Joshua: Be Strong & Courageous

1:1-18, 11:23 (Pastor Heo)

The LORD Commands Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “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. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 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. 5 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.

6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.”

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’ ”

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

…

11:23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

Be strong and courageous. Can you hear this living voice to each of us individually? “Be strong and VERY courageous.”

Quiz: (Last Sunday)

1. Deuteronomy location: Moab (plains of)
2. How long did they stay there? 1 month
3. What did they do there? 1-2 days Moses’ final sermon + 30 days mourning Moses death

Where Deuteronomy ends, Joshua begins.

Also, God is so patient, that he waited until the people finished crying for Moses. When that time was over, God immediately said to Joshua, “My servant Moses is dead, so you and all your people, arise, stand up and go over the Jordan to the land I’m giving to you, the children of Israel. I will give you EVERY place you put your foot and no one will be able to stand against you. Be strong and courageous! (4 times repeated) As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

Key verse: 8 “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

• son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim
• actually, his remarkable life was filled with variety, success, and honor – he was well-known for his faith in God and the Spirit of God in him.
• He was born in Egypt, so he witnessed the terrible slavery of the Israelites – he also witnessed God’s deliverance of his people when the Red Seas parted.
• His first appearance = Exodus chp 17 – the Israelites were immediately attacked by the Ammalekites – Joshua led the army in victory over them. Subsequently, he became Moses’ prodige.
• Also, when Moses went up Mt. Sinai to get the stone tablets, he took only Joshua – he waited 40 days at the top of the mountain. So, unlike the other people, Joshua was not involved in the sin of the golden calf.
• He was also one of the 12 spies who explored the land of Canaan for 40 days when Moses was still alive. He and Caleb brought a good report, but the other 10 reported badly.

Because of this reported event, all 10 spies who gave a bad report and all who followed them were condemned to die in the desert after wandering for 40 years. Only Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the Promised Land.

At the end of Deuteronomy, Moses laid his hand upon Joshua and blessed him and he was filled with the Spirit of God.

Book of Joshua = conquest, fulfillment of the promise from God

After almost 400 years – in Egypt, in the desert, they were finally able to enter and possess the land God promised them. Actually, Abraham never possessed this land – he was an alien, stranger, but he left the promise of God to his heirs.

Joshua = conquest, settlement, establishment of Israel in the Promised Land

1. Entrance to the land
2. Conquest of the land
3. Division of the land
4. Settlement in the land

Chp 13, there are still areas left to take over and be conquered. Actually, Joshua did not finish the conquest – that’s why still today, they are fighting over the land.

Story of Joshua

Chp 1:

Joshua is commanded/commissioned by God to enter the land of Canaan.

Chp 2:

Joshua sent 2 spies (like he was sent 40 years ago) to go check the land, esp. Jericho (it was the first front, strong, fortified city – they couldn’t enter Canaan without destroying Jericho first). They returned and reported “Yes, the LORD has given the whole land to us – all the people there were melting in fear because of us.”

Chp 3:

Passed the Jordan river. Remember Exodus?

• The first miracle they experienced was crossing the Red Sea.
• Now, the LAST miracle they will experience before entering the Promised Land will be crossing the Jordan.

Of course, SOME of them had experienced both, but there were some differences:

1. Red Sea: Moses raised his staff and stretched out his hand and the waters were divided and they walked across on dry ground.
2. Jordan: First the priests walked out into the river and the people followed in their 12 tribes. The priests touched the edge of the water with their foot (this was actually flood season of the river – the harvest season – so the Jordan was FULL of water). As soon as the priests touched the water, immediately, the upstream water flow ceased and there was dry land. Then the priests walked step-by-step and in the middle of the Jordan, the priests stood until all the people finished crossing the Jordan river. This is the last miracle before entering Canaan.

Now, after they crossed the Jordan, what do you think they should do? They should fight – the land was not empty. Just crossing the river, the fortified city of Jericho stood immediately in front of them. They had much to prepare – enemies were waiting for them. But can you imagine what they did in this SERIOUS situation? The first thing Joshua did was circumcise the men. Ouch.

There was no hospital, no med tech at that time – they did it in a very natural way – because all those men born in the desert were uncircumcised. They circumcised all the soldiers and then returned to their camps to rest.

After that, they celebrated the Passover – and this means it was now a full 40 years since they left Egypt.

Chp 6:

They defeated Jericho. Yes, the whole city was shut up in fear of them. God told them “Just march around the city ONCE per day for six days.”

In this situation,

1. The first line = soldiers
2. Second line = 7 priests carrying trumpets and blowing them (ram horns)
3. Third line = 4 priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant

God said to them, “Keep quiet – don’t say a word during your march. Be silent. Just blow the trumpets.”

Imagine, if they were allowed to talk to each other “What are we doing?” “I dunno. I’m just walking because Joshua told us to.” They might have been negative – show unbelief in God. Therefore, he told them to be quiet to “wait and see what the LORD your God will do for you.”

• Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – NOTHING happened.
• Day 7 – they got up early and marched SEVEN times in the same way – but up to 6 times, NOTHING happened. ONLY at the end of the 7th time, the priests blew trumpets and Joshua told the people to SHOUT!
• Then, immediately, the wall collapsed. The whole wall was burned and destroyed – all the men, women, children, animals, were killed. Except Rahab the prostitute (who later became part of Jesus’ family line).

Later, 5 kings joined together to fight Joshua. God told Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. Not one of them will stand against you. I will give them into your hand. Be strong and courageous.” During this battle, God hurled large hailstones. More of them were killed by the hailstones than by the hand of the Israel soldiers.

Actually, Joshua wanted to finish that battle on that day, so even though it was getting dark, Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still. This miracle was done by God the Holy Spirit.

Chp 12:

We see the number of kings who were defeated by Joshua (31). Then, the war finished, but the Bible says that Joshua became old and there were still areas to take over – the next generation should do so.

Chp 13-22:

Division/allotment of land – to each tribe – and settlement of the land. Look at the map provided.

Do you see Moab in the bottom part? It is the location of Deuteronomy. After Moses died, they journeyed 3 days.

• In the middle is the Jordan River.
• The upper sea is the Sea of Galilee.
• The lower sea is the Dead Sea.
• Based on the Jordan river, there are East Jordan and West Jordan.

Can you find Jericho? It was the first and one of the strongest fortified cities – thus, when they crossed the Jordan, they encountered Jericho almost immediately.

• East Jordan, 2.5 tribes (Reuben, Gad, 1/2 Manasseh – they received their inheritance already from Moses before crossing the Jordan).
• West Jordan, 9.5 tribes – in all 12 tribes.

Which tribe has no inheritance? Levi – the priestly tribe. Instead of that, they received 48 towns over all the areas because their job was the priestly job – helping the people in spiritual matters.

Do you see the Mediterranean Sea? Still, since Joshua did not finish the fighting, there is still fighting there today – Gaza, PLO – Palestine Liberation Organization – sometimes they are in tension still today – maybe until Jesus’ Second Coming.

Conclusion:

The book ends with the death of Joshua – he dies at the age of 110. Moses was 120.

Chp 23-24:

This is the final address of Joshua to his leaders and people.

Yes, we saw in Deuteronomy, Moses final sermon. In this sermon, the key message is:

Deut 6:5-6, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength. Today, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you – I have put before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose now one. Choose life, for the LORD is your life.”

Joshua’s final message is almost the same:

“Be very careful to love the LORD your God – fear him and serve him with all faithfulness – choose your Lord. If serving the Lord seems undesirable, choose whom you will serve – whether in Egypt or the Ammorites – but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

This is the final message and encouragement of Joshua.

So, what message can we get from Joshua for us today?

Key word: Joshua = a type of Jesus Christ

Actually “Joshua” = Hebrew, “Jesus” = Greek – they are the same word. Like “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) are the same words.

• “Joshua” = “the LORD saves”
• “Jesus” = “he will save his people from their sins”

4 similarities of Joshua and Jesus

#1: As Joshua defeated his enemies, also Jesus came into this world to defeat his enemies (sin, Satan, death)

(He defeated death by his death) – He came to take away sin –

• 1 John 3:5 “We know He appeared so He might take away our sins.”
• 1 John 3:8 “He who does what is evil is of the devil for the devil has been sinning form the beginning, but Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil.”

#2: As Joshua led his people into the rest of Canaan, also Jesus leads us into the rest of God

Just as Joshua gave them rest as a symbol, Jesus gives us spiritual rest.

Hebrews 4:8-10 “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters the rest of God rests from his work just as God rested from his.”

We see “rest” 4 times here.

If we are really the children of God, Jesus gives us rest.

Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest… I am gentle and humble in heart – come to me and find rest for your souls… Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives.”

#3: They received the Promised Land by God but it was not empty

It was promised LONG ago through their forefathers. They received it as a covenant land by God, but when they entered it, the land was not empty, it did not welcome them. They had to fight. What does this mean?

Our salvation does not guarantee an easy life in this world. We must fight.

Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Yes, even though we receive eternal life, the promise and covenant of our God, we must fight.

• Jesus says, “In this world you will receive troubles of many kinds but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
• Romans 8 “In ALL these things, we are Super-Conquerors through Christ who gives us strength.”

#4: Moses encouraged them to CHOOSE. Joshua also encouraged them to CHOOSE. Also today, we must CHOOSE.

Do you have willpower? Do you have choice? There are many ways to go, we must choose only ONE way. In every way, every situation, we must choose.

Even animals did not receive willpower – only human beings have received willpower. We can think and choose.

Still, before us, there are two ways –

1. life/death,
2. salvation/destruction,
3. freedom/condemnation,
4. blessings/curses.

We must choose. Not just once, but in EVERY situation and step and circumstance. We must choose our way, our truth, our life. Jesus says, “I am THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life.” He is our Way, our Truth, and our Life.

God bless us all in our choice in every step.

Let’s pray.