Review:
Last week we left off in Deuteronomy with Israel ready to enter the Promised Land
after the disobedient generation has all died. Moses warns the next generation
to do better than their parents by remaining faithful to God. The book of Deuteronomy
ends with the death of Moses. His second in command, Joshua, now is the new
leader of Israel. _____________________________________________________________________
The book of Joshua opens with God instructing Joshua
to take the land that was promised by God to Israel.
*The book
includes many battles, which troubles some people. If we believe that God is
love (1 John 4:8), why would He order the death of so many people? What we must
remember when we read through Joshua is that God hates sin and we should too.
Sin creates brokenness in our relationship with God. It is also important to
understand the wickedness of the people who Israel was commanded to destroy. In
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 we read how the people living in the Promised Land practiced
all sorts of horrible things including child sacrifice, sorcery, talking to the
dead, etc. God in His love for Israel, did not want Israel to be influenced by
these evil practices and so He promises that the people who practice these
thing will be driven out of the land.
Read
Joshua 1: 1-9.
What
warning does God give His people? He tells them to be careful
to obey His commandments, so they will experience success and prosper.
What
reason does God give for why the people of Israel should be strong and
courageous? God
says that He will be with Israel wherever they go.
In Joshua 2 we see Joshua send spies into the land. The
spies end up at the house of Rahab an Amorite. The King of Jericho finds out
about this and goes to her house to find the spies. Rahab could have given the
spies to the king but instead she hides them. Why do you think she did this?
Read
Joshua 2:8-11.
Rahab had heard of the mighty things God had done for
Israel and she believed that the God of Israel was God. Because of her faith, she
and her family are not killed like the rest of the people in Jericho. In fact,
she ends up being an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).
After the spies return with a good report (Joshua 2:24), Israel, led by Joshua, crosses the Jordan. In the same way that God
parted the Red Sea in Exodus, God once again holds back the waters so that the
people can cross safely (Joshua 3). In Joshua 4, Israel builds a memorial to
remember these events and “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that
the hand of the LORD is mighty” (Joshua 4: 24).
In Joshua 6 we then read about the battle plan God gives
Joshua to defeat Jericho. Read Joshua 6:1-7.
Does
this seem like a smart military plan? If you were Joshua would you have followed
this plan, or would you have questioned it?
Joshua acted in faith and followed God’s plan and what
God had spoken happened. The walls of Jericho fell, and Israel won the battle.
Many of you are probably familiar with the song Joshua Fought the Battle of
Jericho. It goes like this:
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho
And
the walls came a-tumbling down
You
may talk about your men of Gideon
You
may talk about the men of Saul
But
there's none like good old Joshua
At
the battle of Jericho (that mornin')
Up
to the walls of Jericho
They
marched with spears in hand
"Come
blow them ram horns," Joshua said
"'Cause
the battle is in our hands."
Then
the lamb ram sheep horns began to blow
The
trumpets began to sound
Joshua
commanded the children to shout
And
the walls came a-tumblin' down (that mornin')
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho
And
the walls came a-tumbling down
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho
Joshua
fought the battle of Jericho
And
the walls came a-tumbling down
This
song unfortunately, makes Joshua the hero of this story. But who is the real
hero in this story? God
is the one who won this battle. Yes, Joshua showed great faith by following God’s
commands but Joshua himself recognizes that it was by God’s power that the
people won when on the seventh trumpet blow he says “Shout, for the LORD has
given you the city.”
God’s hand in Israel’s victories can also be seen in
the next chapter. Joshua 7, however, actually opens with the defeat of Israel
at Ai. Why did this happen? Read Joshua7:1.
Achan, an Israelite, had broken God’s command. As a
result, God did not cause Israel to be successful in battle. This one man’s sin
not only affected himself but all of Israel. Only after Achan’s sin has been
dealt with (Joshua 7: 25-26) does Israel defeat Ai.
Then again, in Joshua 9 we see the negative consequences
of the people taking matters into their own hands. Joshua being tricked by a
group of Gibeonites makes a deal with them so that Israel cannot destroy them.
Why did this happen?
Read
Joshua 9: 14-15. Before making this big decision, the
people of Israel failed to ask God what to do. They trusted their own wisdom.
Compare this to Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
him, and he will make straight your paths.” If we ask God for guidance and
listen to Him, we will always make the right choice.
In Joshua 10 we see Israel back on the right path. Five
Amorite kings have gone to war against Israel, but God tells Joshua not to fear,
“for I have given them into your hands.” God caused the armies to panic and as
Israel chases them away, God send hailstones to crush them. Once again it is by
God’s hand that Israel wins this battle.
In the remaining chapters of Joshua, we see a summary
of the battle victories given to Moses and Joshua by God (Joshua 12), the
division of the Promised Land between the tribes of Israel (see map below), and the creation of
cities of refuge (Joshua 20).
Then in Joshua 23, Joshua reminds the Israelite
leaders of how they should live and the consequences for their choices. Read Joshua 23:6-16.
Joshua warns the people to follow God’s law. This obedience,
however, should flow from the love they have for God. Joshua reminds the people
that is the LORD that fights for them and that because of this they should love
God (Joshua 23:10-11).
Joshua, then challenges Israel to make a very important
choice. Read Joshua 24: 14-15.
Joshua says choose whom you will serve. Israel could
choose to serve and trust the God who fought for them or they could choose to
serve the false gods of other nations.
All people today are faced with the same choice. We can
choose to follow Jesus, the one who has fought the battle against sin and won
for us, or we can reject Him.
Hopefully, many will come to repeat the words of
Joshua, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24: 15).
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Going Deeper
In Joshua 4 we read about the Memorial Stones that the Israelites set up to remember the mighty things God had done for them. Just like the Israelites, God has probably done many wonderful things in your life too. Use the sheet below to write down the things that God has done in your life that you want to remember.
Praise God in Song:
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