A. Joshua 1:10-18 [ NKJV ]
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, "Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.'"
And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commaned you, saying, 'The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.' Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
So they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you command us we will do, and whereever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage."
1. Joshua acts decisively upon being commissioned by God.
2. The "deal" cut between Moses and the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh is detailed in Deteronomy 3:1-20.
a. "Joshua was concerned that Israel be a united people in conquering the land and in worshipping the Lord. The two-and-a-half tribes did keep their promise to help conquer the land, but they still created a problem for Joshua and Israel because they lived on the other side of the Jordan." ( Joshua 22) ( Warren Wiersbe: Be Strong )
b. It should be noted that Moses made a concession in allowing these tribes to settle east of the Jordan. Historically they would remain far from the Temple and were not readily seen by some as citizens of Israel. It appears that they liked this land because it seemed "a place for cattle." (Numbers 32:1,4,16) Did they settle for less than God's best for them? Many of us, unfortunately, do that very thing.
3. The encouraging endorsement of Joshua's leadership (v.16-18) would indicate that these men acknowledged and accepted God's a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ in the person of this man.
a. They promised complete o __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
b. They invoked God's b __ __ __ __ __ __ __ on him. This is nothing less than intercessary prayer.
c. They encouraged him with God's own w __ __ __ __. The term "Be s __ __ __ __ __ and of good c __ __ __ __ __ __" appears four times in the first chapter of Joshua!
ref: Ephesians 6:10
Be s __ __ __ __ __ in the Lord, and in the p __ __ __ __ of His m __ __ __ __.
B. TEXT: Joshua 2:1-24
1. Our sermon title is taken from that well-known passage, Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of things hoped for, the e __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of things not seen.
a. This powerful definition of faith takes our understanding of that concept far beyond the weak and insignificant things we sometimes associate with "faith."
(1) h __ __ __
(2) w __ __ __ __ __ and d __ __ __ __ __
(3) p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
b. Joshua 2 presents us with two faith perspectives to consider this morning.
(1) the faith of J __ __ __ __ __
(2) the faith of R __ __ __ __
2. The Faith of Joshua (v.1)
a. In the face of God's bold promises made to the new leader of the nation of Israel in Joshua 1:2-5, does his "caution" in 2:1 seem a little disappointing? Does his sending out spies betray a "secret" belief that any military success Israel may enjoy will depend on his organization, leadership and planning?
(1) Is what we see here really a l __ __ __ of faith?
(2) Does his action represent the presence of d __ __ __ __ regarding God's promises?
b. Is the presence of faith -- authentic faith, the gift of God -- an excuse for lack of careful planning? For example, I know that God has promised to provide me with the basics of life (Matthew 6:25-34). Does my decision to take a job to earn the money to buy those things reveal a lack of faith on my part?
(1) Luke 14:25-33
(2) Ephesians 5:15
(3) Proverbs 3:5-6
c. These passages, particularly the last one, indicate that the by-faith life of the believer is undertaken in partnership with God. God has provided great and wonderful promises, and He has supplied us with a mighty source of personal power -- the Holy Spirit. My role in this partnership is to exercise my "new" w __ __ __ to go forth in obedience to God's commands.
(1) "When we belong to God and receive His promises, we are also charged with being responsible believers. We walk in the light of the promises of God, promises that say, 'I will be with you -- don't be afraid.' But we work in the light of God's promises as well. This has nothing to do with our salvation; we cannot work for our salvation. But we are not to trust God to do what He expects us to do." ( Paul E. Toms: This Land is Your Land )
(2) When I "fight the good fight of faith," I must: walk "circumspectly" ("carefully, eyes wide open") assess all obstacles placed in the path of my obedience acknowledge their power recognize my weakness and confess my sins labor in prayer plan wisely, counting the cost proceed in faith, trusting God to keep His promise
d. Joshua's purpose in sending out the spies was an essential element in his careful planning and diligent stewardship. There is no indication that an unfavorable report from the spies would have changed his plans to obey God. Remember his own experience as a spy! (Numbers 13)
2. The faith of Rahab
a. She is regarded as one of the greatest women "heroes" in the Bible, a fact made truly interesting in light of our introduction to her in this chapter.
(1) She was a p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
(2) She saved the spies' hides by l __ __ __ __.
(3) She extracted "payment" for her good deed: a promise that she and all her father's family would be spared in the coming invasion.
b. Rahab in the New Testament
(1) In Matthew 1:5 she shows up in the geneology of C __ __ __ __ __!
(2) In Hebrews 11:31 she is immortalized with other "heroes" who are commended for their f __ __ __ __.
(3) In James 2:25 she is said to have been "j __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ by w __ __ __ __."
c. Rahab provided the spies with two things:
(1) shelter
(2) encouragement Joshua 2:9-11 [ TLB ]
"I know perfectly well that your God is going to give my country to you," she told them. "We are afraid of you; everyone is terrified if the word 'Israel' is even mentioned. For we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and how you ruined their land and completely destroyed their people. No wonder we are afraid of you! No one has any fight left in him after hearing things like that, for your God is the supreme God of heaven, not just an ordinary god."
(a) "In this remarkable set of words Rahab verbalized the truth to these two spies. The spies came to a most unlikely place, and the words of this woman told them exactly what the situation was." (Francis A. Schaeffer: Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History )
(b) How encouraged these men must have been to hear these words! And you can imagine Joshua's reaction when he received the report they gave to him in v.24. There is a similar incident where God uses an enemy to give His people encouragement. It is part of the story of Gideon, recorded in Judges 7:9-15.
d. But why did God save Rahab? Was it because of this good report? Was it because her "good" lie spared the life of the spies? Let us look again at Joshua 2:11 [ NKJV ]:
And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for THE LORD YOUR GOD, HE IS GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE AND ON EARTH BENEATH.
(1) Everybody in Jericho was afraid of Israel; everybody believed the reports of their great victories east of the Jordan; everybody had heard the stories of their great God. They all had, we might say, "faith" that they would not be able to defeat the army of Israel in battle. But that train of thought is not "faith;" it is presumption -- an expectation based on a logical, accurate assessment of available information. We see the same sort of "faith logic" demonstrated in Numbers 13 when ten of the twelve spies sent by Moses were swayed by the physical evidence of "giants" that Israel would not be able to successfully invade the Promised Land. We see it again in the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, when the giant's height, his fearsome taunts, and his huge weapons convinced Saul and his army that he could not be defeated.
(2) Rahab, like the other citizens of Jericho, was afraid of the army of Israel. But, in the midst of this civic anxiety over pending trouble, Rahab, unlike the others, b __ __ __ __ __ __ __ "beyond" the military facts. Rahab believed by f __ __ __ __ in the God of Israel. "Her statement about God (Joshua 2:9,11) was universal and total. How did she know that? We are not told. Often in Scripture we find that people knew things, though we are not told how they came to know them. But Rahab knew! And what she knew was totally against her culture. She believed in a new God, a God totally and diametrically opposed to the gods of Jericho but a God above all other gods, a universal God. In the midst of the Canaanites, the Ammonites, the Amorites -- in the midst of their horrible, polluted worship, laden with sex symbols and sex practices -- Rahab affirmed a true theological proposistion about who God really is." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History )
e. Rahab was s __ __ __ __ on account of her faith, that which, placed in her heart by God Himself, led her to make a personal decision in the midst of a culture of disbelief and even while in the exercise of a sinful enterprise.
(1) Her decision would allow her to eventually pass from the kingdom of the Amorites to the kingdom of the Jews.
(2) More importantly, her decision allowed her to immediately pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.
(a) Like A __ __ __ __ __ __ before her (Genesis 15:1-6) and like every Christian who has come after her, Rahab responded to a propositional message from God with a b __ __ __ __ __ born of supernatural faith. She (like so many of us) received the message while living in a culture with a completely different world view. Nothing in her life experience to that point gave her any encouragement to take the step of faith required to say, in so many words:
"By an act of the will, on the basis of the knowledge that I have, I declare in faith that God is the God of heaven above and the earth beneath. He is the universal God."
(b) Rahab, of course, had no knowledge of the coming Saviour, Jesus Christ, yet she had come under the cleansing blood of Him who would become incarnate in order to serve as the Paschal Lamb of God. That she was a sinful harlot who was completely ignorant of the great doctrines of God serves to remind us of the incredible grace of God.
(c) "We all stand in Rahab's place in the sight of the holy God. Probably we are even worse, for she had little knowledge. There is probably no one [in our church] who has as little knowledge as Rahab had when she made her step of faith. We are all sinners. Each one of us is like this woman living up there on the wall. Each one of us deserves only one thing -- the flaming judgment of God. If it were not for the spiritual portion of the covenant of grace and Christ's death on Calvary's cross, we would all be lost." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History )
C. REVIEW: Two perspectives of Faith in Joshua 2
1. Joshua stands as an example of one whose w __ __ __ __ prove his faith.
2. Rahab stands as an example of one whose faith in the God of Israel removed her from the judgment of God and delievered her into the kingdom of God. She came under the saving work of Jesus Christ, passing from the midst of unredeemed humanity to redeemed humanity on the basis of His blood.
Jesus Christ has stood before every man and woman in history in one of two capacities:
a. S __ __ __ __ __ __
b. J __ __ __ __
Later in our study we will get an incredible glimpse of the pre-incarnate Christ in the book of Joshua. He will be seen as captain of the Lord's host. For one woman in Jericho He stood as Saviour. For the rest of the city He stood as Judge. The difference? A choice, made through faith, to believe God.
Church of the Saviour
1 October 1995
discussion guidetween true discipleship and "counting the cost."
a. Has your relationship with Christ "cost" you very much? ________ If so, in what way?
b. Re-read Joshua 1:10-18. In v.10-11 Joshua instructs the people to prepare to receive God's inheritance. In v.13-15 he reminds the eastern tribes to remember the commitment they had made before God.
(1) How would you instruct a new believer to "prepare" for discipleship?
(2) Have you ever made a commitment (or a promise) to God that He has had to
"remind" you of? _________ If so, describe the experience briefly.
2. Read Ephesians 5:15.
a. Give one example of a believer's need to walk "carefully" in today's world.
b. Read Colossians 4:5. Give an example of this kind of "careful" walk.
3. Read the all-time "controversial" passage of James 2:14-26. In one brief statement,
write your understanding of the message of James in these verses.
4. The Notes from this morning's sermon briefly discussed the eastern tribes' decision to settle for less than God's best for them. Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on Joshau entitled Be Strong, compares those tribes to those in the church today whom he calls "borderline believers." In your opinion, who are these "borderline believers" in the church today?
5. Rahab's lie has been the subject of much debate over the years. Do you think God is able to "justify" this kind of deception under these circumstances? Why or why not?
a. Another famous "lie" in Scripture occurs in Genesis 12:10-20. In (1) defend Abram's lie; in (2) present a case against it.
6. Read Hebrews 5:12 - 6:12.
a. In 5:14, how does one attain the status of being "of full age?"
b. Per 6:9, list some things that should "accompany salvation."
