Stepping Out: Joshua and the Promised Land

Having wandered in the desert for forty years, it was finally time for the people of Israel to begin taking possession of their promised inheritance. Moses had died and passed his leadership mantle to Joshua. Over the next several years, Joshua will lead Israel in conquering the land of promise, starting with the city of Jericho. Attacking this well-fortified city was no easy task. It would require sophisticated weapons of war and a well-thought-out battle plan—or, in this case, divine intervention.

The people of Israel who had come out of slavery in Egypt had seen miracles. God had miraculously provided the people with food and water for forty years. But now, a more significant challenge was settling the Promised Land. They would face battles and struggles they hadn’t encountered before, including taking the city of Jericho, a city with thick walls. It seemed impossible. But God would show Joshua and the Israelites that He would provide victory for them if they obeyed and did what He said.

A Christian missionary in the Middle East had endured considerable hardship, including interrogations and persecution. Still, the country had become home to Will and his family. They loved the people they served but had to leave and return to the United States. They were upset and didn’t understand why God had called them to that country.

Then, God called them to another Middle Eastern country with a humanitarian crisis. In that country, war and terrorism had left children without parents and families without resources. Instead of facing persecution, Will and his family were welcomed for the help they could bring.

The local government trusted him with small projects, and the projects got bigger. Finally, they needed a medical clinic for refugees flooding the country. Although Will knew God could do anything, the cost of building a clinic was too great for him, and he couldn’t recruit doctors to the area.

Will was desperate. He felt God wanted this project done. He also knew that God had done miracles before on previous projects, but Will had never seen one this big. He knew he couldn’t raise the money or get it done. He gave up trying to do it independently and asked for God’s help. A week later, a donor called Will out of the blue and told him he wanted to build a medical clinic in the area. Soon, doctors followed to help. Will’s prayer had been answered miraculously.

Question

What is something “impossible” in your life that you long to see God do?

Let’s explore what God says about the Promised Land in the Bible.

The Winds of Change

Joshua 5:10–15 MEV

The children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. The day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened bread, and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate from the produce of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna. That year they ate what the land of Canaan yielded. Now when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. In His hand was His drawn sword. Joshua went to Him and said, “Are You for us or for our enemies?” He said, “Neither, for I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground and worshipped. Then he said, “What does my Lord wish to say to His servant?” The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did this.

In this passage, we see two signs of shifting for Israel. They would no longer be nomads wandering through the desert. Instead, they would finally claim the land of Canaan, which was promised to them by their ancestor, Abraham. First, the manna that had fed them for forty years stopped. Second, the commander of the LORD’s army showed up to announce that the time for battle had come.

Question

Can you share a time when circumstances shifted so much that you knew it was time for a change?

A Unique Battle Plan

Joshua 6:1–5 MEV

Now Jericho was tightly secured before the children of Israel. There was no one leaving or entering. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho, its king, and mighty men of valor into your hand. All the men of fighting age shall march around the city. Circle the city once. Do this for six days. Seven priests shall carry seven ram’s horn trumpets before the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When they blow a long blast on the ram’s horn and when you hear the trumpet sound, all the people shall shout a loud battle cry. The walls of the city will fall down, and the people will go up, every man straight ahead.”

This differed from how a general would attack a city, especially one like Jericho, with immense walls and the best defenses of the day. But God had a plan to show the people living in the Promised Land that He was responsible for the victory. If the people of Israel could defeat Jericho, they could overcome anything. The same is true today. God promises to be with us and wants us to use His power and strength to overcome our obstacles.

Question

Have you ever felt God calling you (or someone you know) to do something that seemed to go against conventional wisdom but worked out in the end? Share with the group.

Melting Hearts and Rising Faith

Joshua 6:14–16 MEV

The second day they circled the city once, and they returned to the camp. They did this for six days. Then on the seventh day they got up early as dawn was breaking and circled the city in this way seven times. Only on that day did they circle the city seven times. On the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua said to the people, “Shout the battle cry, for the Lord has given you the city!

Can you imagine how intimidating it must have been for the residents of Jericho to watch this large army march around the city for seven days? The people of Jericho had heard of the Israelites and how their God had delivered them from Egypt and other enemies during their desert wanderings. The reputation of the Israelites’ God had the Jericho people quaking before the first soldier had taken up his arms.

Joshua 2:9–11 MEV

She said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, for dread from you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land melt in terror before you. For we heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. Our hearts melted when we heard these things, and no man had any breath in him because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.

But while the people of Jericho were full of fear, the people of Israel were full of faith. They marched around the city daily, trusting God and believing His plan would lead them to victory.

Question

Have you ever been in a situation that just got scarier as you waited for it to unfold?

Question

Have you ever been in a situation where the longer you waited, the more your faith grew?

Victory through Faith

Joshua 6:20–21 MEV

So the people shouted, and they blew the trumpets. When the people heard the trumpet sound, they shouted a loud battle cry, and the wall fell down. So the people went up into the city, one man after the other, and they captured it. They destroyed all that was in the city: man and woman, young and old, and oxen, sheep, and donkey with the edge of the sword.

What would it have been like to watch the walls of Jericho suddenly collapse? This is nothing that human hands could have accomplished. The people of Israel’s part was to have faith in God and walk through the door He opened. In the same way, the salvation of our soul cannot be accomplished by human effort. Jesus alone has collapsed the walls that once separated us from an eternity with God. We are invited to have faith in this truth and to demonstrate this faith by walking through the open door He has provided.

Question

Share your salvation experience with the group if you are willing.