Joshua the Prophet
READ Joshua 1:1-5
Who selected Joshua to lead Israel after Moses’
translation?
The Lord.
No committee or vote was
involved.
READ Joshua 1:6-9
What is to be the key to Joshua’s success?
Know the word of the Lord as
delivered to Moses in the scriptures.
Why is knowing the word of the Lord key?
If he knows the words or law,
he can be obedient to the commandments.
If
he is obedient to the commandments, he will be filled with light.
If he is filled with light, he
will be able to enter into the rest of the Lord himself and receive his own
covenant direct from the Lord’s mouth, as did Moses.
How does one learn the word of the Lord?
Find a true messenger and
listen to their words; either an angel from heaven or a person on earth who
knows the Lord through face to face interaction.
“Meditate therein” - ponder
and pray over the words and concepts in scripture.
“Day and night” - this is not
a cursory viewing or even a mammoth one-time project.
READ JS-History 1:74
How do the scriptures come alive to us?
When we seek after and receive
the Holy Ghost.
And are filled with light.
Which is the mind of God (see
LoF 5:2).
And spend time in the
scriptures, pondering them and asking questions of them.
Crossing the Jordan River
READ Joshua 3:5, 10-13
Why is the Lord showing Israel a sign that He is among
them?
He’s not - first they have to
sanctify themselves, like before Sinai.
Signs follow those that
believe - so if they have faith, the Lord will do His miracles.
READ Joshua 3:15-17
Why did the Priests have to step into the flooding
Jordan River before the Lord parted the water?
It was a trial of faith for
the priests, as much as it was for the people.
The Lord asks us to step out
of the light and into the darkness - a step of faith - before He will act -
otherwise it’s not faith.
The Walls of Jericho
READ Joshua 2:1-6, 9, 11 and
Hebrews 11:31
Why did Rahab betray her people to help Israel?
She received a revelation
regarding the fact that the Lord had given the land to Israel.
She exercised faith in that
inspiration.
She was following The Lord.
READ Joshua 2:12-13, 15, 18
What was the true token Rahab asked of the spies?
The scarlet line or rope that
was used to save them.
The word for line (“tiqvah” or
teek-vuh) is everywhere else translated as the word “hope” - we exercise faith
in the hope or promise we have been given by Christ when He gives us His
testimony or word that He will save us.
The scarlet line was the
symbol of that hope or promise; it was to be hung in Rahab’s window like the
red blood of the Passover lamb which was likewise a symbol to the destroying
angel to spare those inside because they had covenanted with the living God and
had received a hope or promise of exaltation.
READ James 2:14-26
What sacrifice did Rahab make to seal this covenant of
faith?
James uses this experience of
Rahab’s to illustrate the principle that faith without works is dead.
She would have been dead -
either from her people if they ever found out she had committed treason or from
the invading Israelites if she had not displayed the “Passover covenant” of the
red line in the window.
She did not just say “be ye
safe” but put her life and the safety of her family on the line after having
received the revelation from the Lord as to who Israel was to Him and what she
needed to do to aid His work.
READ Joshua 6:1-6
What was the Lord saying to Joshua when He said, “see I
have given into thy hand Jericho”, as it was still fully protected?
All things are before His face.
As a result, He is not a
linear thinker or communicator.
His ways are truly not our
ways.
He could, and did, destroy
those solid stone walls with a blast of sound.
READ Joshua 6:17-18; Deuteronomy
7:2-5
Why was Israel commanded to destroy every living thing
in Jericho but Rahab and her house?
The Canaanites were “accursed”.
Israel would become accursed
if they took things that were accursed.
Israel will break their
covenants if they marry outside of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Israel had to enter the
Promised Land as a whole, sanctified people (that’s why they had to wait 40
years for the unfaithful to die - instead of just leaving them in the desert).
If Israel is personified as a
single person, the impure elements within that person had to be purged before
entering into the Rest of the Lord (promised land).
If Israel is personified as a single person, why would
the Lord tell them to utterly destroy the people of Canaan? (see Exodus 4:22-23
as an example of personification)
We need to stop dabbling in
Babylon but “go ye out”.
If we surround ourselves with
unholiness, the chances of us being impacted is greater (see Lot in Sodom and
Israel in Egypt).
If we become unholy, we will
remain separated from the Lord, which is spiritual death.
Also, remember the story of
Rahab - the Lord will spare all of those who receive Him (implying that the
others in Canaan had chances to come unto Christ but didn’t take them -
remember the prophet Balaam, who had never heard of Israel but knew God until
he betrayed Him).
The Conquest of Canaan
READ Joshua 12:1, 7-8 and Judges 1:19-21
What modern event in the last 20 years does this “conquest of Canaan” remind
you of?
George W. Bush landing on the
aircraft carrier after the “conquest” of Iraq - “mission accomplished”; when in
fact, it was really just beginning and was never really accomplished as ISIS
later took over and the battle continued.
Why were the children of Israel not able to
“accomplish” the “mission” of conquering the promised land?
The people of the land had
more advanced technology (iron instead of bronze).
Canaanites were somewhat
wealthier albeit in decline (trade, culture).
Israel
continued the “strongman model” they began with Moses - see Joshua 1:16-18 -
they seem to have a real distaste for interacting with the Lord individually
and personally.
If Canaan represents the
Promised Land or the Rest of the Lord which is His presence, Israel cannot get
there as a people anyway - they must “enter in” individually.
If these conditions are accurate, how did they get any
success at all?
Direct intervention: they
displayed some degree of righteousness and faith because by faith the walls of
Jericho fell (Hebrews 11:30).
Inspiration which they followed:
the Lord taught them how to fight in a way that would raise their probability
of success; military intelligence - Rahab and Jericho (Joshua 2); logistics
including when to attack so they could eat as they go and don’t have big supply
lines (Joshua 3); guerilla tactics to avoid directly engaging the Canaanites
chariots; neutralization of city defenses like Jericho (Joshua 2) and Bethel
(Judg 1:22-26) through secret gates or physiological tricks; enticement of city
defenders to leave their defenses by ruse like in Ai (Joshua 8); surprise
attacks like at Gibeon (Joshua 10:9-10); night operations like at Ai and Merom
(Joshua 11:7)
Choose You This Day
READ Joshua 24:15-16, 19-20
Is this a good reason not to seek to truly come unto
Christ or serve Him?
No - by rejecting when He
extends any blessing or opportunity to you, you are walking away from Him and
eventually damning yourself.
What “hurt” will you do to yourself if you choose not
to serve the Lord?
You will eventually meet Him
and you will not be prepared to stand in His presence.
And ironically, you will hurt
yourself in two ways: 1) being blinded by the glory of His light as you
encounter Him unprepared, despite the fact that He is just existing – He is not
“hurting” you (Mormon 9:3-6) and 2) the disappointment of not taking what
Christ offered you freely will be a flame of fire and brimstone within your
soul as you torment and condemn yourself for your folly.
We have no choice but to offer
our whole souls on the altar of the Lord - it is an act of mercy and grace by
the Lord to allow us to do so, as we are unworthy, and our whole souls are all
that we have to sacrifice that is really ours to give.
