Joshua
Chapter 1
THE NECESSITY OF STRENGTH, COURAGE AND OBEDIENCE
INTRODUCTION
If you were asked to think of someone with
great strength and courage, who would come to mind? Rocky (Sylvestere
Stallone), The “Rock” (Dwayne Johnson), George Patton (World War 2 general),
Rosa Parks (civil rights pioneer)?
If you were asked to think of someone
who lacked courage, perhaps the Lion in the “Wizard of Oz” would come to mind. When
we first meet him in the movie, we see the supposed King of the Forest attempting
to intimidate the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, Dorothy and her dog. However, after little, sweet Dorothy swats
him on the nose it becomes obvious his courage is merely an act. The Lion, who had been so ferocious on the
outside, quickly cowers before the girl and begins sobbing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2itQkiQUOE).
Dorothy: My goodness, what a fuss you're making! Well, naturally, when you go
around picking on things weaker than you are. Why, you're nothing but a great
big coward!
Cowardly Lion: [crying] You're right, I am a coward! I haven't any courage at all. I
even scare myself. [sobbing] Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven't slept
in weeks!
Tin Man: Why don't you try counting sheep?
Cowardly Lion: That doesn't do any good, I'm afraid of 'em.
Last week in our introduction to the
book of Joshua, we learned that the generation of Israelites who escaped
slavery from Egypt, then stayed in the wilderness for 40 years before they died
off, were short on strength and courage.
They were witnesses to God’s miracles performed on their behalf and were
glad for them. However, they were quite
content to sit back and let Him take care of every difficult situation they
found themselves in, as long as it didn’t require much spiritual fortitude on
their part. Sure, it was scary walking
across the muddy bed of the Red Sea, between two intimidating walls of
water. But, with the Egyptian chariots
barreling down on them, what choice did they really have?
About one year later, they were told to
enter the promised land. However, after
the spies returned from their trip through the land, they learned that a
powerful and intimidating enemy lie ahead.
God wasn’t just going to smite down the enemy from a distance – it was
going to take real strength and courage on their part. Their decision to remain on the outskirts of
the promised land proved they didn’t have what it took. Perhaps after having spent the previous 400
years in captivity, totally at the mercy of the Egyptians, they weren’t
adequately prepared for the battles ahead. Nevertheless, they proved incapable
of taking the promised land as God had commanded.
Joshua chapter 1 takes place shortly after
the death of that entire generation, including Moses. In this chapter, Joshua is made leader of the
surviving generation of Israelites. He
has to take up the reigns, as the people were preparing to cross the Jordan
river and conquer the promised land.
These people are not only going to learn what real strength and courage
was, how to obey God in that context, but they were also committed to doing
so. Let’s go through the chapter and learn more
about these characteristics within the context of spiritual warfare.
1 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY TAKES A GOOD RESUME
1 After the death of Moses the
servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of
Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now
then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into
the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I
will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised
Moses.
A. Joshua had a mentor
named Moses
·
In Numbers 13:16 we
learn that it was Moses who gave Joshua his name. His birth name was, “Hoshea”, which means
salvation. Moses changed his name to
Joshua, which was a shortened form of Jehoshua that means “Jehovah is
salvation” in Hebrew. Joshua was also
the name of Jesus in Hebrew.
·
Joshua was an attendant
of Moses from his youth. Basically the entire time after they left Egypt (Numbers
11:28).
B.
Joshua had valuable experience
·
He led victory over Amelikites which God directed thru Moses (Ex 17:8-16)
·
He went up mount Sinai with
Moses (Ex 24:13)
·
At age 40 (Joshua 14:7),
he was among 12 spies Moses sent out (Num 13) to explore the land.
·
He was one of two men to
believe God’s promise and wanted to take the land.
2 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES LEADERSHIP
A.
Joshua becomes leader because the people need one.
The process of Joshua
becoming leader actually begins before the events in Joshua 1. We learn about this in Numbers and
Deuteronomy. Upon learning that his death was imminent and that he wouldn’t
lead them into the promised land, Moses asks God to commission a new
leader. He knows the importance of having
someone who would watch out for the welfare of the people, and help conquer the
promised land. Moses doesn’t suggest who
the leader should be, he leaves it up to God.
Numbers 27:15-23) 15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May
the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint
someone over this community 17 to
go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so
the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
There is
only ONE who doesn’t need a shepherd or savior and that is God himself. Every person and every group, throughout
human history needs help of some kind.
B.
God
appoints a person for the job who is qualified.
Numbers
27:18) 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of
Nun, a man in whom is the
spirit of leadership,[a] and lay your hand
on him.
C.
God
makes sure everyone knows who the leader would be
Numbers 27:19-23) 19 Have him stand before Eleazar
the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give
him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest,
who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before
the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will
go out, and at his command they will come in.” 22 Moses
did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar
the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then
he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.
The manner in which the appoint was made leaves
no room for ambiguity or a power struggle.
D.
God
commissions Joshua directly.
Deuteronomy 31:14-23) 14 The Lord said to Moses, “Now the day
of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the
tent of meeting, where I will commission him.” So Moses and Joshua came and
presented themselves at the tent of meeting.
15 Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the
cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.
And now we come to
Joshua chapter 1, where Joshua’s first day on the job begins …
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of
Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now
then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into
the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I
will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised
Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert
to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the
Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No
one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was
with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor
forsake you.
3 - SPIRITUAL VICTORY TAKES STRENGTH AND COURAGE
When you read the events that lead up to the escape from Egypt, you see there wasn’t a
whole lot of time for preparation. It
all happened pretty fast. There weren’t
people involved in physical and spiritual training with music from the
sound-track of “Rocky” blaring over loudspeakers. In Exodus 6, when told of coming escape,
there was no exhortation for strength and courage, or to obey God to guarantee
success. Basically they were told they’d
escape and be given a land of their own. But, they were a spiritually immature group of
people. They didn’t believe.
In Exodus
13, after having left Egypt, there are verses about ceremonies and sacrifices
to commemorate their escape, but there isn’t evidence about wanting to know God
deeply or being committed at the hip with Him.
Moses understood the importance of knowing the heart and mind of
God, but the people never seemed to. It
appears they merely got caught up in the tradition and pageantry, and took God
for granted. This is proven by the way
they behaved during the Exodus. Every difficult and frightening
situation was met with “Agh - What are we going to
do?” Every time they needed help, God
bailed them out.
In Exodus 33:3, God refers to them as a
“stiff-necked” or “stubborn” people.
This might be similar to the way oxen sometimes stiffen their necks and
refuse to perform the tasks they are intended to perform. These people desired escape, and comfort, but
were not prepared for being victorious in spiritual warfare.
This generation who escaped slavery in Egypt was
never exhorted to have strength and courage. Not because they already had it, or had great
will power…but, because they lacked the kind of strength and courage it would
take to conquer the promised land.
On the other hand, the generation who
would cross the Jericho river to conquer the promised
land was exhorted to have strength and courage. Not because they were
cowards or lacked will-power…but, because they had a better grasp of what
strength and courage really was.
As we continue in Joshua chapter 1, we are going to see five
occurrences of the phrase, “Be strong and courageous”. First, we need to point out these
occurrences are not the first time Joshua, or this new generation of Israelites
are hearing it. Prior to this point, as Moses is nearing death,
the phrase is used three times in Deuteronomy.
A.
Moses to Israelites
Deuteronomy 31:1-6) Then Moses went out and spoke these words to
all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years
old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall
not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will
cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before
you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will
cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And
the Lord will do to
them what he did to Sihon and Og, the
kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to
you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be
strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because
of them, for the Lord your
God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
In this case, Moses uses
the phrase in order to reassure the people they would have a leader –
Joshua. Also, God’s power would be with
them, and they shouldn’t give in to fear like their ancestors did forty years
prior. Moses reaffirms the importance of
obedience within the context of all the rules/regulations that were put into
place and communicated earlier in Deuteronomy.
B.
Moses to Joshua
Deuteronomy 31:7-8) 7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to
him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with
this people into the land that the Lord swore
to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as
their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and
will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be
afraid; do not be discouraged.
In this case, Moses uses
the phrase in order to challenge Joshua and attempt to build him up. Joshua needs to be the leader: facilitating
military conquest and granting ownership of the various portions of land. Moses reminds Joshua that God would always be
with him.
C.
God to Joshua
Deuteronomy 31:23) 23 The Lord gave
this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring
the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with
you.”
In this case the phrase was used
because Joshua needed to be confident.
He was going to be leading a large number of people, he was going into
unknown territory, embarking on a military campaign, and was going to be the
conduit by which God’s promise would be fulfilled. These were things that Joshua
had never done before, and in fact, were responsibilities unlike what any other
person would be given, and all this had been 600 years in the making.
And now we come back to Joshua
chapter 1 (after Moses has died), where God uses the phrase four more times
when addressing Joshua.
6 Be
strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to
inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
This use of the phrase is very similar to the use of it at his
commissioning. Surely, Joshua must have
been wondering if he was really qualified for the task.
7 “Be strong
and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the
law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to
the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will
be prosperous and successful.
This use
of the phrase was in the context of needing strength and courage in order to
remain obedient to God. Joshua’s
obedience or disobedience would have a direct impact on his success.
9 Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for
the Lord your
God will be with you wherever you go.”
This use of the phrase in
verse 9 was a warning that there would be real fear and potential discouragement. Now,
let’s jump ahead to verse 18, for the 4th occurrence of the phrase.
18 Whoever rebels
against your word and does
not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
This use of the phrase
was in the context of how Joshua was going to feel, think, or react when others
around him were going to fail (remember Moses discouragement and reaction to
the sin and complaining around him). In
fact, Joshua may even have to give the death sentence to some of the people he
is leading.
D. Joshua to the people
Joshua himself uses the phrase when addressing the people later in Joshua
10:22 in an interesting context. After
having taken five kings prisoner after battle…
Joshua 10:22) 22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five
kings out to me.” 23 So they brought the five kings
out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth,
Lachish and Eglon. 24 When
they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel
and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put
your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed
their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to
them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what
the Lord will do to all
the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Then Joshua
put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were
left hanging on the poles until evening.
Quite a gruesome picture
isn’t it? When it comes to doing away with sin and evil, often the commands of
God may seem to be extreme and without compromise. It takes strength and courage in these cases
well.
E.
Strength and Courage is a command
Let’s go back to Joshua
1:9 and highlight the fact that Joshua was commanded to have strength
and courage – it wasn’t a suggestion. Joshua
and this generation of people seem to have a better grasp of who God is. They not only know His commands, but they have
a desire to know the heart and mind of God.
Yes, they have seen His power on display, but they also realize He has
set them apart for a unique purpose. God
has said He would always be with them, and they really believed it. God has made them a promise that the land
would be theirs, and they really believed it.
So, the strength and courage they were being command to have wasn’t what
we’d categorize as “will-power”. These people
were going to act out their faith with their works – by going to war and
taking possession of the land. Perhaps,
as you think of what happened to their ancestors, James 2:26 – “Faith without
works is dead” may come to mind? A true man or woman of God ought to be
courageous, because God’s strength will protect and win the victory. If God is for us, who can be against us?
4 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES TEAMWORK
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go
through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready.
Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take
possession of the land the Lord your
God is giving you for your own.’”
A.
In these verses we see that Joshua is organized, has a plan, and
gets everyone involved. It is not his
battle alone.
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua
said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the
servant of the Lord gave
you after he said, ‘The Lord your
God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your
wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that
Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for
battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to
help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until
they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go
back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan
toward the sunrise.”
(Refer to Promised land map with tribes and note location of Reuben, Gad,
and Manassh).
B. Help each other
Joshua reminds the these 3 tribes to
follow-through on their promise they made to Moses to help conquer the west
side of Jordan river. He holds them
accountable, doesn’t lower the bar of expectations. These tribes had originally made the promise
to help the other tribes conquer the land west of the Jordan. Only then would they return to their land on
the east side of the Jordan and settle there.
Numbers 32) The Reubenites and Gadites, who had
very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer
and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 2 So they came to Moses and Eleazar the
priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 4 the land the LORD
subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your
servants have
livestock. 5 If we have found favor in your eyes,” they
said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make
us cross the Jordan.” 6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should
your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? 7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from
crossing over into the land the Lord has
given them? 14 “And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of
your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel. 15 If you turn away
from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and
you will be the cause of their destruction.” 16 Then
they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our
livestock and cities for our women and children. 17 But we will arm ourselves for battle[a] and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought
them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in
fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not
return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their
inheritance. 19 We will not
receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our
inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”
5 - SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES COMMITMENT
16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us
we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just
as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he
was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word
and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to
death. Only be strong and courageous!”
The people have witnessed
the power and judgement of God (all their ancestors are now dead due to their
disobedience). They have listened to
Moses and Joshua implore them on how they are supposed to live. The people respond in confidence and
commitment to Joshua’s leadership. I
love that they use the phrase, “be strong and courageous” in their response.
SO
WHAT
1)
Make sure those you are
watching and learning from are indeed good mentors.
2)
Prepare yourself for
future spiritual service using whatever opportunities arise now. Don’t wait to prepare until just the right
circumstances arrive, the ones you prefer or are comfortable with. Serve God and others, even if it makes you
uncomfortable.
3)
In the war for your
personal promised land, you don’t need the blessing of another person. You don’t have to wait for approval by
another person. As a believer, you have
all the authority you need. You have all
the power you need (Holy Spirit). God
commands you directly to take responsibility for your own life.
4)
Don’t go about your
spiritual warfare alone. Communicate
with others, be organized, get people involved.
5)
Don’t be afraid to
challenge other people, encourage, hold them accountable spiritually.
6)
Have the kind of strength and
courage that God commands.
There are a lot of people
who like to give the impression they are strong and courageous. They may even go so far as to quote
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through [a]Christ
who strengthens me.”, but they really only believe in the first five
words. People who are NOT strong and
courageous form quick reactions based upon superficial information. They exaggerate, make blanket statements, and
change the narrative to align with their weakness. They focus on the wrong things and for the
wrong reasons. They boast about their
strength and make up stories about opponents weakness. They don’t care to understand the root causes
for problems around them. They do all this knowing that no other person is
going to hold them accountable. However,
people with real strength and courage “boast in their weakness” (2 Corinthians
12:9-10). In Joshua’s case, and the
generation of Israelites in the book of Joshua, their strength was in their
understanding that any success one has is because of God’s strength, not
theirs. In other words, the best way to
measure one’s strength is to look at how much humility he or she has (Philippians
2:1-15).
7)
You will be victorious
after being strong, courageous, and obedient.
“Give Us Your Courage” – Tim Hughes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBE4v8lVlfs)
Joshua
Chapter 1
THE NECESSITY OF STRENGTH, COURAGE AND OBEDIENCE
1 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY TAKES A GOOD R_____________
C.
Joshua had a m__________
(Numbers 11:28, 13:16).
D. Joshua had valuable e____________________ (Exodus 17:8-16, 24:13,
Joshua 14:7, Numbers 13)
2 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES L___________________
E. Joshua becomes leader because the people n________
one (Numbers 27:15-23).
F.
God appoints a person for
the job who is q____________ (Numbers
27:18).
G. God makes sure everyone k__________ who the leader would be (Numbers 27:19-23).
H.
God commissions Joshua d____________
(Deuteronomy 31:14-23).
3 - SPIRITUAL VICTORY TAKES S_______________ AND C_________________
F. Moses to Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:1-6)
G.
Moses to Joshua
(Deuteronomy 31:7-8)
H. God to Joshua
(Deuteronomy 31:23)
(Joshua 1:6)
(Joshua 1:7-8)
(Joshua 1:9)
(Joshua 1:18)
I.
Joshua to the people (Joshua 10:22)
J. Strength and Courage is a c_____________ (Joshua 1:9)
4 – SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES T____________________
C. Joshua is organized, has a plan, and gets everyone i__________ (Joshua 1:10-11).
D.
H_______ each other (Joshua 1:12-15, Numbers 32).
5 - SPIRITUAL VICTORY
TAKES C_____________________ (JOSHUA 1:16-18)
SO
WHAT – How does this apply to me?
8)
Make sure those you are
watching and learning from are indeed good mentors.
9)
Prepare yourself for
future spiritual service using whatever opportunities arise now. Don’t wait to prepare until just the right
circumstances arrive, the ones you prefer or are comfortable with. Serve God and others, even if it makes you
uncomfortable.
10)
In the war for your
personal promised land, you don’t need the blessing of another person. You don’t have to wait for approval by
another person. As a believer, you have
all the authority you need. You have all
the power you need (Holy Spirit). God
commands you directly to take responsibility for your own life.
11)
Don’t go about your
spiritual warfare alone. Communicate
with others, be organized, get people involved.
12)
Don’t be afraid to
challenge other people, encourage them and hold them accountable spiritually.
13)
Have the kind of strength and courage that God commands (Philippians 2:1-15, 4:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
14)
You will be victorious
after being strong, courageous, and obedient.