Crossing the Jordan 03.13.08

Hello My Friend/Guest,

It is Thursday March 13, 2008 and today we are beginning our study on the book of Joshua. Please read Joshua 1-3 in your Bible or Click Here to read.
The book of Joshua was written by Joshua to the people of Israel and the purpose of the book is to record the history of their conquest of Canaan and to show that no moral or spiritual victories are won without battles. There are 24 chapters contained in the book and the main characters in the book are Joshua, Rahab, Caleb, Achan, Balaam, Eleazar. In today's study we will read and learn about God speaking to Joshua; the spies that are sent to Jericho; a pledge between the spies and Rahab; Israel crosses the Jordan River. Today's message focuses on the importance of following the will of God even through difficulties.

Joshua was born into Egyptian slavery but, during the desert trials, he became a coworker with Moses. Joshua remained a faithful coworker in submission to Moses, even when the majority threatened to kill him when he urged the nation to advance into Canaan about forty years earlier. (See Numbers 14). Now the Lord spoke to him for the first time, "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Joshua 1:1-5).

To be brought out of Egypt was one thing, but it was altogether another thing to go over this Jordan and become committed to battle against the powerful Canaanites with their chariots of iron, walled cities, and armies of giants. The same crisis comes to all who have been redeemed. There must be once and for all an abandonment of self to the will of God making Him Lord of our lives so that, from that point on, the will of God is first in every decision. It is only by doing God's will that we are able to overcome the powerful giants we are faced with and succeed. Jordan must be crossed by all of us.

Jesus had to die for all sin and by His death we may receive Him as our Savior. By His atonement, sin has no more dominion over us, and under His leadership we can, by faith, defeat the spiritual enemies of lust, hate, jealousy, and fear. We must follow Him through the Jordan River; that is, we too must die to sin and rise again unto righteousness.

Israel's first encounter with the Canaanites into the promised land under Joshua's leadership was at the powerful walled city of Jericho. Two spies were sent to view the land, they were greeted by a harlot named Rehab who hid them from the King. "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shi-ttim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them." (2:1-5).

After they left Rahab spoke to them, "And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." (2:9-13). She then turned from her false gods, left her life as a prostitute, and trusted in the mercy of the One True God. It was no accident that the spies came to her home and promised that God would protect her and her family when they invaded Jericho. Because of her faith in God, Rahab became an ancestress of King David and part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Let us follow the example of Moses, Joshua, and Rahab, by showing a persistent and hard-working effort to follow the will of God. "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." (Hebrews 12:15-16).

In today's study Jesus Christ is revealed through the scarlet line in the window that saved Rahab and her household. "And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window." (Joshua 2:21). Scarlet is symbolic of the blood of Christ, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (I John 1:7).

Today's Psalm:104:30
"Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth."

Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
By your patience in suffering you endured earthly pain and gave us the example of obedience to your Father's will: Be near me in my time of weakness and pain; sustain me by your grace, that my strength and courage may not fail; heal me according to your will; and help me always to believe that what happens to me here is of little account if you hold me in eternal life, my Lord and my God. In Jesus' name, I pray....Amen.

Have a wonderfully blessed day/night.
God Bless,
Christie

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