Today we start feeding on Joshua. I’ve been looking forward to this!
Joshua’s story is a book about adventurousness, and risk taking; especially it’s a magnificent, joyful book teaching us how God prepares people for victory. And we all want that!
The Israelites had spent 40 years wandering round the wilderness. Now in Joshua they advance into the promised land, the land where God’s promises came true. They miraculously cross the river; equally miraculously they capture Jericho; and then, bit by bit, God gives them the whole promised land, even though it’s controlled by huge people, giants as we’re told (Num 13).
So: what characterizes God’s people, what kind of discipleship marks them, when they’re moving into victory; what marks us when we’re in a place where God in His grace will lead us into the promised land? We want to know!
Now there are lots of ways we can feed on Bible books. Here are three about this one.
First: As Christians we go through two types of experiences. Sometimes we’re in the wilderness; sometimes because of our own stupidity or sin; other times when God allows us to be there because that’s where we’ll learn something vital and special. The book of Numbers tells us about following God through those tough wilderness times; in the new testament, so does 1 Peter. In other seasons we find ourselves in the place where God’s promises are coming true all around us: prayers are answered, God’s kingdom is moving continually forward. The promised land; Joshua tells us about how to live with God in those sorts of times.
Or here’s another. Joshua’s a Hebrew name: what’s its Greek equivalent? Jesus. Joshua is what Jesus’ mum would have called him, or if she’d used Aramaic, Yeshua. We call Jesus Jesus because our NT’s written in Greek and Jesus is His name in Greek; but Jesus was an Israelite & His name in Hebrew was Joshua or Yeshua. Jesus, Joshua and Yeshua all mean `The Lord saves`. So when the previous piece of the Bible finishes, that’s Deuteronomy, what are we learning? Moses the Lawgiver has died; Moses the Lawgiver couldn’t bring Israel into the promised land. We move on to the next page, Joshua 1, and we find someone called Jesus, Joshua, `The Lord saves`, can and does bring them into the land. And in that we get the whole gospel lesson of the old testament: Moses and his Law, doing our best, even the very best good works, can never bring us into the promised land; we can only get there through Jesus, through the Lord who saves! It’s one of those bizarre things about the Bible that makes us realize it’s a supernatural book, that in the old testament just as in the NT it’s Joshua/Jesus who leads God’s people into the victory they’ve been awaiting for so long.
So Joshua’s going in part to be a book about the gospel! It’s always good to ask what the new testament books see as important when they quote OT books. In a way the whole Jewish old testament is about the gospel, and when we see just how an OT book is about the gospel we begin to understand it. So in Exodus, Passover is about the gospel and how we can only be safe and delivered if we’re sheltering under the blood of the lamb; in Leviticus the sacrifices are about the gospel, how everything centres on blood sacrifice for sins. Now if we look at how the NT quotes Joshua, it’s certainly about the gospel. Both in Hebrews and in James we find the story of the prostitute Rahab; Hebrews 11 uses it to make the point that she’s saved by faith, James 2 that the faith that justifies must be one that has real fruit in our lives. And that, after all, is where God’s salvation starts! Well, this may be another ‘way in’ to this book…
And in these coming weeks we’re going to feed on Joshua in yet a third way – because the Bible is a wonderful book! Joshua is one of a pair of books, along with the next one, Judges. Joshua is above all a book where the people of God move forward; there are mistakes, but on the whole they move forward into victory. And we can read it to see what marks God’s people, like us, when they’re moving forward in victory. Judges, in contrast, is a book of defeats: occasional recoveries, but slowly they decline and fall apart, and the book ends in complete disaster. And we can read it to learn: What marks the people of God when things are disintegrating? So we have this important question as we read Joshua: What characterizes God’s people, what kind of discipleship marks them, when they’re moving forward, what marks us when we’re where God in His grace will lead us into the promised land? And we can think about this individually too: I want to move forward with God in joyful victory; what will mark my life if that’s happening?
So lastly today then: the openings of Bible books are often key for getting their message; what does Joshua’s start tell us about what God’s people are like when they’re really moving forward? Next week we’ll look at Joshua 1:3-9, but this week let’s flag up just one crucial thing from the first two verses, the very first thing God teaches us about victory through this book:
`After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: “Moses My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the River Jordan into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites.”`
The first thing we notice is realism, and the faith to which it calls us. `After the death of Moses`, v1 begins; then, we see, it’s repeated almost immediately, the first thing the Lord tells Joshua is: `Moses my servant is dead.` Why rub it in? Didn’t Joshua know? His human support has been removed. 40 years he’s been right hand man to Moses; Moses, who knew what to do; Moses, who talked with God as his friend; Moses, who led the people so well for 40 years. And now Moses is gone; and God says Now, Joshua, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan to where the giants are. Now! God’s saying, yes Moses is dead; face it; then trust Me and trust My provision, I’m the God of glory! Back in Numbers we see how God trained Joshua in faith; and now God’s saying, I’m all you need, use that, trust My supernatural aid rather than focusing on the river-barrier, and your loss, and your enemies…
Sometimes we too just have to learn to face our weakness & then trust God. If we want to move into victory, we’ve got to learn how to be strong and courageous, but not in our own strength. `Be strong & courageous` says God to Joshua, three times; and surely He only repeats it because He’s saying it to someone who needs it! But how? It’s not about `thinking positively` and telling ourselves lies about our own capabilities (`Oh I’ll be fine as a leader, I’ll be great at sharing my faith really`); it’s about thinking positively and telling ourselves truths about God’s glorious capabilities! Often we need to face our weakness realistically – Moses is dead, God forcefully reminds Joshua, and it is you who’s got to lead the people, right now, into the land of the giants – & then, trust & rejoice in our God who says (look at v3), I will be with you and I will give you every place where you dare to set your foot. Or as Romans says: `If God is for us, who can be against us!` `I will boast about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me`, says Paul in 2 Corinthians 12: `For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses! For when I am weak, then I am strong.`
The longer we serve God, the more experiences we’ll have where one way or another we find ourselves horribly weak, and only God can see us through; times when like Joshua we need to look our weaknesses right in the face, then choose to trust God & go forward. It may be in evangelism; it may be in caring for someone; it may be in leadership: I’m just not gifted for this at all! No, but your God is! So realism plus faith are the starting point of this book of victories. Let’s ask God right now for that kind of spirit, and for His help to see when it’s relevant…
That’s probably important enough – prayer fuel enough – for now. But we’ve a whole list next week of the key things marking God’s people as they move forward into victory; a really helpful checklist to pray through…
