Tag Archives: Joshua 1-4

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2024 Bible Study — Do Not Be Afraid, for the Lord Your God Will Be With You

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 1-4.

After Moses died and Joshua took over as leader of the Israelites, God told him to be strong and courageous, that He, God, would never leave him, Joshua, nor forsake him.  Then when Joshua spoke to the tribes which would settle east of the Jordan, reminding them that they were obligated to fight along their brothers to conquer west of the Jordan, they replied by telling him they were with him and he should be strong and courageous.  Just as God told Joshua, and the tribes also told him, we too should be strong and courageous in carrying out God’s will.  We need not be afraid, nor should we be discouraged, because God has promised that He will be with us wherever we go.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2023 Bible Study — Do Not Be Afraid

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 1-4.

There are three things in this passage which inspire me to write something each year when I read this passage.  I am not sure if I will write about all three, but I will start with the one which comes last in the passage.  When the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground, Joshua had twelve men, one from each tribe, pick up a large stone from the middle of the riverbed.  Joshua then built an altar out of those twelve stones.  For however long that altar remained those who saw them would see something unique.  As a result of water running over them day in and day out for years, stones from a riverbed appear differently from stones just dug up out of the ground.  Those twelve stones would have been a testament to someone being able to gather then from the middle of the river.

Now for the thing with which the Book of Joshua begins, God’s commission to Joshua.  As the centerpiece of that commission God commands Joshua to not be afraid.  Again and again throughout the Bible when God, or one of His messengers speaks to people they tell them, “Do not be afraid.”  This is a command.  This is not a soothe-your-nerves sort of statement.  While it is not part of the Ten Commandments, it goes right alongside “Do not lie,” “Do not steal,” etc.  Do not be afraid! That command is for all who put their faith in God.  Here God told Joshua why you should not be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Of course, God gave Joshua another command, before He told him not to be afraid.  God told Joshua to obey all of His commands, turning from them neither to the left or to the right.  How do we keep from deviating from God’s commands?  By meditating on them all of the time.  So, if we think about what God’s commands tell us about what we should do in every situation in which we find ourselves, we will keep His commands and He will be with us.  And then  we will find it easier to not be afraid.  That pile of stones I mentioned in the first paragraph today?  God had Joshua have them gathered to remind him, and the rest of the Israelites, why they should not be afraid.  Even if they have been lost to time, they should serve as a reminder to us as well.

When I started writing today I also wanted to write about Rahab and the spies who went to Jericho, but this has gotten long enough so I will save that for another time.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2021 Bible Study Be Strong And Courageous

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 1-4.

The passage begins with God’s message to Joshua as he took over leadership upon Moses’ death.  Three times God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous.  After the final time, God also tells him not to be afraid or discouraged.  We should take this message to heart.  Just as God promised to be with Joshua, He has promised to be with us.  If we keep God’s Word in our hearts and meditate on it day and night, we will have confidence that God is with us.  God’s message was not just for Joshua.  He tells us also to be strong and courageous.  God will be with us, so we need not be afraid or discouraged.  As long as we follow God’s direction, whatever we do will be successful.  Maybe not the way we define success, but God’s purpose will be served, even if that which we thought was the end goal does not come to be.

The passage continues with the story of Rahab and the spies in Jericho.  Most of the time we focus on how Rahab was promised that she and her family would be protected from the destruction about to be visited on Jericho, or on how Rahab is one of King David’s ancestors.  Those are both great examples of how an outsider was welcomed in among God’s people through their faith.  However, my attention was caught by something today.  The spies insisted that their oath of protection to Rahab was only binding if she did not tell anyone what they were doing.  In the past, I always read that as not revealing them so that they could escape.  But that makes no sense, if they failed to escape, they could not pass the word to the Israelite army to not harm Rahab or her family.  So, that cannot be what they meant.  Clearly, the spies had either done something, or discovered something, which would allow the Israelites to conquer Jericho more easily.  Which suggests that Rahab’s cooperation was about more than gaining protection from the inevitable fall of Jericho, that perhaps Rahab preferred to become a foreigner among the Israelites to remaining a prostitute among her own people.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2020 Bible Study — Be Strong and Courageous

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

When Joshua took over leadership of the Israelites after Moses’ death, God instructed him to be strong and very courageous.  God told Joshua that if he obeyed the instructions from God which Moses had given him he would be successful in all that he did.  God promised that if Joshua did that He would be with him wherever he went.  I believe that the same is true today.  If we do as God has commanded, turning neither to the left nor to the right, we will be successful in all that we do and God will be with us wherever we go.  In addition to telling Joshua, and us, to be strong and courageous, God told him not to be afraid or discouraged.  There is more to this than just having the faith to not allow ourselves to be afraid or discouraged.  As we see the results of following God’s instructions we will find it progressively easier to not be afraid or discouraged.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2019 Bible Study — The Importance of Memorials

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

When the spies Joshua sent out to spy out the land around Jericho needed a place to stay for the night, they went to the house of a prostitute because that was a place where strangers could go to spend the night with no questions asked about why they were there.  It did not work out that way because someone recognized them as Israelites when they went in to Rahab’s house and thus we learn a lesson about how God works.  No one had preached about God to Rahab.  In fact ,as best we understand the way the religion of that time and place worked, she was a priestess (of sorts) to the local diety.  Rahab had a choice to make and she chose the side of God.  She did not know much about God, or what it took to serve Him, but she had heard the stories about the Israelites and knew that she did not want to be God’s enemy.  We should live our lives so that when others preach to those who have heard about us those who hear go, “Yes, I want to be like them.”

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, Joshua had them take 12 rocks from the center of the riverbed.  They set those twelve stones up as a memorial to their crossing of the Jordan.  I want to note that these rocks were not just any rocks, they were rocks which had been on a riverbed for an extended period of time.  As a result they would have had a different appearance from rocks that you would find lying on the ground or which you might dig out of a field when you plow it up.  Anyone who saw this memorial who knew anything about rocks would have known they came from a riverbed.  As we go through life, God provides us with such memorials, things which show that He is working in our lives.  Some of those things will be physical objects, such as this memorial the Israelites built.  Some of those things will be less tangible.  In either case, we must take note that God is showing His power so that we never forget when He has shown us His will.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2018 Bible Study — God Does Not Always Work Through Those We Would Expect

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

    The story of Rahab should be inspirational for us. Rahab was a prostitute, which suggests that she was rather low on the social scale. It may also suggest that she was involved in the religious observations of the people of Jericho. As soon as Rahab learned that the authorities were looking for the Israelite spies, she hid them and concocted a story to send the search elsewhere. Of course, not only did she send those searching for the spies elsewhere, but her story sent them in a direction which would allow the spies to avoid the search when they left the city later that night. As soon as the searchers were well on their way elsewhere she let the spies out of the city by a rope from her window. But not before extracting a promise for the safety of herself and her family. Rahab had heard the stories about the Israelites conquests east of the Jordan, and the miracles which God had performed for them. We should strive to emulate Rahab’s faith: she knew of God’s power and acted to aid those He had blessed with no assurance that it would benefit her in any way. We should also take notice that Rahab was not the sort we ordinarily expect to be receptive to God’s message, but the spies did not approach her to hide them. She chose, completely on her own initiative, to hide them. Sometimes God works through those from whom we would least expect it.

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2017 Bible Study –Leadership, Faith, and Memory

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

    Today’s passage can be divided into three parts:Preparing to enter the Promised Land, Rahab and the spies, and Crossing the Jordan. There are two parts to the part about preparing to enter the Promised Land. I am only going to touch on the first part of that. God gave Joshua advice which every leader will benefit from. Meditate on God’s word day and night. Study it and follow its principles. If you do this you will be successful in everything you do. Remember that God will be with us in everything we do. God will not abandon us, nor will He fail us. This is not conditional on us studying and following His word. However, if we do not study and follow God’s word, we will fail ourselves.

    The story of Rahab and the spies gives us a great example of faith. Rahab acted to protect the spies before she extracted a promise from them to be kind to her and her family. Why di she do this? She tells us why. She had heard what God had done for the people of Israel and she recognized that He was the Supreme God above all other gods. She recognized God’s power and His will and acted accordingly. She did not wait for the promise of benefit to herself or her family to do what was right. She acted in faith with no assurance that she would receive any benefit from doing so.

    When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River they built two monuments to God’s power. One of them was an example which was probably never seen again. They built two stone altars. One in the middle of the riverbed of the Jordan River and one where they camped for the night after crossing the river. The second was built from stones taken from the riverbed of the Jordan River. These stones would have been distinctive, as any stones which spend any length of time in a moving body of water develop several characteristics. As a result for generations afterwards this altar would have stood as a testament to them crossing the dry river bed of the Jordan River. There are times when it is useful for us to do similar things in our lives, to build monuments to how God has used His power in our lives. Those monuments do not necessarily need to be physical.
    As an example, I struggled long and hard with whether asking my wife to marry me was God’s will. God assured me that I had made the right decision. This story is how He did that. Several things happened over the summer leading up to our wedding which made it clear where we should hold our wedding reception. When we reached out to the caterer to see if we could schedule his hall he responded by saying, “I am sorry but I am booked every Saturday for the next two years…except for September 23. The couple who had reserved that date just called yesterday and cancelled.” September 23 was the date we had chosen for our wedding. Whenever my wife or I question whether or not we made the right decision to get married, one of us says, “I’m sorry but I have no dates available for the next two years…except for the day you want.”

Daily Bible Study

March 11, 2016 Bible Study — Be Strong And Courageous

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 1-4.

    Upon Moses’ death God spoke with Joshua. He gave him a message which can serve as encouragement to us. In that message God told Joshua to be strong and courageous several times. Further, God gave Joshua, and us, a reason to be strong and courageous; He, the Lord our God, will be with us wherever we go. He will not fail us, nor will He abandon us. In turn we must obey God’s instructions. He has given us a Book of Instructions, let us meditate on it day and night. If we meditate on the Book which God has given us, and strive to follow the instructions contained within to the best of our ability, God will be with us in all that we do.

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    I am struck by the ingeniousness of the memorial which the Israelites set up to mark their crossing of the Jordan. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River and constructed a memorial out of them. Now, that might not strike us as much. However, stones which have been in the middle of a river for any length of time have distinctive characteristics which can be recognized for years after. Geologists use such characteristics to identify areas where bodies of water once existed but have been long gone. By taking stones out of the middle of the Jordan River and using them to build a memorial to their crossing, the children of Israel left clear evidence to their descendants that the story about the crossing was true.