JOSHUA (WEEK 4/9: GOD’S PLANS)
JOSHUA (WEEK 4/9: .GOD’S PLANS)SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONSCONNECT (from last week): What habits/rhythms can you grow and develop in your life to betterremember all that God has done for us?WARM-UP Questions1.When in your life have you come across a seemingly hopeless situation?2.What is the strangest order/instruction you have ever followed? Did it work out for you?READ Joshua 6:1-73.Why did the Israelites need to conquer Jericho? Why was this such a difficult task?4.What is significant about God’s directions to the Israelites? Who is going to deliver the city?5.What do you make of Joshua’s reaction to God’s directions in vv.6-7?6.How would you have reacted if you were in the Israelite camp and heard these marching orders?READ Joshua 6:8-197.How do the people respond to Joshua’s orders? What might be significant about this?8.How would you have reacted if you were in Jericho, watching the people of Israel?9.How many sets of seven do we have so far in this account? What happens on the seventh day?10. What are Joshua’s orders to the people before they go in to take the city (vv.17-19)?11. What can the obedience of the people of Israel teach us today?READ Joshua 6:20-2712. How do you feel about the violence in v.21? How might Christians approach these verses?13. What is the contrast between Rahab and her family, and the rest of Jericho? What can this show usabout faith?14. Why do you think Joshua curses Jericho? What does this tell us about the type of city Jericho was?15. What does v.27 tell us about Joshua’s relationship with God? How might his fame impact his futurecampaigns?16. What would this experience have taught the people of Israel? What does this account show us aboutGod’s faithfulness to his promises, to act in our world, and his plans for his creation?APPLY (to this week): How can we be more open to God’s work among us and live in light of hisplan to deliver his creation from evil each day?PRAY: Thank you God that you go before us and that you have already won the battle! Pleasehelp us to trust in your goodness and deliverance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU
JOSHUA (WEEK 3/9: .GOD’S POWER)GOING DEEPER RESOURCES & SUGGESTIONSEach week we provide additional resources that help to go deeper with whatever series we’recurrently focusing on as a church. Resources could include recommended books, articles, onlinesermons, courses, or videos. These are optional extras! Please don’t feel under pressure to look atevery resource, but consider what could be useful to.Video VIDEO: This overview by the Bible Project is an excellent summary of the major themes in the book ofJoshua: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v JqOqJlFF eU CHILDREN’S VIDEO: God’s Story: The Battle of Jerichohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v ruqGz1480uc CHILDREN’S VIDEO: The Walls of Jerichohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v BAkwWE2UGLo VIDEO: Joshua (a dramatic depiction of the Battle of Jericho)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v 4frnKlIRWMkTalks and other Audio AUDIO: ‘Faith’s Falling Walls’ a sermon by Kent ary/faith-s-falling-walls AUDIO: ‘Joshua 6’ a sermon by Raymond rary/joshua-6 AUDIO: ‘The God of Promise’ a sermon by Andrew ces/sermons/?sermon id 2262 AUDIO: ‘How to win a battle’ a sermon by Paul xArticles and other Reading BOOK: “Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone” by Professor John Goldingay. Available at Koorong (byorder), or: th-for-Everyone-JohnGoldingay/9780281061280?ref grid-view&qid 1492859279769&sr 1-1 EXCERPT: An excerpt from the above book is available e-book-of-joshua/ ARTICLE: ‘Yahweh, War and the Conquest of Canaan’. A great article about the violence in Joshua -canaan BOOK: “Joshua: 6:1-27” by Dr. John Carter. A verse by verse commentary on Joshua l.cgi/archive/AJBT/20161209192450/For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU
Talk 4/9 (Joshua): 14/05/2017“Can we trust his plans?” by the Rev’d Dr Daniel RouheadBible Passage: Joshua 6INTRODUCTION \\ PROMISES, PLANS & OBSTACLESToday we continue our series on Joshua as we focus on the way Joshua’s story helpsus to trust in the promises of God. We see throughout the Book of Joshua, God’spromises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob come to fruition through the leadership ofJoshua. In the last few weeks, we have been looking at different aspects of this. Joshuatrusted in God’s presence, he trusted in God’s promises and he trusted in God’s power.As followers of Jesus, we trust in God’s presence, promises and power too, becauseJesus has died and rose again, and Jesus is with us.Today, we focus on the way Joshua trusted in God’s plan as we hear and think aboutthe fall of Jericho.I’m sure we have all experienced situations in which there is a big difference betweenpromises, visions, plans and reality. This might have been a personal situation or ourexperience of professionals, businesses or even politicians. It is one thing to make bigpromises or dream up a grand vision. It can be altogether different to formulate a planthat will deliver on those promises and visions and bring them to reality. It can bereally disheartening, maybe even despairing, when we are disappointed by brokenpromises or unrealized visions.We can only imagine, with Jericho looming in the distance, that the people of Israelmay have had doubts about God’s ability to deliver on the promise for them to occupythe promised land .doubts about God’s ability to deliver on the vision of a peacefullife in a plentiful land.There was a big obstacle in their way. The city of Jericho was a well-fortified city withstrong defenses. Jericho was definitely a big obstacle that would not easily be dealtwith. Jericho was also an important obstacle that needed to be dealt with. DefeatingJericho would have made an important statement about God’s power and God’spresence with the Israelites. Jericho was also an unavoidable obstacle because it wassuch a short distance from the point where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River.There was no way for the Israelites to bypass Jericho and come back to defeat themwhen they were stronger and more experienced.We also face obstacles in our own lives. Some obstacles we face in life are small, someare big, and some seem bigger than they really are. Some obstacles are important andsome not so important. And some obstacles are unavoidable, meaning we have to dodeal with them now, while some obstacles can wait until we’re stronger or betterequipped to overcome them.I am sure most of us have faced obstacles in the past. Some of us may be facingobstacles right now. And, all of us will face obstacles at some point in the future. Thestory of Joshua and Jericho remind us that God does have a plan for us, even though
that plan may be unexpected or even unusual. God calls us to trust these plans, and beobedient in following them. And, finally, we find that God’s plans do work out.1. UNEXPECTED PLANS \\ 5:13 – 6:5God’s plans for the defeat of Jericho were “certainly unexpected, but the plansthemselves come in an unexpected way:“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front ofhim with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you forus or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of theLord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, andasked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of theLord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing isholy.” And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:13-15).We are reminded of the call of Moses and the burning bush. God has revealed himselfto Joshua at this important moment. Joshua, God’s appointed commander of Israel,was by the city of Jericho, most likely gathering information about the city and itsfortifications in preparation to launch his attack. It would seem that Joshua needed anencounter with the God he served that he might grasp afresh an important truth. Thesudden appearance of the “Commander of the Lord’s Army” made it clear that it wasn’tfor Joshua to claim God’s allegiance for his cause no matter how right and holy it mightbe. Rather, the need was for Joshua to acknowledge God’s claim over Joshua for God’spurposes. This was God’s battle not Joshua’s.Therefore, it wasn’t up to Joshua to come up with the plan. Joshua must have beenconcerned about how he would defeat Jericho. Besieging a city like Jericho wassomething for which they had little or no experience. They undoubtedly lackedequipment like battering rams, catapults, scaling ladders or moving towers. All theyhad were swords, arrows, slings, and spears which naturally would seem totallyinadequate for the task before them.And so, God reveals his plan to Joshua: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands,along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armedmen. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front ofthe ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priestsblowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, havethe whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the armywill go up, everyone straight in.” Joshua 6:2-5The tactics are unexpected because they don’t depend on military strength or skill. Thearmy march around the city while priests go in front of the ark of the covenant. Theark of the covenant is an important symbol of God’s relationship with the Israelitesand the promises God made to them. Events in Chapter 5 are a reminder of theimportance of the relationship between Israel and God. After they cross the Jordan,the men are circumcised as a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, and theycelebrate Passover, remembering that God had rescued the Israelites from slavery inEgypt. The plan given to Joshua makes it absolutely clear that God will defeat Jericho,not Joshua and the Israelite army.
We can be like Joshua when we face our own obstacles. We can investigate thesituation, assess our own resources, and come up with our plan of attack. We can leaveGod out of the equation. God invites us to involve him from the very beginning. Onlythen can God guide us in the plans he has for us.2. TRUST & OBEDIENCE \\ 6:6-19Even though the battle is the Lord’s and God provides Joshua with the battle plan,Joshua and the Israelites needed to trust in God and his plan. The story describes nohesitation in following God’s plan. Unlike Moses, who had plenty of questions for God,Joshua has no questions and no doubts. God says, and the people do. No doubt, oneimportant factor in helping the people trust in God, was God’s faithfulnessdemonstrated through his previous actions. God had brought them out of Egypt,through the Red Sea, through the desert and through the Jordan River.The success of God’s plan also required Joshua and the Israelites to be obedient. Eventhough the battle was the Lord’s, the Lord did not defeat Jericho on his own. TheIsraelites were required to play their part in God’s plan for Jericho to be defeated. Inverses 6-14, we hear how the people were obedient to God’s plan. For six days, thearmy and priests march around the city.On the seventh day, the city is circled seven times. “The seventh time around, whenthe priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! Forthe Lord has given you the city!” (Joshua 6:16) The story has been proceeding at a fastpace, so we expect, the army to shout, and the walls to come down. Instead, the actionpauses and we hear Joshua giving instructions to the army. The placement of theseinstructions right after the instruction to shout emphasises how important they areand the importance of being obedient to God’s plan.Joshua reminds the army: “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord.Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared,because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the devoted things, so that youwill not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you willmake the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver andgold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into histreasury.” Joshua 6:17-19The instructions for after the walls come down are just as important as the instructionsbefore the walls come down. In the heat of battle, the army may have forgotten thispart of the plan. If the battle is the Lord’s, then the spoils of victory belong to the Lord.Only articles of silver, gold, bronze and iron are to be kept, and belong to the Lord, andso must be put in his treasury for the Lord’s future work and purposes. Joshua and theIsraelites cannot claim the victory for themselves.I wonder if we find it easy to trust God’s plans for us. Are we like Moses, coming upwith countless questions and objections, or can we trust God, given his record offaithfulness documented in the scriptures. I wonder also if we find it easy to hand overour obstacles to God. Just as Jericho was God’s battle, when we hand over our
obstacles to God, the burden is lifted from our shoulders, and we are free to obey God’splans for us.3. PLANS THAT WORK! \\ 6:20-27God’s plan works: “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the soundof the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyonecharged straight in, and they took the city” (Joshua 6:20). No matter how unusualGod’s plan may have seemed, when the Israelites obeyed God’s instructions, the city’sdefences came down and the battle could be won.What comes next should feel uncomfortable to our 21st century ears: “They devoted thecity to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women,young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” (Joshua 6:21). Men, women and childrenwere killed in the battle – only Rahab and her family survive. As I prepared thissermon, the images of the suspected Syrian Government chemical attack in April cameto mind. Eighty-seven people, including women and children, were killed in the attack.We accept military casualties are a consequence of armed conflict, but regard thetargeting of women and children as totally unacceptable.How then can the targeting of women and children be justified? Atheist, RichardDawkins, says this about God, based on the Jericho story and other Old Testamenttexts: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in allfiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive,bloodthirsty, ethnic cleanser”. How does this match up with our image of God as love?There are a few of aspects of the Jericho battle that refute the charge of genocide.Firstly, the destruction of Canaan’s tribes was justified because they had rejected Godand practiced immoral behaviours such as child-sacrifice, and religious prostitution.God was fulfilling his promise to the Israelites, but God was also executing judgmenton the people of Canaan and their gods. Secondly, their destruction had not beenrendered hastily, as God had been patient with them for more than five hundred years(see Genesis 15:16). Thirdly, this type of punishment was implemented on a ratherlimited basis - principally, upon the tribes of Palestine.Jesus show us that violence is not the way for Christians. When Jesus is arrested in theGarden, Peter struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Jesus rebukedPeter with these words, “Put your sword back in its place for all who draw the swordwill die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). As disciples of Jesus, our distinctive quality isthe love that we show to others.CONCLUSIONGod knows the obstacles that you’ve faced in the past, the obstacles you’re facing rightnow and the obstacles that you will face in the future. I hope the story of Jericho willhelp you trust that God can deliver his promises through the plans he has for you, nomatter how unexpected or unusual the plans may seem.
The Israelites were facing an impossible mission. They listened to God’s plan, theytrusted God’s plan, they obeyed God’s plan, and they were victorious. In verse 27, weread that “the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land”.Jesus’ disciples couldn’t understand that his death on the cross could be a victory.But, we know that his death on the cross defeated sin and death, and through hisresurrection we have the promise of eternal life.As followers of Jesus, we can have absolute trust in God’s plans. These words toJeremiah still apply to us today: “For I know the plans I have for you plans toprosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah29:11).Let us pray
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” (Joshua 5:13-15). We are reminded of the call of Moses and the burning bush. God has revealed himself to Joshua at this important moment. Joshua, God’s
(prorated 13/week) week 1 & 2 156 week 3 130 week 4 117 week 5 104 week 6 91 week 7 78 week 8 65 week 9 52 week 10 39 week 11 26 week 12 13 17-WEEK SERIES* JOIN IN MEMBER PAYS (prorated 10.94/week) week 1 & 2 186.00 week 3 164.10 week 4 153.16 week 5 142.22 week 6 131.28 week 7 120.34
iv PRINTED PAGE NO. L ESSONS PDF PAGE NO. 1 LESSON ONE: Joshua 1 5 9 LESSON TWO: Joshua 2–5 13 17 LESSON THREE: Joshua 6–8 21 25 LESSON FOUR: Joshua 9–12 29 33 LESSON FIVE: Joshua 13–17 37 39 LESSON SIX: Joshua 18–21 43 45 LESSON SEVEN: Joshua 22–24 49 To locate a particular
Week 3: Spotlight 21 Week 4 : Worksheet 22 Week 4: Spotlight 23 Week 5 : Worksheet 24 Week 5: Spotlight 25 Week 6 : Worksheet 26 Week 6: Spotlight 27 Week 7 : Worksheet 28 Week 7: Spotlight 29 Week 8 : Worksheet 30 Week 8: Spotlight 31 Week 9 : Worksheet 32 Week 9: Spotlight 33 Week 10 : Worksheet 34 Week 10: Spotlight 35 Week 11 : Worksheet 36 .
Assignments on Joshua 1 Please read Joshua 1, then answer the following questions. 1. Read as much as you can of the book of Joshua and summarize its theme. 2. Special Assignment: List 3 facts (outside the book of Joshua) about Joshua’s life. 3. Study Genesis 26:3,4 (and parallel passa
1. Read Joshua 1:1-18 and in your own words pull out the main thought of this passage. 2. What is the Lord’s command to Joshua in verse 2? 3. What is the Lord’s promise to Joshua in verse 5? 4. What command does the Lord give to Joshua in verses 6-9? 5. How does Joshua respond to the Lord
is about a young man named Joshua. Joshua believed God would help him do something many others were afraid to do.” Bible Story Joshua Explored the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-33; 14:6-9) After the Israelites left Egypt, they traveled to the land where God had promised they w
28 Solving and Graphing Inequalities 29 Function and Arrow Notation 8th Week 9th Week DECEMBER REVIEW TEST WEEK 7,8 and 9 10th Week OCTOBER 2nd Week 3rd Week REVIEW TEST WEEK 1,2 and 3 4th Week 5th Week NOVEMBER 6th Week REVIEW TEST WEEK 4,5 and 6 7th Week IMP 10TH GRADE MATH SCOPE AND SEQUENCE 1st Week
MATH348: Advanced Engineering Mathematics Nori Nakata. Sep. 7, 2012 1 Fourier Series (sec: 11.1) 1.1 General concept of Fourier Series (10 mins) Show some figures by using a projector. Fourier analysis is a method to decompose a function into sine and cosine functions. Explain a little bit about Gibbs phenomenon. 1.2 Who cares? frequency domain (spectral analysis, noise separation .
