The Story October 19, 2014 Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Battle Begins 

Click Here to Watch

Key Question

What can we learn from Joshua’s taking of the Promised Land that can help us conquer sin and fight spiritual battles?

Joshua’s Call Pages 89–91

God called Joshua to lead the Israelites to inherit the Promised Land. They had already taken land west of the Jordan River from Amorites[1] who answered their request for passage with an attack. Now it was time to enter the land.

...........................

[1] The Amorites were one of the Canaanite people groups. Sometimes Amorite and Canaanite were used interchangeably. 

1. (a) What did God promise Joshua when He told him to lead the people to their inheritance from Him (Joshua 1:5)? (b) If God was going to give him the victory, why did Joshua need to be strong and courageous to fulfill his calling (1:6)? (c) God calls us to overcome sin, fight spiritual battles, and minister to others. Why do we need to be strong and courageous to fulfill our calling? (d) If possible, describe a time you needed strength and courage to obey God.

2. (a) What did Joshua need to do to succeed in his calling (Joshua 1:7)? (b) What did he need to do to ensure he obeyed God (1:8a)? (c) What would result from doing this (1:8b)? (d) What can you learn from this that applies to what God calls you to do?

3. (a) Why else should Joshua be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)? (b) What can you learn from this when obeying God seems scary, difficult, or even impossible?

Joshua told the people what God had commanded, and they agreed to obey everything. He sent two spies into Jericho. Jericho was a fortified city surrounded by protective walls atop a high mound[2] in the midst of the Jordan Valley. It guarded the major route into Canaan.[3]

.................................

[2] Settlements built on top of old settlements eventually formed hills called mounds (or tells).

[3] Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel, second edition (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2008), 126–127. 

The spies entered the house of a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab. When the king of Jericho learned of their presence, Rahab hid them.

4. (a) What did Rahab know (Joshua 2:9a)? (b) How did the Canaanites feel about the Israelites (2:9b)? (c) Why (2:10)? (d) What did Rahab say she knew about God (2:11)?

Rahab had heard about all the Israelites’ God had done, and she concluded their God was God of both heaven and earth, so she acted on that faith. 

Jericho Pages 91–94

After the spies returned, The Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan. God gave the Israelites a miraculous sign so they would know that Joshua was a true prophet accurately giving them God’s commands: When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stepped into the Jordan River, its flooded waters stopped flowing and piled into a heap so the people could cross on dry land.[4] When the people finished crossing, the priests stepped out of the river’s normal boundaries and the waters returned to their place.[5] God did this so all the peoples of the earth would know His power.[6] Indeed, the Canaanites along the river’s coast quickly spread the terrifying word. The Israelites encamped at Gilgal[7] and paused to circumcise the men born during the desert wanderings and to celebrate Passover. The pause gave any Canaanites who interpreted the parting of the sea and the river in the same way as Rahab the opportunity to convert or flee. Some shut themselves up within Jericho’s walls, trusting their local gods and their own strength to protect them.

.................................

[4] Joshua 3:7–17; 4:14.

[5] Joshua 4:18.

[6] Joshua 4:24.

[7] Joshua 5:10. There is no mention of resistance. Gilgal’s occupants had heard about the parting of the sea in Egypt and had seen the taking of the Amorite cities across the Jordan. Did they simply flee upon seeing the parting of the Jordan River, knowing what was coming?

Then the Lord told Joshua to march.

5. (a) What was strange about God’s command on how to take the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:2–5)? (b) Why did obeying these instructions require faith?

Joshua told the people what God said to do, and they obeyed. Just as God promised, when the priests blew the trumpet and the people shouted on the seventh day, Jericho’s walls collapsed. The army took the city and destroyed everything except for Rahab and her family. Normally, armies took plunder from cities they captured. But God said they were to take no plunder from Jericho: everything was to be devoted to him and destroyed.[8] The New Testament tells us Rahab is a hero of faith: By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[9] Hebrews 11:30–31

6. (a) From what you’ve read so far, in what ways did Rahab show her faith in God? (b) Rahab had been a Canaanite prostitute, but when her faith turned her to God, she married an Israelite and became part of the Israelite community.[10] What does this teach us about God’s willingness to embrace and redeem those who turn to Him in faith no matter their background?

.................................

[8] Joshua totally destroyed three cities: Jericho, Ai, and Hazor. Others he captured so the Israelites could settle in them (Merrill, 127).

[9] The NIV’s text note points out the word translated disobedient could also be translated unbelieving.

[10] She played a significant part, as we will see in lessons 9 and 22, for she was an ancestress of Jesus.

7. (a) What happened as a result of Jericho’s miraculous fall (Joshua 6:27)? (b) What evidence about God did this give to the Israelites? (c) What evidence about God did this give to the Canaanites?

Ai, Shechem & Gibeon Pages 94–97

Ai

One man disobeyed God’s command to take no spoils from Jericho: Achan had taken a beautiful Babylonian robe, gold, and silver and had hidden them in his tent. When Joshua sent troops against the small city of Ai, Ai routed them. Joshua asked God why, and God told him Israel had sinned: “That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction” (Joshua 7:12). God revealed that Achan was the thief, and when Joshua confronted him, he confessed. The entire community had sworn to obey God’s commands through Joshua on pain of death. The community stoned Achan and destroyed the Canaanite treasures.

8. (a) From the summary above, what do you think the Israelites learned about God from the fact that he knew Achan’s secret sin? (b) What did they learn about taking for themselves that which God ordered destroyed? (c) What did they learn about their dependence on God during battles?

The Canaanites saw a small city easily rebuff the Israelites, and this emboldened them to fight, making the task of taking the land harder. It also discouraged Joshua’s men.

9. (a) How did the Lord encourage Joshua after the defeat (Joshua 8:1)? (b) What was the army permitted to do at Ai that was forbidden at Jericho (8:2)? (c) If Achan had patiently waited for God to give him riches in a way God allowed, how would things have been different? (d) It was not all riches God forbade, but only those which were taken in a way He forbade; how can remembering this help us patiently wait when we’re tempted to obtain something in a way God forbids?

Joshua set an ambush and captured Ai. 

Shechem

Joshua took the Israelites to Shechem, a fortress city between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.[11] There both Abram and Jacob had built altars to God.[12] Moses had told Joshua to build an altar on Mount Ebal, and to have the people proclaim blessings from Mount Ebal and curses from Mount Gerizim.[13] Joshua did all Moses commanded him. He gathered the people together to hear the Law read and to renew their covenant with the Lord.

10. Why do you think it was important that the people hear all the words of the law and renew their covenant agreement with God as they began taking possession of the Promised Land (Joshua 8:34)? 

.................................

[11] Joshua 8:33. “That Israel had access to Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, between which Shechem was located, implies either that Shechem was abandoned at the time or that it surrendered without a struggle.” (Merrill, 130.)

[12] Genesis 12:6–7; 33:18–20.

[13] Deuteronomy 11:29; 27:1–26.

 

Gibeon

Back at the encampment in Gilgal, the people of Gibeon came to Joshua. They claimed to be from a distant land and asked for a peace treaty, offering themselves as slaves to the Israelites. Believing them, Joshua agreed to the treaty without consulting God. Only then did he learn Gibeon was nearby. When Joshua asked them why they had deceived him, they replied, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this” (Joshua 9:24). Joshua honored his treaty. But five alarmed Amorite kings set out to punish Gibeon for becoming an ally of the Israelites. The Gibeonites asked Joshua for help, and the Lord told Joshua to give it.

11. (a) In what ways did the Lord fight for Israel (Joshua 10:10–14)? (b) What sign did this give the remaining Canaanite people groups who had, like the Gibeonites, heard that the Lord God was giving the land to the Israelites?

Inheritance Received Pages 97–99

Northern Canaan

Joshua captured and killed the five kings, taking more land in the process. He finished his central and southern campaigns and returned to the camp at Gilgal. The king of Hazor, the largest city of northern Canaan, heard of all Joshua had done, gathered an alliance with a great many kings, and advanced with a huge army. Joshua attacked and defeated them. Some fled north beyond the territory which the Lord had said to take.[14] Those who didn’t, the Israelites put to the sword. Joshua captured their cities.

12. What did Joshua do (Joshua 11:23)?

.................................

[14] Joshua 11:8 describes the limits to which the Israelites pursued the armies. (Merrill, 135.)

Inheritance Allotted

With the major fortified cities taken throughout the Promised Land, Joshua divided the territory into twelve parts so the people could begin settling the land. He gave two allotments to Joseph’s descendants (the half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh), none to Levi’s descendants, and one to each of the other tribes named for the sons of Israel. The Levites received no allotment because they were set apart to serve God in cities within the boundaries of the other tribes, and their inheritance was to be the people’s offerings to the Lord.[15] There was still work to do: as the Israelites’ numbers increased, they needed to continue to drive out the remaining Canaanites.

.................................

[15] Joshua 13:14. 

13. (a) What have you learned from Joshua that can help you battle sinful desires (1 Peter 2:11), thoughts that are against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:3–5), and spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12)? (b) What have you learned from Joshua that can help you be on your guard, stand firm in faith, be courageous, and be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13)?

Final Words Pages 99–102

When Joshua was old and knew his time to leave this earth approached, he again gathered the people at Shechem.

14. (a) What did Joshua tell the Israelites they knew (Joshua 23:14)? (b) How well did they know it? (c) What did Joshua warn them (23:15–16)?

The time had been long since Joshua led the people across the Jordan.[16] The newest generation hadn’t seen the early miracles. Joshua reminded them of all God did from the time of Abraham until then. He told them to make a choice.

15. (a) What did Joshua tell them to do based on all God had done for them (Joshua 24:14)? (b) What choices did he give them (24:15a)? (c) What choice did Joshua and his family make (24:15b)? (d) Imagine Joshua were speaking to you now. What choice would you make?

The people responded, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”[17] Joshua led the Israelites in renewing their covenant with God again. He set up a stone as a witness to the renewal. The Israelites were finally in the Promised Land. They were God’s people and they vowed to serve and obey God. Next week we see how well they kept their vows.

.................................

[16] Eugene H. Merrill calculates more than 30 years (Merrill, 157).

[17] Joshua 24:24.






Chapter 7: The Battle Begins: Faith is the Victory

Have you ever watched a documentary on TV or even personally witnessed how salmon swim upstream to spawn? They literally launch themselves up waterfalls and over jagged rocks in the shallows where you can get a good look at their struggle. An irresistible force drives them upward and onward despite the barriers along the way - It’s inspiring to watch. But, some of the salmon get tired. In their exhaustion, they stop swimming and immediately are swept back downstream. The current gets the best of them and they give up.

Following God’s will in this world can be a lot like being a salmon swimming upstream.God calls us to fight against the cultural current every day. It’s a battle, it’s a war, and a daily challenge to keep living for God in a world where there is a strong current opposing God’s will and ways. We have a choice. Swim with all your might and keep fighting the pressure to conform or, give up and find ourselves floating back downstream into the habits and practices that were a part of our story before we became a follower of Christ. I wake up every day determined to follow God’s will, but so often the current of political correctness or expediency overcome my willingness to press on.

Review: In chapter 6 of The Story, God’s plan was clear:

• Deliver His people through a series of miracles
• Defeat their enemies
• Give them a covenant and a set of laws to make them a chosen nation
• And, provide them a land of promise
• Simple right? God speaks…the people listen…God delivers…the people believe. God provides…the people trust
• Not so much! Over and over, the nation of Israel waffles between following God and disobeying God. God gave them the rules, they agreed to follow them, God blesses them, but they turn away from Him. That’s pretty much the pattern that began in the Garden and has been the theme of this story ever since.

In Chapter 7, we are going to get a break from the pattern (thankfully) and see what happens when one man and his household choose to follow the Lord. 

Holy Wars

Why did God order the Israelites to go to war against others? How was this war justified?

• At first, the annihilation of the peoples of Canaan is understandably disturbing. But it is only in light of God’s Upper Story that we can begin to grasp why a holy and merciful God would cleanse a land so thoroughly. We saw the same thing in the story of the Flood: judgment of pagan idolaters who worshipped any god (including themselves) except the One True God, and a purification in preparation for a fresh start.
• The juxtaposition of idolatry and sexual immorality are once again on clear display. Throughout the Old Testament (and the New as Jesus describes the Church as His bride), God is the jealous husband who is grieved by Israel’s adultery in pursuit of every agricultural and fertility god that came down the pike. Baal worship was an insidious religion: the god of rain and storm, Baal was also the god of fertility and life. He brought the annual autumn and winter rains over the earth, bringing new life in the spring. The Canaanite cultic practices linked nature’s cycles with fertility. Consequently, the role of the sacred prostitute was very important. Worshipers engaged in sexual relations with each other during their annual festivals. When Baal worshipers sought divine favor, they sacrificed their children as burnt offerings to the deity. One potential key teaching segment to be drawn out in this chapter is the inextricable link between the sacred design of human sexuality and its spiritual counterpart of idolatry, an analogy prevalent throughout Scripture.
• Understanding this backdrop helps us to understand the “holy war” that God waged through His faithful servant Joshua. It also gives us deeper insight into the culture in which Rahab lived, making her confession of faith all the more stunning!

What can we learn from Joshua’s taking of the Promised Land that can help us conquer sin and fight spiritual battles? 

Men, Rules, and Challenges

Men love rules (boundaries)

• They did a study a few years ago to see how road construction affects drivers. They found that when they set up shoulder cones or cement barriers, especially on each side of the highway, women tend to slow down, but men actually speed up! When men leave the construction zone and drive beyond the barriers, they actually slow down again…women speed back up!

• Chapter 7 begins with God reviewing the rules with Joshua. He repeats His promises and promises that He made to Moses (Pages 89-90). No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. I will never leave you or forsake you. Be strong and very courageous.

• Men not only love rules, they also love challenges. That’s what God is doing here, challenging Joshua to lead His people into the long-awaited Promised Land. We have a “promised land” today that God is challenging us to. It’s leading a godly life amidst a decaying culture. That means running away from anything that lets God down; pornography, addictions, isolation, anger, etc. How do we do that? It’s leading your family by being the spiritual pursuer for your wife and kids. It’s working every day in integrity and being recognized as someone swimming upstream against the current in the marketplace. Work “as unto the Lord” not your boss or anyone else. Lean into your workplace relationships with care and understanding for a fellow worker. God’s promises are still good today for you and me. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. I will never leave you or forsake you. Be strong and very courageous.

God not only gives Joshua the rules, He gives him the strategies to stay within the rules

This week’s 3 Equipping Points:

1. Be a man of God’s Word

When the fathers of Israel, along with their families, finally crossed over into the Promised Land, they crossed on dry land. What’s the big deal about that?

• The big deal is that they walked on dry land that only seconds before had been a raging roaring river (here’s some more trivia). It was cresting above flood stage. It was a mile wide. It was 150 feet deep. In an instant, as soon as the priest’s foot touched the water, the Jordan River rolled itself back. It obeyed its Creator. Not a drop of water remained. Sound familiar? You see, when God encouraged Joshua to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land, their first barrier was the Jordan River. But, Joshua was a man of God’s Word and from it he had evidence that God was good at drying things up so that people could cross over. God told Joshua that He was going to do this - 40 years before, He rolled back the Red Sea for Moses. Now He was going to do it again at the Jordan River to validate Joshua’s leadership as Moses’ successor.

Let’s look at some of the promises God gave to Joshua: What did God promise Joshua when He told him to lead the people to their inheritance from Him (Joshua 1:5)?

• No one will be able to stand 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.

If God was going to give him the victory, why did Joshua need to be strong and courageous to fulfill his calling (1:6)?

• Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

• God calls us to overcome sin, fight spiritual battles, and minister to others. Why do we need to be strong and courageous to fulfill our calling?

What did Joshua need to do to succeed in his calling (Joshua 1:7)?

• “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.

What did he need to do to ensure he obeyed God (1:8a)?

• 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.

What would result from doing this (1:8b)?

• Then you will be prosperous and successful.

What can you learn from this that applies to what God calls you to do?

• When you study God’s Word and have experience with how He works, nothing is impossible! But, you must listen to what God told Joshua here at the bottom of Page 89: He said, “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave to you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of 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.” 

2. Be a man of Prayer

• Through Joshua, we see prayer a little differently. God told Joshua not to go into battle without first listening to Him. When they conquered Jericho, it was a direct result of listening to all of God’s instructions, and then carrying them out. Would it seem a little ridiculous to you that the army marched around the city walls for 6 days and then on the seventh day gave a shout and the walls came tumbling down? That was God testing Israel to see if they were listening to Him. They were and He gave them the victory. At the top of Page 94, it says, “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.”

Our lesson here is to listen to God

• Listening to God is more observing God and looking for how He answers through His word, other godly people, or circumstances. So, train yourself to be a good listener by being an astute observer.

What example in our story this week showed what happens when we don’t listen to God?

• God had told Joshua and the Israelites that the spoil of war was His alone. Everyone obeyed, except one man; Achan. The results were different this time. Israel was defeated when they attacked Ai. Israel repented and Achan was killed for not listening. God encouraged them and they listened and defeated Ai on their second try.

3. Be a man identified with God

• Joshua was a man set apart by God to lead the nation He was building by doing great things. The Story says that he lived to be 110 years old. It says that the sun stopped in the middle of the day so that God could listen to him. By the end of his life, Joshua had subdued the whole region and left no survivors just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. Joshua took the entire land. You and I can get lost in the fact that we probably won’t lead a nation or a military campaign…that was Joshua’s job. But, we are set apart nonetheless. Our job is to reflect what God has done in our lives to those around us and lead others to conclude that it is God working through us.

• Matthew 5:16 says, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

• You and I (if you are a Christ follower) are set apart too. Be a man whose actions say, here is a man who is following God…I want to know that man because I want to know God.

At the end of Joshua’s life, Joshua went over God’s laws and promises with the people once again. In Chapter 24:14-15, he says:
“Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But, if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Why do you think God lavished blessings on Joshua and all the Israelites, who, like Joshua, trusted God?

• He promised to do so. Because of their faith and obedience to His Word.

What do we learn about God from the story of the salvation of Rahab the prostitute?

• The character of Rahab is a prime example of the many ironies in the Joshua narrative. She was the quintessential Canaanite, yet she showed more faith than the Israelites showed while they wandered in the wilderness for the previous forty years!

• Although The Story editors only briefly touched on the story of Achan’s sin, the Rahab and Achan narratives tell a bigger story. Rahab, the sinful Canaanite “outsider,” professed her faith in God and became a part of the community of faith. Ironically, Achan, the pedigreed Israelite “insider,” sinned and nearly destroyed the whole nation. He was put outside of the community of faith to die for his sin while Rahab is enveloped into the community of faith. These opposing stories further emphasize the role of Israel as the “light to the Gentiles” and the role of faith—not family background—as the foundation for inclusion into God’s community.

• Rahab is as Canaanite as a woman could be! Canaanite religion incorporated sexual immorality into worship. This is the whole rationale for God’s using Joshua to eradicate the Canaanites from the land. Their skin color or ethnic differences were not the problem; their religion was the problem. Their sexual immorality coupled with idolatry combined to form a toxic temptation for Israel, and God wanted to protect Israel from it. And rightly so, for idolatry and its accompanying immorality became Israel’s most persistent sin. It is clear from all the sexual innuendos mentioned that the author does not want his reader to miss just what a “bad girl” Rahab was. For it is in light of all this that her faith is so outstanding and astonishing.

1. Rahab became a part of the community of faith by faith. She married Salmon and became the father of Boaz, (husband of Ruth). She was the great-great grandmother of King David and in the direct line of Messiah Jesus (Matthew 1:5)! She and Ruth are both examples of Gentile women of faith!
2. She is listed among the heroes and heroines of faith in the “Hall of Faith,” Hebrews 11. “By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (Hebrews 11:31).
3. James uses Rahab as an example of one whose outward works demonstrate her inward faith. “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (James 2:25).

Faith is the Victory!

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

God, You command Joshua to be bold and courageous. Forgive us when we run away with fear. Give us a deeper love for reading and hearing Your Word so we might experience Your presence and strength. Give us a love for praying so You might fill us with courage to step into bold service of all those in need. Amen.


Looking forward to our return to The Story this week as Joshua gives us a choice we all have to make - in your house whom are you going to serve today?


See you on Sunday!


In His Love,

David & Susan