land. Could this be our least favorite book of the Bible so far? Despite that, this is one of our longer episodes!

We start off with a quick discussion of Lent (since we’re one week into it).

Then we get into Joshua itself, placing this book of the Bible in its context historically, literarily, and spiritually especially as we note parallels with Jesus. We talk about the consistent message that starts here and runs through all the Deuteronomistic history.

We discuss some terminology quirks – devoted doesn’t mean what we might expect here!

We discuss some of the important new characters found in these texts, including Rahab who is named in the Gospel of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.

We spend some time talking about the mark of the covenant with Abraham, and how it had not been followed for some time. We also talk about potential perspectives on this mark of the covenant from woman readers.

We also consider other perspectives of this story from the point of view of modern indigenous Christians, informed largely by the essay of Robert Allen Warrior titled, “Canaanites, cowboys, and Indians.”

Finally, we talk about the interesting way that this book concludes and leaves us primed for the action of the book of Judges.

Cross Connections is a ministry of ⁠⁠St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA⁠⁠. Season two, Cover to Cover is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

A full copy list of readings for 2025 may be found on our website at ⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections⁠⁠

If you have questions for us, you can call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. Please note, we may use your recorded voice in an upcoming episode of Cross Connections. You can also email us at [email protected].

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / ⁠⁠Pond5⁠⁠.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship offerings and ministries at ⁠⁠⁠stdavidschurch.org⁠⁠⁠.