Joshua – Lesson 10

All of the older generation that left Egypt had died in the wilderness because they had not believed God. Caleb and Joshua were the only exceptions and Joshua was now the new leader. So it was to this new leader that God gave the command to be strong and have courage.

But what kind of courage? This was not something that was natural, such as just being bold in everything he did. There are certain factors that we must recognize before this kind of courage is present.

First, such courage does not exist apart from faith. Faith is its basis. One has to absolutely believe something is true before he can be courageous enough to venture out on the basis of what he believes. God’s promise was:

· Joshua 1:3, I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

That is the promise. Faith believes in the promise and therefore is the basis for courage. This is called the principle of appropriation. This simply means that not only must there be the promise of God for us, but we must go and claim for ourselves that which God has promised.

Israel was told to go and take over the land and God would be with them. He had already given it to them, but they had to claim it by taking it. So courage is dependent on faith, a faith that goes out and appropriates what God has given. God gives but man must take.

· Romans 8:32, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Here is an unlimited supply of whatever is necessary.

Now I want to point out here that as we mature in our understanding of the Bible we are able to make judgments about what we read. For example: in the verse we have just read, we are told that God will give us all things. Does it really mean that He will give us all things? Well, who is speaking? Of course it is the Word of God.

Will God truly give us all things? He does not give us things that are not good for us. All of His gifts are good and perfect. So I want you to be careful and realize that you don’t take Scripture absolutely literally when there is an obvious reason not to.

The same thing is promised in:

· Ephesians 1:3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

But in order for us to receive these spiritual blessings we must first believe what God has said and then accept them or take them.

Second, faith has to depend on the promises made. Someone makes a promise but how sure are we that we can depend on it. The answer is that we need to know who made the promise and what is their track record of making good on their promises. In the election season, we are made many promises, many of which are simply lies and many of our politicians have a track record that is totally undependable.

Third, it was God who promised that every place in Canaan where the Israelites set foot would be given to them by God. God cannot lie, so when He says something it is totally dependable

· Numbers 23:19, God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.

This is the promise from our God, and He always keeps His promises. There are times when He cannot do certain things because we are disobedient to Him. So it follows that we must be obedient by believing what God says and acting on His promise. This is being obedient unto faith. This is what God meant when He said to Joshua:

· Joshua 1:7, 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.

So to review, we are told to be strong and courageous, but courage depends on faith; Faith depends on promises, and the fulfillment of the promises depends on the faithfulness of the promiser; and finally that God as the promiser is totally dependable.

The fourth thing to notice is that faith in the promise is based on daily meditation.

· Joshua 1:8, 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.

We have no way of knowing what God’s promises are unless we find them in the Bible. Why are we commanded to meditate on His Word? Because there we find God’s will for our lives and for the promises He makes to us if we are obedient to Him. This is not a matter of just reading the Bible. We must master what we find there by meditating on it, by thinking deeply about what it means to us personally and how we are to behave.

And what is the result? We will be made prosperous. Does that mean that we will achieve great financial wealth. Maybe, but not necessarily. There are far more important ways to be wealthy and successful than having financial wealth.

On this matter of meditation, I saw an email recently that I think is appropriate to include here. It was as follows:

“As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion or thanking me for something good that happened in your life yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear.

When you ran around the house getting ready, I knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were too busy. At one point you had to wait fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long. With all our activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to me

I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt a little embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't. That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet.

You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.

Bedtime I guess you felt too tired. After you said goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time. That's okay because you may not realize that I am always there for you. I've got  patience, more than you will ever know…I even want to teach you how to be patient with others as well.

I love you so much that I wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought, or a thankful part of your heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.

Well, you are getting up once again. Once again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time. Have a nice day!”

Your friend,

GOD

I hope this has some meaning for you and that it can be a gentle nudge to your conscience to remember to speak to Him once in a while, regularly.

The result of a courageous life by faith is practically unlimited in terms of what God will do with an individual. Some of the promises in the first chapter of Joshua indicate this. For example, in verse 3 the Israelites were assured that every place they walked on in Canaan was to be theirs. This in itself was grounds for strength and courage for them to pursue it. Now think about it: It had already been given to them. It was theirs. But they had not yet taken it.

Then in verse 7 they were promised that they would prosper wherever they went if they were faithful to what God had provided for them. In verse 8 prosperity and success were promised them. No matter what the enemy tried to do, no matter how adverse their situation, Israel was not to give up but to press on, which they did, and they were successful.

The God who spoke these words and led these people so long ago is precisely the same God that we claim to know today. But, we will not grow spiritually until we recognize that the God of Moses and of Joshua, the unfailing God, is also our God. He has not changed. So the issue for us is to let God be God and to accept His sovereignty and His leading, knowing that He has nothing but good for us and that the road He leads us to travel will lead to success.

If we take a panoramic view of the Book of Joshua, we will see how Joshua’s courage was built up as he traveled the road of obedience.