Joshua | Chapter 1

Joshua

“More Abundantly”

I. Chapter 1-5: Preparing the person for the promises

Chapter 1: Remember the word

I. Introduction

II. Verses 1-5: Every place I have given


Introduction

In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” It is apparent by this statement from Jesus that His heart for us is far more than just salvation and eternal life; it is “Abundant life”, by which we enter into all that He has for us now. But be aware, that, though abundant life is to be found in the land of grace, it still has many obstacles and enemies that must be defeated to be enjoyed. Based upon Numbers 13, clearly the 12 spies saw the fruitfulness of the land of promise, but they were also very aware of the obstacles in possessing the blessings as well, and like many Christians, ten of them chose to live outside the blessings for fear of the obstacles.  

There is an interesting observation to make regarding this, and it is to be found in the two water crossings, to which Paul references as a typology of a baptism in 1 Cor. 10:1-4, 11. The first such crossing was the Red Sea crossing in Exodus, which symbolizes our being set free from the bondage of the world of sin and death. And having passed through the Red Sea, they made short order of the journey to the land of promise, only to choose to live outside the blessings for fear of the obstacles, and there they wandered for 40 years. Forty years of living life outside the promises because of fear, and forty years of eating dust, wandering around getting to the end of themselves. That is where this book brings us into yet another baptism; this baptism is through the Jordan, the river of life, and does not speak of salvation, but rather the Holy Spirit’s baptism to enter into the promises. Power was granted for them to face the obstacles and enemies of abundant life. So how about it, are you tired of wilderness living? Are you ready to step into the river of the victorious Christian life?  


Overview

In Deuteronomy 34:7-8 we read, “Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.” Then in verses 10-12 we are told, “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” And into this dramatic scene, the 9th verse records, “Now Joshua, the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.” 

It is beneficial to look at a timeline regarding this part of history before getting into the book of Joshua. From the Exodus from Egypt to the first census taken of the people at the foot of Mount Sinai, thirteen months had passed. The book of Numbers, or as it is known to the Jews, “In the wilderness”, has an interesting timeline, which sheds some light on the book of Joshua.

  • Chapter 1 to chapter 10 of Numbers, they are at the foot of the Mount Sinai, around twenty days.
  • Chapter 10 to chapter 22, they travel to Kadesh Barnea, which is the boarder of Canaan and the promised land, around 100 miles. And there they would remain for thirty-eight years, three months, and ten days. 
  • Chapter 23-36 deal primarily with the events of the fortieth year of wanderings.  

In Numbers 10:29, Moses said to his father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.” Yet, forty years would transpire, and only two of the original two million or more that left Egypt would enter into the land of promise. Simply put, the generation that came from the Exodus was not the generation of conquest, as their unbelief brought discipline and not blessing. The generation that departed Egypt spent their life “killing time” in the wilderness instead of enjoying the land of promise, as they were given one year for every one day that the twelve spies spent in the land of promise. Their earthly experience became one characterized by aimless wandering instead of a walk of anticipation.     

Joshua is the sixth book of the bible and serves as the capstone of the first five books of Moses, called the Pentateuch. Without this book, we would be left with a gap in the history of the nation. The aims of the book are twofold:

  1. To proclaim the end of Israel’s wilderness wanderings whereby it took a generation to rid the people of the world.
  2. To speak of the beginning of the new life in the land of promise.

The book of Joshua not only reveals the grace of God and His power to keep His promises, but it also reveals what He requires of those who inherit His promises. Make no mistake about it, the book is about the land and the people. God required the nation to overcome obstacles and fight battles before they could enjoy what He had given them. The truth concerning the book of Joshua seems to be paradoxical, as the land was a free gift to the nation, which they received by grace alone. Yet they had to fight for every square inch of it. In the 4th chapter of Hebrews, the author uses this very book as a spiritual illustration for New Testament. believers, saying in verses 8-11 “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” The point of the book is not to give account of Joshua’s life, but rather to reveal how the Lord made good on His promises. The book covers roughly a fifteen-year period of time, divided between three locations:

  1. Chapters. 1-5: One Month east of the Jordan to crossing over into the land of promise
  2. Chapter 6-13:7: Seven years conquering the land of Canaan (chapters 6-8, central Canaan, chapters 9-10, southern Canaan, chapters 11-12, northern Canaan). In the first seven verses of chapter 13, he lists the areas yet to be conquered.
  3. Chapters 13:8-21: Eight years settling the twelve tribes on both sides of the Jordan River. (In 13:8-33 he settles those two and a half tribes east of the Jordan river. In chapter 14-19:51 he settles the other nine and a half tribes west of the Jordan) In chapters 20-21, he sets up the judicial and religious community by settling the six cites of refuge and forty-eight cites given to the Levites, which are scattered among the twelve tribes.
  4. The book closes with Chapters 22-24, which constitute conditions for the continuance in the land of promise.      

The authorship is believed by most to be the person who bears the title of the book, and, although it is never stated directly, it is inferred by several things:

  1. The author was an eyewitness to the things recorded, and we know this because of the detailed accounts, and the use of personal pronouns.
  2. It was written soon after the events by use of the phrase, “unto this day”.
  3. Historical and traditional evidence identifies Joshua as the author.

The Author (Joshua) was born in Egypt, and along with Caleb, was the only other person to survive the forty years of wilderness wanderings. He is not your typical hero, though, being a soldier, he does no daring deeds and commits no great sins. Yet he follows the Lord at all costs. His life is best characterized by Joshua 1:5: “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” He is first mentioned in scripture in Exodus 17, where we learn nothing of his ancestry but much about his character, where verse 10 records, “So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek.” Just as Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses upon the hill, Joshua prevailed over the enemy. It is an interesting picture of cooperation as God worked through Moses, but it was Aaron and Hur who held up his hands, while it was Joshua who fought. So, what we learn in this first mention is that early on, Joshua had caught the eye of Moses for his courage and obedience. Apparently, this first mention of Joshua was a foreshadowing of his future, as we read in the 14th verse, God’s word to Moses saying, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” Then in Exodus 23:20-21, there is yet another prophetic word, but this one has a double meaning, as we are told, “Behold, I send an Angel (messenger) before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.” And they share the same name of Joshua or “God with us”. In Exodus 24, as Moses went up into the mount, Joshua went with him for a while but was left in the wilderness of forty days and forty nights, while Moses communed with the Lord, and the people, along with Aaron partied and made idols to worship. Joshua remained separate and obedient to his calling. We read of him again in Exodus 33:11 where it says, “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” Of course, we are familiar with Numbers 13, where he was chosen by the Lord, along with eleven others, to spy out the land of promise. But perhaps we may forget that they were chosen from each tribe of their fathers, every one a leader among them. All twelve returned with a report that the land was blessed, but all except Joshua and Caleb said that the inhabitants of the land were too big and strong to overtake. In other words, God does indeed bless us, but He isn’t big enough to enable us to possess His blessings. So only two of those who came out of the world (Egypt) ever entered the land of promise, and such is the case today, I’m afraid. In Numbers 27:18, we have his ordination before the nation. Listen to how the Lord describes him: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit”. A further affirmation of Joshua’s character can be found in Numbers 32:11-12, where twice the Lord says of him and Caleb that “they have wholly followed the Lord.” At Joshua’s coronation before the nation, Moses said of him in Deuteronomy 1:38 “Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.” The final reference of Joshua prior to this sixth book that bears his name is in the last chapter of Deuteronomy 34:9, where we are told that “Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.”  


Verses 1-5: Every place I have given

Verse 1: After forty years of doing nothing but wandering around a wilderness and attending funerals under Joshua, they come upon the banks of the Jordan. In this verse, we learn three things:

  1. Moses is dead: According to Deut. 34:8, when the 30 days of morning for Moses was over, God spoke to Joshua to become the leader. It is interesting that Moses, the man who represents the law could not bring the people into the land of promise. instead, it would be Joshua, a man who had spent his entire career as Moses’ assistant.
  2. Joshua was Moses’ assistant: The name ‘Jehoshua’ means, “the LORD is salvation”. His name was originally Hoshea, but it was changed by Moses, as he inserted the LORD’s name “JEH” into the name of Oshea, and they called him ‘Jeho-shua.’ In the New Testament, Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua. Joshua was prepared for service in small things. Allen Redpath speaks of a plaque over a kitchen sink that read: “Divine service is conducted here three times daily.”  What a great word for all to remember that greatness is birthed by faithfulness to the small things.  
  3. The Lord had commissioned Joshua as the leader: The book of Joshua is the first of the books that bear the name of a chief character. Though following on the heels of liberator and law giver Moses, his life was no less impressive, as he achieved all of what God had for him one step at a time.

The closest Moses got to the land of promise was Mount Nebo, where, according to Deut. 34:1, “the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan”. That is, until we are in Matthew 17, where he appeared with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses got the title to the land of promise, but Joshua lived there, and in this, we see that those two things very different. In the little one-chapter book in the Old Testament of Obadiah, verse 17, we are told, “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.” Oh own Zion our Zion in His holiness we shall possess our possessions.  

Verses 2-3: Five hundred years earlier, God had promised to Abraham a land for his descendants, and it was Joshua that was able to lead them into it. Deuteronomy contains the instruction on how to live once they enter the land of promise but says nothing about how to possess it. Think of this a moment; the people changed over forty years in the wilderness. The leader changed, but the promises of God had remained 500 years and were waiting for those to enter into them.  

There are those that spiritually see the promised land as a typology of heaven and crossing over the Jordan as death. “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was a hymn that popularized this notion. But the problem with this analogy is that it doesn’t fit the book of Joshua, as the book is about defeating the enemy. In fact, you will discover in the 12th chapter that Joshua records the fact that prior to entering the land of promise only two kings were conquered by Moses, while thirty-one were defeated in the land of promise by Joshua. The simple truth is that there were far more enemies and obstacles in the land of promise than there were in the wilderness wanderings. Now I say this, as I don’t believe that heaven will be a place where we do battle but rather a place where we will be at peace. So, I think that what we shall see in this book is about “abundant life”, living a victorious Christian life, enjoyed in God’s promises as we defeat the enemies of our faith.  

Pay attention to the way the Lord speaks to Joshua here, as He says in verse 2, “I am giving”. Then, in verse 3, “I have given”.  “I am giving” can serve as a theme to this entire book. What this reveals is the whole land was given, but they could only possess that which they claimed, which is why the Lord said the phrase, “every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you”. How much of God’s promises go unclaimed in our lives simply because we will not “tread upon what the Lord has given us”? Why not just cause Israel to face no obstacles or enemies in inheriting the land of promise? Pay close attention to the following statements:

  1. The promises could only be obtained by those who were not content with Egypt, not content with the things of this world and their former life.
  2.  The promises could only be enjoyed by those who would continue to press on with all of what God had for them to.

Verse 4: Based upon the geographical coordinates given here, the total area of land God gave Israel was over 30,000 square miles, and at the Zenith of Israel’s power under Salomon they only possessed 3,000 square miles, or one tenth of what God had given them. I can’t help but wonder if that is not true of each of us today, that we are at best living in tenth of the blessings God has for us now. I rather think that many of us today are far too passive with regards to possessing the blessings of God. The Lord desires to give us His promises, but we have to be willing to walk in them, go after them, kick out those things in our lives that are keeping us from enjoying them. 

The sad truth is that the nation has never possessed all that God has for them, and I’m afraid that this is also true of us individually, as the Paul says in Ephesians 1:3, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. In Hebrews 4:1, the author warned us, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.”

Verse 5: Victory is assured, not based upon Joshua’s leadership or Israel’s supremacy, but rather on the greatness of God and His promises to never leave nor forsake them. God tells Joshua that no one would be able to stop them, no enemy defeat them, no limitation to contain them. But wait a minute, they only possessed, at best, one tenth of what God had for them. So, what happened, what kept them in one tenth of the blessings that were theirs? Simply, they just stopped going for it; they decided to settle for one tenth !!!          


Joshua 1:6-9

“Be Strong and of good courage”

I. Introduction

II. Verse 6: The promise land

III. Verses 7-8: The power of the word

IV. Verse 9: The presence of the Lord


Introduction

I lay in bed one night thinking about why more people don’t press after the promises of God’s blessing, why it is that at some point we just stop and say by our actions that one tenth of what He has for us is enough. I awoke with the answer, at least for me; it is because, at some point, I don’t value the prize as much as I fear the work. The longer I stay in my one tenth, the more I forget how gloriously enjoyable obtaining them was. You see, the prize was in discovering Jesus with every new step into the promised land, and this far outweighs the gathering of more land. In this section, God reveals a threefold provision of grace given to Joshua:

  1. Verse 6: The promise of the land: This is important for three reasons:
    1. The land was already in God’s possession, and He w desired to give them what He already possessed. As far as God was concerned, the land was already theirs; all they needed to do was to go in and possess it.
    2. The land was an enormous blessing in size, as well as quality. Truly, God knows how to give good gifts to His children (Mattew 7:11). How little we recognize the size of God’s inheritance for us. Consider Paul’s word in 1 Cor. 2:9; “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
    3. God not only promised the inheritance of the land; He guaranteed to go with Joshua, to strengthen him and not fail him. In other words, the land is yours and I will go with you to get it. 
  2. Verses 7-8: The power of the Word: There are those who claim that the bible was never thought of as inspired until after the ninth century before Christ, but verse 8 dispels this. Success in defeating the enemies and obstacles that currently inhabit our inheritance is based upon our continual reliance of the “sword of the Spirit”, the word of God. 
  3. Verse 9: The presence of the Lord: Finally, God promised His continual presence to be with Joshua in victory as well as defeat, that He would not leave nor forsake him. Simply put, this provision is that, victory is not based upon our performance, but rather dependence upon His.   

Verse 6: The promised land

Verse 6: In Exodus 3:7-8, we see that the goal of God was not just the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt (a typology of the world), it was “to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey”. The deliverance from the world was, and is, only preparation for the enjoyment of the land of promise. Even before this, in Genesis 13:14-17, with God’s promise to Abraham, the fulfillment was to be in the possession of the land. Literally, this phrase is, “Be strong and rally your heart”. It will be repeated four times in the first chapter.

There will always be enemies in the land of blessing, and their expulsion is the only way for us to enjoy our inheritance. God’s Word of encouragement to His servants is to believe Him and to obey His commands. God’s promises are prods, not pillows. But this is why the Lord tells Joshua first in verse 5 that, no one will be able to stand before him, and that the Lord will not leave him nor forsake him, which is followed by the thrice-repeated encouragement to be strong and of good courage. Victory was assured, the possession granted. All Joshua needed to do now was walk into it, which would take two things:

  1. Courage
  2. Obedience    

In Zechariah 4:6, the Lord said, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” God is not asking Joshua to be or do something that He himself hasn’t provided. God is calling us to walk into what HE has promised and provided in the energy and strength of His power, not our own.  In Exodus 4:12, when God called Moses to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let His people go, God promised Moses to “go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” What great assurances God gives to those He calls. Yet, the truth remains, that it is a fearful thing to step into the promises that God has for us. Remember Jesus’ words at the commissioning of the disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 where He came to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” I’m fine with the ‘all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth…I am with you always, even to the end of the age‘ part of this verse; it’s the ‘go’ part that I have a problem with! Go? Can’t You just make it come to me?

You may recall in verse 5 that God gave Joshua a threefold assurance, that He would equip him to accomplish all that he was called to do:

  1. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.
  2. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
  3. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

Yet, with those great divine assurances, we read that the Lord still had to repeat three times the admonition to be strong and courageous. God’s assurances are never an invitation to be inactive. Instead, they are a challenge to get up and get moving into what He has for us, as Paul wrote in the final sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 

Remember, there were far more enemies and obstacles in the land of promise than in the wilderness:

  • There were races of giants who were famous for strength and stature.
  • There were others who were better armed with iron chariots.
  • There was the obstacle of fortified cites.
  • There was the challenge of supplies, for, when they were in the wilderness, God had provided the water from the rock and manna from heaven.         

Now, put with this the fact that those whom God had called to walk into the land of promise were inexperienced, unqualified, and prone to rebellion. How many times would Joshua have to remind himself of those three promises of verse 5:

  • No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life
  • As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
  • I will not leave you nor forsake you.

What more do we want, or need, than these assurances, with His presence and power to walk where He guides us, so that we may fully enjoy the blessings of these promises?

In a recent news article titled “Overnight Oil Millionaires” in Beulah N.D. Eighty-three-year-old Oscar Stohler, who was born in a sod house on the property on which he had raised cattle all his life, they found oil, and he became an overnight millionaire. There is a great truth that relates to us in old Oscar, and that is, he was living right above the wealth his whole life and never knew it. And it wasn’t even he who dug the oil well. Someone else did and he just reaped the rewards. As he put it, “It’s the easiest money we have ever made.”


Verses 7-8 The power of the word

This is not a mere repeat of the above assurance, but a specific application of it regarding the word of God. How interesting it is, that the man called to conquer the land of promise was a maverick in obedience and submission instead of a man that Frank Sinatra sang about, one “who did it my way”!  

Here, God tells Joshua that the “book of the Law shall not depart” from his mouth. This is important, as it tells us that, by this time, the first five books of the law were in written form, the last book being Deuteronomy. The events described by Moses were penned during this time, not many centuries later, as liberals would suggest. Joshua knew Moses, he knew he was just a man, he knew that he was a sinner. Yet, immediately after Moses’ death, Joshua accepts the first five books of Moses as God’s word. This suggests that Joshua realized the books were written by God through the pen of Moses. It didn’t take hundreds of years before God’s people realized that this was inspired writing, and they immediately received it as such. “Victory”, says the Lord “Depends upon adherence to the Word of God”. Take these five books, walk in obedience, and you won’t need to fear any enemy, because He will be walking with you. God doesn’t promise that we won’t have any enemies, only that we will be able to defeat them by His presence and His word. John Bunyan, the author of “Pilgrims Progress”, had written in the front of his bible: “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.”

There is a valuable lesson here, and it is this: the man who will lead others into the promised land must first be a man who is willing to follow the Lord there, His way! We must first be those who are “strong and very courageous”, to do according to the whole Word of God. Joshua’s commissioning required him be regulated by the Word of God, not his own opinions or understandings, nor the opinions or understandings of others. He was to be a God-pleaser, with full, not partial, obedience over his life. Canaan would not be defeated in a day, but over a long period of time. Jesus asked in Luke 6:46, “why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” Obedience is the pathway to possessing God’s promises, as the Lord tells Joshua that “you may prosper wherever you go”. The immediate link here is that possession of the land of promise is set around first possessing the Word of God personally. We learn here that prosperity is not a direction; it’s a decision, a decision to follow the Lamb wherever He goes! God did not tell Joshua that His Word should not depart from his bookshelf or the glove box of his chariot but rather from his mouth. You know what that means Christian? It means God is saying that Joshua was to be a man of the Word, a man who took up the word of God and read it, digging deep into its treasures. How does a person do this?

There are four ways in which Joshua was to do so:

  • 1.Verse 7: “That you may observe to do according to all the law”: The use of the word “observe” suggests that Joshua was to know the Word, to study it and make note of it in his life. There is a reason the first five books of the Bible were not placed in the ark of the covenant out of sight only worshiped inside the box. The Bible is a holy book that is to be handled, poured over like the love letter that it is, gone over and squeezed out as a thirsty man after every drop of refreshment that it contains.
  • 2.Verse 8a: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth”: Joshua was to talk about what he observed on a daily basis in everyday conversations. The Bible is so practical and is best served with conversation about what the Lord is revealing about Himself, and about us to each other.
  • 3.Verse 8b: “You shall meditate in it day and night”: The Hebrew word translated “meditate” means “to mutter”, as it was the practice of the Jews to read Scripture aloud and then to talk about it to themselves and to one another. Meditation goes beyond mere knowledge of something and onto reasoning and deducing things that we can personally apply to our lives. The goal of our meditation in the Word isn’t so that we can quote the Bible to others, but rather that our lives will do the quoting. Warren Wiersbe said, “If you don’t talk to your Bible, your Bible isn’t likely to talk to you!”
  • 4. Verse 8c: “That you may observe to do according to all that is written in it”: We see that the Lord tells Joshua that the goal is obedience to the Word of truth. We have a decent number of literate Christians regarding the Word, but we have far too few who demonstrate their knowledge by obeying the Bible. Our problem does not lie in what we don’t know what to do, it lies in what we don’t want to do, what we know what to do.

Verse 9 The presence of the Lord

This phrase literally says, “Do not be struck with awe or terror, neither be shattered”.    In Luke 1:37 in the ASV of the bible, the angel Gabriel tells Mary, the mother of Jesus “no word from God shall be void of power.” God’s commands are His enablements, for can not command that which He will not enable.   

Every Christian should remember the promise that God is making to Joshua here; “For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” We might think we are in such a place right now, what a mess, we can’t see the end of this one. Yes, but the Lord says that He is with us wherever we go. So what are we afraid of? He has already promised that He will not leave us nor forsake us. Three times the Lord tells Joshua “Be strong and of good courage” which tells us two things:

  1. Joshua wasn’t strong and courageous.
  2. The Lord was going to supply what he needed. 

The final encouragement from the Lord is that entering into the land of promise didn’t hinge completely upon Joshua and the nations faithfulness to the Word, but upon the Lord’s faithfulness, to go with them where ever they went. There are three questions we need to ask our selves:

  • Am I obeying the will of God? 
    • Am I empowered by the Spirit of God?
    • Did I serve to the glory of God?

If we can answer yes to these questions, then our ministry has been successful in God’s eyes, no matter what people may think.

Folks, I think it is important to realize that God was placing a huge responsibility upon Joshua and it was right for him to be afraid and to feel that he was totally inadequate to hold the responsibility. Do your realize that your inadequacies? In 2 Cor. 2 after speaking to the Corinthians of the responsibilities of the believer he asks in verse16 “who is sufficient for these things?” Then in the third chapter verse 5 he answers the question that he posed saying, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God”. How great it is to realize that God will never call us to do anything that He won’t first equip us to do in His power. So how about you, do you feel as if your not sufficient for the Journey God has placed upon you right now, are you just a wee bit afraid? No worries my friend as our Father won’t call us down a path that He won’t provide the strength to our feet of faith to walk the path of His calling. Our inabilities become our enablings in Jesus my friend so press on to what He has for you. It seems that their greatest obstacle they would face was not an outward army or a geographical barrier; but rather it was the failure to:

  1. Magnify the Word of God with their mouths
  2. Encourage their hearts by remembering its truths
  3. Strengthen their steps by its application

The enemies and obstacles in the land would be nothing because God would be with them where ever they went. Friends the enemies in the land must be driven out, (satan, the world system and our flesh) and this is down through the word. Look carefully the blessings of victorious Christian living come by invitation but the appropriation of those blessings comes by God’s command and power.  


Joshua 1:10-18

“Preparing borderline believers”

I. Intro

II. Vs. 10-11 Prepare provisions

III. Vs. 12-15 Borderline believers

IV. Vs. 16-18 Occupied with our occupation


Intro

Experts tell us geographically that though it took 40 years to arrive at the land of promise they could have done it in 11 days. Yet God didn’t want them to become discouraged incase of coming into contact with an established enemy so instead God lead them by way of the wilderness and it took them approximately two years to reach Kadesh-barnea on the southwestern edge of the Promised Land. Yet they choose not to trust that the God who promises can enable us to inherit His promises and they pent the next 38 years in the wilderness. They could have been there in 11 days but God understood that they weren’t ready so He took them through 2 years of preparation which they decided wasn’t enough so the Lord stayed with them 38 years tell they were done with themselves.

            Three times in the first 9 verses the Lord told Joshua to be “strong and of good courage” and the 4th time in the first chapter this phrase appears it is said by those he is to lead. It is obvious based upon this that Joshua had a healthy sense of inadequacy in his abilities to lead the nation but he stepped forward non-the-less and the people encouraged him to continue to trust the Lord to enable him to lead. We need men and women of God who have been broken by the Spirit of God who desire only the glory of God. It is these types of people who will see walls fall down and giants slain in the land of promise.


Vs. 10-11 Prepare provisions

Vs. 10 Forty years before, at Kadesh Barnea, the nation had known the will of God but refused to obey it. Had they listened to Caleb and Joshua—they would have spared themselves those 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. There is a place in Christian service for godly counsel, but a committee report is no substitute for the clear commandment of God. Right upon the heels of God’s thrice repeated exhortation to be “strong and of good courage” we notice that Joshua acts decisively by commanding the officers of the people. He didn’t say, “So fellows what do you think?” There was no committee to see how many wanted to go for it, he had heard from the Lord and was going forward. 

Friends it is never a wise thing once the Lord has spoken to you it procrastinate as such action is a sign of disobedience and a lack of faith. There have been many times that I have said I’m willing to follow You Lord all the while I’m delaying to do so. If we want to take possession of all that God has for us there can be not delay only obedience. That’s what Paul says to the Colossians in Col. 3:23 “whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”. Remember the word’s of Jesus’ who listened to Jesus when they said of Him, “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” First in verse 9 God tells Joshua “Have I not command you?” then here we read that based upon this Joshua commands his officers who will in turn command the people. In other words there was a chain of command and those that rule must be ruled themselves.

Vs. 11 Some believe that this command to “prepare provisions” indicates that Manna had already ceased from falling from heaven to be gathered. But even if it was still being gathered we know that it couldn’t last more than one day. Yet with that said all that was required of them was to prepare the provisions and cross over. We don’t see very often that part of “preparing the provisions” to posses the land of promise is learning to wait three days. I’m afraid that we Christian’s tend to think of waiting on God as inactivity because we are ready and He is dilly dallying around somewhere. But the waiting on the Lord for three days was the same time that they were to be preparing provisions. Friends preparation is never the enemy of inspiration and let me tell you that in your preparation there will be some perspiration. Joshua’s words to his leaders were words of faith and encouragement. “You shall pass over! You shall possess the land! The Lord will give it to you!” Joshua was with Caleb 40 years earlier when Caleb had made a similar speech in 13:30 saying, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” as well as his own words in Number 14:9. Warren Wiersbe had this to say with regards to this “It’s unfortunate but true that sometimes the only way a ministry can move forward is by conducting a few funerals.” Hey saints before you think that to harsh I rather think that the funerals we need to be conducting are our own death to self centeredness. How glorious it is to observe that the two oldest men in camp were still the most enthusiastic in their faith instead set in their ways.

            They needed to prepare the provisions so they could take possession of the promises. The provisions are no less given to us as are the yet obtained promises all we need to do is prepare them. Friend one of the reasons so many of us fail to enter into the inheritance of the promises of God is lack of preparation of God’s provided provisions. And what has He provided for us? What hasn’t He? He has given us the Word of God, gifts and enablings, each other all of which are at our disposal and only require organization.  As great a blessing as the promises of “as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” And “do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Are; they are not without our part of “observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” And “Prepare provisions for yourselves”. We have no right to expect the former with out the latter.

            Hey did you notice what God does not say was part of the provisions which they were to prepare for? He does not say get the boats ready or build a bridge cause we are going to cross over the Jordan river in three days. It was the Lord that had brought them out of the bondage of Egypt on dry land and it would be the Lord who would bring into the inheritance of the promises on dry land. The work of preparation of God’s provisions does not mean that it is still not His work of grace and our walk of faith. Joshua commanded them and with great confidence in God’s ability to do what He had promised he said in “three days we shall cross over this Jordan” not swim across or row over or go under but cross over. Thus we see that faith and obedience work hand in hand for you and I to be able to enter into the land of promise. Of further interest these two things can not be a mere theory on our part, they can not be something we say intellectually we believe but practically we will not practice for if they are but theory we will forever remain outside of what He has already given us. You can only possess your possessions experientially not experimentally they are to be enjoyed now.   

    

III. Vs. 12-15 Borderline believers

Vs. 12-13 This reference by Joshua to these two and half tribes goes back to Numbers 32:1, 5 where we are told that “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,…they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” The other side of the promise land was comfortable it fit their life style but they were going to have to send the men over to the promised land to fight the battle yet without ever possessing the ground themselves. Now fast forward a few thousand years and you will find out the land that the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh wanted because it was a perfect fit in Luke 8 is called Gadarenes was not a place of pigs and demons. Hear me out Christian the safest and best place for us, the perfect fit, is always going to be when we are pressing forward into the land of promise. There were no less battles in the land of comfort as God still required of those 2 ½ tribes to send over their armies to fight on behalf of the other tribes but there certainly was far less blessings!

            Based upon Number 1:3 it was only the men 20 years and older that went to war. Now according to Numbers 26 the two and a half tribes that remained on the other side of the Jordan had 136,930 men available to fight but only 40,000 men actually crossed the Jordan and fought in the Promised Land according to Josh. 4:13 the others chose to remain to protect the women and children in the cities the tribes had taken in the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead. Joshua now has a special message for those who would be content with second best these two and half tribes who were willing to trade their inheritance in the land of promise for that which met their needs on the boarder. First he reminds them that doing so would not let them off the hook for warfare. We sometimes settle for 2nd best because we feel that it will be a lot easier and that my friend is not the case. In fact it will require separation from that which is nearest and dearest to your heart. Friends listen up to live on the boarder is to live a divided life one in which you will never truly be satisfied. God will allow you to have what you want but it will be at the expense of the blessings that were to be yours in the land of grace and blessing. I’m not saying you’re saved or that you aren’t loved for you are but have decided to make your home out side of the best God has for you. Geographically speaking they stayed out side of the warfare of inheritance but remained vulnerable to the attacks of the Assyrians and Babylonians and were always invaded first. Far to many folks want to know how close they can live to Christ while still making their home outside of His precious promises yet I have never had anyone ask me how far they can go into the land of blessings. Oh how the Lord wants His children to be grace explorers and blessing hunters who will abandon the entire world for another glimpse of His goodness. Don’t be like these 2 ½ tribes that said, “Oh I’ll go with you for a while but them I’m heading back to my stuff of the boarder.”                 

Vs. 14-15 Not only were they required to fight they were required to be on the point during the battle as they were to pass before their brethren armed. So they obtained there portion before any of their brothers and sister so now they were to go before them in battle. According Num. 32:1, 4, 16 the tribes liked the land on the other side because it was “a place for cattle”. Now listen up friends as it appears that their first concern was making a living, not making a life. They settle for having big flocks and herds outside the promises of God rather than to dwell with their brothers and sisters in the inheritance God had given them. Because of this based upon Josh. 22:10 they were far from the place of worship and had to erect a special monument to remind their children that they were citizens of Israel. I’m afraid that there are far to many Christians today who are content to be “borderline believers” who live close to the inheritance but never quite live there themselves no matter how successful they may seem to be. They are willing to serve the Lord and help their brethren for a time; but when their job is finished, they head for home to do what they want to do. Judges 5:16 tells us that later on “The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart.” The rest given them would never be enjoyed fully until all tribes achieved it.  

     

Vs. 16-18 Occupied with our occupation

Vs. 16-18 Think of this for a moment God was calling the nation to enter into the land promised 500 years earlier a whole generation died in the wilderness because they didn’t believe that the God who had promised to give them the land was able to accomplish what He promised and now on the eve before you go into the land 2 ½ tribes say, “Hey remember we are happy to live in what has already be won.” But Joshua was up for the task by reminded them of the promise to go in and defeat the enemy in the land before they enjoy their own. Hey saints don’t expect to have everything to be hassle free when you take a step towards your inheritance in Christ. The first thing Joshua faced was that 2 ½ tribes didn’t want what God had promised and that would have been a let down in morale. Just before entering in the numbers appeared to be dropping and the inclination would have naturally been “God’s not in this” but Joshua just reminded them that their choice to stay outside of the promises of God didn’t negate their obligation to the body to help others enter in. Joshua simply reminded them of the promise they made to Moses and responded in verse 17 by saying “Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you”.                 

            “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go” they promised Joshua. In a novel one of the characters complained “I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plan.” Oh that you and I would say these words to our Joshua, Jesus who has gone before us already defeated the enemies of our inheritance. “We will keep the peace and make sure now one rebels against your authority”, they said. But notice that they had one request, “Only be strong and of good courage”. Friends if we are going to lead we need to do so with conviction and vision other wise the troops that follow will become discouraged and dismayed.