Being Strong & Couragious

Tommy Estes

Joshua 1:1-9

Subject: Be Strong and Courageous

Today we are going to take a journey into the Old Testament. To pick up our context we have to understand what is going on. After we have picked up our context, its then we can understand why God inspired Joshua to pen Gods Word down as he takes charge of leading the children of Israel into the promised land. All for our benefit as Paul says in I Corinthians.

This morning we have to get our context from the book of Numbers. We see that God had just rescued Israel from the hand of Egypt and has promised that He would never leave or forsake them so as long they would follow Him. He promised to give them the inheritance of a land that would be flowing with milk and honey if they would follow Him by faith. He fulfilled this by giving them protection from the Egyptians as they crossed on dry ground through the Red Sea. He gave them direction through a cloud during the day and pillar of fire by night.

God faithfully gave them food to eat, and water to drink, but instead of being thankful for Gods protection; Cries of joy soon turned into cries of complaining. Thankfulness attitudes soon turned into unthankful spirits and it filled the hearts of many. God gave them a law to go by to keep them from going astray, and instead of being thankful they turned from God and made their own God and worshiped it.

How much of this do you think God would take? But through the book of Numbers and Duet. you can clearly see the patience that God has for mankind, especially when it comes to His own children. Moving on, when it came time for the Israelites to move on into the promised land that was to be the inheritance that God promised their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God told Moses to send 12 spies into the land and come back and give them a report. When the spies returned it didn’t take them long to forget the Words of God when He promised that this land would be theirs, if they would trust Him.

Out of 12 spies only 2 tried their best by reminding the Israelites that God would be with them. God had to be pretty frustrated with them right now with their unfaithfulness, sour attitudes, totally forgetting what God just did for them against the strongest nation during this time. As they moved on the Israelites started to cry again for water saying wouldn’t it have been better for us to die in Egypt than out here? God told Moses to speak to the rock and it would flow with water, frustrated with the Israelites Moses smote the rock 2x’s and God told him because of this sin he and his brother Aaron would not be allowed into the Promised Land.

And not only would Aaron and Moses not be allowed, but God got so sick of them he told them “Your wish is my command” you want to die…ok then big boy. All of you that are over the age of 20yrs old will die in the period of 40yrs. Those 20 and under will be my next generation and also Joshua and Caleb (the 2 spies that took up for God) would be allowed to live. The Israelites went to Moses asking him to go to God and ask Him to give us another chance but God wouldn’t hear it.

There is a good lesson for us. When we get to the point that we don’t want to follow Gods will in our lives, God may get tired of your unfaithfulness. And the result may be the outcome of these Israelites.

Be as it may, what God was doing was raising up a new nation to fulfill what God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now as we have gotten our setting, Mosses has just died and Joshua has been charged to carry out this challenging mission. God spoke to Joshua and gave him some very significant standards for not only him as the leader but for the children of Israel as well.

And the result may be the outcome of these Israelites.

Be that as it may, what God was doing was rising up a new nation to fulfill what God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Now that we have gotten our setting, Mosses has just died and Joshua has been placed in charge to carry out this challenging mission. God spoke to Joshua and gave him some very significant standards for not only him as the leader but for the children of Israel as well. He wanted them to be led in success, victory through faith. (Read Text)