Judges 1, 2

After God had given the Promised Land to His Children, they would serve Him as long as they had a Godly leader. After Joshua passed (he had been a great and Godly leader) God raised up judges who would likewise have a positive impact upon the nation, only to fall back into carnality after that judge would pass. How frustrating it must have been for the Lord to see this digression keep reoccurring. He knew man needed to be saved from himself.

Enter Christ Jesus. He is the perfect leader Who will never leave us or forsake us. We don’t have to fall into backsliding. Life is Christ keeps going up and getting better, He knows the mud we’re made of and He loves us enough to keep picking us up when we stumble. How great a Savior we have.

Joshua 24

This is a pivotal passage in the Bible. Joshua, a man with a circumspect view because of his experience … born in Egypt, suffered Pharaoh’s bondage, spied on the new land, served an apprenticeship under Moses, and selected by God to take the leadership reins over Israel … (Joshua) shares his decision and empirical wisdom with all Israel householders – USE THE CULTURE OF YOUR HOME TO IMPART GODLINESS TO YOUR FAMILY!

My experience as an administrator in a private Christian school gave me a perspective on the culture of the home. Children of all ages bring the culture of their home directly to school each day. The teachers see the distinct differences in the way children are raised.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. [Prov. 22:6]

Joshua 21-23

Because of their obedience, God gave respite to His Children in the Promised Land. They had routed and destroyed their enemies and settled in to inhabit and possess the land. This resulted in a rewarding rest, a time for them to enjoy their homes and carry on with life.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. [Ps. 84:11]

Joshua 18-20

Cities of refuge were established in the Promised Land. If you accidentally took a life, you could run to one of these cities and find protection from the avengers.

When we need protection from the bruises and injuries of life, we run to Christ Jesus Who IS our refuge.

^“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [Matt. 11:28-30]

Joshua 13-17

To each tribe of Israel was given a region of the Promised Land as an inheritance. There were lands and cities for them to dwell in thereafter. God took care of His Children then … and NOW. God has made us co-inheritors with Christ of an eternal life in heaven.

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, [1 Peter 1:3,4]

Joshua 10-12

31 kings and kingdoms were conquered by Joshua and the armies of Israel. Fear and dread of them swept through the land, but they kept on their mission … to DESTROY the inhabitants and prepare a home for themselves. God gave it to them. They had to obediently eliminate their foes before they could rest and continue living.

Christ Jesus was prefigured by the man Joshua. Their names are very similar, and their mission likewise … lead God’s people into their inheritance and destroy the works of the evil one.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. [1 Jn. 3:8b]

Joshua 7, 8

The Gibeonites had heard of the destruction and Israelite victory at Ai. They feared for their lives and crafted a plan to survive. They dressed as if they had come from a far away City when in fact their city of Gibeon was close by. They asked the Israelites to make a no-aggresson agreement with them. When Joshua discovered their deception he assigned them to a life of servitude. They were just glad to be alive.

The enemy of our soul would likewise like to deceive us into believing that a life of sin is rewarding and pleasurable. Surprise! Sin leads to death.

And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan!”  [Matt. 4]

Josh. 6,7

No invention or device of man can hold back the Lord when He wants to do something. Jericho’s walls went straight INTO the ground when Joshua’s men shouted.

Through our prayers and obedience to God, we can have the same powerful results.

Joshua 3-5

God gave Joshua THE PLAN to cross the Jordan river. He sent the Ark, carried upon the shoulders of 12 leaders, to stand with their feet in the waters. Immediately, God began causing the river’s waters to begin stacking upstream. The entire congregation saw this miraculous demonstration of God’s power and control over nature. They were awed. God had thereby put his stamp of approval upon Joshua’s leadership. He was revered the rest of his life.

God similarly endorses leaders today by protecting them and blessing them. He defends them from gainsayers when they, like Jesus, defer to God’s power and methods.

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. [1 Tim. 5:17]

Joshua 1, 2

When the spies were hidden by Rahab from the king of Jericho and his henchmen, she told them, “Great fear has fallen upon us because of you … we saw what your God did to the Red Sea, Sihon, and Og.” This was news to the spies, but it gave them a glimpse of how God could bring fear upon their foes.

Nothing has changed. God is still FEARED by our enemies. They seem to use every weapon in their arsenal against us, but it will not avail them. Knowing this should motivate us to use our spiritual weapons even more aggressively … faith and prayer and praise. [Ps. 149:6-9]

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [2 Cor. 10:4]