INTERNET BIBLE STUDIES
Joshua – Lesson 2
Joshua Chapter 1: 10-18
Introduction:
In our study last week we saw God choose Joshua to be the new leader of the nation of Israel after the Death of Moses. We saw God promise to be with him and told him to not fear for God would go before Him. They were told in verse 7 to not turn from the Word to the left or to the right. We should so follow God’s Word in this day if we want our path to be successful and prosperous.
Josh 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying
Josh 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Josh 1:12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
Josh 1:13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
Josh 1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
Josh 1:15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
Josh 1:16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
Josh 1:17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
Josh 1:18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Joshua commands the people to get ready to cross the Jordan River in three days. We see him take charge immediately because he was commissioned from God to guide the people. God’s method is to choose his vessel and then put it into action. When he called out Moses in Egypt, he told him Exo 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. God himself gave the words to Moses. Here he commands Joshua to lead the people without fear. Jer 1:19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
I know God will be with us like this today if we will but look to Him for daily guidance and provision. We need to be like Joshua where we can have the power of faith mentioned in Hebrews 13:6
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Joshua shows wisdom in first gathering the heads of the tribes to a conference. He wanted to know how many faithful men he had that he could count on and to seek their counsel and advice. We show maturity when we realize that there is wisdom in counsel of Godly men and women. We should talk things over and see if someone else has faced this problem or perhaps has a word of warning or counsel.
The most important thing about Joshua was his obedience and faith in God. He did what God said and did not doubt God. When He said go, Joshua went right then. We need to have a tender heart that we too may go at God’s beckon and call to the work he has for each of us. Joshua did not complain about the difficulties that lay ahead or make up excuses why he could not do the task. He showed promptness and obedience. God’s desire for us is to follow his commandments.
1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Josh 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying
We do not see any delay in Joshua following the command of God. He was like David who said in Psalms 119:60
Psa 119:60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
When God gives us a job and it is clear what that job is, we should not delay and say "Let’s pray about it and be sure it is God’s Will." We need to always be sure, but if it is clear, we need to be on about the work.
Psa 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
We see Joshua commanding the officers… Did he have the right to do this? Of course he did. God had said in Josh 1:2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
There are no more important orders than those given of God. Joshua was to lead the people and he was right to exercise power and control over the officers. Joshua believed God, and you and I need to believe Him too. God had encouraged Joshua and told him to step out. The Word of God was to be his authority and he was to meditate in it day and night. He was to do all that was written in the Word. That is the same formula of faith that you and I need to follow today.
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Josh 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Josh 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Josh 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
The command from God was to Joshua, and Joshua gave the command to the officers who then gave the directions to the common people. You and I must learn this exercise of Divinely given authority in our lives. We need to have unquestioning obedience is we want to have the success that God’s people experienced in Joshua’s day. We are given many verses in the New Testament as ministers of the gospel to exhort and rebuke with all authority.
2 Tim 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Titus 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
We are also commanded to submit to those in authority who God has placed over us to protect and Guide us.
Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Josh 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Up until this time God had furnished Israel with manna to eat from heaven. As they wandered in the wilderness, there was nothing for them to eat. My family and I watched a show on the learning channel the other night about the attempts they made to recover Noah’s Ark there in the wilderness area of Turkey. There was virtually nothing out there, just barren land and rocks. The area around Sinai and Egypt was much like Turkey, and if no food had been given, the people would have perished in the wilderness. But God took care of them, just like he will you and I.
Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luke 11:12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Just like we need physical food to survive, it is crucial that we do not perish for lack of spiritual food.
1 Pet 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1 Pet 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
We are truly a pilgrim in this land, and we need to get all the spiritual food we can every day to build up our souls against the wiles of Satan. He’s always busy trying to trip us up, and the only way we can stay ahead of him is to stay in the Word. We are no match, but Christ is the one Satan can not defeat.
Our victuals are furnished by God.
1 Tim 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Tim 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
When Christ was tempted to turn the stones into bread, he told Satan that we don’t live by bread alone.
Luke 4:3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Josh 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Notice that he did not say they would try or perhaps they might go over. The scriptures say YE SHALL PASS OVER THIS JORDAN. When God says it, we can believe it. The people had confidence, not in themselves or the leaders, but their confidence was in God. I’m sure many of you have seen those humorous signs in some businesses that read "In God we Trust.. All others pay cash." I don’t think we ought to have so little confidence in man, but I do believe we had best put our trust in God.
Psa 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
You know the ownership of the promised land was unconditional. God gave it to them. But the possession of the land was conditional. They did have to go over and take possession. Israel had to do it God’s way and they could have it. Salvation is much the same way. God has purchased redemption for all mankind by offering his only begotten Son on Mt. Calvary. But only those who will receive the free gift of redemption will enter into Heaven. Just like the people had to obediently follow Joshua to come into the promised land of Canaan, we must follow Christ. We have to see ourselves as sinners without hope, turn in faith to God and repent of our sins, we will be saved. I do want to repeat that Canaan (the promised land) is not a typification of heaven. Canaan was full of battles and trials. Heaven will be full of joy and bliss, no more heartache, no more pain. Canaan more accurately pictures the Christian life after salvation here on earth. Many battles still, but God will deliver us through every one.
There is some special significance to the number 3 in the number of days until they crossed Jordan. It was the number of days that Christ lay in the tomb before he was resurrected.
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Can we overcome the flesh that burdens us down every day? We can only by looking to God for Grace to help.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
To be true overcomers, you and I must have two things. Faith and obedience.
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Josh 1:12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
Josh 1:13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
We see several things about these verses. First, God did not beg for their compliance as a favour. He didn’t ask if they would be willing to serve or appeal to them on behalf of the brethren. No special words were given that the other tribes would be encouraged if they helped God. God did not even remind them of their promise to Moses, but rather the commandment that Moses gave to them. God hath given you rest and given you the land. When God makes a promise, he does not defer to deliver. Man promises lots of things that he may or may not do. I’m thankful that God is true and totally dependable.
Josh 1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
Josh 1:15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
We see that the men of battle were to go forth. Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manessah were to spearhead the army of Israel. This was done like Moses had spake to them.
Josh 4:12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
This may have sounded a bit dangerous, but the people were strong in faith and went out. You and I in the church today must go out to battle in the streets of our city. And we are to send missionaries to go out in the streets all over the world. This is pleasing to God, because we are fulfilling the Great Commission to the Church.
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
How long should we keep going? Until our Lord returns and takes the church out of this old wicked world.
Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
This day may be coming sooner than we think.
Josh 1:16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
Josh 1:17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
It says that they harkened unto Moses in all things. As they looked to Moses, we look to our great High Priest, Jesus Christ for guidance today. We know in verses 5 through 9 that Joshua received assurance that God would be with him. The people could have stayed back and argued after the death of Moses, but rather they obeyed God and followed the man Joshua that God gave to lead them.
Matthew Henry in his commentary on Joshua had some interesting thoughts on these verses. He said "Crossing the Jordan River was symbolic of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Under no condition, however, does it set forth our physical death. We often sing the old song "On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand." To begin with, Jordan is not a stormy stream; neither do you and I stand on the stormy banks. Christ alone was nailed to that cross, and hanging there, bore all the storms of judgment of sin. When the storms of judgment fell on Him, they fell on us. The River Jordan speaks of sanctification, and the death of Christ was for our sanctification." I want to add that he paid all the sin debt, he alone. None of us will ever do enough to God to stand before him and boast.
Rom 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Rom 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
VIII. The Law Was Enacted.
Josh 1:18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
The people decided that if any would not follow the commandments, they would be put to death.
Our attitude should be so full of faith towards God when it comes to the church and to spreading the Gospel. As they said, we should also be strong and of a good courage.
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