Joshua 1:1-11
In Chapter one - Of course, Moses has died and we read the words “the Lord said to Joshua”…Let me state it again; “Every movement of God begins with a meeting with God.” In this meeting God gives Joshua some encouragement to help overcome the two things that can hinder God’s work; “fear and discouragement”. In verse 9 - for the third time - God says “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged” WHY? (“Because I will be with you wherever you go.”)
The second thing I want you to notice in chapter one is in verse 16 – the people say “Whatever you have commanded us we will do.” The reason they were willing to follow Joshua was not just because he was Moses assistant, it was because they recognized that God was with him…“May the Lord be with you as he was with Moses.” In church circles today, it’s still the call of God and the hand of God upon a person’s life that ought to produce followers…whether that person is the pastor, or the entire board, people recognize the hand and the call of God.
In chapter 2 - we have the story of Joshua sending the spies to check out the land, and “especially Jericho” it says in verse one. They enter the house of Rahab…She agrees to hide them and not tell of their plans if they agree to save her and her family from harm. Rahab tells them in verse 8-11- “I know that the Lord has given this land to you, and a great fear of you has fallen on us…We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea…and what you did when you did to Sidon and Og…whom you completely destroyed…the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” That is from the N.I.V….but in Pastor Fred’s translation - Rahab is saying to them “We have heard and believe that your God is who he says he is! And, that He can do what He says he can do!
The spies report to Joshua, and I can imagine Joshua assessing the situation, and probably making plans of his own concerning how he will take Jericho!…(Pay attention to the process here.)
In chapter 3 - we have the Israelites taking a step of faith…this is a new generation in a new time. Then Joshua tells the people “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you!” And, of course God does…but not in the way Joshua thinks! If you look at 4:12 - “The men of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (which is Joshua’s tribe) crossed over ARMED, in front of the Israelites… About forty thousand ARMED FOR BATTLE crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for WAR.” What does that sound like to you? They had a plan! They were ready for battle! But, if you know the story, you know God had a better plan!
They set up the twelve stones, taken from the middle of the river, as a monument for the Lord…as a reminder that this was a God moment! This was a new generation. They were not there when God parted the Red Sea… But, the last verse of chapter 4 says it all - “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and that YOU might always fear the Lord your God.”
In the first part of chapter 5, God tells Joshua to circumcise the Israelites. Not just the babies that were 8 days old…but, all the fighting men! (Vs. 5:5-8)…How ready for battle were they now? Why would God do this now? (See last verse of chapter 4 again.) 14 days later they celebrate the Passover, and for the first time in 40 years, they don’t eat manna!…they eat from the fruit of the promised land.
Now, read 5:13-15… remember, “Every movement of God starts in a meeting with God”… It’s no surprise then, that Joshua’s first encounter is not with the enemy but with an emissary of God. Joshua has the presence of mind to ask two questions; ( I have learned that most of the time it’s not about having all the right answers, but it’s about asking the right questions…and then listening, really listening, for the answer.)
The first is a power question… The second is a purpose question. Both are important, because the intersection of God’s power and God’s purpose is unstoppable! We really need to catch sight of that in the church today.
The first question is; “Are you for us or our enemies?” The answer is “Neither”…God doesn’t choose sides …He wants to know if we are on His side! “As a commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” the man says. Now, what does Joshua do? Does he say “Oh, Thank God, we can use your help.”… No, it says he fell facedown to the ground in reverence”…“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy”
Too often, we make our plans, we look at our abilities, we look at how much we can afford, we look at how great the need is, and we decide what we can do…then we hope God shows up!…Notice that it does not say that Joshua was seeking the Lord’s direction…. No, He was trying to come up with a strategy to take the city… And God tells the angelic commander; “Will you go down and tell Joshua how this is going to be done!”
There are two keys to releasing God’s power in the life of a leader and in the church: (I post them tomorrow…)