Keep To The Task

KEEP TO THE TASK

Joshua 10.16-12.24

S: Removal of Evil/Sin

C: Purpose of the Community

Th: A People with Purpose

Pr: BE RUTHLESS ABOUT THE SIN IN YOUR LIFE.

TS: We will find in our study of Joshua 10.16-12.24 how Joshua succeeds in keeping to the task of possessing the land.

Type: Narrative

I. HIDING (10.16-28)

II. UNFINISHED (10.29-43)

III. UNEVEN (11.1-15)

IV. HARDENED (11.16-20)

V. HUGE (11.21-23)

VI. COMPLETION (12.1-24)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Persevere in what God gives you to do.

• Be uncompromising about sin.

• Put to death the sin that is in your life.

• Live the good life.

Version: ESV

RMBC 20 August 06 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL War: Hagar the Horrible at the Dentist

In the comic strip Hagar the Horrible we find Hagar ruminating to himself: “I have my sword and shield, but I don’t want to be bogged down with unnecessary equipment.”

Then going out the door, he proclaims to his wife, “This is it Helga! I have to face the enemy. And if perchance I fail to return, please think kindly of me! I don’t want to go, but I’m a Viking, and a Viking must do what a Viking must do! So the time has come… Farewell and good-bye, my beloved!”

He goes out, and the door slams behind him. Meanwhile, Helga is knitting and sighing, she says, “That man just hates to go to the dentist.”

Humorously, this tells us that…

1. We cannot avoid all the battles that come our way.

There are some things we just must do, like going to the dentist (my apologies to those of the tooth persuasion).

We don’t like the pain that goes with it at times, but we know it is pain that is ultimately to our benefit.

TRANSITION:

We have been studying the book of Joshua since June, and it has been a book of battles.

We saw in our first study that…

2. Joshua was given the responsibility to possess the land (Joshua 1.6).

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

He was told to be of good courage because God was going with him.

The nation was going to possess it.

To do it though, he would need to be an obedient leader to the will of God.

After receiving this exhortation from the Lord, Joshua sent spies to Jericho who found a city in fear and a family that needed saving.

Then the nation miraculously crossed the Jordan, and followed it up by defeating Jericho and Ai.

Last week, we studied how Israel fell for the Gibeonite deception, making a treaty with an enemy.

Then they defended them successfully, keeping their promise to the Gibeonites that was made before God.

Today, we come to the report of the final battles.

So…

3. We will find in our study of Joshua 10.16-12.24 how Joshua succeeds in keeping to the task of possessing the land.

OUR STUDY:

As we go through this long passage, we are going to hit bits and pieces rather than the whole passage.

But throughout we see how Joshua perseveres and overcomes his enemies, the first being those in...

I. HIDING (10.16-28)

There were five kings that had led a united army against the Gibeonites.

But Israel, as we made mention before, kept their promise and marched all night for a surprise attack that sent this army on the run.

It was a fantastic rout, which included the smart bombs of hailstones and the sun standing still.

Somehow, in the midst of all of this…

4. The five kings got separated from their troops.

The text does not say so directly, but it looks like these kings had abandoned their troops.

To protect their own lives, they ran together and hid in a cave.

They were found, though, by the Israeli troops, but because they were in the midst of finishing the mop-up operations of the day, Joshua couldn’t attend to them right away.

But that time did come…

(24) And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings." Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. (25) And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight." (26) And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees.

We can see here that…

5. They started the fight; Joshua finished it.