Joshua - Courageous Discipleship
JOSHUA - COURAGEOUS DISCIPLESHIP • Sermon • Submitted
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· 13 viewsLESSON 1 - BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS
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1. Be Strong and Very Courageous (Joshua 1)
As we begin our study of Joshua, we need to remind ourselves of two things -- the age we're studying and the events immediately preceding.
Bronze Age Values
First, we're in the Late Bronze Age and a kind of primitive society. They're not affluent, rather, they must trust God to survive, and as they enter a region inhabited by other peoples, they must be willing to fight to take the Promised Land. We in the West take peace for granted. Only a small percentage of our populations have ever been in the army. That's for someone else. But in the Bronze Age, if you aren't willing to fight, then your family probably won't survive, especially if you're an immigrant, a newcomer in the land.
Bronze Age values are different from modern values. So instead of judging them from the distance of the twenty-first century, try to judge them based on their history, their culture, and their values.
Forty Years in the Wilderness
Second, we need to understand their immediate history. It has been forty years since Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt -- longer than any of them had ever imagined it would be. Parents who had left Egypt have all died now -- except Joshua and Caleb. Only their children remain.
The children remember some things, however. In only two years, they had seen Israel cross the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army destroyed. They had drunk water out of the rock, been sustained with manna, and received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. For those two years, their parents had grumbled and rebelled, complained and cursed until they came to the southern boundary of the Promised Land.[3]
When they camped in Kadesh-Barnea -- a desert oasis at the very south of Canaan -- Moses had selected twelve men, one from each of the Twelve Tribes. Two of these men we know from the Book of Joshua -- Joshua and Caleb. The Twelve Spies were to provide reconnaissance of the land, probe for weaknesses, evaluate enemy positions, and develop strategies for conquest (Numbers 13-14).
On their return journey, the Twelve Spies carried a huge cluster of grapes on a pole between two of them as a sign of the fruitfulness of the land. "We went into the land ... and it does flow with milk and honey!" they reported. But ten of them were fearful:
Numbers 13:28 ““Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.”
So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.
“There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
These ten spread a bad report among the people, and their fear was infectious. Their view is countered, however, by two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua. Caleb boldly declares:
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”
“Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
But the people are afraid. The negativism and fear of the majority report have spread through all Israel.
Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
“Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
The people begin to talk of stoning their leaders. At that point, God intervenes. Though He forgives the people their sins of unbelief and contempt against Him (Numbers 14:11), He swears that none of that generation would ever enter the land, only Caleb and Joshua.
‘Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness.
The book of Joshua begins at the close of those forty years of wandering in the Wilderness of Zin around Kadesh-Barnea. The generation of the parents has now all died. Moses, too, passes on at the ripe old age of 120. With his final strength, he climbs Mount Pisgah and surveys the Promised Land. Then he dies, and Joshua is filled with his Spirit (Deuteronomy 34:9).
Moses has brought the people to -- literally -- the very edge of the Jordan. It is Joshua's task to bring them across Jordan and lead them to conquer and occupy the very land Joshua had spied out as a young man 38 years previously. By this time Joshua is perhaps 70 or 80 (we don't know for sure) and along with Caleb, one of the two oldest men of the entire nation. Their contemporaries have all died. Only their children remain.
Joshua is now the leader and feels the whole weight of responsibility upon him. But Joshua's leadership doesn't begin here.
Joshua's Resume
Joshua is a member of one of the largest tribes of Israel, the tribe of Ephraim, and quickly rises to prominence. His name originally is, "Hoshea" ("salvation") but Moses renames him "Joshua," which means, "Yahweh saves" (Numbers 13:16).
Joshua is doubtless already a leader in his tribe when God leads the people out of Egypt. When the Amalekites attack the Israelites at Rephidim, before the people reach Mt. Sinai, Moses calls on Joshua to be the military field commander to organize an army to repel them.
Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim.
So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.
So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
After that we see Joshua as Moses' aide or "servant."[4] He accompanies Moses up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:13). When Moses talks to God in the Tent of Meeting, Joshua is there, too.
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
We catch a little of Joshua's youthful zeal when God's Spirit falls on a couple of Israel's elders in the camp.
But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.
So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”
But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
When representatives of the Twelve Tribes are selected to spy out the land, Joshua is chosen for the tribe of Ephraim and Caleb for the tribe of Judah. Though ten of the spies give a bad report, Joshua and Caleb display their faith by encouraging the people to enter the land by faith in God's promises (Numbers 14:8-9).
Finally, it comes time for Moses to choose a successor.
So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;
and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight.
“You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him.
“Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation.
Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Notice that the Spirit is already upon Joshua (Numbers 27:18). But the commission and authority to command are now conferred by Moses.
Camped at Shittim
Prior to the book of Joshua, Israelite troops have conquered the Transjordan, that is, the lands east of the Jordan River, outlined in Deuteronomy 2:24-3:11. At that time, three of the tribes asked for the land east of the Jordan for their tribal lands: Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. However, Moses had charged the leaders of these tribes that when it came time to conquer the land to the west of the Jordan, the fighting men of these tribes had to join the main army until the campaign was complete (Deuteronomy 3:12-20).
As we open the book of Joshua, the people of Israel are camped on the plains of Moab (Deuteronomy 34:8) at Shittim (which means "Acacia Trees," Joshua 2:1), where they have been for months, about seven miles east of the Jordan. This is the last camping place before the Israelites cross Jordan. At Shittim:
The Israelites commit immorality with Moabite and Midianite women (Numbers 25:1-9) at the instigation of Balaam. Israel is numbered in a census (Numbers 26:1-4). Joshua is invested with Moses' authority (Numbers 27:18-23). Moses recites the history of the people and the laws of God (most of which are contained in the book of Deuteronomy). Moses climbs to the top of Mt. Pisgah to see (but not enter) the Promised Land, and then dies at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:1-4). Moses is buried nearby in Moab (Deuteronomy 34:5-8).
We've looked at Joshua's life prior to the Book of Joshua; now we turn to our text.
So long as Moses is alive, Joshua can serve under this great leader, awaiting his time. But as we open the book of Joshua, Moses is dead, and Joshua is the sole leader. The weight of the entire enterprise rests on his shoulders.
Have you ever felt fear? Have you ever been overcome with the magnitude of what you have to do and wonder how you can ever do it? That's what Joshua is feeling. But God's words of command and encouragement help him deal with his fear. God says to Joshua:
“Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
Wherever You Set Your Foot (1:3-4)
God's promise in the third verse is fascinating.
“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
God recalls to Joshua's mind the general promise that Moses had announced to the whole people:
“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.
What does this mean? It means that where Joshua and the people actually, physically go, God will give it to them. We see the promise fulfilled in Joshua where the people win battle after battle in campaigns in both the south and north of Canaan. Where they actually go, God gives them the land. But where they don't go, where they don't persist until they obtain the victory, the Canaanites continue to hide out and harass them.
Caleb also remembers this promise when he gets ready to attack the fortified city of Hebron at the age of 85:
“So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’
This principle also applies in other realms of our life. We want everything brought to us on a silver platter, but God tells us to go and claim it personally. Then God will give it to us. Spiritually, we want to grow. How will we do that? Passively? No. We grow by believing the promises of God and pressing in to see their fulfillment in our own lives. He will give it to us, but we need to find a way to follow him there. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us:
so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God outlines the physical territory that He is giving to Israel -- a huge land:
“From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
In fact, during Joshua's time they never set their foot on all this. Most of the lands were under Israel's control by the time of David and Solomon, but then it was lost again through disobedience and unbelief.
There are great tracts of "land" God would give you that are presently occupied by the enemy. They don't belong to the enemy. They belong to you. God has given them to you. There is a saying in legal circles: "Possession is nine-tenths of the law." The enemy has "squatter's rights," but only that. When you -- with God's help -- push the enemy off your inheritance, you can possess it, and experience its blessings. The book of Joshua can be a book of conquest for you spiritually if you let it be.
Q1. (Joshua 1:3) In what way is God's promise to Joshua, "I will give you every place where you set your foot," a conditional promise? What's wrong with a faith that consists primarily of the philosophy: "If God wants me to have it, He will give it to me"? What areas that God has promised you that you must press forward to receive?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1643-q1-active-faith/
God never leaves, never forsakes us (1:5b)
I suppose, of all the promises in the Bible, this is one of the most precious:
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (1:5b)
We find it elsewhere in the Bible, too, in Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, and Matthew 28:20.
None of us deserves God's presence. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But God has put our sins on Jesus on the cross and punished them there. He has filled us with His Spirit and now abides with us. What a miracle! What grace!
We sin but God doesn't leave us. He disciplines us, but doesn't leave us. Praise the Lord!
This promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," is a promise about God's help, but also a promise about His discipline. Here, God meant it to encourage Joshua on the day that his leadership began in earnest.
Q2. (Joshua 1:5b) Why is God's promise to be always with Joshua so important to him? Why is this promise so important to you in your present situation? If God is with you, what limitations do you have?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1644-q2-gods-promise/
Be strong and very courageous (1:6)
What is faith? Very simply, it is believing that God will do what he says he will do. Faith the key principle that underlies the book of Joshua, and the whole of the Christian life. Paul puts it this way:
yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.
God gives Joshua a promise: "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Then immediately he gives him a command:
“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Is faith believing the promise? Yes, but that is not trivial. Faith is believing the promise enough that we are strong and courageous when problems come, and the obstacles appear -- and they always do!
Faith requires courage and strength because, only when we exercise courage and strength, do we maintain our belief in any real way. If at the first problem we cave in and give up, we don't have faith, we have unbelief.
We all struggle with this. None of us is immune. Joshua is filled with God's Spirit, has worked alongside Moses, and has been on the mountain with God. But Joshua still needs this kind of encouragement and exhortation.
One of the reasons you haven't grown more in your walk with God is because of your fear -- fear of people, fear that people won't approve, fear that you'll fail, fear that you'll make a fool out of yourself, fear that you aren't strong enough, fear that God will let you down. Fear.
This promise and command have your name on it: "I will never leave you or forsake you, (insert your name). Therefore, be strong and very courageous!"
Q3. (Joshua 1:6-8) What kinds of things might Joshua be tempted to fear if he were to allow himself to dwell on his anxieties? What does it mean to "be strong and very courageous"? What is the distinction between weakness and strength in Joshua's situation? What is the relationship between fear and faith? Can you be courageous and still be fearful?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1645-q3-fear-vs-courage/
Meditate on the Word (1:7-9)
Thankfully, God doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves as we try to take courage. He helps us. His instruction is:
“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
“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 success.
This is what will strengthen our faith and courage: attention to God's word. The Psalmist writes:
O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
The Word of God is not just "sweeter than honey" to us (Psalm 119:103), it is also instructive. We learn wisdom from God as we meditate on His word.
What does it mean to meditate? Do we assume a lotus position and hum? Do we erase all thoughts from our mind and try to merge our thoughts with the Great Beyond? No. That approach, though popular, isn't Christian. It comes from Eastern religion. To meditate means to think about, mull over, ponder. This very Bible study you're engaged in involves you in the process of meditation. You have the text and a list of questions: What? Why? Where? Who? And so, you read and think and try to understand. That is meditation.
Someone said that studying the Scripture was like "thinking God's thoughts after Him."[5] I like that. When we read the Word of God, we are doing that, retracing in our minds what God is thinking. The more we meditate on God's Word, the more we begin to understand God and the way He thinks. And the more we leave the mindset of our secular worldview, we are "transformed by the renewing of our mind" (Romans 12:2). With this renewal of the mind comes faith, a confidence in God. In a classic statement of the role of scripture in this, Paul writes,
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
So, God's encouragement and exhortation to Joshua that day met his needs:
Faith Assurance: "I will never leave you or forsake you" (1:5)
Faith Exhortation: "Be strong and very courageous" (1:6,9)
Faith Food: "Meditate on it day and night" (1:8)
Q4. (Joshua 1:8) What does it mean to meditate on the Word? What is the difference between Christian meditation and Eastern meditation? How does God work through his Word to renew our minds?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1646-q4-meditate/
God's success formula (1:8b)
The instructions in verse 8 are keys to prosperity and success: "then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (1:8b).
In bookstores, you find shelves full of books on "success." You can buy recordings designed to reprogram your mind to think successful thoughts. Much of what they say is true -- but it is not complete. The world says ....
Trust in yourself. Boldly strive for your dream. Think good thoughts, positive thoughts. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
God says ...
Trust in me. I will never leave you.... (1:5). Be strong and very courageous and step out to possess the land, because I will be with you (1:9). Meditate on God's word (1:8a). Then you will be prosperous and successful (1:8b).
Be aware of the differences. Faith in self will ultimately disappoint us. The Bible tells us not to do that.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
The world says: be bold, strive for your dream, take risks. And these things are important. But our motivation to be bold must be faith in God's promises. While positive thinking is essential to faith, it is not faith itself. It only opens the way to faith-thoughts within us.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Positive thinking is a partial truth, not a full truth. The full truth is that we should meditate on God's word, not just motivational hype. Jesus said,
"If you abide in (Greek meno, "continue in, abide in") My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)
The world tempts us with the promise of prosperity and success without God. But the fact is, that whatever measure of prosperity and success we find without God will profit us nothing in the long run. Jesus tells us:
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. (Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3)
"You cannot serve God and mammon [Money]." (Matthew 6:24)
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
Moses cautions the people of Israel with God's admonition:
“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’
“But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
We've spent time on this to help you discern the difference between the world's definition of success and God's. True success is found in God only, not in a success formula divorced from God.
The Order to Advance (1:10-11)
Joshua has been encouraged by God. Now he begins to obey the command he has been given: to lead the people into the Promised Land. It is a small step he takes, ordering the officers to spread the word that they will break camp in three days. But he takes that first small step. That's all he needs to do today: take today's step. As he takes God's step day by day, God will lead him, and Joshua, in turn, will lead the people.
Notice, however, that this first step is generously flooded with faith. Joshua tells the people:
“Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’ ”
He declares his faith to those who are with him on the journey, and so strengthens them, too. Whom can you encourage today, as you take the next small step in your journey of faith?
Joined by the Trans-Jordan Tribes (1:12-18)
This lesson ends with Joshua's admonition to the three tribes that had already settled on the east side of Jordan, to fight with the other tribes to conquer the lands to the west of Jordan -- which they agree to do.
Lessons for Disciples
In these verses we find several lessons that challenge us as disciples that we would be wise to internalize.
God wants us to develop a "pressing forward" faith that actively seeks God's will, in keeping with "I will give you every place where you set your foot" (1:3) God has promised to be with us in every circumstance -- even when we're afraid -- "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (1:5) God wants us to "be strong and very courageous" (1:6-8) in spite of our trepidations and fears. Meditating on God's Word helps us grow as disciples in faith and courage (1:7-8).