Joshua was one of the greatest military minds that ever lived. In seven years, he set the land free for Israel to have a homeland. But he didn’t do it alone. His season of preparation made it all possible….here is part of the promise God made to Joshua
Joshua 1:1-9
After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua is 60-70 years old (had to be at least 20 when he served as a spy)
Notice!
- Season of preparation is over
- I am true to my word and will fulfill my promise through you
- I am with you and nothing will stop what I plan to do
- It doesn’t mean there won’t be times you will be afraid, remember I am with you but you must choose to believe it
- Stay in the word, stay in prayer
- You will face discouragement, fear, and a lack of courage but choose to remember I am with you, always and I will give you prosperity and success
How did Joshua get to this point? He allowed the Lord to prepare him and stayed true even in the most difficult of circumstances….let’s take a quick look today…maybe some of these things you will be able to relate
Joshua’s first lessons Exodus 17:8,9
While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 9 Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
Deuteronomy 25:17,18 (you can look up later) tells us, Amalak attacked all the weak, the elderly, the sickly, women, and children.
- He learned that God defends the weak, and will make quick destruction of all those who do not fear Him and are so arrogant as to deny who He is
God doesn’t always send out armies to do this today but His heart is to bring those type of people to repentance
Exodus 17:11
As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.
We saw that God commanded Moses to hold (lift up) his staff while the battle raged on.
- It doesn’t tell us that Joshua saw Moses drop his hands but Joshua did begin to learn that obedience brings great success and victory
Can we grasp that it is a two-fold response God has to Amalek… God will not allow the innocent, the children, the disadvantaged to continue to be abused and enslaved. While the powerful believe they have all power and do not honor the Lord AND The people of God must be obedient to God’s call and purpose in their lives
That is how we win battles
Joshua’s second lesson – Numbers 14:6-9
Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
Part 1 – See the way the Lord sees, not the way man sees
- Everything the other spies reported about the land was true the problem wasn’t the truth of their statements the problem was their truth versus God’s truth…Their conclusion was “we can’t go up against them, they are stronger than we are (Numbers 13:31)
- God desires to prosper us to give us great success, to take the land that we are praying for but we must remain true to His call on our lives….in whatever way we are called to do it we must be faithful to Love God, Love people and make disciples….plus whatever else he has called us to do that fulfills those commands
Part – 2 have the Father’s heart for people – Number 14:11-13,20
And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” 13 But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the LORD. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt……. 20 Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.
Moses was going to have his hands full with these people, all they knew was Egypt, the people had not truly raised their children to know and trust the Lord, Moses had to have a pastor’s heart for the sheep of Israel. As a Prince it would not have been in his nature. As a warrior it would not have been in Joshua’s however, Joshua saw Moses’ intercession for the people and it helped his heart
We have so many rebellious people in our nation, people who blatantly reject God, His plans, His purpose for their lives…as people of faith we must have His heart and see the way He sees so that our response to the people is His response not ours….we have to fight to fulfill our purpose….after all everyone in our nation is a potential brother or sister in Christ and as part of the Body we will have to help them grow too!
Last point for today…..Exodus 33:11
Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.
What he didn’t learn from Moses, he was able to learn directly from the Lord.
He spent quality time learning from Moses watching him, following him but he built his own relationship with the Lord that caused him to submit to the Lord and Moses even better, teaching the people what they should do by his example.
I love that you all come to church at least one day/week and we all grow and learn together but we all need to have a personal relationship with Jesus that draws us closer to Him every moment of every day.
God promised Joshua, blessing, success and prosperity which meant he would fulfill the call the Lord had on him. He battled fear and insecurity at fulfilling God’s plan and filling Moses’ shoes.
God invested in him and prepared him
- He learned that God protects His children and doesn’t forget them
- He learned He must walk in obedience to see the blessing of the Lord
- He learned He must see the way the Lord sees, not dwell on the circumstances but God’s call
- He learned that he also has to have God’s heart not just his righteousness, or vision, but his heart also to be able to fulfill God’s vision
- He learned to follow Moses in his relationship with the Lord
- He learned in order to fulfill all of God’s plan for his life he had to have his own great relationship with the Lord
God has us in preparation time…can we trust Him that He sees what is going on and will defend? Are we able to walk in obedience to have His heart and see the way He sees? Are we able to grow in our relationship with the Lord so we know how He is going to lead?….Joshua battled his own fears and insecurities that is why the Lord said “be strong and courageous” That too is the Father’s heart for us in the season…trust Him