Joshua Spiritual Surgery

The narrative

Moses dies and Joshua is chosen by God to lead Israel into the promise land. They know it’s going to be war, so they send spies to scope out the land. This time instead of lying about the land they are going into and making the people fear they report God’s provision. God proves that provision by splitting the Jordan, just like He did the red sea for their fathers. The point is, my blessing was not just for Moses but for Joshua my promises are not just for your fathers but for you.

God confirmed it with them, because like we learned last time, not all promises given are to all people.

To prepare themselves for war they circumcised all of Israel again because the ones in the wilderness hadn’t been. So they perform this physical shadow of their complete devotion to God.

They march around Jericho 7 times and the walls fall and they take the city.

Then they go to conquer the next city which is comparably much weaker but God warns them they will lose that battle. Why? Achan’s sin. He took from Jericho things that should have been burned with the city. So him, his family, and all of his possessions were burned.

Then God lays waste to the people with Joshua and the Israelite army. God commands them to utterly destroy everything and everyone.

13-23 God portioning out the land

The New International Version (Chapter 23)

14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

Joshua is the book that gives me the most trouble

Because it’s brutal. God tells Joshua to burn cities to the ground, entire families to ashes. Talk about the victor writing the history book, if you were a Canaanite farmer you would look at Israel like we look at Babylon or the way we look at Russia.

So what I don’t like is that I know God has not changed, I know Jesus was there in agreement with the Father, I know that if He had another chance He wouldn’t do things differently. But I also know He’s not a monster, so what’s going on?

Femoral artery surgery picture

It looks like a horror movie. What are they doing? That’s not healing that’s horrible. But why do we think that way? Because we are ignorant of the situation.

We see the farmer and his family but we don’t see the spiritual poison and darkness that their idol worship is producing. God is healing the land with judgement and He’s full of anguish over the death and destruction but He’s not sorry.

The end of Job deals with this exact same thing. God is a healer, and like a surgeon sometimes in the middle of healing, because we are ignorant, He looks like a monster.

So here’s the question, do you trust the surgeon enough? Do you trust Him? Because God doesn’t explain Himself here. He does say their sin is the reason for the occasion, but He doesn’t explain every move He makes. The same is true for the end of Job. His answer to Job is, paraphrase, “I couldn’t say it stupid enough for you to understand”.

My answer is yes. I trust Him and therefore this all was good.

Joshua is not just about Israel’s gift but also about responsibility

The New International Version (Chapter 23)

14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15

God was fulfilling His promises, but He spent 10 chapters explaining exactly where the boundaries began and ended for each family. Why?

To show the fullness of the fulfillment

So that they would know who’s responsible for each part of the land

The people were kicked out of the land for their sin and Israel was given the land to tend it. If someone was killed on your land, even if you had nothing to do with it, you don’t know how it happened, and you never figure out what happened it was still your responsibility to make atonement before God for that death. Israel was put there to tend to the spiritual and physical condition of the land. And if they didn’t there was, literally, hell to pay.

That’s the point of Rehab and Achan

Rehab was a Caananite prostitute that chose door number one. She believed in the promise and provision of God and she saved her entire family from judgement.

Achan was an Israelite. He grew up in the desert, ate the mana from heaven, drank the water from the rock, followed God across the Jordan and then spiritually poisoned his family with disobedience. And God judged him as if he was a Caananite.

This land was theirs to tend

This was their garden and no matter who they were if they trusted God they would be blessed and He would welcome them with open arms.

The other side is true. This was their garden and no matter who they were, rich, levite, tall, strong - didn’t matter, if they turned from God they would poison their homes and families. And they God would not sit idol and let it happen. Judgement would come.

So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

Joshua 24

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 24:13–15.

Joshua prophesied over Israel

You can’t do this and you aren’t going to trust Him to save you.

Outro

That’s what Joshua meant to Israel but what does it mean to us? What principles can we apply? There are a ton but let me give you 2.

1. God does not care who you are. He doesn’t care how rich or poor. He doesn’t care how educated or uneducated. He doesn’t care about your race or your sex. If you choose to follow Him He will embrace you with every ounce of His love. And your obedience will shed light into darkness and bless, maybe even save, your family and your community.

If you serve other gods, things, comfort, you will not only bring judgement to yourself but you will cast a poisonous shadow on your family and your community.

2. Our eternal life, our garden - is not just our blessing but it is also our responsibility. God has given you a life to use for His worship and glory, it’s not just a blessing. What are you doing with the life and power that God has gifted you? He is going to hold us accountable.

Extra Credit:

Don’t hear those and say, like Israel, “WE WILL SERVE THE LORD”. Joshua told them, “you are not able” He didn’t say “won’t choose to” he said “not able” Israel’s response, our response, should be like Rehab.

Joshua 2

“I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. p 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

12 “Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”...

17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

Lord we will die in your judgement unless you have mercy on us… Jesus be our scarlet cord