Today’s passage: Joshua 5:13-15

Helpful thoughts:

• The Commander of the army of the Lord is the LORD.
  • He accepted worship.
  • He required obedience.
    • His presence required the same response as was expected of Moses at the burning bush.  This was holy ground.
• Joshua would not properly lead Israel into the conquest of the Promised Land if his worship was not rightly placed.
  • This conquest wasn’t first about Israel.
  • This conquest wasn’t first about the Canaanites (Israel’s “adversaries”).
  • This conquest was for the glory and purposes of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. When God said “No” to being for Israel or her adversaries, He was declaring that Joshua (And everyone else) was for Him!  Why would this apparent self-centeredness be terrible if we acted this way, but wonderful when God does?  Who is God if He is not the Commander?  What is the best thing that God can give us?
2. Why is it so important to remember that we are God’s servants?  What happens when we begin to think that God exists for our purposes?

Today’s passage: Joshua 5:1-12

Helpful thoughts:

• It didn’t take long for news to spread of over two million people crossing the Jordan on dry ground with a giant wall of water 15 miles north of them.  The people there knew, and they were terrified.
• The generation of Israel that died in the wilderness did not obey the Lord.  One area of disobedience was in not circumcising their boys, disregarding the promise of God.  Upon their circumcision, Israel was now renewed in their promise from God to multiply their people (His people).
• God brought Israel into the land in time for Passover, celebrating the last meal their people had eaten before departing Egypt.  The celebration of Passover, the circumcision of this generation, and the cutting off of the manna marked a new chapter in the history of the nation.
  • And, the Passover pointed them forward to the ultimate blessing which their existence would bring about, their Messiah, Jesus Christ!

Questions to consider:

1. How does this generation of Israelites contrast with the generation that died in the wilderness?  What characteristics are being put on display?  How are different people responding to the same God?
2. How was Egypt’s reproach of Israel “rolled away”?  What did the reaffirmation of circumcision and the end of Israel’s wanderings communicate to Israel and to Egypt about God faithfulness?
3. How does a right fear of the Lord (Joshua 4:24) give me a right perspective of the commands of God, the specificity of my obedience, and the opinions of other people who do not fear God?

Today’s passage: Joshua 4:1-24

Helpful thoughts:

• There are two possible interpretations on the twelve stones.  Either way, they serve the same purpose.
  • There are two sets of twelve:
    • One set was picked up by a member of each of the 12 tribes of Israel.  These stones were set up at Gilgal,  the location of the first encampment of Israel IN the Promised Land.
    • A second set was arranged in the Jordan River at the location of the Ark, before the priests moved the Ark, while the ground was still dry.
  • There is one set of twelve:
    • If almost all of verse 9 is a parenthetical statement, then it is simply telling us that Joshua personally selected the twelves stones from the location of the Ark and had them set up so that when the twelve appointed men came through, they knew which stones to take.
• The stones were to remind the children of Israel and the whole world.
• The stones were not to remind the children or the world about the water.  They were to teach of the mightiness and then the appropriate fear of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

1. What would be a better application from this text (And from these stones)? God will always get us out of jams. -or- God is powerful and worthy of our never ending worship.
2. Why did the people stand in awe of Joshua?  What would have been a right and healthy way to view him?  What would be a wrong and unhealthy way for Israel to view him?
3. We could get lost in the details of this chapter, but if we take a big step back, what just happened for the nation of Israel on this day?  Where are they?  What does this teach us about the faithfulness of God?

Today’s passage: Joshua 3:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• God uses the miracle of heaping up the waters of the Jordan River to:
  • Get the Israelites into the Promised Land.
  • Show the nation that He was with Joshua just as He had been with Moses. (Think Red Sea…)
• Joshua takes the opportunity to remind the people that God is still among them and for them.
• The Ark served as a reminder of the presence and the covenant of God.
• Amazing facts:
  • There would have been over 2 million people crossing the Jordan River that day.
  • The waters were piling up into the air about 15-20 miles north of where Israel crossed over.
  • The ground was dry…not muddy.

Questions to consider:

1. Why didn’t God just have Israel make boats?  What was His purpose for this miracle?
2. What would the distance between the Ark and the location of the waters being stopped have taught Israel?  Why was God able to stop the waters so far away?  What is true about Him?
3. How can these reminders of God’s omnipotence (Power), omnipresence (Everywhere present all the time), and faithfulness (He never abandons His people or His promises) encourage you to trust Him and follow Him today?

Today’s passage: Joshua 2:1-24

Helpful thoughts:

• Rahab’s “profession” and the placement of her house would have made for a good place for spies to gather information under cover and then depart.
  • The spies must not have been stealthy enough, they were discovered quickly!
  • There is nothing in the text that indicates any sinful activity between Rahab and the spies.  (Obedience to the Lord was critical to their success!)
• It was wrong for Rahab to lie.  It was right for Rahab to help the spies.
• Rahab believed and the God of the Israelites became her God as well. (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25)
  • She was the mother of Boaz and therefore the great-great-grandmother of King David.

Questions to consider:

1. How could Rahab’s past and even her present (Lying to the King’s men) be an encouragement to everyone in the Gospel?  Why was Rahab saved?  What was the basis of her righteousness?  How was her conversion evidenced?
2. How might the example of Rahab’s acceptance as an Israelite by faith have encouraged her son, Boaz to welcome another foreigner, Ruth (Who had proclaimed, “Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” – Ruth 1:16) to be his wife?
3. In what way did the spies express their faith in God’s promise upon their return to Joshua?

Today’s passage: Joshua 1:10-18

Helpful thoughts:

• After God commissions Joshua and commands him to be strong and courageous, the leaders of the people of Israel affirm their intent to follow Joshua and ask him to be strong and courageous.
• Before the people ever cross the Jordan, Joshua reminds them Who is giving them the land.
• The Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Mannaseh were given land east of the Jordan, but they were commanded by Moses (Deuteronomy 3:1-22) to help the rest of Israel to take possession of the land west of the Jordan River.

Questions to consider:

1. What was the condition given by the leaders of Israel for their willingness to follow Joshua (Vs. 17)?
2. What should Joshua have been thinking about then concerning his own responsibility which God had given him earlier in verses 7-8?
3. What should Joshua have been thinking about then concerning God’s promise to him from verse 9?

Today’s passage: Joshua 1:1-9

Helpful thoughts:

• It would be good to read Deuteronomy 34 to get familiar with where we are now in the history of Israel and in the overall narrative of the Old Testament.
• God has now given Joshua the responsibility to lead Israel.
  • He was to lead courageously.
  • His strength and courage would certainly have come from His faith in God.
  • His methods were to line up with God’s commands as given (No “alternate” interpretations).
• In order to ensure that Joshua remained prepared to lead Israel well, God commanded him to consistently and continuously study the Word.

Questions to consider:

1. Did God promise Joshua that if he did everything right, nothing bad would ever happen to him or Israel?  Why was Joshua going to need strength and courage from his faith in God?
2. What was to be the fruit of Joshua’s study of Scriptures?  How would Joshua’s study of Scripture result in success?  How can you and I apply this principle today?  In what way does our study of Scripture bring success today?
3. Compare and contrast Romans 8:31-39 and Joshua 1:9.  How can you be encouraged by God’s Word, God’s presence and Gods’ everlasting love throughout this day?