Joshua 4:8-18

8 So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.
9 Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.
10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.
12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.
14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.
15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant* to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.

What was the Ark of the Covenant? It represented the presence of God with Israel! It was kept in the Holy of Holies in the temple while Israel was stationary, but while they moved it was ahead of them. In the Wilderness it was the Column of Fire at night and the Pillar of Clouds by day. These were a constant reminder that God was with them going through everything they were going through and leading them forward to where they were going. Now the Ark replaced the Clouds and the fire. It went ahead of them and was a constant reminder of God’s presence. So it is no wonder that the eyes of all those who crossed over were on the Ark of the Covenant as they passed by. And it is no wonder that they stood on the banks of the river after they had crossed to watch it come out of the river bed and take up the lead position again. Can you imagine how it felt to be there with your eyes fixed on the Ark as the priests carried it out of the water and the waters returned to normal depths. God was with Israel as demonstrated by the presence of the Ark. Isn’t it good to know that God is with us today just as He was then with Israel. Its not the Ark that reminds us, but the Cross. It’s not the Ark that provides us passage into the promise land, but the Cross. Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us. Just know that where ever you go today, God is present!

Joshua 4:1-7

1 When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

What do you do when the Lord does something great you want to remember? I was thinking about that when I read that Joshua was told by the Lord to gather 12 stones from the very place in the river that the ark of the covenant was held and stack them up as a memorial to what God did that day for Israel. I assume these were large bolders that could be carried and made a substantial pile of rocks. Every time somebody walked by that obviously placed pile of rocks, they would remember the great thing God did that day! God has done awesome things in my life. But I must admit, I have never done anything like this to remember those events or have the chance to tell the story when somebody were to say, “what in the world is that pile of rocks in your back yard?” It wouldn’t have to be a pile of rocks. It could be a picture of the event, like my baptism! It could be a journal with pages of words that lift up the deeds of the Lord in my life. Israel marked the spot so they would always be able to tell the story. Think of all the things God has done for you over the years. What can you do to make sure the stories are not lost?

Joshua 3:11-17

11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! 12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”
14 So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. 15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, 16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea* until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

God is not just the God of Israel. He is not just our God! He is the God of the whole earth! In other words, He alone is God. That was the point He was making to Israel as they crossed a dry river bed during the height of the rainy season. The Red Sea was no fluke! Just as He led Israel out of Egypt and across a dry Red Sea, now He reminds them of His glory and power by again giving them passage on dry ground. There have been many attempts to logically explain what happened on that day. Some say there was an earthquake upstream and others a landslide that delayed the water. Why not just read the word and let it do the explaining. Joshua said God would do great things before Israel so they would know He was with them. And in this passage it mentions twice that this is about the Lord of the whole earth. Is anything impossible for our God? Look to Him for your deliverance today! He is the Lord of the whole earth and as demonstrated to Israel, fully capable of doing the impossible!

Joshua 3:6-9

6 In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people.
7 The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. 8 Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”
9 So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God says. 10 Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.

Joshua is the new leader in Israel! How do you follow in the footsteps of Moses? Its like becoming the Major League Manager for a team that has won three World Series in a row. How do you top that? Well, it wasn’t necessary for Joshua to top Moses. It was necessary for Joshua to let God do the leading and simply to obey. So God tells Joshua He was about to make him a great leader and that all of Israel would know God was with Joshua. There are two things Joshua could do with that information. One, he could use it to his advantage to get all Israel on his side by telling them, “God has chosen me and told me He was going to make me His great leader amongst Israel!” Two, he could do what he did. He did not blow his own horn nor take advantage of God’s promise to Him. Instead, he blew God’s horn and praises and told the people God was going to show them that nothing had changed since Moses left. God was still with them and would still deliver them to the promise land! It was all about what God was going to do and not Joshua. Let’s not blow our own horns about who we are and what God is going to do through us. Let’s blow the horn of God. He is the one who changes lives and uses what he has made us to be for His glory. In the end, it’s not who Joshua was that really mattered. It is about who God is in our lives!

The Greatest Thing to Do!

Matthew 22:34-40

4-27-08

Joshua 3:1-5

1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove* and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing. 2 Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp, 3 giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. 4 Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about a half mile* behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.”

It’s never easy getting ready for a trip. At least not around my house. We are usually up late trying to pack all the right things and make sure we don’t forget anything. I can imagine it was the same for Israel the day before they were to get ready to go into the promise land. Take the tents down, pack up the utensils, roll up the beds and, of course, a head count to make sure every one was there for the trip. But the most important thing they were asked to do was the final prepatory words from Joshua. He told the people “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.” It was a call to repentence. It was a call to be set apart for the Lord alone. It was call to set aside any pretense that apart from the Lord anything would be accomplished with out Him. The promise was that God would do great things but it was contingent on Israels willingness to embrace God’s call on their lives. It’s no different with each of us. God cannot and will not use us unless we are willing to be set apart for Him! Israel had a choice to make that day. We have a choice to make right now. May we sincerely sing the words of this well known Hymn. “Take my life and let it be, consecrated (set apart, made holy) Lord to thee!” Have a great weekend and I will see you on Sunday (if you live around here)!

Joshua 2:12-24

12 “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”
14 “We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. 16 “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.”
17 Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. 18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. 19 If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. 20 If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.”
21 “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
22 The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success.
23 Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. 24 “The Lord has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.”

I like Rahab. She knew how to bargain with these spies. Notice she did not ask them to give her their word that they would be kind to her and her family. She asked them to swear by the name of the Lord. Her faith was not in men, nor her people, nor the walls of her city. After hearing about the God of Israel down through the years she had become convinced that their God was the Supreme God and she bowed her knee to no one but Him! In Hebrews 11 we are told she was a women who acted in faith when she agreed to protect those men. Faith means she was willing to trust God before anyone else. She was convinced God would protect her even though her betrail to the King of Jericho could bring her and her family certain death. She made her agreement with these men because she believed their God was trustworthy. She would later be rewarded for her faith as the city fell but her family was preserved from annihilation. Her story and her example is for us today. It is a reminder that God is reliable and can be trusted with all our circumstances to do what is right for us and for our families when we faithfully bow to Him! The walls may fall around us and there may be casualties in our world, but like Rahab and her family, God alone can deliver us!

Joshua 2:1

1 Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove.* He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”
4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.
8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea* when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.* 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

Joshua sent spies to the city of Jericho to see what Israel was up against when they crossed the river Jordan. Joshua had been a spy years earlier when the camp of Israel had decided the people of the land were too many and too big to enter the land. Joshua and Caleb were the only men in that spy party that were not afraid and voted to enter the land since God had promised to deliver them. None of that happened then, but now Joshua was about to lead his people over the River and face to face with the people of Jericho. These spies were assigned the task to see what they were up against. They chose the home of a prostitute to hide in, or did they? What they found was a women who had heard about their God. She had heard about the Red Sea opening and allowing Israel to cross on dry land. She had heard about how God had given them the battle over two great Amorite Kings. She concluded “The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below!” God’s hand was on the lives of the spies and God hand was on the life of this Harlot who had bowed her knee to the God of Israel even before they came. It was no accident and no choice of these men to end up in her home. It was no coincidence they found someone who would be sympathetic to their cause. It was God who brought them both together. What we often see as coincidental in life is not coincidental at all. Our God is an awesome God who is able to direct our paths and protect our lives. He is a God who listens to our prayers and responds to our hearts. The spies were looking for safety and Rahab deliverance for her family. God heard the prayers of both. He is more than capable to lead you through any dilemna you face this week. He is able to give protection and provide what you need. Look to Him! Rahab said it well. “The Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below!” Live that proclaimation!

Joshua 1:10-18

10 Joshua then commanded the officers of Israel, 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
12 Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He told them, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you a place of rest. He has given you this land.’ 14 Your wives, children, and livestock may remain here in the land Moses assigned to you on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, assigned to you.”
16 They answered Joshua, “We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us. 17 We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey your words and everything you command will be put to death. So be strong and courageous!”

The lands that Gad, Rueben and Mannesah were given to settle were on the East side of the Jordon. It was land that was already conquered and ready to settle. So Joshua asked the Warriors of these three tribes to settle their families, but for the sake of the rest of Israel, go with the other tribes until they have conquered their lands to settle in peace. In other words, just because you’ve made it to your promised land, don’t leave those who still have a ways to go on their own. Be a part of their getting to their promised land. Believe it or not, I can find a principle for spiritual growth in this request. It is easy to settle into our land once we have arrived. Once we understand the greatness of our God and the importance of our faith, it is easy to rest in those things and take care of our own business. But God did not call us to a land of isolation. We are to be there encouraging, admonishing and praying (doing battle) for our fellow followers of Christ. So I suggest giving some thought to the role we all have to help those who are still on the road to spiritual maturity. That is why Paul encourages those who have arrived at a place of maturity and understanding to use it to help those who are struggling (Galatians 6:1-3). When God has delivered us from the Giants in our lives, lets use what we have to help those who still have Giants in theirs. God bless you as you encourage others!

Joshua 1:1-9

1 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.”

People in this world will try and sell you many ideas on how to be successful. But as a child of the King the only kind of success we should be concerned about is God’s definition of success and God’s way to get to that success. You can have all kinds of money and a big house and still be unsuccessful by God’s standards. You can be dirt poor and struggle in this world and yet by God’s standards still be successful. In this opening paragraph in the book of Joshua God calls him to success and personally guaranties his success based on two action points. The first action point require Joshua to be “strong and courageous!” It is calling him to unwaivering faith in God. God promised him success and expects Joshua to trust Him to bring it about inspite of the difficulties he faces in life. The second action point is Joshua’s commitment to the word of God. Not only believing it is His word, but studying it and meditating on it! As a direct result of demonstrating unwaivering faith in God’s promises and a continual pursuit of the truth in the Word of God, God promises Joshua he will prosper and succeed in everything he would set out to accomplish. Perhaps we fall short in life because we do not demonstrate an unwaivering faith in the promises of God and a pursuit of truth by meditiation and study in the Word of God. After all, God says to Joshua this is a sure fire formula for finding success in daily living. Unwaivering faith in God’s promises (it’s not an action point you can fake) and a diligent daily search for truth in the word of God (”Study to show thyself approved unto God accurately handling the word of truth!) 2 Timothy 2:15 - Have a great week seeking God’s success in your life!