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Introduction to Joshua: Claiming God's Promises 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Alright. Our 2 year chronological journey through the Bible takes us now to the remarkable book of Joshua. Verse 7 of chapter 1. Only be0:22 strong and very courageous that you may 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 prosper0:33 wherever you go. For me, the book of Joshua is the like the book of Ephesians of the Old Testament. It provides instructions on taking possession of god's0:45 promises. Most biblical scholars agreed that Joshua was the author of the book. The Jewish Talmud says that Joshua wrote all but the last 5 verses of the book, and those last 5 verses were0:57 written by Phineas. Now Joshua, the name Joshua means Jehovah is Salvation. In the Greek, in the Septuagint, and in the New Testament, Joshua is the same1:08 name as Jesus, because Joshua is a type of Christ. Moses, the law giver, as we talked about before, could not lead the people into the promised1:20 land, which illustrates that the law cannot save us. What does the promised land represent? Does it represent heaven, as some hymns suggest, or does it1:32 represent the abundant overcoming life that has been promised to us here and now through Jesus Christ? I believe it is the latter. You say, well, why? The children of1:43 Israel, alright, as they as they cross into the promised land still had to deal to deal with sin. They had to do battles, and there was compromise,1:56 all of this after they crossed into the promised land. Heaven will have none of those things. We enter the abundant life totally by God's grace through Jesus Christ,2:08 but to experience the fullness of the promise, we must occupy it through faith, obedience, and action, which is what we will see here in the book of2:19 Joshua. It's a fantastic book. You are going to love the book of Joshua. Alright. Another few additional foundational observations before we2:31 begin. Okay. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim. Some scholars believe that he had served in the Egyptian army, which was not uncommon for a foreign slave, which,2:43 you know, we'll see throughout the book of Joshua that he had he was a tremendous military strategist. So obviously he was trained for this, and he had the Holy Spirit leading him. Military leaders to this day actually2:55 study the tactics that Joshua used. Stonewall Jackson Jackson studied him very closely and and mirrored a lot of his tactics. He was 40 years old when the exodus3:07 occurred. According to Jewish tradition, or Jewish historian Josephus, he was 85 years old when he succeeded Moses. By the way, like Moses,3:19 it totally destroys the non biblical idea of retirement. He died at the age of 110 years old. We'll see, the leadership qualities of3:31 of Joshua throughout this book, faith, courage, obedience, and devotion to the word of God. And that's critical. We're gonna talk about that in a moment. Alright. Verse 2, chapter 1.3:43 Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. So a not so subtle indication that we've3:54 entered a new era. Joshua brings us to a really kinda new biblical topography for our journey, if you will. We move from the Pentateuch, the book of the law, the the books of the4:06 law, written by Moses to primarily now the his what are called in our English Bible, the historical books. But keep in mind keep in mind that even the historical books4:18 are prophetic as they point to the Messiah and the kingdom of God. They're pictures. They're illustrations. They're types. There's another transition that is a little more subtle, but essential for4:30 us to point out this morning. The laws and the customs for the startup nation were given to Moses by God, and they are now written. They're now written down. The word the word becomes God's4:42 primary means of communicating with his people. Now there will there will still be prophets. He will speak to Joshua, But the word now becomes their daily guide. And4:54 and all of this is important to us as we look, again, to the principles here in in their application. We look at the pictures, you know, the the types, the illustrations, the principles that guide5:06 us today from the word of God. Verse 3, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I will give you, as I said to Moses. Now the promise is not5:17 ours until we act upon it. It's not enough to proclaim the word of God. You have to walk out the word of God. Faith without works is dead. You have to stand on the promises with5:29 action in order to claim what God has given us. Look at Joshua 3 13. And it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priest who bear the ark5:41 of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, and the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a5:53 heap. Now god told Joshua it was going to happen. He said this is what's gonna happen. But it didn't happen until they acted in obedience to the instructions6:05 of God. Faith without works is dead. Faith claims without action is simply bluster. Verse 7. Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the6:17 law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper This is the, really, the spiritual truth that binds6:29 the book of Joshua. Strength and courage are not needed to face the physical ops of the opposition as much as strength and courage are needed to obey God.6:42 If we obey God, he promises. He promises to take care of the rest and route the opposition. He would put the fear of god in their hearts as we'll see here in just a moment. You know, when I say, oh, that6:54 that's easy. Obey god. That's easy. Is it? Really? Is it? Is it easy to obey god when we live in a time when people have rejected God and His word as authoritative?7:06 When they mock and ridicule those who seek to live by God's transcendent truth because we live in an age that has completely rejected the concept of truth? God's ways have7:19 always been counter to the prevailing culture, but it has never been more pronounced, I believe, than what we see today, at least in my lifetime, what we see happening today.7:31 We are living in a day that I think Isaiah wrote about when he said in Isaiah 5 20, woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for7:43 bitter. I think that's happening today. And and and how do we discern? How do we navigate that? Number 1, we need to know the word of God. And number 2, we have to have the faith to live out the word of God. It7:55 takes courage today, not to say that you're a Christian. There's a lot of people who say they're a Christian, and I'm not gonna well, it's living as a Christian that takes courage8:06 today to live out the word of God, to live out the instructions of God, to live out, to love the lord your god with all your heart, with all your mind, and all your soul, and to love your neighbor as8:18 yourself. And and and likewise, as Jesus said, the 2 greatest commandments. To do that today, it requires it requires courage. Alright. Think about the8:30 courage and humility that Joshua had to have as a military leader. Right? This was his you know, he had led the military, but now he was on his own. There wasn't Moses above him. He was8:42 the leader. He was the commander in chief. And this was his first campaign in the conquest of the promised land. And we're gonna see the the instructions here in in in a little bit that his instructions were8:54 to march around Jericho blowing trumpets. What kind of military campaign was that? It's what God told him to do. Obedience is required. Here's the truth that will make the difference in living the9:06 abundant life. If you fear or revere God, you won't fear man. If if we have a greater reverence for God in our hearts to obey him regardless of whatCourage to Obey and Rahab's Confession 9:18 others are doing, what other people are saying, we don't have to fear man. We can settle that once and for all. Chapter 2. Now Joshua, the son of Nun, sent out 2 men from the Acacia Grove to spy9:30 secretly, saying, go view the land, especially Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. Notice that Joshua didn't send out a committee of 12 spies. He sent 2.9:42 He was not going to let a repeat of what had happened a generation earlier happen again. Also, don't miss this. The harlot Rahab, who's actually in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter9:54 1 verse 5, She was the mother of Boaz, the great great grandfather of King David. What an amazing picture of God's grace. Verse 9. And10:05 said to the man, I know that the Lord has given this is Rahab speaking. I know the lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because10:16 of you. For we have heard how the lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the 2 kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan,10:28 Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the lord your10:40 god, he is god in heaven above and on earth beneath. Wow. I mean, this is Rahab, not not a Hebrew, but 1 who heard.10:51 I mean, the parting of the Red Sea had happened 40 years earlier. The inhabitants of Canaan knew Israel's history as well as or better than the Hebrew children did. The terror that11:03 they had of the children of Israel is what? It's just what God had promised back in Exodus chapter 15 and Deuteronomy chapter 2. In fact, recall what God told Pharaoh11:15 in Exodus chapter 9 verse 16. But indeed, for this purpose, I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth. You see, what God was11:27 doing in Egypt bringing them out was declaring his power to all of the earth, that he was the God of all the earth. Look what Rahab said. For the Lord your God, he is the God in heaven11:39 above and on the earth beneath. They saw it. Alright. Verse 12. Now, therefore, I beg you swear to me by the lord since I have shown you kindness, this is Rahab again speaking, that you also11:51 will show kindness to my father's house and give me a true token and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, all that they have and deliver us from death. I mean, here's here's12:03 a I mean, obviously, this was probably the place that you would be less suspected of activity going into a a harlot's house. And it's just think of this, god's12:14 grace. This is probably the lowest on the social totem pole of that day. And god, in his grace, saves her and her family.12:27 So the men answered her, verse 14, our lives for yours. If none of you if none of you tell this business of ours, and it shall be when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly12:39 with you. See, like the this reminds me of the midwives in Exodus who had a greater fear of God than pharaoh. Rahab feared God more than the king of Jericho, and she was saved. And not12:51 only saved, not only saved, she was blessed. I mean, she's in the lineage. She's in the genealogy of Jesus. Look at the, the report the 2 spy the 2 spies bring back. Verse13:02 23. So the 2 men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over, and they came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen him. Gave him the whole story. And they said to Joshua, truly,13:14 the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us. A little different perspective than their parents' generation 40 yearsFollowing the Ark: God Fights the Battle 13:26 earlier. Alright. Very quickly, chapter 3 verse 2. So it was after 3 days that the officers went through the camp, and they commanded the people saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the13:36 priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Notice the instructions are 3 days. We see that prominently. So 3 days are gonna cross over the Jordan.13:49 It just reminds me of of of Jesus Christ, 3 days after the crucifixion, then walking into going through the death, burial, and the resurrection. Now on this occasion, the priests14:01 were to carry the ark, not the Kohathites. And, the the men of war were to follow. So you're gonna say, wait a minute. Why why would the men of war follow the priest? Shouldn't the14:13 warriors be out front? Recall back in numbers chapter, numbers chapter 10 verse 35, mo what Moses declared when the ark move would move out, and I love that verse. So it14:25 was whenever the ark set out that Moses said, rise up, oh lord. Let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you. See, when god goes before us, he's the14:37 1 that fights the battles. There's something we need to understand from this. We don't enlist god in our efforts. We fight for him. He is the commander, and14:49 the battle is his. Father, we thank you for your word, and and I just I'm so excited, lord, as we get to study the book of Joshua. I just thank you for your word, and I once again ask the holy15:01 spirit to lead us, to teach us, to show us the truths, the principles. Help us to see the pictures, the illustrations, the types that, lord, we might know how to apply this to our lives today in the15:13 world in which we're living. Thank you that you're giving us guidance. Thank you for your word. I pray a blessing upon each 1 that's on this journey. May you strengthen them. May you encourage them. Lord, may they see15:24 the beauty of your word. And and, Lord, may they just may you just nurture within us a hunger and a thirst for your word, for your righteousness. And, Lord, may we15:35 long for it, and may we meditate upon it. And may it give us strength and courage, joy, and peace. I I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning.15:47 And until next time, keep standing on the word.15:52 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you16:04 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Introduction to Joshua: Claiming God's Promises9:13 Courage to Obey and Rahab's Confession13:23 Following the Ark: God Fights the Battle93.9K followers
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