Bible Highlights: Joshua 6-8 December 15, 2014

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Bible Highlights: Joshua 6-8 December 15, 2014 Story 46: The Walls of Jericho How is the Israelites marching around Jericho on the seventh day similar to the preaching activities of Jehovah s

From the account of Jericho, Brother Jackson drew four lessons. (1) Obedience is essential. We should do things Jehovah s way, not feeling that our way is better.

In time, Jehovah s blessing will overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:2) (4) Don t give up. Never forget your mission.

15-16 The House-to-House Ministry Why Important Now? *** (Josh. 6:2-5) It is possible that there will be a similar expansion of our preaching activity.

1 Bible Highlights: Joshua 6-8 December 15, 2014 Story 46: The Walls of Jericho How is the Israelites marching around Jericho on the seventh day similar to the preaching activities of Jehovah s Witnesses in these last days? (Josh. 6:15, 16; Isa. 60:22; Matt. 24:14; 1 Cor. 9:16) *** w10 8/1 p. 29 Missionaries Sent to Make Disciples *** Joshua 6:13-15, 20. From the account of Jericho, Brother Jackson drew four lessons. (1) Obedience is essential. We should do things Jehovah s way, not feeling that our way is better. (2) Faith and trust in Jehovah are vital. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, not by the use of battering rams. (Hebrews 11:30) (3) We must be patient. In time, Jehovah s blessing will overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:2) (4) Don t give up. Never forget your mission. Brother Jackson summed up his discussion, saying, If you keep those points in mind, you will fulfill your mission to Jehovah s praise and glory. *** w08 7/15 p. 7 pars The House-to-House Ministry Why Important Now? *** (Josh. 6:2-5) It is possible that there will be a similar expansion of our preaching activity. No doubt, by the time of the destruction of the present system of things, we will have seen the greatest witness to God s name and Kingdom in the history of this world. 16 The time may well come when the message we declare is like a great war cry. In the book of Revelation, powerful judgment messages are pictured as a great hail with every stone about the weight of a talent. And Revelation 16:21 states: The plague of it was unusually great. Just what role the house-to-house ministry will play in the proclaiming of those climactic judgment messages remains to be seen. But we can be sure that before the great tribulation is finished, Jehovah s name will have been made known as never before in human history. Rev. 7:14; Ezek. 38:23. Read & listen to: She Was Declared Righteous by Works (w13 11/ ) *** w12 2/15 pp par. 8 Be Courageous and Very Strong *** 8 Through the centuries, many courageous women have taken their stand as valiant worshippers of Jehovah. For instance, the prostitute Rahab of Jericho exercised faith in God, courageously concealing two spies sent out by Joshua, and then misdirecting the henchmen of that city s king. She and her household were preserved when the Israelites took Jericho. Rahab abandoned her sinful profession, worshipped Jehovah faithfully, and became an ancestress of the Messiah. (Josh. 2:1-6; 6:22, 23; Matt. 1:1, 5) How she was blessed for her faith and courage!

2 Bible Highlights: Joshua 6-8 December 15, 2014 *** w11 4/15 p. 7 How to Remain Honest in a Dishonest World *** However, because of the deceptive power of riches, we should never underestimate the danger of being overcome by greed and covetousness. (Matt. 13:22) Recall the case of the man Achan. He had witnessed the Israelites miraculous crossing of the Jordan River. Even so, overcome by greed, he did not resist the desire to steal some silver and gold and an expensive garment from the spoils of the city of Jericho. That act cost him his life. (Josh. 7:1, 20-26) No wonder that centuries later, Jesus warned: Keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness! Luke 12:15. TMS REVIEW: *** w10 4/15 p. 20 par. 2 Turn Your Eyes Away From Worthless Things! *** 2 What we look at, however, can also be to our detriment. The link between our sight and our mind is so strong that what we see with our eyes can initiate or intensify ambitions and desires in our heart. And because we live in a depraved and self-gratifying world ruled by Satan the Devil, we are bombarded with images and propaganda that can easily lead us astray even if we would give them only a quick glance. (1 John 5:19) It is no wonder, then, that the psalmist implored God: Make my eyes pass on from seeing what is worthless; preserve me alive in your own way. Ps. 119:37. 5 Centuries later, the Israelite Achan s eyes seduced him into stealing some items from the captured city of Jericho. God had commanded that all things in that city should be destroyed except for certain things that were to be given to the treasury of Jehovah. The Israelites were warned: Keep away from the thing devoted to destruction, for fear you may get a desire and take some items from the city. When Achan disobeyed, the people of Israel suffered defeat at the city of Ai, and a number of them died. Achan did not admit to his theft until he was exposed. When I got to see the items, Achan said, then I wanted them, and I took them. The desire of his eyes led to his destruction, along with everything that was his. (Josh. 6:18, 19; 7:1-26) Achan desired in his heart what was forbidden to him. Story 47: A Thief in Israel What personal responsibility do we have toward the Christian congregation today? (Josh. 7:13; Lev. 5:1; Prov. 28:13) *** lv chap. 14 p. 162 par. 7 Be Honest in All Things *** 7 In teaching their children the value of honesty, parents are wise to make use of Bible examples. On the negative side, there are such accounts as that of Achan, who stole and attempted to cover his theft; Gehazi, who lied for the sake of financial gain; and Judas, who stole and lied spitefully to harm Jesus. Joshua 6:17-19; 7:11-25; 2 Kings 5:14-16, 20-27; Matthew 26:14, 15; John 12:6. 9 Such teaching places an important obligation on parents. The apostle Paul asked: Do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not teach yourself? You, the one preaching Do not steal, do you steal? (Romans 2:21) Some parents confuse their children by teaching about honesty while acting dishonestly themselves. They may justify petty theft and deceptive words with such excuses as Oh, they expect people to take these things or That was just a little white lie, a fib. In reality, stealing is stealing, regardless of the value of the item stolen, and lying is lying, regardless of the subject matter or the scope of the untruth. (Luke 16:10) Children are quick to detect hypocrisy and may be seriously damaged by it. (Ephesians 6:4) However, when they learn honesty from their parents examples, they may well grow up to glorify Jehovah in this dishonest world. Proverbs 22:6.

There Joshua did indeed write upon the stones of an altar a copy of the law of Moses. (Joshua 8:30-32) Such inscriptions required both writers and readers.

3 Bible Highlights: Joshua 6-8 December 15, 2014 *** w07 3/15 p. 20 Ancient Scribes and the Word of God *** After the destruction of Jericho and Ai, the Israelites assembled at Mount Ebal, centrally located in the Promised Land. There Joshua did indeed write upon the stones of an altar a copy of the law of Moses. (Joshua 8:30-32) Such inscriptions required both writers and readers. This indicates that the early Israelites had the competence and skill needed to preserve their sacred texts accurately. *** w00 10/1 p. 9 pars. 6-7 Bible Reading Profitable and Pleasurable *** 6 In ancient times, individual copies of the Scriptures were not available for personal use, so Bible reading was done before the congregated throng. After Jehovah had given him the victory over the city of Ai, Joshua assembled the tribes of Israel before Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Then, the account tells us: He read aloud all the words of the law, the blessing and the malediction, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There proved to be not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read aloud in front of all the congregation of Israel, together with the women and the little ones and the alien residents who walked in their midst. (Joshua 8:34, 35) Young and old, native and alien resident, needed to have engraved, as it were, in their hearts and minds what conduct would bring Jehovah s blessing and what would bring his disapproval. Bible reading done on a regular basis will surely help us in this regard. 7 Today, millions of Jehovah s servants are like those alien residents in a spiritual sense. At one time, they were living according to the world s standards, but they have transformed their lives. (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:7, 8) They constantly need to remind themselves of Jehovah s standards of good and bad. (Amos 5:14, 15) Daily reading of God s Word helps them to do this. Hebrews 4:12; James 1:25. *** be study 17 p. 139 par. 2 Use of Microphone *** In the days of ancient Israel, there was no electrical sound amplification. When Moses spoke to the nation of Israel on the Plains of Moab before they entered the Promised Land, how were all of those in his audience, numbering in the millions, able to hear? Moses possibly employed a system of human relays whereby his words were successively repeated by men stationed at appropriate intervals across the camp. (Deut. 1:1; 31:1) Not long after the Israelites began their conquest of the land west of the Jordan, Joshua gathered the nation in front of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, evidently with the Levites in the valley that separated them. There all the people heard and responded to the divine blessings and maledictions that were presented to them. (Josh. 8:33-35) It is possible that on this occasion too, human relays were used, but no doubt the excellent acoustics of the area were also helpful. Personal study or Family Worship idea: review notes from 2014 Regional Convention Sunday Drama: Not One Word Has Failed (based on Joshua, Caleb, Rahab & Achan) Why am I convinced Jehovah will fulfill everything he has spoken?

December 15 Bible reading: Joshua 6-8 No. 1: Joshua 8:18-29 18 Jehovah now said to Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward A i, for into your hand I will give it.

4 December 15 Bible reading: Joshua 6-8 No. 1: Joshua 8: Jehovah now said to Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward A i, for into your hand I will give it. So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 The moment he stretched out his hand, the ambush rose up quickly from its place and ran into the city and captured it. They immediately set the city on fire. 20 When the men of A i turned around, they saw the smoke of the city rising to the sky, and they had no strength to flee in any direction. Then the people who had been fleeing toward the wilderness turned on their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and saw the smoke of the city rising, they turned around and attacked the men of A i. 22 And the others came out of the city to meet them, so that the men of A i were trapped in the middle, with some Israelites on this side and some on that side, and they struck them down until there was not one survivor or escapee remaining. 23 But they caught the king of A i alive and brought him before Joshua. 24 After Israel finished killing all the inhabitants of A i in the field, in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and every last one of them had fallen by the sword, then all Israel returned to A i and struck it with the sword. 25 All those who fell on that day, from man to woman, amounted to 12,000, all the people of A i. 26 Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he had stretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of A i to destruction. 27 However, Israel took the livestock and the spoil of that city for themselves, according to the orders that Jehovah had given to Joshua. 28 Then Joshua burned A i and reduced it to a permanent mound of ruins, as it remains to this day. 29 He hung the king of A i on a stake until the evening, and as the sun was about to set, Joshua gave the order to take his dead body down from the stake. Then they pitched it at the entrance of the city gate and raised up a great pile of stones over him, which is there to this day. December 15, 2014

No. 2: What Gives Evidence That a Person Has Holy Spirit? (rs p. 381 3 p.

And he was teaching them on the sabbath; and they were astounded at his way of teaching, because his speech was with authority.

5 No. 2: What Gives Evidence That a Person Has Holy Spirit? (rs p p ) Luke 4:18, 31-35: [Jesus read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:] Jehovah s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news... And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath; and they were astounded at his way of teaching, because his speech was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man with a spirit, an unclean demon, and he shouted with a loud voice... But Jesus rebuked it, saying: Be silent, and come out of him. So, after throwing the man down in their midst, the demon came out of him without hurting him. (What gave evidence that Jesus had God s spirit? The account does not say that he trembled or shouted or moved about in a fervor. Rather, it says he spoke with authority. It is noteworthy, however, that on that occasion a demonic spirit did move a man to shout and fall onto the floor.) Acts 1:8 says that when Jesus followers received holy spirit they would be witnesses about him. According to Acts 2:1-11, when they did receive that spirit, observers were impressed by the fact that, although the ones speaking were all Galileans, they were speaking about the magnificent things of God in languages that were familiar to the many foreigners who were present. But the record does not say that there were any emotional outbursts on the part of those who received the spirit. It is noteworthy that when Elizabeth received the holy spirit and then gave voice to a loud cry she was not in a meeting for worship but was greeting a visiting relative. (Luke 1:41, 42) When, as reported at Acts 4:31, holy spirit came upon an assembly of disciples, the place was shaken, but the effect of that spirit on the disciples was, not that they trembled or rolled about, but that they spoke the word of God with boldness. Likewise today, boldness in speaking the word of God, zealously engaging in the work of witnessing these are what give evidence that a person has holy spirit. Gal. 5:22, 23: The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. (It is this fruitage, rather than outbursts of religious fervor, that one should look for when seeking to find people who truly have God s spirit.) No. 3: Adversary The Most Wicked Adversary of All Is Satan the Devil (it-1 p. 54) ADVERSARY An enemy that contends with or resists; an antagonist or opponent. The Hebrew word for adversary (tsar) comes from a root meaning harass; show hostility to. (Nu 25:18; Ps 129:1) The Greek word an ti di kos primarily refers to an adversary at law in December 15, 2014

6 a legal case (Lu 12:58; 18:3), but it can refer to others who are adversaries, or enemies, as in 1 Peter 5:8. The most wicked Adversary, Satan the Devil, caused men and angels (see DEMON) to join his opposition to God and man. Satan first showed his opposition in the garden of Eden, where, through cruel and underhanded action, he led Eve and then Adam into a course of rebellion that brought sin and death upon all mankind. In the courts of heaven Satan displayed his antagonism, charging Jehovah with bribing Job for his loyalty, a charge which became an issue of universal importance. Job 1:6-11; 2:1-5; see SATAN. Worshipers of Jehovah in all ages have endured similar opposition from the Adversary by means of his agents. For example, when the remnant of God s people returned from Babylon, there were those who tried to prevent rebuilding the temple and the city wall. (Ezr 4:1; Ne 4:11) Hateful Haman, having the spirit of the Devil, proved to be a wicked adversary of the Jews in the days of Queen Esther. (Es 7:6) Christians today must be alert, watchful, on guard, and must put up a hard fight for the faith against the Adversary s machinations. (Eph 6:11, 12; Jude 3) Peter counsels: Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. But take your stand against him, solid in the faith. (1Pe 5:8, 9) Eventually Jehovah s power will triumph over all opposers. Jer 30:16; Mic 5:9. When God s people were unfaithful he allowed their adversaries to plunder and defeat them. (Ps 89:42; La 1:5, 7, 10, 17; 2:17; 4:12) The enemy, however, drew wrong conclusions from these victories, taking credit for themselves and praising their gods or feeling that they would not be called to account for the way they treated Jehovah s people. (De 32:27; Jer 50:7) Jehovah was therefore obliged to humble these proud and boasting adversaries (Isa 1:24; 26:11; 59:18; Na 1:2); and this he did for his holy name s sake. Isa 64:2; Eze 36: December 15, 2014

Joshua 8. After the sin is dealt with, the first thing that God speaks to Joshua is comfort and encouragement. God re-affirms His plans for Joshua.

Joshua 8. After the sin is dealt with, the first thing that God speaks to Joshua is comfort and encouragement. God re-affirms His plans for Joshua. Joshua 8 1 1 Now the LORD said to Joshua: Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his