Bible Study -Lesson 24

Joshua – chapters 4 – 6

 

Chapter 4 - Memory Stones

 

The Israelites cross the Jordan and God commands representatives from each tribe to take stone (a large river rock) from the middle of the Jordan where the priests and ark had been, and make a memorial.

Why?  So, when your children ask, “What do these stone mean?” You can say, when the ark crossed the Jordan, the water was cut off.  Can’t you anticipate the discussion as parents tell children about God’s power, the Jordan dammed up, and the first campground in Canaan.

 

Huffman/Ogilvie writes: “In this chapter of Joshua, I rediscover that the God who has offered us promises for the future, which sustain us in the present, understands our tendency to lose touch with matters of ultimate concern in our preoccupation with the unrelenting demands of the present.  Therefore he creates for us memorials that keep our focus on our roots.”

 

Does your family have memorials  - a grave stone, a name in the cement of a sidewalk, a picture album?

Does your family’s faith journey have a memorial?  - a baptism certificate, a marriage certificate and some pictures, a confirmation picture, a date in a bible that records when you became a Christian.  When your children see these things do they ask – what does this mean? 

 

Our church has memorials too – the sacrament of communion, the washing of feet, the cross, the bible.

I would suggest you talk about the Memorials of faith and family that are the most meaningful to you, and how you share them with your children. 

Chapter 5 – Delayed again 

Chapter 5 begins by reporting that the area king’s “hearts melted” when they heard of the Jordan crossing. The two spies had previously reported the fear in Jericho.  Wouldn’t this be the time to roll into Jericho and take the place?  After all they had 40 thousand armed men just from the tribes east of Jordan ready to roll. I am sure these men wanted to get this job done quickly and go home.

God said there are some things to do first – (this is not going to be an Oklahoma land rush.)

 

1. Circumcise all the men. This was by law to be done to 8 day old male babies – not something a grown man would likely volunteer for. Once done, the body has to heal. This would not be a happy week in camp.
2. Celebrate the Passover.  This involves the whole family and any alien that has been circumcised.

 

Have you ever passed on Communion, or a celebration because you knew the relationship was not right? The Israelites had skipped these events for 39 years and are now catching up.  They are being reminded very individually of who they are and their special relationship with God.

 

God delays the plan while they are marked as his people and they commemorate his saving them in Egypt.

 

How are we marked as God’s people?  (The Coptic Christians have a cross tattooed on their wrist.) Do we have the same sense that we are people of the second covenant, as the Israelites were of the covenant with Abraham?

 

Have we skipped worship because we had important things to do?  What does God tell the Israelites their priority should be?

The Manna ends - Did you notice that after the Passover is celebrated, the manna ends?  Israelites must now find their own food. God does not appear interested supporting a long-term dependency.

Chapter 5:13 - A stranger appears

 

Joshua appears to be doing some personal checking on Jericho and its defenses and he encounters a stranger with a drawn sword.  Joshua’s question to the stranger was – “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

 

Good question – It doesn’t assume this is an enemy, but it is worth checking.  The answer is “Neither”.  Wouldn’t Joshua have expected God representative to say he is “for us”?

Joshua then got it right – it is the other way around.   God is not our servant; we are His servants. Joshua’s response is perfect: “What message does the Lord have for his servant?”

 

In our church, in our nation, it is easy to assume that God is on our side. How often do we ask like Joshua – “what message does the Lord have for his servant”? Does that change our prayers? Our battle plan may have to change a great deal.

 

Chapter 6- The Jericho Battle Plan

 

God has a most unconventional battle plan for the Israelites.  No earth ramps, ladders, or archers.  Just march around the city and blow the horns.  This is not something that Joshua could have dreamed up. I am certain it was not even close to what Joshua was thinking as he walked around Jericho. However, Joshua not only worshiped God’s commander – he obeyed.

Why did the walls fall down?  Because God made it happen. We don’t know how he made it happen.

 

Are all God’s battle plans so unusual? Gideon defeated the Midianites with three hundred. David used a sling and stone against a giant. And Jesus – he told us to love our enemies. God’s battle plans are often surprising, but so is his presence and strength.

 

How many times have we felt that God has not even appeared to us with a plan?  God only appeared to Joshua.  The rest of the Israelites moved forward out of trust. Is that hard to do? Has God given us a plan and He does not need to appear to us? 

How do people respond to hearing of God’s actions in the world?

• Pharaoh had “hardened his heart” and became more resistant with each act of God.
• Rahab risked her life to save the spies. She was saved, not because she was sinless, but because she believed and acted.
• The Israelites marched, even though it did not seem like much of a military strategy.

How do we react to God’s directions? 

Ogilvie reports “Some Christians have a “minority mentality- think we are few and weak.  We shouldn’t be afraid to be who we are. The world is dying to see people that are different, to observe someone that has an alternative. As much as we need to build bridges of communication and adapt ourselves on non essentials to our culture, there does need to be a separation between a believer and a non- believer that is apparent”.

Is that uniqueness present in my life? 

The Destruction of Jericho – Annihilation

 Joshua 6:21 reads  - “They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it – men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.”

 

Does this bother you?  It does me.  Maybe the adults were evil and needed to be punished, but the children? The animals?  Is this the God that Jesus taught us was like a forgiving Father?

 

This period of Israel’s destruction of enemies raises some basic questions:

1. Is God a warrior or a loving and forgiving father?
2. Did Joshua not fully understand the plan (revelation)?
3. What can we learn from the Old Testament concerning ethics and war?

These questions have caused difficulty in the Christian Church through the ages and still do. They cause great problems for many unbelievers as well. What can we understand as we study Joshua today?

 

The NIV Study Bible has as a preface to Joshua a page on “the Conquest and the Ethical Question of War” that I would encourage you to read if you have this bible.  I will quote one paragraph here:

 

“The battles for Canaan were therefore the Lord’s holy war, undertaken at a particular time in the program of redemption. God gave his people under Joshua no commission or license to conquer the world with the sword but a particular limited mission. The conquered land would not become Israel’s national possession by right of conquest, but it belonged to the Lord. So the land had to be cleansed of all remnants of paganism, its people and their wealth were not for Israel to seize as booty to enrich themselves”-----

 

Huffman and Ogilvie in the “preacher’s commentary” devote several pages to these issues. I will summarize their thinking.

 

1. The God of the Old Testament and the New Testament are the same.  We cannot dismiss the Old Testament or the God of the Old Testament.
2. God has chosen to involve himself in our painful existence.

The participation of God through evil human activity has a positive end in view.  ---- in some cases the reasons for God exercise of sovereignty in war may be evident (e.g. the punishment of evil nations by Israel) but they may also remain a mystery.

3.       God does judge but he does it consistently.

4.       God is also the God of grace – when Israel was humbled, she was blessed, and when Rahab saved the spies she was saved. It is this same God who is no respecter of persons, whose judgment is severe upon sin and whose grace extends to all who trust Him.

God is the God of Shalom – meaning not only the cessation of war, but also the absence of injustice and falsehood. 

What is clear is that God has a plan for his people, and he expects his people to heed his plan. He is a God of judgment and of mercy.  He may use the least likely persons to be a part of his plan. Our challenge is to continue to trust God, commemorating his actions, and responding to life as his covenant people.