God is keeping His promises, what about you?

Intro

Throughout scripture we see choices being made, right or wrong. These choices, especially when made by leaders, determine the path for the people that follow them.

Joshua, has been reminded by God, of how God cares for His people.

Joshua has the choice to obey God’s call to lead the the people

Joshua 1:10–18 ESV

10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ” 12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 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.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 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.”

Joshua’s choice to obey. v.10-11

God has just spoken to Joshua in the previous verses.

Now Joshua has a choice to make.

From our context of scripture, we know that it is not likely that Joshua would choose to run from God’s call, but he did have a choice to make.

I am sure he felt the burden of leadership, of the whole nation being laid upon him.

He had a choice to make.

Joshua chose to trust in the Lord.

Joshua’s first command as leader.

His first command we see comes in verse 11.

Joshua 1:11 ESV

11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”

Josh 1:11

The command as we see was given to the officers of the people.

The people of Israel, though they were wandering in the desert for 40 years, were not disorganized.

Moses in Deuteronomy recorded the chain of command that there was a chain of command set up to lead the people and get information out to the nation.

Deuteronomy 1:15 ESV

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes.

The nation of Israel was organized so that Moses could quickly communicate with the people through is officers.

These were not necessarily officers in the sense of military commanders. The idea of the word is more officials, or elders. These men who met, now with Joshua, were the respected leaders of the clans amongst the people.

Be Strong 2. The Leader Encourages the Officers (Josh. 1:10–15)

The nation of Israel was so organized that Moses could quickly communicate with the people through his officers who formed a chain of command (Deut. 1:15). Moses didn’t assemble the leaders to ask for their advice but to give them God’s orders. There are times when leaders must consult with their officers, but this was not one of them. God had spoken, His will was clear, and the nation had to be ready to obey.

Deuteronomy 1:15 ESV

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes.

Prepare provisions to passover this Jordan.

The command given was to prepare provisions to pass over the Jordan, in three days time, to take possession of the land that God is giving.

It is interesting what exactly Joshua tells the people to do.

What is it the people are preparing to do?

They are going to cross the Jordan, to take possession of the land.

There are people already living and established in the land.

But Joshua doesn’t say, build boats to cross the river.

Joshua doesn’t say, prepare for battle.

Joshua says, command the people to prepare your provisions.

The word provisions, is literally a supply of food for a journey.

Joshua was obedient to what the Lord had commanded.

The first step was to prepare for the journey ahead.

God said that He would give the people the land.

In his command to the people as well, Joshua passed on words of encouragement.

You will pass over this mighty river, you will take possession of the land, because God is giving it to you.

This was essentially the same thing that Joshua had said 40 years earlier, only the people didn’t listen to him, Caleb, or Moses. They didn’t believe that God would continue to do the mighty works on their behalf.

Even though they had already seen many.

Often it seems that the older we get, the more danger there is that we become set in our ways and become sanctified obstructionists.

I don’t see any of that here, but that is much of what happened in Joshua’s day.

Now though, Joshua and Caleb were the two oldest men in the nation, and they were the most enthusiastic about trusting God and entering the land.

It was not a matter of age though, Joshua didn’t gain his enthusiasm for entering the land watching his kinsman die.

It was a matter of faith. Faith he had already displayed.

Faith that comes from spending time with the Lord, meditating on His word.

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

God was calling the nation of Israel to have faith in Him. That He would fulfill his promise.

The people now had a choice once again.

Do we listen to Joshua and trust in the Lord.

What

Do we believe that God will do what He said?

This generation of people, at most were 20 years old the last time the nation was in this position.

Bringing it in closer to home, what choice do we have to make?

In the book of Matthew, 16 we see Jesus asking his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Matthew 16:14–17 ESV

14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Matt 16:14

Jesus response to this statement of faith on Peter’s part.

Matthew 16:17–18 ESV

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matt 16:17-

Jesus promises that He will build his church.

Matthew 16:19 ESV

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

There is a choice to be made though, a choice of faith.

Jesus promises the kingdo

Like Peter, the choice we must make is whether or not we believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.

The choice to follow Jesus is not easy, it’s not free, there is a cost.

Matthew 16:24–28 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Which choices do we make on a daily basis?

In the moment when our temper may flair up.

In the moment when we have the opportunity to gratify ourselves in some way.

In the moment when we have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with another person.

Do we make the choice that flows out of our own selfish pride, our own selfish ambitions?

Or do we make the choice that flows out from the promises of God.

Reminder of promises made. v.12-15

Joshua has another choice to make, there is an elephant in the room of sorts.

The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh already had their land.

Would they choose to honor the promise they had made to Moses and to their kin now that Moses was dead?

Background &

Numbers 32:4–6 ESV

4 the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” 6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?

Num 32:4-6

Even though they wandered, the Lord was still prospering His people.

They continued to grow.

Moses concern was that these tribes, having taken land, would discourage the others from crossing into the land promised to them by God.

But they came to Moses and told him that they would build a place for their children and livestock but then would not return home until the people of Israel gained their inheritance.

Trent C. Butler, Joshua 1–12, ed. Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Second Edition., vol. 7a, Word Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 195.

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7A: Joshua 1–12 (Second Edition) Tradition

Deut 3 seeks to remind the Transjordan tribes of their responsibility while encouraging Joshua in his. Num 32 seeks to justify the separation of Israel into Cisjordan and Transjordan territories and to underline the common loyalty of both groups to Yahweh and to one another. Josh 1:12–18 uses the same tradition to demonstrate the total obedience of all Israel to Joshua.

Land they were given.

They made a choice to stay settle in that land, and promised to care for their brothers as well.

Promise they made.

Care for their brothers.

The question that arises now though is will they honor this promise now that they are settled in.

Will they choose to be obedient to keep the promise that they made.

Responding in obedience. v.16-18

Their response is a resounding yes.

Most likely a relief on Joshua’s part as well.

Joshua 1:16–18 ESV

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.”

If we were thinking of this section as scenes in a movie it would begin with Joshua in front of the whole assembly of the officers of the people, then zooming in to give special instructions to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh.

Now the scene has zoomed back out to the whole assembly.

Not only do they agree to do all that was commanded of them, all that they promised they would do, but they affirm Joshua’s leadership.

Joshua 1:16–18 ESV

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.”

Josh 1:16-

All that Joshua has commanded they will do, all that he will command they will also do.

Now the scene has zoomed back out to the whole assembly.

Whatever, and wherever.

It is a culmination of what we saw begin last week in the first part of this chapter.

God commissioned, now the people have agreed to and accepted that commission.

The peoples resolve is so firm that they make the statement that whoever rebels against Joshua, and in turn by doing so, are rebelling against God, shall be put to death.

The officers final statement to Joshua is another reminder, to once again be strong and courageous.

To lead in such a manner as to follow the Lord and do what he says.

To make the choice to remember the promises God has made to His people.

Conclusion

As Christians, these opening scenes do a few things for us.

We see an example of God appointing a a leader.

Do we honestly believe that God still does so today?

Does God still appoint leaders today?

If so, how do we respond?

Do we view leaders in the church as God’s commissioned representatives?

Now, it is a bit different, as believers, as we see in

We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We all have access to God in a manner as never seen in the Old Testament.

But following along in , the ESV titles the section beginning in verse 13 as submission to authority.

A touchy subject, especially for us in a western context, a western mindset.

Most often our thoughts are that we are our own authority.

But we are called to make a choice, we have the choice to obey the Lord’s commands, or disobey.

It really does boil down to something that simple.

Our choice comes because of what Jesus has done for us.

Peter explains it.

1 Peter 2:22–25 ESV

22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

:22

What difference would it make in your life today, if you truly viewed obedience to Christ, as a matter of life or death?

It would make such a difference!

Our ministry to the lost people of this world would be greatly impacted.

So often, we obey the Lord if we fee like it, if it’s convenient, if we can get something in return.

Think in terms of Joshua and people of Israel again for a moment, how many people likely had that sort of attitude?

If Joshua had soldiers like that, he would have never concqure

Be Strong 3. The Officers Encourage Their Leader (Josh. 1:16–18)

If God’s people today saw obedience to Christ a matter of life or death, it would make a big difference in our ministry to a lost world. We obey the Lord’s orders if we feel like it, if it’s convenient, and if we can get something out of it. With soldiers like that, Joshua would never have conquered the Promised Land!

Yet God stated that He would fight for them.

If

Obedience is important to God, and we must also remember, He can do it without us.

But God’s love for us, causes Him to desire our obedience.

That he might use us to spread the good news of forgiveness.

God is the one who does the work.

He saves us from our sin. He made the way for us to be in relationship with Him.

God provides us with eternal life, in heaven with Him.

What are we called to do in return?

To be obedient.

God saves us from our sin.

To work for the kingdom.

He provides us with eternal life.

Go, make disciples, teach them the commandments of Christ.

To live as a family, not just blood relations, but as the family of God.

To bring him the glory.

As the 3 groups were reminded in Joshua as well, we are to fight for and side by side with our family.

The goal has expanded, the Israelites were to cross the Jordan, to take possession of the land.

Christians now are to go into all the world.

This is a long drawn out process, when do we get to rest though you may ask?

Our rest will come, when Christ returns, or calls us home.

What are we called to do in return.

If faith in Christ is the fundamental not of our Christian society, the next is fellowship among the members.

If each believer is vitally joined to Christ, all believers must stand in a living relation to one another.

Paul paints a wonder picture of this using the analogy of a body.

Christians are members, one of another, because they are members of the body of Christ.

Our one central head.

Work for the kingdom.

Fight for our family - our church family.

We all have choices to make, promises to keep, promises to hold on to.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5 2. Fellowship

If faith in Christ is the fundamental note of the Christian society, the next is fellowship among the members. This follows from the very nature of faith as just described; for if each believer is vitally joined to Christ, all believers must stand in a living relation to one another. In Paul’s favorite figure, Christians are members one of another because they are members in particular of the body of Christ

Long drawn out process - Our rest comes when Christ returns or calls us home.

To do so rightly we must hold fast to the Word of God, and to each other as well.