Joshua - Chapter 1

The speaker welcomes the listeners to TheAmazingBible.BookClub and introduces the book of Joshua. She explains that the books of history in the Bible cover various events, including the taking of the promised land, the time of the judges, and the reign of the kings of Israel. She also mentions the empires that affected the Israelites, such as the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. The speaker highlights that the book of Joshua continues the story from the previous books and focuses on Joshua leading the people into the promised land. She emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's law and mentions the commitment of the tribes to follow Joshua's leadership. The speaker encourages the listeners to read and meditate on the Bible to discern the truth and mentions her personal experience of following God's calling. Hello ladies and welcome to TheAmazingBible.BookClub, I'm Julie Callio your host and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today, if by chance you want to contact me you can do that at theab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are starting the book of Joshua chapter 1 which begins the section of the Bible called the books of history, there are 12 books in this section which leads us through the taking of the promised land, the time of the judges, then the kings of Israel, the divided kingdom, the Assyrian empire which wipes out the northern ten tribes, the Babylonian empire which ultimately took the southern two tribes of Judah and destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, and then the Persian empire which allowed the Jews to come back to their land and rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. That is the end of the Jewish Old Testament history, the rest of the Old Testament are books of poetry and prophecy that spoke during the time of history, so as we go through the Old Testament this time we are not reading the books in biblical order but intermingle those books of poetry and prophecy as we read the books of history. The book of Joshua continues the story of where the Pentateuch also known as the five scrolls also known as the book of the law or the Torah or the Torah also known as the books of Moses ends. The first five books of the Bible start with God created the world and the first humans, they chose to disobey their creator and sin entered the world. In Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 the Lord told the serpent I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head and you will strike his heel. This verse is sometimes called Protoevangelium which means the first announcement of the gospel which means good news, there is one who is coming that the serpent or as Revelation chapter 12 verse 9 says the great dragon was hurled down that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the whole world astray, he was hurled to the earth and his angels with him. Satan struck that one's heel when he died on the cross but this one Jesus Christ born of a woman crushed the serpent's head when he died on the cross and rose again and ultimately Jesus will completely defeat that deceiver when he comes again a second time. That seed of Eve can be followed through the lineage found in the New Testament book of Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3. Luke's version starts with Adam and Eve and then through Seth and the shorter version goes through Noah then Shem which is where we get the word Semitic then to Abraham and Sarah and the promise of God to bless them with descendants that outnumber the stars plus kings and kingdoms and with land which will be where that one was born this is found in Genesis 15 and Genesis 21. The lineage continued through Isaac and Rebekah Genesis 24 and 25 and then Jacob and Leah who had the son Judah Genesis 29 and with three other women Jacob whose name was changed to Israel had 11 other sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel Judah with Tamar had Perez Genesis chapter 38. In Genesis 46 12 we learn that Judah Perez and his son Hezron went to Egypt as well as the rest of Jacob's family because of a severe famine. Hezra had Ram who must have been born and died in Egypt because in the first census in Numbers chapter 1 verse 17 and chapter 7 verse 12 after they left Egypt Nashun son Amenadab from the tribe of Judah is mentioned. We don't learn until Ruth chapter 4 about Ram and that Nashun had a son Sammon and it was at this point that was in that second generation with Joshua and they entered the promised land this is where Joshua begins. In Joshua chapter 1 verses 1 through 9 we find that Moses had died and now Joshua son of Nun Moses' aid will lead the people across the Jordan River into the promised land. In last year's podcast on February 20th 2023 entitled introduction to Joshua and his calling from God I go into more background information on Joshua. The Lord promised him in verse 5 no one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses so I will be with you I will never leave you nor forsake you. The Lord tells Joshua three times be strong and courageous in verses 6, 7 and 9. In verse 7 it even says be very courageous. I love what my Old Testament professor Dr. Betts said God is not going to tell people something that is not going to be needed there will be many times Joshua needs to be strong and courageous. Ladies the key to his success was obedience to the Lord and the law of the Lord. He was to meditate on the law every day and night and because the Lord had called him and had commanded him and had promised to be with him he would fulfill the promise. Verses 10 and 11 say so Joshua ordered the officers of the people go through the camp and tell the people get your supplies ready three days from now you will cross the Jordan where to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God has given you for your own. It was now time for this second generation to fulfill what God had promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then to them through Moses and now Joshua. Now in Numbers 21 and in Deuteronomy chapters 2 and 3 we learn that while the nation of Israel had made their way to the east side of the Jordan River they asked Sion king of the Amorites to pass through their land but they refused and brought forth their entire army to fight them and the Israelites won. The same thing happened with Og king of Bashan so the Israelites took possession of the land on the east side of the Jordan River. In Numbers chapter 32 two and a half tribes the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh asked if they could live in the land that was already taken and Moses said yes but the men were to still come and fight with the rest of the tribes as they took the land and they agreed. The rest of chapter 1 Joshua reminds these tribes of their commitment with Moses and they said whatever you have commanded us we will do and wherever you send us we will go just as we fully obeyed Moses so we will obey you only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your words and does not obey your words whatever you may command them will be put to death only be strong and courageous. Here we see obedience but it is not blind obedience it was obedience dependent upon Joshua obeying and being with the Lord and that could only come by being strong and courageous with the humongous task that lay before them. Joshua's faithfulness and godly leadership was essential in their obedience. Now the part that's funny to me about their statement is just as we fully obeyed Moses so we will obey you. I would not describe the Israelites as fully obeying Moses and neither did Moses. He called them rebellious and stiff necked in Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 27 and many other places. The song of Moses in chapter 32 which the Lord gave to Moses to teach to the people was not a glowing review of faithfulness and this gives us a clue of what the future holds for the Israelites. Ladies the Lord does not call us to blind faith in our leaders either. In the New Testament in the Apostle John's first letter chapter 4 verse 1 he writes Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The key to knowing if they speak the truth or not is to compare it to scripture. I have shared before that I grew up Southern Baptist and one of the best things in that denomination was they stressed that we are to read the Bible for ourselves. Just as Joshua was to meditate on the law of God, we are to read, meditate and think upon the word of God. That is what saved me. Now I became a Christian when I realized that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and my sin and it was my sin that put him there. His death was the sacrifice I needed. We all need to make us acceptable to the Holy God. As 1 John 1 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I was saved at nine years old and since then I have been in the process of being saved which is also called sanctification. It is the process the Lord uses to make us holy like he is holy. As in the Old Testament and the New Testament, there are people, false prophets, who try to control us to their will and not to God's will and it is when we know the word of God, the Holy Scripture, that we can discern the truth. Another thing to keep in mind, it is not just knowing scripture that keeps us living in truth. The Lord's half-brother James said in his letter, chapter 2 verses 18 and 19, But someone will say, You have faith, I have deeds, show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God, good, even the demons believe that and they shudder. Satan used scripture to tempt Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4 so he knows scripture. The problem is that Satan and the demons do not obey. The two and a half tribes told Joshua, Whatever you have commanded us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go. Ladies, that is what we need to say to the Lord. When I was 24 years old, I re-read through Judges, which is next week's lesson, and I was reminded of the female judge and prophetess, Deborah, and I had to decide, Is what my religion tells me about women the same thing as the Bible tells me about women? I had wanted to go to seminary to learn the Bible, but what would I do with that as a woman in my denomination? It was at that time I laid flat on the carpeted living room floor of my two-bedroom apartment and said, Whatever you have commanded me, I will do, and wherever you send me, I will go. Off to Louisville, Kentucky, I went. I met my husband there, ended up having three kids, and it only took me 31 years to complete my degree. But it was so worth it. Most people the Lord does not call to seminary, but what has he called you to do? I was strong and courageous through many tears, and you can be too, and that strength and courage comes when we obey and are doing exactly what God has called us to do in the place that he has called us to be. So if you have heard his voice today, what's he saying? Let's be like Joshua and the second generation of Israelites, and let us be strong and courageous and let us obey the voice of the Lord. Until next time, and thank you so very much for listening.