Men of Courage

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Title: Men of Courage

Introduction

Dorothy Gale lives with her dog Toto on the Kansas farm of her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Toto bites their neighbor Almira Gulch on the leg, and she obtains an order from the sheriff for Toto to be euthanized. She takes Toto away on her bicycle, but he escapes and returns to Dorothy, and she decides to run away. She meets Professor Marvel, a kindly fortune teller who uses his crystal ball to make Dorothy believe that Aunt Em may be dying of a broken heart. Dorothy races home, arriving just as a tornado strikes. Locked out of the farm's storm cellar, she seeks shelter in her bedroom. Wind-blown debris knocks her unconscious and the house is sent spinning in the air. She awakens to see various figures fly by, including Miss Gulch on her bicycle, who transforms into a witch on a broomstick.

📷Dorothy with Glinda (Billie Burke), the Good Witch of the North

The house lands in Munchkinland in the Land of Oz. Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins welcome her as a heroine, as the falling house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, arrives to claim the slippers, but Glinda transports them onto Dorothy's feet first. The Wicked Witch of the West swears revenge on Dorothy, then vanishes. Glinda tells Dorothy to keep the slippers on and follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, where she can ask the Wizard of Oz to help her get back home.

On her journey, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, who wants a brain, the Tin Woodman, who desires a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, who needs courage. Dorothy invites them to accompany her to Emerald City, where they can ask the Wizard to help them too. Despite the Witch's attempts to stop them, they reach the Emerald City and are eventually permitted to see the Wizard, who appears as a large ghostly head surrounded by fire and smoke. He agrees to grant their wishes if they prove their worth by bringing him the Witch's broomstick.

Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly Lion believes that his fear makes him inadequate. He does not understand that courage means acting in the face of fear, which he does frequently. Only during the aftereffects of the Wizard's gift, when he is under the influence of an unknown liquid substance that the Wizard orders him to drink (perhaps gin) is he not filled with fear. He argues that the courage from the Wizard is only temporary, although he continues to do brave deeds while openly and embarrassedly fearful.)Dorothy invites them to accompany her to Emerald City, where they can ask the Wizard to help them too. Despite the Witch's attempts to stop them, they reach the Emerald City and are eventually permitted to see the Wizard, who appears as a large ghostly head surrounded by fire and smoke. He agrees to grant their wishes if they prove their worth by bringing him the Witch's broomstick.

As the foursome and Toto make their way to the Witch's castle, the Witch captures Dorothy and plots her death in order to remove her slippers. Toto escapes and leads her three friends to the castle. They ambush three guards, don the guards' uniforms, march inside and free Dorothy. The Witch and her guards chase and surround them. The Witch sets fire to the Scarecrow, causing Dorothy to toss a bucket of water, inadvertently splashing the Witch, who melts away. The guards rejoice and give Dorothy her broomstick.

The Wizard stalls in fulfilling his promises, until Toto pulls back a curtain and exposes the "Wizard" as a middle-aged man operating machinery and speaking into a microphone. Admitting to being a humbug, he insists that he is a good man but a bad wizard. He then gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal and the Tin Man a ticking heart-shaped watch, helping them see that the attributes they sought were already within them. He then offers to take Dorothy and Toto home in his hot air balloon. He reveals that he, too, is from Kansas, and worked at a carnival when a tornado brought him to the Emerald City. He was offered and accepted the job as Wizard due to hard times.

The Wizard stalls in fulfilling his promises, until Toto pulls back a curtain and exposes the "Wizard" as a middle-aged man operating machinery and speaking into a microphone. Admitting to being a humbug, he insists that he is a good man but a bad wizard. He then gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal and the Tin Man a ticking heart-shaped watch, helping them see that the attributes they sought were already within them. He then offers to take Dorothy and Toto home in his hot air balloon. He reveals that he, too, is from Kansas, and worked at a carnival when a tornado brought him to the Emerald City. He was offered and accepted the job as Wizard due to hard times.

As Dorothy and the Wizard prepare to depart, Toto, distracted by a cat, leaps from Dorothy's arms. As she pursues Toto, the balloon disembarks with the Wizard, leaving Dorothy. Glinda appears and tells Dorothy the ruby slippers have the power to return her to Kansas if she taps her heels together three times repeating "There's no place like home." Dorothy complies and wakes up in her bedroom surrounded by her family and friends, including Toto. Everyone dismisses her adventure as a dream, but Dorothy insists it was real and says she will never run away from home again. She then declares: "There's no place like home!"

(As for the Cowardly Lion, since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly Lion believes that his fear makes him inadequate. He does not understand that courage means acting in the face of fear, which he does frequently. Only during the aftereffects of the Wizard's gift, when he is under the influence of an unknown liquid substance that the Wizard orders him to drink is he not filled with fear. He argues that the courage from the Wizard is only temporary, although he continues to do brave deeds while openly and embarrassedly fearful.)

My hope is that everyone leaves here knowing that as a child of God, you have untapped courage “for greater is He who is within you, than he that is in the world.” (MOS)

I. A Man of Courage Has the Lord (5-6)

The God of Moses assures Joshua that He would be with him!

Leave: “to abandon v. — to forsake or leave behind.”; “ to grow slack, release, let go; to abandon, desert… (permanence)

to grow slack, release, let go; (Hi.) to abandon, desert, leave in the lurch; let loose, release from

Forsake: “renounce or give up on...”

Hi. When a verb has a meaning or set of meanings which are regularly (though not necessarily exclusively) expressed in one or more particular stems, these stems are noted in parentheses before the appropriate English definition(s). However, if a verb has a Qal definition as well as other definitions associated with other verbal stems, the Qal definition will always be indicated first without any special stem labeling.

For this reason, “be strong and courageous.”

Landes, George M. Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: Learning Words by Frequency and Cognate. Vol. 41. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. Print. Resources for Biblical Study.”

to abandon v. — to forsake or leave behind.”

II. A Man of Courage Obeys the Lord’s Word (7-8)

to be strong v. — to be or become strong or powerful beyond the average or expected; whether physically or in one’s constitution.”

to be courageous v. — to be able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching.

to be strong v. — to be or become strong or powerful beyond the average or expected; whether physically or in one’s constitution.

Careful: to observe (conform) v. — to conform one’s action or practice to.

Obey: to do (act) v. — to carry out or perform an action or course of action.

to observe (conform) v. — to conform one’s action or practice to.

…all the law…Moses gave him...

to do (act) v. — to carry out or perform an action or course of action.

…don’t drift away from it; don’t turn away from it...

prosper/successful

(8) God’s Word…

shall not depart out of your mouth (lips)

meditate in it day/night- to meditate (religious) v. — to think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes.

daylight (time) n. — the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside.

to meditate (religious) v. — to think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes.

daylight (time) n. — the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside.

night (sunset-sunrise) n. — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside; sometimes limited as sunset to the middle of the night before transition to early morning.

III. A Man of Courage Trusts the Lord’s Word (9) - God repeats Himself...

to be strong v. — to be or become strong or powerful beyond the average or expected; whether physically or in one’s constitution.”

to be courageous v. — to be able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching.

“Joshua was not to fear or be discouraged precisely because the Almighty God promised him his presence (see on v. 5).”

Joshua was not to fear or be discouraged precisely because the Almighty God promised him his presence (see on v. 5).

Howard, David M., Jr. Joshua. Vol. 5. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998. Print. The New American Commentary.

Conclusion - A Man of Courage Must Be Filled with the Spirit!

, “Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.”