Joshua in God's Plan Through History
Notes
Transcript
Sermon in Deut has been delivered
Moses restates the law and prepares them to go to the Holy Land
Moses delivered this message in Moab, on the east shore of the dead sea
This stuff happened somewhere around the 13th century BC
This stuff is happening during a time called the late bronze age, where bronze was the metal primarily used, iron hadn’t become popular yet
we read later on that the Israelites had trouble with opposing armies because of iron-fitted chariots
judges 1:19
19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
There is something called the bronze age collapse that happens around this time, affected egypt, anatolia, greece, etc
invaders from the Greek isles fled their homes during this time and took over the land of the philistines and became the “philistines” who are fought from this point on
God may have been weakening these countries in order for Israel to go in and conquer
Joshua 1:1-2
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
*minister*=assistant
God had been preparing Joshua, he had traveled all through the wilderness with everyone
he had been a spy in the holy land back then
he had been through many battles
God calls upon Joshua, it’s his time, he has to step up to the plate, God has called upon him
sometimes in life it is out time to do something, and we should try to emulate Joshua in that he stood up and did what he was asked to do
God reminds him of His promise to give them the land
God always keeps His promises
We can see this all throughout Biblical history
Joshua 1:3-4
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
God reassures Joshua, almost like he’s pumping Joshua
Lebanon is directly north of Israel
The Euphrates is on the other side of the desert where the Israelites are (the babylonian and assyrian empires were built around this river)
The Hittites were mainly an empire in Anatolia/turkey, but they had settlements in the holy land area during this time period
great sea = Mediterranean sea
Joshua 1:5
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Reassures Joshua, reminding him of everything that happened with moses
He did not leave Joshua, as we see later
just as God didn’t forsake Joshua, He will not forsake the believer, He will always be with us
what a powerful notion
as humans, we make a lot of mistakes
God still stays with us, despite our shortcomings
similar to taming a wild or feral animal, not always fun
Matthew 28:20
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Deuteronomy 31:8
8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Genesis 28:15
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Joshua 1:6-7
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
God repeats his command of not only the fact that He will be with Joshua
God says to be very courageous, putting much emphasis on this
God tells them not to turn to the right or two the left of the law
If they do follow the law, they will prosper
we see this play out all through history, when nations abandon God, something bad usually ends up happening to humble them
we see the opposite as well, many times those who follow God’s laws are blessed and happy
following these laws plays out well in our lives because it is the way in which God intended for us o live when He created us
for instance, monogamy, one husband one wife. this causes much less problems in a marriage compared to something like gay marriages, open marriages,
another case: lying. lying about something causes problems later down the road, whether orr not we end up being able to see it
The long and short of it is that following God’s law enables a flourishing life
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
“Meditation on the Law is also commanded; because, whenever it is intermitted, even for a short time, many errors readily creep in, and the memory becomes rusted, so that many, after ceasing from the continuous study of it, engage in practical business, as if they were mere ignorant tyros [beginner/novice]. God therefore enjoins his servant to make daily progress, and never cease, during the whole course of his life, to profit in the Law. Hence it follows that those who hold this study in disdain, are blinded by intolerable arrogance.”
When God says for the law not to depart out of Joshua’s mouth, He’s not saying never to speak the law, though it can kind of read that way
Joshua was over the people, God was reminding Him to always be teaching the people and shepherding them along
Joshua 1:9
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
We see God really emphasizing this to Joshua, meaning it’s very important
think of all the stories of bravery from the Bible, the apostles, daniel, jeremiah, moses in front of pharoah,
We can use these very words in our lives, right?
We know that God is with us wherever we go
Romans 8:31
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
when we are doing the Lord’s work, we can be confident and know that God is behind us, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS
we need bravery in this world today
in the face of this culture, we are going to need brave people, heroes who will stand up against all of this craziness
it’s a very dog eat dog, tribalistic world out there anymore
so when we stand up for what’s right, we need to try to do it proudly, unabashedly
we need bravery and boldness because it helps with our witnessing
it’s known that people are more persuaded by someone giving an argument confidently than someone doing it timidly
*example of debate stage*
Joshua 1:10-11
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
In the very last verse, we have God telling Joshua to be brave, to get up, and go possess the land
and in the very next verse we see Joshua just doing it, getting ready, with no hesitation
he is also confident that they WILL possess the land
when we talk about simple, child-like faith, things like this are an example, Joshua just does it and just believes it
we see this kind of faith with the call of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, he just does it
interesting 3rd day parallel
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Joshua 1:12-15
12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had seen the land on the east side of the Jordan river and liked it there, and asked if they could just have their portion of land there
The deal is though that just because God let them have their land, that doesn’t mean they didn’t have to fight during the conquest to help their brothers secure their land.
They were commanded t help their brothers out, but not only that, there was a concept once called “honor” that seems to have died out
Joshua 1:16-18
16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
They willingly did this, seemingly with a good heart, as we should try to do, and they’re going into battle putting their lives on the line
2 Corinthians 9:7
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
some have speculated that verses 12-18 are a written down loyalty oath or loyalty swearing ceremony that took place between the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh and Joshua
the reason this was needed is because Joshua and the rest of the tribes could have crossed and went to fight and R, G, 1/2M could have just stayed on the east side of the jordan and said “forget it”
also because they had already been loyal to moses, they recognized and also gave an oath of loyalty to Joshua
on that note, oaths were extremely serious back in those days
We see a great unity of God’s people in this chapter
remember that the previous generation has pretty much all died off without getting to enter the promised land
they were constantly murmuring and doubting, look what happened to them
by contrast we see this generation, that ultimately succeeded in the conquest,