JOSHUA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST

Transcription

1 THE L.I.F.E. PLAN JOSHUA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST BLOCK 2 THEME 5 - THE CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND LESSON 1 (53 of 216)

2 BLOCK 2 THEME 5: THE CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND LESSON 1 (53 OF 216): JOSHUA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST LESSON AIM: Israel is led into the promised land by Joshua and the Lord of hosts. SCRIPTURE: (Joshua 5:13-14a) And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. Israel had journeyed long and hard to get to this place. Forty years prior, they had left Egyptian bondage, two weeks away from the promised land. Finally, with their parents buried in the wilderness, and under a new leader, they were about to set foot into the land that God had promised to Abraham. Their possession lay before them although occupied by their enemies. Forty years later, they were at the same place where their parents had failed to follow the Lord. Now, it was their turn. Moses had been a great leader for Israel. From his birth, God had preserved him and prepared him to lead Israel of out the slavery of Egypt. From his years in the palace, through his years in the desert of Midian, and through the years of the wilderness wanderings, Moses had fulfilled the purpose God had for his life. However, after all the difficulty of dealing with the stiff-necked people of God, Moses was not allowed to lead them into the land or to go into the land himself. He had failed to follow the Lord s instructions in Zin when God provided drinking water from the rock which followed them. For his disobedience, God would not let him take Israel into the land of promise. God did take him into Mt. Nebo and allowed him to see the land just before he died. God also buried Moses in an undisclosed location. Thus, the years of Moses life were ended. The mark he made upon Israel and the world is still indelible today. Moses left Israel in good hands. During the time he was leading Israel and governing them according to the laws and commandments of God, he had been busy investing his life into a man named Joshua. Joshua had shown his potential as a leader when he had been selected as one of the twelve spies whom Moses sent into the promised land. He was one of only two spies who brought back a good report, encouraging the people to go into the land at that time. Over the years, Moses trained him to lead. By the time it was time for Moses to pass from the scene, Joshua had been prepared and discipled to step into the leadership role over Israel. Joshua was not Moses replacement, but was actually his reproduction. Often times as God would speak to Moses and give him direction, he would remind Moses to share those things with Joshua as a means of preparing him for his future service. God s work in and through Israel would continue because Moses had taken the time and the trouble to do the work of discipling this young man. This is the Bible way of making disciples and training leadership. A leader is to invite others into a relationship for the purpose of passing on vision, knowledge and insight gained. The leader models what it is to lead before the learner and follower. The body of truth needed to continue the work is transferred in this way through the means of a personal relationship between a master and an apprentice. When the work

3 is done, the apprentice will have been equipped to do the work at least to the level of his teacher. This is the process modeled by many in the Bible and certainly seen in the relationship between Moses and Joshua. Jesus commanded his followers in the New Testament to do this work among all ethnic groups. It is his way of sharing the good news of salvation through Christ and teaching people to walk in his ways. The person who is trained in this way is to do the same with others. Joshua did not let the reproduction end with himself. He also gathered men around him and invested his life into them. His wisdom is seen in Joshua 4:4 where he chose a man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel in whom he could invest. In this way, he not only would impact the lives of these twelve, but could potentially touch the lives of all of Israel through these men. They were trained and expected to do the same with others also. God prepares leaders to lead. The day finally came when Moses work was done and he had to leave. The leadership could continue because Moses had developed a leader in Joshua. God told Moses to set Joshua before the priest and before the people and pass the baton to him. In this way, the work could continue without any unnecessary gaps in leadership or direction. God still expects the church today to use this proven method of training and developing leadership. As Joshua prepared to take Israel into the promised land, God gave him an experience to strengthen his resolve as a leader. As the children of Israel entered the land, the city of Jericho lay before them as their first conquest. While Joshua was making his plans and perhaps even getting up his nerve, the captain of the Lord s hosts appeared to him. This appearance is known in theology as a theophany. In other words, Jesus himself appeared to Joshua as he was about to lead Israel into her first assault in the new land. A theophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Many years before Jesus was born in the manger of Bethlehem, he was at work and very active in the lives of his people in the Old Testament. There are many occurrences of theophanies in the Old Testament when the angel of the Lord appeared to God s servants. This was Jesus at work before his coming in the flesh in the New Testament. Other theophanies include Jacob s ladder, the burning bush seen by Moses, and the rock which followed Israel in the wilderness from which they drank water on at least two occasions. As captain of the Lord s host, Jesus appeared to Joshua. Jesus appeared to Joshua to show him that he would be with him in his work as leader and that he would go before them into battle and bring about their victories. What confidence this must have given Joshua who was in need of a great military victory to have the captain of God s armies show up to lead them into battle. The first two military campaigns Israel attempted in the promised land display the difference in having the captain of the Lord s host with us and when he is not. Joshua quickly learned the difference and sought to make sure that Israel did the things that were necessary to ensure the presence of the Lord with them in their conquest of the new land. God does not appear in theophanies to his people today. Jesus has come in the flesh and we have the testimony of Scripture to verify that he has come. Additionally, Jesus told us that after the incarnation, resurrection and ascension, his people would be visited and helped by another comforter, the Holy Spirit. We do not need to look for the experience of a theophany, but we can experience the personal presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives every day. No matter what Jericho s we may face, God is with us to go before us and bring about our victories, too. We only have to make sure that we keep ourselves in the holy and humble position before the Lord to have such an experience of his presence and power.

4 LESSON OUTLINE BLOCK 2 THEME 5: THE CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND LESSON 1 (53 OF 216): JOSHUA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST Israel s Leaders: I MOSES A. Led Israel out of Egypt to the promised land B. Died short of the new land II JOSHUA A. Prepared by Moses B. Exalted by God before Israel III THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST A. A theophany B. God goes before his people SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. Moses cannot go into the promised land Numbers 20:1-13 Deuteronomy 32: God buried Moses Deuteronomy 34:6 3. Joshua is discipled by Moses as Israel s next leader Numbers 27:12-23 Deuteronomy 1:38 Deuteronomy 3:21;28 Deuteronomy 34:9 4. God sends Joshua to lead Israel Joshua 1:1-9 Joshua 3:7 5. Joshua trains other leaders Joshua 4:4

5 LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. CHRISTOLOGY Theophany 2. DISCIPLEMAKING Spiritual reproduction Leadership training 3. PNEUMATOLOGY The presence of the Holy Spirit with the believer LESSON GLOSSARY 1. Indelible Not capable of being removed or erased QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. Who lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt? Moses 2. Why was Moses not permitted to go into the promised land? He disobeyed God when bringing water from the rock 3. What important work did Moses do in addition to being the leader of Israel? He discipled Joshua to become a leader also 4. Who did Joshua encounter before going into Jericho? Jesus as the captain of the Lord s host 5. What is a theophany? A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ 6. What does pre-incarnate mean? Before coming in the flesh 7. Who goes before believers today into the events of their daily lives? The Holy Spirit 8. Share an experience when you felt the presence of God with you. Student response

6 BLOCK 2 THEME 5: THE CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND LESSON 1 (53 OF 216): JOSHUA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD S HOST QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. Who lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt? 2. Why was Moses not permitted to go into the promised land? 3. What important work did Moses do in addition to being the leader of Israel? 4. Who did Joshua encounter before going into Jericho? 5. What is a theophany? 6. What does pre-incarnate mean? 7. Who goes before believers today into the events of their daily lives? 8. Share an experience when you felt the presence of God with you.