Lessons from Joshua – Joshua 1-8
Gladstone Baptist Church – 15/4/07 am
Well we’ve been anticipating this morning for a long time now haven’t we. It has been 10 months since Pastor Roger informed the Board that he was leaving. He’s been gone now for 4 months. So I want to thank you all for putting up with me over this time and for your support. I officially handball everything to Stewart. I’ve categorised things for you as best I can.
Actually, I would encourage you to give Stewart some breathing space for a month or two. He’s going to need all that time and probably more to sort out the problems I’ve created. Seriously, though - He needs to find his feet and work himself into the role here. In many ways he will be reshaping this role to fit him. So please go easy on him and be patient. He’ll come up to speed soon enough.
As I began to think about what to preach about this morning, my mind went to what is perhaps my favourite book in the bible. Joshua. If you have got your bibles there, I’d like you to turn to the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. Joshua would have to be my all time favourite Bible character. There seems to be so many things we can learn from this man of God.
And as I thought about it, I realised that the situation Joshua and the people of Israel found themselves is very much like the situation that Stewart and us as the congregation of the GBC find ourselves in today. Our old leader is gone and the new one has come. As I looked at it more, I found what I believe will be some really helpful things for us to consider as we welcome Stewart on board here.
So today we are going to look at Joshua 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. I’m serious … We’ve got to show Stewart how committed we are to the Word of God today – so settle in back for our meander through the first 8 chapters.
It is more going to be like a skimming across the top. Like a stone thrown across the top of a pool – we are going to make about 8 quick bounces to pick out some of the gems in these chapters.
God Chooses his Leaders (1:1-9)
To set the scene for you – The people of Israel had been wandering around in the desert for 40 years under the leadership of Moses. But Moses had just died. And God has commissioned Joshua to take his place.
Let’s read a bit from Josh 1:1
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 Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up 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.
6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 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 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.
Moses is dead and there is a leadership change. Joshua was chosen – not by popular vote or by random chance, but by God. He was God’s appointed. And we are convinced here this morning that Stewart is God’s appointed Man for GBC. I believe that God has perfectly brought us together at this moment for some reason known only to himself. Roger was God’s man, but now a change has come. Now don’t forget that fact when maybe Stewart does something in the future that you don’t like. Don’t forget that Stewart is GOD’S CHOICE when he has to make some of those tough decisions that a leader has to make. Don’t forget this when he disappoints you. He is God’s man and is appointed by God to serve Him here at GBC.
But note that although there is a leadership change. God DOESN’T CHANGE though the people he uses might. His plans and purposes are the same. Vs 3-5. He still intends the people to go and take the promised land. The good things that he had in store for his people are still there for the taking and that is the same for us. I believe that God has put us here to take new ground for him in this city of Gladstone. That isn’t going to change. Maybe some methods may change or strategies might change, but the overall work God has called us to do hasn’t changed.
J. Oswald Sanders writes that “A work originated by God and conducted on spiritual principles will surmount the shock of a change of leadership and indeed will probably thrive better as a result” Don’t be scared of Stewart as a new leader, because this is God’s work and he is in control of it.
God commands Joshua to do the work he has ordained and to be STRONG AND COURAGEOUS in it. God wasn’t going to do all the work. Joshua had to exercise faith, blood, sweat and tears also. Verse 6 says … “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Joshua was to be strong – to stand firm, to be firm, to prevail. He was also to be courageous. This courage or confidence was not based in and of himself or his abilities, but in God’s power. God through his word was to be front and centre and this is a good example for Joshua, for Israel and for Stewart and indeed for us too. Let us as a body commit to pray for Stewart regularly that he would be determined and confident, strong and courageous in the task God has called him to do.
Leaders Lead - Josh 1:10 – 2:24
So Joshua accepts the mantle offered to him and immediately goes out and puts the people on notice. Notice that they are about to pack up and move. Joshua begins the task of leading the people – directing, planning and organising.
Joshua sends 2 spies over the Jordan to spy out the City of Jericho and surrounding region. This is part of his planning, his strategizing. This is one of the tasks of a leader. Yes – God will direct Joshua and will enable the Israelites to have miraculous success. But as I’ve already said, God isn’t going to do all the work himself. He didn’t give them a detailed itinerary for their conquest. They had to work that one out themselves. God didn’t spoon feed them in other words, but expected them to use their God given brains and muscles.
Martin Luther once said that "God wants nothing to do with the lazy, gluttonous bellies who are neither concerned nor busy; they act as if they just have to sit and wait for God to drop a roasted goose into their mouth." Through the desert experience, God provided manna and quails – he dropped them into their hands. But once they crossed the Jordan, the people of Israel had to provide for themselves.
God was asking Joshua and the people of Israel to take SOME INITIATE. And he asks us to do the same. He is not going to make an impact in Gladstone without our help. Stewart’s role as the leader of our church will be to plan some strategies that will help us do this and Stewart once he finds his feet will no doubt do this. He won’t do all the work, but he will set the pace and the direction as guided by God.
Just like Joshua, Stewart will no doubt take some time to survey the ground. So don’t expect massive changes or results initially. I think we can give him – what – 3 months I think sounds fair before the first city wide revival!!!! Seriously - Let’s give Stewart time to find out the lay of the land and then give him the permission to develop some strategies and lead. These may be different to what has gone on in the past. That is his prerogative as a leader under God.
The People purified themselves. 3:1-5
Unfortunately we often think that results in a church only depend on a leader. And it is important to have a good leader and I think God has provided us a good one here in Stewart. But in the book of Joshua, it is clear that the success of the people achieving the task God had set for them to do, didn’t just depend on how spiritual Joshua was or how much time he spent in prayer or how many chapters of the Bible he read each day. It also was impacted by the SPIRITUAL VITALITY and life of the people.
So an important part of the preparations involved the purification of the people. Look in Vs 5 of chapter 3. They are on the water’s edge. Tomorrow they are to cross the Jordan and enter into the promised land. But first they had to do one thing … Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” They needed to be right with God if they were going to be used successfully by God. And as you read the book of Joshua, you see that the success of their mission did ultimately depended on the extent to which they obeyed God and remained a holy people.
If we expect that God is going to save all of Gladstone, just because we have a new Pastor, we are kidding ourselves. Stewart will have a part to play in impacting Gladstone, but the impact of our witness will be shaped to a large degree by YOU AND I – by our spiritual vitality and the life we live. If I had a spiritual vitality meter here like those scales on the Biggest loser and I asked each of you to come up and stand on the meter for all to see how you are travelling with God. Would you be worried? Would you be ashamed at where the meter came to rest? The People of Israel needed to purify themselves and if we want to be a part of what I believe God is going to do here in Gladstone we need also to be purified and to keep ourselves pure.
Remembering the Past (Josh 3:6-4:24)
So then the people cross over the Jordan. Read with me the account … 3:14 …
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
But before they left the river bed, God asks Joshua to send back 12 men to each get a large rock and bring it on out of the river to make a memorial. It was just a pile of rocks, but for those who saw it, it reminded them of the amazing things God had done for them.
4:22 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”
We are all looking forward to the future and what God has in store for us, aren’t we, but let’s not forget what has gone on in the past. God has done amazing things for us in the past – providing for us, caring and protecting us, performing miracles in our midst, bringing in his people to minister among and to us. Around us are all sorts of memorials to God’s wonderful provision – this building – the school buildings – the flat oval and cutting – the banners that line this church – they all have a story to tell and provide a link to God’s wonderful provision. Roger and Wendy were a part of that history and we don’t want to forget that – They were God’s provision for us in the past. Stewart & Teresa are God’s provision for us in the present. So let’s remember what God has done for us in the past and give thanks.
Building Community (5:1-12)
Once across the river, there was one more thing that needed doing before their task of taking the land could occur. All the males were CIRCUMCISED. During the time wandering around in the desert, there had not been any circumcision.
You see circumcision was a sign of the covenant that God had made with Abraham back in Gen 17:11. But when the people of Israel refused to enter the promised land, God suspends his covenant with them. He still provided for them in the desert, but they were under judgment. Now as they enter the promised land, they are to renew the covenant with God again and come back into community with God. Once again it would be a sign of a RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, but also with each other. They would be immediately recognisable as belonging to the Israelite nation and having faith in God because of their circumcision – it was a WITNESS TO THEIR FAITH to all others around them.
We are no longer under the old covenant, but under a new covenant that demands circumcision also. It is a spiritual circumcision OF OUR HEARTS, by the Spirit of God – Rom 2:28. We need to cut off anything that would keep us from God and hinder his Spirit’s work in our lives. That is what it means to be circumcised under the new covenant. There should not be anything allowed into our lives that hinders our relationship with God. And the Holy Spirit’s work in us and the lives we live as a result should be an abiding witness to those around about us. They should be able to look at us and get an accurate sketch (rough as it may be) of what God is like. What are you like at home and work? How do you behave when you are out with your friends? Can they really see clearly that you belong to the community of believers here in Gladstone? Are even your actions a witness to God? If not, maybe you need to be circumcised.
As an aside … I think it is fascinating that after the Israelites were circumcised they celebrated the Passover. No male could participate in the Passover unless they had been circumcised (Ex 12:43-44) and so this was the first Passover for all of the men of Israel. Back in communion with God, they could rightly celebrate his miraculous provision in redemption. This is a bit of a picture of how we need to treat communion. It is only for those who are part of the community of believers. And it is only for those circumcised of heart – who are walking with God. Only then can you really meaningfully reflect on God’s act of redemption for you in sending Jesus Christ.
God’s Power evident. (Josh 5:13-27)
But back to Joshua … And after they were circumcised and celebrated the Passover, the people turn to their first big obstacle – the City of Jericho. This was a walled city and wouldn’t have been the logical first choice for Joshua and his inexperienced army. If I was commander, I would have chosen a few small villages to attack, to hone the skills of my army, but God goes for a more challenging one. I think this is significant, because in this victory, God shows that the victory will come not through brilliant leadership or surprising strategies or in fact through our efforts. No – this is not Joshua’s doing and it is not ultimately Israel’s doing – but GOD’S.
We need to remember this as we minister here in Gladstone – the Spiritual Battle for Gladstone is GOD’S BATTLE and it will take a miracle from God to bring the walls crashing down. Any victory we make will be God’s. So although we are called to show initiative as we have already said, we need to do everything in God’s power, not our own. We need to rely on God for direction and for wisdom, for perseverance and courage. Stewart will play a part in making the walls of Gladstone come down. Joshua I’m sure lent his voice to the final shout. We all will play a part in the victory – but without God, the walls will still be standing at the end of the day. Let’s rely on God’s power in everything we do.
I pray that what is said about Joshua in vs 27 is also said about Stewart … So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land. Joshua was famous because of what God accomplished through him and the people he led. May Stewart’s fame spread also because of what God accomplishes through Him and us – the people he leads.
Our Sin can hinder God’s work. (7:1-8:29)
The people must have been on an amazing high after Jericho. God was surely with them – no one can stand in their way. Isn’t it amazing that pride comes before a fall though. No sooner had the Israelite Army left Jericho – the great city – in triumph, but they found themselves fleeing from Ai – a small nothing town – in defeat. They thought they were invincible and they were while God was by their side.
You know the story – God had asked all the plunder from Jericho to be dedicated to him. It was the practical outworking of the fact that God says that the first fruits belongs to Him. Unfortunately, Achan, chose to keep some of the plunder for himself and hid it. It seemed like just a little thing. No one else knew about it and no one needed to know. But God knew ….
7:1 But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.
The devastating result was that the Israelites were defeated and 36 innocent men were killed. God’s anger burned against the WHOLE NATION!!!
Often when something ends up in failure, we point the finger at the leaders don’t we. We play the blame game. But this had nothing to do with Joshua. We forget that we are in a spiritual battle and the outcome does not just depend on our ability or the ability of our leadership. It depends on our individual relationships with God. One Man’s sin, impacted a whole battle and brought God’s wrath on the whole nation. What are our personal sins impacting? Oh it might not seem like much and no one may know about it. But God prevented the Israelites from succeeding at Ai because of one man’s private and personal sin.
If we are serious about wanting to take ground in Gladstone for God and bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we need to ensure that our own lives are clean. Let’s look in our own backyard and clean out the rubbish and the evil that is there. Because it just doesn’t impact on our own relationship with God and our own ministry – it will impact on the relationship and ministry of the whole body of believers in this place. At the end of this message, I am going to give you a chance to spend some time with God in quietness. Take the time to clean up your life.
God’s Word is central. (8:30-38)
We’ve covered a lot of ground this morning but before I close, I have one more quick bounce to make. The end of Chapter 8 is significant. The people have learnt what victorious life with God is like and also the disastrous consequences of Sin. Joshua has all the people in the nation line up as an altar is built and sacrifices are offered. And then he does something which is significant…
34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.
Joshua read out God’s word to them. Every bit of it. This is significant because Joshua was indicating that God’s law was going to be central in their community and their lives. It was a key to their success. It should and it must because it sets forth the standard God requires of us. Unfortunately, for some of us, it is not the centre of our lives. We are more likely to go to Dr Phil for advice on our lives rather than to God’s word. For others of us, we pick and choose which parts of God’s word we are happy to accept.
God calls us to obey not just the parts of his law that suit us, but all of it. Part of Stewart’s role, as is my role will be to challenge us about doing this. Will you make God’s word an indispensable and central part of your life?
We’ve covered a lot of ground today haven’t we. Found lots of challenges for all of us. I pray that God has spoken to you at some point here this morning. He may be challenging you to …
1. commit to pray for Stewart & Teresa regularly. To pray for determination and courage for them.
2. Allow Stewart to lead us as God directs him to.
3. Purify yourself from all unrighteousness and work on developing your spiritual vitality.
4. Remember what God has done for us as a body and you as an individual in the past
5. Circumcise from your life anything that would hinder your relationship with God and witness for him.
6. Rely on God’s power to achieve the victory
7. Confess your sins – even the little ones.
8. Making his Word central in your life.
As we close, I want to give you an opportunity to spend some time here with God. Meet with him. You both know what he has been challenging you about and I pray that you would just take some time to talk to him about it – about what you know he is wanting you to do as a consequence of it.
