Today we get to look at Joshua. That’s right, he’s the one who marched around the city of Jericho seven times, gave a shout, and watched the walls come tumbling down. The Book of Joshua is a marvelous recording of numerous miraculous events shaped Israel for a thousand years.
The name “Joshua” means “Jehovah saved.” And that is exactly what happened again and again over the course of the life of the man we are going to study today. Joshua was Moses protégé so he had a great leadership example right in front of him. After Moses death Joshua became the man in charge. The Israelites had been wandering around in the dessert for 40 years and were about to enter into the Promised Land. God had told Moses he would only see it but never step in it; that meant that another leader would have to lead the people into the land that God promised them. Joshua was that man.
But there was a slight problem. Since the land flowing with milk and honey was so nice, it was already occupied. And nobody living in the land wanted to welcome in half a million refugees who were convinced that they were supposed to live there. Joshua had a monumental task before him. He was to be the leader who led these people into the Promised Land and then purge that land of its existing inhabitants who were essentially trespassing on the land that God had promised to the nation of Israel.
Think of today’s message like a buffet. There is way too much food for us to eat in one setting so we get to pick and choose the tastiest food that will fill us up for now. The beginning of the Book really sets the tone for everything else that is to come. Here are just a few verses in the first chapter.
“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:1-9 NIV
God gave Joshua several specific promises.
*He said that he would give him every piece of land that he stepped foot on.
*He said that no one would be able to stand up against him.
*He said that he would never leave nor forsake him.
After God told him this he encouraged Joshua and said “Be strong and courageous.” God even said it twice because he must have been able to see Joshua’s knees shaking in fear at the tasks he had been given.
After God told Joshua that he would be with him he gave him a few conditions. His promises were not an open invitation to do anything he felt like. This is what messed Samson up. He thought he could do whatever he wanted to and no matter what God would never leave him. He quickly found out he was wrong when the bad guys poked his eyes out and put him to work at the grinding stone.
God told Joshua that he would never leave him if he did what? Verse 8 and 9 tell us what.
“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8-9 NIV
As long as Joshua obeyed God’s laws, he would live a great life and he would prosper under God’s divine hand. But if he decided to ignore God’s plans and purpose for him, he was on his own because God wasn’t going to bless him.
Joshua did remain faithful to God as a person and as the spiritual leader of a nation. And God used him in many ways to do many things. For example: Shortly after he became the leader of Israel God told him to lead the whole nation across the Jordan River. But as soon s the people got to the river it was still flowing. God told Joshua to put the Ark of the Covenant in front of all the people and as soon as the priests who were carrying this ark stepped into the water, the water started piling up and the people crossed it on dry land.
Then when Joshua came to the walled city of Jericho, God told him to march around it seven times. After they had marched around it seven times they were to yell and God would cause the walls to come crashing down. Joshua lead the people as God commanded and after they shouted, the walled came crashing down.
Everything was going great until God told Joshua to conquer the city of Ai. It wasn’t that big of a city and only 2 or 3 thousand soldiers would be needed for certain victory. But when they went to overtake the city the men of Ai overtook them. Joshua knew something was wrong so he consulted the Lord and found out that someone out of all of these people had sinned and he had to deal with it. After gaining wisdom from God, Joshua found out who sinned, he dealt with it, and then God granted them victory against the city of Ai. Joshua knew that if he didn’t honor God, Go would not grant him success. It was part of the initial promise that God had made to him.
Joshua’s life is remarkable. He was a man of integrity, honesty, wisdom, and mercy. He loved God and chose to put his will above his own, a very hard thing to do. So the question is: What insights can we gain from the life of Joshua?
Insights from the life of Joshua:
WHAT JOSHUA DID: Joshua did everything God told him to.
He is a great example of someone who lived their entire life for the glory of God. He didn’t necessarily want the job which proves that he was very humble, but he accepted God’s call because it was the right thing to do. I think God encouraged him numerous times to give him the confidence he needed to step up to the plate.
People like Joshua are rare. What person alive today has as much integrity as Joshua? The first person that comes to mind is Billy Graham. He has lived his entire life as a man of integrity. Even people who have no affiliation with any religion whatsoever are forced to give him credit when it comes to his integrity. He is a man who from all outside accounts appears to have done what God has wanted him to do. He preached the Gospel around the world.
What happened to Joshua as he continually walked with God?
RESULT: God was with him
There is no doubt that God was with Joshua. God did miracle after miracle through his leadership. He crossed the river, collapsed walls, purged cities, all because Joshua stuck with God and God stuck with him. When sin entered into his camp, he dealt with it accordingly and didn’t tray and pretend it wasn’t there.
Joshua always moved in faith. When they came to the river that God told them to cross they had to step in it before it stopped flowing. This took a ton of faith.
WHAT JOSHUA DID: Joshua moved forward in faith.
Joshua wasn’t going to pull any Dukes of Hazard type jumps across the river. He needed God to stop the river from flowing and dry it up so half a million people could walk across on dry land. That took faith. It also took faith to march around a city seven times blowing horns. This faith first approach to life that Joshua had was blessed over and over again by God because God was with him.
RESULT: God was with him.
Joshua was obedient and God was with him. As he stepped out in faith, God stepped up and took care of business.
Inspiration for me:
If I do everything God wants me to do, God will be with me.
This is absolutely true. If you do everything that God wants you to do, God will be with you. When I first became a Christian my mentor Tim told me that Christians are supposed to share their faith. I actually believed him and I shared my faith with everyone. I thought that’s what normal Christians did everyday. I preached to my friends and anyone else who would listen. I thought that’s what Christians were supposed to do. The funny thing is, a whole lot of people gave their life to Jesus after I told them about my hope in Him. Several years have passed since I first committed my life to Christ and I don’t share my faith as much as I used to. Now I question when it’s the right time to talk about spiritual things or if they will be offended or if I am being too pushy. What winds up happening is I often either say nothing or just hope they catch on and then I wonder why I am not seeing as many people come to faith in Christ. It’s not that God isn’t with me it’s that I am not putting my faith first.
Many people life faith first except for when it comes to giving and living a generous life. They have given their entire heart to Jesus but still refuse to trust him with their wallet. About three years ago a friend had stopped into the office to pick something up and when he came in it just so happened that I was talking with another person who was in serious financial trouble. They needed six hundred dollars in rent or they were going to lose their apartment. As a church we had nothing in the bank, and I mean nothing. But I told her we would do everything we could to help her out, I just needed a few hours to come up with something. After she left my friend who was kind of meandering around while I was talking with this woman said how much does she need? I said $600.00 bucks. He said I will be right back. He went to the bank, took out six hundred bucks and came back and gave it to us saying I can cover her. I thanked him and life was good. I paid no attention to the situation again. I basically forgot about it for three years.
Then a couple of months ago I was hanging out with this same friend and we were talking about how God always meets our needs when we step out in faith. Then he told me something that just blew me away. When he went to the bank to withdraw the $600.00 for this woman, he only had $800.00 to his name. He figured he could live for another week or two off a hundred dollars and he needed the other hundred bucks to keep his business account open. So when he gave that 600.00 I thought he had was giving out of his wealth. The truth was, he took a huge step of faith because he had nothing. Some would say his generous actions put his own family in a predicament. But he believed God wanted him to step out in faith. And God was faithful. The very next morning he received a phone call from a world class company soliciting his business. Looking back he remarked that this was one of those pivotal decisions that has shaped who he is becoming.
If I move forward in faith, God will be with me.
As a church we are just beginning to move ahead in our attempt to buy land and build a new church. We don’t have any land yet and we don’t have a building, and we certainly don’t have any money. But that’s really a great place to be because we know we can’t do it on our own. It’s going to take faith first. I am absolutely certain that God will be with us just like he was with Joshua.
Joshua was a person of integrity who made the right decisions because he lived faith first. We need to take inspiration from Joshua and apply it to our lives and our church. AMEN.
