Jesus Christ – the sinless Son of God

Joshua 15:1-16:10; John 1:1-28; Psalm 53:1-6 Each tribe had its limited allotment of land. Jesus Christ, “the Word” who “was God”, “became flesh” (John 1:1,14). He accepted the limitations of being human. He was human, yet without sin. “There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:1,3).  This is true of every human …

God is calling us to do his work, and he gives us the power that we need to do his work.

"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them, to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I …

God Gives His Blessing To Those Who Are Walking With Him In Obedience.

“You have… obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve …

We have our anxieties, we have our fears.

Joshua “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). We have our anxieties, we have our fears. Sometimes, our worries drive us to tears. What are we to do when it all seems too …

God does not lose patience with us. He never stops loving us.

Joshua 20:1-21:45  -  We read of manslaughter, ‘the cities of refuge’ and the death of the high priest (20:1-6). What does all this have to do with us? We are sinners. Jesus Christ has died for us. He is our Refuge. He is our Great High Priest. In Him, there is ‘no condemnation’. In Him, …

How can we be strong and courageous?

"Be strong and courageous ... for the Lord your God will be with you" (Joshua 1:9). How can we be strong and courageous? Do strength and courage come from within ourselves? We may like to think that we're strong and courageous - but we're not. Again and again, we're reminded of how weak we really …

When we feel like giving up

Joshua 22:1-34 Joshua had heard God's Word (1:8). Now, he speaks God's Word to the people (5). To those who 'have obeyed' Him, God says, 'Keep on obeying Me'. This is the way of blessing (1-6). Together with God's promise of blessing, we need His warning against rebellion: 'Do not rebel against the Lord' (19). …

Let the Lord’s “rivers of living water” flow freely.

Joshua 15:1-63  -  ‘The land of  Negeb’ had little water. The request was made - ‘Give me also springs of water’. The request was granted. Trusting in the Lord’s promise - ‘the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him’, we receive His blessing - ‘rivers of living water’ (19; Luke …

We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.

"The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and obey him."" (Joshua 24:24). Where does the desire to serve the Lord and obey him come from? It comes from the Lord. He puts it into our hearts. When our desire to serve the Lord and obey him grows weak, he comes to us, …

Let Christ bring you from “no peace” to real peace.

Joshua 9:1-10:15  -  Some chose ‘to make war against Joshua and Israel’ (9:1-2). The Gibeonites came, looking for peace. They achieved their objective - ‘Joshua made peace with them’ (9:15). In this story we see the work of Satan, and we may catch a glimpse of the work of God. The ‘peace’ was based on …

Christ calls us to worship – and equips us for battle.

Joshua 5:1-15 As you read about circumcision (2-7) and the Passover (10), think also of Paul's words in Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - 'real circumcision is a matter of the heart', 'Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival...with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth'. 'The Commander …

What effect do our actions have on other people?

Joshua 7:1-26  -  This chapter begins with the word, ‘But’ - This is ominous! What comes next? - Sin: ‘the people of Israel broke faith with regard to the devoted things’. The sin was Achan’s, yet it affected the whole people of Israel: ‘the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel’ (1). …

Don’t lose sight of the spiritual dimension.

The cities of refuge (Joshua 20) and the cities that were given to the tribes (Joshua 21) - This isn’t particularly interesting. We should never lose sight of the spiritual dimension, with which Joshua 21 ends: “The Lord gave Israel the whole land... The Lord allowed them to have peace on every side... The Lord …

Rivers of living water

Joshua 15:1-63 'The land of Negeb' had little water. The request was made - 'Give me also springs of water'. The request was granted. Trusting in the Lord's promise - 'the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him', we receive His blessing - 'rivers of living water' (19; Luke 11:13; …

Jesus suffered death for our salvation.

Joshua 5:13-7:26; Luke 22:39-62; Psalm 50:16-23 Achan suffered death because of his own sinful disobedience. Achan died, and the judgment of God did not come on the whole people of God. Jesus suffered death as the sinless Son of God, who bore the sins of many that we might be saved through faith in Him. Achan died …

Our chief focus of attention is to be on the Lord.

"After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the River Jordan into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you …

From a long, long time ago – a story for us, a story for today

Situations change. Sometimes, we're going through hard times - but blessing may be just around the corner. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we read about the people of Israel, suffering in the land of Egypt. Would their suffering go on and on... Would it never come to an end? Then came their deliverance …

The Lord fights for us.

“The Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14). This is what we must see in all the conflicts between Israel and the other nations. God is working out His purpose. He is fulfilling His promises. Without this spiritual dimension, the events recorded in the book of Joshua are of no real significance for us today. Keeping …

Learning From The Book Of Joshua

This is the story of what God was doing with His people. He was giving them the land He had promised to them. Joshua was to be the leader of God's people. Joshua’s strength came from the Lord: “Be strong and courageous! ...The Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). The …

The School of Discipleship (5): The Lord will be with us, every step of the way.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land …

We sing to You, Lord – our song of praise, the song of Your salvation.

Deuteronomy 31:14-32:18 We sing to You, Lord. We sing our song of praise. It's the song of Your salvation. It's the song that gives glory to You. May our song of praise be more than words. May it be the song that arises from our hearts. May it be the song that comes from lives …

There’s one thing that matters more than anything else – the glory of God.

“The Lord is the only true God” (Joshua 22:22,34). In this new land, the Israelites faced conflict. This was more than a conflict between nations. It was a conflict between the one God and the many gods. It was a conflict  between the true God and the false gods. God’s Word to His people was …

We have our anxieties. We have our fears.

Joshua “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). We have our anxieties, we have our fears. Sometimes, our worries drive us to tears. What are we to do when it all seems too …

God has done great things for us.

Joshua 19:1-21:19; John 2:1-25; Psalm 54:1-7 What God did for His people, Israel, was very great. There is a striking contrast between their slavery in Egypt and their abundance in the promised land. God had multiplied His blessing upon them, just as Jesus did when He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). If the blessing is to be …

You call us, Lord, to ‘lead a life worthy of Your calling.’

Joshua 13:1-14:25 You call us, Lord, to "lead a life worthy of Your calling" (Ephesians 4:1). We say, 'I can't.' You say to us, "I have blessed you, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). Why we do allow our lives to be controlled by our own weakness when we can be transformed by …

God’s Word is preached publicly. It must, also, be applied personally – by you!

Joshua 11:16-12:24 What is the spiritual value of this list of victories? Don’t be sidetracked by the military aspect. This is not about Israel blowing its own trumpet. It is about giving glory to God. In Genesis 12:1-3, we have God’s promise to bring blessing to all nations. Before Christ came as ‘the Saviour of …

A New Beginning: Some thoughts from the Scriptures

Genesis 1:1-3‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning’. Its opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right. (a) the priority of God(1) God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) the priority of God’s Word (3) God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the Word of the Lord. (c) the priority …

Will we make a new beginning with the Lord?

Joshua 1:1-18  -  For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God’s future. For God’s future, there is God’s command - ‘Be strong’ - and God’s promise - ‘the Lord your God is with you’. We wonder what the …

Responding to God’s Word (7): I am listening, Lord, for thee. What hast thou to say to me?

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them …

Responding to God’s Word (6): I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them, to the Israelites (Joshua 1:2). Time waits for no-one. The time of Moses had …

Overview Of The Old Testament: Joshua

Joshua 1-3 For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God’s future. For God’s future, there is God’s command, ‘Be strong’, and there is God’s promise, ‘the Lord your God is with you’. We wonder what the future holds. …

How long will we be in this wilderness?

Sometimes, we feel like we're in a wilderness - and we can't get out of it! The first half of the book of Exodus tells of the deliverance of the people of Israel from their time of bondage in the land of Egypt. Things were looking up! Surely, there were better days ahead for them. …

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.

Joshua 23:1-24:33; John 3:22-36; Psalm 55:12-23 The concluding message, preached by Joshua, is a call for the people to exalt the Lord. They make a definite and public commitment to the Lord. The Christ-centredness of real commitment to the Lord is summed up in the words of John the Baptist: “He must become greater; I must become less” …

Our strength comes from the Lord.

This is the story of what God was doing with His people. He was giving them the land he had promised to them. Joshua was to be the leader of God's people. Joshua’s strength came from the Lord: “Be strong and courageous!... The Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). The …

A Word Of Encouragement – From The Lord

Joshua 1:1-9 The Word of God is spoken to Joshua for his encouragement. Before we can speak the Word of God to others, the Word of God must be spoken to us. "Do not turn from it to the right or to the left" (Joshua 1:5). We are pulled this way and that way. We …

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7 or Amos 5:18-24; Psalm 70; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

Let us serve the Lord all the days of our life. Close to the end of his life, Joshua commits himself and his family to the Lord (Joshua 24:15, 29). Moved by his example, the people commit themselves to the Lord (Joshua 24:16-18, 21, 24). For Israel, this was a momentous decision - a definite, …

Hearing God’s Word and speaking God’s Word

Joshua 22:1-34  -  Joshua had heard God’s Word (1:8). Now, he speaks God’s Word to the people (5). To those who ‘have obeyed’ Him, God says, ‘Keep on obeying Me’. This is the way of blessing (1-6). Together with God’s promise of blessing, we need His warning against rebellion: ‘Do not rebel against the Lord’ …

More than empty words …

Joshua 16:1-17:18 Compromise is a poor substitute for obedience. Fail to obey God, and you may have to live with the consequences of your disobedience: 'they did not drive out the Canaanites...so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of Ephraim to this day (16:10). Settling for anything less than God's very best will surely …

Praying Through God’s Word: Joshua

Joshua 1:1-18 We thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your God is with you" - well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua 1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be …

Let Christ bring you from “no peace” to real peace.

Joshua 9:1-10:15 Some chose 'to make war against Joshua and Israel' (9:1-2). The Gibeonites came, looking for peace. They achieved their objective - 'Joshua made peace with them' (9:15). In this story we see the work of Satan, and we may catch a glimpse of the work of God. The 'peace' was based on deception. …

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Joshua 3:7-17; Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 or Micah 3:5-12; Psalm 43; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:1-12

Set apart for God, we rejoice in His great love. ‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’ (Joshua 3:5). ‘Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth’ (John 17:17). Together with the command, there is the prayer. We are called to set ourselves apart for God. We can only do …

God’s Word is preached publicly. It must also be applied personally – by you!

Joshua 11:16-12:24 What is the spiritual value of this list of victories? Don’t be sidetracked by the military aspect. This is not about Israel blowing its own trumpet. It is about giving glory to God. In Genesis 12:1-3, we have God’s promise to bring blessing to all nations. Before Christ came as ‘the Saviour of …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Joshua

Joshua

Lord, we like to take it easy.

Joshua 18:1-19:51 Lord, we like to take it easy. We like to have a comfortable life. We don't want to be too committed. We've become half-hearted. Where does this apathy come from? Does it come from You? Are You not calling us to be whole-hearted? Lord, lift us out of a life pf paying lip-service …

Joshua

JOSHUA 1:1-18  -  For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God’s future. For God’s future, there is God’s command - ‘Be strong’ - and God’s promise - ‘the Lord your God is with you’. We wonder what the …

The return of our Lord Jesus Christ

Joshua 1:1-2:24; Luke 2:5-38; Proverbs 10:11-20 Israel’s entry into the promised land was a highly significant event in the history of God’s redemption. ‘The momentous event’ is the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ: “The Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27). We must be ready for His …

A new beginning

Joshua 1:1-18 For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God's future. For God's future there is God's command - 'Be strong' - and God's promise - 'the Lord your God is with you'. We wonder what the future …

Memory, Experience, Expectation

Memory brings back the past to us. We remember the things that have already happened. Some of our memories are good memories. Some of our memories are bad memories. Expectation is our way of looking forward to what may happen in the future. We have hopes - and we have. We hope that our future …

Sin is like infection – it spreads!

Joshua 7:1-26 This chapter begins with the word, 'But' - This is ominous! What comes next? - Sin: 'the people of Israel broke faith with regard to the devoted things'. The sin was Achan's, yet it affected the whole people of Israel: 'the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel' (1). Sin …

God has given us so much. How much are we giving ourselves to Him?

Joshua 18:1-19:51 'How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?' (18:3). God has given us so much: 'His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness'. How much are we giving ourselves to …

85 years old

In the book of Joshua , there’s plenty of geography - lots of place names. There is also the spiritual emphasis on the direct connection between obedience and blessing. We see this in the life of Caleb (Joshua 14:6-9,13-14). There’s something remarkable about Caleb - “I am 85 years old” and “still as fit to …

Glory To God – Not Man!

In all the social details of the division of the land, we must not lose sight of its spiritual basis (Joshua 21:43-45). The important thing is that God, and not man, receives the glory: "Do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the …

The walls came tumbling down.

Joshua 6:1-27 'The walls came tumbling down' - What a mighty work of God this was! It was 'the Lord' who gave Jericho into the hands of His people (16). His victory was received by faith: 'By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days' (Hebrews 11:30). Notice …

Let us serve the Lord all the days of our life.

Joshua 24:1-33 Close to the end of his life, Joshua commits himself and his family to the Lord (15,29). Moved by his example, the people commit themselves to the Lord (16-18,21, 24). For Israel, this was a momentous decision - a definite, public commitment to the Lord (24-27). Note the pattern of Joshua's preaching. What …

When a faithful servant of the Lord reaches the end of their earthly journey

"I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses" (Joshua 1:3).  When a faithful servant of the Lord reaches the end of their earthly journey, the Lord's people need to receive encouragement from the Lord. They need to be reminded of this: the Lord's servant may be gone, but the …

God has done, is doing and will do great things for us.

Joshua 23:1-6 God has done, is doing and will do great things for us (3-5, 8-10). He calls us to 'obey' Him, to 'hold fast' to Him, to 'love' Him (6,8,11). The pattern of Joshua's teaching - 'This is what the Lord has done' (3-5) 'Therefore' 'This is what you must do' (6-8) - is …

Learning from the prophets and apostles, we build on God’s Foundation, Jesus Christ.

Joshua 10:16-11:15 God gives the promise. Believing His promise, we obey His command, pressing on to victory (25,6). This is God's way of victory: 'go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess' (1:11). As we read of Joshua's military exploits, we must not lose sight of …

The friendly welcome

Joshua 2:1-24 The story of Rahab is summarized in Hebrews 11:31 - 'By faith...she gave a friendly welcome to the spies'. A friendly welcome - What an important thing this is! She spoke the word of encouragement - 'I know the Lord has given you this land' (9). This message of faith was taken back …

God’s promise of blessing is no guarantee of an easy time.

Joshua 3:1-17 'Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you' (5). 'Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth' (John 17:17). Together with the command, there is the prayer. We are called to set ourselves apart for God. We can only do this when we look to the Lord for His …

In the presence of the Lord

The division of the land among the tribes (Joshua 15-19) seems to be so mundane, yet it’s part of the Word of God. This reminds us that even the mundane aspects of our life are lived out “in the presence of the Lord” (Joshua 18:10; 19:51).