JOSHUA - Country Bible Church - Brenham, TX
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
JOSHUA LESSON #1 (10-31-10)
INTRODUCTION
Why Joshua?
It is part of the Bible, 2 Tim. 3:16.
It is about the Israelite’s journey into the Promise Land. They had to cross the dangerously torrential Jordan River and deal with the ferocious and wicked pagans on the other side. They had to go where they have never gone before, facing the unknown. They had to trust in God every step of the way. Isn’t that what we must do? Don’t we have to deal with ruthless, wicked people? Don’t we have to go places and do things we’ve never done before? Don’t we have to trust God every step of the way?
Every believer embarks on a journey from the moment of salvation till the time of physical death. Where are they going? What is their goal? Unfortunately, most believers don’t have a clue. They don’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing so they make little or no progress, usually going around in circles. Their life is essentially secular because they have no Bible doctrine.
They have no idea what their life should be about once they are saved. God has a plan and purpose for their life but they don’t know what it is and don’t know that not knowing is the problem !
If they go to church, they hear Bible stories but get no sound exegetical teaching. So, they think they should try to be as nice and moral as they can be and continue to go to a friendly, Disneyland church and hope for the best. When the beautiful music, power of positive thinking message, and invigorating surroundings emotionally charge them up, they think they certainly must be spiritual then, but that emotional high can never last for long. They don’t know what their true purpose, mission, or goal is, so they have no motivation to “reach for the prize” of their high calling in Christ.
1 Corinthians 9:24 . . . Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
Philippians 3:14 . . . I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:18 . . . Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize . . .
It’s sad that so many people, believers included, think “the prize” or “the goal” is heaven and they must work hard and strive daily to make sure they get there. What is their problem? IGNORANCE!
The journey for the believer in Jesus Christ is to go from spiritual babyhood to spiritual maturity. The goal is to glorify the Lord by being a good and faithful servant to Him. That cannot be accomplished if one remains in spiritual babyhood. God uses prepared believers, not spiritually ignorant ones.
The challenges along our journey to spiritual maturity can be compared to those faced by Joshua and the Israelites and the pioneers who crossed our great land in covered wagons. They faced similar challenges like raging rivers, pagan hostiles, wild animals, searing heat, frigid cold, lack of water, lack of food, fatigue, storms, mud, rattlesnakes, horseflies, equipment breakdown, illness, injury, treacherous gorges, and high mountains.
Every morning they woke up, they had no idea what trials they would face or what problems would develop. They had to be willing to orient and adjust to the constantly changing circumstances.
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The book of Joshua encourages us because it shows how the Lord can bless and deliver a nation that trusts Him and obeys Him. It inspires us individually to be strong and courageous as we face personal calamities in our own lives. The Israelites and their leaders had to be strong and courageous. They were called on to recognize that their strength was in the Lord. We are called to do the same.
The Title:
It is interesting that the title of the book is the name of the most prominent person in the book and is also what the book is about. The name Joshua means “Jehovah, the Savior” or “Jehovah saves”. It is the Hebrew form for the name “Jesus”.
The Person:
He was born a slave in Egypt and was probably the age of Caleb with whom he is sometimes associated. He must have been about forty years old at the time of the Exodus. He was the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel. He is first mentioned in Ex. 17:9 where Moses instructed him to choose some men and go out and fight the Amalekites at Rephidim.
Joshua was Moses’ right-hand man. Moses took him along when he went up Mt. Sinai and God gave him the Ten Commandments, Ex. 24:13. He was one of the twelve spies who was sent to check out the Promised Land, and he and Caleb were the only ones who trusted God and urged the people to take the land, Num. 14:6-9.
He was originally named Hoshea [help] but Moses changed his name to Joshua, Num. 16:16. The Lord instructed Moses to commission Joshua before the entire congregation, Num. 27:18-23. Later, the Lord Himself commissioned Joshua:
Deuteronomy 31:14 . . . Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him." So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.
Deuteronomy 31:23 . . .Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you."
Six nations and thirty-one kings were conquered by him, Josh. 11:18–23; 12:24. The people came to revere Joshua just as they had Moses, Josh. 4:14. A gate in the wall around Jerusalem was named after him during the late monarchical period, 2 Kings 23:8.
Joshua has been regarded as a type of Christ, Heb. 4:8, in the following particulars:
(1) In the name common to both;
(2) Joshua brings the people into the possession of the Promised Land, as Jesus brings his people to the heavenly Canaan; and
(3) as Joshua succeeded Moses, so the Gospel succeeds the Law. Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc
He died at the age of one hundred and ten after he had fulfilled his commission. He was buried in the land allotted to his tribe, Ephraim, Josh. 24:29-30.
Authorship:
“There is every reason for concluding that the uniform tradition of the Jews is correct when they assign the authorship of the book to Joshua, all except the concluding section; the last verses, Josh. 24:29–33, were added by some other hand.” Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
JOSHUA LESSON #2 (11-7-10) 3
The Place: “In the Bible, Canaan is the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah. He is first encountered in the story of Noah’s drunkenness, Gen. 9:18-27.
“Here Canaan’s father, Ham, incites the anger of Noah by ‘looking on the nakedness’ of inebriate Noah, and in retribution for this impropriety, Noah curses Ham’s son Canaan. Canaan is to be a slave, a curse that may reflect the fate of some elements of the Canaanite population in Israel, Judg. 1:28. Since ‘to look on the nakedness’ of someone suggests a sexual offense, the story may express Israel’s disdain for the sexual immorality of the Canaanite world.”
“Canaan, Canaanites, the ancient name of a territory and its inhabitants that included parts of what is now Israel (with occupied territories) and Lebanon. The boundary of Canaan is given in Gen. 10:19." Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible Dictionary (1st ed.) (151). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Date: The conquest of Canaan under Joshua took place around 1400 B.C. when the Philistines were strong in Palestine.
The Book: This is the sixth book of the Old Testament, the first of the historical books, which conclude with Nehemiah. This book stands first in the second of the three sections, (1) the Law, (2) the Prophets (historical), (3) the “other writings” into which the Jewish Church divided the Old Testament. It gives us the account of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, from the death of Moses, through the acquisition of the “promised land, Cannan” until the death of Joshua.
“The Amarna tablets are among the most remarkable discoveries of the age. Dating from about B.C. 1480 down to the time of Joshua, and consisting of official communications from Amorite, Phoenician, and Philistine chiefs to the king of Egypt, they afford a glimpse into the actual condition of Palestine prior to the Hebrew invasion, and illustrate and confirm the history of the conquest. A letter, also still extant, from a military officer, “master of the captains of Egypt,” dating from near the end of the reign of Rameses II., gives a curious account of a journey, probably official, which he undertook through Palestine as far north as to Aleppo, and an insight into the social condition of the country at that time.
“Among the things brought to light by this letter and the Amarna tablets is the state of confusion and decay that had now fallen on Egypt. The Egyptian garrisons that had held possession of Palestine from the time of Thothmes III., some two hundred years before, had now been withdrawn. The way was thus opened for the Hebrews. In the history of the conquest there is no mention of Joshua having encountered any Egyptian force. The tablets contain many appeals to the king of Egypt for help against the inroads of the Hebrews, but no help seems ever to have been sent. Is not this just such a state of things as might have been anticipated as the result of the disaster of the Exodus? In many points, as shown under various articles, the progress of the conquest is remarkably illustrated by the tablets. The value of modern discoveries in their relation to Old Testament history has been thus well described:
“The difficulty of establishing the charge of lack of historical credibility, as against the testimony of the Old Testament, has of late years greatly increased. The outcome of recent excavations and explorations is altogether against it.
“Recent discoveries touch the events recorded in the Bible at very many different points in many different generations, mentioning the same persons, countries, peoples, events that are mentioned in the Bible, and showing beyond question that these were strictly historic.” Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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The Book of Joshua records the fulfillment of the patriarchal promise made centuries before by her faithful God that Israel would appropriate Land pledged to her.
JOSHUA LESSON #3 (11-14-10)
God’s Perfect Timing:
God did not promote Joshua until he was ready. God uses prepared believers and He prepared Joshua over time. Joshua learned much from Moses and demonstrated that he was ready to take over the reins. He had been Moses’ attendant from his youth, Num. 11:28.
• He lead a military victory over the Amalekites, Ex. 17:8-10.
• He was with Moses on mountain when Moses receive the 10 Commandments, Ex. 24:13.
• He and Caleb were the only 2 sent on the reconnaissance mission who trusted God, Num. 14:6-9.
Moses knew he would not enter the Promised Land and demonstrated his great love towards the people by asking God to appoint a man to take his place, Num. 27:15-17. Moses knew that none but the Lord had authority to choose his successor. He did not nominate anyone because none but the Lord would know who the most competent man was and only the Lord would furnish him with wisdom and valor the office required.
When the Church finds itself in want of a man fit to be entrusted with some office of high responsibility, it is the God of the spirits of all flesh that can furnish the right man; He, and no other. God answered Moses' request and instructed him to commission Joshua to be the next leader over Israel, Num. 27: 18-19.
“Moses laid his hands upon him. This is the earliest example in Scripture of a rite of investiture which was afterwards much in use, which was transferred by the apostles to the New Testament Church, and is the familiar custom of the Churches of Christ still.” The Pulpit Commentary: Numbers. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (373). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Moses gave Joshua a charge. The scope and substance of the charge are recorded in:
Deuteronomy 3:28 . . . Charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 . . . Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8) The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
The encouragement Moses gave Joshua was not a glib, sound-bite but was based on the long history of God’s faithfulness Moses witnessed beginning when God commissioned him from the burning bush.
God also instructed Moses to delegate some of his authority to Joshua, Num. 27:20, so the people could grow accustomed to Joshua and there would be a smooth transition when he took over. God was preparing both Joshua and the people for the challenges ahead.
God also instructed Joshua to stand before Eleazar the High Priest, Num. 27:21, in order to establish the relationship between Joshua and the priesthood. God would reveal His instructions through the priests to Joshua.
“Unlike Moses, who enjoyed direct access to Yahweh in seeking his will, Joshua’s authority was complemented by Eleazar, who would assist in decision making by inquiring of the Lord via the Urim, the sacred lots. The Urim, usually listed in conjunction with the Thummim, were among the stones placed in the high priest’s breastplate, and probably were in addition to the twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8).
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“The Urim and Thummim were instruments of divine illumination via a priestly intermediary, though the physical shape and the methodology of utilization are not revealed in Scripture.
Harrison notes concerning these two words, which begin with the first (ālep) and last (tāw) letters of the Hebrew alphabet, ‘If this is the merismus motif, in which opposites are paired to denote totality, it could be interpreted to mean ‘complete truth in revelation.’ Later in Israelite history the prophets, as spokesmen for the Lord, superseded the Urim and Thummim as instruments of divine revelation.” Cole, R. D. (2001). Vol. 3B: Numbers (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (469). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
There were times when God would speak directly to Joshua.
Joshua at a glance:
Joshua 1:1-2
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, 2) "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
. . . the death of Moses . . . Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, Numbers 20:1-12, Deut. 32:48-52.
Moses’ death, Deut. 34:1-9:
“A mountain in the land of Moab from which Moses looked for the first and the last time on the Promised Land (Deut. 32:49; 34:1). It has been identified with Jebel Nebah, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, near its northern end, and about 5 miles south-west of Heshbon. It was the summit of the ridge of Pisgah (q.v.), which was a part of the range of the “mountains of Abarim.” It is about 2,643 feet in height, but from its position it commands a view of Western Palestine. Close below it are the plains of Moab, where Balaam, and afterwards Moses, saw the tents of Israel spread along.” Easton, M. (1996). Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
. . . the servant of the LORD . . .
“Interestingly Moses is called “the servant of the Lord” 3 times in Josh. 1 [1, 13, 15; cf Ex. 14:31], and 13 times elsewhere in the Book of Josh. And at the end of Joshua’s life he too was called “the servant of the Lord” [Josh. 24:29].” Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jos 1:2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
The Book of Joshua carefully refrains from calling Joshua by this honorific title until the very last chapter when Joshua dies. He is finally accorded the title of “servant of the Lord”
Joshua the son of Nun :
This is the Old Testament way of giving the lineage of a person. They didn’t have last names like we do, so they would give the name of the father to help identify.
. . . [Joshua] Moses' servant . . . שָׁרַת (šā∙rǎ), render assistance or help, usually as a lower status person serving a superior. There is a big difference between being called “Moses’ servant” and being called “the servant of the Lord”. The latter is much more important.
Verse 2
. . . Moses My servant . . . עֶבֶד (ě∙běd), bond servant, i.e., one who is owned by another
JOSHUA LESSON #4 (11-21-10)
. . . arise . . . קוּם (qûm) qal, imp.; to stand, to have a higher status, raise up, be in opposition to a foe or opponent, to be empowered or strengthened.
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. . . cross this Jordan . . . עָבַר (abar) qual, act. imp.; to cross over; to travel through. This is the second command given in this verse. The word “this” in association with “Jordan” suggests that the Lord wanted them to cross at that particular spot. It was the season the Jordan was known to flood.
All the people were to cross with Joshua because the time to cross over and take the land had finally come. God promised to give the land to the descendents of Abraham.
Genesis 15:18 . . . On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: [circa 2028]
It was around 700 years after this promise was made to Abraham, his descendents are ready to cross over the river and take the Promised Land.
Genesis 15:13 . . . God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
The heathens who lived in the land of Canaan had all that time to respond to God’s grace but they refused and remained in horrible degeneracy. God waited until their iniquity was full, Gen. 15:16. During that time, He prepared His people to take over the land, and now, the time was right.
Joshua 1:3
Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
See Joshua 16:6-9, Deut. 11:22-24.
God had given the Israelites the Land, but they would only possess what land the sole of their feet tread on. The problem was that the land was already occupied and those people would not give it up without a fight. So what did Joshua and the Israelites need to do? They needed to trust God and start walking.
They demonstrated their faith and acquired their inheritance by physically walking over the land. We acquire our inheritance by walking also but our walk is spiritual, not physical.
2 Corinthians 5:7 . . . for we walk by faith, not by sight . . .
Joshua 1:4
The details of the boundaries of the Promised Land is given here. Although God gave Israel the Land, they never possessed all of it. It is very easy for us to sit in judgment of them, but what about us? God has given us tremendous spiritual assets so that we can possess wonderful escrow blessings awaiting us up ahead, but most believers will never possess them.
Ephesians 1:3 . . . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
"God gave Israel 300,000 square miles of land and the most they ever claimed was 30,000 square miles. They did not do very well, did they? They took possession of about one-tenth of what God had given them. That is about the same amount of spiritual possessions claimed by believers today." McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible Commentary (electronic ed.) (Jos 1:4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Joshua 1:5
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.
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What a great promise Joshua received from God. No man would be able to stand before him. God would be with Joshua just as He was with Moses. Joshua would remember how God never let Moses down, ever, and He knew God would always be there for him, too.
. . . I will not fail you or forsake you . . . How great is this promise? No one but God can make this promise and keep it. Here's a similar promise for us:
Hebrews 13:5 . . . 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."
So Joshua received four promises from the Lord in verse 5:
1) Not any man will be able to stand before you.
2) I will be with you as I was with Moses.
3) I will not fail you.
4) I will not forsake you.
Do these same promises given to Joshua and Old Testament believers apply to Church Age believers today?
Acts 18:9-10 . . . And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10) for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city."
Hebrews 13:5 . . . Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said [in Joshua 1:5], “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” 6) So that we confidently say, [along with David in Psalm 118:6], “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.”
2 Peter 1:4 . . . He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature . . .
The promises given to Joshua and the Israelites were designed to motivate them to act so that they would receive their inheritance. We Church Age believers have been given promises concerning our inheritance which happens to be an eternal inheritance.
1 Pet 1:4 . . . "We have an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you 5) who are guarded by the power of God through faith [doctrine] resulting in a deliverance, ready to be revealed in the last time."
The physical inheritance of the Land given to the people of Israel is an illustration of the spiritual inheritance of the believer in the Church Age.
JOSHUA LESSON #5 (11-28-10)
Joshua 1:6
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
. . . Be strong and courageous . . . This is the message that is so important. We find this phrase used three times in the first chapter (v. 6,9, 18). Fear is our great enemy but believing God’s promises to us dispels fear. Psa.a34:9-10, Lam.3:21-23, 2 Pet.1:3, 1 Pet.2:24
Joshua needed this encouragement from the Lord to carry out the orders to cross the Jordan and take the land because the people who lived there were powerful. They were big and they were bad.
Read Deut. 9:1-5. Before they ever got to the people who were said to be unconquerable, they first had to cross a flood-swollen, raging river that seemed impossible to traverse and yet another reason to apply the Faith-Rest technique.
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. . . Be strong . . . CHAZAQ [qal imperative]; to bind together in order to strengthen; a mind determined to act with resolution, firmness, intrepidity, steadiness, and constancy, in opposition to being timorous, faint-hearted, careless, remiss, and indifferent. Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, p. 425
. . . and courageous . . . ’AMATS [qal imperative]; to be strong, resolute, vigorous; to act with great spirit and undaunted courage. These two words combined denote intrepidity, fearlessness, and a resolute mind. The first time these words are put together is in Deuteronomy 31:3-8
JOSHUA LESSON #6 (12-5-10)
Joshua 1:7
Only be strong and very 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.
. . . Only be strong and very courageous . . . We have the command once again same as before, but this time, we have the adverb “very” added.
. . . 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 . . . What we have here are the conditions that must be met in order to carry out the mandate to be strong and very courageous.
. . . so that you may have success wherever you go . . . Now we have blessings promised to be received when one develops courage and strength from being faithfully obedient.
Confidence gained from believing encouraging, divine promises [“I will never fail you or forsake you”] motivates the believer to concentrate on the conditions contained in the divine mandates [“do not turn from it to the right or left”]. When the conditions are met, the divine mandates [“be strong and courageous”] are obeyed, so then, blessing [“have success wherever you go”] is realized.
Being strong is a motivational virtue that can be described as confidence in God. Physical strength is nice but it can hardly be compared to spiritual strength. It is part of our royal priesthood which is invisible and privately directed toward God. We can have confidence in God because His immutable promises are statements of eternal truth that cannot be altered or annulled and must be irrevocably carried out by His divine omnipotence and omniscience.
Courage is a functional virtue motivated by the spiritual strength of our priesthood. It is part of our royal ambassadorship that is visibly and publicly directed toward men and circumstances. Confidence toward God is the invisible strength behind the believer’s visible courage toward man and circumstances.
We have courage to carry out God’s mandates because we have confidence in His promises to back our efforts to serve Him. Doubting God and fearing man are vulnerabilities we all face, but the remedy is keeping our spiritual momentum moving forward by consistently learning and applying His Word.
It all starts with your decision as a believer to learn all you can about God by taking in His Word. That produces spiritual momentum and results in confidence towards God that produces courage towards man and circumstances.
JOSHUA LESSON #7 (12-12-10)
Success is dependent on obedience. The importance of obedience is emphasized in:
Joshua 1:8
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.
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Critics argue that these Scriptures were not written until several centuries later, but this verse clearly references an authoritative “Book of the Law” which we must conclude is the Pentateuch.
Verse 8 gives instructions for doing three things with the Scripture:
1. THINK ABOUT IT
Psalm 1:2 . . . his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 119:97 . . . O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
2. TALK ABOUT IT
Deuteronomy 6:7 . . . You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
3. DO IT
Ezra 7:10 . . . For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
James 1:22 . . . But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
If the believer did these three things, then he was promised prosperity and success. The key to Joshua’s success was spiritual, being rooted in God’s Word and his obedience to it. In today’s world, people associate prosperity and success with money, but that is not the Scripture’s meaning of them.
Proverbs 23:4-5 . . . Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. 5) When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
1 Timothy 6:10 . . . For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Hebrews 13:5 . . . 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,"
How does the Bible describe wealth?
1 Timothy 6:6-8 . . . godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7) For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8) If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
Proverbs 3:13-15 . . . How blessed is the man who finds wisdom [BD] And the man who gains understanding. 14) For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15) She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.
Success in life lies in being focused upon God and consistent faithfulness to Him and His revealed word.
Joshua passed on these instructions at the end of his life:
Joshua 23:6 . . . Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left . . .
Although Joshua was the Governor of Israel and General of the Armies, the Word of God outranked him. Even those in the highest positions of authority are under the greater authority of law. Joshua did not have the prerogative to personally develop and codify new laws but rather was to be regulated solely by the Law of Moses.
Joshua 1:9 10
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."
. . . Be strong and courageous! . . . This is the third time in four verses this command appears. No matter what age, sex, nationality, or religion, no one is exempt from fear.
From Ann Landers
“It is reported that the newspaper counselor, Ann Landers, receives an avenge of 10,000 letters each month, and nearly all of them from people burdened with problems. She was asked if there was any one of them which predominates throughout the letters she receives, and her reply was the one problem above all others seems to be fear. People are afraid of losing their health, their wealth, their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself.” Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations: A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. —The Bible Friend
Fear is the greatest danger to our spiritual life. It is a Mental Attitude Sin (MAS) and a lack of application of doctrine to circumstances. It breaks our concentration on the Lord so that confidence fades, thinking diminishes, and emotions take over.
. . . Do not tremble . . . ARATS; dread, fear, terror; to be afraid to the point of trembling. This is the more severe type of fear. Sometimes we use the idiom of “the knees knocking” to describe this kind of fear. It describes someone who has hit the panic button.
. . . or be dismayed . . . CHATAT; broken, afraid, or dismayed. The literal meaning is “to be broken” but it took on abstract meanings which describe human mental conditions related to fear and demoralization.
“dismay”: Utter loss of moral courage in prospect of danger or difficulty; faintness of heart from terror or from inability to cope with peril or calamity. To deprive of moral courage at the prospect of peril or trouble; to paralyze with fear or the feeling of being undone; to utterly discourage, daunt; or dishearten; to lose courage entirely.
Oxford English Dictionary
Fear is characterized by several emotions:
Apprehension: anticipation of something adverse; fearful of what may be about to happen [OED].
Dread: extreme fear; apprehension or anxiety as to future events; adds to the idea of fear as an intense reluctance to face or meet a situation [OED]. (see Psa. 112:7)
Panic: a sudden and excessive feeling of fear usually affecting a body of persons, originating in some real or supposed danger vaguely apprehended, and leading to extravagant or injudicious efforts to secure safety.
Emotion is designed to respond to thinking. When a person is afraid, his emotions take over and his thinking shuts down. Emotion left to its own devices cannot initiate thought or replace thought. When it is asked to do so, it can only produce sins from the emotional complex of sons such as fear, worry, dread, anxiety, insecurity, terror, depression, self-pity, recklessness, bitterness, anger, vengeance, and violence.
Fear is the absence of thinking under pressure while courage is the ability to think under pressure.
Fear is a voracious monster; the more you give into it, the more it eats you alive.
JOSHUA LESSON #8 (12-26-10)
The more things you run from or refuse to face, the more fear takes over your life.
Fear focuses on the danger; courage focuses on the Lord.
Cowards are arrogant because they are pre-occupied with themselves.
Those who excuse their fear have not taken advantage of what God has made available. 11
2 Timothy 1:7 . . . For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
A few verses where God commands us to “Fear Not!”
Isaiah 41:10 . . . Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:13-14 . . . For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.' 14) "Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 12:2 . . . Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation."
Isaiah 43:1 . . . Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
Isaiah 43:5 . . . "Do not fear, for I am with you;
Isaiah 51:12-13 . . . "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who is made like grass; 13) that you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; that you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?
Genesis 15:1 . . . the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;
Deuteronomy 20:1 . . . When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.
Psalm 27:1 . . . The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? (read Psalm 27)
Psalm 34:4 . . . I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 46:1-2 . . . God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2) Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Psalm 56:3-4 . . . When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee. 4) In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
2 Chron. 20:17, 32:8, Psa. 46:7, Luke 1:13, 30, 2:10, 2 Tim. 1:7
Four Impelling Motives
There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear. Fear is first in order, first in force, first in fruit. Indeed, fear is “the beginning of wisdom” [Psa. 111:10, Prov. 9:10] Scripture summarizes the chief cause of sin and crime: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations: A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. —Prairie Overcomer
Psalm 111:10 . . . The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom . . .
The most prevalent fear among people is the fear of death. So many can never enjoy life because they are so afraid of death.
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Death Manufacturer Fears Death
“Alfred Krupp, the Prussian manufacturer of death, known as (the Cannon King) was so in dread of death himself that it is said he never forgave anyone who brought up the subject in his presence. All his employees were strictly forbidden, under fear of discharge to speak of death when he was about. A relative of his wife who was visiting with them died suddenly, and Krupp fled from the house in terror.
Later, when his wife remonstrated with him about his act, he forsook her and never lived with her again. As he sensed age taking its toll, he offered his physician a sum amounting to one million dollars if he would prolong his life ten years. Of course no doctor can guarantee life to anyone, and Krupp died.” Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations: A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers—Evangelistic Illustration
Unless fear of death is resolved by means of one’s confidence in God’s Word, the believer receives no pleasure out of living. Read 1 Cor. 15:51-57.
Being constantly limited by fear of losing of logistical support, prosperity, or life is certainly not the way God wants us to live.
When you realize there is nothing to fear about death, then you begin to realize that there is really nothing to fear in life.
Psalm 23:4 . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.
Being constantly limited by fear of losing logistical support, prosperity, or life is certainly not the way God wants us to live.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee. 4) In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
JOSHUA LESSON #9 (1-2-11)
Quotes:
“Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.” ~ Michael Pritchard ~
“The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”
~ Edmund Burke ~
“Fear knocked on the door, faith answered, no one was there. ~ Unknown ~
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~
Joshua 1:10-11
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11) "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.'"
Joshua had received encouragement and instructions from the Lord and it was time to make preparations to move out. He used the proper chain of command using officers to carry out his orders to inform the people what to do and make sure that they did it.
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Joshua’s situation at the Jordan was very similar to the one of Moses at the Red Sea. Both faced what appeared to be an insurmountable problem with water. It was impossible to address by natural means so they had to have an implicit trust and absolute dependence on God.
"The crossing of the Jordan was considered the first step of the campaign (Deut. 32:47; Josh. 3:10–13). Although normally not very wide this close to Jericho, at flood stage the river could have been a mile wide." Thomas Nelson, I. (1997). Woman's Study Bible . (Jos 1:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
There was no visible way of getting over it, at least not at this place and at this time, when all the banks were over-flown, Joshua 3:15. He had no pontoons or bridge of boats by which to convey them over, and yet he must believe that God, who had ordered them over, would open a way for them. Henry, M. (1996). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Jos 1:1–9). Peabody: Hendrickson.
Israel’s ownership of the land is unconditional, but Israel’s possession of it is conditional. Israel had to take the land but before they could do that, they had to cross the river. The only thing they were commanded to prepare was food. TSEYDAH victuals, provision, meat, venison, provisions, food. They were not commanded to build pontoons, boats, or rafts.
Notice that Joshua did not say, “We are going to try to cross this Jordan and possess the land”. He was absolutely dogmatic based on God’s Word.
Joshua 1:12-15
And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13) "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, 'The LORD your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.' 14) "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, 15) until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise."
"The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were located on the East side of the Jordan River. They wanted to settle in the land East of the Jordan because it was more suitable for the abundance of cattle they owned. Moses agreed to allow them to possess it if they would cross the Jordan to help the other tribes conquer Canaan on the West side. Then they could return to the East side and possess the land there (Numbers 32 & Deut. 3:12-20).
"According to verse 14, the warriors of these tribes would be the shock troops that crossed the Jordan first to engage the enemy. “According to Josh. 4:13, there were only about 40,000 men belonging to the two tribes and a half who crossed the Jordan to take part in the war; whereas, according to Num. 26:7, 18, 34, there were 110,000 men in these tribes who were capable of bearing arms, so that 70,000 must have remained behind for the protection of the women and children and of the flocks and herds, and to defend the land of which they had taken possession.” Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (2002). Commentary on the Old Testament. (Jos 1:12–18). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
“In some hymns, crossing the Jordan is likened to death and the land of Canaan pictures heaven. But there was conflict in Canaan, whereas there is no conflict in heaven. Actually the land of Canaan pictures our present spiritual inheritance. It is all ours, but we must possess it by obeying the Word, claiming the promises, and fighting the good fight of faith.”
MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Jos 1:10–18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
JOSHUA LESSON #10 (1-9-11) 14
Joshua 1:16-18
They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17) "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. 18) "Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous."
What a difference between the generation in verse 16 and the first generation that constantly murmured, complained, and challenged Moses’ authority, Num. 12:1-16, Ex. 17:1-7, Num. 20:1-5.
The Israelites said, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey”, Exod 24:3, 7. Yet, within a very short time, Aaron was leading the people in building a golden calf, Exod 32.
It is much easier to profess obedience than to be obedient, even when one is sincere. It is not uncommon for people to challenge authority over time. Moses’ own sister and brother challenged his authority. [read] Numbers 12:1-15.
Obedience can be difficult at times. Authority-orientation is not a problem for those who receive proper training in the home through enforced humility or through teaching of God's Word in the church. Submission becomes much easier when one recognizes that obedience to legitimate authority is based on obedience to the Lord.
People in authority such as parents, husbands, bosses, coaches, teachers, peace officers, and pastors, must be alert to signs of insubordination or disrespect in those under their authority. Authority figures may choose to play and fool around with their subordinates, but they must be careful because some subordinates take the fun too far and have difficulty recognizing when it's over.
There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. Parents must not allow their children to treat them the same way their children treat their friends or pals. Parents should have fun with their children and play with them when they can, but children need to be taught boundaries to playtime with Dad and Mom. Teaching children to always show their respect for their elders with, “Yes sir” and “Yes mam” helps to maintain proper respect.
This second generation in Vs. 17 were much more respectful and obedient to Moses than their fathers were whose bones were scattered all over the wilderness because of their rebellion to God and Moses. They had good intentions, but over time, they became lax in fulfilling the promise they made to obey. They were commanded to annihilate the Canaanites from the land but failed to do so, Joshua 11:22, 13:1, 15:63, 16:10, 17:12-13.
. . . only may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses . . .
The people’s obedience was not unqualified. They would obey Joshua as long as he was faithful to the Lord and acted as a minister of God for good.
Verse 18 seems to contain an exceedingly harsh penalty for disobedience. God is very serious about disobedience, especially under combat conditions. This was not an idle warning but was actually carried out in Joshua 7:19-26.
. . . only be strong and courageous . . . This is the fourth time this imperative is found in the first chapter. The first three times came from God in verses 6,7, & 9, but this time, it comes from the people to Joshua to especially be strong and courageous. How can people be expected to be strong and courageous if their leader isn’t? Courage and confidence is contagious.
This is a command for a leader to be strong and courageous.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 2
JOSHUA LESSON #12 (1-23-11) 15
Spies and a harlot
The book of Joshua is written in logical order but not in chronological order. Many things revealed in chapter two took place prior to most of what happens in chapter one. The entire second chapter takes up about four days describing the first things Joshua did after receiving the commission from the Lord to conquer the land.
Chronology
Joshua 1:1-9 God commissions Joshua
Joshua 2:1- 3:1 The spies gather intelligence and return to Joshua
Joshua 1:10 -18 Joshua has the people get ready and reminds the East side tribes of their promise to Moses
Joshua 3:2-4 The people get last minute instructions and are commanded to consecrate themselves
Joshua 2:1
Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies . . .
Question: God had promised to give the Jews the Land, so why did Joshua take the time to send spies? Sending the spies to Jericho was an act of wisdom on Joshua's part, not unbelief.
1. It was God who commanded Moses to send out the 12 spies into Canaan, Num. 13:1-2, and Joshua was one of them. It was the smart, prudent thing to do. The old adage, “Know your enemy”, is part of any good military strategy.
“The certainty of a promised issue does not supercede the use of the prudent means and the attempts to accomplish it. To neglect the use of appropriate means is to contravene the established order of the divine counsel. Faith never precludes effort.” Charlie Clough
If he was going to take this fortress, he needed to know details such as how many gates there were in the walls surrounding it, how many towers, how many troops, and what their morale was like.
Proverbs 20:18 . . . Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise guidance.
2. The spies came back with information verifying God’s prophecy that the time and the place were right for Joshua to take the Land.
Exodus 15:15-16 . . . Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16) "Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are motionless as stone; Until Thy people pass over, O LORD, Until the people pass over whom Thou hast purchased.
Exodus 23:27-28 . . . "I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28) "And I will send hornets ahead of you, that they may drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. [The Hebrew word for hornets here means discouragement, panic, psychological disaster]
3. God takes care of His children, and Rahab was a child of God. She was the only believer in Jericho. She was a woman with no husband to protect her; no believing friends or church to help her. But God delivered her from the wrath to come and He used the spies to do it.
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a. He delivered Noah and his family from the flood
b. He delivered Lot and his daughters from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
c. He delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt
d. He delivered Rahab and her family from the destruction of Jericho
e. He will deliver us from the wrath of the Tribulation
God knows His children, and no matter how chaotic the situation may be when God comes to judge and destroy, He will always lift His children out from it. He comes to some, like Rahab, as their Savior, and He comes to others as their judge. But He will come to every man. And this is why the New Testament says every knee will bow to Jesus Christ, and they will bow before Him as Judge, or they will bow before Him as Savior, but they will bow.
4. The fourth reason why the spies were sent in is conjecture because it does not come from the Bible but from an extra-Biblical tradition that developed about Salmon, Matt. 1:5. Evidently, it turns out to be a very interesting kind of situation that of the two spies sent into the Land, Salmon was one of them who met Rahab on this mission, she was a prostitute when he met her, and later on, she became his wife. It was through that marriage that Rahab became one of the great-great-great-great-great grandmothers of Jesus Christ.
. . . secretly from Shittim . . .
Joshua had the good sense to keep the reconnaissance mission a secret. Doing so reduced the chance of the spies being found out, and if their report was not favorable, the people wouldn’t lose their courage as their fathers had done at Kadesh Barnea, Num. 13:1-14:4.
"Shittim: Hebrew word for “acacia trees”. A place in Moab where the Israelites stopped during their wilderness journeys (Num. 33:49); and where they were drawn into Moabite worship of Baal of Peor (Num. 25:1). Shittim was the last stopping-place east of the Jordan." The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (945). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.
At Shittim, Balak of Moab attempted to thwart the Israelite penetration of Canaan by hiring Balaam to curse the people of God, Num. 22-24.
Apparently, incited by Balaam’s counsel, Israel “played the harlot” with women from Midian and Moab, Num. 25:1-5; cf. 31:15-16.
Israel’s apostasy, participating in idolatrous rites and engaging in ritual prostitution, was punished by God with the plague at Peor, Num. 25:1-18; cf. 1 Cor 10:6-8.
While encamped at Shittim, Joshua was publicly proclaimed as Moses’ successor, Num.27:18-22.
"JERICHO: a city in the Jordan Valley, six miles north of the Dead Sea. Its on a broad plain, and is extremely fertile. A ford near the city carries an important east-west road and makes Jericho a strategic entrance point from Transjordan into the highlands of Judah.
"The city of O.T. times is represented today by a mound 70 feet high and 10 acres in area. Jericho first appears in the biblical record in connection with the Israelite conquest of Canaan. The wide plain on both sides of the Jordan near Jericho provided an ideal campground from which to launch an attack on Canaan." Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible Dictionary (1st ed.) (459). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
. . . they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
Some have attempted to soften the career of Rahab by arguing that she was only an innkeeper, but she is called a harlot not only here, but also in the New Testament where she is called a PORNE’ in Heb. 11:31 & James 2:25.
This is not to suggest that she had sexual relations with the spies:
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Rahab, Chapter 2 Notes
“Rahab’s house was likely a way station, inn, tavern, or a combination of these. It would have been a logical place for spies to frequent, as a public gathering place and a potential source of information, but it is not necessary to suggest that the spies themselves had (or intended to have) a sexual encounter with Rahab. In addition to these points, we can also note that in the early chapters of Joshua, maintaining ritual purity and doing things exactly as God had commended were very important, and, if the spies had acted inappropriately, we should expect some indication of this (as we see when Achan sinned; note 7:1)”.
See Hess, Joshua, 83–84 and M. Weinfeld, The Promise of the Land: The Inheritance of the Land of Canaan by the Israelites (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 142–44, on the existence and function of such inns in Canaan and the ANE. This evidence renders even more plausible the grammatical evidence just noted against a sexual encounter having taken place.
RAHAB
1. She was a believer before the spies found her. She had no Bible, she was surrounded by unbelievers who worshiped false gods, and she had no one to give her the gospel.
a. So how did she become a believer?
b. She believed through the process of deduction.
1) She was positive at God-consciousness. We know this by Joshua 2:11, . . . for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
2) She knew that man did not create the stars, the sun, mountains, and oceans. And when she heard about what happened in Egypt, how the Red Sea parted, and what happened to the nations that went against the Israelites, she made a connection. THE GOD that created the heavens and the earth is THE GOD of the Israelites.
2. In Hebrew, Rahab means broad, roomy, or spacious. No matter what her past was, Rahab became a believer the moment she took advantage of the grace of God available to all mankind. No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace; no one is too bad to be saved.
Matthew 21:31 . . . Jesus said to them [religious leaders], "Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32) For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
Hebrews 11:31 . . . By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
3. Rahab thought for herself, she didn’t just accept what everyone else thought or did without question.
Everyone she knew had a total anti-Christian, anti-Biblical worldview, but this woman opened her door to aliens who had the true God on their side. She defied her culture, tossed it overboard, and let the spies in. She deliberately went against all the authorities of her day, including the King of Jericho and his police.
This act put everyone in her world against her. She went against the pagan god she was taught to worship and against everything she was taught at home. Everything was turned upside down by her act of hiding spies because it went against the whole pagan culture she had grown up in.
We can identify with Rahab and Jericho because we are believers who are living in a land that
is apostacizing and getting more evil with each day that goes by. If things don’t change, we, too, will be living in a place God will have to take down.
The phrase, “for they come to search out all the country” in verse 3 was very terrifying to Rahab. It meant that she was now faced with being patriotic or committing treason.
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She was challenged with the accusation that these men were declared enemies of the country and were enemies of the nation. She would either be called a patriot when she turned them in or a traitor when they found out she had hidden them.
JOSHUA LESSON #13 (1-30-11)
Here came the police knocking on her door saying they knew she was harboring spies who were sent by the mighty people invading their country to destroy them, and if she didn’t turn the spies over to the police, she would be considered a dishonorable traitor.
But, Rahab had to defy authority in order to do the right thing. If she complied with the authorities, she would be widely esteemed maybe become a heroine, but it would go against her conscience and what she knew the true God would have her do.
If you were faced with that kind of situation, what would you do? Many Christians today wouldn’t hesitate to turn the spies over, thinking that they were doing the right thing by obeying the law. They might even cite Romans 13:1-7.
4. Rahab was a Truth-seeker. The Truth meant more to her than anything and she was ready to risk everything for her faith. Her family, her friends, her house, and her very life were at stake. The Truth about God is indeed alive and powerful whether it reads from the pages of scripture or comes from the mouths of men in a whorehouse.
When you come face-to-face with the Truth of God’s Word, you can identify with Rahab. Like her, you find out what’s at stake. Being faithful to God can mean that those you love may turn on you. Your father, mother, brother, or sister could very well become your enemies.
The more religious your family and friends, the harder it can be to be faithful to God. This is especially true if you were previously in darkness with them, but now you see the Light. They may see your new beliefs and actions as incriminating them somehow. Embracing Truth means rejecting lies, and many lies are probably the very ones they still accept. They may feel insulted and feel like you've turned against them. They may make you feel guilty so that you are tempted to compromise in order to keep them happy.
There is no neutral ground. There is the Truth of God’s Word and there are Satanic lies. If you make concessions in order to save relationships, you lose ! Most people choose family or friends over Truth because it’s the easy way out. But what about those who choose Truth and lose their family and friends? The heartbreak, loneliness, derision, and scorn . . . is it worth it?
Ask Rahab. We learn from her that we will never regret embracing Truth and never letting go of it !
Rahab is in the Bible to teach us that:
• She and her family were delivered from the destruction of Jericho by THE GOD of the Israelites.
• She was a Gentile harlot, accepted and welcomed by the Jews as if she was one of their own.
• She married an Israelite spy and hero, it appears.
• She is mentioned in the heroes chapter of Hebrews:
Hebrews 11:31 . . . By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
• She is one of only four women mentioned in the line of Jesus Christ.
• She is mentioned along with the patriarch, Abraham, in the book of James.
Many people have not learned what Rahab learned.
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People go to doctrinally-starved churches or stay in cults and false religious systems because:
• They aren't Truth-seekers. Their family and friends are more important to them than learning the Word of God from sound Bible teaching.
• They are afraid to leave their religious rituals and traditions even though they are not biblical.
• They seek church goers to become customers for their business.
• They feel spiritual when they get emotionally fired up so they go to a church where they can get emotional charged rather than a church where they can actually learn something.
• They love to sing in the choir.
• They want a lot of stimulating programs and activities for their children.
• They love the excitement of a mega church with huge choirs, entertaining speakers, feel-good sermonettes.
5. Rahab acted on her faith. Her faith was based on evidence. Many people erroneously think that faith is a belief in something that has no evidence. Some call this "blind faith". This certainly is not true of Christian faith because it is based on evidence. Truth is reasonable, logical, and factual. Rahab combined the empirical evidence she saw in the creation of God with the historical facts of Israel’s miraculous history and decided that Israel’s God was THE GOD of heaven and earth. She decided to serve Him, no matter what.
James 2:21-25 . . . Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22) You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23) and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. 24) You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. 25) And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
(See visuals, Faith & Works)
6. Rahab was a very courageous and caring woman. She put her family before herself when she made the spies promise to save not only her, but her family as well when they attacked the city, Joshua 2:12.
JOSHUA LESSON #14 (2-6-11)
7. "How could Rahab have such a remarkable faith and still be a harlot, and so glibly tell lies? The answer would seem to be that as she responded in belief to the message she heard about God’s works, she later responded to further messages concerning God’s standards of life and obeyed. After all, spiritual maturity is gradual, not instantaneous. Even John Newton, who wrote the gospel song “Amazing Grace,” continued for some time after his conversion in the slave trade before he was convicted about this base and degrading practice and gave it up."
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jos 2:8–11). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Rahab is an example of how you can't tell whether a person is saved or not by their behavior. It takes time for some believers to change their lifestyles after they are saved.
However, there is a slight hint that Rahab had left prostitution before the spies arrived. Joshua 2:6 says that she had stacks of flax on her roof which was a material used to make cloth and ropes. And she had a rope she used to let the spies get out her window and down the outside city perimeter wall to safety, so it’s possible that she was in the rope-making business.
THE LIES (Joshua 2:4-5) 20
Deuteronomy 5:20 . . . Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Proverbs 6:16-19 . . . There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17) Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18) a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, 19) a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.
1.) The first lie is found in verse 4 . . . “I did not know where they were from”.
2.) The second lie is found in verse 5
3.) The question we should ask is, “Was she justified in lying?” Some would say, “Yes , due to the circumstances.” This viewpoint is sometimes called “situation ethics”, meaning certain situations call for setting aside norms and standards that would apply under normal circumstances.
4.) But is this view valid? What does the Bible have to say?
Exodus 1:15-21 . . . Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, and the other was named Puah, 16) and he said, "When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." 17) But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. 18) So the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?" 19) And the midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and they give birth before the midwife can get to them." 20) So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. 21) And it came about because the midwives feared God, that He established households for them.
2 Samuel 17:17-21 . . . Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, and a maidservant would go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David, for they could not be seen entering the city. 18) But a lad did see them, and told Absalom; so the two of them departed quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it. 19) And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, so that nothing was known. 20) Then Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And the woman said to them, "They have crossed the brook of water." And when they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. 21) And it came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David.
This was very similar to what happened to Rahab. Was this woman justified in lying?
The best example for us to learn from is what Jesus Christ did when He was put on the spot:
John 19:6-11 . . . When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify, crucify!" Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him." 7) The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God." 8) When Pilate therefore heard this statement, he was the more afraid; 9) and he entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. 10) Pilate therefore said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" 11) Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin."
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5.) In the first two examples, the women lied in order to protect others and themselves. When Jesus was asked a question that could have resulted in His death, He said nothing rather than lie in order to save Himself.
6.) Refusing to turn men over to authorities who were on a mission for God was the right thing to do, but lying about it wasn’t right and wasn’t necessary. If this happens to you, what will you do or say? You could simply not open the door. You have every right to say nothing at all, or you could say, “I don't want to get anyone into trouble," or "I'd rather not get involved," or "I can't speak without consulting with my lawful counsel," or "Why would I hide spies?", or "My husband instructed me not to talk with strangers”. . .
7.) Was God able to protect the women and the spies they were hiding? There are so many ways He could have kept His servants from being found. He could have distracted the soldiers with much worse problems like a heart attack, appendicitis, a lightning bolt, a raging fire, a hail storm, an old roof caving in on them, conflicting orders from headquarters . . . He is God, so nothing, and no one can prevent His will from being fulfilled.
8.) The women in Exodus were blessed in spite of their lies. The Bible commends Rahab for her faith but not her lying, Heb. 11:31, James 2:25.
9). Rahab had just enjoyed the most fantastic success serving her God, and the next minute, she failed by lying. It is possible to have a spiritual victory, and then five seconds later, be spiritually defeated.
JOSHUA LESSON #15 (2-13-11)
Joshua 2:10 . . . The utter defeat of the two kings, Sihon and Og, and the destruction of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan is recorded in Num. 21:21-26 & 31-35, Deut. 2:24- 3:11.
Og was a descendent from a race of giants called “Rephaim” Deut. 3:11
“The Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea”, “What you did to the two kings . . . whom you utterly destroyed” חָרַם [charam /khaw·ram/] v. hifil, active; to prohibit (for common use), ban. 1a2 to consecrate, devote, dedicate for destruction. 1a3 to exterminate, completely destroy." Strong, J. (1996). The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Joshua 2:11 . .. There is no doubt that ex-pagan, prostitute, Rahab, was a believer.
Joshua 2:12 . . . Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth . . .
LOVING-KINDNESS checed (חֶסֶד, 2617), “loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.”
"In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: “strength,” “steadfastness,” and “love.” Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. “Love” by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet “strength” or “steadfastness” suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation.
"The association of checed with “covenant” keeps it from being misunderstood as mere providence or love for all creatures; it applies primarily to God’s particular love for His chosen and covenanted people. “Covenant” also stresses the reciprocity of the relationship; but since God’s checed is ultimately beyond the covenant, it will not ultimately be abandoned, even when the human partner is unfaithful and must be disciplined (Isa. 54:8, 10). Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vol. 1: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (142). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.
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Joshua 2:13-21 . . . Terms of the agreement [covenant]. Notice:
verse 18 “. . . and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.”
Rahab and her family had to be inside the house to be saved.
Noah and his family had to be inside the ark to be saved from the flood, Gen. 7:16.
The Israelites had to be inside the house to be saved from the death angel, Ex. 12:23.
We must be “in Christ” to be saved from hell.
Rm. 8:1 . . . There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
John 10:9 . . . "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved,
Joshua 2:21 . . . It is interesting that the rope Rahab used to lower the spies down with was red, the same color of the blood that the Israelites applied to the door posts to be saved in Egypt. So before the destruction of Jericho, this woman had the symbol of the blood of Christ hanging out her window.
Joshua 2:22-24 . . . The two spies hid out and then reported to Joshua. This report was quite different from the one the twelve spies had sent Moses, Num. 13:31-33, Deut. 1:26-38
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 3
JOSHUA LESSON #16 (2-20-11) 23
Joshua 3:1-2 Moses had led the people up to the time they reached Shittim. But when Joshua got the report he was in charge and he didn’t hesitate to move the people out the very next morning. This was the first time he gave orders to move the people. He still didn’t know how they were going to make the crossing, but he continued to faith-rest and trust the Lord's promises.
Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what God required of you, but you didn’t have a clue what to do about it? What can you do?
(1) Pray, James 1:5-6
(2) Search the Scriptures
(3) Analyze the situation,
(4) Ask questions, get the facts
(5) Move out, start walking, step out in faith to make the changes necessary to get the job done.
Examples: A husband or father taking charge to put his home in order
A parent using corporal punishment
A teenager breaking away from the wrong crowd, 1 Cor.15:53, 2 Cor.6:14
What a moment it must have been when the people saw the Jordan overflowing its banks with strong rapid currents. It is scarey to depend on the Lord in an impossible situation if you haven't done it before. But when you do it, God's victory gives you courage to trust Him again in the next test, and the next, and the next. Joshua knew this and had them camp there for a few days to prepare themselves for the crossing. They needed to organize and determine how they would approach it.
They were to batten down the hatches and get their food in order. What else would they be doing for three days before crossing? Waiting and looking. Looking at what? A river that was impossible to cross. This had to have been unnerving for some, and we wonder how much sleep was going on during those three days?
God wanted them to see that there was no human solution so that when He provided the solution, no one would think they could have crossed it without Him. The Jordan has a very steep flow. The drop from its source of the base of Mount Herman to the Dead Sea is a drop of 2000 feet usually from North to South.
Once they crossed the river, they would find themselves outnumbered and outgunned, facing many pagan armies, fortified walled cities, and chariots. If God could get them safely across the Jordan, then they would have confidence in Him to give them victories on the other side. But of course, they first had to trust Him to get across the river.
Some believers have never trusted God enough in a crossing the Jordan like test so that they can face future tests with confidence. They have no spiritual victories to build on. The good news is, it’s not too late to start trusting God; He will never let you down.
JOSHUA LESSON #17 (2-27-11)
Joshua 3:3-4 They were given instructions to move out and follow the Arc of the Covenant when they saw the priests carrying it. The Arc was to go ahead of the people. Furthermore, they were to keep a distance of about a half mile between the Arc and themselves.
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There is speculation as to why they were to keep such a distance, but we know for certain that God wanted the people to watch what He would do, and this distance would afford everyone a good view. God was about to perform a mighty miracle and He wanted everyone to see it.
Why was the Arc to go ahead of the people? The Arc is a picture of Jesus Christ. [Power Point]
It was made of wood and gold = The Hypostatic Union
It contained the Tablets of Stone, Aaron’s rod that budded, and manna
The Mercy Seat was pure gold with Cherubim looking down on it from both sides
The blood of an innocent lamb was sprinkled on top of it.
We had the Red Rope and now we have the Arc that is associated with the Blood of Christ.
The Arc is mentioned 10 times in 17 verses either directly or indirectly. The focus is clearly on the Arc which represents Jesus Christ. God wanted the people to keep their eyes on the solution, Jesus Christ, represented by the arc, and not on the water which was the problem.
OBSERVATION 1: This crossing illustrates our great salvation: water = judgment, the ark = Jesus Christ. Just as the water problem was resolved when the ark reached the river, so our sins were taken care of when Jesus reached the cross. It was totally a work of God without any help or assistance from the people.
OBSERVATION 2: It was a grace provision. Anyone could cross. The only thing required of the people was to trust God’s provision, Jesus Christ, as pictured by the ark, and to start walking. Anyone who believed would walk across and be saved from the raging waters. The similarity to our salvation should be obvious, anyone who hears the gospel need only to believe it to be saved from the Lake of Fire.
Joshua 3:4b . . . Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.
This sentence needs special attention. It appears at first glance that the people needed to keep their distance from the arc in order to keep from getting lost or going the wrong way. But there was only one direction to go to cross the river. So how could anyone go the wrong way? This wasn’t their first river to cross. This sentence doesn’t seem to make sense until one understands that it’s not to be taken in a physical sense.
They knew how to cross a river ,but they never had to cross a river like this one . . . you have not passed this way before. This one had to be crossed by faith, not by skill or works. They had to learn how to depend upon God’s grace.
They had to learn the way to go. The way to go is not a direction but a manner or method. The manner to go is keeping you eyes fixed on Jesus Christ which was represented by the ark.
When God places obstacles in your path that you can’t remove or go around, you are forced to wait for His grace to go into action to provide a remedy. It may take a few days, a week, a month, or maybe even years. In the meantime, don’t complain, gripe, get bitter, or take matters into your own hands. Continue to trust in His perfect timing. That’s how to walk by faith.
Joshua 3:5 Joshua told the people to “consecrate” themselves, קָדַשׁ KADASH (v. hithpael, mid. Imp); to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate; to treat or regard as sacred or hallowed. To consecrate means to concentrate to focus.
A similar situation occurred in Ex. 18:10-13. The people had to do three things in order to consecrate themselves: 1) They had to wash their clothes, be physically clean. 2) They had to stay confined to a certain location. 3) They could not have any sexual relations.
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God was about to do something phenomenal and they had to be ready for it mainly by getting their mind right. For a short time, people would not go about their normal daily routine, they would be meditating and focusing on God with great expectation. Whether this would be a time of dread in the soul or of great anticipation and excitement would depend on how much a person trusted God.
JOSHUA LESSON #18 (3-6-11) The Lord's Supper, Focusing on HIM !
Joshua 3:6 Everything was done the proper way in an orderly fashion. Only priests were to carry the Ark of the Covenant, and they were to carry it using poles.
Joshua 3:7 It was important to God that the people know something.
Joshua 1:17 . . . 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.
The people didn't know for sure if God was with Joshua the way He had been with Moses. The river crossing would eliminate any doubt in their minds about God being with Joshua. God told Joshua what to do who then told the people. The people obeyed and God performed a miracle.
According to Joshua 4:14, the people were convinced that God was with Joshua after the river crossing and they revered him just as they had revered Moses.
Joshua 3:8 Notice the attention to detail. At the precise moment the priests carrying the Ark stepped into the water, something spectacular was going to happen. That would be the moment of truth.
Joshua 3:9-10 Joshua gathered the people to tell them why they had to face the impossible task of crossing the raging Jordan River. God wanted them to know that they could trust Him. They would need to have explicit faith in Him when they faced the enemy on the other side. What would their faith be based on? Fact ! Evidence that they could see with their own eyes. Biblical faith is always based on evidence such as historical evidence, archeological evidence, and
written evidence.
God told Joshua He would be with him in Joshua 1:5, but the people could have doubted it. Here we see the graciousness of God in giving the people solid evidence of that truth so that they would follow Joshua anywhere.
JOSHUA LESSON #19 (3-13-11)
Verse 10 Joshua gave them the key to everything, the thing that would chase their fears away. “You shall know that the living God is with you”. This was the key for them and it is the key for us.
Matthew 28:20 . . . Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Isaiah 41:10 . . . Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
All we are required to do is to be obedient and to know that God is going to resolve our problems for us. Most of the time, God does not tell us how or when He will deliver us because it's not important for us to know. What is important for us to know is that we can trust Him and He will never leave us, forsake us, or fail us.
Patiently waiting for Him to help us is key to having steadfast confidence in Him. It means keeping our eyes on the Ark, Jesus Christ, His grace, His glory, and His power, rather than focusing on our problem.
See Visual: Elijah and David Stories; Read Kings 18:21-39 and 1 Samuel 17:31-47
If the river was no match for the power of God, then the Israelites concluded that the pagans living in the Promised Land would be no match for Him either.
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The Israelites would have more spiritual victories in the future because they passed this test and enjoyed a spiritual victory at the river crossing. Victory is built on victory. Seeing God’s faithfulness to us builds our confidence in Him. Here is an example:
2 Timothy 4:16-18 . . . At my first defense, no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17) But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me in order that through me, the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I WAS delivered out of the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord WILL deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Spiritual victories are based on what God does for us, not on what we do for Him.
The problem with so many Christians is that they seldom, if ever, have a spiritual victory in seeing the faithfulness of the Lord. When was the last time you had a spiritual victory?
JOSHUA LESSON #20 (3-20-11)
Joshua 3:11 . . . “Behold” means to see. At that moment, the Ark of the Covenant was crossing before them. This was the fulfillment of what Moses had told them would happen:
Deuteronomy 31:3 . . . It is the LORD your God who will cross ahead of you . . .
Deuteronomy 31:6 . . . Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:8 . . . And the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed."
The Ark was a physical representation of Jesus Christ who was invisible to them. They couldn’t see Jesus but they could see the Ark, but it was Jesus who stopped the water, not the Ark.
Joshua 3:12 acts as a parenthetical verse, speaking of something that will be expanded on after they cross the river.
Joshua 3:13 describes the moment of truth. What if nothing happened?
Joshua 3:14-17 brings us to the moment of truth. By this great miracle:
1) God was glorified
2) Joshua was exalted
3) The Israelites were encouraged
4) The Canaanites were terrorized
The Israelites stepped onto a higher spiritual plane when they stepped onto the other side of the Jordan. They trusted God and their lives were never the same. They had learned to Faith-Rest and they were now ready for spiritual combat by claiming what God had promised.
When was the last time you Faith-Rested? Are you ready for spiritual combat? When
was your last spiritual victory? Remember, a spiritual victory is what God does for us, not what we do for Him.
This was not the last time the Jordan River would be miraculously crossed on dry ground. Elijah and Elisha crossed it also, 2 Kings 2:8 & 14. See Visual: Crossing the Jordan
Read Daniel 3:28-45, Isaiah 44:28, Dan.9:25, Neh. 2 precise prophecies that were fulfilled exactly when and how God said they would happen. How can we not trust in HIM ?
CHAPTER 3
Verses 7-8, God is doing the speaking.
Verses 9-13, Joshua passes God’s message on to the people.
Verses 14-17, We see the fulfillment of it.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 4
LESSON #21 (3-27-11)
This was not the last time the Jordan River would be miraculously crossed on dry ground. Elijah and Elisha crossed it also, 2 Kings 2:8 & 14.
Verses 1-3, God is doing the speaking.
Verses 4-7, Joshua passes God’s message on to the people.
Verses 8-14, We see the fulfillment of it.
Verses 15-16, The same cycle repeats starting with God doing the speaking in verse 15.
Verse 17, Joshua does the speaking.
Verses 18-24, We have the fulfillment.
Chapter 3 dealt with the miracle of crossing the Jordan on dry ground, and Chapter 4 gives us the account of how the river crossing was memorialized to preserve the memory of it.
God has not performed miracles in every generation. He concentrates His miracles during certain eras of history and then transfers that knowledge of those historical memories on to future generations.
It is imperative that historical memory be transferred to future generations, otherwise there wouldn’t be a basis for faith. Chapter 4 is about God preserving a historical memory of the great miracle He performed.
Verses 1-5 gives us the details as to what was done to preserve the historical memory of the Jordan Crossing. God teaches history much differently from most history teachers in public schools today.
God teaches history by ritual, monuments, and word of mouth.
Exodus 12:24-28
Exodus 13:14-15
Deut. 6 6-9, and 20-25
LESSON #22 (4-3-11)
Psalm 44:1-4; Worship and faith was based on preserved historical record.
Psalm 78:1-7
Psalm 114:1-8
Matthew 16:5-12
1 Corinthians 11:24-25; Communion is God’s divinely authorized means of inculcating a historical memory in the Church Age, and that’s why Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of Me.”
What Did The Stone Memorials Mean?
1. When the Israelites trusted God and crossed the Jordan, a new nation was taken out of the jaws of death. Many of them had wondered in the wilderness for 40 years, but now, they appeared to be ready to face the challenges before them.
The stones were taken from the bottom of the waters of the Jordan's depths of death. The twelve stones symbolizing the twelve tribes were taken onto the land to symbolize the new nation’s resurrection and fresh start.
2. The stone memorial represented the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
a) Joshua 4:19 . . . Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho.
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b) Exodus 12:3 . . . Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.
c) What did the lamb that was to be sacrificed represent? Jesus Christ.
d) Joshua 5:10 . . . While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.
e) John 1:28 . . . These things [the baptism of Jesus] took place in Bethany beyond [on the East side of] the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
“The site of Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River is now unknown. It is not
to be confused with another Bethany, home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, near
Jerusalem. A probable site is opposite Jericho”. Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological
Seminary. (1983-); The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures.
It appears that Jesus was baptized at the exact site where the Israelites crossed the Jordan.
Matthew 3:8-9 . . . Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; 9) and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Was John pointing at ordinary stones found along the edge of the Jordan or was he pointing at the original memorial or likeness of the one the Israelites had placed on that very site? The Pharisees believed they were saved because they were the physical lineage of Abraham, and John was making the point that only the spiritual lineage of Abraham, believers, would be saved.
Jesus Christ would begin his ministry where the new nation should have begun theirs. That nation should have obeyed God and fulfilled His plan by possessing the Promised Land, but they failed. Jesus Christ came back 14 centuries later to same exact spot, but He would not fail to fulfill His Father’s plan.
Jesus Christ fulfilled His mission on the cross, John 19:30, He was buried, 1 Cor. 15:4, and He was resurrected, Matt. 28:6.
3. The Stone Memorial also represents the unique spiritual life of Church Age believers which includes our positional death and resurrection with Jesus Christ. At the moment of salvation, the believer enters into a spiritual union with Jesus Christ through a mechanism known as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every Church Age believer is “IN" union with "CHRIST”.
Romans 6:4-7 . . . Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5) For if (1ST)we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, 6) knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; 7) for he who has died is freed from sin.
Colossians 2:12 . . . having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
The baptism mentioned in the verses above is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 12:13,
which is a “real baptism” rather than a “ritual baptism”.
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1 Corinthians 12:13 . . . For by one Spirit [Holy Spirit] we were all baptized [at the moment of salvation] into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
A REAL BAPTISM refers to a transformation that takes place when a person is identified with someone or something else. He is changed by that identification.
A RITUAL BAPTISM is a ritual that identifies a person with water that is symbolic of something else. However, no real change takes place.
FACTS ABOUT BEING “IN CHRIST”:
1. Union with Christ is a fact, not an experience. It has nothing to do with emotion or how one feels.
2. Union with Christ is a fact for all Church Age believers, Spiritual or Carnal. 1 Cor. 1:2; cf. 1:11; 3:1-4
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred for the first time on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:1-4 cf. 11:15,16. Therefore, it is unique to Church Age believers.
The believer's position in Christ makes him a "new creature" in Christ.
2 Cor. 5:17 . . .Therefore if (1ST) any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. The “Old Things” have passed away [condemnation, sp. death, control of OSN]. The “New Things” have come [eternal life, +R, indwelling of H.S].
Union with Christ is not progressive; it cannot be improved upon; we receive it in total at salvation.
6 Union with Christ is not commanded by God; it is given by God at salvation.
7 This Union is permanent; it will never be taken away; it does not depend on our faithfulness; it depends on the faithfulness of God. It is a guarantee of eternal security, Rom. 8:38-39; 1 John 5:11,12; Rom. 8:1.
8 Union with Christ makes the believer perfect in the sight of God, *Col. 2:9,10.
9 Union with Christ makes every believer equal at the point of salvation, Gal. 3:27,28.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 5
LESSON #24 (4-17-11)
1. Joshua used the concentration of power concept in order to defeat the Canaanites. He always was on the offensive and used all twelve tribes every time he attacked a city. The Canaanite armies would have greatly outnumbered the Israelites if they would have left their cities and gone out onto the plain to attack them.
Joshua 6:1 . . . Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
But they used a strategy of defense which is disastrous. Wars are not won by taking a defensive posture. The reason the pagans did not leave their fortified cities in order to concentrate their forces was because they were afraid.
No one can be victorious with a strategy of defense. This is especially true in the spiritual realm.
Characteristics of believers who have gone on the defensive rather than the offensive:
(1) They rely on doctrine they learned in the past because they are now no longer learning.
(2) They don’t look for opportunities to give the gospel or talk about doctrine; in fact they often go out of their way to avoid anything that may be uncomfortable or embarrassing.
(3) They take the path of least resistance in life because they are uncomfortable taking a doctrinal stand.
(4) Being a good ambassador for Christ by getting spiritually prepared and rightly dividing the Word of Truth is not a priority for them.
(5) They are afraid to talk to Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, or anyone who might confront them about their faith.
(6) They gage their spiritual growth more by their moral purity than by their knowledge of doctrine.
(7) They really don’t realize that we are engaged in spiritual combat. In this conflict, taking the offensive does not mean doing great things for Christ. It means trusting Christ to do great things for us.
2. Joshua also followed another principle of war, the principle of unity. Joshua very cleverly made it a point of having one camp that consisted of all the tribes. At the center of the camp was the Ark of the Covenant in order to maintain the Lord as the focal point of their unity.
a) We must do the same in this local church.
b) We must also do this in our families.
3. Joshua 5:2-8 was a disaster from a military and tactical viewpoint. Once again, Joshua had to trust God and not rely on his own excellent military experience.
This tells us something about operating on divine viewpoint. There will come times in your life as a believer where you are led to do something that doesn’t make sense to you.
Proverbs 3:5-6 . . . Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
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Isaiah 26:3-4 . . . Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
4. Why weren’t the younger men circumcised?
Abraham was circumcised when he was 99 to commemorate a covenant between him and God. His name was changed from Abram to Abraham to help identify the Israelites as God’s chosen people. It was a sign of faith in God, a seal of the imputed righteousness Abraham received when he believed in Christ. It was also associated with the great blessings Abraham received from God.
The Israelites who refused to cross the Jordan and take the promised land had no faith in God. It was not fitting for circumcision to be practiced while they were being punished. Num. 14:33 says the children must “bear their whoredoms of their unbelieving parents. The children then must carry upon them a mark of spiritual adultery.
What is the mark of spiritual adultery? No circumcision. And this is why the male babies were not circumcised for forty years. God must have commanded them to stop the ordinance because they had no right to wear the uniform of Abraham since the disgrace of their fathers had not been removed. Therefore circumcision was not restored until the nation was fully redeemed by their faith in the Lord to cross the raging Jordan River.
LESSON #25 (5-1-11)
5. Verse 10, We have already seen the significance of the Ark of the Covenant in helping the people focus on the Lord while crossing the Jordan and reaching the other side on the 10th of the month. They then take time to observe the Passover on the 14th which helped them to keep their focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s timing is perfect.
There is another aspect of observing the Passover at that place and time.
Psalm 23:5 . . . You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . . .
The adversities and vicissitudes of life never prevent God from preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies when we are trusting in Him. The Lord’s Supper is a ritual that remembers how wonderful, loving, and awesome our Lord is. And we can observe it at any time.
The first Passover observed by the Israelites took place in Egypt the night before their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and oppression, Ex. 12:1-28. The second Passover was observed at Mount Sinai just before the people broke camp and moved toward Canaan, Num. 9:1-5.
Apparently, the Passover was not observed during the wilderness wanderings, but finally, at Gilgal in Canaan, the feast was once again observed for the third time. Those who were under 20 yrs. could remember the first Passover, the death of the first born, and the drowning of Egyptian soldiers in the Red Sea in pursuit of Israel crossing it. This was a preview of the Canaanites who would be slain after Israel crossed the Jordan.
Israel’s observance of the Passover reminds us that Christ is our Passover, 1 Cor. 5:7. We were all under the sentence of eternal death, but the Lord Jesus Christ became our sacrificial lamb. He went to the cross to receive God's wrath of in our place so that we will never have to receive that wrath ourselves.
6. Verse 11, God’s wonderful provision. The Israelites ate the grain the Canaanites had planted and harvested. They were so full of fear when they heard that the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground that they hurried into their city fortresses and didn’t even take time to bring in their harvest with them.
God’s promise that Canaan was a land of abundance was true.
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Deuteronomy 8:7-10 . . . For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land . . . 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey . . . 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
Now that they had tasted the fruit of the land, they realized it was a foretaste of blessings to come.
7. Verse 12, we see once again the faithfulness of God to provide manna for the people when they were wandering in the wilderness. For the coming year, they would not be able to plow, plant, and harvest because they were conquering the land, so they would eat what the pagans produced for that year. God provided sustenance for the people when they could not provide it for themselves. Once they could, His supernatural provision ceased.
This is a fulfillment of:
Deuteronomy 6:10-11 . . . Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11) and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied,
God did not stop providing manna when the people complained about it, Num. 11:3, nor when they failed to trust in Him and cross the Jordan the first time at Kadesh Barnea. (logistical grace)
Now was no doubt a joyous occasion, for the Israelites were finally able to partake of the promised land’s richness, and this was a tangible sign that their wilderness exile was over!
8. Verse 13, Joshua had never led an attack against a fortified city prepared to defend itself from a a long siege. Israel’s army had no siege engines, no battering rams, no catapults, no ladders, and no moving towers. Their only weapons were slings, arrows, swords, and spears.
Joshua received no instructions or commands from the Lord to move out against Jericho, so he was checking the city out, trying to decide what to do when he saw what appeared to be a soldier coming with a drawn sword.
Who was it? Why did he have his sword drawn? Why did he show up right then?
This was not a vision or hallucination. Joshua approached him and carried on a conversation with whoever this was. Joshua wasn’t young any more, so to approach such a daunting figure with drawn sword was pretty gutsy. He asked the man, "Are you for us or against us?"
9. Verse 14
The answer Joshua received revealed the man’s identity. He said he was the captain of the host of the Lord. Joshua must have been confused at that point because he thought he was the captain of the armies of the Lord. “Host of Jehovah” is a technical expression used for angels, Psa. 103:20, 148:2.
It's not certain in verse 14 whether Joshua recognized he was talking to deity. We are sure of
one thing, however. Joshua recognized that he was out-ranked. He recognized that no matter how high you advance, you will always have an authority over you.
10. Verse 15 and what the Captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua compared with what was said to Moses in Ex. 3:5 was the way the Lord let Joshua know without a doubt who Joshua was talking to.
The only person of the Godhead who is ever seen at any time in history is God the Son. Therefore, whenever God is made visible throughout history, it is always God the Son that is seen. So this is actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 18:1-3, Jesus appeared to Abraham as a pilgrim or traveler.
What was Abraham? A pilgrim and traveler. 4
Jesus appeared to Joshua as a soldier. What was Joshua? It appears that there is an identification between how Christ appears and the believer's particular situation. In other
words, God identifies Himself with the situation of the one He visits.
Why is it that Jesus Christ appeared to Abraham as a traveler but appeared to Moses as a fire, Exodus 3:1-6 ?
Deuteronomy 4:20 . . . But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace from Egypt to be a people for His own possession . . .
Over and over again, the situation of Jewish believers persecuted in Egypt was pictured as a hellacious, fiery furnace. They were slaves making bricks in firey ovens. So when Christ appeared to Moses, He appeared as fire. We know from the New Testament passage, Heb. 11:26, that Moses “esteemed the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt,” which proves that Moses indeed met Jesus Christ, the burning bush, in person.
When Jesus came to earth at His incarnation, He identified Himself with man's situation of frailty and weakness. He identified Himself totally with us. This is why one of His titles is the Son of Man. Jesus is the Son of Man who can totally identity with us.
This entire experience must have been unsettling in one sense but reassuring and a relief in another sense. Joshua recognized that he didn’t need to bear the heavy burden and responsibility of leadership alone. The Lord made it clear that the battle belonged to Him.
Just as the Lord was there for Moses and Joshua before they faced the enemy, He is always here for us as well. We don’t see Him in a burning bush or as a soldier with drawn sword. We see Him in our Bibles, the Word of God, the mind of Christ.
Angel of Jehovah
Zechariah 1:7-16
“In the Old Testament you have at least two persons of the Godhead revealed, and it’s through this angel of Jehovah. There’s Jehovah and then there’s the angel of Jehovah, but both are regarded as Jehovah. The angel of Jehovah is worshiped and He is called Jehovah.” Charlie Clough notes on Jehovah.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 6
LESSON #26 (5-8-11) continued
Chapter divisions were not inspired; they were added many hundreds of years later after the canon was closed. This chapter division should have been placed in chapter 5 between verses 12 and 13.
Verse 1 is actually parenthetical. It makes a connection with what was given in verses 2-6. Everything that would happen to Jericho had to do with its walls. Why was it not possible for anyone to go in or out of the city? Because of the double walls surrounding it.
This verse shows how the unbelievers put their trust in walls to protect themselves from the Israelites. They could have fled to the mountains or other cities, but they didn’t because they thought they were safe behind the huge walls. It was common to trust in physical fortifications for security.
Deuteronomy 28:52 . . . And it shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land . . .
The Israelites had an issue with the walls, too. Remember when the spies gave a report concerning Jericho and how its fortified city walls were impossible to penetrate, Num. 13:28. They concluded that the walls were too insurmountable of an obstacle for God to overcome.
So God made an issue out of the walls to teach unbelievers that nothing can protect them from His righteous judgment. Then, He used the walls to teach believers that nothing can prevent Him from fulfilling His promises to deliver them if they but trust in Him.
Are there any walls in your life you think are too thick or too high for God to handle?
LESSON #27 (5-15-11)
Verse 2 makes it clear that it was the Lord who confronted Joshua. Some have the image of God as our redeemer only; they don’t have the image of God as a fighting general under which they serve. He’s not just our redeemer, He’s a fighter, He’s a man of war.
If you’re thinking, “So what, God used David to kill a giant, I doubt that I’ll be facing a giant any time soon?” Turn to 2 Cor. 10:3.
If Joshua had any concerns or anxieties about taking Jericho, they were certainly gone after talking to the Lord. He didn’t tell Joshua He was going to give Jericho into his hands but that He had already given it to Joshua along with its king and warriors.
Verse 3-5 reveals how this was not going to be a tactic that would be used over and over again, but it would only be used here to teach a lesson about walls.
Exodus 15:3-9 . . . The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name. 4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 "The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. 6 "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. 7
. . . You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.
Psalm 24:8 . . . Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.
1 Sam 17:47 . . . the battle is the Lord’s.
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The main thing to remember is that it is HIS BATTLE, not ours, but we need to be fully equipped in order to be used by Him. He is not cooperating with us in our battle. We are cooperating with Him whenever he wants us to join Him in fighting HIS BATTLE.
David could rest assured that God would supply his needs because David knew he was fighting God’s battle. He wasn’t fighting his own battle in which God was cooperating with him.
The battle is God’s.
The target is God’s.
The weapons are God’s.
The victory is God’s.
Sometimes He includes us in HIS BATTLE in which we have the privilege and honor of fighting on His side, but sometimes He doesn’t. He drowned Pharoah’s soldiers in the Red Sea, He killed 185,000 Assyrians, He will kill all the nations' armies that are going to march against Israel at the end of the Tribulation, and He slaughtered and will slaughter evil men all by Himself without anyone's help. These are not indiscriminate killings without just and righteousness reason as evil men have done.
Corinthians 10:3-5 . . . For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing [walls] raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
Ephesians 6:10-11 . . . Finally, be strong [stand your ground by thinking Bible doctrine] in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
The Lord comes to our aid with encouragement in our assault against the strongholds of sin.
Hebrews 10:35-36 . . . Therefore, do not throw away your confidence [in Bible Doctrine], which has a great reward. 36) For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
Verses 6-9
The number "7" means perfection or completion.
What does the Ark of the Covenant represent? Jesus Christ.
No doubt, the blowing of the trumpets had a psychological effect on the Canaanites but there was a more significant reason for it.
The blowing of the trumpets always announces the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ:
When He descended on Mt. Sinai to give the Law, Ex. 19
When He comes at the Rapture
When He comes at the 2nd Advent
Verse 9 The people had to keep about a half mile distance between themselves and the Ark when they crossed the Jordan, but here, they walked in front of it and behind it. Why?
God did not need the people when He held back the waters of the Jordan so they could walk across on dry ground. But here, He will use them to sack the city after he brings the walls down.
Verse 10
Why did the people have to keep their mouths shut?
1. There is a time to speak and a time to keep your mouth shut.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 . . . [There’s] A time to be silent and a time to speak.
2. The sound of thousands of people yelling or talking could have dampened or drowned out the sound of the trumpets. There were only seven trumpets in all, verse 13.
3. They didn’t know what would happen until the end of their march on the seventh day because they had not been told that God had promised Joshua that the city was already theirs.
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4. And they didn’t need to be speculating, arguing, or complaining while circling the city, so they just had to keep on trusting in the Lord, not knowing what the outcome would be.
What do you think motivated them to walk around their enemies' walls without saying a word day after day without having any promise of victory from God?
TWO things:
1. Their faith in the Lord. But since they had no specific promise, how could they have faith?
They trusted God’s character. They had seen His love, protection, and provision over and
over again, so they believed He would continue to love, protect, and take care of them.
2. Their faith in Joshua and respect for his authority. He was the spiritual and military leader
God had set over them, so when he said, “Go forward”, "Move out !", in verse 7, they obeyed.
Every day they woke up, they were given orders what to do. They didn’t know why they had to do the same thing over and over again, day after day. Have you ever felt like you’re life has no meaning because you do the same thing day after day?
Could it be that God is testing your faith in Him? You are in the Angelic battle every moment.
Could it be that He is testing your faithfulness in the little things that He can trust you with the big things?
Could it be that He is developing your respect for His authority so that He can give you authority over others? You wont be a good leader without being a good follower first.
Could it be that He is teaching you patience so that you will learn to wait on Him?
LESSON #28 (5-22-11)
There are 7 days in a week.
The 7th day was the Sabbath.
Every 7th year was a Sabbatical year.
Every 49th year was a year of Jubilee.
7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine in Egypt.
For 7 years, Solomon built the Temple.
A 7 day feast followed its completion.
For 7 days, The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated.
Naaman washed 7 times in the river.
The book of Revelation uses the number 7 over fifty times.
7 churches, 7 lampstands, 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 vials,
7 spirits, 7 stars, 7 angels, 7 heads, 7 plagues,
The number of O.T. writers named in the Bible is exactly 21 (3 x 7)
The numeric number of their Hebrew names are divisible by 7 (544 x 7)
There are 7 O.T. writers named in the N.T.
The numeric number of their Hebrew names are divisible by 7 (222 x 7)
David is the name most used in the O.T. 1,134 times which is divisible by 7 (162 x 7)
The name Jeremiah is found in 7 O.T. books in 7 different forms in the Hebrew.
The number of times it is found in these books is 147 times (21 x 7)
Moses' name occurs exactly 847 times in the Bible (121 x 7)
In the sphere of light, there are 7 colors which merge to form it.
In the sphere of music, there are 7 whole tones on the scale.
The human body is renewed or changed every 7 years.
A man’s years is declared to be three score and ten (10 x 7)
The gestation period for humans is 280 days (40 x 7)
For a mouse or a hen, 21 days (3 x 7) 4
For a duck, rabbit, or rat, 28 days (4 x 7)
For a cat, 56 days (8 x 7)
For a dog, 63 days (9 x 7)
For a lion, 98 days (14 x 7)
For a sheep, 147 days (21 x 7)
verse 10
The first “not shout” in is in the imperfect tense.
The second “shout” is in the imperative mood.
The third “shout” is in the perfect tense.
Why were they to shout on the seventh day?
1. There is a shout as a battle cry or war cry
2. There is a shout of victory
3. There is a shout of joy
4. There will be a shout when Jesus returns for us at the Rapture
verse 16
This is the verse where the people were finally told about the promise God made to Joshua.
verse 17
Jericho was the first city of Canaanites the Israelites conquered, so it was to be devoted to the Lord just as the first fruits were devoted to Him.
Verse 22
Only Rahab and all that were in her house were spared, verse 17. Her house was on the wall, Joshua 2:15, which meant that the section of the wall where it was located had to be spared. Joshua told them to go into the house and bring Rahab and her family out.
verse 25
God knows how to deliver his children from calamity.
Job 5:19 . . . From six troubles He will deliver you, even in seven evil will not touch you.
2 Peter 2:9 . . . the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation [trials], and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment . . .
Psalm 34:15-19 . . . The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Proverbs 12:13 . . . An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will escape from trouble.
2 Corinthians 12:9 . . . My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Zephaniah 2:3 . . . Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.
If God can deliver Rahab and Israel, and archeology uncover ashes and burnt food proving the Israelites did not take Jericho's food but obeyed the Lord, God can surely deliver us who believe and obey. A curse was placed on anyone who would try to resurrect Jericho, 1 Kings 16.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 7
LESSON #29 (5-29-11) 1
1. Chapter 6 reminds us as we face obstacles in our lives to follow the course of Joshua and the Israelites and how they faced the raging Jordan River and the daunting walls of Jericho.
There was no human solution to their problem and the only Biblical solution was to WAIT for God to take care of the problem. Sooner or later, we all must face such situations. This is a critical point of faith for believers because it is where we are tempted to allow human viewpoint to take over rather than relying on God. To rely on Him means that we are trusting in Him completely which usually means that we are waiting patiently for His solution and have given up trying to resolve it ourselves.
If we opt for human viewpoint, we will complain. Fear, impatience, anger, and bitterness
make themselves at home in our souls while contentment and confidence leave.
Here is a very important point. While we are waiting, we still must do something.
Ephesians 6:17-18 . . . And take [aam] the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying [part. pm] always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching [part. pa] thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints . . .
So we are to pray and stay alert! Notice the word “perseverance” also that we are to have when praying and watching.
2. We also learned that our God is able to deliver believers who trust in Him. This was demonstrated by how He saved Rahab and her family.
Verse 1
Everything was going so well and then we start chapter 7 with “But”. It seems that there is always a “but” in life, doesn’t it? The Bible is so real and applicable to us. If man, rather than God, wrote the Bible, there would be a fairy-tale ending here such as “and they lived happily ever after”.
There is a very important fact that we don’t want to miss in verse 1. Our God is holy; His righteous-ness and justice are perfect. This means that He is totally impartial. Both non-believer and believer must abide by God’s absolutes. God will not compromise His perfect character or His attributes for anyone. He didn’t for His own Son who is perfect, so He certainly won’t for His rebellious children.
Ex. 4:24-26, God came close to killing Moses.
Deut. 3:27, God did not allow Moses to enter the promised land.
By the way, we should treat our children the same way; right is right and wrong is wrong, and we shouldn’t make excuses for our children just because they're ours. Something stands out for the careful reader of verse 1. Achan committed a sin, and God held all the people responsible for it.
1. No one is an island to themselves. Achan was involved socially with the total nation, so when he got out of joint, the total nation got out of joint. It’s as if all the relationships we have are in the same apple barrel. You can’t have one person foul up without influencing the others within that barrel or group or association.
2. If you are in a group and there is a person in that group that violates God’s will in a very flagrant way, you are implicated, because you are associated with the group in that that person exists inside your group.
LESSON #30 (6-5-11) 2
3. This principle holds true in the N.T. just as it does in the O.T. In 1 Cor. 5:1-7, it is a local congregation that illustrates this point in verse 6 . . . A little leaven leavens the entire lump.
In our social relationships, everyone is depending on everybody else. Each one of us needs the others, and that what’s happening here. This one man has committed a sin. He’s committed fornication, and the other believers should have helped him realize the seriousness of his sin. They should have ministered to him, exhorted and encouraged him, but they didn’t.
There was no interrelationship at all because it appeared that they just didn’t care about him. This is very interesting; look at verses 1-7. Where in these verses do you read of Paul personally addressing the man who sinned? Who is he addressing? The whole congregation.
A local church is a not just a place where we come to learn doctrine and then leave without connecting with other believers. A local church is a family. When a family member is struggling with something and the other member’s attitude is, “It’s not my problem”, then they are wrong and God holds them accountable for it.
Verse 2-5
Something has obviously gone drastically wrong. When did things start going wrong? Why were they so upset about losing 36 men out of 3,000? Why did the people’s heart melt?
Apparently Joshua himself was not alert nor was he watching what was going on here. He just experienced the most exciting victory over Jericho, and then reasons, "Well, Ai’s smaller. We had no trouble with Jericho, so let’s go." He didn’t even wait on the Lord for instructions !
There is also a problem with the spies and their report in verse 3. Do you see it? First of all, they were careless and miscalculated the enemy’s strength. We find in Joshua 8:25 that Ai was a fortified city of 12,000 people. The spies recommended that only 2-3 thousand to go against 12,000.
But there was an even bigger blunder in their report in verse 3 . . . "make not all the people to labor there”. Does victory depend on the work of the people or does it depend on the work of God? It appears they left God out of this whole deal.
Note the difference between this report and the report made by the men who spied out Jericho.
Joshua 2:24 . . . And they said unto Joshua, "Truly the LORD has delivered into our hands all the land . . . " See? There’s divine viewpoint in this report that we don't find in the Ai report.
Who got out of line just before Joshua let his guard down and the spies and people became arrogant? Achan. He had committed an act of disobedience and then, these followed. Achan took liberties at Jericho and it appeared to everyone that God and Joshua let it slide and he got away with it. So there was no fear in having a disobedient and arrogant attitude. It spread like a wildfire just before the attack on Ai. See how quickly a little leaven leavened the whole lump?
Attitudes seem to be contagious whether they are good ones or bad ones. A right attitude can make a big difference for good, and of course, a sorry one can cause a lot of good ones to change.
Verse 6-7
Joshua’s prayer here is pathetic. The only thing to be commended about it is that he was persistent in praying. Joshua sounded just like the Israelites when they whined complained about not having water.:
Exodus 16:2-3 . . . And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3) And the sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
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Exodus 17:3 . . . they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
Verse 8-9
Joshua's attitude started to change a bit; it appears that he did at least give some thought to the Lord and His reputation.
Exodus 32:12 . . . Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth '? Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people.
Deuteronomy 9:27-28 . . . Remember Thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28 'Otherwise the land from which Thou didst bring us may say, "Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness."
Verse 10-11
We see that God wasn’t too happy with Joshua because He abruptly calls Joshua on the carpet for it.
Until the transgression of Achan was repudiated and expiation made, the sin of one person was considered the entire nation's sin.
Verse 12-13
In Joshua 6:24, we find, “ So the Lord was with Joshua”, but here we find that the Lord would not fellowship with him anymore if Joshua did not carry out His instructions to deal with the sin problem.
God would not give the Israelites victory because of sin. They had to deal with it before He would lead them. Do you suppose God will be lenient with us as a nation when He wasn’t lenient with His own chosen nation?
Homosexuals and lesbians are openly accepted in our military;
Our leaders are pressuring Israel to give up land to their enemies;
God has been kicked out of our schools and our courts;
Half of the population shack-up and half of the remaining married get divorced;
Husbands and fathers have become weak and easily dominated by their wives and their children;
Believers have become too busy to be bothered with serving the Lord or exercising their spiritual gifts
. . . “consecrate yourself”, same word as in Joshua 3:5. It means to be alert; concentrate on the Lord because God is about to do a work among the people.
Verse 14-15
The noose starts to tighten. Achan was a fool because he thought he could get away with sin.
Numbers 32:23 . . . "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.
Leviticus 26 gives an account of what can be expected when someone consistently disobeys God.
Verse 16-18
Joshua carried out God’s command.
Verse 19-21
Notice how Joshua dealt with someone who appeared to be a criminal. He is a model for every policeman, and for every official involved in the judicial process. No cruelty, just professionalism.
Those who are in law enforcement and the judicial system should always be aware that they are servants of the people, not their masters. There was a time when policemen were called “peace officers” rather than “law officers”. Too many public servants try to lord it over people and have become bullies. Common curtsey and politeness goes a long way when dealing with the public.
This approach sure worked for Joshua, Achan confessed everything. 4
Notice the verbs in Achan’s confession: “I saw”, “I coveted” , “I took”. This is always the way of sin.
Verse 22 - 23
Joshua didn’t just take the man’s word for it; he got the facts and the evidence that would support the action he had to take. Joshua had to insist on absolute justice, but at the same time, it was mellowed within the sphere of grace and objectivity.
LESSON #31 (6-5-11)
There's a lot to this lesson not found in these notes that you really need to hear !
Verse 24-25
The family and possessions, including the animals of Achan, were dealt with in the same way that the people of Jericho were.
The people were warned in *Joshua 6:18 that they would bring trouble on the camp if they ignored the ban. In this verse 25, Joshua asked Achan, “why have your troubled us with trouble”. The next verse says, “the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor [trouble] to this day.”
I think the Bible is telling us something. If you sin against God, there’s going to be trouble.
Some have a problem with the family of Achan being executed along with him. Acts 5:1-9 helps explain.
Both are judged even though the man was the one who sold the property. Why did the wife also die? Because she went along with him, she did not make a choice against him for the Lord. We should be loyal to family members, but when they transgress, we cannot afford to cover for them. When they are wrong, we must not side with them.
Jonathan put family loyalty above loyalty to God and it cost him his life on Mt. Gilboa. He could have been a wonderful second-in-command to David, but he made this tragic mistake.
Verse 26
The heap of stones was to be a reminder to anyone who might think they could get away with sin.
It wasn’t until the sin problem was dealt with that God turned his anger away from them. God’s anger will not be turned away from this nation until sin is dealt with, and that won’t happen as long as pastors continue to tickle ears rather than teaching the whole council of God, accurately and unvarnished !
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 8
The book of Joshua presents history in triplet form: the Lord said; Joshua said; the people did.
This cycle was broken in chapter 7 because Joshua did not consult the Lord, and that is one reason they had big-time trouble.
Now in verse one, the cycle is re-established: “Now the Lord said to Joshua”
Verse 1
When we don’t have spiritual victory, it's not because God has let us down. It is usually because we depend upon our own ability rather than God's. We think we have everything under control.
“Don’t worry about this one God. I’ve got it covered.” That’s what the Israelites thought about Ai.
Joshua went to the Lord with the problem. God told him what the problem was and how to deal with it. Joshua carried out God’s instructions, so now their relationship is back on track.
“Do not fear or be dismayed” is the phrase found in Deut. 31:8, Joshua 1:9, & 10:8. Things are back on track because Joshua 7:27 said the Lord’s anger was turned away. God does not hold a grudge against us when we make a mess of things, acknowledge it, and humbly seek His guidance.
The city of Ai was not going to be bypassed. God will turn their defeat into a victory. They wouldn’t go to another city or take another step until God made it clear to them that Ai was not the problem. Their attitude was the problem. Now that they were humble and ready to trust and obey God, Ai was no longer a problem.
This is true in our lives as well. We can't avoid issues that overcome us with anxiety, fear, and frustration. We can’t move forward in our spiritual lives until we figure out that the problem is not the issue but our own attitude. We must get right with God first, then God will give us the victory.
Principle: God turns defeat into victory !
Just as God told Joshua He had given him the king of Jericho, He now gives him the king of Ai.
LESSON #33 (6-26-11)
Verse 2
Just as they took no prisoners in Jericho, they were to take no prisoners in Ai, Deut. 20:16-18 and Joshua 8:8. However they would be able to take the spoils and cattle. If Achan had just been a little more patient, he could have taken all the plunder he wanted without having to hide it or incriminate himself.
Another thing we notice is that this city would be taken in a completely different way from Jericho. God doesn’t use the same tactics or solution for every challenge we face. We have to have fresh divine guidance for each issue we face. We can’t operate on yesterday's instructions. Divine viewpoint and guidance needs to be uploaded constantly.
Ai would not be taken by its walls miraculously falling outward, but by good military strategy.
Verse 3-9
Joshua used a very clever military tactic called envelopment. The Canaanites were in a defensive mode behind fixed fortifications whereas Joshua was in an offensive mode where he could move and maneuver his troops to his advantage.
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Joshua was a great general and had brilliant tactics but verse 7 reminds us of something very important, “for the LORD your God will deliver it [Ai] into your hand.”
Verse 10-17
Arrogance and overconfidence brought the Canaanites out of their fortified walls. It was a huge tactical blunder to leave their city completely unguarded. In verse 14, the king of Ai saw what he thought was a great opportunity to defeat the Israelites and become a famous victor among his people.
Verse 18-22
The trap was closed with perfect timing and the enemy was annihilated.
Verse 23-26
The king of Ai was temporarily spared, but none of the people were spared.
Verse 27-28
The Israelites took the spoil of the city and the cattle because God allowed it this time. Then they burned the city.
Verse 29
The king of Ai was executed and hung before the people, then his body was buried at the gate of the city with a great heap of stones placed over it as a memorial. Sound familiar? What was left behind after the Israelites crossed the River Jordan? What was left behind when the Israelites left Jericho? Heaps of stones from fallen walls. What was left on top of the body of Achan who disobeyed God and caused the defeat of Israel? A great heap of stones. Now another heap of stones is left behind on top of the body of the king of Ai. What is going on here?
They were leaving a historical memory behind to link God’s actions to space and time. They would remind people for ages to come of the God of Israel's faithfulness, power and greatness.
The word “Ai” in the Hebrew means desolation or ruins.
LESSON #34 (7-10-11)
Verse 30-35
”This is the first official worship center that is established in the land. You’re going to see the first worship center established that creates a conflict from this time forward in history that is still going on to our day in 1971. This began an incident of the Samaritan revolt. In other words, the Samaritans believed that because Shechem was the place where the first authorized worship was to be conducted that Jerusalem was therefore the wrong place. So the Samaritans broke away and the Samaritans who are now living in our time believe God is going to rule from Shechem on the basis of this passage and others.” Charlie Clough notes on Joshua [Woman at the well, John 4]
This is an amazing thing that Joshua is doing. He is right in the center of enemy territory and we know from Joshua 9:1 that the Canaanites were gathering their forces together to smash him and what does he do? He stops to build an alter unto the Lord for worship and to read the entire Law to the people. Rather than preparing his troops for the next battle and maneuvering them into place, he shuts down and starts teaching Bible class.
This is similar to what happened in Joshua 5:2 when they crossed over the Jordan River and most of the warriors were circumcised. Militarily, both incidents were insane, but spiritually, they made perfect sense.
Mount Ebal in chapter 8 Verse 30 was about 25 miles from Ai in the heart of Canaanite territory. Joshua not only moved his army to this mountain but women and children also. (see map)
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All the rest of the cities were still armed, the kings were gathering their soldiers to do battle, and he exposes all of the women, children, and his whole army to what could have become real disaster. Why? Was he being irresponsible? Had he lost his mind?
No. Turn to Deut. 11:26-32
Now go to Deut. 27 where we see the exact ceremony Joshua is going to use in Joshua 8. Notice in verse 2, “on the day,” Now that literally does not mean on that literal day because this word is b’yowm in the Hebrew, and this [b’]is the Hebrew is the participle beth, meaning “when.”
Moses didn’t tell Joshua when to do it; he’s just saying when you cross the river, then do this. It’s left up to Joshua’s insight and Joshua’s responsibility to seek the Lord in the matter of when to do it. Moses was giving the general perspective to Joshua, but it’s up to Joshua to be a mature enough believer to fill in the details.
This would not be a permanent monument. It was to remind the people that God was faithful to His promises of blessing and cursing.
Deut. 27:3-4 He is told where to do this and how to do it, but not when to do it.
Deut. 27:5-6 Now there were two reasons why the stones were to be uncut by man:
1. To separate God’s altar from pagan altars and idols where man had cut out the stone.
2. To demonstrate that man can do no work for his salvation. Cutting the stones might give man a reason to think God depended on man rather than man depending on God to deliver him.
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 9
LESSON #35 (7-17-11)
Chapters 9-10 deal with the central and southern campaigns of the conquest of the land. It can be divided into three parts:
Part 1: Verses 9:1-27 reports the Gibeonite incident where all the trouble started.
Verses 3-27 is actually a parenthesis.
Part 2: Verses 10:1-27 gives us the result of the Gibeonite incident.
Part 3: Verses 28 to chapter's end deals with the Israelites' southern campaign.
Joshua is cutting the land in half to set up a corridor so that he’s always attacking with his logistic lines directly behind him and controlled by him; this is described in the military as interior lines.
By splitting the land, he broke up the communication lines of the enemy. He’s going to drive south, wipe it out, and then quickly move to wipe out the north.
1 Corinthians 10:11 . . . Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
There are a few parallels between Israel conquering the land of Canaan and eschatology of the Bible. Satan had a strong hold on the land and would not give it up easily. This campaign to free the land from the pagans was a very bloody affair.
These chapters about Joshua's struggle to defeat the enemy is but a small version of Tribulational events. Many things that will happen in the Tribulation happened back here with Joshua in a similar way. Both time periods in history usher in a kingdom. The Kingdom of Israel was ushered into the land of Canaan in 1400 BC with great bloodshed just as many thousands of the Lord's enemies will be personally slaughtered by Him at the Tribulation's end to usher in the Kingdom of God.
(Visual: Dispensations)
Neither the Kingdom of Israel nor the Kingdom of God can be erected inside history until the powers of Satan and all those in allegiance have first been smashed and demonic hordes forcibly removed.
The angelic conflict continues to rage and Satan never rests. He could not penetrate the wall of protection around Joshua and the Israelites who faithfully obeyed God’s command to build an altar and worship right in the middle of enemy territory. But he influenced the enemy to prepare a counterattack while they were worshiping.
Joshua set up a beachhead. He moved both west and northwest right into the belly of the land that was a vital piece of real estate. The reaction was not long in coming. Up till then, the warfare had been defensively fought by the Canaanites who fled behind city walls and depended on them for protection.
But now, Joshua is going to be counterattacked from what we read in the first two verses. Verse 2 reminds us of the similar event at Tribulation's end.
Isaiah 66:18 . . . For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.
Habakkuk 2:5 . . . He also gathers to himself all nations and collects to himself all peoples.
In Psalm 2, we see another gathering of kings who tried to defeat God’s anointed, Jesus Christ.
What is not seen but lurks behind the physical picture of both gatherings of kings, both in Joshua’s day and in our day and the Tribulation, is Satan's all-out attempt to undermine Israel's spiritual life.
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Satan knows the Kingdom is coming and he uses everything he can, especially kings, to try to stop it.
Verse 1 . . . all the kings
verse 2 . . . gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
The unity of the Canaanites is very unusual because this is one of the few times in history that the Canaanites ever got together. They were all loners and fiercely independent. They never could work together, however, opposing God’s will was the one thing that solidified them. Does that remind you of any kind of people today? Muslims perhaps?
Verses 3-5 Joshua and the Israelites were conned. The Gibeonites consisted of a minor alliance of cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. And to their south was another group of kings in Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon that also formed an alliance part and parcel with Gibeon.
But the Gibeonites forgot about their allegiance with these fellow pagans south of them and headed north to ally themselves with Joshua.
It appears that at least a part of the Gibeonites were believers. They heard the gospel through the grapevine just as Rahab had done and came to the same conclusion she did that the God of Israel was The One and only True God.
They not only heard and believed the supernatural, historical accounts of Israel, but they saw something else: that the Israelites' God was the One giving them great victories.
There is a principle here we don’t want to miss. Some people are impressed when they see God at work in the lives of others. This doesn’t mean all people or even a majority are going to be impressed because the majority of people in Palestine weren’t impressed enough to come over to Joshua’s side. But we do see two examples who responded, Rahab and the Gibeonites.
The Israelite’s obedience and trust in God proves that when you act upon your faith, you make an impact on others around you. Some will respond to God’s call because of your life. Your life can be a testimony that attracts people to our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a startling parallel between Rahab as an individual and the Gibeonites as a group, and it illustrates another principle: God’s grace is always open to a last-minute reception of Jesus Christ. Always.
It is tremendous to see people recognize who God is and act on that belief. On the other hand, we see here that new believers will revert to their old pre-salvation behavior patterns until they learn better.
Verse 6 The Gibionites tried to get into the physical kingdom of God by deception when they didn’t have to. Like Rahab, they’re going to LIE because they’re use to relying on their old wheel-rut, pre-Christian behavior.
Why did they lie?
These people were believers who tried to use human viewpoint solutions to save their necks.
Israel’s foreign policy had two parts. Turn to Deut. 20:10-15 and see how all cities outside the boundaries of Israel's map were covered by the foreign policy described there. Israel could make league with them if they wanted peace, verse 11. In other words, if there was a city outside the land of Canaan that voluntarily accepted Yahweh as their God, the entire city could be annexed into Israel and come into covenant relationship with her.
Deut. 20:16-18 refers to cities in the central part of the land of Canaan that was to be utterly destroyed. The Gibeonites in this area did not believe the Israelites could be defeated because they believed Israel's God was the true God protecting Israel.
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Verse 7 The Hitites were also people who lived within the area to be totally wiped out. Deut. 7:1 lists them as one of the Canaanite peoples that were to be to be annihilated.
Verse 8-9 The Gibeonites very cleverly deceived Joshua and the Israelites to believe that they lived outside Canaanite territory to be destroyed when they actually lived nearby ! They put on an act like they hadn't heard about Israel's victory over Jericho and Ai in order to lead Joshua and the Israelites to think that they lived very far away and the news traveling at a snail's pace hadn't reached them yet. So they lied and acted ignorant in order to save their own skins.
Verse 10-11 The Logical Test: Just because something seems to fit together does not prove it’s true. All you can say about it is that it doesn’t have any apparent error in it so far.
Verse 12-13 The Empirical Test: This is also a test to falsify but not verify, used only to disprove. If it doesn’t fit, then it’s wrong, but if it does fit, that still doesn’t finally prove the case.
These tests can expose the error but cannot prove the truth. They can show if something is wrong but can’t show if it’s right.
The Logical Test looked good and so did The Empirical Test. But how can you be sure you're deciding the right thing? There may always be another piece of information you’re missing.
One of the things that makes discernment hard is that the Gibionites mixed truth with error. Satan and all of the cults do this as well.
LESSON #36 (7-24-11)
Verse 14 shows us what not to do ! They went ahead and made a deal without consulting the “mouth” [Heb. PEH] or “counsel” of God. What is the “mouth of God”?
Numbers 27:21 . . . Moreover, he [Joshua] shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
God didn’t speak directly to Joshua like He did Moses except on rare occasions.
They could get the answer straight from God through Urim and Thummim on the breastplate of the High Priest. Joshua failed to use the right procedure and right protocol.
How does this correspond to us today? The Urim and Thummim corresponds to the conscience of the believer, but our conscience must not work with the unknown in doubt.
Read Rom. 14:19-22
Romans 14:23 . . . But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith [against his conscience]; and whatever is not from faith [going against his conscience] is sin.
Walking by faith is really walking in certainty. It’s walking in doctrine. It is knowing the will of God and walking in it. This doesn’t mean that we know the outcome of walking in faith and it may be a bumpy ride, but we walk in it anyway. Why? Because God is on our side and will deliver us through the hard times, 1 Cor. 10:13.
Walking outside of faith is walking in doubt. It is not knowing the will of God and doing something that goes against your conscience. If you can’t get agreement from your conscience, don’t do it!
Faith is not blind; there’s no such thing in Scripture as blind faith. Faith certainly depends on evidence, logical and empirical. You see, faith is an issue of the intellect, but it is also an issue of conscience. Let’s take a look a the relationship between intellect and conscience.
Read 1 Cor. 8:4-6
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1 Corinthians 8:7 . . . However, not all men have this knowledge [that eating meat sacrificed to idols means nothing]; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
You see, the conscience that is weak is not filled with the norms and the standards from the intellect, the Word of God. The intellect is the source of standards for the conscience. If those standards are missing, you should not act. But once those standards are established and the conscience begins to use them, then you can act; you can make decisions with certitude. (Visual: Laws For Believers)
LESSON #37 (7-31-11)
1 John 3:18-21 . . . Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19) We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
20) in whatever our heart condemns us [going against our conscience = sin]; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things [so when we go against our conscience, we need to Rebound].
21) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us [because we know we are in God’s will or because we have Rebounded], we have confidence before God . . . [Confidence comes from a cleansed conscience].
Our source of strength is the truth of what we believe. Confidence towards God = Courage towards man.
1 John 3:22 . . . and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
Remember that verse 22 depends on verse 21. Knowing what God’s will is for us and having a clear conscience is pleasing in His sight.
We should never pressure someone to do something they are not comfortable with, especially something that would cause them to go against their conscience.
Verse 15 Joshua and the leaders make a mistake.
Verses 16-27 demonstrate how to recover from a satanic deception. This is a very important passage because it gives us the principles to put into practice after we make a goof.
So many people do the wrong thing when they find they did something wrong. The tendency is to immediately panic and try to undo everything you did wrong while deceived. But that is wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right as you’ll find out in these verses.
Verse 18 The leaders were wrong to make a treaty in the first place, but it would be wrong to break the treaty once it was made and sworn in Jehovah’s name.
These leaders got back on track and did not cave in to public opinion. They knew they were doing the right thing to keep their word even though they caught a lot of heat and scorn from the people. It is very rare to see this type of character from leaders today.
Principle: Once an oath is made, even if it’s a wrong one, it has to be kept, regardless, period, over and out, no exceptions.
Example: Ezek. 17:12-19 Why does God make so much of oaths? Because He has made an oath with you if you are a believer. God keeps His word and He expects you to do the same. God uses the very concept of an oath to get eternal security across to the believer.
God is stuck with you and me by His oaths or promises just like Joshua was stuck with the Gibeonites.
LESSON #38 (8-7-11)
Read Psalm 15:1-4 with the emphasis on verse 4. Once we see we have done something stupid and decide to trust in the Lord to provide our needs, He will superintend and supercede our foolishness by protecting us.
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Application: Some may be thinking, “What does this have to do with me? I don’t make oaths.
Are you sure? Are you married? This same principle applies if you did something stupid and got married for the wrong reasons. Trust the Lord to make the best of the situation. It’s that simple.
Verse 23 Here these people are outside of The Kingdom of God, condemned to judgment, and yet they are brought into The Kingdom and placed right next to the Tabernacle which is a picture of Jesus Christ. It is ironic that the Gibeonites, who started out in this chapter to be great deceivers, wind up in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is pictured in the Tabernacle.
Read: 2 Sam. 21:1-7 which occurred 400 yrs. after this incident in Joshua.
Read: 2 Sam. 20:5-16 and Deut.24:16
JOSHUA
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
CHAPTER 10
LESSON #41 (8-28-11)
Verse 1 Adoni-zedek sounds similar to another king called Melchizedek, a king of ancient Jerusalem, city name meaning "foundationof peace". ZEDEK is the Hebrew word for righteousness.
ADONI is Hebrew for the word Lord + ZEDEK = “the lord of righteousness”, self-righteousness.
MELCHI is Hebrew for the word for king + ZEDEK = "the King of Righteousness".
These two king’s names sound similar but are actually opposites.
Why would a pagan king be named “lord of righteousness”? Because Satan is the great counterfeiter. Just because somebody uses religious vocabulary and talks to you about the Lord, redemption, and grace, doesn’t mean they are a true believer or that they're saved. Remember Satan transforms himself into a minister of light and uses sweet, pious-looking people who lie and deceive.
Verse 2 Notice that the Gibeonites are called “mighty men”. Heb. GEBOR; strong, valiant, or brave. The Gibeonites did not surrender to Israel because they were cowards but because they believed that the God of Israel was truly The God.
Just as the Gibeonites incurred wrath from the other kings when they believed in the God of Israel, so it is with believers when they trust in Jesus Christ. They are considered traitors by Satan and incur his wrath. Satan does everything he can to trip up a new believer.
Verse 3 1) king of Hebron (alliance) HOHAM = to make noise, destroy, crush
2) king of Jarmuth (high, height) PIRAM = a wild ass
3) king of Lachish (impregnable) JAPHIA = illustrious; splendid; shining or gleaming
4) king of Eglon (fine bull calf; large & fat) DEBIR = an oracle or speaker
Verse 4-5 The five kings attack Gibeon, which means high hill or dweller on a high hill.
Verse 6 The Gibeonites asked Joshua for help.
"Do not abandon [KJV: Slack not thy hand from] your servants; come up to us quickly and save us. . .This is where Joshua really has to trust God’s promises of Chapter 1, verses 5 and 9.
Joshua 1:5 . . . 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.
Joshua 1:9 . . . 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."
Notice that the Gibeonites referred to themselves as “servants”. This is a way they were declaring their submission to Israel.
The Israelites were safely in the Lord’s hands and He would not let go, and the Gibeonites were in the Israelites hands and they would not let go. Why would the Israelites not let go of the Gibeonites? The oath that Joshua and the leaders of Israel made. The Gibeonites knew their deliverance was connected to Israel and Israel’s God. They knew that God would not let the Israelites down, and that’s why they sought after them in the first place and why they were asking them for help.
Can we be sure that we are safe in God’s hands and that they will not grow slack and let us fall?
John 10:27-29 . . . My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
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Verse 7 Joshua didn’t hesitate, he assembled the troops that very night and marched to Gibeon. He didn’t form a committee and discuss it, he didn’t pole the people to see what they thought, he took the lead and did what he knew was the right thing to do.
Verse 8 Verses 8-10 gives us an overview or summary of the battle. Verses 11-14 give us the details, which is the typical way of Hebrew writing, first you get the general summary and then you get the details. Joshua was recanting what the Lord had already told him in Joshua 1:3,5, and 9.
Verse 9 They would march all night, 15-20 miles and then go into battle the next morning. It was a tiresome journey with an ascent of 4,000 feet up steep and difficult terrain. There was no opportunity to rest.
Joshua didn’t decide to go their aid because strategically to his advantage, he went because he knew it was God’s will for him to do it and that God was faithful to His promises.
Verse 10-11 It was God that gave the Israelites victory through confounding their enemy. “confounding”, HAMAM, qal. Imp; to make noise, to confuse, or discomfit,
The Israelite army could not have won the battle without God’s help. Most of the enemy were killed by giant hailstones. The world is extremely impressed with the weapons of war mankind has devised, but they can’t begin to compare to the weapons of God. He uses nature itself; He controls the entire natural environment.
Job 38:22-23 . . . Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23) which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?
Within seconds, God could knock out every major weapons system of both Russia and America, our ICBM’s and everything else, by simply manipulating the electromagnetic field of the earth. The instruments located in missile nose cones have their instructions electronically implanted, so a change in the magnetic field would completely erase them.
Earthquakes can destroy runway missiles and their silos. Tsunamis can sink ships and destroy coastlines. Rainy conditions can ground bombers and bog down mechanized units in mud. It only took a severe Russian winter to stop the Germans just miles outside of Moscow.
An extra thick fog enabled Washington and colonial troops to cross the Delaware river completely un-noticed by the British.
Read: 1 Sam. 7:3-13
We need to make sure we are right with God, focus on serving Him, and He will take care of everything else.
Matthew 6:33 . . . seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
God discomfited Sisera in Judges 4:15. He discomfited 185,000 Asyrians in Sennacherib’s army when Hezekiah and the people in Jerusalem trusted in the Lord.
Read: Judges 4:15, Ex.23:23-37, and 2 Kings 9:35. He discomfits our enemies IF we trust in Him and obey Him. He will clobber your every problem.
LESSON #42 (9-4-11) The Lord's Supper; Looking back at salvation & forward to His coming.
The Israelite army was tired. They had nothing to eat, yet had to pursue the enemy for 30–40 more miles on foot. So God used His own artillery. His artillery is perfect and hits the target every time without a single miss.
This is not the last time God will use hailstones to confound and punish men.
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Revelation 16:21 . . . And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
Verse 12-13 What Joshua said in verse 12 is a petitionary prayer which he says first before he addresses the sun and the moon.
Joshua knew he and his men could not finish the victory by pursuing these men any longer. He needed time and he needed light because it was obvious that the Canaanite troops could disperse very easily in the dark, having complete familiarity with the terrain, and that it would be the end of the Israelites in their exhausted condition.
He was in a very dangerous situation because his troops were in the field without sleep for over 48 hours, and he saw he would have to bivouac right out in the middle of enemy territory where they’d be sure to face annihilation. So he counted on the Lord for even more divine help.
It is important to recognize that our situation in life is much like that of Joshua. If he didn’t depend on the Lord, he would have been overcome and destroyed by the enemy. Mediocre believers who put the details of life before God and His Word don’t get it. They don’t realize they are in spiritual combat every single day. If they don’t aggressively seek the Lord they will most certainly become spiritual casualties.
Joshua spoke to the sun and the moon to stay put. God accommodated his desire. This enabled them to wipe out the resistance so they could camp in that area that night without being attacked.
The Book of Jasher was also known as the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just Ones.
The lost Book of Jasher had various content in it such as military science, music, and poetry.
"It was probably a kind of national sacred song-book, a collection of songs in praise of the heroes of Israel, a “book of golden deeds,” a national anthology. We have only two specimens from the book, (1) the words of Joshua which he spake to the Lord at the crisis of the battle of Beth-horon (Josh. 10:12, 13); and (2) “the Song of the Bow,” that beautiful and touching mournful elegy which David composed on the occasion of the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:17–18)."
Easton, M. (1996). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA:
Some people just simply don’t believe this event happened.
Some say that it's not scientifically correct to say the sun stood still because what actually happened is that the earth stopped spinning. The sun doesn’t go around the earth.
1. We know this today, and yet we still hear weather reports that include statements like, “sunrise will be at 6:32 tomorrow morning". Many churches have “sunrise services” on Easter.
2. Habakkuk 3:11 clearly says the sun and the moon stood still.
3. Things were written in the 16th century that contain Mexican traditions going back before 1000 BC.. Notice, that Mexico is in the western hemisphere where they speak of "a hail of stones", a long night, and earthquakes following a previous catastrophe 52 years before. So we have this very interesting report similar the one in Joshua, and notice, too, that it’s not just a borrowed legend from the Bible somehow that leads to the western hemisphere because this isn’t reporting a long day. It's reporting a long night in the western hemisphere which is what you'd expect if there was a long day in the eastern hemisphere.
LESSON #43 (9-18-11)
Verse 14 has a phrase that captures the whole subject of this chapter. . . the Lord fought for Israel.
LECHAM, niphel participle; to fight, make war, overcome, or to conquer.
The niphel participle means that God was fighting, and fighting, and fighting every step of the way for Joshua and His chosen people of Israel.
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This is what our God loves to do because it brings Him glory. He loves to come to our rescue when we depend on Him in any and all circumstances, especially when we have no solutions and there seems to be no hope.
When was the last time your fat was in the fire?
When did you last ask for something big?
You can't ask God for anything too big. We don't have because we don't ask.
We do have directions. We have an assembly book.
Is the Lord #1 on your list of priorities? You are either depending on Him or yourself, never both.
Verse 15 This is a summery statement, verses 16-27 amplify what happened before they returned to Gilgal.
Verse 16-19 The five kings from verse 3 thought they would be safe from God’s wrath by hiding in a cave. Rev. 6:15-17 says this same thing will happen again in the Tribulation. The justice of God could not humble them and they continued to defy Him and be embittered against Him just as many leaders will be in the Tribulation.
In chapter 8, Joshua broke the military principle of pursuing the enemy when they are on the run because it was more important to obey God’s command to go to Sheckem to worship Him. But here, he had no such command, so he kept the enemy on the run.
Verse 20 After all of this, there were still enemy troops and the 5 kings who escaped.
Verse 21 The first miracle was the hail stones from heaven; the second miracle was the sun standing still, and now, the third one is zero casualties. This is an idiom which means not one; not even one of the army of Israel was injured; there were no wounded, no fatalities, zero casualties.
Verse 22-23 Joshua now deals with the five kings who hid in a cave, thinking they could avoid the wrath of God.
(Visual: Joshua Map, Foot On Neck God's Message in the Stars, 9-18-11)
FALLING ON THE NECK Verse 24 . . . falling on the neck
1. This expression can be used as an emotional embrace in a greeting or farewell, Gen. 33:4, KJV Acts 20:37.
2. "The word “neck” is also used to speak of one’s spiritual condition. To stiffen or harden one’s neck means to rebel or resist, KJV Deut. 31:27. A stiffnecked person is a stubborn, self-willed person who is determined to resist God’s will, Acts 7:51." Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. 1995
3. Sometimes bands or chains were put around the neck to enslave people, Isa. 8:8,52:2, Jer. 27:12.
4. But it refers here to the total subjection of the enemy.
LESSON #44 (9-25-11)
(Visual: One With Israel) We are standing with Israel against the forces of evil that presently surround her, who keep on chipping away at her ability to defend herself and are calling amongst themselves for her destruction. Peace will never happen until the Prince of Peace returns.
Review of Verse 24 . . . falling on the neck and the verses that reveal how Satan bruised Christ but Christ will crush Satan's head with his foot, representing absolute subjection, and the fact that God gave Christ this supreme victory, Gen. 3:15.
(Visual: Joshua Map, Foot On Neck, God's Message in the Stars, 9-18-11)
Read Job 38:32, Rom.10:14-18, Psa.19:1-5
God's message is in the stars where Serpens, the snake (Satan), is reaching for Corona Homeasis, the crown, and Ophiuchus, the snake-handler (JC), has his foot on the head of Scorpio, the scorpion (Satan).
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Hercules (JC) is about to cut off the head of Draco, the dragon (Satan). Each little part of God's message to us in the sky teaches us who will triumph in the end starting with the constellation Virgo, the virgin birth, and ending with the 12th constellation, Leo the Lion, representing the ultimate victor and hero, Jesus Christ of the tribe of Judah. Every night, there is another act. Job mentions Orion, the Pleiades, and other constellations that teach us how believers in Christ have nothing fear because we are on the winning side.
LESSON #45 (10-2-11)
Verse 24 . . . falling on the neck . . . describes something that goes much deeper than five kings with their heads in the dirt and Israel's general staff coming along to put their feet on their necks. That act depicted a much more real issue that affects the lives of all mankind. Joshua demonstrated something very profound to his staff, people, and to us.
Most people lackadasically think there is a mere fight going on between God and Satan and that it's not certain yet or unclear who will win. But from the get-go and besides showing it to us in the stars, the Lord gave us a written, succinct, and vivid picture of the greatest galactic battle, defeat, and victory of all time as well as its' outcome. Here is the first hint that God was going to send a savior.
Gen. 3:15 . . . And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed [JC]; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.
The Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, tramples on the head of the serpent, then, crushes the serpent’s head, but incurs damage to His own heel. A wound to the head is often fatal, but not so for a wound to the heel. Our Lord suffered on the cross, but Satan will suffer for all eternity in the Lake of Fire. Isn’t it interesting that in Rev 13:3, we read of the Beast with a head that seems to have a mortal wound?
A number of texts reflect the imagary of Gen 3:14-15 where God gave us this picture of the end game right off the bat. Skulls crushed, enemies broken, the rebellious trodden underfoot, the defeated seed of the serpent licking the dust, and serpents smushed. Isa.27:1, Psa.74:12-14, Isa.51:9, Lk.10:18-19
Romans 16:20 . . . The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. [Be of good cheer. You are in the war, but Satan is toast already!]
Ephesians 1:22 . . . And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. . . [as in marriage, Eph.5-18-20]
Psalm 110:1 . . . The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make your enemies a footstool for Your feet." [1 Cor.15 quotes this also]
Hebrews 10:12-13 . . . but He [J.C.], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13) waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
Acts 2:34-35 . . . The Lord said to my Lord, "sit at my right hand, 35) until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.
Luke 20:42-43 . . . For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my LORD, "Sit at My right hand, 43) until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."
“The metaphor of a footstool is most likely taken from the custom of the ancient Near East in which a victorious king placed his foot on the necks of his conquered foes. It indicates the complete subjugation of those who have been defeated to those who have overcome them.” Vol. 10: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 10. 2005 (107).
Review God's Message in the Stars (Visual: Joshua Map, Foot On Neck, Stars, 9-18-11)
Then, David proclaims that his enemies fell under his feet.
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2 Samuel 22:33-39 . . . "God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. 34) "He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places. 35) "He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36) "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great. 37) "You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped. 38) "I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed. 39) "And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; and they fell under my feet.
Psalm 44:5-7 . . . Through You we will push back our adversaries; through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. 6) For I will not trust in my bow, nor will my sword save me. 7) But You have saved us from our adversaries, & You have put to shame those who hate us.
Psalm 60:12 & 108:14 . . .Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Psalm 91:10-13 . . . No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. 11) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12) They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13) You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
This verse refers to the protection and help the angelic realm provides Church Age believers, even when we tread upon the seeds of the serpent. Satan distorted this verse when he tempted our Lord to commit suicide in Mt. 4:6 by adding the words, “lest at any time”, trying to get the Lord to arrogantly take the dare and go outside God's will and plan by using His own diety to save Himself after jumping off the cliff, but the New American Standard version left this out. The King James correctly shows it.
Psalm 91:14-16 . . . Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. 15) "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16) "With a long life, I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."
In these verses, we see that God’s deliverance is conditional. When we know Him, love Him, and call on Him, He blesses us and empowers us to win the smaller tactical victories. Look what our Lord is going to do when He returns at the 2nd Advent.
Isaiah 63:1-3 . . . Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 2) Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? 3) "I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My raiment.
It won’t be grapes that our Lord will be trodding; it will be unbelievers who will be the seed of the serpent the Lord will crush and smush like grapes in a windpress.
1 Corinthians 15:25-27 . . . For He must reign [in the Millennium] until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26) The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27) For HE [GTF] HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS [JC's] FEET.
One more passage in the New Testament demonstrates how Christ has already attained strategic victory over the powers of darkness so that we can potentially obtain tactical victories ourselves.
Colossians 2:15 . . . When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him it (αυτω) [the cross].
1 Corinthians 15:57 . . . Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Are you going to succomb to fear, sit on the bench, whine and complain, and bring the whole team down, or are you going to trust in the Coach, train, get in the game, contribute, & share in the victory Christ already won?
LESSON #46 (10-9-11)
Verse 25 . . . Joshua then said to them, "Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight."
This verse summarized what the foot on the neck ritual was all about. It taught Joshua's army commanders that the promise of God’s victory was just as valid in their generation as it was in Moses’s day. In other words, God's promise to Moses would not diminish in force for them. They had empirical evidence that God was faithful to keep His promise and would give them victory every bit as much as He did for Moses. Moses had passed on these words to Joshua:
Moses spoke these words to Joshua.
Deuteronomy 31:8 . . . The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
God Himself had spoken these words to Joshua to reinforce what Moses said:
Joshua 8:1 . . . Now the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed."
Joshua 1:9 . . . 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.
Here we see Joshua speaking these same words to the people to bolster their confidence:
Verse 26 . . . So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening.
Starting here, it gets a little hard for some people to take. [read scripture]
There’s something operating behind these five kings and its found in Deut. 18:9-12.
They had sold themselves and prostituted themselves to demonic forces of darkness.
Deuteronomy 18:9 . . . When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. “the nations” referrs to the nations of these five kings.
“Those nations” refers to the nations of these five kings who had sold and prostituted themselves to demonic forces of darkness. The land of Canaan was saturated with demonic activity.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 Spiritism is described, which sadly, has come back into America.
Joshua 8:29 . . . And he [Joshua] hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset Joshua gave command and they took his body down from the tree, and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and raised over it a great heap of stones that stands to this day.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 . . . And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23) his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.
Our great Savior was accursed as He hung on the tree of Calvary for us.
Galatians 3:13 . . . Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree "
2 Corinthians 5:21 . . . He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Verse 27 (From notes on Joshua 8:29) 8
The king of Ai was executed and hung before the people, then his body was buried at the gate of the city with a great heap of stones placed over it as a memorial. Sound familiar?
What was left behind after the Israelites crossed the River Jordan?
What was left behind when the Israelites left Jericho?
Heaps of stones from fallen walls.
What was left on top of Achan's body who disobeyed God and caused the defeat of Israel? A great heap of stones.
Another heap of stones was left on top of the body of the king of Ai.
Now stones were placed over the cave of the five executed pagan kings. What is going on here?
They were leaving a historical memorial behind to link God’s actions to space and time. This would remind people of God’s power and faithfulness to Israel for ages to come.
Verse 27-43
Four of the five cities are destroyed; the one city that is not destroyed is the city of Jerusalem, saved for 400 years for David to take over.
It certainly is true that the Lord fought for Israel but we should bear in mind that Joshua obeyed the our Lord’s command of to meditate on His Word day and night. This fact is to be taken into account as one pagan stronghold after another fell before Him. God turned cursing into blessing because Joshua was faithful.
Verse 29-30
Makkedah: place of shepherds. It's been identified with the modern el-Moghâr, 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem where there are two caves large enough to contain five men each. Smith's Bible Dictionary
Libnah: Hebrew meaning white for a heavily fortified position on a limestone cliff. One of the royal cities of the Canaanites. It became one of the Levitical towns in the tribe of Judah (21:13), and was strongly fortified. The Assyrian king Sennacherib turned to Libnah after the siege of Lachish in 701 B.C., 2 Kings 19:8; Isa. 37:8. Easton's Bible Dictionary
Verse 31-32
Lachish: is a highly fortified position. Lachish was a place that was so important that both Sennacherib in 700 BC of the Assyrian army, and Nebuchadnezzar in 600 BC with the Neo-Babylonian army both expended thousands of troops trying to secure Lachish because Lachish guarded the main road that moved from Jerusalem southwest to Egypt.
During the time of Hezekiah in 701 B.C., Sennacherib, King of Assyria, attacked Lachish, 2 Kin. 18:13–17, 2 Chr. 32:9. Its capture was so important to Sennacherib that he memorialized it in a magnificent relief on the wall of his palace at Nineveh. He also sent a letter to Hezekiah, demanding his surrender, 2 Kin. 18:14, 17; 19:8. One thing he did not put on the relief was the night our Lord killed 185,000 of his soldiers after threatening King Hezekiah, then attacking Jerusalem with all his might, but King Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, 2 Kings 19:35.
Sennacherib’s devastation of Lachish is not only documented in the Bible in 2 Kings 18:13, but was also memorialized in relief on the palace walls of the Assyrian royal city at Nineveh, which is modern Kuyunjik, opposite modern Mosul in northern Iraq. Harper's Bible Dictionary
About 100 years later, Lachish was again a stronghold in the nation of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, attacked and defeated, then Judah into captivity in 586 B.C., Jer. 34:7. When the Jews returned from their years of captivity in Babylon, the city of Lachish was inhabited once again, Neh. 11:30. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 1995
(Visual: Joshua Maps, 10-9-11)
Joshua used a blitzkrieg type warfare; he was mobile, moving quickly from city to city.
LESSON #47 (10-16-11) (Visual: Joshua Maps, 10-16-11) 9
Verse 33-34 Horam, King of Gezer came up to help Lachish and got his come-uppance, too.
Eglon: Hebrew for young bull; It was a city-state situated seven miles southwest of Lachish
in the low country, and Joshua took this city in one day.
Verse 35-36
Hebron: Hebrew for alliance. It was a capital city among many cities and the favorite home of Abraham where he pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. Its name later came to be known as Hebron and is the place where Sarah died and was buried. Easton's Bible Dictionary
Joshua later gave Hebron to Caleb, who used his volition to obey as an inheritance in Josh.14:13
When David became king of Judah, this was his royal residence where he resided for seven and a half years, 2 Sam. 5:5, and was anointed king over all Israel there, 2 Sam. 2:1–4, 11; 1 Kings 2:11.
Verse 38-39
Debir: Hebrew for inmost part of the sanctuary. The earlier name of Debir was Kirjath-sepher, “city of book,” Josh.15:15; Judges 1:11, and Kirjath-sannah, “city of palm”, Josh.15:49. Smith's Bible Dict.
Verse 40-43
Sums everything up.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 . . . Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness, the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. 5) "It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6) "Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people.
The + Righteousness of the Lord protected Israel from the horrors of idolatry and human sacrifices. The Lord gave them victory over the whole southern Canaanite territory and fought for them because they obeyed Him.
How do all these battles relate to us today? Israel's real battles were spiritual dependence on the Lord just as ours are. Most of us have never been in the military or have been in battle. Or have we? We may never have fought on a battlefield anywhere on this earth, but we engage in spiritual warfare every single day.
2 Corinthians 10:3 . . . For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
The Christian approach to any basic problem must be different than that of a worldly viewpoint if one expects to win battles.
Phillips Bible . . . The truth is that, although, of course, we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level.
We are not to rely on our own human thinking and understanding when facing the problems of this life. A good illustration of such a problem would be an odious coach, husband, boss, drill sergeant or teacher who is never satisified with you, is condescending, and tries to demean you. You are inclined to get mad, seek revenge, and to hate them rather than love them unconditionally.
But you must rely on God's thinking, His direction, His provision, and His protection rather than connive or manipulate to get the upper hand. Simply trust the Lord and His thinking to protect you and provide the solution to your problems. It's up to you. You can be a conqueror or a loser. But you can't win these battles using human viewpoint thinking.
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2 Corinthians 10:4 . . . for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
Joshua had no boats, pontoons, floats or rafts when they got to the River Jordan. They had no battering rams, towers, ramps, or catapults when they faced Jericho. They had no cavalry, horses, or chariots when they fought on the plains surrounding Gibeon. Do you know what their greatest weapon was?
BIBLE DOCTRINE IN THE SOUL. It enabled them to trust the Lord & to wait for His deliverance.
People tend to rely on their area of strength to deal with their problems as if weapons of warfare. But, these are weapons of the flesh.
A beautiful woman depends on her beauty.
Someone who is unusually bright depends on his intelligence.
A man that is big and strong depends on his size
A rich person depends on his money
A person with a bad temper depends on his anger
A weak person depends on his ability to solicit pity, plays the victim
Criminals depend on their ability to hide and deceive
So what do you default to when you face problems? Ability to outsmart, beauty, intimidation, anger?
You must decide: are you going to rely on your own pitiful puny power, or are you going to rely on God’s magnificent, unending power? I think one reason we usually opt for the puny rather than the mighty is because waiting is usually involved when we opt for the mighty. Who likes to have to wait for a solution when they are under pressure?
FAITH/REST is really a wait test. No one can pass that test apart from thinking Bible doctrine. It is the DIVINE VIEWPOINT that is divinely powerful and so effective in destroying evil fortresses.
It is BD that produces the proper norms and standards and the vocabulary with which to think and apply. You cannot think and apply if you do not have a doctrinal vocabulary.
BD is Truth, and once we operate on the basis of truth, we develop other powerful weapons. AGAPE
LOVE is a powerful weapon capable of pulling down strongholds if it is of the unconditional type described in 1 Cor. 13. This love is not conditioned on someone's attractiveness or how they treat us. It is based or patterned after how the Lord treats us and loves us, unconditionally.
EXPERIENTIAL RIGHTEOUSNESS is produced by the Holy Spirit when believers are filled with Him and is the process of growth in grace, building up of an edification complex in the soul by applying BD, God's thinking, to circumstances; it is the development of character, called "integrity"; it's also the process of being experientially sanctified or set apart for special blessing. This is our mighty weapon !
2 Corinthians 6:4 . . . in everything commending ourselves as servants of God . . . 6) in genuine love . . . 7) in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of [experiential] righteousness for the right hand and the left.
PRAYER is another mighty weapon because it changes things like nothing else !
Isaiah 37:21-22 & 33 . . . Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent word to Hezekiah, saying,’Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'BECAUSE YOU HAVE PRAYED to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22) this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him . . . 33) Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, 'He shall not come to this city, or shoot an arrow there; neither shall he come before it with a shield, nor throw up a mound against it.
Now there is something important in 2 Cor. 10:4 concerning the words used that we don’t want to miss. The enemies have fortresses which means that they are on the defensive.
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The next verse presents the believer on the offensive, destroying Satanic systems of thought and prideful arrogance which are the two pillars on which evil fortresses stand. God has given us the weapons to bring down enemy fortresses.
2 Corinthians 10:5 . . . We are destroying [pres. tense] speculations [Satanic systems of thought] and every lofty thing [pride] raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ . . .
Satanic systems of thought are absolutely everywhere. Our news and TV are saturated with political correctness and cosmic thinking. It is thought that either rebels against God or ignores Him. These thoughts are lies that appeal to our nature to believe them through arrogance and ignorance.
We are bombarded every day with humanistic lies that are so tempting to believe because prideful arrogance is ever present within us. I don’t know if you caught on by now, but the fortresses that need destroying are in us, in our thinking.
So the real battleground is in our soul, in our thinking. That is why the next phrase says that we are "taking every thought captive to the obedience to Christ". There is good news in this phrase. We have dominion over what we think. We can capture those thoughts that rise up against the knowledge of God.
We are not doomed to be controlled by every sinful thought that pops into our heads. We can use divinely powerful weapons to capture them and destroy them. For every mental attitude sin, MAS, there is a doctrine to neutralize it. See Mechanics of Applying Doctrine series.
LESSON #48 (10-23-11)
2 Corinthians 4:18 . . . While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
TAKING DOWN FORTRESSES:
Comparing JOSHUA10 with 2 CORINTHIANS 10
2 Corinthians 10:3 . . . For though we walk in the flesh [human bodies], we do not war [engage in spiritual conflict] according to the flesh [human ability or the OSN].
flesh = SARX, (σαρξ) Can refer to
(1) the human body (2) the flesh that covers our body (3) the human nature we call Old Sin Nature.
There is a characteristic of flesh that no one denies, it is corruptible. It is only temporary because it will eventually decay. So in this sense, it is weak.
Romans 8:2-4 . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [spirituality by filling of the H.S.] has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the [filling of] Spirit.
war = STRATEUO (στρατευω) pres. mid. ind. To engage in conflict, wage battle, fight. Every believer is in a war, the question is, Do you fight, and if you do, how do you fight?
2 Corinthians 10:4 . . . for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh [physical or mental abilities], but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
weapons = HOPLON (οπλον) weapons, arms, armor We noted last time that our weapons are:
1) Truth / Bible Doctrine / Divine Viewpoint
2) Love / Impersonal / Unconditional
3) Experiential Righteousness / Character / Integrity
4) Prayer
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divinely =TOI THEOI (τωι θεωι) Godlike powerful = DUNATOS (δυνατοs) from dunamai, meaning powerful, strong, mighty It means our weapons are like Godlike dynamite.
fortresses = OCHUROMA (οχυρωμα) a stronghold, fortification, fortress Joshua and the Israelites faced fortified cities with thick walls surrounding them. Their fortresses were visible, ours or not. The next verse describes the fortresses that we are to destroy.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up [pres. tense] against the knowledge of God [B.D.] , and we are taking [pres. tense] every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
destroying = KATHAIREO (καθαιρεω) pres. act. part. from KATA = down, HAIREO = to take, to take down, to demolish or destroy. You never saw Joshua negotiating or bargaining with the enemy hiding behind the fortresses. He obliterated, demolished, and annihilated them through the power that God gave him.
Joshua 10:42 . . . Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
Since this word is a present tense and active voice, it means that we are on the offensive, we are doing the attacking. Satan was on the defensive when the Israelites were destroying one pagan city fortress after another and he is also on the defensive now as believers attack and destroy every Satanic system of thought and take it captive unto Christ.
We don’t go on the offensive against Satan or attack demons, we capture every Satanic thought that arises and destroy it through the power of the H.S. and the doctrine in our soul.
Philippians 2:5 . . . Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus . . .
Romans 12:2 . . . And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Ephesians 4:22-23 . . . in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23) and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind. . .
speculations = LOGISMOS (λογισμοs) from logizomai; A reckoning, calculation, consideration. The product of a cognitive process, thought. The consideration and reasoning that precedes and determines conduct.
Romans 1:21 . . . For even though they [unbelievers] knew God [exists], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Psalm 10:4 . . . The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."
Proverbs 24:9 . . . The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
Matthew 15:19 . . . "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
There is nothing inherently wrong with speculations unless they are contrary to God and His Word.
lofty thing = HUPSOMA (υπσωμα) from hupsóō meaning height. Something made high, elevated, a high place, high elevation. Figuratively of a proud adversary, a lofty tower or fortress built up proudly by the enemy. Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament
A lofty thing is actually an obstacle of pride which manifests itself by human viewpoint.
1 Corinthians 3:19 . . . For the wisdom [human viewpoint] of this world is foolishness before God.
13 Jude 1:19 . . . These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
James 3:15 . . . This wisdom [human viewpoint] is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural [unspiritual], demonic.
1 Timothy 4:1 . . . But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.
LESSON #48 (10-23-11) Brief Review
The following are examples of the lofty things / fortresses the enemy has erected against the know-ledge of God that are supported by the arrogance and pride of those who reject Bible doctrine but accept Satanic systems of thought:
Theory of evolution
Acceptance of homosexuality
Same sex marriage
No fault divorce
Co-habitation / shacking up
50/50 marriages
Movies and TV gross immorality
Lordship salvation / based on works
Systems of penance
Reformed theology
Replacement theology
Covenant theology
Post modernism
Universalism
Armenianism
Ecumenism
Pluralism
Atheism
Agnosticism
Materialism
Internationalism
Multi-culturism
Anti-Semitism
Women pastors
Speaking in tongues
Divine healers
Attacks on the Bible
Gun control
Hate crime legislation
Child Protective Service abus
. . .we are taking [pres. tense] every thought captive . . .
“Assaulting and demolishing Satanic systems of thoughts, and every obstacle of pride attacking against the objective knowledge of the God, and making a prisoner of every human viewpoint system of thought to the authority of the Christ.”
2 Corinthians 2:14 . . . But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
Ephesians 6:10-13 . . . Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers [ARCHE, demon generals], against the powers [EXOUSIA, high-ranking demon officers], against the world forces [KOSMOSKRATOR, evil world rulers] of this darkness, against the spiritual forces [rank and file demons]of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
FULL ARMOR OF GOD
Helmet of Salvation
Breastplate of Righteousness
Ammo Belt of Truth
Shield of Faith
Boots of Gospel
Sword is the Word of God
JOSHUA
CHAPTER 11
LESSON #49 (10-30-11)
The northern campaign begins. All that has happened thus far in the book of Joshua up to Joshua 10:43 probably took place in less than a year. But the events that took place in Joshua 11:1-23 lasted as long as five to six years.
So why is everything so condensed in this chapter? We have already seen Joshua and the Israelites' pattern of victory over the Canaanites, so the only thing that’s left to do in chapter 11 is to describe the closing phase of the conquest.
In chapter 11, we see a change taking place. For the first time, the Canaanites took the initiative and attacked the Israelites. The Canaanites fled behind the city walls at Jericho. The same thing was true at Ai. Even in chapter 10, they amassed to attack the Gibeonites instead of Israel. But now in chapter 11, we have a tremendous Satanic counterattack on Joshua.
There was a trend here we don’t want to miss. As Joshua got closer to defeating the Canaanites and taking over the Land, the violence intensified because Satanic resistance reinforced itself. This is what is happening today. The closer we get to the Rapture, the more evident it will become. In the Tribulation, Satan will make a desperate last ditch effort to take over the world to prove God can't keep His promises and is, therefore, unfit to rule. Even now, you would have to be blind not to see how things are heating up and intensifying worldwide.
1. Israel is presently in the Land, and the Arab world is growing more confident to strike
2. Anti-Semitism is growing worldwide
3. We seem to be on the brink of a worldwide economic collapse
4. Worldwide famine is being predicted
5. Most believers seem to be ignorant, apathetic, and embracing false doctrine
6. Immorality is rampant, even among those professing to be Christians
7. 2 Tim 3:1-5 . . . But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. 2) For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3) unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4) treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5) holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.
Joshua and the Israelites used violence to take over the Land that Satanic forces had controlled for eons. Jesus Christ will use violence when He returns to take the earth back from the evil one who has been ruling over it. We engage in spiritual battle every day, but our struggle doesn’t involve physical violence. One could say that it does involve mental violence.
We have head-on collisions with secular humanistic ideas and thinking every day. Essentially, it has taken over. If you are not having any head-on collisions, it's quite possible that the enemy has already taken you captive.
Verse 1 So Jabin, King of Hazor, hit the panic button and sent out word in every direction to amass together in order to go and obliterate the Israelites. [See Map] This is similar to what Saul did later on in 1 Sam 11:7. He received word that King Nahash was about to destroy his brethren in Jabash-Giiead, so he got the word out to all Israel to assemble together to help them.
Verse 2 "Kinnereth (Josh. 11:2; confer 13:27) is an early name for the Sea of Galilee and also the name of a town on the coast of the lake. 'Kinnereth,' meaning harp, may refer to the lake’s harp-like shape. The New Testament sometimes refers to the Sea of Galilee as the Lake of Gennesaret, a Greek spelling for the Hebrew Kinnereth (for example: Luke 5:1)." The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures
JOSH 11, page 2
Verse 4 So the enemy troops assembled. Josephus gives us the following figures for this army: infantry totaled 300,000 which would be equivalent to 25-30 infantry divisions today, more than what we could muster right now to go to Vietnam thanks to all the disarmament people; 20,000 horses; 10,000 chariots. So that is a tremendous, tremendous army. Think of that . . . over a quarter of a million men amassed in this valley. And they'd come from all kinds of sundry places listed in verse 2-3.
Israel had very few if any horses, and they had no chariots. Chariots to the ancient world were as important in battle as tanks are in modern-day warfare. Israel had none. Remember Ben Hur?
It’s been estimated that Joshua was outnumbered about two to one. That’s nothing new for believers.
We might as well face it, as Christian soldiers, we will always be outnumbered when we are engaged in spiritual warfare.
Verse 5 “waters of Merom” was a lake about 4 ½ miles long x 3 ½ miles wide through which the Jordan River flowed. It is only about seven feet higher than the Mediterranean Sea.
Verse 6 . . . Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid. . ."
The Lord is always sensitive to our needs. He knew at this point that Joshua needed reassurance, so He made Joshua a promise. Did Joshua believe Him?
Verse 7 You betcha ! How do we know? Joshua acted. He and the people immediately moved out, Joshua 10:7-8. They had a long way to go, 60-70 miles. If they could cover 20 miles per day, it would take 3 to 3 ½ days to get there. That was plenty of time to change their minds and go back to camp. It was definitely a time for them to use Faith-Rest.
Joshua had to develop strategy and use tactics. He was mobile and couldn’t wait around, so he hit them fast and hit them hard. We have been studying spiritual strategy and tactics on Tuesday and Thursday nights about how to engage unbelievers. Those who are smart are obedient and therefore, are learning what tactics they need to be victorious in spiritual battle.
We already know what the unbeliever is going to say, so we are learning what we need in order to be ready for him. What will you do when you tell a believer that salvation is faith alone in Christ alone and he says, “Yea, but faith without works is dead.”
Verse 8 God kept His promise. Joshua was obedient and killed all the people and he mutilated the horses on God’s orders.
“Hamstrung” ʿâqar, AW-KAR´; a primary root; to pluck up (by the roots); specifically to ham-string; figuratively; to exterminate: dig down, hew, pluck up, root up." A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (91).
He also burned all the chariots. Why would God have Joshua maim the horses and burn the chariots?
1. God wanted His people to trust in Him and not trust in weapons of warfare.
Psalm 20:7 . . . Some boast in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
2. The Canaanites used horses and chariots to destroy God’s people, but God prevented them from ever being able to do that again.
3. The same thing would be done later in
2 Kings 23:11 . . . And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
Verse 9-12 Joshua continues to bash the Canaanites just as he was commanded to do. City after city; we are spared the details because the same thing happened over and over again.
We’ve already gone over the details in verse 11 and God’s justification concerning His command-ments to Joshua. If you have a problem with verse 11, the problem is with your thinking, not God’s character.
JOSH 11, page 3
Verse 13 Why did Joshua single out Hazor for special destruction?
a. Hazor was by far the largest of the city states, about 200 acres, and it was the head of the
federation of city states.
b. The king of Hazor was the one who formed the coalition against Israel.
c. This city occupied a position of immense strategic importance. It dominated several branches of an ancient highway which led from Egypt to Syria then on to Assyria and Babylon.
LESSON #50 (11-6-11)
Verse 14-19 Read then go to Power Point
Verse 20 This reminds us of when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The hardening of pharaoh’s heart must be seen in the context of the pharaoh’s stubbornness and resistance to the Lord, and the same is true for the Canaanites. Pharaoh hardened his own heart several times before God “hardened” it.
"Pharaoh responded to Moses and Aaron’s request to be allowed to leave Egypt with a defiant statement: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2). He repeatedly hardened his own heart (Ex. 7:13–14, 22; 8:15) Howard, D. M., Jr. (2001). Vol. 5: Joshua (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (274). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers
There is no way of knowing how many Egyptians were saved by God’s mighty omnipotence being displayed through the 10 plagues they witnessed. We know that a host of Egyptians left with the Israelites when they departed from Egypt.
The Canaanites heard of the great victories and about the omnipotent God of Israel, Joshua 2:9-11; 5:1; 9:1, 3; 10:1; 11:1. They all had a chance to submit to Him, but by this time they were so hardened, nothing would make them yield. If they had submitted to God, they could have been spared like Rahab and the Gibionites were who did not defy Him, but since they persisted in their defiance, they were utterly destroyed.
This principle is not only true for nations, it’s true for individuals as well. And this is true for both believers and unbelievers. God may send a catastrophe to an area that has a high concentration of fiendish unbelievers, such as the earthquake that hit Haiti.
LESSON #51 (11-20-11)
2 Cor. 10:3-5; Like Joshua, we either move forward to be victorious or are defeated. There's no middle ground; we need to use our divinely powerful weapons to bring down Satanic fortresses
LESSON #52 (11-27-11)
2 Cor. 10:5 . . . Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ . . . faithfully, obediently, agressively using divinely powerful spiritual weapons to bring down Satanic false doctrines.
LESSON #53 (12-4-11)
Believers who defy God by ignoring His mandates with an ongoing indifference are not immune from His wrath.
Hebrews 10:26-27 . . . For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27) but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Power Point
James 2:14 . . . What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith [doctrine] but he has no works [application]? Can that faith save him [from a premature death]? PP
James was speaking to believers who were in danger of coming under severe divine discipline because they were hearers and not doers of the Word. They had believed the gospel, they had eternal security, and they thought that nothing else was required of them.
JOSH 11, page 4
Ephesians 2:10 . . . For we [believers] are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Power Point
Romans 12:1-2 . . . I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .
It was important that all of the Canaanite people were annihilated, like cancer. Any portion that remained could be deadly. The time for the punishment of these demonic pagans had come, Gen. 15:16. That is why the Israelites were not allowed to make a treaty with them, Deut. 7:2, and they were commanded to kill everything that drew breath.
Verse 21-22 Zamzummim (Deut. 2:20), Anakim (Deut. 2:10), Raphaim, Og (Joshua 13:12)
"The Anakim, men of a Canaanite nation, famous on account of their height, who inhabited Hebron previous to the Hebrews taking possession of the land (Josh. 11:21); they were almost utterly extirpated by them, but a few remained in the cities of the Philistines." Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures (644). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
"Their formidable warlike appearance, as described by the spies sent to search the land, filled the Israelites with terror. They seem to have identified them with the Nephilim, the “giants” (Gen. 6:4; Num. 13:33) of the antediluvian age. Joshua finally expelled them from the land, except a remnant that found a refuge in the cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod (Josh. 11:22). The Philistine giants whom David encountered (2 Sam. 21:15–22) were descendants of the Anakim." Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA
LESSON #54 (12-11-11)
Now most people read about David and Goliath [400 yrs. later], 1 Sam. 17:40, the 5 stones, and the sling shot incident, but fail to remember that Goliath had four brothers. We have three of their names in the Bible: one was Ishbi-benob, the second one was Saph, sometimes known as Sippaii, the third was Lahmi, and the fourth was unknown, but he’s described as a having had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Abishi killed him in 1 Chron. 20:4-7 and 2 Sam. 21:16-22. Power Point
We have evidence of skeletons ranging from 9-10' tall found in Palestine, 1 Sam. 17:4-7. So we have clear archeological evidence that the Bible knows what it’s talking about when it’s reporting the existence of this lost race of giants.
Let's study David’s test from his brother Eliab, from Saul regarding wearing his amour, and from Goliath, 1 Sam. 45-50, Psa. 33:18-22, Psa. 34:7.
Are any of you facing a giant problem much bigger than you are capable of handling? You can face it alone, or you can turn it over to the Lord, claim His promises, and say with David, “The battle is the Lord's!”
LESSON #55 (12-18-11)
Verse 23 functions as a “hinge” or pivotal verse looking back to summarize conquests and looking forward to anticipate the Land inheritance.
Joshua 11:23 . . . So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war.
Everything stated in verse 23 is true, but it does not mean the Israelites took possession of all the land they had conquered or that there were no more enemies left in the land.
Joshua 13:1 . . . the LORD said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.
JOSH 11, page 5
"Joshua had broken down all resistance; but before he completed his conquests to their full extent, he had to provide for the peaceable settlement of the tribes in the territory he had seized. If all of the Canaanites were annihilated, it would throw the land out of cultivation, and expose its possessors to the usual inconveniences of depopulated districts." The Pulpit Commentary: Joshua '04 (H.D.M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (193).
Deuteronomy 7:22 . . . The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.
Exodus 23:29-30 . . . I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30) "I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.
Sometimes God fulfills His promises gradually.
Verse 23 . . . “the land had REST from war.”
This does not say the people entered God’s rest.
This is the "rest" promised back in these verses:
Deuteronomy 12:10 . . . When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you REST from all your enemies around you so that you live in security . . .
Joshua 1:13-15 . . . "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, 'The LORD your God gives you REST and will give you this land.' 14) "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, 15) until the LORD gives your brothers REST, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise."
"Not only did Moses fail to lead the people into rest (Heb.3:16–19); Joshua also did not (4:8). Whereas Moses and Joshua did not lead the people into rest, those who believe in the Lord do enter into the rest. there is an emphasis on the inability of the old ordinances to pro-duce internal change. The writer stresses the necessity of continuing with Christ lest the believers become like unbelieving Israel." Vol. 39: Westminster Theological Journal. 1976 (1) (74). Philadelphia: Westminster Theological Seminary.
There is a comparison between the first generation of Israelites who disobeyed God and failed to enter the "rest" they could have had, and believers today who fail to secure rest in their souls because they disobey God.
LESSON #56 (1-8-12)
2 Corinthians 10:3 . . . For though we walk in the flesh [human bodies], we do not war [engage in spiritual conflict] according to the flesh [human ability or the OSN].
2 Corinthians 10:4 . . . for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh [physical or mental abilities], but divinely powerful [divine dynamite] for the destruction of fortresses [Satanic systems of thought].
2 Corinthians 10:5 . . . We are destroying [pres. tense] speculations and every lofty thing raised up [pres. tense] against the knowledge of God [B.D.] , and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
This is so important to understand. The spiritual battleground for believers is located in soul, both the “nous”, the mind, and the KARDIA, the heart. Every day we are assaulted from within and from without by every kind of poison imaginable.
SATANIFC FORTRESSES JOSH 11, page 6
Ecumenism Theory of Evolution
Internationalism Political correctness
Multi-culturalism Acceptance of homosexuality
Communism Movies & TV gross immorality
Anti-Semitism Same sex marriage
Atheism Co-habitation
Agnosticism 50/50 marriages
Works based salvation No fault divorce
Catholicism Universalism
Systems of penance Materialism
Armenianism Feminism
Pluralism Post modernism
Covenant theology Mormonism
Reformed theology Hinduism
Replacement theology Buddhism
Mental Attitude Sins (MAS) lusts, doubts, fears, anger, ect. come from our OSN, and lies, deception, and temptations come from a Satanic world system.
LESSON #57 (1-15-12)
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME ALL THIS?
How do we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?
How do we destroy Satanic fortresses with the weapons that are like divine dynamite?
How can we replace human viewpoint in our souls with divine viewpoint?
Answer: By learning and applying Bible doctrine.
By studying to show ourselves approved, 2 Tim. 2:15.
The enemy’s assault is ongoing, moment to moment, day to day, it never lets up. Our only hope of not succumbing to it is to be as vigilant in filling our souls with truth as Satan is in trying to fill it with lies.
We can control what we think. We can destroy evil thinking [human viewpoint] and we can recognize what is true and identify what is false. But we can’t do this if we are indifferent towards the Word of God. If we want victory, we must stay the course.
We can be victorious through God’s grace:
Common Grace Super Grace
Efficacious Grace Dying Grace
Logistical Grace Surpassing Grace
Hebrews 3:5-6 . . . Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6) but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house whose house we are [who’s example we follow], if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end [like Christ and Moses did].
The Greek word for “servant” is not the usual word expected, DOULOS. Here it's but THERAPON, a word used for one who willingly and voluntarily serves. It is used for someone who has a higher status than an ordinary slave.
The term “house” means a household, family, or group and is used in verse 6 for those who are faithful. We are in that group if we "if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end".
JOSH 11, page 7
Hebrews 3:7-11 . . . Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says [Psa 95:7-11] , "today if 3rd you hear his voice, 8) do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9) where your fathers tried me by testing me, and saw my works for forty years. 10) therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways'; 11) as I swore in My wrath, 'they shall not enter MY REST.
What is GOD’S REST?
1. It is an RMA (Relaxed Mental Attitude)
2. It’s being free of Mental Attitude Sins (MAS), worry, fear, anger . . .
3. It’s an attitude of contentment regardless of circumstances
4. It’s a sense of security based on the faithfulness of God
5. It’s confidence based on God’s promises
6. It’s letting go and letting God
LESSON #58 (1-22-12)
. . . 12) Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart [no F/R] that falls away from the living God.
Notice that believers (3:1) can have an evil, unbelieving heart and can fall away from the living God. This does not suggest that they can lose their salvation but that they can come under God’s divine discipline.
. . . 13) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
How do believers encourage one another?
1. By reminding them of God’s promises
2. By faithfully attending Bible class
3. By your application of doctrine
Hebrews 3:14-18 . . .For we have become [v. rai] partakers of Christ, if 3rd we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; 15) while it is said, "Today if 3rd you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked [MERIBAH] Me." 16) For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17) And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18) And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient ? [APEITHEO (απειθιω), an obstinate refusal to believe]. 19) And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief [belief determines behavior].
Hebrews 4:1-12 . . . Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. 2) For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith [this is the key] in those who heard. 3) For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4) For He has thus said somewhere somewhere [Gen. 2:2] concerning the seventh day, "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5) and again in this passage, "They shall not enter My rest." 6) Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, [APEITHEO] 7) He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before [3rd time], "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." 8) For if Joshua had given them rest [but he didn’t], He would not have spoken of another day after that.
One can have neg. vol. two ways: JOSH 11, page 8
1) Not hearing His voice, hearing B.D.
2) Hardening your heart, being negative to B.D.
. . . 9) There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10) For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11) Let us therefore be diligent [SPOUDAZO, v. aas] to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. 12) For the word of God is living and active [alive & powerful] and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [God’s Word goes where nothing else can. It penetrates our soul and spirit, it discerns our thoughts and detects our intentions.]
Hebrews 3:5-6 . . . Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; 6) but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are, if 3rd we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. [We are Christ’s house, He abides in us experientially if . . . ]
confidence . . . PARRESIA (παρρησια) ) n.asf; compound word: PAS = all, RHESIS = to speak, a use of speech that conceals nothing and passes over nothing; outspokenness, frankness, plainness; freedom or frankness in one's speech. N.T. meanings: freedom in speaking all one thinks or pleases.
This is not encouraging us to be a blabber mouth, but to not hold back from telling others about our mighty God and His Word.
boast . . . KAUCHEMA (καυχημα) n. asn; act of taking pride in something; that which constitutes a source of pride. This kind of boast is not arrogant because it is not boasting in self, but in the greatness and faithfulness of our mighty God.
hope . . . ELPIS (ελπιs) n. gsf; the looking forward to something with reason and confidence, expecting fulfillment; hope, expectation.
Hebrews 3:7-12 . . . Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "today if you hear his voice, 8) do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9) where your fathers tried me by testing me, and saw my works for forty years. 10) "therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways'; 11) as I swore in My wrath, 'they shall not enter my REST.' " 12) Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
REST . . . KATAPAUSIS (καταπαυσιs) n. asf; state of cessation of work or activity, rest, or the place of rest, from KATAPAÚŌ (v) to make to cease.
This is a quote from Psalm 95:7-11. The first generation Israelites did not experience the rest in the land because they didn’t trust God, so they didn’t have Faith-Rest in their souls. READ verses 13-19.
Heb. 3:14 . . .“ we have become partakers”
METOCHOI (μετοχοι) adj. nmp. sharing/participating in something; partner or companion. Reference to a mature believer.
“if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,” HUPOSTASIS (υποστασιs) n. gsf; that which underlies the apparent, that which is the basis of something, hence, assurance guarantee, confidence; The ground of confidence, assurance, guarantee, or proof; that quality which leads one to stand under, endure, or undertake something, firmness, boldness, confidence.
Hebrews 4:1 . . . Therefore, let us fear [φοβεω, v. aps.] if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it [God's Rest].
JOSH 11, page 9
The good news here is that the promise of entering His rest remains. The bad news is that we can “come short of ” it . . . HUSTEREO (υστερεω) inf. ra; to miss out on something through one’s own fault, to lack, fail, or come short of something.
We can come short of the REST God has provided for us in the same way the first generation of Israelites did, through lack of faith. If we don’t unite our faith with the promises of God, we are just like them. Notice verse 2.
LESSON #59 (1-29-12)
Hebrews 4:2 . . . For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by [with] faith [this is the whole key] in those who heard.
We call uniting our faith with God’s promises = Faith Rest. This rest is in our soul or heart.
Hebrews 4:3 . . . For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, [Psa. 95:11] "as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter My rest," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
His works . . . refers to the personal, specific escrow blessings God created for us in eternity past. We call these Super Grace blessings. These far exceed the logistical grace God gives to every believer. These potential blessings are so great that they are beyond our comprehension. We can experience them both now and in eternity.
In eternity past, God designed the Promise Land, Canaan, for His people, the Jews. They realized that it was everything they hoped it would be, “a land flowing with milk and honey”, Num. 13:27, but they missed out on it all. Just think of what they missed out on. Think about what happened to them. Instead of blessing, they got cursing. There is no middle ground.
Hebrews 4:4-5 . . . For He has said somewhere [Gen. 2:2] concerning the seventh day: "and God rested on the seventh day from all his works"; 5) and again in this passage, "they shall not enter my rest."
God did not rest on the 7th day because He was tired, but because He had completed His work. Everything was done. It was perfect. Jews were not commanded to rest on the 7th day to rest their bodies only, but also so they would remember to trust in God’s promises and grace provisions.
Hebrews 4:6 . . . Therefore, since it [REST] remains for some [us] to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them [1st Exodus generation] failed to enter because of disobedience [APEITHEIA, obstinate unwillingness to be persuaded; willful unbelief]
Hebrews 4:7 . . . He [God] again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David [Psa.95:7] after so long a time [from Exodus generation to David’s generation 400 yrs. +/-] just as has been said before [2 times], "today if [3rd] you (1) hear [subjunctive] his voice [by taking in doctrine], (2) do not harden [subjunctive] your hearts [neg. toward doctrine]."
This is the 3rd time this is said besides Heb. 3:8, 15 and 4:7, so it should get our attention.
Remember, you can be negative in 2 ways:
1) Negative volition to the hearing of doctrine
2) Negative volition to the doctrine being taught.
Heb 4:8 . . . For if [2nd] Joshua had given them rest [but he didn't], He would not have spoken [the H.S. speaking through David, Psalm 95:7] of another day [today] after that [after Joshua’s time].
The Exodus Generation failed so they could not enter into the "rest" / Canaan / SuperGrace. The next generation, called the Joshua Generation, entered the land but did not conquer it completely as they
JOSH 11, page 10
were supposed to. They also failed. And, for 400 years until David's Generation, not all of Canaan was gained by the Jews even though God had promised it to them.
Conclusion: We can obtain the Rest, Super Grace Blessings, that they missed out on. God is waiting to pour out Super Grace blessings. Do you have a cup of capacity ready?
LESSON #60-62 (2-5 to 2-19-12)
Hebrews 4:9 . . . So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
The usual Greek word for "rest" being used in this chapter was KATAPAUSIS. But when referring to "rest" here, the word SABBATISMOS is used. So it is translated "sabbatical rest" this time. This is the potential for Rest/Super Grace blessings that God provided for us before time.
We can only earn them through FAITH . . . first in Christ, and thereafter through FAITHFULNESS to study His Word and grow to spiritual maturity by grace.
Hebrews 4:10 . . . For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
When a believer Faith-Rests, he no longer trusts in himself to solve his problems because he trusts God to intercede on his behalf. He knows when he trusts in God, the battle is the Lord’s. He stops worrying, fretting, conniving and scheming. He has peace of mind and gratitude for the Lord.
Before you Faith-Rest, you reap what you sow. After you Faith-Rest, you reap what God sows and you’ve done everything that is needed to be done just as God did on the 7th day of creation. Your work is done. It's in His hands now. That's how you complete your mission spiritually.
CLAIM YOUR PROMISES: Heb.13:5, Deut.31:6, 8, Psa.37:25, Isa.41:10, Psa.50:15, Psa. 102:17, 2 Cor.12:8-9, 1 Cor.10:13, Heb.4:1-12
Hebrews 4:11 . . . Therefore let us be diligent [to take in the Word, SPOUDAZO] to enter that rest [S.G.], so that no one will fall [into reversionism], through following the same example of disobedience [the Exodus generation were guilty of].
The thought of this fourth chapter of Hebrews can be traced with:
4 Hortatory Subjunctives. Hortatory [to exhort] Subjunctives [a verb form, possibility stated with emotion!]
1) Verse 1: Let us begin to fear
2) Verse 11: Let us be diligent
3) Verse 14: Let us hold fast
4) Verse 16: Let us come boldly to the throne of grace
Heb. 4:14 . . . Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 4:16 . . . Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
In Time REWARDS ! In Eternity
R.M.A. CONFIDENCE Faith-Rest
Suffering ENDURANCE Adversity
PERSISTENT INTAKE OF B.D.
Fear of Discipline MOTIVATION Desiring Rewards
JOSH 11, page 11
Hebrews 4:12 . . . For the word of God is living [alive] and active [powerful] and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 3:6 . . . but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
Hebrews 10:36-39 . . . For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised [rewards]. 37) for yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38) but my righteous one [bel.w/exp.+R] shall live by faith [Faith-Rest]; and if he shrinks back [- volition, no BD, no F-R], my soul has no pleasure in him [Divine discipline]. 39) But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction [Sin Unto Death], but of those who have faith [Faith-Rest] to the preserving of the soul [deliverence from SUD].
Who you will be, what you will do, and what you will have for all eternity depends on whether you keep enduring or not ! Will you keep learning doctrine? Will you keep trusting the Lord, Faith-resting?
LESSON #63 (2-26-12)
THE ESSENCE BOX
GOD'S JUSTICE
DEFINITION:
The quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.
The moral principle determining just conduct; to act or treat justly or fairly.
The administering of deserved punishment or reward.
Everyone can be saved and everyone is saved the same way.
EXAMPLE OF OUR LORD’S JUSTICE:
Deuteronomy 32:41-42 . . . If I sharpen My flashing sword, And My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me. 42 'I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.'
God is always perfectly fair; it is impossible for Him to be unfair.
Psalm 19:9 . . . The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
Psalm 36:6 . . . Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are like a great deep.
Psalm 89:14 . . . Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne; Loving-kindness and truth go before Thee.
Deuteronomy 32:4 . . . The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
Revelation 16:7 . . . And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments."
WHAT ABOUT THE HEATHEN?
Romans 1:18-19 . . . For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19) because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
It’s not that they don’t know the truth about God but that they suppress the truth about God.
Romans 1:20 . . . For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
LESSON #64 (3-4-12) JOSH 11, page 12
ARE THE HEATHEN WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL LOST?
Paul shows that they are lost, not because of knowledge they don’t have, but because of the light
they do have yet they refuse to accept it ! The things that may be known of God in creation have been revealed to them. God has not left them without a revelation of Himself.
Romans 1:21 . . . For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
The argument here is clear:
Creation demands a Creator.
Design demands a Designer.
By looking up to behold the sun, moon, and stars, anyone can know there is a God.
The answer to the question “What about the heathen?” is this: they are without excuse.
God has revealed Himself to them in creation, but they have not responded to this revelation nor desired to have a relationship with Him. If they did, He would bring them the gospel.
So, people are not condemned for rejecting a Savior they have never heard of, but for being willfully ignorant of the things of God and for having no desire to know Him.
God desires that none “should perish but that all should come to repentance”. 2 Peter 3:9.
This indicates that God also cares for those who have not heard the gospel. He has demonstrated this by sending His Son to die in their place.
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, Romans 5:8.
If God can save someone like Rahab out of such a thoroughly pagan society, He can save anyone anywhere who seeks Him.
God demonstrated how much justice means to Him when He imputed all the sins of mankind onto His perfect beloved Son. How could such a God be unjust to anyone? Especially consi-dering that His Son died for their sins.
People who ask, “What about the heathen who never heard the gospel?” should be very careful not to impugn the character of God. To suggest that God is unfair to condemn those who haven’t heard the gospel in order to dodge accountability for themselves is a very dangerous place to be.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
DEFINITION:
The quality or state of being just or rightful.
+ Righteousness is characterized by proceeding from or in accordance with accepted standards of morality, justice, or uprightness; virtuous/
“God’s Righteousness is that perfection of his nature whereby he is infinitely righteous in himself and in all he does, the righteousness of the divine nature exercised in his moral government.” Easton, M. (1996). Easton's Bible Dictionary.
What the righteousness of God demands, the justice of God carries out.
Gods Righteousness is not relative; He is absolutely + Righteous in all things at all times; totally perfect.
Psalm 119:142 . . . Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is truth.
Psalm 71:19 . . . For Thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, Thou who hast done great things; O God, who is like Thee?
Psalm 145:17-18 . . . The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. 18) The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
1 Samuel 2:2 . . . There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides Thee, nor is there any rock like our God.
LOVE JOSH 11, page 13
DEFINITION:
Warm personal attachment or deep affection,
“All renderings in English only approximate the richness of God’s love. It contains the idea of devotion, loyalty, and covenant faithfulness.” Harper's Bible dictionary (1st ed.)
Nothing can separates us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Rom. 8:35-39
Paul gives a good description of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-7
God’s love exists in two forms: Personal and Impersonal.
His Personal Love is directed to only that which is perfect.
His Impersonal Love is directed towards that which is imperfect.
Romans 5:8 . . . But God demonstrates His own [Impersonal] love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:38-39 . . . For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the [Personal] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Why is the Rom. 8:39 Personal Love?
What does one have in Romans 8 that was missing in Romans 5? GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
VERACITY
DEFINITION:
Habitual observance of truth in speech or statement; truthfulness.
Conformity to truth, honesty.
It is impossible for God to lie. Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18
God is absolute truth. It is impossible for God to lie.
2 Samuel 7:28 . . . And now, O Lord God, Thou art God, and Thy words are truth,
John 17:17 . . . Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.
Numbers 23:19 . . . God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Titus 1:1-2 . . . the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2) in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, . . .
Hebrews 6:18 . . . in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement.
LESSON #65 (3-11-12)
OMNISCIENCE
DEFINITION:
Having infinite knowledge or understanding.
OMNI, unlimited + SCIENCE, knowledge
There is nothing God does not know even to the numbers of hairs on your head. Mt.10:30, Lk 12:7
God’s knowledge is unlimited. He knows not only everything that ever happens, but also all the possibilities that could ever happen, and hold all of this is in His mind at all times.
Isaiah 46:9-10 . . . Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10) Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, [Sovereignty] and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'.
Isaiah 41:26 . . . Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"?
JOSH 11, page 14
Romans 11:33 . . . Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
OMNIPOTENCE
DEFINITION:
Supreme, infinite, unlimited power. A word applicable only to God. God’s power is unlimited !
Genesis 18:14 . . . Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.“
Jeremiah 32:27 . . . Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"
Psalm 147:4-5 . . . He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. 5) Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.
Col 1:16-17 . . . all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17) He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together
Isaiah 40:26 . . . Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them [stars] is missing.
Hebrews 1:3 . . . upholds all things by the word of His power . .
Jeremiah 27:5 . . . I have made [ASAH] the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.
OMNIPRESENCE
DEFINITION:
Presence everywhere at the same time, unbounded universal presence. This word is also only applicable only to God. God is ever present because He is not limited to time and space. No one can escape from His presence.
Jeremiah 23:24 . . . Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.
Isaiah 66:1-2 . . . Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
LESSON #66 (3-18-12)
SOVEREIGNTY
DEFINITION:
The status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign; royalty. Supreme and independent power or authority. God is the ultimate authority of the universe and can do whatever He wants, but He will never do anything that is contrary to any of His attributes. They are in perfect harmony at all times.
Job 9:12 . . . Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, 'What art Thou doing?'
Psalm 47:2 . . . For the LORD Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.
Isaiah 45:6 . . . That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,
1 Timothy 6:15 . . . He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Psalm 115:3 . . . But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
ETERNAL LIFE JOSH 11, page 15
DEFINITION:
God is eternal, He has no beginning or end. There has never been a time when He did not exist.
Job 36:26 . . . Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is un-searchable.
Psalm 90:2 . . . Before the mountains were born, Or Thou didst give birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.
Psalm 135:13 . . . Thy name, O LORD, is everlasting, Thy remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.
Revelation 1:8 . . . I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
IMMUTABILITY
DEFINITION:
Unchanging, unalterable, unvacilating.
Everything changes except God and His Word. Aren’t you Glad that He never changes!
Malachi 3:6 . . . For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
Luke 21:33 . . . Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Hebrews 1:12 . . . As a garment they [the earth and heaven] will also be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end.
Hebrews 13:8 . . . Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
James 1:17 . . . Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
LESSON #67 (3-25-12) DOCTRINE OF LOGISTICAL GRACE
Definition of logistics: The science of the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces in the field. World English Dictionary
Spiritual Definition of LOGISTICAL GRACE: Divine planning, divine support, divine provision, and divine blessing for the execution of God’s plan for every member of the Royal Family of God.
1. Logistical Grace is provided for every Church Age believer, both winners and losers.
a. Is this fair and just? Absolutely, the target of L.G. is the +Righteousness of God which is found in both winner and loser believers. Personal merit has nothing to do with it, that’s why we call it Logistical Grace.
b. Winners take advantage of logistical grace, losers have it, but never utilize it.
2. Logistical support depends on who and what God is, not on who and what we are.
The integrity of God is perfect because it is based on His perfect +Righteousness and Justice.
(1) What the +Righteousness of God demands, the Justice of God executes.
(2) What the +Righteousness of God rejects, the Justice of God judges.
3) What the +Righteousness of God accepts, the Justice of God blesses.
4) At the moment of salvation, the +Righteousness of God is imputed to the believer by the Justice of God. That +Righteousness demands blessing from the Justice of God whether we fail or succeed as Christians.
LESSON #68 (4-1-12)
Matthew 6:33 . . . But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things [logistical grace] shall be added unto you.
Romans 3:21-22 . . . But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested . . . 22) even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction . . .
JOSH 11, page 16
Philippians 3:9 . . . and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
Because He imputed to Christ something He didn’t deserve, our sins, so that He could impute something to us that we don’t deserve, His +Righteousness. These are called "Judicial Imputations".
Romans 4:5 . . . But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
Romans 5:1 . . . Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have His +Righteousness !
3. There are three results from the imputation of Divine +Righteousness to the believer.
1) Justification: God looks at His own +Righteousness imputed to us & declares us "justified".
2) God’s impersonal love is changed to personal love because we possess His +Rghteousness.
3) We receive Logistical Grace.
4. God's perfect +Righteousness is the principle of divine integrity, while God's perfect Justice is the function of divine integrity.
1) God cannot accept or bless anything less than perfect +Righteousness as the object of divine blessing. Man’s righteousness is totally unacceptable.
Isaiah 64:6 . . . For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Titus 3:5 . . . He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteous-ness, but according to His mercy . . .
2) The imputed +Righteousness of God in every believer is the recipient of all life support and all blessing from God.
3) Between His perfect +ighteousness and Justice, God has found a way to administer logistical grace blessing to every Church Age believer.
4) Therefore, a GRACE PIPELINE is established between the two attributes of divine holiness or integrity that excludes all human works and abilities. (See Visual: Grace Pipeline)
5. Since every believer receives the imputation of God’s +Righteousness when he or she believes in Christ, and since that is the target for blessings and logistical grace support, every believer has equal privilege and equal opportunity to execute God's plan and glorify God.
6. God can provide equal opportunity for every believer to reach spiritual maturity and receive super grace blessings in time and eternity because of the Grace Pipeline Principle.
JOSH 11, page 17
7. The only limitation in the spiritual realm is the believer’s own negative volition. No believer can legitimately blame God for failing to supply all that was necessary to take him all the way to spiritual maturity and Super Grace.
8. Total provision for both temporal and spiritual needs are provided through Logistical Grace.
a. Temporal Needs: food, water, air, clothing, housing, transportation, time, health, money, parents or guardians, education
b. Spiritual Needs: a human spirit, the indwelling, filling, sealing, teaching, and guiding ministries of the Holy Spirit, the Bible, a local church, spiritual gifts including male believers with the gift of Pastor-Teacher.
DOCUMENTATION:
Deuteronomy 33:26-27 . . . There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun [mature believers], who rideth upon the heaven to thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. 27) The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
2 Corinthians 9:8 . . . And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything [Logistical Grace], you may have an abundance for every good deed . . .
Note that this sufficiency is not qualified by occurring during prosperous times. We have sufficiency in all circumstances, including maximum historical disaster.
Philippians 4:19 . . . And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
God will never run out of riches to support you.
Psalm 37:25 . . . I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.
Logistical Grace blessing to you can extend as far as the third generation.
Ephesians 1:3 . . . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
2 Peter 1:2-4 . . . Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3) seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
LESSON #69 (4-15-12)
WHY WAS IT IMPERATIVE THAT CHRIST RISE FROM THE DEAD?
1. Because He said he would, John 2:19-22
2. To prove that God the Father accepted His sacrifice for sin, Heb. 10:12-13
3. To conquer death and share His victory with us, 1 Cor.15:57
4. To prove that He is the Son of God and has power over death, 2 Tim. 1:10, Rom. 6:9
5. So that we don’t have to fear death, Heb. 2:14-15
6. To be our advocate to the Father, 1 John 2:1, Heb. 7:25
7. To be head of the Church, Eph. 5:23
8. To go and prepare a place for us, John 14:3
9. To come back to earth to resurrect us, 1 Thess. 4:16
10. To return to set up His millennial kingdom.
11. To fulfill the four unconditional covenants to Israel.
12. To break the seals on the scroll in heaven and take back planet earth from Satan, Rev. 5:5.
13. To be our great high priest. Heb. 4:14.
14. To take OT saints in Paradise to heaven with Him when He ascended:
Ephesians 1:3 . . .Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
JOSH 11, page 18
Matthew 6:24-34 . . . No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
25) "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26) "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27) "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28) "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29) yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30) "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31) "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
32) "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33) "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34) "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
FAITH-REST
1. Faith Rest is available to every dispensation believer, to O.T. believers, to David, and now to us.
2. Happiness does not depend on circumstances; +H depends on what you think. You are not chained to circumstances. They really matter not as much as what you are thinking.
3. Can you face any problem in life and handle it by using the doctrine circulating in your stream of consciousness? Are you capable of making the right choices that help resolve the problems in your life? Resolving problems depends on what you have in your soul.
4. You make decisions as to whether you will have stress or tranquility in your soul.
5. Stress in the soul knocks out the filling of the Spirit, RMA, and doctrinal orientation.
6. Adversity is an outside pressure; stress is an inside pressure of life. Adversity is what circum-stances do to you and you usually have no control over them. Stress is what you do to yourself and that, you can control and keep it from overrunning your soul.
7. Adversity is inevitable; stress is optional.
8. God did not design us to be the slaves of our circumstances.
9. A believer who consistently uses the Faith Rest drill fulfills
2 Cor 5:7 . . . We walk by faith [F-R] and not by sight [human viewpoint].
WAYS TO FAITH-REST
1. Claim a promise like, 2 Cor. 9:8, Deut.33:26-27
2. Essence Box, [See Visual or notes above]
3. Grace Pipeline / Logistical Grace, Phil.4:19, 2 Pet 1:2-4, Eph.1:3, Mt.6:24-35 [See Visual]
4. God’s Plan of Seven Imputations (See Visual: 7 Imputations / Plan of God)
5. A Fortiori Logic
LESSON #70-71 (4-22 thru 4-29-12) (See Visual: 7 Imputations / Plan of God)
SIX CATAGORIES OF SUPER GRACE BLESSINGS
1. SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS
JOSH 11, page 19
a. The ability to correctly interpret contemporary history, to evaluate current events in the light of the Word of God.
b. Freedom from slavery to circumstances in life and adaptability to changing circumstances.
c. Grace orientation, freedom orientation, authority orientation, common sense.
d. A total sense of security, whether in prosperity or disaster.
2. TEMPORAL BLESSINGS
a. Wealth, either received or acquired.
b. Professional prosperity: promotion, recognition in one's sphere of life. The ability to assume responsibility and authority.
c. Social prosperity, great friends.
d. Sexual prosperity with one's spouse.
e. Technical prosperity or mental prosperity: the ability to think, and concentrate increase.
f. Cultural prosperity: maximum enjoyment of drama, art, literature, music, history.
g. Establishment prosperity: enjoyment of freedom, privacy, protection of life and property from criminals and reprisal.
h. Health.
3. BLESSINGS BY ASSOCIATION
a. Those around a mature believer are blessed by their association or relationship with that person. The supergrace believer shares his blessings with others.
b. There are peripheral areas of blessing by association such as loved ones, in business life, in social life, and to those in a local church.
c. There are also geographical blessings to the supergrace believer's city, state and nation.
4. HISTORICAL BLESSINGS
The mature believer carries his generation He stabilizes his generation and becomes a stabilizer for future generations. The supergrace believer remains calm and fearless even during times of historical disaster.
5. UNDESERVED SUFFERING
a. Only in time does God have the opportunity to give us pressure, disaster, and undeserved suffering to prove His total sufficiency.
b. God gives us the ability to handle suffering and turn suffering into blessing Rom 8:28.
c. Undeserved suffering is also used by God to help you keep your eyes on God and your focus an eternity. Rev 2:10; 2 Cor 12:9-10.
e. Undeserved suffering teaches us the value of Bible doctrine, Ps 119:67-71.
f. Undeserved suffering is designed to manifest the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor 4:8-11.
g. Undeserved suffering is designed occupy the believer with eternal values, Rom 8:36, 5:3-5.
6. DYING BLESSINGS OR DYING GRACE
a. Every believer has a choice in time between being positive to Bible doctrine and receiving dying grace, or being negative to doctrine and dying the sin unto death.
b. It is the antithesis of the sin unto death. The perfect happiness of the supergrace believer in time is exceeded by his +H in dying grace. Therefore, the mature believer has the best of life, better in dying, and better than the best for all eternity.
Ps 116:15 . . . Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.
LESSON #72-74 (5-6 thru 5-20-12) (See Visual: 7 Imputations / Plan of God)
AFORTIORI LOGIC
1. Afortiori = a Latin prepositional phrase meaning “with greater reason” and many times in the Bible is prefaced by the words "much more then".
2. A system of logic that deals with inference and comparison; (inference) to arrive at a conclusion by reasoning from facts or evidence.
JOSH 11, page 20
3. It is a comparison of a greater with a lesser difficulty. It is used as a system of debate which takes an accepted fact and by comparison produces an inescapable fact.
4. The Latin is the exact equivalent of the Greek expression found here. This is known in grammar as an idiom of greater degree.
5. It is composed of the dative singular adjective
POLUS meaning "much" + the comparative adverb MALLON meaning "more"
6. Afortiori logic has two parts: “the greater” and the “less” The greater is found in the prodosis and the lesser is found in the apodosis.
Rom 5:8-9 . . . But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Rom 5:10 . . . For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Prov 19:7 . . . All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him!
Prov 21:27 . . .The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!
1 Cor 6:3 . . . Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
Matthew 6:30 . . . But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Luke 12:24 . . . Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
LESSON #75 (5-27-12) (See Visual: JOSHUA #75, Retro & Cur Pos Truth, most of which is below)
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FREEDOM IS NOT FREE JOSH 11, page 21
I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it, and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd. I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears? How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of TAPS one night, When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times that TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, freedom isn't free.
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There is no question that Iwo Jima was beyond human comprehension in terms of the slaughter. In fact, although the Japanese were ultimately defeated and the island fell into U.S. hands, more Americans became casualties than did their enemies.
6,327 American soldiers were killed.
19,270 Wounded.
494 Missing in action.
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JOSH 11, page 22
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JOSH 11, page 23
Colossians 2:12 . . . having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Romans 6:3-7 . . . Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4)Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5) For if (1ST)we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, 6) knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with [KATARGEO, rendered useless, ineffective], that we should no longer be slaves to sin; 7) for he who has died is freed from sin.
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צֵיצֵידָה
Fear is the problem, Faith is the solution. Don’t be Frozen by Fear!
How can God justify us when we believe in Christ without compro業楳杮䠠獩瀠牥敦瑣攠獳湥散ി†††††丠睯眠慨敶猠浯瑥楨杮攠獬潴挠湯楳敤㩲†††啊呓䙉䍉呁佉ൎ潈⁷慣潇浩異整䠠獩⬠楒桧整畯湳獥潴甠桷湥眠敢楬癥湩䌠牨獩⁴楷桴畯⁴潣灭潲業楳杮䠠獩瀠牥敦瑣攠獳湥散ി䔍灸mising His perfect essence?
Now we have something else to consider: JUSTIFICATION
How can God impute His +Righteousness to us when we believe in Christ without compromising His perfect essence?
Expressed as a math equation, to conquer each one of Iwo Jima's eight sq mi. of volcanic slag, 3,255 American servicemen were killed or wounded.
The Japanese garrison on the island was utterly destroyed with a horrendous casualty rate of nearly 100%. US intelligence estimates placed a best guess at between 20,530 to 21,060 enemy defenders. Taken as a whole, more then 46,000 men died or were wounded during the 36 days of this indescribable battle.
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