Jos-Lesson 2

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JOSHUA 1
Lesson #02
JOSHUA’S CALL TO LEADERSHIP

• Memory verse: Joshua 1:9

• Read Joshua 1:1-9
• The significance of Moses’ death:
• The Israelites had followed Moses for over 40 years. Even though they frequently murmured against Moses’ leadership, there was no other figure as great in the Israelite mind as was Moses. In fact, over the centuries after Moses’ death, the system of Judaism made Moses a super hero.
• Before the Israelites could claim the Promised Land, Moses, the super hero, had to die.
• Before believers in Jesus Christ can claim the promises of God, we must get rid of the super hero attitude. This attitude says that I can do it in my own strength.
• God calls little people, and it is God that makes them great. It is God that empowers them.
• God called Moses on the back side of the desert after he had failed in his own strength to make a difference for God.
• In the same way, God called Joshua as a no body, and enabled him to do what God wanted him to do.
• Remember that because of Moses’ disobedience against God in Num 20, God prevented him from entering the Promised Land. In the same way as all the Israelites that disobeyed God, he, too had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.
• Moses, as the representative of the Law, had to die before the next generation could enter the Promised Land.
• It is the same way in the kingdom of God. The Law of the Old Testament had to pass away to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
• The promises of God cannot be obtained by keeping the Law. Instead they are obtained by faith in the grace of God.
• The believer in Jesus Christ must die to his super, self-ego before he can fully trust God for the victory.
• God will not share the glory with anyone. Because of that, God needs humble people in leadership.
• The events in the Old Testament with the Israelites are to be examples to us. (1Cor 10:5-6) Therefore, in the broad scheme of God’s plan, God’s timing is perfect in all ways.
• We see this aspect of God’s sovereignty over time when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
• We see this aspect of God’s sovereignty over events experienced by the Israelites in the book of Joshua.
• God’s call to leadership:
• God calls people to leadership after He prepares them.
• Joshua was in God’s training school of leadership during the wandering in the desert: What did Joshua learn that made him a leader?
• Read Exo 14:13-14, 29-31
• The crossing of the Red Sea
• Lesson:
• Joshua learned leadership courage through watching Moses.
• Joshua learned that the promises of God are trustworthy .
• Joshua learned that the power of God is sufficient.
• Read Exo 17:8-16
• He was a general in the battle against the Amalekites that fought against the throne of God.
• Joshua learned military leadership and the importance of supporting those in authority over him.
• Lessons:
• God won’t tolerate the rebellion of men against himself.
• Power is not merely man’s power with a sword but man’s position with the God of power.

• Read Exo 24:12-13
• Moses and Joshua ascended the mount and they saw the God of Israel.
• Lesson:
• It reminds us of the interplay between the seen and unseen world not far off but right here and now.
• Joshua learned the importance of a close, personal relationship with God, and how to wait on God for direction.
• Read Exo 32:17-20
• The event of the golden calf when Moses and Joshua descended the mount.
• Lesson:
• The terribleness of sin among the people of God.
• Joshua learned patience with people who easily wander away from God.
• Read Exo 33:7-11
• People repented for idolatry–Joshua remained inside the tabernacle.
• Lesson:
• The responsibility of leadership to prayer and intercession.
• Joshua learned how to stay in God’s presence to hear from God.
• Read Num 11:24-29
• 70 elders prophesied–2 prophesied in the camp
• Joshua asks Moses to forbid them because they didn’t have Moses’ prior approval.
• Lessons:
• God’s glory comes first before man’s aggrandizement.
• Man cannot bind God to man-made rules.
• Joshua learned obedience under authority as a servant to Moses.
• Num 13-14
• One of the 12 spies and one of the 2 spies with a good report.
• Lessons:
• Be willing to stand for God even when the majority is against you.
• Rebellion against God causes missed blessings.
• Joshua learned that faith with God will take you farther than agreement with men.
• Read Num 27:15-23
• Joshua’s ordination
• Lesson:
• Leadership comes from God to be recognized by man.
• Joshua learned to walk faithful before the Lord and before the people so that the anointing power of God was consistently on him.
• Read Deu 31:2-8
• Joshua’s commission by Moses
• Lesson:
• Leadership is always raised up by God and acknowledged by man.
• God’s presence and guidance must go before you for there to be victory.
• Read Deu 1:37-38 and Deu 34:7-9
• Death of Moses
• Lesson:
• No man is indispensable but every man is unique.
• Joshua learned to be willing to serve God and the people.
• Joshua learned to walk in the Spirit trusting in the wisdom of God.
• Is there always a long time preparation for spiritual Leadership? No, not always but usually. Timothy was an exception – 1Tim 4:12

• What does God promise Joshua? (3-6)
• God repeats to Joshua the same promises He gave to Abraham, then to Moses, and now to Joshua.

• “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

(3) This is about 500,000 square miles of territory.

• “…as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee…”

(5)

• “…I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

(5)

• Through a period of Grace under Abraham, and through a period of Law under Moses, the promises of God remain the same.
• Through a period of Grace and through a period of Law, the promises of God are obtained in the same way, by faith in the grace of God.
• the Promised Land in Joshua’s day

• Why did God insist that no inhabitants of the land were to remain alive?
• Read Deu 9:4-5
• If the inhabitants of the land left willingly, they would not be destroyed.
• However, the pagan tribes did not leave willingly and had to be conquered by Joshua and the Israelites. They were not to let any of them live because these were evil people who worshiped idols.
• If the pagan tribes remained in the land, they would intermarry with the Israelites and would spread their idolatry and immorality to the Israelites.
• The Israelites were not faithful to keep this command to destroy the inhabitants of the land. Therefore, the spread of idolatry is exactly what happened.
• For the New Testament believer, the principle is the same. We must fight the enemy, Satan, and remove every trace of evil or it will infect our lives.
• In the same way as the pagan tribes prevented the Israelites from possessing the Promised Land, we permit the enemy to steal our promises from us.
• Therefore, learning spiritual warfare is a necessary preparation for possessing our possessions.
• What conditional commands are given to Joshua? (6-8) There are three commands to Joshua’s commission:
• =1= “be strong and of good courage” (Jos 1:6, 7, 9, 18)
• Four times Joshua is commanded to “be strong”. (6,7,9,18)
• The number 4 is symbolic in the Bible of the four directions of the compass.
• In other words, God will give Joshua the land in the four directions where his feet take him.
• He only needs to be strong to obtain it.
• The word strong is related to the vision that God gave to him and his ability to maintain his faith in God to fulfill it. (6)
• The word strong is related to faith in the Word of God. (7-8)
• The word strong is related to faith in the presence of God (9)
• The word strong is related to judgment for a lack of faith. (18)
• To be strong and of good courage, it is necessary to:
• Keep your eyes of faith in the promise of the vision. (6)
• Keep your eyes of faith in the Word of God. (7)
• Keep your eyes of faith in God’s presence. (9)
• Keep your eyes of faith on God because a lack of obedient faith brings judgment. (18)
• It is necessary to admit your own weaknesses to trust in God’s strength.
• The result is that you will do God’s will and you will prosper.
• =2= “meditate in the word”
• Meditating is like a cow chewing the cud. A cow has two stomachs. He chews his food, swallows it, brings it up and chews it again before digesting it in his second stomach.
• Therefore, Biblical meditation is more than memorizing. It is going over it word by word, phrase by phrase, taking it apart and digesting its meaning. It is not suspending the thought processes in the way the cults practice meditation. Therefore, meditation is an aid to faith: “out of the mouth the heart speaks”.
• Meditation builds up the inner man so that what you say does not depart from what God says. This is a confessing faith. Your words will be in agreement with God just as Jesus was in unity with the Father.
• The difference between meditation and memorizing is that meditation affects the spirit of man and memorizing affects the soul of man.
• The object of meditation is “the book of the law”, God’s Word.
• At the time of Joshua it was the first 5 books of the Bible, written by Moses as they happened and read to the people every 7 years (Num 31:9-13). It was kept in the side of the Ark of the Covenant. (Deu 31:26)
• God’s emphasis is upon the Law as they are about to enter the Promised Land.
• =3= Maintain obedience to God’s plan because it enables the believer to prosper (to gain the victory). This is the result of meditation.
• The word, “prosperous” is a progressive term meaning to break forth. The word, “success” means = to act wisely having skill. This is the only time this Hebrew word appears in the Bible.
• There is an implied command to be obedient. (7,8,18) God honors obedience.

• Read Joshua 1:10-15
• There are commands for physical preparation. (10-18)
• Preparation of food supplies. Manna was to cease in chapter 5. Therefore, they were to prepare to do things differently to accumulate their own food after they entered the Promised Land.
• God warns them to take food with them.
• God communicated to the people the long term goal: All twelve tribes must fight for the land.
• God’s permissive will with regard to the 2 1/2 tribes.
• In Num 32:1-42 two and half tribes were indifferent to God’s promise for the land.
• These tribes did not want to cross over the Jordan. They asked for permission to remain on the east side of the Jordan. They were walking by sight and not by faith, for they said that the land on the east side of the Jordan was good for cattle.
• Because of their decision to remain in God’s permissive will, these tribes were the first to become indifferent to the welfare of God’s people as a whole nation, and the first to fall under heathen influence.
• To possess the land, the Israelites would need the cooperation of everyone to posses the land. The principle of unity is very important. Therefore, God insisted that the men of these two and a half tribes must fight to help the other tribes gain the Promised Land.
• An important spiritual truth:
• To possess our possessions in the Christian life, we need the help of other believers to stand with us in faith and unity. (Heb 10:24-25)
• We need encouragement.
• We need intercessory prayer.

• Read Joshua 1:16-18 The People’s Commitment
• The people told Joshua of their agreement with God’s plan.
• The people agreed to obedience. For a failure to obey would be punishable by death.
• A spirit of unity is very important to success and victory in the spiritual world and in the physical world.

• Summary and Application:
• We see the balance between idle trust and over active cooperation:
• Idle trust = sitting back and saying “if God wants me to have it He will give it to me”.
• Over-active cooperation = getting so zealous in dead works that we jump the gun and precede God (like Sarah).
• How do we know where the balance is between rest in the Lord and active cooperation?
• By experience
• By the guidance of the Holy Spirit
• By the Word of God
• God revealed to Joshua that it was time for action.
• Something to think about:
• God wanted to enlarge the destiny of the Israelites. God wants to enlarge your destiny.
• How can we have an enlarged destiny? Evaluate your life and dreams.
• What is God’s vision for you?
• Do you need to meditate in the word?
• Do you need a fresh awareness of God’s presence through prayer?
• Do you need to concentrate on obedience?
• How can you help someone else this week to enlarge their destiny?

HOMEWORK
JOSHUA 2
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Joshua 1
• All your life God has been preparing you–the question is for what?

• What can you do to cooperate with God’s preparation?

• Write a list of major events in your life and their significance–what did you learn from them?

• Preparation for Joshua 2
• Read Joshua 2:1-14 and James 2:24-25
• Upon what was Rahab’s oral confession of faith based?

• Read Joshua 2:15-24 Heb 9:19-22 Heb 11:31
• What is the significance of the scarlet thread?

Memory verse: Proverbs 18:21