The Book Of Joshua Study Introduction:
Good morning, welcome and Happy Independence Day!
How many of you have family plans for today – maybe a 4th of July cookout, or a trip to the beach? Good – the talk today is minimal and we should have you out by 4 – 5pm at the latest – no problem. Just kidding – that is unless I am not invited to your cookout – then not kidding.
We haven’t done a book study in a while and so I thought today would be a good day to start a study in the Book of Joshua – can anyone guess why America’s Independence Day would be a good day to start a Study in the Book of Joshua?
That’s right – the Book of Joshua is centered in the time of Israel’s Independence – they have been rescued from the bondage of slavery, wondered in the wilderness for 40 years and under Joshua’s leadership – cross over into the promise land and spend a seven year campaign to claim their independence in the land. If you are confused a bit – don’t worry, by the time this study is done – it will all make sense.
First though I want to start off with a video clip – when it is finished I am going to ask you the same question – why did I choose to start with that clip – what does the clip or more to the fact, what does what is portrayed in the clip have to do with the Book of Joshua? – so watch close.
But before I show the clip I first want to remind you that here at Grace Point we stand firmly on Acts 17:11:
Acts 17:11 (New International Version)
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
That tells you don’t believe it just because I say it is so – but go home and search God’s Word for yourself and let His Spirit guide you to see if what I say is true. And strongly encourage you to do so because there is a lot in the Book of Joshua and I am going to suggest some things that you may have not heard before and I don’t want you to just take my word for it – dig deep and let God’s Word speak to you. – Okay – let’s watch the clip.
Show Video Clip – The Rapture Movie Clip Edited
Who can tell me first – what is going on in the video and secondly what does it have to do with the Book of Joshua?
So what is going on in the video? --- That’s right – the Rapture – let me give you some background on what transpired up to the point in the video – the lady in the clip had a rough life – she was into drugs and sex, etc., - but she felt lost, felt like something was missing in her life, a void that all the trappings of this world couldn’t fill – through a series of events she got religion as they say – she was on fire for Christ – got off the drugs, converted her boyfriend, they stopped living in sin, got married and had a little girl, but then God took it all away from her – her husband was killed – then later she starts to lose faith and shortly thereafter her daughter is killed as well and she completely loses faith – she doesn’t lose faith that God exists – as you could see from the clip – she loses faith in God – doesn’t believe He is a loving God or a just God – at least not by her standards – to her understanding; and so she stands there on that fateful day – as many will – looking face to face with God – hearing Him ask that fateful question – do you Love me and unlike those who still don’t get it and try to tell God how they earned their way into Heaven – Look God did we not prophesy in your name, look God did we not do great works and wonders in your name – only to hear God say in return – away from me you evil doers I knew you not. This is different – she knows who Jesus is – Jesus knows who she is – she just never trusted enough to surrender all to Him – she still wants it to be on her terms – to make sense to her and so she willing – knowingly says thanks – but no-thanks. Please do not confuse this with losing her salvation, do not see this as a contradiction of once saved always saved, because it is not – you can’t meet God half way – it says in Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 15 & 16:
Revelation 3:15-16 (New International Version)
15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
She tried to straddle the fence – she wanted the love and grace and mercy of God – but not His sovereignty - She wanted control and so she chose control and like it or not, believe it or not, there will be many on that day who come face to face with God and say thanks but no-thanks – I’ll choose to go to hell, but at least it is my choice.
That is what the book of Joshua is all about – who is in control – will we be obedient to God or will we be obedient to ourselves!
The Book of Joshua is a living breathing – historical portal of the last days – it is a foreshadowing of the Book of Revelation.
In the Book of Revelation you have the two witnesses – in the Book of Joshua you have the two spies and if you want to get real detailed about it, Joshua and Caleb are God’s two witnesses – they were part of the 12 spies that Moses sent into the land to see what was going on – the 12 came back and 10 of them were afraid because there were Giants in the Land – they said I know God gave us this land, but it is too much, we can’t do it, we will lose our lives – yes it is indeed the land of milk and honey, but it comes at too high a price. Now understand they had cause to fear – we are talking real giants – David and Goliath giants – but the fact is – they were straddling the fence – they wanted what God had promised them, but they wanted it on their terms – only Joshua and Caleb said let's do it – for if God is with us who can be against us – and as a result – only Joshua and Caleb got to go into the promised land. God kept the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years – until all those of that generation had passed except for Joshua and Caleb – only then were they allowed to enter the land – not even Moses got to enter in – God took him before the time came to enter – One Body – taken by God – beforehand – sounds like the Rapture to me.
Deuteronomy 34:4-7 (New International Version)
4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." 5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
At some point, Moses must have been resurrected / raptured and taken to heaven. I believe this because of his appearance with Elijah and Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. It would be strange to have Elijah who was taken up to heaven with Moses who was still dead appearing together with Christ. Since we know Moses died and was buried, his appearance here points to a resurrection and a rapture, though no scripture directly speaks of it.
Matthew 17:2-3 (New International Version)
2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
There is so much in the Book – I have told you before that the Bible is written in two realms – the physical and the spiritual. Well the Book of Joshua is a real historical physical event that portrays the very real spiritual culmination that is yet to come and that will be borne out when the Book of Revelations comes to pass in the last days!
You know God is so amazing – we could not start a study into the Book of Joshua without pointing out that the name Joshua is the Jewish version of Jesus. Jesus is the Anglicized Greek form of the name and Joshua (or more to the point Yeshua) is the Hebrew form of the name – where one Yeshua takes Israel across the physical Jordan and into the promise land – THE Yeshua will take all mankind across the spiritual Jordan into the ultimate promise land. Were one Yeshua spends a seven year campaign to conquer and subdue the land – THE Yeshua waits until the end of the seven year period known as the Great Tribulation before He comes again to subdue the land once and for all!
How many of you know your Books of the Bible? Who can name the first eight books of the Bible in order? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – then Joshua, Judges and Ruth. The first five books are the beginning, the naming, the law, in the wilderness, God’s Word. --- they also happen to be the Books of the Torah – the first five books of the Tanakh – the Jewish Bible if you will. I call them the beginning, the naming, the law, in the wilderness and God’s word – because that is what their Hebrew translation literately means.
• Bereishith (In the beginning...) (Genesis)
• Shemoth (The names...) (Exodus)
• Vayiqra (He Called / The Law...) (Leviticus)
• Bamidbar (In the wilderness...) (Numbers)
• Devarim (God’s words...) (Deuteronomy)
It is interesting, because it pretty closely parallels the Church’s Journey. We had a beginning – we celebrated that at Pentecost – we had an exodus – where we left that which we knew to follow Christ – we tried to life up to the rules – the does and don’ts of scripture – we struggle and have a time in the wilderness trying to do it on our own and not able to – and then we finally come to a place of being in God’s Word and understanding it is The Word – The Word who was with God and was God – The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us – we come to a point of surrendering all to The Word – that is when we come to have a deep personal relations with Jesus – with Joshua – with Yeshua - and then it will come to pass that Joshua Judges Ruth – or more correctly Jesus Judges the Church – Ruth is a literary type of the Church – the whole Book of Ruth is a foreshadowing of the church – of Christ’s Body here on earth.
It just makes me go Wow – Laid out right before our eyes – in the very order of the Books of the Bible is a real life chronological road map of the churches past, present and future. --- Isn’t it just simply amazing - God has it laid out for us in so many ways – all we need to do is just be faithful and look.
Proverbs 25:2 (New Living Translation)
2 It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.
That is my favorite verse in all of Scripture because it tells me that if I dig deep enough – there is something wonderful waiting for me to find. And the Book of Joshua is full of those wonderful nuggets of God’s truth and over the course of the next several weeks we are going to take a magnifying glass and have a verse by verse look at what they are.
So sit back and put on your seat belt because it is going to be a wild ride. The Book of Joshua is full of adventure and intrigue – it is a military treatise and a commentary on modern society. It is full of ups and downs, of victories and setbacks and each one will teach another nugget of God’s truth as we learn together from the life and times of Joshua.
The Book of Joshua relates the story of the conquest of Canaan. The two main divisions of the book are: (a) The Conquest of the Land, (b) The Assignment and Settlement of the Land, and in those physical actions and activities we will learn some very real and very specific Spiritual Truths!
Such as:
1) Success comes when God’s people obey His instructions, rather than following their own desires. God is to be trusted, rather than money, muscle, or mental ability. Success in the spiritual life comes from doing God’s work in God’s way. Even then, success is to be measured according to God’s standards, rather than our own.
2) Faith is developed by remembering what God has done in the past, which then leads to a strong confidence that He will be faithful in the future. This is especially important in light of the fact that Joshua has a distinct now / not yet tension. God’s promises have been fulfilled, and yet much remains to be done. Israel was yet to go through many perilous times. Enemy armies would sweep through the land. Apostasy would often be rife. Yet to come would be devastation, deportation, and captivity. In those times the faithful needed to know the joyful word of confidence and of hope, that God remains loyal to His promise.
3) Guidance has to do with following God’s instructions for our lives. By staying in contact with God through His Word and through prayer, we will have the wisdom to meet the challenges of life.
4) Obedience to God’s Word is paramount – Seek His Kingdom First and all else shall be given unto you.
Let Us Pray!
