Thursday
Evening Bible Study
March
31, 2011
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
The book of Joshua is a book about “taking the Promised Land”.
Promises:
For the Israelites, it was about conquering the land of Canaan, the land
promised to them by God.
For us, there are principles that we can learn from, as we learn to move
into the life that God has for us as believers.
God has a “Promised Land” for us, and there is a sense in which we have
to “fight” for it. Yes, God does the
majority of the work, the “heavy lifting”, but we partner with God in learning
how to live for Jesus.
Judgment: It
is also a book about judgment.
God wasn’t just giving the Israelites a new home, God was bringing judgment
on the people living in this land.
God has whispered to Abraham that after four hundred years, the “iniquity
of the Amorite” would be “full” (Gen.
15:13-16).
Over and over, God has warned His people about the dangers that lie in this
“Promised Land”.
God has warned the people not to be too curious about the
gods and customs of the people they are conquering. God does not want His
people to be like these wicked civilizations.
The main
headquarters for the Israelites is in Gilgal. (see map)
We’ve already seen the Israelites conquer the cities of Jericho, Ai.
When the rest of the cities in the south saw that the city of Gibeon had
allied with Israel, a huge
war followed and the Israelites ended up conquering much of the area south of Ai.
The battle now
moves into the northern part of Israel
Joshua
11
11:1-15 The Northern Conquest
:1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that
he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of
Achshaph,
:2 and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain
south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west,
:3 to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorite, the Hittite,
the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and the Hivite below Hermon in
the land of Mizpah.
:4 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as
the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and
chariots.
:5 And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together
at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
:1 Hazor
– Chatsowr – “castle”
Keep in mind, a “king” in those days was the head over a city.
Hazor will be
the main player behind the northern alliance.
Hazor was the
dominant city in the north and they organize an alliance to battle the invading
Israelites.
Play “Gilgal to
Northern Conquest” map video
:2 Chinneroth
– Kinn@rowth – “harp”
This is one of the names for the Sea of Galilee
:5 Merom
– Merowm – “high place”
This is where
all these northern kings combine their armies in order to attack the Israelites.
:4 as many people
as the sand
Josephus (an ancient Jewish historian, 100 A.D.) wrote that it was 300,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 cavalry troops,
and 21,000
chariots.
In comparison, Israel
had 600,000 troops, but no cavalry, and no chariots.
:6 But the LORD
said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time
I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their
horses and burn their chariots with fire.”
:6 hamstring their
horses
From Stu Hales
(a horse vet): It cuts the tendon just
above the hock (like the knee on a horse’s back legs). Renders the back legs useless and
immobile. It would essentially kill the horse because the
horse wouldn’t be able to stand up.
Horses need their back legs to get up. At least it will cripple the
horses.
Why do this to the horses?
Why not just use the horses and chariots for their own use?
1) They didn’t know how to use
horses and chariots. It would probably
be a greater burden taking care of them than to just destroy them. Plus, if they kept them, the enemies could
possibly recapture them again.
2) So they would trust in the Lord
and not the horses or chariots.
(Ps 20:7 NKJV) Some trust in chariots, and
some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
:6 Do not be afraid
Lesson
Courage and fear
If I understand the Scriptures correctly, I kind of get the idea that
Joshua was afraid from time to time.
Just before Moses died, he spoke to Joshua:
(Dt 31:7 NKJV)
Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong
and of good courage,
for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall
cause them to inherit it.
A couple of times God Himself speaks to Joshua:
(Jos 1:9 NKJV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be
dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go.”
(Jos 8:1 NKJV) Now the Lord said
to Joshua: “Do not be
afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise,
go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his
city, and his land.
(Jos 10:8 NKJV) And the Lord said
to Joshua, “Do not fear
them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand
before you.”
I kind of think that some of us think that a hero is someone who is never
afraid.
The truth is, a hero is someone who is afraid like you and I are, but who
doesn’t let their fear stop them.
:7 So Joshua
and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of
Merom, and they attacked them.
:7 came against
them suddenly
Last week we saw Joshua march his army all night long in order to make a
surprise attack on the armies attacking Gibeon.
The march from
Gilgal to Merom is about
75 miles if you march up the Jordan Valley.
:8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them
and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of
Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining.
:8 chased them …
See map.
Chasing them to Sidon
(“Tyre”), Misrephoth,
the Valley of
Mispah …
:9 So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their
horses and burned their chariots with fire.
:10 Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king
with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms.
:10 Joshua turned
back
After having won a decisive battle out on the battle field, Joshua now
turns to capture the cities of these kings, including Hazor.
:10 Hazor was
formerly the head
Because it was the head, Joshua takes it first.
Hazor was also
the largest city of ancient Palestine. It was 200 acres in size,
compared with Megiddo
at 13 and Jericho
at 8.
It also dominated several branches of an ancient highway which led from
Egypt to Syria and on to Assyria and Babylon.
The location on the trade routes contributed to the city's wealth.
It served as a leader of these other cities.
Lesson
Deal with the root
Sometimes we like to dance around the important issues in our lives.
We like to blame other people for our problems.
I
come from a “Dysfunctional family”
The
guy at work keeps bugging me, so I can’t work like I should.
We focus on small things but ignore the big things.
We’re afraid to ask anybody for advice or counsel, because they might just
hit on the big thing we’re afraid to face.
We don’t want to hear it.
In contrast, Joshua’s tactic for taking the Promised Land included going
after the big ones first!
:11 And they
struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly
destroying them. There was none left breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire.
:12 So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and
struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, as Moses the
servant of the LORD had commanded.
:13 But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of
them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned.
:13 on their mounds
In Israel there are many hills or mounds.
Many of
these mounds are actually sites of ancient cities.
When a city was conquered, the rubble would form the foundation of the next
city, and so a new city was built on top of the old one’s ruins.
Of these cities, Hazor is the only one Joshua burns to the ground like he
did Jericho and Ai.
:14 And all the
spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty
for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they
had destroyed them, and they left none breathing.
:14 they left none
breathing
It sounds kind of brutal.
Keep in mind that this is God’s judgment on a very wicked civilization.
Lesson
Brutal judgment
There’s a sense in which this is a pattern for dealing with some of the
things in our lives.
There are things that are not good for us, like those wicked things from
the land of Canaan.
Jesus said,
(Mt 5:30 NKJV) And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it
from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Illustration
From Greg Laurie:
The
film, 127 Hours, tells the
true story of Aron Ralston, who was climbing in Utah when a boulder shifted,
pinning his arm against a canyon wall. He tried everything to remove the boulder.
A couple of days passed. He was cold. He was out of water. No one was coming to
his aid. He knew the only way he would make it out of there was to free
himself. So he decided to cut off his arm. He used a pocketknife, and it took a long time.
Amazingly, after doing such a thing, he rappelled 65 feet to the canyon floor
and walked out. That is a crazy story. But better to be alive and have one arm
than to have two arms and be dead.
Jesus’ point is not to mutilate ourselves.
His point is to do what is necessary to make the changes you need to
make.
:15 As the LORD
had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did.
He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
:15 He left nothing
undone
Lesson
Learn obedience.
Joshua learned to obey what God had commanded. That’s why he was successful.
Illustration
We know about
the real St. Patrick (or Magnus Sucatus Patricius) because he wrote a record of
his life called Confessions. As a
young boy Patrick lived a comfortable life near an English coastal city where
his father was a deacon in their church. But at the age of 16, his comfortable
life unraveled. Irish
pirates attacked his village, abducting Patrick and many of the household
servants. After arriving in Ireland, Patrick was sold as a slave to a Druid
tribal chieftain who forced Patrick to work with a herd of pigs.
In the midst of the squalor of pig filth, God began to transform Patrick’s
heart. In his Confessions he wrote, “I
was sixteen and knew not the true God, but in a strange land the Lord opened my
unbelieving eyes, and I was converted.” Patrick became convinced that the
kidnapping and homesickness were actually opportunities to know Christ better. “Anything
that happens to me,” he wrote, “whether pleasant or distasteful, I ought to
accept with [serenity] giving thanks to God … who never disappoints.” Knowing
that this serenity didn’t come from his own strength, Patrick wrote, “Now I
understand that it was the fervent Spirit praying within me.”
After serving as a slave for six years, Patrick escaped, boarded a boat, and found his way
back home. At long last, he was on British soil, warmly embraced by his family
and his community. In his own mind Patrick was done with Ireland for good.
According to Patrick, “It is not in my nature to show divine mercy toward the
very ones who once enslaved me.”
Once again, God would change Patrick’s heart. Partially through a dramatic
dream, Patrick knew that God had called him to return to Ireland—not as a
slave, but as a herald of the gospel. His family and friends were
understandably horrified by his decision. “Many friends tried to stop my
mission,” Patrick wrote. “They said, ‘Why does this fellow waste himself among
dangerous enemies who don’t even know God?’”
Despite these
objections, in A.D. 432 Patrick used his own money to purchase a boat and sail
back to Ireland. Patrick spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel in
Ireland, watching many people come to Christ. He also passionately defended the
human rights of slaves.
For the rest of his life, Patrick would remain captivated by the grace of
God. In his Confessions he wrote:
And I am certain of this: I was a dumb stone lying squashed in the mud; the
Mighty and Merciful God came, dug me out and set me on top of the wall.
Therefore, I praise him and ought to render him something for his wonderful
benefits to me both now and in eternity.
Patrick learned the importance of obeying God’s direction. A nation came to God because of it.
Joshua conquered the Promised Land.
It was an amazing feat. But it
happened because of Joshua’s obedience to God.
Sometimes we get the silly idea that we can still get to the same place
without having to do it God’s way. It
won’t work.
11:16-23 Summary of
Conquests
:16 Thus Joshua took all this land: the mountain country, all the South,
all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain—the mountains of
Israel and its lowlands,
:17 from Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the
Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, and struck
them down and killed them.
:17 from Mount
Halak …
See map. This is a summation of the
southern and northern victories.
:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
:18 a long time
If we're not careful, we might get the impression from verse 6 (tomorrow
... I will deliver them up ...) that the victory happened overnight.
But that was just the first big battle.
After the big battle came a number of smaller battles to be fought, as
Israel went from city to city, taking the land.
Lesson
Patience
Don’t look for overnight wonders!
Sometimes they happen quickly.
Sometimes the victory takes a long time.
If you’ve been struggling with a certain problem for a long time, don’t be
discouraged.
Illustration
Harvey Mackay in his book Swim with the Sharks tells of the 88 year old President of Japan’s
largest enterprise, Matsushita Electric, answering an interviewer’s questions
on the future of his company. The interview went as follows:
Question: “Mr.
President, does your company have long-range goals?”
Answer: “Yes.”
Question: “How long
are your long-range goals?”
Answer: “Two
hundred fifty years.”
Question: “What do
you need to carry them out?”
Answer: “Patience.”
:19 There was
not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the
inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle.
:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against
Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might
receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded
Moses.
:20 to harden their
hearts
Nobody but the Gibeonites attempted to make a peace treaty with Israel and
the God of Israel.
Despite God’s own revelation of Himself in nature (Rom. 1:18-20), as well as the
more recent revelations from the parting of the Red Sea, the stopping of the
Jordan, and the amazing fall of Jericho, the people refused to turn from their
own wicked ways.
They were heading for judgment.
In the coming Tribulation period, there will be a lack of repentance by the
people of the world.
(Re 6:12–17 NKJV) —12
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became
like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops
its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is
rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the
kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty
men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the
rocks of the mountains, 16
and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the
face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the
great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
When I look at the crazy things that are happening around the world,
hopefully there will still be a response from people to turn to God.
But in the Tribulation, the people won’t be turning to God. They will be hiding from Him.
It seems it’s the same thing – it’s a sign of God’s coming judgment.
:21 And at that
time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from
Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains
of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
:22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel;
they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.
:21 the Anakim
– “long-necked”
They are a race
of giants (Num.13:33;
Deut.2:10-11; 9:2), the descendants of a man
named “Anak”
Forty years ago, when the land had first been spied out, the report came
back:
(Nu 13:33 NKJV) There we saw the giants
(the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers
in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
I find it interesting that here was one of the biggest reasons not to go in
to the Promised Land, and now they’re taken care of in only two verses!
Is it because the giants weren’t really a problem like they thought?
No! These were scary guys.
It’s because Israel has matured so much in the last 40 years:
They were refined through the trials in the wilderness.
Then they faced King Sihon and King Og on the western side of the Jordan.
Then God parted the Jordan River so they could cross.
Then God gave them victory in Jericho.
After a little problem, they finally had victory at Ai.
Then they took on the five Southern Kings at once.
Then they took on the entire northern alliance.
So
what’s a few little giants?
Lesson
Growth shrinks giants
I don’t know if you remember when you were a kid – but all grownups looked
like giants.
Yet as you began to grow up, some of the people you used to look up to were
no longer taller than you.
You “out grew” them.
As we grow in the Lord, we are better equipped to handle the battles, and
we are able to handle more. Big things
don’t seem so big anymore.
We see the idea of growth in the life of David. When David asked permission from King Saul to
face the giant Goliath, he explained why he wasn’t afraid of Goliath:
(1 Sa 17:34–37 NKJV)
—34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and
when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out
after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it
arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has
killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one
of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said,
“The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the
bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to
David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
David knew that he could face Goliath because he had seen
God help Him in the smaller things like the bear and the lion.
The more you
grow, the smaller the giants become.
The Lord didn’t start Israel out with the Northern Alliance.
He grew them up to it.
And when they had to face the giants, what was the big deal???
:22 only in Gaza,
in Gath, and in Ashdod
See map.
These are three of the cities that would form the five-city confederation
of the Philistines.
Will we ever see any of these giants again? Yes!
Goliath the
Philistine was from the town of Gath. (1Sam.17:4)
:23 So Joshua
took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and
Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by
their tribes. Then the land rested from war.
:23 Joshua took the whole land
This is a general statement. There
are still going to be places that need to be taken. There are still pockets of Canaanites left
that the individual tribes will need to take care of.
Joshua
12
12:1-6 Moses’
Conquests
:1 These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated,
and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising
of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan
plain:
:2 One king was Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled
half of Gilead, from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the
middle of that river, even as far as the River Jabbok, which is the border of
the Ammonites,
:3 and the eastern Jordan plain from the Sea of Chinneroth as far as the
Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), the road to Beth Jeshimoth, and southward
below the slopes of Pisgah.
:4 The other king was Og king of Bashan and his territory, who was of the
remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
:5 and reigned over Mount Hermon, over Salcah, over all Bashan, as far as
the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and over half of Gilead to
the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
:6 These Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel had
conquered; and Moses the servant of the LORD had given it as a possession to
the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
See Map
Sihon and Og were the Amorite kings that ruled over the land on the eastern
side of the Jordan River.
After conquering both of these kings, 2 ½ tribes came to Moses and asked if
they could settle their families on the eastern side of the Jordan.
Moses said that as long as they participated in the battles to conquer the
rest of the Promised Land, that he would give them those lands.
Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh settle east of the Jordan. The other half of Manasseh would settle on
the west side of the Jordan.
12:7-24 Joshua’s
Conquests
:7 And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of
Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the
Valley of Lebanon as far as Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, which Joshua
gave to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,
:8 in the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the
slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South— the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
:7 the kings of the
country
We’re going to get a list of the “kings” that Joshua conquered.
Again, keep in mind that this ancient concept of a “king” was the ruler
over a city. These are going to be the
cities that Joshua has conquered.
:7 from Baal Gad …
to Seir
See Map. These are the rough boundaries of the land
that Joshua conquered, from the north (Lebanon) to the south (Seir – Edom).
:9 the king of
Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
:10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
:11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
:12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
:13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
:14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
:15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
:16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
:17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
:18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
:19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
:20 the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
:21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
:22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;
:23 the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of the people of
Gilgal, one;
:24 the king of Tirzah, one— all the kings, thirty-one.
:24 all the kings,
thirty-one
The first 16 mentioned are the kings in the south, the last 15 are the
kings of the north.
What’s the significance to the number thirty-one?
That’s how many kings Joshua conquered.
Period.
There may be more significance to this number, but I’m not aware of it.
I think that we can go a bit overboard sometimes in trying to understand
deep symbolic significance in things.
I see it happen in people’s lives, as if we are to somehow live our lives
by making things out in the tea leaves.
We need balance, keep your head on your shoulders.
We’ve seen the battles for most of these kings.
There are a few that we hear of first in this list (Like Lasharon, Kedesh,
Jokneam, Tirzah), leading us to the conclusion that there was more battles
going on than we have read about. I know
I’m kind of going off on a limb but …
Lesson
You won’t always see the battles.
You don’t always see the battles that people around you are going
through. Sometimes people aren’t very
nice to you. Sometimes they’re downright
rude. It’s possible that they’re going
through a battle you’re just not aware of.
You may see people that you admire, people that you think are spiritual
giants.
You may be tempted to think that they don’t have any difficulties in their
lives. Think again.