Joshua
Notes
Transcript
We have been in Numbers, and today we are going to look at Joshua.
We are following the Historical Line, the story-line, of the bible to see the Foundations of our faith:
Who is God?
Who is Man?
Where is Hope?
To give a visual perspective of where we are here are the historical line and the complementary books of the Old Testament.
put in images
The Complementary books give other relevant information, but do not move the main historical story-line along.
Deuteronomy is important. It is the summary of the history of Israel, and God’s work with them up to through the death of Moses. It gives specific reminders of the commands of God, and consequences for both obedience and disobedience. It also gives promises of God working to restore Israel after their rebellion which God predicted through Moses.
In Deuteronomy, we find the Mosaic Covenant reviewed, and the Palestinian Covenant/Land Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant was the law and the sacrifices.
The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant which would lead to either blessings or cursings—blessings if they obeyed, cursings if they did not. It was conditioned upon their obedience, and ultimately, we know that the law was given to show us that none of us by our efforts can fully obey the Lord.
The Palestinian Covenant/Land Covenant was a further clarification of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Genesis 12:1-3
The Abrahamic Covenant was not conditioned upon obedience, but was simply God saying, “I will.”
The first statement was God saying that he was going to make Abraham into a great nation.
A nation requires 3 elements:
People
Land
Rule/Kingdom
God made this covenant with Abraham, and later added covenants that clarified the 3 elements of the Abrahamic Covenant.
People - Circumcision - Genesis 17:1-14
Land - Palestinian/Land - Genesis 13.14-15; 15.18-21; 17.8; Deuteronomy 30:1-10
Rule/Kingdom - God was the ruler, and they were his people, but later we will see that they reject God as their king and ask for a man to be king. After that, God will appoint David and king and make a covenant with him, the Davidic - 2 Samuel 7:8-16; We will talk about that when we get there.
They became a people when God brought them out of Egypt, so that they would be his people, and he would be their God.
They were on their way to get the land, but they disobeyed God and had to wait until the next generation grew up to inherit the land after the rebellious generation died off.
In Deuteronomy, Moses reviews the covenants with the people, and now they are finally ready to go in to receive the land that God covenanted to Abraham.
Joshua is the new leader, and in his book we see how God was faithful to his promise to give them the land.
Today we are going to do a very brief overview of Joshua, and see again who God is, who man is, and where we find hope.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
What do we see about God?
He is faithful
He is with his chosen
He gives instruction
He expects faith - trust & obey
What do we see about man?
Needs instruction
Needs reassurance
Needs to trust and obey God for success
Joshua 1
Joshua 1
The rest of Joshua 1 is Joshua giving instructions to the people to move out, and the people telling Joshua that they would obey him, just as they ‘fully obeyed Moses’.
No wonder Joshua needed to be strong and courageous. Not because of the enemies they were going to face, but because the people promised to obey him as they had obeyed Moses.
Joshua 2
Joshua 2
Joshua sends spies.
Rahab protects the spies.
and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.
When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
Rahab believed in the Lord she had heard about.
Joshua 3-4
Joshua 3-4
God gives instructions about crossing the Jordan.
They cross the Jordan, miraculously!
They set up 12 stones at Gilgal.
And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.
He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’
tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.
He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
Joshua 5
Joshua 5
God gives instructions, and they Circumcise the men and boys.
They celebrate the Passover as God had instructed.
Joshua receives instructions from the Lord about Jericho.
Joshua 6
Joshua 6
Jericho falls
On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times.
The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!
The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.
But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
Rahab and her family were spared. Anyone who has faith will be saved!
Rahab is the second woman named in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. God will save and use those who have faith!
Joshua 7
Joshua 7
Joshua sends spies to Ai and formulates a plan.
We only need 2-3,000 men.
They are routed, and 36 men die.
who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.
And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies?
The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?
Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.
That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
“Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
God gives instructions, Achan is found out.
Achan makes a good confession: I saw, I coveted, I took; with specifics.
Achan is punished for his crime that resulted in the death of 36 men.
Joshua 8
Joshua 8
God gives instructions about Ai.
They conquer Ai.
The covenant as stated in Deuteronomy is renewed at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.
Joshua 9
Joshua 9
Joshua makes a treaty with the Gibeonites who tricked them, because he did not consult the Lord.
The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.
Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
Joshua 10
Joshua 10
The 5 kings of the Amorites attack Gibeon.
The Lord gives instructions, and Joshua goes to their aid defeating the 5 armies.
God makes the son and moon stand still for about a day so that they could defeat the armies completely.
Southern cities are conquered, because
All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
Joshua 11
Joshua 11
The northern kings re defeated.
So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
Joshua 12
Joshua 12
lists of conquered kings
Joshua 13-21
Joshua 13-21
There is still land to be taken, but God tells Joshua that he is old and to assign the portions of the land to the tribes of the Israelites.
Later in Judges we find the reason why God did not remove all of the nations.
But the nations that they did attack, they had conquered, and everyone left was afraid of them. So, they controlled all the land.
So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.
The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands.
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Joshua 22
Joshua 22
Tribes that inherited land east of the Jordan returned home, and built a large altar.
The rest of the tribes assumed they were forsaking the Lord, and were going to go to war.
But they assured the rest of the tribes that they built it as a memorial so that those tribes west of the Jordan would not forget that the tribes east of the Jordan would not keep them from coming to worship the Lord at his tabernacle.
Joshua 23-24
Joshua 23-24
Joshua is now very old and summons the Israelites to come.
summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old.
You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.
Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.
“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.
Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.
But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you.
One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.
So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,
then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.
If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,
and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.
“ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.
When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.
But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
“ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.
When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.
But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
“ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.
I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.
So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!
It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.
And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.
And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.
“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
What do we see about God?
He is faithful
He is with his chosen
He gives instruction
He expects faith - trust & obey
What do we see about man?
Needs instruction
Needs reassurance
Needs to trust and obey God for success
Quick to Covet
Prone to Pride - does his own thing
Thinks he can serve the Lord in his own power and will - but cannot
Where do we see hope?
God will save and use all who have faith in him!
Success when we heed God’s instructions
Choose to have faith - trust and obey
