The Lord is with us

Replacing the irreplaceable

As we start Joshua we already have some information from those of you who joined us as we went through the book of Exodus. In Exodus we see the people of Israel escaping their captivity in Egypt and God showing Himself to His people through Moses, through the 10 plagues, through His miraculous acts in the wilderness, and His giving of His law to the people. But even as God had shown himself to His people they are still rebellious. Even as they come to the border of the land God promised land they fear the enemies that they might encounter more than the Lord their God. So they wander through the wilderness for 40 years, their rebellion leads Moses to act out of anger rather than to trust God and God tells him that he will be left out of the promised land, Joshua would go with the people instead.

So why is the book called Joshua? Most likely because Joshua is the major character in the book, but also as a reminder of who the real main character is in God. Joshua’s name means “Yahweh delivers” so it serves as a reminder throughout the book that God is the one delivering them into the promised land.

We have no conclusive evidence as to who wrote the book. Many believe it to be Joshua himself with some parts being added later by other authors. Joshua 24:26-27 states that “Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God” and told the people “it has all the words the Lord said to us”. Some believe Samuel wrote it because the phrase “to this day” comes up several times. But whoever wrote it had a strong understanding of the details of the events that took place and gives us a book filled with stories of God’s work in and for His people.

The title for this series is “I am the Lord, I will give you rest.” The book centers on God as the one who goes before them, who brings them victory, and who gives them rest. Joshua 21:43-45 provides us a great summary of the book. “So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all he had sworn to their ancestors. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.” So as we go through the book this is what we are looking at, the Lord who gave them victory, who is faithful to His promises, and who will give them rest.

So today we are going to look at Joshua 1 if you will read with me.

Most of you probably know the name Coach K. If you haven’t, he was the coach of Duke University who has the most wins of any college basketball coach in history, he has won 5 championships, he has won gold medals in the Olympics, and this year Coach K decided to retire. Last year Roy Williams, the coach of North Carolina, retired. A coach with 3 national championships and over 900 wins. So how can anyone live up to the expectations that were set for them? Well, the short answer is you can’t. You can’t replicate that, you can’t transfer all that experience and knowledge magically onto them. But both coaches were able to choose someone whose character they trusted and who had the leadership ability you believe can succeed.

Here in Joshua we have a similar succession plan. Moses was a larger than life figure, in fact in Deuteronomy it says “No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” So there was no one before and no one after that led the people like Moses. So as we begin this book the Lord speaks to Joshua and He is assuring Joshua that He is with Him as the Israelites go through this journey. God reveals to Joshua, and the people that He is with them, that He will never leave them or forsake them. And he assures them that He is with them through His promises and through His power.

Likewise, we are called to go because the Lord is with us and God has given us His promises and His power as well.

So first, in verses 1-5, God shows Joshua and the people He is with them through His promises.

God’s Promises

God is steadfast in His promises.

You know one thing I have learned about kids is that they can be very forgetful. They forget to brush to flush the toilet, they forget they weren’t supposed to jump on the couch, they forget they were are not allowed to talk during timeout. But for some reason they never have a problem remembering that you told them you would take them to the pool, or that if they were a good listener they could have a cookie, or that you would play with them after you finished the dishes. In fact, they don’t let you forget, cause they keep telling you over and over again. But then it can be hard because after a long day you can be exhausted, or something comes up and you don’t know if you have time, or honestly you never wanted to do it in the first place but you just said yes so they would stop asking you. But at the end of the day you know you should keep your command to your child because it helps them to know that you are present in their lives, that you are not absent.

God starts off in His conversation with Joshua in verse 5 and He tells Joshua that He will give them the land just as He had promised Moses and that He will be with Joshua. A phrase that God uses with Isaac, Jacob, and Moses at different times, this shows Joshua that God is with them just like these other great forefathers. God is assuring Joshua that He has not forgotten him, in fact he has been preparing His people for this exact moment.

But God goes one step further, telling Joshua that He will be with Him just like He was with Moses. That is a bold statement to make!

First, if we remember Moses when God found him in Midian he was timid, afraid to speak, unwilling to lead. But God’s presence with Moses grew him into the figure we find at the end of Deuteronomy, it wasn’t Moses who did this, it was God.

Second, this statement that God would be with Joshua just like Moses is incredible because of all the things that God did through Moses. The plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the manna from heaven. It shows us that God’s presence and steadfastness to His promises is not contingent on any one man, no matter how wise or strong they are, but that God could do this with any man or woman or obeyed the Lord. The writer shows us this with the titles given to Moses and Joshua in v. 1. God gives Moses the title “servant of the Lord”, Joshua was given the title of “aide” or “Assistant” to Moses. When we think of an aide it is one who comes alongside another, who helps to make decisions, and who serves a complementary role to another. While on the other hand, what is a servant? It is one who has a master, they don’t have power in that relationship, they act only as another one tells them to act. As I read in one commentary, It is a “subtle yet powerful reminder that God’s sovereignty is infinite and that He was infinitely greater than even the towering figure of Moses. The gulf between Moses and God was infinitely greater than that between Joshua and Moses.” This title, “servant of the Lord” is used 14 times throughout the book, 13 of those references are to Moses, the other is referring to Joshua in the last chapter of the book. So at the end it tells us “yes, Joshua was up to the task and God kept His promises to Joshua.

God’s promises are complete and total

In verses 2-4 God seems to speaking not just to Joshua but to all the people. And from the perspective of the people these are incredibly important words. Because they have lost their leader Moses, this is most likely the first time they are hearing from God since the death of Moses and they may even be hearing about Moses’ death for the first time because last time we see Moses he is on Mount Nebo where we can see Jericho from the top. So they are already on the border of where God will lead them. So now they have this new leader in front of them who God is speaking through.

What God tells them are the details of the entrance into the promised land. In fact, you can split up each verse into sections of the book going through how God will lead them to conquer the land of Canaan.

God is showing that He is not just steadfast to His promises, but He also completes them in their totality. God wasn’t changing His promises, He wasn’t revising, He was going to fail. God tells them an outline of where their land will be and how far it will go. Even before they inherit the land God has mapped out the area of their inheritance that He had promised to Abraham their forefather. It isn’t going to be smaller then they expected. In fact God speaks as if they have already handed them the land, as if He is saying “I have the deed and title for you right here, so just go and grab it!”

It is also important because some may think “well now that Moses is gone what are we going to do?” But God was reminding them that just because Moses was gone does not mean God won’t fulfill His promises. He isn’t going to find a loophole to get himself out of keeping His promises. Joshua himself will be a reminder to the people of God’s fulfilling of His promises because His name “Yahweh delivers” will be a constant reminder to them that God has and will keep His promises to His people.

But God doesn’t just speak what He was going to do, but to How he was going to give His people their inheritance with His power.

God’s Power

God’s power is most fully revealed in our obedience to His Word.

As God continues to speak He gives them instructions, instructions that are vitally important to their inheritance of the land. He tells them to “be strong and courageous for you will distribute the land”, that they should “observe carefully the whole instruction”, to “meditate on it day and night…for then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”

Now when we read we start to get this picture in our minds of what God is telling them. We think of strength and courage as might and bravery, like a warrior who has to go into a battle with confidence and then they will have power, influence and money. But there are some important hints in the words that God uses that tell us there is a different picture being painted.

First there are there is the command to “be strong and courageous”. A better wording here would be “trust and obey”. The call here isn’t for us to “gear up” and use our human strength, rather it is a call for us to trust God’s power is sufficient.

And when God tells them that if they carefully observe His commands they will be “prosperous and successful” this is not a promise of future wealth and influence. It isn’t “if you set your mind to it you will succeed”. But it is saying to “advance and gain wisdom (or insight)”. Therefore, He is telling them that their careful observance of the law will allowed them to understand the Lord’s will within the circumstances they will face as they advance on the path before them. To move forward with confidence rather than telling them that obedience to His law will give them personal glory or personal wealth. Their success is predicated on complete and total obedience to God’s law, not on their on strength or ability.

All this makes much more sense when we look what is sandwiched between these phrases. That they are “to observe carefully the whole instruction”, that they should not turn to the “right or the left”, that they should not let this book of the law “depart from your mouth” but “to meditate on it day and night”. They must be resolute in their desire to keep God’s law. “The battle is the easy part”, it is easy to be the courageous hero and to get the fame and glory. The hard type of strength and courage, is one not looking for attention or fame but one that trusts in God’s commands even when it doesn’t make sense. When it seems like an unpopular decision and some may argue that it is foolish, to trust God over man. To Joshua he is saying “when you distribute the land and some may argue over borders and territories, be strong to trust my commands.”

And this command is not just be familiar with the law, to take one or two things from it, to hit the high notes, or even have a few things memorized. But to know it from cover to cover, to be so overwhelming knowledgeable about it that you feel confident in your ability to follow it correctly. The word here used “to meditate on it day and night” is not the kind of meditation that we normally think of. It isn’t an “emptying of your mind” but rather it is a focus on God and his commands and law and one that isn’t silent but one that is out loud. It is a word of muttering something under your breath, something that comes out of the heart. You can think of memorizing Scripture as you talk. It is why God tells him that it shouldn’t depart from his mouth as opposed to his heart or mind. Because He should be able to recite it word for word.

I used to do piano recitals when I was younger and oftentimes when you play a piece of music you have the sheet music in front of you so that you can read and play. But I always found it easier to memorize the piece, because if I memorized it then I could keep my focus on my hands and the keys they were playing rather than looking up at the notes. I would play it throughout my day, at school I would practice the notes on my desk, I would play it by memory over and over again until I had every note perfect. So then, at the performance I wasn’t dependent on having to go back to the sheet music, I had meditated on it day and night so that I might do everything written in the sheet music.

If our knowledge of God’s Word is just a general understanding it is going to be hard for us to keep it very well. But if we have it so ingrained in our hearts and minds that we can’t forget it, then how easy will it be for us to go back to it when we are tempted to go to the right or left to it.

See, in this call to obedience God is telling Joshua and the people that their key to victory, to receiving God’s promises isn’t that they achieve personal success but that they are dedicated to God and His Word. To not even worry about the battle. Jesus tells us the same thing in Matthew 6:31-33 “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

So God tells His people “why waste time on the things that I will take care of? Just worry about seeking me!”

And God finished talking to the people He tells them to not be afraid and discouraged, that is to trust God’s Word rather than fear man and fear what the world may bring them. This is especially important for Joshua, if he didn’t trust and obey God than you can be sure that the rest of the people would follow in his discouragement and fear. But thankfully, even if they were...

God’s power is not dependent on human strength or ability.

As we read these commands that God gives the people we see that no emphasis is put on them strong warriors, but the promise is “trust in God”. Then as Joshua gathers the people, where they know they must conquer the enemies before them, the ones that command the people are not generals or soldiers, they are those who bore witness to God’s covenant and were chose to lead the people to obey God. God is calling them to trust His strength rather than their own. Joshua focuses on the people being prepared to listen to God, to grab everything because they weren’t going to move backwards.

Joshua then talks to the two and half tribes who already had land in the east and reminds them of their commitment to serve the Lord anyways, and even as he gets the soldiers ready his focus is on how the Lord will give them the land, not on how they will take it or conquer it. It is almost as if God is bringing these soldier along just to show them just how useless they are in these battles.

Then after Joshua gets done talking to the people we see the people respond to Joshua. They are excited for the journey and they tell Joshua that they will obey him just as they obeyed Moses. We can understand this excitement, they have been waiting for 40 years! It is like the week before you leave for vacation and you are just ready to go, you can’t even think about anything else but all the wonderful things you are going to do. But if I was Joshua this would be a little disheartening because they didn’t obey Moses in everything, they rebelled at every turn. Then, it may read “certainly the Lord your God will be with you” or it could be said “Only the Lord your God will be with you”. Either way you put it, they focus on the Lord being Joshua’s God, not their own, and that they will obey Joshua and his commands, not the Lord’s commands. Then in their statement they say “only the Lord your God will be with you” which seems to ironically point to the Israelites not being with Him fully but only God being with Joshua. That Joshua can’t trust the Israelites, only God. The other irony in this statement is that they are correct. Joshua shouldn’t trust them, because people will fail, the Israelites will fail. But God’s victories are not going to be dependent on perfect people, or the strongest people but on the Lord who will be the one who brings them victory.

They also say, "The Lord your God" and not "The Lord our God", they did this with Moses as well. In fact, when Moses leaves to get the ten commandments the people say "the man who took us from Egypt is gone!" They didn't see God as the one who saved them, but Moses. They are doing the same thing with Joshua here. And notice they say "just as we obeyed Moses in everything we will obey you". But we know that this isn't true either! They are making promises they can't make! The irony as well in saying "Only the Lord your God will be with you" is that it contradicts what they just said. That Joshua can't rely on the people but only on the Lord for help. They have such confidence and belief but many of them are still missing the point.

They have such an excitement for them to inherit the land that rely too much on their own ability to obey while not yet doing the work to complete it. This is why it is important to know all of God's Word and not just bits and pieces. We can grab read a passage of God’s Word and say "I got this" and forget the rest of the commands. I've done basketball coaching for camps and for a middle school teams and for every group of kids I've ever coached they always ask the same thing "can we just play! can we just scrimmage!" Even before we have done any type of practice at all, they are ready to jump in there. But you don't scrimmage at the beginning, because you haven't learned anything yet! You scrimmage and play at the end so that you can put into practice the things that you have learned! You can't just ahead, you have to do the difficult work in order to get the desired result. It is the same with God and His Word. If we just skim through it or if we read and we get one good nugget from God's Word and then we try and go out there and use it we may be missing so much more that we need! God is calling them not just to trust Him a little bit, but fully. He is calling them to know His Word so that they don’t rely on themselves. Part of relying on ourselves is that we think we can do it all, that we can be perfect. But we have an incredible hope even when we know that we will fail.

Jesus calls us to go as He gives us a better promise, a greater power, and a fuller presence.

In Matthew 28:18-20 we get a picture of how, as believers, we are called to go just as the Israelites were called to go. As He tells them to go He gives them three encouragements.

First, we have a better promise which calls us to even greater obedience.

Hebrews 4:8-12 “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience. For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” See here, a connection between God’s good promises and our call to obedience!

Second, that ALL authority has been given to Him. Moses did not have all authority, Joshua did not have all authority, but Jesus, who is the Son of God, has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. So the power that we go out with is a greater power than what the people of Israel had. Which sounds odd to us, we don’t see waters splitting in front of us, we don’t see walls tumbling down from a loud shout, we don’t see bread coming from heaven. But we have something far greater in the Spirit that is with us. And the power that comes through our union with Christ as believers.

Third, we have a fuller presence which helps us be more satisfied against the things that might lead us astray. Hebrews 13:5-8 “Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

All of this Jesus tells us for the purpose of us going. We go and make disciples, we baptize others, we teach the Word. We don’t just go, we GO! We have such an incredible confidence because of the one who sends us!