Last Sunday, our pastor began a series on the Book of Joshua. Every small group in the church is discussing this book. The Book of Joshua is a great book of the Bible. We are going to take a break from our Acts series to study Joshua.
We are going to do it a little differently than most groups. We want to begin with a little background. When many of begin studying a book of the Bible, we have no background on it. We just begin with the first verse. We want to do a little background.
Who was Joshua?
This book is called the Book of Joshua. Who was Joshua? What do we know about him? How well do you know this bible character? Most people do not know too much about him. Let’s break down who he was.
1) He was a SON
Joshua apparently was the only son of the family, according to I Chronicles 7:27. He was the son of Nun. He is called the son of Nun in the first verse of the book. After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. (Joshua 1:1 NIV)
That does not mean that he did not have any parents. He was the son of Nun not none. It does not mean that his mother was a Catholic Nun who wore all black and lived in a monastery. Those nuns don’t have any kids. Nun was his father. He was Joshua’s dad.
The Bible gives us a genealogy of Joshua. I Chronicles gives us the descendants of Jospeh’s son Ephraim. He was Joseph’s younger son. I Chronicles gives us the descendants of Ephraim and we find that Joshua was one of his descendants.
It gives us the names of his father, grandfather and great grandfather. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun his son and Joshua his son. (I Chronicles 7:26 NIV).
Joshua’s dad was named Nun. His grandfather was named Elishama. He came from the tribe of Ephraim.
Joshua was a descendant of Joseph, the most spiritual of Jacob’s twelve sons. He is the one son of Jacob that you would want to be related to, the one who was the dreamer of dreams, the one who was the favorite son of Jacob.
Joseph had an Egyptian wife. They had two sons. Ephraim was one of them. Joshua was the tenth generation from Joseph and the ninth generation from Ephraim.
2) He was a SLAVE
He was born in Egypt before the Exodus. He was born a slave. He was a slave in Egypt for the first forty years of his life. He lived in a nation of slaves.
The Bible does not say he was a slave, but we can infer it from the text. He came out of Egypt during the Exodus out of slavery.
He was not born Joshua. His parents named him Hoshea (ho-shay-ah), which means “salvation’. He was Hoshea son of Nun (Numbers 13:8).
Moses was the one who named him Joshua (Numbers 13:16). Hoshea was his real name. Most people don’t know that there is a book of the Bible called the Book of Hoshea.
3) He was a SOLDIER
Joshua went from being a slave to being a solider. He became a warrior. He became a fighter. He became an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He knew how to fight with weapons. He was a soldier and he was a brave soldier.
4) He was a SPY
Joshua was not only a slave and a soldier, but he was also a spy. He was a spy for God. He was the first James Bond. He was a Jewish James Bond. He was sent on top-secret mission behind enemy lines. We can read about it in Numbers 13-14.
He was one of the twelve spies sent to explore the land of Canaan. There was one man from each tribe sent on this mission. He did not steal state secrets (e.g., nuclear secrets).
He was not an espionage agent. He was what we would call today an intelligence agent. It was a dangerous covert mission. These spies risked their life to do it.
Joshua was not afraid to express his opinions. He was not afraid to disagree with the majority and take a stand. He was a man of great faith. He saw what the other ten spies saw. He saw the problems, but he came to a completely different conclusion than they did.
5) He was a SUCCESSOR
He was the successor to Moses. We see this in Joshua 1. Moses died and Joshua took over at the age of 80. God said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5 NIV)
We have that same promise today. Jesus is with us to the end of the age. He will never leave or forsake us. Joshua was Moses’ successor. How did he become the successor? Joshua didn’t seize political power by force.
He was not voted in. He did not live in a democracy. God chose him. Before Moses died, God instructed him to commission Joshua as his successor.
God told Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him” (Numbers 27:18 NIV). We are told that “Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses” (Numbers 27:23 NIV)
Joshua was Moses’ successor. He led Israel into the Promised Land. He led the Israelites across the Jordan River. Under his leadership, Israel conquered Jericho and other Canaanite cities and began taking possession of the land (Joshua 3–6).
A former slave leads an army. Joseph went from a prisoner to a prince. Joshua went from a slave to a soldier and from a soldier to a military general.
Joshua is a military book. It is not a love story, like the Book of Ruth. It is a war story. It is a fight for the conquest of Canaan (modern day Israel) in 1400 BC. They came into the land. They invaded the land and kicked out the inhabitants.
It was not just a conquest; it was a violent conquest. In fact, many were killed. Joshua was a leader of the conquest. We will talk about that when we get to it.
Why did they do this? God said that He gave them the land. It was their land. God owns the planet. He created it. He can decide who lives in what land. He owns it.
6) He was a SECRETARY
He did not work in an office at a desk, but he was Moses’ Assistant. He is called that in the first few verses of the book.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, MOSES’ AIDE: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. (Joshua 1:1 NIV)
For forty years, he was Moses’ servant in the wilderness. He took orders for forty years. He knew what it was like to play second fiddle. He did it for a long time. He did it for forty years. He was Moses’ number two man.
7)He was a SCRIBE
He was a writer. He was a writer of Scripture.
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. (Joshua 24:25-26 NIV)
8) He was a SAINT
He was a godly man. He was a spiritual man. He followed God wholeheartedly.
Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY.’ (Numbers 32:11-12 NIV)
Does that describe us? Do we follow the Lord wholeheartedly? Do we follow the Lord with our whole heart? Are we completely sold out for God? Is that the way we will be known after we die? You might think that no one can serve God with all of their heart, but the Bible says it can be done and people did it.
Most military people are not known for their spirituality. They usually tend to be a little rough. They are not too spiritually sensitive, but Joshua was a godly man. He was filled with the Spirit.
Joshua was so godly that he was one of the few who entered the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb said that they could take possession of the land. Not even Moses made it into the Promise Land. He saw it from a hill before he died.
Relevance Today
What happens in Joshua 1? One leader dies and another takes over. Moses died and Joshua took over. God called him. He commissioned him. He gave him a job to do. He told him to be strong and courageous and not afraid to do the job he was called to do and we see and the response of the people (especially the eastern tribes).
How is it relevant to our church today? Joshua 1 was a turning point in the nation. They got a new leader and a new land. The nation went through as leadership change. An iconic leader died and the nation from a period of wandering to a period of possessing.
They went from preparation to possession. With the new leader, came a new challenge. God commanded them to cross the Jordan and take possession of the Promised Land (Joshua 1:2–4).
Pastor Brian did not die but we had a leadership change. We have had one pastor for a long time, and we got a new one. We are in a period of transition, and we are starting something brand new.
Big changes are coming to our church, and they will be explained during Vision Night next Sunday night. There is a need for unity in the midst of these changes, like we see with the eastern tribes in Joshua 1.
Pastor Scott brought out a lot of great points about the important of running well and passing the baton to the next generation.
Joshua 1 contains one of the most famous verses in the OT. This verse is one of the most important verses for believers in the whole Bible. Every Christian should know Joshua 1:8.
It gives us a formula for success. We are going to focus on this passage today. It deals with success. It deals with prosperity. Do you know what it means? Some have misinterpreted it.
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9 NIV)
Five Principles of Success
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. THEN YOU WILL BE PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL. (Joshua 1:8 NIV)
All of us want to be successful. This verse tell us how to do that. Joshua 1 gives us five principles of success.
Principle One – THINK Scripture
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; MEDITATE on it day and night. (Joshua 1:8 NIV)
What does it mean to meditate on Scripture? How do we do it? What practical steps can we take to do it? Is it the same as other meditation? No.
Eastern meditation in Buddhism and Hinduism does not focus on God. Biblical meditation focuses on God. Eastern meditation involves emptying the mind. Biblical meditation involves filling your mind with the Word of God. It is the exact opposite. It is filling your mind with truth.
Now Joshua only had five books of Scripture to meditate on. He had the five books of Moses. We do not just have five books to meditate on. We have sixty-six books of Scripture to meditate on.
God says that we are supposed to do it day and night. Most Christiaan don’t do it all. We are to saturate our minds with truth day and night. To meditate on the Word means more than to read the Word. Reading focuses on what the Word says.
Meditating focuses on what the Word really means and how it applies in different areas and how you should live because of it. Meditating is really thinking about what you read and going deeper.
It is not surface reading. It is really thinking about what it means and asking questions about the text. That is what we need to do, and we need to do it all the time. We need to do it day and night.
That does not mean that all we do twenty-four hours a day is read a book and do nothing else, but it means that we should be thinking about Scripture constantly. We should think about it all through the way. We should think about it wherever we are (at home, at work, in the car).
Principle Two – SPEAK Scripture
We not only need to think about Scripture, we need to speak Scripture. We need to verbalize it. Keep this Book of the Law always ON YOUR LIPS, not just in your heart and mind but on your lips.
How do we do that? We have to memorize Scripture. That is the only way to do it so it is always on our lips. Do you memorize Scripture? There is great value in memorizing Scripture.
It protects us from sin. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (NIV).
It gives us weapons to use in spiritual warfare. The weapon is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).: Jesus used the Word when he encountered Satan in the desert. He quoted Scripture.
It helps us with evangelism. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (I Peter 3:15 NIV)
I used to be in a small group that did that. We chose a chapter or book and worked on memorizing it each week and would recite what we learned. There are many values to doing this.
Principle Three – OBEY Scripture
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful TO DO everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8 NIV)
The goal wasn’t simply for Joshua to know Scripture, to study it, memorize it, meditate on it, recite it, quote it and know it. The goal is obedience. The goal is to do what it says. We have to move from knowledge to action.
The Bible is not just a book to be studied. It is not just a book to be spoken. It is a book to be obeyed. We are not just to be hearers of the Word but doers of the Word.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do EVERYTHING written in it. (Joshua 1:8 NIV)
We are NOT to do some of it. We are not to do most of it. We are to do ALL of it. It is a command for total obedience.
Principle Four – AVOID ERROR
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you;DO NOT TURN FROM IT TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT (Joshua 1:7 NIV)
What does that mean? There is more than one way to go into error. You can go off to the right or off to the left. Some are too liberal and some are too conservative. Some add to the Word, and some take away from the Word.
Who adds to the Word? Many Christians add things to Scripture. They Christians have to do certain things or not do certain things that the Bible does not say.
Churches that are very legalistic and have all kinds of strict rules that are not in the Bible add to Scripture. Some whole denominations add to Scripture.
Other groups take away from the Bible. Some do not believe all of the Bible. They reject certain parts. Liberals reject certain parts. They throw out all of the miracles.
They like the good moral teachings but reject the supernatural. The reject many of the things that the Bible says about marriage and about sex (e.g., homosexuality). Some Christians go to one extreme, and others go to another extreme.
Some are not charismatic enough and some are too charismatic. Some are some extreme charismatics who do some crazy things, but other Christians go to the other extreme and say that God is no longer at work today. He does not do miracles today. We want to avoid both extremes.
Principle Five – Experience SUCCESS
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. THEN YOU WILL BE PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL
Success is tied to obedience. Notice who is talking in Joshua 1:8. It is God. It is not Moses or Joshua. These are God’s direct words to Joshua. Joshua’s success on the battlefield was not because of his military strategy but because of his obedience.
Is this just God’s Word for Joshua or is it God’s Word for us as we well? It is God’s Word to us as well. This same promise is repeated to us.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV).
Notice the striking similarities between these two passages.
- Both deal with bible study. They talk about the Book of the Law. They talk about meditating on the Law.
- They both talk about meditating on it day and night.
- They both mention prosperity. They talk about prosperity.
- Both talk about avoiding certain influences. The Psalmist warns about taking the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the path of sinners, or sitting in the seat of scoffers. Joshua talks about not going astray to the left or to the right
Health and Wealth Gospel
Joshua 1:8 applies not just to Joshua but to us. Everyone wants to be successful. This passage tells us how to be successful. It gives us God’s formula for success. It gives us a spiritual law that works every time.
Does this mean that if we do this, we will all become millionaires? Is it teaching the health and wealth gospel? This is a favorite passage of the prosperity preachers. Are they right? No.
Joshua 1 is NOT dealing with personal finances. It is NOT dealing with money. It is NOT dealing with wealth.
It is dealing with success for the job that God called Joshua to do for Him. It is dealing with military success (success in conquering the Land of Canaan), not financial success.
Joshua turned out to be one of the greatest military generals of all time. He did it through obedience, not just through great military strategies, although he had some of those, like the divide and conqueror strategy, which is still used today.
You have to read this in its context. In the context, it is talking about success on the battlefield. The context is not dealing with money. God can bless people financially, but God can make you successful in whatever you do and wherever you are.
God made Joseph successful in prison. God blessed him in prison. He prospered inside of a prison cell. He prospered as a slave. God gave him success in everything that he did (Genesis 39:3, 23).
God does not view success the way the word views success. When we think of success, we often think of only one thing and that is money. We think of financial success.
We think of winning the lottery as being successful. If you are a billionaire, you are very successful. That is not the way God views success. On the other hand, you do not have to be poor to be successful.