Andrew Stepp | Joshua

THINGS I CAN INVITE MY FRIENDS TO…

Father Greg Boyle – Preaching all services on Palm Sunday, March 25 “Is the resurrection real???” – March 29

Dr. James Tour; McMurtry Auditorium in Duncan Hall, Rice Univ. 7pm

Alpha Course starts Wed. April 2 @ 7pm, Weekley Family YMCA

Review of the Pentateuch

Wilderness Culinary Question

Joshua: literary context

Outline of four parts

Weekly readings

Luckily for you, we… have distilled each of the 66 books down to a bite-sized snippet even you can understand… Forget about reading through the Bible in a year—now you can read through the Bible in about five minutes! Genesis – God makes everything and it’s really good for about 3.2 seconds. Exodus – YAHWEH VS. RA FIGHT NIGHT ONLY ON PAY-PER-VIEW SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! Leviticus – STOP DOING GROSS STUFF. Numbers – Israel makes a wrong turn near Mt. Sinai, refuses to ask for directions. Deuteronomy – I SAID STOP DOING GROSS STUFF GOSH WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE.

Genesis: Creation Jacob aka Israel moving to Egypt during the famine

Exodus: Crisis with Pharaoh The Covenant at Mt. Sinai

Leviticus: how everything is supposed to be organized

Numbers: Preparation for invading Canaan. Mt. Sinai wandering around the wilderness encamped

across the Jordan River from Jericho/Promised Land

Deuteronomy The Patton/Rockne/Hoosiers Speech before they cross the Jordan

Genesis Exodus Numbers

Leviticus Deuteronomy

WHY DID THE ISRAELITES NEED MANNA IF THEY ALREADY HAD FLOCKS AND HERDS OF PERFECTLY EDIBLE ANIMALS??* * We’re not told.

1. Israel did have "flocks and herds and very much cattle" when they left Egypt.

2. Reuben and Gad requested an inheritance that would include grazing lands east of the Jordan because they had "a very great multitude of cattle" (Num. 32:1).

3. Moses had also stated a couple of times prior to this that one of their reasons for leaving Egypt was to be able to sacrifice to the Lord their God (Ex. 10:24-26). Some sacrifices were limited during the wandering and awaited arrival in the land

4. Passover is not celebrated until they are in the land.

5. They may have left Egypt with lots of animals, but they spend the next forty two years in the wilderness. The grazing land is sparse!

6. They were saving their animals for economic purposes once they enter the Promised Land.

7. There weren’t enough to feed everyone without quickly wiping out their entire flocks/herds. (See Numbers 11:22; Also Deut. 2:6 – they’re paying Esau’s descendants for food/meat.)

8. The ultimate lesson of the wilderness wandering: Deuteronomy 8:1-5

Our Categories: Law Historical Prophets Praise Wisdom

Jewish Categories: Tanakh

A Nevi’im

A Ketuvim

H

Remembrance

Gratitude

Humility

Trust and Obedience

(Think of Joshua as Deuteronomic History)

JERICHO Shittim

+/- 12 miles from Shittim to Jericho

1. Preparation to Enter the Promised Land (1:1-5:12)

2. The Partial Conquest of the Land (15:13-12:24)

3. The Distribution of the Land (13-21)

4. Covenant Renewal (22-24)

God Commissions Joshua (Ch. 1)

Joshua sends spies to spy Jericho. Rahab protects them. (ch. 2)

They cross the Jordan River (Ch. 3). They are officially IN the Promised Land! (ch. 3-4)

Circumcision and Passover are reinstituted. (5:1-12)

They eat of the fruit of the land, and thus the manna ceases. (5:11-12)

Who’s THAT guy? (5:13-15) 13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Two important stories that set the framework for how we are to understand the rest of the battles. These two are described in detail; the others are not.

Battle of Jericho: (6-7)

• God is the one who fights, not Israel.

• Therefore everything is devoted to him.

• Achan acts unfaithfully and keeps some for himself, hiding it under his tent.

First Battle of Ai: (7-8) The mighty Israelites arrogantly invade and are whooped! The Lord reveals there is sin in the camp. Achan is identified, confesses, and is punished.

Second Battle of Ai (8:1-29) God enables Israel to win by strategy, not by miraculous intervention.

The Covenant Renewal at Mt. Ebal (8:30-35) Deuteronomy 27:4-8

Conclusion: The key factor in all of this is loyalty and faithfulness to Yahweh!

Achan, an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, is wiped out with his family and receives NO inheritance in the land.

VS. Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, her family gain inheritance in the land! She eventually ends up in the genealogy for…

1. Defeat the Amorites in the “Transjordan” region. (Numbers)

2. Defeat Jericho and Ai.

3. A Southern Campaign- Hebron, Debir, the Negev, Gaza, Goshen etc.

4. A Northern Campaign – Hazor and beyond

PARTIAL conquest of the land: “You’ve still got work to do, guys!” (13:1-7)

The land is divided up among the tribes.

Two bonus instructions: Land for people who accidentally kill someone = “Cities

of Refuge” (Ch. 20) Land for the Levites – scattered throughout all the tribes.

(Ch. 21)

Ch. 22 – A potentially disastrous situation involving a pile of rocks named ‘Witness’

Ch. 23 – Joshua’s farewell to the leaders

Ch. 24 – The Covenant Renewal at Shechem “Choose this day whom you will serve!”

Option 1: Joshua 1-24 – 5,5,5,5,4

Option 2: 1-2 – Joshua’s Commissioning 3-4 – Crossing the Jordan 5:13-6:27 – The Battle of Jericho 7:1-8:35 – The Achan Incident and Ai 23-24 – Farewell and Covenant Renewal

CSMITH@FPCHOUSTON.ORG