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Post by Josh on Sept 13, 2009 17:26:43 GMT -8
Post your comments/ thoughts/ questions on Joshua chapters 1 and 2 as replies to this post.
So, I'm excited to kick off the Joshua study! This study, as always, will be a lot more beneficial the more we all get involved, so I want to encourage you to keep up with the weekly readings and post on this sub-forum. We have a lot to learn from Scripture and from each other in this study.
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Post by Josh on Sept 13, 2009 18:29:08 GMT -8
So, a couple things as we start our Joshua study.
Here are some big topical, overall themes we'll be discussing:
1. Promise
What did God promise and why? How did He fulfill the things He promised? What promises do we have to hold on to?
2. Readiness
What did it mean for the Isrealites to be considered "ready" to see God's promises fulfilled?
3. Courage
How does Joshua teach us about courage?
4. Holiness
What does Joshua teach us about God's character?
5. Warfare
What do we make of all the warfare and violence in the book of Joshua in light of Jesus' teachings? Why is the theme of warfare still important to us?
6. Foreshadowings of Jesus
What can we learn from the similarities between Joshua (Yeshua in Hebrew) and Jesus (also Yeshua in Hebrew)?
All of these themes are touched on in the first two chapters of Joshua and carry through the rest of the book.
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Post by Josh on Sept 13, 2009 18:57:28 GMT -8
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
If courage is a feeling, how can God command us to have it?
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Post by Josh on Sept 14, 2009 19:41:12 GMT -8
Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway.
--John Wayne
;D
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Post by Josh on Sept 16, 2009 21:04:36 GMT -8
I mentioned last Sunday that we should keep our eyes open for Jesus to "show up" in the Old Testament in symbolic foreshadowings.
There are two places I see this happening in this week's Joshua reading. One subtle one in Joshua 1 and one vivid one in Joshua 2.
Anyone care to venture any "sightings"?
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Post by Josh on Sept 17, 2009 19:54:13 GMT -8
Another thought:
I love how one of the biggest heroes in this narrative is not only not a hero but a heroine, but was also a prostitute who finds the mercy of God.
That's awesome, and in and of itself a foreshadowing of Jesus' ministry to prostitutes.
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Post by Josh on Sept 20, 2009 16:45:42 GMT -8
My notes for today's lesson:
Background on Joshua
Remember that Joshua had been Moses’ trusty servant for more than a generation. He was one of only two people from his generation (which had left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea and had received the Law from Moses at Mt. Sinai) who survived the wilderness wanderings and was going to be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Not only would he be allowed to enter, but he would be commissioned to lead God’s people in claiming God’s promise of Canaan to Abraham.
Courage has already been a theme in the life of Joshua. In Numbers 13, he and Caleb were the only two of the original spies Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land who returned and had faith that God could lead his people to victory in Canaan. In Joshua chapter 1, God calls him back to that same level of courage, after a whole generation of wandering with the faithless people of Israel.
Read Joshua 1:1-11
1. Promise
What did God promise and why? How did He fulfill the things He promised? What promises do we have to hold on to?
God had promised the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants to demonstrate His faithfulness and bring about his purposes for the Israelites in the history of the world. He fulfilled these promises miraculously after a long centuries of near dead ends.
Likewise, we have the promise of a heavenly city we are inheriting, as the author of Hebrews describes in Hebrews 11 and 12. Our promise is not of land, but of a kingdom “not of this world” that will never end where sin will be conquered and peace and justice will prevail.
2. Readiness
What did it mean for the Isrealites to be considered "ready" to see God's promises fulfilled?
We’ll find out more in chapter 3, but this week’s reading mentions getting supplies ready and scouting out the land once again.
3. Courage
How does Joshua teach us about courage?
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
If courage is a feeling, how can God command us to have it? If terror is a natural reaction to extremely dangerous situations, how can God command us to not be terrified?
I think courage (like love as well) isn’t primary a feeling. It’s a way of acting (also like love). As John Wayne once put it:
Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway.
And perhaps feeling terror is unavoidable, but being “terrified” is something beyond the feeling. It’s a state of paralysis brought on by fear. And it’s that paralysis that God is telling Joshua that he must not allow to take hold of him in the coming days. He may feel terror, but he is not to be terrified/ rendered frozen by his fears. He is to act with courage despite the danger he is about to face.
We’ll come back to this topic at the end.
4. Holiness
What does Joshua teach us about God's character?
We’ll reflect more on this later in our study of Joshua, but note the importance God places on obedience in chapter 1, verses 7-8:
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. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.
God is holy. His holiness is demonstrated in us through obedience and obedience is nurtured in our life through meditating/ focusing on God’s self-communication through Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
Read Joshua 2:1-16
5. Warfare
What do we make of all the warfare and violence in the book of Joshua in light of Jesus' teachings? Why is the theme of warfare still important to us?
We’ll talk more about the first part of this question in weeks to come. But for now, I’d like to point out that though the Old Testament is full of accounts of physical warfare, these stories serve as vivid analogies to the spiritual warfare we find ourselves engaged in as servants of Jesus’ kingdom.
Paul put it this way:
Ephesians 6:10-13
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
There are many principles we can learn from Old Testament accounts of warfare which have direct parallels in our own spiritual experiences.
For example, what can we learn from this story of the spies’ reconnaissance into the Promised Land? Or of God’s promise to give Joshua every place he sets his feet? (Origen)
6. Foreshadowings of Jesus
As I mentioned last Sunday, in Hebrew, the name Joshua is equivalent to Jesus, Yeshua. This opens the doorway for some potential parallels between the Yeshua*of the Old Testament and the Yeshua of the new. Of note is that Joshua’s original name was Hoshea, and that Moses changed it to Joshua, which means “the Lord is salvation”.
Many, going back to the early church**, see a parallel between Joshua and Jesus in that both are considered to conquer the enemy of God’s people and lead them into God’s promise.
Joshua 2:18 contains a vivid foreshadowing of the saving power of Christ’s blood. The spies tell Rahab that if she wants to be saved at the battle for Jericho, she is to tie a scarlet cord in her window as a sign for the Israelites to spare her and her household. This is reminiscent of the story of the Passover from Exodus, where the blood of a lamb spread on the Israelites doorframes saved them from destruction. Both of these “red” symbols point to the ultimate saving power of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.
This is all made more powerful by the connection of Joshua’s name with Jesus. Again, being the same name in Hebrew (Yeshua), what that means is that the spies are telling Rahab that when Joshua (Yeshua) comes, he will save her because of the scarlet sign.
Who is being saved in Joshua 2? A prostitute. Who did Jesus make a focal point of his earthly ministry? Prostitutes. (Matthew 21:32) Also, Rahab is a Gentile. Who was the gospel for? Everyone on the face of the earth? Who can be saved? Anyone who repents. (see Cyril of Jerusalem)
Lastly, another fascinating fact about Rahab is that she becomes one of Jesus’ ancestors-quite a pedigree for a non-Jewish former prostitute.
*Interestingly, there’s another Joshua (Yeshua) in the OT in the book of Zecharaiah whose very name is overtly said to be symbolic of things to come (Zech. 3:8)
**Lactantius, for example.
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