Were ready for Bible study today at Memorial AME Zion Church; will you join us? The Didache Academy “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, New International Version Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Our Motto: “A More Excellent Way” Dr. Kenneth Q. James, Pastor October 14, 2014 Bible Study Topic: Joshua 8-10 We have seen in Joshua 7 how a single act of disobedience was costly to Israel. Joshua moved immediately to correct this error and get the nation right with God again. As Joshua 8 begins, we read (8:1), “Then the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city and his land.” I. Joshua and Israel conquer Ai 1. Joshua receives a word of encouragement in 8:1. Considering what took place in chapter 7 (note Joshua’s prayer in 7:6-9), why is this reassurance significant? The defeat at Ai was embarrassing and demoralizing for Israel. Joshua knows the errors of chapter 7 cannot and must not be repeated! “What do leaders fear? Failure. Being misunderstood. Humiliation. Responsibility for others’ suffering. Criticism…Leaders bear the added pressure of knowing their mistakes can cost others dearly. Leaders have innumerable occasions for fear. They, of all people, must rely on God’s wisdom. Their courage must come from God and not from their own self-reliance” (Henry and Richard Blackaby, Called to be God’s Leader: Lessons from the Life of Joshua, p. 139). Joshua needs and receives God’s assurance to proceed. II. Joshua renews the covenant 30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, on which no iron tool has been used; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed offerings of well-being. 32 And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them. (Joshua 8:30-35) 2. Joshua employs a strategy that left the inhabitants of Ai surrounded with “no power to flee this way or that” (8:20). Discuss some strategies the church can use to “surround” the enemies of kingdom building. How might the five “practices” (Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations) work to “surround” enemies of kingdom building? o Radical Hospitality o Passionate Worship o Intentional Faith Development o Risk Taking Mission and Service o Extravagant Generosity 3. In Joshua 9, the news of Israel’s success has gone before them, and when potential enemies hear of it, “they gathered together with one accord to fight Joshua and Israel” (9:2). The phrase “with one accord” means literally, “with one mouth,” meaning that not only did the armies have the same goal; they all said the same thing about achieving that goal. The King James Version Bible Commentary says, “We cannot help but wonder what the result would be if believers in this century attacked the devil and his forces with the same unity of purpose that the devil and his forces attack believers.” Have we experienced this kind of unity? What would it take for us to achieve it? o Are we past blaming others? “It is not always helpful, and is probably too late, for analyzing what went wrong and for placing blame at the doorstep of one group or another. In fact, we are all part of the same decline, and we all share in the responsibility for the slippery slope we are riding” (Larry Goodpaster, There’s Power in the Connection, p. 3) o What outcome(s) do we want? Do we all want the same outcome(s)? o What factors will contribute to or hinder the outcome(s) we claim to want? III. An encounter with Gibeon 4. In chapter 9, Joshua and Israel enter into an alliance with the Gibeonites; but what costly mistake did they make in entering this agreement (see 9:14)? “So the leaders partook of their provisions, and did not ask direction from the Lord” (Joshua 9:14). “It is strange that the Israelites ‘sampled their provisions’ in spite of the fact that they were dry and moldy…Eating together was often a part of making a treaty. How tragic it was that Israel was so impressed by the Gibeonites’ stale provisions that they failed once again to seek God’s guidance! Ironically, of all people, Joshua failed to inquire of the Lord. Joshua had gone up the mountain of revelation with Moses, and in his preparation for leadership, he had been trained in the use of the Urim and Thummim for determining the will of God (see Numbers 27:18-21). How easy it is even in the service of the Lord to take God’s guidance and blessing for granted!” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 297). If we have acted without seeking the Lord’s counsel in the past, let us be careful from now on not to make that mistake again. IV. The day the sun stood still Israel now faces a problem of its own making. How often do we find ourselves in similar situations? We make poor choices that come back to haunt us later. But here, for Israel, as in our lives time after time, we experience the grace and miraculous intervention of God. On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lord fought for Israel (Joshua 10:12-14) The With the Word Bible Commentary observes, “When you make an agreement with the enemy, there is no end to the problems you create for yourself. Israel had to defend the very people they should have defeated…God could have said, “You got yourself into this, so you can get yourself out!” But instead, (God) gave His people encouragement (v. 8) and fought for them from heaven (vv. 10–11). When Joshua needed more time to finish the battle, God stayed the sun and moon in answer to prayer. The Canaanites worshiped the heavenly bodies, so this miracle must have impressed them greatly.” V. Five kings are defeated 5. Discuss how Joshua, with the Lord’s help, deals with the five kings in chapter 10. After Gibeon makes a pact with Israel, five allied kings attack Israel (10:1-5). These kings perceived the pact between Israel and Gibeon as a threat and so they joined forces to fight against them. Joshua finds the five kings hiding in a cave, seals the cave and continues with the battle, perhaps thinking that the best strategy may be to fight on one front at a time. You cannot scatter your resources and be successful in all battles. When the battle is won, and clearly God has given them victory, verse 21 says, “no one dared to speak against any of the Israelites.” Once the battle has been completed, Joshua brings the kings out of the cave, and instructs the army commanders to “put your feet on the necks of these kings” (v.24), a symbolic gesture of Israel’s total victory and humiliation of the enemy. Questions for Joshua 11-13: The defeat of the kings of Northern Canaan; a summary of Joshua’s conquests; still more to be done – the division of the land. 1. How do the armies of Israel compare against the armies of their enemies (11:1-4)? 2. What do you do when your enemies conspire and join forces against you? What did Joshua do (v.5-7)? 3. One of the difficult problems posed by this chapter and other sections of Joshua and the Old Testament is this question: Are the instructions given to Joshua a “license to kill?” Why or why not? 4. In Joshua 13:1 we read, “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed.” We may think, and sometimes act as if we have time to do what God has called us to do, but we don’t. Time marches on, and God’s promises for you may be time sensitive. God’s promises are eternal, but your life span on earth is not. Ask yourself: o How much time have you wasted? o What opportunities have you missed? o Do you have any regrets about your life? o In what area of your life is there “unfinished business”?
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:39:50 +0000
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