Paula Wiseman

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Posts that reference the book of Joshua

Joshua

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Joshua title graphic

So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. Judges 2:7

Do you know someone like Joshua?

Someone who served as a role model for you.
Someone who served God with consistent passion.
Someone who lived their faith rather than simply professing it.

You could argue that generation had great faith because they saw great works.
I would suggest that they had great faith first, so they saw great works.
Joshua called on Jehovah as a slave in Egypt before he ever saw the Red Sea part or the walls of Jericho fall.

We have a generation who desperately needs a Joshua or two, or more.

We need people who will serve as role models.
People who serve God with consistent passion.
People who live their faith rather than simply professing it.

People who will exercise great faith so God can reveal His mighty works.

Take time to thank God for your Joshua.
Commit to being the next one.

Don’t Fear, Believe

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Don't fear only believe title graphic with a goldfish jumping from a small bowl to a big one

Last week, we talked a little about fear. More often than not, fear leads to distrust of God’s goodness and disobedience to His commands. Jesus encouraged us to believe rather than be afraid. I don’t think He’s advocating simple positive thinking, or some kind of abstract visualization. Fair enough. But believe what? Well, believe God. Okay, but that also sounds like an unsatisfying “church” answer. Let’s use God’s encouragement of Joshua for a framework of what truth we can cling to rather than our fear.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? – God is sovereignly in control of every situation, even the ones that cause us anxiety and fear. This is important. The circumstances are not in control, and the other people in the situation are not in control. God is. He has allowed a fearful situation to develop because He determined He can be glorified in it, and we can grow because of it. One way of looking at it is that fear is an indicator that God is ready to do some next-level training with us.

LORD – This is how English Bibles render the covenant name of God, YHWH. It invokes all the promises God made to His people and His gracious fulfillment of those promises. Through Jesus, we have an amazing intimate relationship with God, and He has made us some stunning promises. He will keep every one of them.

God is with you – God is not a detached coach or judge, ordering up tests and challenges for us, then watching and grading our performance. He is with us. Jesus went with Jairus into the room where his daughter lay. Jesus was on the boat when the storm hit. He is no less present with us.

  • He is in control.
  • He will keep His promises.
  • He is with us.

Believe that.

Rest

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Rest title graphic

“Remember what Moses the LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and he will give you this land.'” Joshua 1:13

Rest.
The Hebrew is nuah.

It is physical.
We need strength and energy.

It is mental.
We need to think clearly.

It is emotional.
We need a break from worry and stress.

It is vocational.
We need release from trying to provide for ourselves and our families.

It is ministerial.
We need replenished when we give of ourselves.

It is spiritual.
We need release from the burden of trying to earn our salvation and God’s favor.

It is eternal.
We will achieve perfect rest in His presence.

It is His gift to us.
We simply have to receive it.

Want more Hebrew words? Hebrew word series

Meditate

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meditate title graphic

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 good success. Joshua 1:8

The Hebrew word is hagah.
It means a low sound.
According to scholars,
Not unlike the growling of a lion
Or the cooing of a dove.

Meditate means
Think about
Recite
Ponder
Apply.

We turn over in minds whatever is our chief concern.
Our shortcomings or God’s provision.
Someone else’s slander or God’s promises.
Worries for tomorrow or confidence for eternity.

You see,
You are likely already meditating.
Like Joshua, choose the words of God.

Want to know more? Study Tip: Meditating on Scripture

A Study in Contrasts: The Spies

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Study in Contrasts The Spies title graphic

The spies reported “But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.” Numbers 13:28 (NIV)

You may remember from beginning grammar that conjunctions are words that connect words or ideas. “But” is the conjunction that joins contrasting ideas. When “but” appears in Scripture, it highlights something God wants us to notice, to learn from. We’re looking at some of these contrasts.

In Numbers 13, the nation of Israel is poised to enter the Promised Land. Moses sent a team of twelve spies to check out the land in preparation for its conquest. On their return, they gave Moses their report: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.” Numbers 13:27

In other words, the land is everything God promised it would be. It is beautiful. It is fruitful. BUT… The people are powerful. The cities are fortified. There are giants.

That report is enough to make the people decide they don’t want any part of the Promised Land.

As the narrative continues in chapter 14, Joshua makes a last-ditch effort to encourage the people to take hold of the land God is giving them.

If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. Numbers 14:8-10 (NIV)

Joshua said, “Do not be afraid. The Lord is with us.” BUT the people wanted to stone him for suggesting that.

This moment represents one of the greatest failures in Scripture, and the lessons we can take away are important.

A sense of entitlement is destructive – It hadn’t been that long ago that the nation of Israel were slaves in Egypt. Most recently, they have been dependent on God for their provision as they trekked across the desert. Now they presume to treat the gracious gift of a homeland and the abiding presence of God with the critical eye of a used car buyer. They were critical, ungrateful, and rebellious. Joshua was right. The Promised Land lay before them. All they had to do was step out in faith. They chose to sit back in hard-heartedness.

If we aren’t careful, we can nitpick God’s grace. We can determine He really doesn’t care. He really isn’t good. His gifts aren’t great and we deserve more.

Leaders who don’t follow God can lead us astray – The ten spies were handpicked representatives of their tribes. They were well-respected, but they were completely wrong. Not only that, but their report was designed and delivered to maximize its impact. Scripture doesn’t record their motive. We don’t know if they were looking to push Moses out or if they were genuinely opposed to taking the land. But clearly they lacked faith in God and His promises.

We can embrace leaders who are more pragmatic than Kingdom-minded. Joshua, Caleb, and Moses returned again and again to God’s clear commands and His character. The other spies were pushing comfort, safety, and ease, but ultimately disobedience.

We have to trust God more than we trust our own assessment of the situation -The ten spies were not wrong. The people of Canaan were powerful warriors. The cities were well-fortified. There were giants. However, like Joshua said, “But the LORD is with us.”

Carrying out the gospel, making disciples, living like Jesus day in and day out is a difficult assignment. There is no question about that. Culture is hostile. Temptations are a real struggle. The enemy is active and fights dirty. But the LORD is with us. The Holy Spirit lives in us and Jesus promised that we will reap if we don’t faint.

Don’t be like the spies. Be like Joshua. Be bold. Cling to His promises. Encourage others to do the same.

Next week: David

Hebron: A Promise Kept

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long shot of mount hebron today with post title

And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Joshua 14:13

When Israel reached the border of Canaan, Moses sent twelve men in to survey the land in preparation for taking it. Caleb was one of those men. In spite of the failure of Israel there at Kadesh-Barnea, God promised Caleb that the land he surveyed would be given to him as his inheritance. In Joshua 14, after the conquest of the land, Caleb came to Joshua to claim that inheritance, including Mount Hebron. There is a city called Hebron as well. The mountain is more of a ridge or group of hills than a distinct peak. The city sits a little over 3000 above sea level.

So what happened at Hebron?

A promise realized – Forty-five years after God declared Hebron would be his, Caleb saw that fulfilled. Forty-five years. It’s tempting to shake our heads and wonder what good the promise is if you have to wait so long to see it kept. But it is a reminder that God is working an eternal plan, not a temporal one. The here and now is not nearly as important as the there and then. God, however, is as faithful to a forty-year promise as He is an eternal one.

A commitment affirmed – Hebron is evidence of Caleb’s whole-hearted commitment to follow God. It was a commitment that did not waver even when he and Joshua were the only two people in the entire nation who believed God would give Israel the land. Even when the nation demanded his death by stoning for the mere suggestion. Our commitment wavers in the face of far, far less opposition.

A reward received – In Joshua 14:9, Caleb reminds Joshua, So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ This was a restatement of God’s own declaration in Numbers 14:24. We don’t serve God for what we get out of it. That was Satan’s premise in his attacks on Job. However, it is undeniable that God takes note and rewards faithful obedience to Him. He rewards us with the intangible wonder of knowing Him more intimately, with the riches of His grace. At times, He rewards with the more tangible as a testimony to His goodness.

A new challenge undertaken – Caleb had no illusions about Hebron. He knew the Anakim, the giants, were there. He knew the cities were strong and fortified. But he also knew that God had kept him alive and strong, and if God continued to be with him, he would drive the Anakim out. Sometimes God responds to faithfulness, not with a promise of leisure, but the next –greater– task. May we meet them like Caleb, assured that the God who brought us to it, will bring us through it.

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