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Joshua, An Overview After wandering in the Wilderness for 40 years Israel had the task of taking the land of Canaan . They faced several obstacles; Moses was dead, they were going to cross the Jordan River , and the land was inhabited with hostile forces. Each could have been a cause of failure but God would provide what was needed. Moses led the children of Israel 40 years. Upon his death Israel mourned, "And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days" (Exodus 34.8a). Many a venture has ended in failure due to capable leadership. In Moses there was faithfulness, humility, and strength. Albeit Moses was not allowed to enter Canaan due to his sin at Kadesh Barnea when he struck the rock that provided water instead of simply speaking to it, Numbers 20.11. His over all examples was one of faithfully following the Lord’s instructions. Joshua, the son of Nun, was such a man. He was selected by God. "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" (Exodus 34.9). Effective leadership must rely upon God’s wisdom and power. First, God reminded Joshua of the blessings promised to Israel . "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses" (Joshua 1.3). Those promises were not through Moses but God and His power. Instead of reminiscing about the "good old days" while Moses lived, Israel was to look forward to the prize of the promise land. Second, they were to be strong and of good courage, Joshua 1.6. This was not in regards to conquering the people of the land but in order to keep the Law. Obedience to God is not always easy but sometimes demanding. We are called upon to compromise His word for the sake of convenience or peace. In order to obtain the prize of heaven we must remain truthful to all His word and not just parts of it. In Joshua the people had a man that was not afraid of the people of the land of Canaan or his own brethren. Such leadership will bring about success today. Third, the leadership had to be attentive to the job at hand. Joshua understood the mission at hand. They were going to conquer the tribes in Canaan . We today must understand our purpose is to teach the word to the lost around us. Some congregations are in the entertainment business, others in the investment business, or the land ownership business. Let us never keep in mind we are in the soul saving business. The success of Israel was dependent on godly leadership. One obstacle they faced was getting in the land of Canaan . They were invading a hostile land, and would have to cross the Jordan River . The people of the land obviously felt this would hinder the Israelites for a while. The Jordan was flooding the land during this time of year, Joshua 3.15. Instead of waiting for the waters to recede or building a bridge they were told to cross the Jordan . The priest were to carry the ark of the covenant to the water, Joshua 3.7-8. At that point they were not told what would happen. They were to act by faith and simply do what God said to do. As the priest’s feet came to the water the river stopped so they could cross on dry ground. Big obstacles are not nearly as big when we trust in God.
Many times in our lives we worry about what could happen, or what may happen, or even what will happen, only to realize many things will not happen and others can be over come when they do happen. Joshua and Israel had to take the land from its inhabitants. Once again we see God demanding His people do their part. Why did God not kill all the citizens of Canaan ? Earlier God said He was testing them in the wilderness. "2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." (Deut 8) We can surmise this was another of God’s test to see if Israel would be faithful. At no time was Israel defeated when they did what God said. Jericho with its high walls around it was no obstacle to God. AI an insignificant little city defeated Israel due sin within their camp. Does God require any less of us today? Let us trust in God’s word and follow His commands. Unfortunately one of the failures of Israel during this time was to completely rid the land of its entire people. The Gibeonites observed the victories of this Israelite army and realized they would also be defeated. In order to keep this from happening they devised a cleaver ruse. Joshua 8 gives us the details of this plan. Their men wore old worn out clothes and they had with them old molded bread. Pretending to be from a distant land they pointed to the bread and the condition of their clothes as proof of traveling a long distance. Israel entered into a covenant with the Gibeonites, promising to not attack them and in return the Gibeonites would be Israel ’s servants. Instead of inquiring of the Lord, Joshua and Israel entered the covenant. Only afterward did they learn of their mistake. The lesson for us is to inquire of the Lord before we make our decisions. Far too often people make choices with little regard to what the Bible says. Afterward they want to know if what they did was right or wrong. Brethren it is a lot easier and painless to seek God’s answers before we make our decisions. People get into unscriptural marriages, then have children, and then want to know how to "make things right." Only to be told they must repent and get out of the unscriptural marriage. They walk away hurt and disgruntled at God and the Bible. Young people before you start dating someone make sure they have a right to get married. Before you choose a career make sure you can serve God doing that type of job. By the end of the Book, the land had been conquered and divided up among the tribes. It was then that Joshua called the people together. 14 "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt . Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Josh 24) We should have the same determination in our homes today. We can not control our nation, our neighbors, or even our brethren, but we can control our homes. If each Christian household was obedient to God’s word the local congregation would be stronger in its service to God. Just as Joshua was able to take the land we can take ours with the Gospel. D.T. |