Scripture Study: Joshua 7:1-9

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Achan, Ai, Bible Study, Christian, Gospel, Jesus, Joshua, prayer, Scripture Study

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But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

Verse 1: In the previous chapter we saw the command that everything in Jericho was to be given as a sacrifice to the Lord, whether to slaughter or as donations to the Lord’s treasury (See Joshua 6:17-19). And every man save one followed this command. There are times in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, where we see examples where one person’s disobedience can affect others. This is one of those examples, as we see God holds his anger toward all of Israel and not just Achan, and we also know that we all inherit sin from Adam and his choice back in the Garden of Eden. Yet on the other hand, there are examples in there of God’s love and mercy being poured out upon many through the actions and decisions of one. No greater example can be found than that of Jesus and his sacrifice upon the cross. We may not be able to control what people do in their lives, but we can work to be the best possible influences by living out the Gospel, sharing the Gospel with others, and praying for families, friends, and future generations of our children and grandchildren.

² Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. ³ And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.”

Verses 2-3: One of the major themes that I catch time and again throughout the book of Joshua is that of the unexpected happening. Rahab is an unexpected helper for the Israelites and becomes an unexpected contributor in the genealogy of Jesus. The Israelites cross the Jordan River in an unexpected manner that is similar, yet different, from the parting of the Red Sea. The Israelites conquer Jericho in an unexpected manner by marching for seven days and shouting and blowing trumpets. It is something we’ll continue to see moving forward. And here, once again, something unexpected is about to happen. Joshua’s spies note that Ai has only a few men who would be able to retaliate when they attack, so they advise Joshua to send only a small portion of their army to handle this threat. This is a strategy that makes perfect sense: why tire your entire force when a small band could do the job effectively? Yet, as we’re about to see, things will not go as expected for the Israelites.

⁴ So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, ⁵ and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Verses 4-5: We can safely assume that the men of Ai numbered less than 3,000. After all, the spies would not recommend sending a force of equal, or lesser, strength to take Ai. Most likely the number would be around 1,500-2,000 to give a fair advantage in numbers to the Israelites. Yet they flee from the men of Ai after only 36 men died. That is only 1.2% of their force that traveled to take Ai. So what went wrong here? It had to have been something strong enough to make the men turn and flee even though they likely still outnumbered the men of Ai. The most likely guess would be that God turned their hearts toward flight and I’d like to think this was to spare them from losing more men in that failed attack. You would expect far more men to die before one side or the other would flee, barring something like divine intervention. And if this speculation holds true and God worked to make them flee so soon, it would be yet another example of God showing mercy even when he could hold his anger against them. This encounter is serving as a wake-up call to the Israelites to remind them that obedience is expected and, so long as they obey, God will deliver on His promise to give them the land. Without that obedience on their part, they can expect a long, arduous, bloody campaign through the land.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

Verses 6-9: We can learn a few things from Joshua’s response to this unfortunate turn of events. First, he demonstrated active sorrow by tearing his clothing and having him and the elders put dust on their heads. This was about the equivalent of wearing sackcloth and putting ashes on the head, another common action seen in the Old Testament. Next, he seeks to understand God’s reasoning for bringing them this far just to destroy them. Instead of criticizing God for it, he mentions that they would have been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan River instead of facing this fate. Contentment can be a difficult thing to express, but it is often a right attitude to hold. Instead of being mad at God for withholding something we desire, we should remember the blessings in our lives that we already possess and try to be content with where we are and what we have. That thinking runs counter to some of the popular ideas of the Prosperity Gospel, but it is the right heart to have. Finally, Joshua turns the problem toward how God holds a stake in the results. Prayers to obtain that bigger, fancier house are typically man-centered and offer nothing in terms of glory to God. But in this case, Joshua points out that the defeat of the Israelites will lead to a lack of respect toward God’s power from the other nations. Bear in mind that Jericho’s hearts had melted prior to the Israelites’ arrival because they had heard of the things God had done for them. The opposite is about to happen here if God continues to forsake the Israelites. God made promises, and He will deliver on them. Prayers that align with His promises, or that will bring glory to His name, are a lot more likely to be answered than prayers that are wrapped solely around things of the world.

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Book Review: Praying Through the Bible For Your Kids by Nancy Guthrie

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Book Review, children, Christian, Devotional, Nancy Guthrie, prayer, Praying Through the Bible for your Kids

If it seems like a flurry of book reviews are hitting, you’re right. A lot of books I’ve been working through have reached their end, and at least one more is on the cusp of being finished. So bear with me, I’ll try to slow down on my reading while I get through the burst of reviews.

Title: Praying Through the Bible For Your Kids

Author: Nancy Guthrie

Published by: Tyndale Momentum (10/15/2016)

Pages: 400 (Paperback)

Blurb: Daily encouragement for parents who realize the things they want most for their kids are things only God can do . . . so they pray.
As parents we want to protect our children; we want them to move forward in life; most importantly, we want them to take hold of and grow in Christ. And while the advice offered by parenting experts can be helpful, at some point we realize there are no simplistic formulas or sure-fire methods. We need wisdom from God’s Word for this all-important task.

In The One Year Praying through the Bible for Your Kids, trusted author Nancy Guthrie weaves together wisdom and insight from each day’s reading in The One Year Bible, providing encouragement through the triumphs and turbulence of parenting. Day by day you’ll find your dreams and desires for your children are becoming shaped more by Scripture than by the culture around you. Worry less, pray more, and help yourself to a daily dose of perspective, hope, and grace as you parent.

My Take: I love diving into this book as part of my daily walk with God. It is the first thing I do, opening with the verse for the day, the short devotional based upon that passage, and then the short prayer for my child (and, sometimes, myself). The commitment to do this takes only a minute or two, yet I feel overjoyed to know that I am praying over areas of my son’s life that I might not have considered praying about yet (especially with him being so young still). I know the power that a praying parent can have in shaping the character and personality of a child, and I am thankful to have this book to keep me motivated and on-track with this area.

I also appreciate how the book doesn’t jump around from book to book, picking a verse at random to apply to a certain day. Every devotion that I have done so far, dating back to the end of October, has all come from verses in the book of Hebrews. This encouraged me to dive into that same book with my own study time in the mornings, an added benefit to steeping daily in the same book of the Bible.

Regardless of the age of your children, and even for those whose children are yet to come, this can be an excellent addition to your daily devotional time. It could potentially be a devotional to do as a family, although I think it would be better suited to do either individually or as a couple. This is a wonderful resource to have and will continue to bless me and my family for many years to come.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Book Review: Kingdom Prayer by Tony Evans

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Christian, Christian Living, Kingdom Prayer, Moody Publishers, prayer, Tony Evans

I’m so excited to have the chance to review the first book I finished off my list of books I was excited about that were still releasing in the late part of 2016. Check out some of the other books that made the list, as I have a few of these already that I am working through in order to get a review up before the end of the year!

 

Title: Kingdom Prayer: Touching Heaven to Change Earth

Author: Tony Evans

Published by: Moody Publishers (October 4, 2016)

240 Pages

Blurb: If you want to know the temperature of your spiritual life, look at the thermostat setting on your prayer life.

Prayer is the most misunderstood and neglected aspect of the Christian life. It has been estimated that most Christians pray three to five minutes a day. Compare that to the time many spend complaining, and you’ll gain insight into the spiritual and emotional condition of our day.

Yet God has constructed the world in such a way that there is much He won’t do in a Christian’s life apart from prayer. Prayer, when combined with faith, can accomplish great things.

In this practical and comprehensive overview of prayer, Tony Evans covers a variety of topics, including:

• Principles of productive prayer
• The power of prayer and praise
• Fasting and prayer
• Prayer and God’s purposes

Tony’s expositions of various passages on prayer will help you realize its critical importance and encourage you to make it a dominant mark of your life.

My Take: A wonderful read about one of the most important areas of a Christian’s life: prayer. But at the same time, this is also one of the most difficult areas to excel in continuously. We have moments where we feel the presence of God and prayers flow from us, getting answered. Yet there are times where we feel so removed from God and get frustrated by the lack of answers to our prayers. If you’ve ever felt discouraged about your prayer life, or wanted to learn to how supercharge your prayer connection, this book is definitely a must-read.

There are many excellent areas that this book covers, each of them pertaining in some way toward activating or maintaining an effective prayer life: fasting, abiding in Christ, steeping yourself in God’s word, knowing God’s will, connection to the Holy Spirit, and many other topics and subtopics. Each of them are written in a clear and convincing manner, expressing how those areas work to unlock the full effect of Kingdom Prayer.

There was mention, early on, about prayer being more likely to be answered if it aligns to God’s Promises. And I had hoped, for the rest of the book, that a chapter would arise that would list some of the more beneficial promises that we could pray. But upon reaching the end and reflecting a little, I think this choice of his was intentional. Sure, he could guide us to where we could find these promises and get us on the superhighway to praying those in our lives. But that is missing the point. It’d be like surgically removing a bunch of weight but continuing to live the same life: you might see immediate results but, without a change in your daily life, you will eventually end up right back where you started. Instead, he focuses on the critical concepts of abiding in God and steeping yourself in the Word, both of which will eventually allow you to unlock those promises.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. Prayer is an important thing for every Christian, and an area of our lives that we need to unlock to its full potential. A few thousand men and women, praying powerful prayers that align with God’s will, can change a nation and, perhaps, the world for the glory of God. It won’t be quick or easy. It will require some active work on our parts to get to the point where our prayers can be that impactful. But this book helps to outline the key areas to accomplishing these things, and should be a book you will not only want to read, but also keep close at hand so you can refer back to it and reread important passages again and again.

**I received a copy of this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Dirty Glory by Pete Greig

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24-7 Prayer Movement, Book Review, Christian, Dirty Glory, Isaiah 56:7, Missions, NavPress, Pete Greig, prayer

Title: Dirty Glory: Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You

Book #2 of the Red Moon Chronicles

Author: Pete Greig

Published by: NavPress (October 18, 2016)

Pages: 368 (Paperback)

Blurb: For many Christians, prayer is an obligation that has little bearing on everyday life. The story of the 24/7 prayer movement demonstrates in gripping detail how prayer is far more than an obligation and how God is far more interested in prayer than we are. Continuing to chronicle the life and extraordinary ministry of the 24/7 prayer movement for a readership anxiously awaiting this title, Pete Greig tells story after story of God’s faithful interaction with human prayer to change lives and cultures.

My Take: I snagged this book on impulse, having heard about the 24-7 Prayer Movement and was curious to know more about it and how they view prayer. I opened the cover expecting to have my prayer life challenged and changed, to be touched by the stories Greig tells and to be transformed to be more active and intentional in my own prayers. This book fulfilled every expectation.

I never felt like I was really missing out on not having read the first book in the series, which I understand chronicled the beginning of the 24-7 Prayer Movement. This book follows its own arc, following the stories of 14 different people in various places and at various times who have some sort of connection to the 24-7 Prayer Movement. Much of the content in this book is not so much on how to pray, or even why you should pray, but rather they are chronicling what happened in each of these stories when the person said YES to what direction God was leading them. And ultimately, that is what this book is going to do, to show you what can happen when you give God control of the decisions in your life. They aren’t blindly made, impulsive decisions. But ultimately, in spite of wrestling with the guiding of God, these people went all-in.

There are four overarching themes found in this book, all mentioned and introduced in the introduction and it is easy to see their heartbeat throughout each and every chapter and story within the pages. These are:

1. Incarnation – A celebration of the “Word made flesh” through stories of God’s glory happening in places that are ordinary, yet unlikely, and being done by ordinary people.
2. The presence paradigm – A way of viewing the message of the Bible through the lens of God’s desire for friendship, family, and partnership and how it shapes major aspects of our lives and faith.
3. The house of prayer – Explores what it means to be a “house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7), which is emphasized over and over, not only about being a house of prayer but the importance of praying globally.
4. The life of prayer – Stories and experiences designed to both equip and inspire the reader in prayer.

These four areas were explored thoroughly and done in a great way that can reach and inspire readers who may struggle through a more doctrinally, theologically dense book. This is the book for ordinary Christians who want to become more intentional with their prayer life and, perhaps, find reassurance that there are prayers which get answered even if those answers come later than we’d like. I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone seeking a readable book on prayer, anyone who wants to expand their prayers beyond their own community’s borders, and for anyone with a heart for missions.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for an honest review.

 

Scripture Study: Joshua 3:9-17

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Ark of the Covenant, Bible Study, Christian, Joshua, prayer, Scripture Saturday

Welcome to the sixth installment of the Scripture Study in Joshua. Last week we covered the first eight verses in this chapter, which brought up far more to discuss than originally anticipated and thus necessitating a split of this chapter into two parts. If you are just joining me, or have missed a week or two, there is a link below to the beginning of the study, to the last study, and a link to a master page where you can find links to each active part of the study.

The First Study | Scripture Study Home | The Previous Study

⁹ And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. ¹³ And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

¹⁴ So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Verses 9-10: Joshua draws the crowd in and makes sure they are ready to listen, not to what Joshua has to say but rather what God is saying to them. He is only a vessel to pass along the message, showing the same humility that Daniel demonstrates while in the court of Nebuchadnezzar (See Daniel 2:27-30) and many others do over the course of the Bible. Joshua could have gotten a strong response from his followers by commanding them without mentioning the words were from God, yet he knew to whom the glory should go for what was about to happen. Far too often we are tempted into the thoughts of our culture that encourage us to pursue our dreams, our desires, and get into the mindset that we deserve those things and that they will make us happy and we deserve happiness. Yet even if we believe we know what will make us happy in this life, how much more does our Father know what would make us happy (See Matthew 7:11)? We should pray about the pursuits we aim to achieve and invite God to take part in the decision-making process. After all, how much can we accomplish if it runs contrary to His will for us? We should dream big dreams and chase after lofty goals, ones that are so big in scope that they could only happen if God showed up and helped along the way. Those are the goals which will assuredly bring Him greater glory, because we will know it was not by our own power that we reached that mark.

Verses 11-13: Note the emphasis placed here on the transportation of the Ark. It is no ordinary container being transported along on this journey, but rather it contains God’s ten commandments (See Exodus 25:16, 21; 40:20) and served as a holy representation of God and His presence for the people of Israel. So it is significant that not only the Ark is leading the Israelites, but also the command to have a member from each tribe present is important. These twelve men will be active witnesses to the miracle about to unfold, and the inclusion of all twelve tribes demonstrates they all hold favor with God. The significance of the twelve tribes will be explored in greater depth in the next chapter. Sometimes God calls us not to be active participants in a significant event, but rather to stand as witnesses who can then go and spread the word through testimony. We should not only spread this testimony during the moments following the event, but across generations. We should tell them to our kids and grandkids, to those we know and even to those we hardly know. We certainly should rejoice in the times when God chooses to use us to further His Glory, but we can equally rejoice when we see Him moving through others.

Verses 14-17: What an impressive feat this proved to be. The banks of the river, we are told, were at flood-level stages so it was a very full body of water raging here. God could have chosen any number of methods of providing crossing for the Israelites, such as freezing the water solid to allow them to cross. Yet instead of doing the natural, God comes along and does the Supernatural and parts the water. Whereas the Red Sea parting involved forming a wall of water on either side of the Israelites, in this instance God stopped the flowing side of the river and, ultimately, the other half would dry up without more water flowing across. There is no chance that this could be written off as something that happened naturally, and this will not be the last time in Joshua when we see God demonstrate His awesome power in ways that are unexpected. Imagine the people crossing, looking to their right and seeing a wall of water stretching upward on their right and bare ground to their left for as far as the eye can see. This just goes to reinforce that God likes to show up and do things in ways we don’t expect. Sometimes we expect answers to our prayers to not only arrive immediately, but exactly how we imagine them to be resolved. Yet that is rarely God’s timing or His method of answering prayers. Our imagination is limited to what we believe is possible, as well as what works best for us in that moment. God works based upon what is best for us in the long term and performs in ways that ensure the glory and credit can be placed nowhere but upon His shoulders. We should pray bigger, and bolder, prayers and step out in faith like those carrying the Ark. They took steps into the river before the waters were stopped. It was also they who stood in the middle of the river, under the shadow of this raging wall of water while waiting for all of the men, women, and children to cross to the other side. As far as they knew, the water would commence in its natural course at any moment. Yet they stood there, firmly trusting that God would fulfill His end of the deed without demanding any proof. And not only did God show up, He did so in a way that surpassed their understanding and expectations.

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Scripture Study: Joshua 2:1-14

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Bible Study, faith, Government, Joshua, prayer, Rahab, scripture

Welcome to the third installment in the scripture Study. While Joshua is not actively moving into the promised land yet, we do see some action happening in this segment which covers the well-known story of Rahab and how she hides the two men that Joshua sends to spy out the land of Jericho. If you missed the previous installments you can check out part one (Joshua 1:1-9) and part two (Joshua 1:10-18) by following those links.

The First Study | Scripture Study Home | The Previous Study

Rahab Hides the Spies

 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. ² And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” ³ Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” ⁶ But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. ⁷ So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

⁸ Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof ⁹ and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. ¹¹ And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. ¹² Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign ¹³ that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” ¹⁴ And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

Verse 1: Joshua sends out two men to scout out the land that has been promised prior to moving the Israelites across the Jordan River. While Joshua was promised the land and that he would be able to conquer all who stood against him (See Joshua 1:5-9) it was still good military wisdom to not walk in blindly. Joshua took the first steps by trusting God’s command to go into the land and ordering his people to be ready to move in three days (See Joshua 1:10-11) but he also took action to prepare for success. The easy thing would have been to write off anything that he would encounter because God promised it to him. Are there promises that God makes in the Bible that we just assume will come our way if we wait passively for them to arrive? Are we praying prayers with the hope that God will move the mountains in our lives without us having to take a single step to skirt around or climb over the mountains? Many times in the Bible we see that act of faith, the men and women taking the steps toward their goal, before God steps in and rewards their obedience.

Verses 2-5: A few notable things took place in these verses. First of all, the king of Jericho had an awareness of the spies that entered into their city. So he had a good network of information in his city, and it is easy to imagine that outsiders within a walled city might attract some attention. Second, it is likely that Rahab ran an inn or some other establishment and that these men would have been directed to her place. While Rahab is known as a prostitute, or harlot, it is very likely that this was a former offense and something that she likely repented of prior to the arrival of the spies. So while she was no longer committing that sin, she was still likely to be labeled as such by the community because men and women historically have a hard time forgiving and forgetting the sins of others, especially scandalous ones. Here Rahab has a direct order from her king to disclose the location of these two men and she opts to honor God rather than the king of Jericho, as will be seen in the following verses. While the Bible is clear that we should not bear false witness (See Exodus 20:16) and should honor and submit to our leaders (See 1 Peter 2:17, Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:7, 1 Peter 2:13), the gray area comes when the will of God and the will of our leaders are in opposition to each other. While Jesus told Pilate that he only had the authority to crucify Jesus because it was in alignment to God’s will (See John 19:11), we also see the Apostles in the New Testament going against orders from the Government (See Acts 5:17-42) stating “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Therefore we, as Christians, are clearly called to submit to our government so long as what we are being asked to do is in accordance to God’s commands. Daniel and his friends knew the difference when he was commanded to worship Nebuchadnezzar (See Daniel 3, 6) and Rahab understands the difference here. In choosing to disobey the king of Jericho, she is choosing instead to honor God and His chosen people.

Verses 9-11: Here we see Rahab confess to the two Israelite men that the whole kingdom of Jericho has heard of God’s works and are afraid of the Israelites. Many times God allows things to work out in an unexpected way, such as when he hardened the Pharaoh’s heart again and again, in order to bring greater glory to His own name. In today’s world it is easy to lust after fame and fortune, and a lot of emphasis is placed upon entertainment. People get paid millions of dollars to play sports or sing songs in front of crowds. People get paid thousands of dollars to come and speak to audiences in cities. The trap comes when we want these things to further our own name and our own causes rather than to bring glory to our God. We are people designed to do great and wonderful things. We are capable of doing even greater things than Jesus did during his time on this earth (See John 14:12). If we go in the name of God, with the intent of bringing the glory to Him rather than ourselves, who can stand against us? (See Romans 8:31)

Verses 12-14: Rahab pleads for merciful dealings and receives far more than she could have ever imagined in return. Jesus himself traced his descendants back through Rahab (See Matthew 1:5), one of the many testaments to how God uses the people that no one would ever expect. Here we see Rahab not only asking to have her own life spared, but also for her family members. While it commonly falls to the male of the household to be responsible for the care of the family, this here is a demonstration of the way every one of us should be praying. Pray for the care of our family, those under our own roof and those who live apart. Pray for those saved and for those who are not saved. An active prayer life, full of prayers for those who we love and care for, can bless them even if they never know it. For every unanswered prayer, there is a story of a person who prayed for their spouse, child, or parent for years or decades before the Holy Spirit brought them to know Christ.

I’ll close by restating something mentioned two weeks ago as part of looking at Joshua 1:9:

Imagine what we could do if, instead of being afraid or discouraged we told God about those concerns and trusted Him to handle them? God fulfilled promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and many others even if it was not always in the timing expected. How might our lives change if we stopped kind-of believing that God hears our prayers and kind-of believing that He may answer them and start living secure in the knowledge that God hears and God will fulfill His end of any promises He has made? Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed. Your God is with you wherever you go.

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Scripture Study: Joshua 1:10-18

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Bible Study, Joshua, Leadership, prayer, scripture

Welcome to the second installment in the Scripture study. This week should prove to have more application than last week, which had a lot of background information to set the context of the Israelites entering the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. You can check out the full post from last week at this link, and I’d love to hear your thoughts as I continue forward through the book of Joshua.

The First Study | Scripture Study Home

¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, ¹¹ “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”

¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶ And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Verse 10: While Joshua could have given the commands himself to the people, he demonstrates effective command and leadership by passing along the message to his team of leaders, allowing them to spread his message so that he isn’t obligated to do it all himself. The delegation of tasks, such as this one, shows that Joshua had a clear understanding that he could not do everything himself. In the New Testament there is a clear example of the need for delegation, shown in the book of Acts (See Acts 6:1-7). It can be easy for us to fall into the trap of trying to do everything ourselves, which allows other priorities to either get partial attention or else get neglected completely. Many people in the Body of Christ have different talents (See 1 Corinthians 12:4-11), and an effective leader will try to let those with the spiritual gift in an area take command of that task.

Verse 11: Joshua is giving his people three days to prepare to cross the Jordan river. This is not a small tribe of people about to embark upon a journey, but rather a great multitude of people. It will take time for the people to prepare for the journey and tear down their camps.

Verses 12-15: Here Joshua is directing his words toward the men of three out of the twelve tribes of Israel: The Ruebenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The context here is critical, so we must look at Numbers 32 to see why these three tribes are being singled out like this. These three tribes were all given land on that side of the Jordan River because the tribes had a great number of livestock and noticed that land was good for their livestock. They pleaded with Moses for those lands as their inheritance, under the condition that every fighting man would cross the Jordan and would fight until all twelve tribes had received their lands. They were able to establish a place for their livestock, children, and women, but when called all the fighting men must go. Joshua is calling upon them to not only remember the promise to Moses, but also to fulfill that promise made.

As Christians, we need to learn a lesson from these tribes. How easy it could have been for them to hold back and stay in the land promised to them and let the other nine tribes battle on their own. They could have taken a rest, enjoying a time of peace and ease. Instead they committed to going forth and helping the others. In out times of peace and ease, it becomes easy to become idle and enjoy those tranquil moments. Yet there are many around us who could use our assistance during our times of peace. Like these tribes, there is nothing wrong with making sure your own affairs are settled first, but when you see a need you should pursue it with the same vigor and passion as you would if it was affecting you or your family. Pray for those around you, whether in your family or in your neighborhood. Get on your knees and ask God to work on their hearts. Use that time of peace to become proactive with your prayers and actions. Find those needs and step in to fulfill them, such as taking meals to those who have need. Put those spiritual gifts to work and be the salt and the light that this world desperately needs.

Verses 16-18: Obedience is demonstrated here, with the people pledging to follow Joshua’s commands. It is not clear whether these are the tribes of the Ruebenites and Gadites and Manasseh, or if these are the leaders Joshua commanded in verse 10, but it seems most likely to be the latter. They were willing to follow Joshua so long as three things held true: the Lord was with him, he was strong, and he was courageous. The last two are echoes of God’s own command to Joshua in the preceding verses. These three things provide excellent benchmarks when looking for a leader. Signs of strength and courage inspire confidence among the people, although those traits can become corrupted when used apart from God. Which is why the first is the most important, that the Lord is with Joshua and therefore Joshua is walking along the path that God has chosen. As we’ll see in the coming studies, Joshua not only listens when God sends his commands, but he also seeks guidance from God and has a connection to God via his prayer life.

So we’ll close with a challenge to you: when a decision comes your way, do you turn to God for His guidance? This is an area where I need to continue to develop, seeking His approval before moving forward. This is a control issue for many people, as it requires us to let go of our own wants and desires and to seek what God has planned for us. Join me this week in praying more often to God, asking for Him to lead us when a decision comes our way.

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