When was the last time your whole family gathered together? What was talked about? Who was there? Where were you? Why this occasion?

Joshua 8:30-32 We see specified plans given by Moses to Joshua

A. What did Joshua do after the victory at AI? In obedience…..

• (30) He built an altar. What did an altar symbolize for the Israelites?
• (31) He didn’t take shortcuts. He followed the instructions!
• (32) In their pres ence, Joshua copies the law of Moses on stone – permanent.

B. (8:33) Who was there for this celebration gathering? 

• All Israel. Why gather everyone? (Deut. 11:29; 27:1-4)
• (Deut 11:26-27) Blessings and curse are consequences of obedience for God’s people. 
• (Deut 11:18-21) The importance of teaching your children. How do you continually teach your children the reality truth of God?

 
C. Where the gathering took place: Two mountains with a valley

• (Joshua 8:33) A giant amphitheater with the Ark of the Covenant, priests and leaders in the middle
• Knowing the instructions is • God’s blessing D. (8:34-35) Why are God’s people gathered? A public reading of God’s law! • Blessings and curses; a complete explanation of God’s expectation
• An act of inclusion – all Israel, including women, children and aliens.

REFLECTION:

• How can you reach out to the marginalized with the “Good News? 

Be Strong and Courageous! Enjoy the reassurance of the Eternal Word made flesh!
Joe

What is one “Come from behind” victory in your life that you still remember?
Ai is destroyed much like Jericho.
A. After the crushing defeat brought on by Achan’s sin in the camp (Joshua 7), we see four things about sin: 1) Sin angers God. 2) There is no small sin. Like oil and water, God and sin don’t mix. 3) Sin separates us from God. 4) Sin will always be revealed by God. Think of God shining a spotlight on sin. (God ID’s Achan).
B. (8:1-2) God and Joshua walk the path forward together.
• Don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged…. I am with you.
• Don’t be cocky or over confident. Take the whole army and destroy Ai. As almost an afterthought by a gracious God……you get the plunder.
C. (8:3-8) Joshua trusted God and obeyed. He laid out his battle plan for the whole army.
D. (8:10-17) Joshua and the army execute the plan (action). They didn’t just think about it.
E. (8:18-27) God again instructs Joshua “hold out the javelin toward Ai”
• The ambush is sprung, Ai is captured and burned, the enemy army is surrounded.
• 12,000 inhabitants were killed that day. Big victory for Israel after crushing defeat.
F. (8: 28-29) Public execution of the king of Ai, a pile of rubble to this day.
• A reminder of God’s faithfulness toward obedience and warnings about sin.
REFLECTION:
• Is there some area of your life where the Lord is saying “Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged”
• Have you ever had an occasion when your own self-confidence led you into danger? Failure? Embarrassment? Shame?
Be Strong and Courageous!
Joe

As a child, what toy did you always want but never got?
A. (7:1) Sin has a strong grip on human kind.
• BUT. As you read the Word, watch out for this conjunction, contrast is coming.
• After great victory in Jericho; sin was discovered after great defeat.
• God is opposed to sin and deception and will act instead of ignore.
B. (7:2-5) The battle of Ai: Joshua proceeds with a familiar battle plan.
• Presumed God’s presence
• Sends spies, gets their report, sends 3,000 men and are defeated, lose 36 men
• (5) The hearts of the people melted in fear and disappointment
C. (7:6-9) Joshua’s response…. Humiliated? Humbled? Shocked?
• What posture do you see here from Joshua and leadership?
• Are you going to leave us hanging out here?
D. (7:10-12) God puts the spotlight on the hidden sin!
• God declared Joshua not guilty. Name the ways they violated the Covenant.
E. (7:13-26) Ancient Israel is a “Theocracy”, God is king
• (13) Consecrate yourselves, purify yourselves – prepare for hard justice
• (14-15) Instructions for investigation and accountability
• (16-26) “Sometimes we try to pray our way out of situations that we behaved our way into”. Andy Stanley
• We encounter a lot of “cheap grace”, rationalization and sense of entitlement that leads us to cheat, lie, hide or avoid what is right in God’s eyes.
• ?? What kinds of things can happen in our lives when we sin and try to hide it??
• (20) The guilty family never admitted sin until they were caught. They were sorry they got caught, not sorry for their sin.
• The penalty for this break of the Covenant was the death penalty, just as God had warned Israel before the battle of Jericho.
**If you had been Joshua, would you have let Achan off? What do you think the response would be for the rest of the nation?
Be Strong and Courageous!
Joe

What rite of passage marked your “coming of age” into adulthood?
Think back to when you were 16 and learning how to drive. Clutches and standard transmissions, trucks
built like tanks, cars as big as cruise ships.
A. Reactions to crossing the Jordan: everybody knew it happened.
• V. 1 All the inhabitants saw or heard….The Lord dried up the Jordan!
• They feared the Israelites and their God (obedience).
B. The lesson of the knife (v. 2-8)
• V. 2 God instructs Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise.
• A physical sign of their covenant with God – Set apart
• V. 5 All the young who crossed the Jordan on dry land hadn’t been circumcised in the desert
wandering, nor did they know how to swim.
• V. 6 Consequences of disobedience: older generation died in the wilderness.
• V. 7 Consequences of obedience and covenant agreement: inherit the Promised Land.
• V. 8 The whole nation rested and healed.
• V. 9 Gilgal – the reproach of Egypt is rolled away.
C. The Lesson of the produce: Celebrate Passover – God provides and delivers (v. 10-12)
• God provided daily bread (manna) in the desert
• Promised Land – the Israelites ate the produce from the land, no more manna, no going back.
D. The Lesson of preparing to possess the Promise (v. 13-15)
• They (and we) can’t sit and wait on the sidelines; must be ready for obedient action.
• We stand on Holy Ground when God meets with us.
• Acts in obedience and humility are a result of meeting with God.
• God is a lover of all mankind, Who will obey Him?
• The battle belongs to the Lord. He fights for us.
• Israelites were trained in the desert….wandering years to trust God step by step. They had not
gone that way before!
Happy Mother’s Day! Be Strong and Courageous! Until we can meet TOGETHER again….
Joe

What was one significant place in your formative years? In the social distancing environment, we have lots of time to think, reflect and remember. My significant place and time was driving with my dad to do tree work for Mr. Harold Brown. We drove a ‘53 Ford F100 all around our area talking about our hopes and dreams. A. Crossing the Jordan and remembering (v. 1-9) • (3-4) Follow the leader; so you will know where to go. • (5) Each of you = Leadership in the family unit. • (6) Pass it on to your children, don’t explain it away. Remember God’s goodness. • (8-9) Obedience, remembered by future generations. God is for us! B. Preparing for battle. God’s people stayed together, no deserters. (10-24) • (12) Promises kept: 2 ½ tribes crossed in front, ready for battle, (13) while 40,000 with families and inheritance were on the other side of the Jordan. • (14-18) When they had obeyed and crossed over, the Jordan river returned to flood stage. “When fear comes knockin’, let faith answer the door”. (Robin Roberts) *What “flood stage river” are you needing to cross with faith? • (19-24) Learn “the fear of the Lord”, respect for God the omnipotent father. *Just because I can’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. *None of us has ever seen the coronavirus, but we all know it exists as we see its evidence all around the world. ** The world, especially now, is watching your life to see evidence of the great lover of our souls, “the unseen God”. Turn your test into a testimony! Be Strong and Courageous! Miss you all! Joe

When canoeing, camping or fishing, what is your most memorable mishap? Mine is canoeing with the family down the Feather River and capsizing in the current. Mom thought she would drown. The rest of that story is for another time. Crossing over the Jordan • Early in the morning: All Israel, no protests, no stragglers, went down to the River Jordan and camped on the shore (v. 1) • Note the three days of waiting (v. 2), we’ve seen this referenced before. While waiting, what do you suppose the people were doing? What are you doing now, while you wait for the Pandemic to pass (gardening, texting, honey-dos, worrying, going for walks, reading). • Joshua gives specific instructions…. Follow the Ark of the Covenant (v3), the physical presence of God’s promise. *Trust your guide, follow His steps, He’ll lead you in your unfamiliarity. • Consecrate yourselves for following (prayed up, focused, humble) (v. 5) • Obedient leadership steps out to lead (v. 6) • God affirms Joshua in the hearts of a following people (v. 7-8) • Priests followed by the leaders of the 12 tribes step into flood stage water. (v. 9-17) The water piled up, God’s people cross on dry ground. Reflections…. • Why did God have His people cross the River Jordan at flood stage? On dry ground x 3? • When you have never been this way before, what do you most need? A guide? A miracle? A sign post? A small group? • Who in your life could help you with this? Be Strong and Courageous! I miss you all and long to be together to learn and study together. Joe

Promises Kept
Joshua 2: 1-24
We are reminded in Joshua 1:8: “Do not let the Word depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night”.    What “promises” have you dwelt on, or need to dwell on in these days of distancing?
*Later this week read Psalm 119:1-8 aloud
A.  Joshua leads wholeheartedly, with an obedient heart.   Read Joshua 2:1-7    God has told Joshua repeatedly “Only be strong and courageous”.

• v.1-2 Joshua acts by sending two spies to look over the land.  (40 years earlier Joshua and Caleb were 2 of 12 who reported “We can take the land”.
• God uses the unlikely.   Raheb was a grandmother of Jesus (Matt. 1:5)
• V. 3 Anxious eyes were on the other side, the King of Jericho was watching.
• V. 4 God shields his obedient followers and works His plan.   * How has the gracious hand of God shielded and provided for you this week?
• V.6-7 How does Rahab work into God’s plan?

 
B.  God’s plan unfolds for his children with anxious hearts and a righteous Gentile woman.

• V. 8-13 Rahab has a heart to heart bedtime chat with two hunted spies.
• V. 14 Covenant agreement between two cultures at odds, Jews and Gentiles.
• V. 15-16 God’s provision and timing can and must be trusted (Remember 3 days – Joshua 1:11)
• V. 17-21 The scarlet cord agreement: Rahab’s family is protected.
• V. 24 Spies report to Joshua “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands”

 
Our takeaways from Joshua 2:

1. God has already kept his promise
2. God goes before us into our unknowns – Promise Keeper, Way Maker, Light in the Darkness!

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!

March 21, 2020
Dear  Friends –
I hope to bring some thoughts and encouragement to you from Joshua from time to time.   I feel like we are the children of God looking out across the “Corona” River; with our thoughts and questions, hopes and fears, confidences and concerns.
I would encourage you to read Joshua 1 this morning and hear again God’s encouragement:

• Be strong and courageous…
• I will go before you…
• I will give you every place you set your foot

Thank Him for precious, confident words of hope as you pray.
In your own time, turn off the TV and call someone you normally sit with in our fellowship hour, someone you have missed and offer words of encouragement.
Until we can meet together again –
Joe