Before heading into Joshua chapter 1, we need to go back to Exodus 23, Numbers 27 and Deuteronomy chapters 31 and 34 to set the
background:
Exodus 23:20-32: "See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars. "You must serve only the Lord your God. IF you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. "I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and
threaten you. I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you. "Make no treaties with them or their gods.
Numbers 27:12-23: One day the Lord said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and
look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. After you have seen it, you will die like your
brother, Aaron, for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Then Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd." The Lord replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim-one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord-to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do." So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Deuteronomy 31
When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, he said, "I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’ But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised. ... So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests, who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to the elders of Israel. Then Moses gave them this command: "At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters, you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before the Lord your God at the place he chooses. Call them all together - men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns-so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions. Do this so that your children who have not known these instructions will hear them and will learn to fear the Lord your God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy." Then the Lord said to Moses, "The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tabernacle, so that I may
commission him there." So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle. And the Lord appeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent. The Lord said to Moses, "You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, "These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!" At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods. "So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against
them. For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors-a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. And when great
disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them." So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites. Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: "BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them .I will be with you." When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord's Covenant: "Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death! "Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord's sight, making him very angry with your actions." So Moses recited this entire song publicly to the assembly of Israel:
Deuteronomy 34
Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea; the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho-the city of palms-as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, "I will give it to your descendants."I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land." So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over. Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses. There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. The Lord sent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and his entire land. With mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.
Numbers 27:18-23: The Lord replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and
lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim-one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord-to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do." So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
(1) *AFTER the **death of Moses ***the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of ****Nun, Moses'
*****assistant. He said,
- *AFTER: The book of Joshua, in the Hebrew, begins with the Hebrew word 'deh, which is the Hebrew word "and." And in some of the translations, it is translated, "Now, after the death of Moses," or more literally, "And after the death of Moses:" which shows that Joshua is just a continuation of the story. There is no break in the story, it's just a continuation of the Torah. - connecting this book to the end of Deuteronomy - chapter 34. HOW did God speak to Joshua?
- **death:
- Exodus 2 opens with the birth of Moses.
- Deuteronomy (the last book of the Torah) ends with the death of Moses.
- Joshua opens with the death of Moses and ends with the death of Joshua.
- Judges opens with the death of Joshua.
- Read Joshua 1, bearing in mind its context - Moses is dead because he disobeyed God. He allowed the pressure of those following him to get to him and he acted in anger and unbelief. At God's instruction, he commissioned Joshua to carry on after him.
- ***the Lord's servant: Joshua receives this title too - Joshua 24:29 and Judges 2:8. And Paul called himself a "servant
of Christ Jesus": Romans 1:1 and most of the other of Paul's letters. - ****Nun was of the tribe of Ephraim (Numbers 13:8).
- *****assistant: Joshua spent years being trained by Moses before he was prepared to lead the people. In some churches and
Christian groups, Christians young in the faith are asked to assume responsibilities before they are ready. One of most important jobs of a
parent is to train the child until he is fully able to be an adult and assume the responsibilities of an adult - being responsible for
himself/herself, perceptive, able discern false from true, able to wisely make life choices, able to walk with the Lord without parental control - but with permitted advice and concern.
(2) "*Moses my servant is dead. THEREFORE,**the time has come for you to ***lead these
people, the Israelites, across the ****Jordan River into the *****land I am ******giving them.
- In Egypt, a nation was born. The wilderness is never God's permanent destination for us. Even as an entire generation of Israel died in the wilderness, most Christians die in the desert dryness of spiritual experience, never walking in the fullness of what God has for them, never winning the crown, never hearing the "Well good, thou good and faithful servant".
- *Moses (the law) couldn't take Israel into the Promised Land, but Joshua (Jesus) could and did.
- Galatians 3:24: Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
- The Jews needed strong confirmation that God had chosen and equipped Joshua for the difficult job ahead of entering and possessing the land. Remember that Joshua already had the spirit in him (Numbers 27) and had already been commissioned (Numbers 27).
- **the time:
- After 40 years of wandering and the passing of the previous generation that disobeyed, Israel can finally enter the land.
- This is a book of change, new beginnings and so much of it applies to our life and how we're to face the challenges and changes that occur in our lives as we walk through this world. As with Joshua, we're to accept these challenges with his strength and courage. What kinds of
changes and challenges are coming in your lives? But, this is also a book of victories.
- ***lead:
- Joshua is an example of a Godly leader. You might think you're not a leader and so can't relate to Joshua. You're badly mistaken if that's you thinking. Fathers, husbands, wives, mothers, older siblings, managers, teachers, etc. are all leaders.
- ****Jordan River:
- This was a trial of of Joshua's faith, whether he would give orders to make preparation for passing the river when there was no visible way of getting over it, at least not at this place and at this time, when all the banks were overflown, chapter 3:15. He had no bridge and no boats, and yet he must believe that God, who had ordered them over, would open a way for them. He had the example from Moses where God opened the way across the Red Sea.
- The term "Jordan" is from a word which means "descending".
- The Jordan River wanders about two hundred miles to cover the sixty-five mile distance from the Lake of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping an additional six hundred feet below sea level as it goes.
- The king of Jericho had considered his city protected by the river. There simply was no way across the Jordan at full flood.
- In Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Pilgrim's last obstacle before he could enter the heavenly city was the deep and turbulent Jordan River. It is obvious in all these uses of the Jordan in Christian imagery that the river symbolizes death and Canaan symbolizes heaven, which we attain because we are trusting in Jesus. He is our leader across Jordan in the sense that He, by His death, has secured for us an eternal inheritance. But this way of viewing Jordan and Canaan has no basis in the Bible, and it entails a serious difficulty. What did Israel do after they entered Canaan? Did they find it a paradise free of earthly care and trouble? No, with enemies on every side they had to go to war. Another view is that of entering heaven and forcing "the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) out of heaven. The crossing of Jordan can also be viewed not as death, but as conversion leading to all the struggles of Christian experience.
- Analogies or Types to the Jordan River:
- As a type of death and the Promised Land as a type of heaven versus the Overcoming Life here on earth:
Bible Study: Joshua 1-2 by Chuck Smith: www.bibleprophecyupdate.com/http:/www.bibleprophecyupdate.com/bible-studies/bible-study-acts-1-2/: "Now we come to the entering into the promised land. There are those that would make this typical of heaven, and the Jordan River as typical of death. And in some of our hymnology we find the Jordan River used as a type of death: “I will not have to cross Jordan alone, Jesus died for my sins to atone.” And so it is used as a thing of death. “Swing low, sweet chariot, coming forth to carry me home. I looked over Jordan, what did I see? A band of angels coming after me, coming forth to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot.” So it’s used in some of the songs to represent death.
But in reality, that would mean that the land of promise was heaven. And there are those who make that typology: that of coming into heaven, and the promises of God being fulfilled. However, there are problems with that. Inasmuch, as the first thing that happened when they came into the land is that they were in a fight. I don’t think there will be any fights in heaven. I don’t think we’ll have to do any conquering up there. I believe that when we arrive there, we have arrived, and that’s it!
"So I believe that, as Paul speaks about the reckoning of the old man to be dead with Christ: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ is living in me.” But the Jordan River is representative to that place in our spiritual growth where we come to that reckoning of that old man, the old nature, to be dead with Christ. I believe it is moving out of Romans chapter 7, where I have sought so hard in my flesh and by my works to please God, and I come to the despair of my flesh. I come to the realization with Paul, that “in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good thing.” And I realize that my only way to live a victorious life is through the help and the power of God. And with Paul, in Romans 7, I cry out, “Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?” And it is when I cry for deliverance, and I am looking outside of myself, the answer comes: for it is then that God begins His work of victory in my life, it is there where I reckon my old nature to be dead, and I begin to walk in the Spirit.
"And as such, I begin to conquer over those strongholds that the flesh has had. I begin to see the walled cities torn down, I begin to see the giants fall, I begin to possess those glorious experiences that God has promised to the believer. I begin to really live in spiritual victory: in Christ, in heavenly places. And I believe it’s really moving in to the book of Ephesians, and into that glorious, overcoming life, that life of victory that God wants each of you to know: victory over the flesh, over the old nature because we reckon that to be dead. And we begin to see that aspect of the old nature go: the temper that we used to have, the desires we used to have, we begin to see these conquered by the Spirit of God. And I begin to take real territory, and begin to live the life that God wants me to live as His child." - From the old life to the new life in Christ:
Now a new relationship with God. They’re never going to see the cloud and the fire again, that’s a part of the old life. ‘We’re not going to be fed with manna anymore. There won’t be the water out of the rock.’ They are coming into a land that is well watered, flowing with milk and honey. They’re going to eat the fruit of the land. And they’re going to possess, now, their possessions that God has promised. - Entering the Promised Land and dispossess the inhabitants who don't belong there. When we enter heaven, we dispossess Satan's angels. We are equipped for battle: Ephesians 6:10-18. If you doubt that evil forces are in heaven, read - Ephesians 6:12: For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. And where are we seated? - in heavenly places. And where is our Promised Land? - in heavenly places.
- As a type of death and the Promised Land as a type of heaven versus the Overcoming Life here on earth:
- ****land: The great subject of the Torah is the People; the subject of Joshua is the Land. As Israel was, in effect, citizens of that land and as the Philippians were considered citizens of Rome, even though physically far from Rome, so we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and heaven is our true home - we're foreigners here as Israel were foreigners were strangers in Egypt and in the wilderness. Once they crossed the Jordan, they were "home".
- *****giving: God has the right to give this land to the Israelites, because He owns the entire earth (Psalm 50:12: ...all the world is mine and everything in it).
(3) I promise you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you-
- Deuteronomy 11:24: Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
- The land has been promised to them - but, they have to step out in faith and possess it! The land was not fully possessed until the reign of
Solomon. - Where they actually went, God gave them the land. But where they didn't go, the Canaanites continued to hide out and harass them as they still do today especially from Gaza where Samson died.
- We want everything brought to us on a silver platter, but God tells us to go and claim it personally. We have to go out to get it, and then God will give it to us. Spiritually, we want to grow. How will we do that? Passively? No, by believing the promises of God and desiring to see their fulfillment in our own lives. That desire will help us press through in faith and prayer and actually grow in the Lord. He will give it to us, but we need to find a way to actually follow him there - He opens the doors for us, but we have to walk through them.
- There are great tracts of "land" God would give you that are now occupied by the enemy. They don't belong to the enemy. They belong to you. God has given them to you. The book of Joshua can be a book of Conquest for you spiritually if you'll let it be.
- The fact that the Lord is sovereignly giving Israel the land does not negate their responsibility to step out in faith and take what is promised to them.
- Although God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, like Israel we need to place our foot upon these things by faith to experience the benefit of that blessing. Now, that is the picture given to us in Joshua
- This verse is a key aspect of faith. As it says in Hebrews 11:1Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
(4) from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the *Hittites.'
- Their land grant from God is more detailed in Numbers 34:1-12.
- There is a danger that we also stop short of all that God is desiring for us, that we never come into the total victory that God would have us to experience and know, that we leave areas unconquered, areas still in the hands of the enemy. And thus, the children of Israel failed to fully possess all of their possessions. That is why, in the Hebrews 4:1, we are warned, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” Let’s take all that God has promised. Let’s claim all of the territory that God has given to us.
- *Hittites: These occupied the southern extremities and were the dominant tribe of Canaan. Their superior power and the extent of their dominions are attested by the mention of them under the name of Khita, on the Assyrian inscriptions, and still more frequently on the Egyptian inscriptions of the eighteenth and nineteenth Dynasties.
(5) No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For *I will be with you as I was with Moses. **I will not fail you or abandon you.
- *I will be with you: Victory will be not theirs because Joshua is a great leader or because Israel is a great nation or because they have superior weapons, but because God is a great God, and He says to Joshua, "I will be with you". This is enough for anyone seeking to do God's will.
- **I will not fail you or abandon you:
- Deuteronomy 31:6&8: ... He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
- Hebrews 13:5: Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."
- The cure for fear and anxiety is the awareness of God's presence. Again, David in the 23rd Psalm, said, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..." Why? Because "You are with me." The presence of the LORD dispels fear. God is with me, I will not fear. I need not fear, for the LORD has promised to be with me wherever I go. That even applies to people like me who have a weakness of fear - inherited from my father, a product of the great depression, who was far more fearful than I - terrified of change and challenges. He was made a foreman, then a superintendent and finally a plant manager - but his company forced him to take each step by telling him he had to move up or they's let him go (an even greater fear).
- We simply cannot live the Christian life in our own energy or by our own determination. The Christian life is not just being Mr. Nice or merely keeping a set of Christian principles and rules. It is a faith relationship with God to be lived out in the power of the Spirit and in the light of the Word.
- As the land of Canaan was full of fortified cities and enemies that needed to be driven out, so the Christian life is a life of conflict with enemies which must be overcome. Though the outcome is assured if we claim God’s sufficiency and the saving life of Christ, we must still do battle and reckon with the fact of the enemy throughout this life. This is a wake up call, a reality that must be faced: life is full of battles and conflicts. We are not in Eden nor are we in the millennial reign of Christ. Rather we wrestle with the flesh (indwelling sin), with the devil and supernatural powers of darkness, and a world system that is antagonistic to God, to His Word, and to godly living (cf. Rom. 7:15f; Gal. 5:16f; Ephesians 5:15-16; 6:10f; 1 Peter 5:8-9).
(6) "*Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.
- *Be strong and courageous: First of four times in this chapter alone - three of them from God.
- Deuteronomy 31:6: So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
- Romans 8:37: No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved
us. - Philippians 4:13: For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
- 2 Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
- If Joshua is to be "strong and courageous", he must stay the path...he must not turn...he must not compromise...he must not become distracted....he must not become detoured from what the will of God is. He must stay the path set before him. Faithfulness is the key. How does this apply to us?
- It is not enough simply to know the word of God....sense his presence, we must put into action what he tells us to do. Joshua now begins that process. He takes action....he begins the task of moving forward.
- 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 was feeling. But God's words of command and encouragement met his need. Sometimes, one of the reasons we haven't grown more in our walk with God is because of our fear. Fear of people, fear that people won't approve, fear that we'll fail, fear that we'll make a fool out of ourselves, fear that we aren't strong enough, fear that God will let us down. Fear. This promise and command has our name on it: "I will never leave you or forsake you, (insert your name). Therefore be strong and courageous!"
- This exposes Joshua's weakness; there was a need for such a command, because even a great leader like Joshua needed such
encouragement. This bold courage would not be in Joshua himself, but in God. We can be full of self-confidence that will take us to ruin, but we should instead be full of a genuine God-confidence. Scripture never exhorts us to be self confident, but confident in God. - It's one thing to say to a leader, "Be strong and courageous." It's quite something else to enable him or her to do it. Joshua's strength and courage will come from meditating on the word of God, from believing the promises in it, from living in obedience to its precepts. Moses gave this same counsel to the entire nation back in Deuteronomy 11 almost word-for-word. But now God is applying it specifically to Joshua.
- Many times God calls us to tasks, then as we look at them, we measure them with our ability, and our capacity, and say, “I’m not able to do that.” Somehow we think that when God calls us to do something that we have to figure out how we are going to do it: and we have to apply our talents, and our abilities, and we have to work hard, and figure this whole thing out. And that is a mistake. God will not call you to do anything but He will also equip you to do it. And so the callings of God are the enablings of God. And if God has called you to do something, you don’t need to fear. Jeremiah was called to go and speak to the king, and he said, ‘He’ll never listen to me, I’m only seventeen years old.’ But God had called him. And the callings of God are the equipping of God.
- Quotations on "courage":
- General George Patten defined courage this way: "Courage is fear that holds on for one more minute."
- Captain A. Riddenbacher put it this way: "Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. Where there is no fear, there is
no courage."
- Courage is that quality of mind that enables people to encounter danger and difficulty with firmness and resolve in spite of inner fears (see 1 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 7:5). In other words, courage is not the absence of fear. While not courting danger nor presuming on the Lord, Paul never evaded something if he knew it was God's will or that it was right.
- 1 Corinthians 2:3: I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling.
- 2 Corinthians 7:5: When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.
- God here gives us a fourfold description of courage (by Dr. Crawford Loritts - Senior Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA):
- Courage rests upon a clear assignment from God (verses 1-4).
- Courage rests upon the assurance of God's presence (verses 5, 9).
- Courage rests upon focused determination (verses 6, 7, 9).
- Courage is anchored by the word of God (verses 7-8).
(7) Be strong and VERY courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not
deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.
(8) Study this *Book of Instruction continually. **Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
- *Book of Instruction: Deuteronomy 31:26: "Take this Book of Instruction and place
it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against
the people of Israel. - **Meditate:
- Psalm 119:97, 105: Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them
all day long. ... Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. - Psalm 1:1-3: Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or
stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers....
- The world says, Trust in yourself ------- God says, Trust in me. I will never leave you.
(1:5) - The world says, Boldly strive for your dream ------- God says, Be strong and very courageous
and step out to possess the land, because I will be with you. (1:9) - The world says, Think good thoughts, positive thoughts ------- God says, Meditate on God's
word. (1:8a) - The world says, Then you will be prosperous and successful ------- God says, Then you will
be prosperous and successful. (1:8b)
- The world says, Trust in yourself ------- God says, Trust in me. I will never leave you.
- Psalm 119:97, 105: Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them
- Elliott Johnson (Senior pastor Dallas Theological Seminary) writes, "YHWH has delivered out of the
generation of the Exodus Joshua and Caleb. With these He would effect the entrance into the land.
Yet, in effecting a fulfillment of His promise through Joshua, He continues to prepare them through
the ministry of the Word and the Spirit. Only as Joshua and the people are under the control of YHWH's
Word can there be faith necessary for conquest. So there is a final stage of preparation establishing
the generation in the words and works of YHWH". - The Hebrew word for meditate means "to mutter". We mutter under our breath, talk to ourselves, interact
with issues. Think of the practice of the Jews even today who read the Scriptures aloud to themselves
and genuflect.
(9) This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go."
(10) Joshua then commanded the *officers of Israel,
- *officers: Not necessarily military officers. The Hebrew word is shoter, which is derived from the word meaning "write". These men were the officials in Numbers when Moses called for 70 leaders and officials. These "officials" were in charge of documents, such as who was exempt from military service, who was eligible, who was in which tribe, etc. They were the predecessors of the scribes of Jesus' day.
(11) "Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In *three days you will cross the Jordan
River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you."
- *Three days:
- Three times in this chapter, God says to Joshua, Be strong and courageous.
- The first occurrence of "three" is in Genesis 1:13 where "the
third day" was the day on which the earth was caused to rise up out of the water, symbolical
of that resurrection life which we have in Christ. - The book of Genesis relates that God called Abraham to take a journey to a certain place and
offer his son Isaac there as a burnt sacrifice. The text reports concerning this journey, "On
the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance" where he
was supposed to perform this ritual (Genesis 22:4). - Joseph, as Prime Minister of Egypt, imprisoned his eleven brothers. Then we read, "On
the third day Joseph said to them, 'Do this and you will live'" (Genesis
42:18). - In Genesis 18:2, three persons appear to Abraham.
- Abraham brought "three measures of meal" for his heavenly guest.
- Three measures of meal formed the great meal offering.
- Moses led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt to Mount Sinai. Under God's direction Moses
then said to the people, "Prepare for the third day because on
the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai" to meet with them (Exodus
19:11). This third day motif in mentioned four times in this episode (verses 11, 16). - The three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- The tabernacle and the temple consisted of three parts: The Court, the Holy
Place, and the Sanctuary. The Temple had three chambers round about. The Brazen Sea or Laver held
three thousand baths; and was compassed by a line of thirty cubits on which were 300 knops (1
Kings 7:24). It was supported by twelve oxen (3x4); three looking north, three looking west, three
looking south, and three looking east. This order in naming the points of the compass occurs nowhere
else. It is the same in both accounts of Kings and Chronicles (see 1 Kings 7:25; 2 Chronicles
4:4-5). - Three men standing on a hill during the battle Amalekites: Exodus 17:10-13:
So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses,
Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff
in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites
gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.
So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding
up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army
of Amalek in battle. - Three times Israel said, "We will do everything the Lord has commanded."
(Exodus 19:8, 24:3,7) - There were three great feasts: Unleavened Bread, Weeks, Tabernacles (Deuteronomy
16:16). - Three times is the blessing given in Numbers 6:23-24.
- "On the third day Jewess Queen Esther put on her royal robes and stood
in the inner court of the king" (Esther 5:1). When she made her request to the king,
her husband, it saved all Jews from annihilation throughout the entire Persian Empire. Ever since,
Jews have celebrated this story of deliverance by observing their popular Feast of Purim. - King Hezekiah of Judah was sick unto death. But God said to him through Isaiah the prophet,
"I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you; on
the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD," that is, the temple
at Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:5). - Hosea the prophet predicted that, seemingly during the future eschaton, a Jewish remnant will
say of God, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will
raise us up, that we may live before him" (Hosea 6:2). Jewish Midrash shows that many
rabbis interpreted Hosea 6:2 as a reference to the anticipated resurrection at the end of the
age. - Threefold Judgment of Babylon (Daniel 6:25-28):
- MENE: God hath NUMBERED thy kingdom and finished it.
- TEKEL: Thou art WEIGHED in the balances and found wanting.
- PERES: Thy kingdom is DIVIDED and given to the Medes and Persians.
- Three times the Seraphim cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy"--one for
each of the three persons in the Trinity (Isaiah 6:3). The living creatures also in Revelation
4:8. - Jesus had repeatedly predicted privately to his disciples that he would be killed and then raised
from the dead on the third day. And he sometimes said the same thing to the multitudes,
though cryptically. At least twice he cited the Old Testament story of the prophet Jonah being
swallowed by a sea monster and being spewed out alive unto dry land as a "sign" (type)
of his own impending death and resurrection. He said, "For just as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days
and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth" (Matthew
12:40). - It was at the third hour He was crucified.
- It was for three hours (from the 6th to the 9th) that darkness shrouded the Divine
Sufferer and Redeemer. - The three years of His seeking fruit testifies to the completeness of Israel's
failure (Luke 13:7). - He raised three persons from the dead.
- The inscriptions on the Cross in three languages show the completeness of His
rejection by Man. - He was and is Prophet, Priest and King.
- The sheet let down three times to Peter was the fullness of the testimony as
to the admission of the Gentiles into the Church (Acts 10:16). - The three gifts of grace: Faith, Hope, and Love.
- The three-fold Nature of Man: Spirit, and Soul and Body.
- The three-fold Nature of Temptation (1 John 2:16):
- "The lust of the flesh."
- "The lust of the eyes."
- "The pride of life."
- Three is the number associated with the Godhead, for there are "three
persons in one God." - The Old Testament was complete and perfect in its three-fold division--Law,
Prophets, and Psalms (Luke 24:44). The same three divisions mark its character to the present
day. - The three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Note that we have now entered the "third day"- it's now 2,000 years+ since
Jesus died and rose again.
- Notice that Joshua doesn't procrastinate, he immediately takes command and prepares
the people.
12) Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He told them,
- These tribes which decided to settle on the east side of the Jordan river (land that Israel had already conquered) had promised to cross over and help the rest of the nation take the land on the west side of the Jordan river (Numbers 32:16-32).
- Twice these are called "the land which Moses gave you"---not the land that God gave them. Historically, you'll find that it was a concession on Moses' part to allow the two and a half tribes to live outside the promised land. In Numbers 32 Moses saw the request from these two and a half tribes as sinful rebellion. They would rather have had large flocks and herds than live with their brothers and sisters in the inheritance that God gave them.
- 40,000 men will actually cross the Jordan to fight in the promised land, while the rest of the soldiers will stay home to protect the women and children and flocks and the cities they have already captured earlier in these areas. When the spoils of war are divided up in Joshua 22, we'll see that the 40,000 soldiers take home enough spoils for the 96,000 soldiers who stayed behind to guard their families and flocks.
- The choice of the two and a half tribes not to live in Canaan will continue to cause problems for Israel throughout her national history. These tribes will be far from the place of national worship. We're going to see in Joshua 22 that in erecting a special monument to remind their children that they are citizens of Israel, they almost cause a civil war in the nation. Throughout the period of the Judges they have an uneasy relationship with the tribes in Canaan. And the later history of the monarchy will demonstrate the consequences that result from their being cut off from the rest of Israel by the Jordan River, and from being exposed to their enemies through lack of natural boundaries. They will be the first tribes swept away in the Assyrian invasions of Israel.
- For us today, Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe Manasseh represent many borderline believers---people who have a relationship with Christ, who get close to the full, joyful inheritance, who experience some spiritual victory in their lives, but who are determined to go back to the perceived comfort across the Jordan. The land to the east of the Jordan is really still the wilderness. It's a place of indulgence to people for whom the quality of material life is more important than life eternal.
- In Judges 4 and 5, Deborah, the great judge of Israel, calls all the tribes to war against Jabin, the Canaanite king, and General Sisera, with his nine hundred chariots of iron. But these tribes do not respond.
(13) "Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: 'The Lord your God is giving you a place of *rest. He has given you this land.'
- *rest:
- Matthew 11:28: Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
- Hebrews 3:16-19, 4:1-11: And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn't’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn't it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn't it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. ... God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest— has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.” So God's rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don';t harden your hearts.” Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
- The theme of "rest" is mentioned seven different times in the book of Joshua. It's a strange juxtaposition of warfare and rest, of claiming an inheritance and learning to rest in the God who gave the land. That theme is explained in chapters 3 and 4 of Hebrews. Canaan is a picture of the rest that we experience as Christians as we surrender completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, as we learn to let go of confidence in ourselves and trust God more and more for every aspect of life.
- And in the book of Hebrews, it speaks of how that Jesus, that is Joshua, was not able to bring the people into the rest. He brought them into the land, they conquered the land, but he never brought them into the rest. And that is what Jesus Christ has done for us: our Sabbath, who has brought us into the glorious rest where we have ceased from our own labors, and now we rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. But that is something that Joshua could not do. It was left for Jesus to bring to us the rest.
(14) Your wives, children, and livestock may remain here in the land Moses assigned to you on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them
(15) until the Lord gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, assigned to you."
- Notice that it's land assigned by Moses, not land given by God! They refuse to enter the Promised Land, preferring the west side of the Jordan.
- 2 Timothy 4:10: Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia.
(16) They answered Joshua, "We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us.
(17) We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.
(18) Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey your words and everything you command will be put to death. So *be strong and courageous!"
- *be strong and courageous: 4th time this phrase appears in chapter 1. Why do you suppose This phrase occurs 4 times here? Three times spoken to Joshua. To whom is the fourth spoken and by whom?
J. Vernon McGee: "The Book of Joshua has a very practical application to the believer today. The Promised Land cannot be a type of heaven since heaven is not a place of conflict and conquest. Heaven is received as a gift of the grace of God. Rather, the Promised Land represents the place to which believers are brought right here in this world today. The Book of Joshua corresponds to the Epistle to the Ephesians in the New Testament where we see that the believer is blessed with all spiritual blessings. The practical possession and experience of them depends upon conflict and conquest. These are never attained through the energy of the flesh, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in the yielded life of the believer can possess what God has given to him."
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
NOTE: Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html
