Month: May 2023

Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan…took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

The Lord had given a clear command: the city of Jericho is under the ban; everything in it is accursed and given to God. Therefore, leave nothing alive, and do not take anything for yourself. Do not plunder. Keep yourself from the accursed thing, or the thief and all Israel will come under the curse, and trouble will follow [6:17-18].

But Achan trespassed, and stole clothing and gold from the accursed city. Covetousness and greed were the cause of his sin, but the basic trespass of Achan was disobedience. He disobeyed God’s clear command. Surely he thought no one will notice and nobody will miss it, so he could take it for himself and thought he could get away with it. But God found him out and exposed him. He suffered the extreme penalty: he and his family were stoned and burned.

Achan’s trespass brought trouble: Israel thought they could easily take the city of Ai but they were routed and driven back. Achan’s disobedience was the direct cause of their defeat. Who knew? God! Who knew the terrible consequences of Adam’s sin and disobedience? Not only was Achan’s trespass terrible for his family, but it was devastating for the whole nation of Israel. One sin on our part can have far-reaching effects on us and innocent victims. The people of God are a solidarity.

The Son of God died for our trespasses. Therefore, repent and believe the Gospel. “Forgive us our trespasses.”

Joshua 6:10, 16, 20 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout…And it shall come to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, shout; for the Lord hath given you the city….So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

The tumbling of the invincible walls of Jericho, already standing for thousands of years, fell before the more invincible God. This is the God who fights for us. The walls were 25 feet high and 20 feet thick, but our Jesus is greater. Even the gates of hell shall not prevail against those who confess that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, is my Lord and Savior.

Even though God’s people did not know what was going to happen, they obediently followed the Lord’s word and did as Joshua told them. They compassed the city once a day for seven days in silence. This was certainly strange and curious, but they did it. But on the seventh day they marched around seven times, then with a trumpet sound they were told to shout. The walls came down and Jesus led them to an impossible victory.

The shout, the silent circling, and the trumpet, was an obedient response to God’s command, not the cause of the tumbling. One might expect them to shout after seeing the walls come down, but in faith they shouted before they saw. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

One Day in our future the last trumpet shall sound, the Lord will return to earth with a great shout, in the Judgment the Enemy will be forever destroyed, and the eternal kingdom will be revealed. But believers shout ahead of time, knowing what is going to happen. We sing praise and worship to Jesus both for what He has done and for what He will do. We “make melody” in our hearts and inwardly shout for joy every time we are reminded of the Gospel. We live in excited anticipation of the victory the Lord still has in store for us.

Joshua 5:24-15 And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith mu lord unto his servant? and the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place where on thou standest is holy, And Joshua did so.

The captain of the host came and appeared unto Joshua. The captain was the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Son of God, Jesus appearing to Joshua before He became Jesus. This theophany, the appearance of God to a human on earth, was given to Joshua to give him strength and courage for the battles ahead: Jesus, the Lord of heaven’s armies, would do the fighting. “Fear not! I am fighting for you. Together we will win battles. Just do as I say.”

Joshua’s response was to fall on his face and worship. Captain Jesus accepted that worship; a mere angel would not have done so. This is God. The appropriate response to God’s Presence is worship, which entails surrender. Joshua lets go and lets God: “I am your servant; You are my Lord. I will do whatever you say.” Worship gives up on myself, and my own will, and my own reason, feelings, and understanding. It is complete trust.

When God meets us it is an awesome and overwhelming experience of love. We gladly bend the knee, and worship. The Lord meets us with overpowering love when we hear the Gospel, remember our baptism, and take Communion. It may not seem like much to our limited physical eyes, but faith sees what is really going on, and we respond with worship, surrender, and obedient trust. We are willing to do whatever He says. Every encounter with the loving God changes our life, for good. We have renewed strength and courage to resist our spiritual enemies and overcome. The place and time when and where we receive the Gospel is holy ground. Jesus is carving out a holy place in ours hearts for His dwelling place. Repentance “loosens the dirty shoes from our feet.”

Joshua 5:2, 7 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time….And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.

The rite of circumcision marked Israel’s identity as God’s covenant people. It was a sign of cutting off the old life and beginning a new life with God. They belonged to God. Those Israelites that left Egypt had been circumcised, but that generation died in the wilderness. The new generation, those under 40, had not been circumcised during the wilderness wandering. Circumcision unified the people as one family belonging to the Lord. For this reason it says they were circumcised again, the second time, though for these individuals it was their first time. God sees the individual person’s need, yes, but He also sees all believers as One Body in Christ. We don’t see that, so we must believe it.

After Christ in the NT circumcision ceases and Baptism is instituted. The principal is similar: the old man, the sinful human flesh, drowns and dies daily, just as the old life is cut off; the new man, Jesus in me, arises from death to newness of life, like crossing the Jordan into the Kingdom. Circumcision is an outward sign of a new life, an inward life, eternal life. It is the circumcision of the heart

Joshua 5:1 And it came pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

The response of the enemies of God’s people when they heard about the dried up Jordan was a melted heart and an empty spirit. They could have and should have repented of sin and unbelief and turned to the Lord in faith. A few, like Rahab, did, but the vast majority of pagan unbelievers did not. God’s Word of Law and Judgment is designed to soften the heart and expose the dead spirit, preparing us to receive the Gospel of forgiveness and mercy.

This story reveals a picture of what is really happening in the spiritual world when a sinner believes and is baptized. Crossing the Jordan is symbolic of our entering the Kingdom of God. Sin, Death, and the Devil hate that. Our spiritual enemies lose heart and spirit at the proclamation of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They cringe and shriek when they see a child of God being baptized. In our Baptism God takes away Sin, gives life to overcome Death, and drives the Devil away. The Spirit applies to us the violent overthrow of our Enemies by Jesus.

By faith we pass clean over from death to life. Our strength, courage, hope, confidence, joy, and peace are renewed. At the same time, the hold of our enemies, their strength and fight, is destroyed. Discouragement is lifted for the believer, for it is the enemies who are discouraged.

Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

God is among you, He is giving you the Land, and He is driving out the pagan enemies, All this is by God’s grace as a gift, and He is doing it all by His working. You just need to receive it by faith. By the crossing of the Jordan God says you will respond by knowing that the Living God is among you to keep His promises. This knowing will be necessary for the people to have the faith to believe God and the courage to do what He says.

This is written for our learning. God gives the kingdom. We enter it by being born again through Baptism and the Word. The spiritual enemies that oppose our entry into and enjoyment of God’s Life are driven out by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit grants us faith to believe Jesus. Now we know. It is vital for us to have this knowing when dealing with the problems of life. We follow our Joshua (Jesus) into battle and conquer the seven nations (the “-ites”) that are in the way. It is not easy, but we know He is with us.

For the daily battles we need reminders. God gives reminders in the Gospel, in the remembrances of Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper. Just like Joshua set up a memorial of stones as a reminder forever, so the Word and the Sacraments remind us regularly. By these means we know God is among us.

Joshua 3:9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.

The children of Israel were about to miraculously pass over the Jordan on dry ground when the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant (the presence of God) into the River. Just before crossing over into the Promised Land, Joshua gathered the people to hear the words of the Lord. No doubt excitement was high and they wanted to rush into action, but Joshua made them stop and listen to God first. Hear what the Lord has to say before beginning the day or starting a new week.

We have busy lives and are anxious to do the next thing. But instead of plunging ahead, we pause a moment and focus on listening to God and seeking to know what He wants for us. This regular response of taking time out with the Lord every morning and hearing the Gospel every week keeps our lives joy-filled and faith-full.

Joshua 2:18, 21 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee….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.

The faith response of Rahab is something to behold, and emulate. Because of her faith in the Lord as her God, she hid the spies, sent them away safely, and showed them kindness. Moreover, she then obeyed the Lord by hanging the scarlet thread out her window, thereby saving her house and family.

Rahab could not possibly know what was going to happen: that the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down, but her house would stand and her family saved. She could not possibly know anything about the symbolic significance of the scarlet thread. But she obeyed as she was told, even though she couldn’t understand, simply because she believed God. And so it happened.

We do not know, and cannot judge, whether her family was saved eternally or not, but they were blessed and their lives were spared because of her faith and obedient response. The family could not be eternally saved by her faith, for each person must personally believe. But it is helpful to know that blessings come to families in which only one person believes, though that person’s faith cannot save others. Her witness and influence, however, may well have converted the family.

Nevertheless, Rahab is mentioned by name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Her example is instructive for us today: trust and obey, whether you can understand everything or not. Only believe! We may not understand exactly how the scarlet blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. But we believe it does, so we act accordingly.

Joshua 2:12 Now, therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token.

Rahab responded to the news about the Lord God of Israel by believing in Him as her God, and then her faith response moved her to show kindness to the two spies and save them. She put her money where her mouth was. She evidenced her faith by her works. She didn’t know what the Lord was going to do, that the whole city and everyone in it would be destroyed. But she knew enough to pray that her family be saved. And sure enough, every part of the walls of Jericho was demolished except for Rahab’s house.

The scarlet thread by which the spies escaped was left hanging out of her window. By this token Joshua’s army knew to spare that family. The scarlet thread is a symbol of the blood of Jesus, which is what really spared her and her family. It is like the blood of the Passover Lamb: “When I see the blood, I will pass over that house.” So the blood of Christ stays the just judgment of God on our sin.

Rahab did not show kindness in order to be saved; God did not save her because she was kind. She showed kindness because of her faith. In the same way, we are kind to others because we are already saved and forgiven.

Joshua 2:11 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.

The news of the Lord’s Salvation in the Exodus Event and the defeat of the kings east of Jordan had apparently reached Jericho. God’s powerful acts of judgment and mercy have been made manifest for the world to see. This report caused their hearts to melt such that their courage was taken away.

The reaction of almost all the pagan world was to be afraid of God and His people, but not in the way that would cause them to acknowledge God as God and turn to Him for help. They just hardened their melted hearts, metaphorically shaking their fists at a god they don’t believe in. However, one person, Rahab, heard the same news and her melted heart was softened so that she believed and confessed that the Lord He is God in heaven and on earth and her God. Then she served God, was kind, and saved the two Israeli spies.

The Law of God is proclaimed to melt the heart, making it impressionable enough to receive Jesus through the Gospel. Like Rahab, the sinner and pagan prostitute, we are impressed by hearing the good news of Jesus’ violent overthrow on the cross and the resurrection. Our hearts melt when hearing the Word, and instead of hardening, we receive Jesus. Thanks to the Holy Spirit!