Last Sunday I talked about shows that are broken up into two episodes. Well, Joshua is sorta like Episode II of the Exodus. God not only promised to deliver his people from bondage, He also promised to lead his people into a land flowing with mile and honey. Exodus 3:8 says as much. "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 flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites." The space between step number one (deliverance) and step number two (arrival) consisted of sin, punishment, intercession, repentance, all repeated so many times we lose count.
When we get to the book of Joshua, the people have wandered long enough and now stand ready to take hold of God's promise. Moses died outside the land because of his disobedience and Joshua now prepares to take the lead role in Episode II. If you like lots of action, you'll love the book of Joshua.
The following are some things to think about as you make your way through this amazing story. As you have thoughts, ideas, or questions, please post them to the blog or send an email and we'll discuss it as we go.
- How do we make sense of the instructions God gave Israel relating to holy war (7:1-26; 20:1-20; 21:10-14; 25:17-19)? What do we think about when we hear the phrase holy war, and how does that color our understanding of Joshua's message?
- Moses played the leading role in Episode I. Joshua plays the leading role in Episode 2. Are there any noticeable differences between these two leaders?
- Joshua was leading Israel into "rest," or the land (Deut 3:20; 12:10; 25:19; Josh 1:13, 15; 14:15, 21:44; 22:4; 23:1). But that rest was temporary at best. God eventually took it away from them when they sinned; they were deported by Assyria and Babylon. The New Testament argues that Jesus came to lead the people into rest that could not be taken away (1Peter 1:3-5) and that Joshua had not been able to fully secure (Heb 3:11, 18; 4:1-11). How does that affect our ideas of the land?
- How can we understand Rahab the prostitute as a model of faith, which is how she's presented in Hebrews 11?
- The Hebrew name for Jesus is Joshua. Are there points of connection between these two leaders?
Pastor Jared
2 comments:
I am very much enjoying reading the Bible chronologically! It actually makes me want to get up in the morning! Deut. 22 13-21 actually made me chuckle a little. Once the husband gives the virgin a bad name (vs. 19) she still has to continue to be his wife and never divorce her. I'm sure that woman is happy to be living with that man! I guess God gives no allowance to a woman to divorce a man! In Chapt. 24 the man may find the woman "displeasing" and divorce her but she has no right to find him "displeasing". Gloria Steinhem would love that one! Any thoughts or insights? Lori Cannon
Lori,
Great question. In fact a much better question than I have an answer for:) The ancient near east was a patriarchal society and that's reflected in Scripture, although not in the way we usually think. Divorce itself was not the plan, but the provision for divorce and the laws regarding what happened to women protected them from becoming destitute. In other words, the husband could not just abandon her and leave her destitute (not the case in every ancient culture), which might not have left room for a lot of romance, was better than life on the street. Gloria would certainly have something to say, although I'm not sure we'd be comfortable printing it!
Post a Comment