The Conquest in Canaan
Notes
Transcript
What has happened in our study?
most recently, sent spies, disobedient to God, tried to kill Moses, God sent them to wander the wilderness for 40 years.
Our passage today turns the page on the wandering in the wilderness.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant,
2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
God now appoints Joshua to lead the Israelites. Moses is gone, they have wandered the wilderness, and later in the passage, we will see that the entire generation of Israelites that were in captivity were now gone. Joshua now has the duty to lead the people into the promised land.
He reminds Joshua of the covenant. That the people will inherit the land and that no one should be able to overtake them as a people because God is on their side. He gives this to Joshua.
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
But, he also reminds him of the standard they must keep for this to happen.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
So let’s think this over for a second. Who were the Israelites? (A people set aside by God) What is the purpose of the law? (distinguish them from other nations through holiness)
So God wants them to keep the law on their hearts at all times so that they do not fall into sinful ways. He wants them to continue to be holy. And he has promised that if they do all that is written in the law, that he will prosper them. But not only that, he tells them that he will be with them.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
God has given Joshua the directive to take the people across the Jordan into the place that he has promised them. But not to forget the law. They must keep the law. God requires obedience of them.
Why do you think God places such an importance on obedience?
Joshua assumes command. We see a nice parallel here between Joshua and Moses. Just as Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Joshua was chosen to lead them into the promised land. Just as Moses calls the people to remember the word of God, Joshua does the same.
13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’
The people respond in verse 16.
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses!
18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
He has rallied the troops. They are all in. I imagine this like Gen. MacArthur rallying his troops together. Then, we see another mirror to Moses. Joshua sends out spies.
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
So they go and they find somewhere safe to stay. There was a woman named Rahab who was a prostitute. I don’t think I need to spend much time talking about her profession or how it was viewed back then. There is not much different today.
Rahab risked herself to save these men.
2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
The king wanted to stop these men. He wanted to end this crusade from God to overthrow his city and hand it over to people who did not belong. The king had ultimate power with the people, yet Rahab defied him. She told him that the men walked out of the gate all the while she had hid them. She tells them that she has heard what God has done for them and wants God to spare her family when he overthrows the city.
So Rahab, a prostitute, worked on the side of God. She hid the men from the king to save their life even though they were going to take the city.
What are some things that we can learn about God from this encounter with Rahab?
The spies return to the Joshua. Joshua prepares for them to go to Jericho, but there is something in the way. The Jordan river. The Israelites had a similar problem when they were fleeing Egypt. What was in their way? So we have this parallel between Moses needing to cross the Red Sea and Joshua needing to cross the Jordan. So how do both of them do it? God parts the waters and let them cross.
But there is something they need to do. In chapter 4, we see them take 12 stones and set them up because they had crossed the Jordan.
Why do you think that they needed to set the stones up?
What are metaphorical stones that we have to help us to remember what God has done for us?
After they cross the Jordan, we see this transition from the former generation to the new generation. All of the people who experienced the exodus were gone. Now we have the new generation. They had not had the sign of the covenant applied to them. So Joshua circumcises them. Then they celebrate their first passover in Canaan before they go into Jericho.
The passover is significant for them because it symbolizes what? So the look back at what God has done for them through their circumcision and through the passover. Now they are going to look forward.
Why is it important for us to both look backwards and forwards in our walk with God?
After this, he is visited by the commander of the Lord’s army.
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
What is interesting is Joshua asks him if he is for him or the enemy. The answer was not either one, but no. Why do you think that the angel did not say that he was on Joshua’s side?
God is not to be on our side but we are supposed to be on God’s side. We often get this mixed up. This is like us walking into the palace and kicking the king off the throne and us taking the seat. It doesn’t work like that. We must be on God’s side.
What are issues in our world today that is very different than what God says?
In chapter 6, we see the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. The gist of it is they marched around the walls for 6 days. On the 7th day, they march around 7 times. On the 7th time, they finish, they blow a horn and they shout at the top of their lungs. When they do this, the wall falls down.
Who brought the wall down? God did. Not Joshua, not soldiers, but God did. This is what I want to drive home for us. It was not skill or power that made the Israelites take the city of Jericho. What was it? It was faith.
Faith must be our driving force in everything we do. We trust God in our lives.
You don’t have to answer out loud, but we all have areas in which we are avoiding God or being disobedient. So in what area is God calling you to step out in faith and trust in him?
