Israel’s Keys to Success-Trust & Obey

Transcript

GRS 2-39
8/27/2006
Israel’s Keys to Success-Trust and Obey
Joshua 1
Gil Rugh

We are in the Book of Joshua. Let me direct your attention to Joshua Chapter 1. We are going to get started in the Book together tonight and look at some of the matters in this opening Chapter, the Book of Joshua. We have already looked at some of the background material on Joshua to see how God prepared him for the ministry that he would have. We noted the several lessons from Joshua’s life that has some application to us in the way God prepares his servants and the first thing we noted was it takes time for God to prepare a person for ministry. Moses was 80 when he assumed his ministry. It took Joshua 40 years under Moses leadership. Moses was 80 and it took 40 years of wilderness wandering till he brought them in to the point of being ready to go into the land. So Moses was 120. During those 40 years, Joshua was faithfully serving Moses, so 40 years preparing. Joshua was going to die at 110 and he is about 86 years old when he takes responsibility. So I have 23 years to go before I would be Joshua’s age. We are not living quite as long. So we have to start a little earlier, but we got to keep in mind, not get frustrated if we think well, it takes a while, but takes greater time for God to prepare one of his servants.

Second, the training process is carried out as we are involved in serving the Lord. In other words we don’t sit and do nothing and then someday the Lords says, all right now I am ready for you to take on this larger responsibility. The training process is faithfully serving the Lord and that is what Joshua did. Third point is high to that and that faithfulness in the little tasks is crucial. We don’t want to waste our life. Life is short when you think of it and we want to be faithful to the Lord in the task and responsibilities he gives us. And anything the Lord entrust us to do is a significant responsibility. That God would entrust me to do anything in serving him makes that a major responsibility and whatever we do we are to do is under the Lord and it was that preparation of being faithful. We might say the little things that prepared Joshua for what God had for him.

Fourth characteristic of the preparation of Joshua was Joshua was a man Moses could trust. He could count on Joshua. We know something of the history of the 40 years of wilderness wandering. And the people were unreliable and one day they were going to be faithful, the next day they were complaining and grumbling, but Joshua is characterized by steady faithfulness. He is a man Moses could count on. And the last point comes out of the previous one; Joshua was willing to stand no matter what others did. And remember he made that well-known statement, “you can decide what you are going to do, but for me in my house, we will serve the Lord,” that stated later in his ministry, but it characterizes him throughout. When all the spies except Caleb will bring a bad report, Joshua and Caleb stood and know the Lord can do it. The Lord will do it, the Lord is promised, so some of the things had prepared him. That doesn’t mean Joshua is going to be another Moses.

Some of these things we’ve mentioned but I want to remind you of them, but that doesn’t mean that Joshua will not be God’s man for this time. We sometimes fall into the trap of comparing one of the Lord’s servants with another of Lord’s servants and some of the comparisons we may be correct. We may be able to show why this servant is not nearly as great as the other servant that has nothing to do with anything. Joshua will not be privileged to sit face to face with the Lord as Moses was. There won’t be another Moses we were told, at the end of the book of Deuteronomy. But we don’t need another Moses. We simply need the man of God’s appointment for this ministry and that man will be Joshua.

Joshua is the human writer of the Book of Joshua. We don’t need to turn – in Joshua 24 to 26 told us that Joshua wrote these things down. So we may say that Joshua is not another Moses, but think of the privilege, to become the leader of the God’s people and to write this precious portion of the word of God that records God giving the land to his people. Book has three major divisions; first five chapters are about entering the land, crossing in the Canaan. Then Chapter 6 to 12 were about conquering the land and then Chapters 13 to 24 are about dividing the land. The division of the land among the tribes of Israel and the portion allotted to each of the tribes.

Chapter 1 of Joshua is an introduction to the book. Here Joshua assumes his responsibility as the leader of God’s people and the people acknowledge his leadership and declare their readiness and willingness to submit to his leadership and authority. Verses 1 to 9, you have the commission of Joshua and this becomes foundational to everything else. Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying and this connects the Book of Joshua to the Book of Deuteronomy because the closing of the Book of Deuteronomy, the last chapter, Chapter 34, you remember records the death Moses and told us in verse 9 of Chapter 34, that Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom. Moses had laid his hands on him and then a reminder that Moses was unique in the role he played, in the relationship he had as God’s servant, but now Joshua assumes the responsibility of leadership.

There is a transition, there is great sadness, sorrow over the passing of Moses, but now we are ready to go forward. God’s work is not done. Moses is dead, God is not dead. Moses is dead, but the promises of God hold fast and true. And Israel is going in to take possession of the land. So Moses death is the part of the plan of God to move forward his work with the nation Israel. Then do you remember, Israel cannot go into the land until Moses was dead. If we were there humanly speaking, I may well this is a downer, but the death of Moses is necessary for Israel to be to go into the land because Moses couldn’t lead them into the land, so the sovereignty of God in it all. Moses is declared to be the servant of the Lord repeatedly in this Chapter in verse 1 is referred to as Moses, the servant of the Lord. Verse 2 God says Moses my servant is dead.

Down in verse 7, be careful to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant, commanded you. Down in verse 13, remember the word, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you. Down in verse 15 toward the end of the verse, “you shall return to your own land possess that, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you. Moses is given this title, the servant of the Lord, or my servant that’s God speaks thirteen other times in the Book of Joshua. Not only these times in Chapter 1, but thirteen other times as well. Joshua will not be given the title, “the servant of the Lord,” until you get to chapter 24, verse 29. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t the Lord’s servant, but there is a constant remainder of the unique place. And it’s not Moses the mighty leader. It is not Moses the mighty miracle worker. It’s Moses, the servant of the Lord.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun. We are not told how this communication takes place. Chapter 34 of Deuteronomy Verse 10 said that it was not face to face communication like took place between Moses and the Lord, but nonetheless God did speak directly to Joshua, but there was not the same intimacy of personal communication that took place between Moses and the Lord, but nonetheless Joshua did receive the word of the Lord directly. Joshua was designated as Moses’ servant and that was his role that he played. Moses my servant is dead. The end of verse 1 says, Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant. You see the order, Moses was the servant of the Lord, Joshua was the servant of Moses. For 40 years he played that role and in doing so, he faithfully served the Lord. Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all these people to the land, which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

Now, it is the time God promised the land Israel. They have never been in the land as a nation. When Israel went down in the Egypt, there was just the family of Joseph. His father Jacob they went down as a family. The broad family 70 people go down into the land. 400 years later, they come out as a nation, but they have never set forth in the land as the nation Israel. 400 years earlier, when they were in the land, they were just a family, but now they are nations. So it is a significant time. The promises repeated again and again in the Abrahamic covenant. Now God is going to honor and give them the land, which he promised them. Reminder, nothing interrupts the promises and plans of God. Time doesn’t do anything. Time is part of God’s plan.

Now, it’s the time for Israel to go into the land, to the land which I am giving you? I have that highlighted in my Bible. You know we talk about Israel is going to conquer the land and they are humanly speaking, but you know what it is? It is a gift from God. It is the land, which I am giving you. They will conquer it, but it is a gift. No one can prevent them from taking possession of it. And some of these things as you are aware has significance for us today and there is still turmoil over Israel taking possession of the land and their role their, but the land belongs to Israel by promise. And God says all is done when the dusk settles, when the last Chapter is completed Israel will possess the land it’s theirs. It can end up no other way. Now we don’t know every detail in between and we don’t need know every detail. We know the big picture. We know there is yet seven years coming of tribulation climaxing with the return of Christ. We know there will be the thousand years, where Israel will be in the land and then we move into the eternal phase of the kingdom, where Israel is there prominently.

So verse 3, every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you just as I spoke to Moses. Just jump back to Chapter 11. He could have gone back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but takes Joshua back to what he said to Moses in Deuteronomy Chapter 11 verse 24. Verse 23, the Lord will drive out the all these nations from before you. You will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, nothing to do with anything, the strength of the nations. Remember the spies report back in Numbers 40 years earlier. The might and strength of the people, it’s irrelevant. You dispossess them. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your border will be from the wildness to Lebanon, familiar name, from the river the river Euphrates as far as the western sea. No man will be able to stand before you. The Lord your God will lay the dread of you, the fear of you and all the land out of which you say have set forth as he has spoken to you, so what I promised to Moses, “I am now ready to do” back in Joshua Chapter.1.

Repeated in verse 4 what we just read verse 5. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. I don’t know there is an indication in this verse that there will be opposition. It just won’t be effective opposition. There will be those that tried to oppose Israel’s taking possession of the land. They just cannot be successful. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. This may have when Jesus said, in the world you have tribulation. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. So tribulation and trial are not a big issue for us as God’s people right. We have read the last chapter, right! We always start with the last chapter. We know the last chapter for Israel; we know the last chapter for the church. All my tribulations are put into perspective by that. Doesn’t mean there are no difficulties, doesn’t mean there is no trial. Doesn’t mean there won’t be some pain, but the end has already been a victory, success. God’s work accomplished. I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.

Take a moment. Turn over to Hebrews Chapter 13. His verses coded over here. Hebrews Chapter 13, look at verse 5, make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. You see that promise was given to Israel, but it is a promise that is good for all of God’s people. But Jesus said “Lord, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. He is the one who will never leave us forsake us. So that’s not just the promise for Israel, that’s a promise for us, because it is true for all of God’s people. He never forsakes his people; and so we can be content with what we have because he is our possession. He is the one who we will always have. When you are in the New Testament, you might have stopped at Romans 8. Romans 8 is context here, the spirit helps our weakness and so on.

Verse 28, God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. Jump down to verse 31, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? So same things that are said to Joshua are repeated for us as God’s people. The Lord is a fuel or defender, the one who stands with us. Come back to Joshua 1. Verses 6 to 9 show the importance of the focus on the word of God. Now you are aware Joshua just can’t sit back and wait for an angel to bring a report that the God has supernaturally destroyed all the enemies in Canaan, and now Israel can just walk across the Jordan and divide up the land. Obviously God could have done it. He could have sent a plague through Canaan by the time Israel cross the Jordan, every Canaanite would have been dead. But he doesn’t do it that way. Obviously, God could have allowed us just to sit back and having those trials and difficulties and just wait till glory comes. Put ahead around us and preserve best from all trial, but that is not the way God works. He is molding and shaping us. He is maturing us to prepare us for glory. And so here, he is preparing Joshua and the people for what is before them.

So verse 6 says, be strong and courageous, this becomes the scene. Going to be repeated again in verse 7, it’s going to repeated again in verse 9 and then it will be repeated again as the chapter closes at the end of Verse 18. Be strong and courageous and he gets the idea that Joshua with 40 years of preparation for the task now he is going to assume. Forty years as Moses servant, 40 years of serving the work of the Lord, being the part of what God was doing, still needs to be reminded. You must be strong and courageous. We easily shrink in the cowards, timidity, fear, and even here Joshua the warring leader needs to be reminded. You be strong and courageous and your strength, your courage is based up on the promises of God. Be strong and courageous for you shall give this people possession of the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.

And he says in verse 7, only be strong and courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go. The word of God has already been committed to writing. He already had Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy to trust in. You have the written word of God. Don’t wear off of anything I have said. Don’t turn to the right; don’t turn in to the left. That is the key to your success if you will. To your ability to function wisely, to do what you should. God’s blessing comes as a result of obedience to his work.

So verse 8, this Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Obedience to the word comes no only from knowing the word, but having it saturate and permeate your life. You shall meditate on it day and night. In view of read some things on meditation and there are some things going around today on Christian meditation and it has nothing to do with biblical meditation. More characteristics of eastern meditation where you empty your mind and you focus on particular word or # or something like that. If you sit with an empty mind and supposedly then you enter into a sphere of special spiritual experience. What if God knows nothing about that kind of meditation? What you do when you meditate biblically is you are thinking through the word of God.

You are concentrating on what God has said on his word and thinking of how you should act in light of what God said, thinking on the greatness of God, his character what is reviewed about his person. How am I going to face the trial before me and then I think upon and meditate upon and roll over in my mind. You said I will never fail you or forsake you. How will I get through this? My God has said I will never fail you or forsake you. So I will get through it because he will be with me. He will be my strength. So I thought I am meditating and that’s what I am going over in the fullness and richness of God’s word. He is the subject of my fast and that leaves away. You meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. Ignorance of the word is a disaster for God’s people. How will Joshua will do what God wants him to do if he doesn’t meditate on the words, study the word, fill his heart and mind with the word? We then call, wouldn’t be great of God will just speak directly to us.

He has, he in fact has put it down in black and white. You know what God is saying here. He doesn’t say to Joshua every time I speak to you directly you listen to me and do it. Joshua will have to do that. But the emphasis of beginning of Joshua’s ministry as a leader of God’s people is you fill yourself with the word that I have given that my servant Moses has written down. And as you have meditated up on it so it becomes part of your life, part of your thinking. Then you will be able to do what has been written down. Not just some meditating thing this is something to shape your behavior so that, you will do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, then you will have success. There is no great secret study, the word. Think up on the word, dwell on the word.

Turn over the Psalm I, it is amazing to church today, it is looking for success and now what it’s doing is moving away from any serious involvement in the word of God and doing all kinds of other things. Anything you are having success and prospering and it become like the church at Laodicea. Its success and prosperity that makes them revolting to the Lord of the church. Look at Psalm I, how blessed it is the man, who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, who stand the path of sinners that sit in the seat as scaffolds. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. You know what he does at the end of verse 3, whatever he does he prospers. Psalm thing God promised to Joshua. You meditate upon the word and then obedient to that word that fills your mind. It determined your conduct, your actions that bring you prosperity and success. Not necessarily earthly riches, but enables you to be everything and accomplish everything God would have you do as his servant. Turn over the Psalm 119. Psalm 119 reads on to fill your mind with.

Verse 14 of Psalm 119 I have rejoiced in the way of your Testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts, and regard your ways. I will forget your words. Turn over to verse 97 Oh, I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies. They are ever mine. The pattern here is we meditate on the word we study the word. We fill out hearts and mind with the word. Then we live out the word, we are obedient to it and that brings blessing. Keep in mind we had a lot of meditation today. We are to be mediating on the word, filling our hearts and mind with the word, thus the benefit of memorizing scripture. I can be going over it in my mind what ever I am doing. Whatever I am thinking about in my daily activity, I can connected to the word of God.

All right, back to Joshua Chapter 1, now these don’t change. Book of Joshua starting at here about 1405 B.C. Jeremiah is going to be almost the thousand years later. And let me read you it, God said to Jeremiah at the beginning of his ministry. Jeremiah Chapter 1 Verse 8, Do not be afraid of them, I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. The Lord touched my mouth and said, Behold I have put my words in your mouth. That is the pattern and so don’t be afraid that may goes on. They will fight against you, they will not overcome you. I am with you to deliver you. So it is the servant of God filled with the word of God and now being obedient that word and that bring success in his ministry. You read the life of Jeremiah the weeping prophet; you think well I don’t know about that when you call that successes. But I say it was successful, because he was pleasing to God. I don’t think we have any doubt that Jeremiah was successful. Now as the word lifted him and he went from one trial to the other, they might have a different evaluation, but God’s evaluation is all accounts.

So come back to Joshua Chapter 1 verse 9, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. The Lord promises to be with me wherever I go in every situation and every trial, and every difficulty. What does it mean when I am afraid? Means I don’t know that the Lord can come through in this situation. Don’t tremble, don’t be dismayed, be strong and courageous not because you keep pumping yourself up the power of positive thinking, think positive facts think no, think on the Lord, think on who he is? Think on what he has promise? Think of what he has done for you, think of what he has said in his word and that’s what gives the courage, different than the courage of the word.

In verses 10 to 18, you have preparation for crossing the Jordan and we are not going to do great details on this. The people would pass through the land. You have the tribe of Ruben and Gad and Manasseh, the half tribe of Manasseh, remember they wanted to take their portion on the east side of the Jordan River and Moses agreed that with the stipulation that the warriors from these tribes would cross the Jordan and join with their brother in conquering the land. Then they could go back. So what they do is leave their families on the east side of the Jordan with the land that has been promised to them, but the soldiers have to go over and not return home until they have conquered the land. They agreed to this. There is no debate here, no disagreements that they will go and they answered to Joshua in Verse 16 “all that you commanded us we will do, wherever you send us we will go just as we obeyed Moses in all things so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words and all that you command him shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.

There is a note I read many years ago, 1989. They wrote the people commit themselves without reservation to Joshua and his leadership. This is crucial as the people prepared to go to battle. So that most important is that this commitment be made before they face the boarder. They are committed to Joshua’s leadership; they are committed to be faithful, committed to support him. The people of God today are being divided and casted into disarray by an unwillingness to follow God’s appointed leadership. People follow and tell it becomes unpleasant. Make the commitment when the battle comes, honor it, you know, we struggle the nation to get into war and then follow through. I am not getting into what you think about the war, that just the principle that is there and sometimes our enemies that we won’t have the heart to follow through was God’s people, we make the commitment to honor God to be faithful to his word and to support his leadership. And then when difficulties and trials, we don’t second guess that commitment we follow through with it. There are unpleasant things to come.

When God reaches in the battles on conflict that does not mean the battles on conflict will not be unpleasant. Not be trials not be painful. And that will be true of Israel going in to the land. But their commitment here to Joshua’s leadership is key to the success of their ministry. Joshua must be faithful to the Lord and the word of God. God’s people must be faithful to the Lord and the word of God and the leadership that God has appointed I say that, but every time we have had a conflict we have had causalities because of failure to follow the biblical principles. So I mentioned that and I tell you I wrote it many years ago. I don’t have anything in mind now I am not aware of any battles. But often I am not aware of the battle till it comes, but principle the God has established for his people is the same and his method of operation is always the same as well.

So we are ready for Joshua to send out the spies and in Chapter 2, they begin to go to search out the land and may be he learned the lesson because he already two men to spies, there are only two faithful men out of the twelve that went before. So why send ten more, just send two good faithful men and they may come back with their report and we will look at the familiar story of Rehab at the city of Jericho when we get into the Chapter 2.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Thank you that you are the unchanging God. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. That you are the God who cannot fail, whose promises cannot fail. Every word that you had spoken is true and tried. It is not possible for the smallest portion of your word to fail, not one jot not one tittle, everything will come to pass. Lord, thank you that we are privileged to be your people through faith in your son. Let your word is our precious possession. It is the food and nourishment for our soul. It gives us clarity for how we are to walk in this world. Lord we will fill our hearts and mind with truth of your word. We would meditate upon it, we would study it, we would mold over with a desire that every aspect of our life will be controlled by what you have said. We would walk faithfully in obedience to your word.

Thank you for Joshua just a human vessel, the one that you have prepared. One who has proven himself faithful and now he faces the greatest challenges of his life, but he does not face them alone. He does not face him in his own strength that you have promised to do with him. Lord we are encouraged to be reminded that the same is true for us. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us. But we can rest, content, secure in all turmoil and trials that make come to us in this life because you have overcome the world in your son. You are the one who promises to bring us to a successful completion of our walk. We look forward to the week ahead of us. We would hope for the return of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. And we will commit ourselves the faithfulness to you each day that you gave until he comes. We do so through Christ our savoir, amen.