Dec. 6, 2020 - Joshua and Judges

• God told Moses that He would only go with him into the promise land, and yet Moses replied that if God was not going to go with [all of them], then He shouldn't bring them out.

• Moses was considering the "people of God".

• We Have A God We Cannot Fathom

• Moses asked God to show him His glory...

• ...and this should cause us to examine ourselves.

• If anyone had seen God's glory, it was Moses, and yet Moses still sought the unending depth of God's glory.

• Do we pursue to see the glory of God, or are we content with our knowledge of Him?

• We must be desperate for the presence of God.

• And we were reminded that God is getting us back to...Worship.

• That the whole point of Salvation is....Worship.

• Stepping back now, as a way to help us move forward...let's look at a big picture view of some of the books we've covered SO FAR in this OT series...

SLIDE: Exodus

Exodus

• EXODUS:

deals with the...exodus.

• The word exodus means: a going out, a departure (my hair: Hair folicus…Exodus)

• It deals with God delivering His people from Egypt,

• And binding Himself to them with a Covenant at Mt. Sinai.

• Moses and the people of Israel receive the Ten Commandments...

• ...and other laws that governed their lives and worship.

• The tabernacle was built, a place where God's presence dwelled among the people...

• ...and where sacrifices were made for sin.

SLIDE: Leviticus

Leviticus

• LEVITICUS:

• Begins with the people at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

• And God now tells Moses to INSTRUCT the Levitical Priests and the people of Israel concerning:

• sacrifices

• worship

• the priesthood

• ceremonial cleanness

• Day of Atonement

• feasts and holy days

• and the Year of Jubilee

• The central message of the book is that God is holy and He requires His people to be holy.

• The book also shows that God provides atonement for sin through the shedding of blood.

SLIDE: Numbers

Numbers

• NUMBERS:

• The name of this book comes from the census accounts that you see in Chapter 1-4, and then in Chapters 26-27.

• In Leviticus, the people were at Mt. Sinai...

• Now, in Numbers, they're leaving Mt. Sinai and a census is taken of God's people.

• The main theme of Numbers is that God honors faith, and He punishes unbelief.

• It teaches us that the root of sin is unbelief. (A lack of trust in God's word)

• The book describes the people of Israel scoping out the promised land of Canaan...

• only to tell us how they would refuse to enter because of unbelief.

• Even so...we see a God who is faithful...

• A God who WILL lead His people in spite of their failures.

• The people WANTED to go back to Egypt...but God wasn't having it.

• No, He's faithful...He will accomplish His purpose thru the next generation.

SLIDE: Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

• DEUTERONOMY:

• Once Numbers finishes, we're ready to go into the Promised Land...

• ...and we have the "Second Law"...

• which is basically restating the Law to the new generation.

• It's basically a rehearsal of the Covenant as they prepare to take the Promised Land.

• It's not a NEW Covenant.

• The Covenant had been given in Exodus.

• In Leviticus we saw the terms of that Covenant (the laws, the righteous living, ritual offerings)

• In Numbers we saw the people wandering, they miss out.

• And so there's a need for Renewal - a rehearsal of what this Covenant's about...

• AND how it applies to ALL of God's people.

• They're preparing to take the promised land.

• They're committing to the Covenant.

• There's a whole new generation now preparing to enter the Promised Land.

• And with this new generation, comes a new Leader of the people.

• Who is the new leader?

• Joshua.

• Before Moses died, he made Joshua the leader of the Israelites.

• Joshua had been one of the twelve spies that had scoped out the land of Canaan 40 years earlier.

• Now, of the 12 spies, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who trusted God and His promise that the land would be theirs.

• The others did NOT trust God:

• Instead they chose to walk by sight…saying:

• …the inhabitants are too big and strong

• …the city is fortified too heavily

• …we can’t do this

• …despite what God has said, despite the fact that He delivered us from a 400 year bondage with miracle after miracle…

• …we can’t trust God.

• What was the result of that = LACK of trust?

• 40 years of wandering

• But, as soon as Joshua was made the leader of Israel, he reminded the people of God’s command and instructed them to prepare to take the land.

• SO - Let’s think about this:

• Joshua originally fought for the people to trust God and His promises.

• The Israelites didn’t…and that began a 40 year wandering.

• 40 years go by

• I’m 42 years old…

• Did Joshua give up on his devotion to God?

• Clearly no…

• Did the passage of time render God’s promise null and void?

• Absolutely not!

• When God speaks – His Word stands!

• Our trust in God should not eb-n-flow.

Think of ALL the things in life where our TRUST ebs and flows...

Do you guys trust National Media?

Politicians?

Facebook Fact-Checkers

Government?

• Remember the Apostle Paul throughout Philippians?

• His faith did not terminate on his circumstances!

• He was in prison for years...

• Yet it could have been decades, and his faith still would have rested in the promises of God.

• This is what we see in Joshua.

• In the book of Joshua, we see a continuation of the story.

• The first 5 books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut. = Pentateuch, the Law)

• From there, we move into Joshua and Judges.

• Joshua and Judges add to the story...the historical account.

• Then we come to the book of Ruth.

• Ruth does not add to the story...historically speaking.

• Instead Ruth looks back at what happened during the time of the Judges.

• Ok, now that we've settled that...

• Today we're going to look a bit at Joshua,

• and then discuss the time of the Judges, and then briefly look at the book of Ruth.

• If we were to look at the book of Joshua from up high, we'd see 4 main points of the book.

• For all of the struggles that we walked thru and seen with the Israelites up to this point...

• ...there's a great release now in Joshua, as God shows His people his faithfulness.

• The 4 main sections are that the people:

SLIDE:

1. Cross the River

2. Take the Land

3. Divide the Land

4. Serve (Worship) God

• Cross the river, into the Promised Land.

• Once they get there, they take the land.

• Once they take the land, they divide the land amongst the different tribes of Israel.

• The last chapters deal with "Serving" God. (there's that word again = worship).

• So, Israel has a new leader at this point.

• Moses had died, and so Joshua is now leading the people...

• God actually exalts Joshua in the eyes of Israel in that He shows them that He Himself is with Joshua, just as He had been with Moses.

• Now, the crossing of the Jordan river was a miraculous event that God used to show the people of Israel that God was among them and that He would drive out their adversaries from the land.

• It's a crazy thing, but the Israelites kept needing to be convinced that God was God...

• ...but then again, we fall in that same boat too don't we?

· Example: talking to neighbors about Christ

• So they cross over into Canaan.

• The crossing of the Jordan was a miraculous event, very similar to the Red Sea crossing.

• God had stopped the waters, to allow the people to cross on dry ground.

• Now God said that the water would part only after the priests got in the water.

• He didn't ask the people the lead the way.

• The leaders were leading here,

It’s no different than how we handle our kids…

SLIDE:

1. Show them how to do it

2. Do it with them

3. Let them do it with you

4. Let them do it

· Leaders in the church are those who will TEACH those around them HOW to DO IT – so that those around them would ONE DAY – DO IT- and then teach others the same…

And so THE LEADERS - get in the water to demonstrate their trusting in the Word of God...and His promise.

Joshua 3:10–13 ESV

10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

SO THEY CROSS the Jordan...

• Now before they take the land, they first set up camp in Gilgal.

• And it's in Gilgal that God reinstates 2 old rites: Circumcision, and Passover.

• Circumcision had [NOT] been practiced during the 40 year wandering period.

• The point of circumcision was to both initiate and signify membership in the covenant community.

• So the circumcision of the flesh was to signify the circumcision of the heart.

• ...that the physically circumcised had been spiritually circumcised thru repentance.

• AND so understanding that the wandering, uncircumcised Israelites were wandering due to hard hearts, it shows that they had never truly submitted to God thru repentance.

• But now in Gilgal, God brings back circumcision, to show that this generation had the proper spirit to take the land.

• Another part of the Spiritual renewal in Gilgal was the observance of Passover...

• ...which was the feast that God instituted to commemorate Him delivering His people out of Egypt.

• The original passover in Egypt was founded on...the grace of God.

• The Israelites were saved that night by the grace of God, thru faith.

• And so God reinstating the passover in Gilgal was to show the people of Israel that God's grace would be sufficient for them as they made their way into Canaan.

So they CROSSED the RIVER…

• Now...it's time to....take the land.

• Now, just like in today's day-n-age, when something miraculous happens, word gets around.

• Well, the kings of the Amorites to the west and the kings of the Canaanites by the sea had heard of the Israelites crossing the Jordan...

• ...and HOW it happened...

• ...and the scripture says that their hearts melted...

• What does that mean? It means they knew what was coming.

• The first test for the Israelites was the City of Jericho.

• God gives specific instructions to Joshua on how this thing was gonna play out.

• The people were to march around the city once a day for 6 days, and then on the 7th day...

• ...they were to march around the city 7 times, after which the Priests were to blow their trumpets and the people were to shout.

• And then...the wall would fall.

• That's it.

• That was the plan.

• Crazy??

• Yeah...crazy.

• BUT...this plan had a purpose.

• To show the people of Israel that nothing they did would have caused Jericho to fall.

• BUT that it was God alone who made this thing happen.

• ...that the City was a gift of God.

• And this should cause us to rejoice at the truth that even though sinners (all around us) are heavily fortified against the Gospel...

• ...God is God, and He can cause the walls of sin to come crashing down in their lives.

• What we can't forget is that God will use [us] to carry out the mission!

• AND that we must follow His instructions...the truth of His word.

• So they take the city....they take the land...

• And then they divide the land amongst the 12 tribes of Israel.

• When the time comes for Joshua to relinquish leadership, he gives 2 farewell addresses:

• One to the leaders of the nation

• The other to the leaders and many of the people.

• The overriding theme of these messages is - 'the Lord your God'

• This phrase is found 13 times in 14 verses (23:3-16)

Joshua 24:15 ESV

15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

• The point is - the success of Israel lay in keeping focused on God.

• We've divided the land...

• It's time to walk with the Lord...to serve the Lord...to worship the Lord...

• ...NOT to turn back.

• And it sounds promising doesn’t it??!

• Listen to what they say in the very next verses:

Joshua 24:16–18 ESV

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

This SOUNDS great!!

· Now PUT OURSELVES into the story…

· They CROSSED the river:

I attribute that to US - believing…

Have you crossed the RIVER of salvation?

· They Took the Land: Well - the LAND was a PROMISE of God!

SO - They took HOLD of the promise…

Do we take hold of His promises?

Christ PROMISES to be WITH us till the END....

Do we BELIEVE that?

Speak to that coworker about Jesus – and Jesus WILL be with you!

Have you taken HOLD of that promise?

· They Divided the Land: What does this MEAN? - They Obeyed!

Their taking hold of the promise lead to - OBEDIENCE…

Has our TRUSTING of God’s promises lead to - OBEDIENCE?

If not – then we haven’t REALLY trusted in His promises….

· AND then = they SAY here they’re going to SERVE God…

• UNFORTUNATELY....this is not what we find happening later on in the book of Judges.

We come now to the book of JUDGES

• Despite the promising response of the people to Joshua here, very quickly following this we find Israel worshipping other gods...

• ...and falling away from the Lord.

• In chapter 17 verse 6 it says:

Judges 17:6 ESV

6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

• And just like we saw a pattern develop in these early parts of the Old Testament:

• People sin

• People face the consequences

• God redeems

• ...We can absolutely see a clear pattern in the book of Judges:

1) the people abandoned the Lord;

2) God punished them by raising up a foreign power to oppress them;

3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and

4) God raised up a deliverer, or judge, for them.

• There was no king in Israel at this time, so God used Judges to deliver people out from under their sin.

• These Judges were military leaders, not robed judges you'd find in a courtroom.

• The theme throughout this book (Judges) is:

SLIDE: Disobedience results in judgement

Judges

- that when God's people disobey Him, the result is always judgment.

• Let's look at Chapter 2 now, as this chapter is really a summary of what happens throughout this book, and throughout the time of the Judges.

Judges 2:16–19 ESV

16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

• We can see how this played out.

• Judges rise up to save the people...

• ...then there would be rest in the land.

• But then the judge would die...

• ...and the people would return to their evil ways...

• God would then give them over to plunderers.

• The people would cry out...

• and God would raise up another Judge.

• So, we have:

• Relapse

• Ruin

• Repentance

• Restoration

• ...and then...relapse

• 8 times we see this cycle play itself out in Judges.

• Who in here can relate to the book of Judges??

• Throughout this book of Judges we see the deterioration of Israel...

• And we can see the immense depravity of human nature

• And it tempts us to think that we need a greater deliverance than any human king can perform.

• ..and yet this is gonna lead us into a Monarchy, which we'll get into in 1 Samuel...

• BUT FIRST, we come to Ruth...that spotlight book that looks back at the book of Judges.

• Joshua, Judges, Ruth

We’ll BRIEFLY look at Ruth…to help bring the pieces together - ALL POINT TO the COMING CHRIST!

RUTH

• Now while Ruth is a good story, it's purpose is to trace the royal lineage of King David...and ultimately King Jesus.

• This is giving us a picture...a line that's gonna lead to Jesus in Matthew chapter 1...

• ...AND Ruth's gonna be mentioned there.

• Now, Boaz, is the center of the love story in Ruth...

• ...the knight in shining armor...

• The Kinsmen Redeemer...

• What that means is - Ruth, in order for her to be brought into his family, he had to pay the redemption price.

• ...the price to buy her back into his family.

• He had the right to do that, and so he pays the price to bring her into his family.

• And so we need to remember that Ruth takes place during the time of...the Judges.

• And so we have the deterioration of Israel taking place, and yet:

• Even in the darkness of His people God shines the light of His covenant.

• We need to connect Ruth 4:13 with Genesis 12, and Ruth 4:14 with Matthew 1

• What does that mean?

• In Ruth 4:13 it's talking about how Ruth, being a Moabite and not a part of the people of Israel, is being brought into the family of God.

• What had been told to Abraham in Genesis 12 is that thru the people of Israel, all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed.

• And so you have someone who is outside of Israel being brought in...and this is huge for the implications on what's going to happen the rest of the OT.

• Ruth 4:14 talks about how Ruth is now in the line that's going to lead to a King.

• And when you get to Matthew chapter 1 you see a list, and in the middle of that list we see Ruth, as being in the line that leads to Jesus Christ.

• ...the One who would ultimately bring salvation.

• And we see the pieces coming together...

• ...and all of this is leading up to the time of Monarchy. (kingship)...

• ...which we will see next week.

SUMMARY:

Joshua:

- We saw God’s people…

Crossed the River

Took the Land

Divided the Land

Served God

And it speaks to us today:

Have We:

Believed?

Taken Hold of God’s Promises?

Obeyed?

Served (Worshipped) God?

He can be TRUSTED!!

His MERCY always finds His people!!

Judges:

- Disobedience Leads to Judgment

- God’s Mercy Always Finds His People

ALL of this points to us being able to – TRUST God!!

- We can TRUST Him to be WITH us…

o When we lose that job

o …that friend

o …that loved one

o When we stand up for HIM

o When we SPEAK for Him

o When we stay silent for HIM

o We can trust that He WILL be with us…!

• And in this SERIES thru the OT - today we end with - To be continued...

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