Joshua – Lesson 16

Self Discipline Through the Word

· Joshua 1:7-8, 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.

God had set a high standard for Joshua when He said that Joshua should observe all of the law of Moses. But then this is the same standard that has been set for each of us. With regard to discipline, obedience to the law is the basis for our self-discipline. Now keep in mind that God’s call for us to be obedient to the law has nothing to do with our salvation, except that if we have been saved by God’s grace, we are then obligated to grow spiritually and that involves being obedient to His law.

Joshua needed to be strong and courageous because there were those who would want him to go in a different direction than the one that God wanted him to follow. We are living in a time of rapid change and we are often told that we must keep up with the times and new philosophies. But we need to remember that some things do not change. God’s Word has never been intended for our “entertainment” It is intended for our worship.

It was this very Word to which God called Joshua so that he may prosper. Now this doesn’t mean to become wealthy, but to be successful. This is why God said in:

· 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.

Obedience to the Word of God is the source of our strength and courage. Satan is not too concerned about how much work a Christian does in and out of the church, or how often they are at the church. But what really sets Satan at work to discourage the Christian is when the Christian begins to spend time in studying the Word.

Remember the words :

· Romans 10:17, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

When we begin to believe God, things begin to happen. As long as we do not trust God, and refuse His strength and life, nothing of any consequence takes place. It is the Word of God that is powerful as we read in:

· Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

When we begin to seriously start studying the Word and meditating on it, the Holy Spirit begins to point out to us what is wrong with our lives. He begins to remove our blindness and enables us to see the deeper things that are in God’s Word. And He enables us to put together bits and pieces of information that help to clear up difficult passages of Scripture.

Jesus said :

· John 6:63, The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

And the Psalmist wrote about the godly man in:

· Psalm 1:2-3, But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Someone may ask, “How can a person meditate on God’s Word day and night?” Well, how about this for an answer to that question:

During the day we read and study the Bible and memorize parts of it. During the night hours we think about what we have studied. Recall some verses that we have memorized. The central idea is that we continually remain in an attitude of recalling what we have learned about what God expects of us in the matter of obedience.

· 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Without the Word the results spoken of in these verses cannot be realized. There is no short cut. We must pay the price of time and effort to be equipped for every good work.

Except for the work of the Holy Spirit, it remains a secret as to how we grow spiritually. It is at this point that the supernatural power of God is involved. Our responsibility is to get into the Word and ask God to continually fill us with His Spirit.

Israel was headed for a centuries-long spiritual warfare and the Word of God was and is the manual for instruction in spiritual warfare. This will become clear as we get further into the pages of the book of Joshua. Like Joshua, God’s Word must be a purposeful top priority in our lives. To meditate on the Word means to digest it and do so with a determination to rely on the Spirit for power to be obedient.

God was faithful to the Israelites during the 40 years that they were in the desert even though they showed little in the way of spiritual growth. He gave them manna and water as well as shade by day and light by night. Yet they murmured and quarreled.

God said to Joshua:

· Joshua 1:9, 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."

God stayed with the people of Israel in the desert even though they had little to show by way of accomplishments for their 40 years that they spent there. God was faithful to them as He provided manna, water, meat and provided shade by day and light by night. They quarreled and murmured, still God provided for them. But they were obedient, to a degree, as they followed Joshua.

Questionable Separation

Joshua believed God when He said that He would be with Joshua wherever he went.

· Joshua 1:10-12, 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.'"

Remember that God told Joshua that one of his responsibilities was going to be to divide up the Promised Land and assign a portion to the various tribes of the Israelites.

So here are the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan River.

· Joshua 1:12-15, 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."

The background for this passage lies in the fact that while Moses was still the leader, the Israelites conquered some of the kings on the east side of the Jordan and took their land. It was good land with walled cities and ideal for raising cattle. So two and a half tribes decided to stay on the east side. Like Lot, these tribes chose what appealed to the eye. They were more concerned with the material than the spiritual. This pictures the carnal Christians. We all have this freedom to choose but must remember that there are consequences to our choices.

The consequences to these tribes’ descendants are seen :

· Mark 5:1-17, They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.   2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" 9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man-and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

To their credit, we need to say that the two and a half tribes did send their men to help in the conquest of Canaan, but returned to the east where things were more appealing to the eye. They had tasted the blessings of the Promised Land and helped the others secure it, but they chose the world. This is a type of those who live on the border of Christianity without making a true commitment to Jesus.

We need to mention that the choice made by the Reubenites was in keeping with their family head, Reuben the firstborn of Jacob. His conduct was such that he lost his birthright. He was never the leader that the firstborn was meant to be.

· 1 Chronicles 5:1, The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright

It is interesting that these two and a half tribes were part of the northern kingdom and were the first tribes to be taken into captivity. The lesson for us here is not so much how a person begins his Christian life but how he ends it. When the descendants of these tribes are mentioned in the New Testament we see them as keepers of swine and disobedient to God. As we read earlier from Mark 5, Jesus cast out demons from a man in one of their cities and cast the demons into the swine, who ran of the steep hill into the sea.