LESSON 1 Daily Bible Study Questions Study Procedure: Read the Scripture references before answering questions. Unless otherwise instructed, use the Bible only in answering questions. Some questions may be more difficult than others but try to answer as many as you can. Pray for God s wisdom and understanding as you study and don t be discouraged if some answers are not obvious at first. FIRST DAY: Read Joshua 1:1-9 1. As we begin the study of the book of Joshua, who would you say was in command in the first verse of chapter one? 2. Give the phrase of command to the newly commissioned officer of the vast army of Israelites. 3. The fact that three times God commanded Joshua to be strong and of good courage or very courageous, was an indication of its importance. From a dictionary define the words strong, strength, and courage. SECOND DAY: Continue in Joshua 1:1-9 4. Challenge Question: If the servant of God is to strive to make his life what it should be in His service, what are some of the sources and characteristics of strength we must study? 5. As part of God s commission to Joshua, He stated a condition upon which the people would be successful and prosperous. What was it? Page 3
6. The threefold admonition to be strong and of a good courage has attached to it three different assurances on the part of God. Give these from verses 6-9. THIRD DAY: Read Joshua 1:10-18 (See map Joshua s Conquest in the Promised Land in the Appendix) 7. (a) What verse from Joshua 1:1-9 would give Joshua the courage to issue the command to his officers as he did in verse 10? (b) What lay between the Israelites and the promised land that made this command a difficult one? 8. (a) What were the special instructions given by Joshua to the two and a half tribes already given an inheritance on this east side of the Jordan River? (b) What was their response? FOURTH DAY: Read Joshua 2 9. How strongly did Rahab believe that the God of the Israelites was the only true God? 10. What three things had Rahab heard about the Israelites that caused her to place her faith in the God of Israel? Page 4
11. Lying is a terrible sin to those enlightened by God s Word. When we consider the lie and deceitfulness with which Rahab acted, what also must we consider? 12. Give the verse in Joshua 2 where Rahab confesses that God is both omnipotent and omnipresent. FIFTH DAY: Read Matthew 1:1-5; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25 13. From the above references in the New Testament, Rahab is privileged to share in the history of God s people because she chose to cast her lot with them. Give something she is noted for in each of the following verses: (a) Matthew 1:5 (b) Hebrews 11:31 (c) James 2:25 14. What great spiritual conclusions can we draw from this? SIXTH DAY: Continue in Joshua 2 15. The scarlet cord used for the preservation of the spies was to be used also for another purpose. What was it? Give the verse. 16. What instructions did the spies of the Israelites give to Rahab for her and her family that would mean life to them if obeyed? What would be the results if they were found in the streets and not under the protection of the house of Rahab and the scarlet cord? 17. Compare the report of the spies sent in by Moses in Numbers 13:24-33 and the report of the spies sent into Jericho by Joshua. Page 5
Notes JOSHUA S COMMISSION (JOSHUA 1-2) Joshua s Task (Joshua 1:1,2) Israel was encamped in the plains of Moab. Their great leader Moses was dead, and the thirty days of mourning for him were ended. A task lay before them which demanded energy and activity if they were to possess the land. The faithful covenant- God was with Joshua as he waited expectantly for a fresh message from God, which came in due time. God renewed His commission to Joshua and the promise to Israel. Now therefore, arise. Moses was dead but the work must go on. When God has work to be done, He will provide instruments capable of carrying the work forward. Other than the hands of Moses must follow the same plan and the same methods. Joshua didn t need to call his committee to devise new plans or methods, for God set the pattern. God spoke to Joshua as He did to Moses, renewed the promise, defined the limits of Canaan, and laid down the necessity of obedience. The first step in the fulfillment of Joshua s commission was to carry the people over that river. Arise, was God s first word to him, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them... This land had been promised to the patriarchs, but now that the fourth generation was gone and the iniquity of the Amorites was full, the time was ready to act upon that promise. This possession of Canaan was a free gift of the divine favor excluding all ideas of human rights. While the donation of this land was an act of the Lord s favor to the Israelites, taking it away from the Canaanites was no less an act of retributive justice. God as the moral governor of the world must administer justice against a people whose iniquity was great and full. When this time was fully come, the Canaanites became a doomed people doomed to expulsion or extermination by the Israelites to whom God had committed the sword of judgment. The Israelites would inherit the land of which the Canaanites had proved unworthy. The Israelites were also warned over and over that if they fell into the same dreadful transgressions as the Canaanites, they would subject themselves to the same doom and would be cast out of the land. God s Promise (Joshua 1:3-5) Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. These words are a literal repetition of the promise made in Deuteronomy 11:24. Almost every sentence in this message to Joshua occurs somewhere in the course of previous history. God marked out and defined the boundaries of the land of promise. Its limits were to be from the wilderness of Sin or the desert of Arabia on the south, to Lebanon on the north; from the Euphrates on the east, to the great sea or the Mediterranean on the west. The only time the Israelites possessed this full territory was during the time of David. Their failure to do so was due entirely to their negligence, unbelief, and disobedience. This was true about every reverse or defeat of the Israelites during their entire history. How true this is of God s people in all times. We place our own limitations because we refuse to believe God for the victories. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Moses previously assured Joshua of this in Deuteronomy 31:8, and now God himself confirmed it. This promise made to Joshua is God s promise to all believers as we move forward in faith believing God s Word. What comfort and hope it brings to us in every circumstance of life. God s Command (Joshua 1:6-9) God s command to Joshua, Be strong and of a good courage, implies the choice between strength and weakness, and therefore the responsibility for the choice is ours. God wants victory and success in the lives of His people, and we must not lose any opportunity which would make us less than what God intended we should be. We have no right to indulge in selfish habits that weaken our physical or mental powers if we belong to the Lord. Basically the reason men display weakness and lack of courage is because they have never learned self-discipline or self-command. Our courage is to be good, cheerful, and noble. God repeated this three times to Joshua, for He knew Joshua and his men would need it. It takes courage to stand against the force of temptation and opposition. Strength and courage are needed at home and with ourselves before we meet the world each Page 6
day. The crucial part of the struggle is within, and we need God s inner power and strength to face a world that is in opposition to Christian standards and practices. We need courage to live honestly and to speak boldly for Christ. Joshua must not only govern by law and see that the people observe the law, but he must observe it himself. He must do what was written without exception, and to encourage him in obedience, God assured him that his way would be prosperous. In other words, make the Word of God your rule and conscientiously walk by that rule. Our greatest problem today is the lack of teaching the Word of God and the fact that God means what He says in His Word. Men tediously spend time trying to explain away the true meaning of God s Word to make it suit our social standards or preconceived ideas of religious concepts, and we end with frustration and confusion. Let us remember that God s Word is our standard. He has blessed us with intelligence to understand, and He has given to us His Holy Spirit who helps us apply His Words to our hearts. What a challenge we have to cleave steadfastly to the Word of God as the rule of our conduct in all circumstances! The Christian soldier has his code drawn up for him by God Himself, revealed to him through the written Word. We must study it with all diligence and meditate on it day and night that we may be conformed to His image. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2). The admonition to be strong and of a good courage is supported by three assurances on the part of God: 1. God s faithfulness to His covenant. 2. Our duty and the promise God has given as a result of our faithfulness in responsibility. 3. Individual faith and obedience which has a personal and individual promise of help. God s covenant, God s promise, and God s presence: This is the basis for confidence. It is in this confidence that we can follow Christ. In all we undertake in the work of Christ, we have the assurance of the ability to fulfill it as our hearts are fixed on His will and we respond in obedience to His call. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Mobilization (Joshua 1:10-18) Joshua s first command showed his great faith as well as tested strongly the obedience of the people. The river Jordan lay between their inheritance and the place where they were encamped. They must pass over this. Before giving the final orders to march, Joshua gave a special word to the two and a half tribes already located in their homes on the east side of Jordan. Their men were to cross over and participate in the conquest of the promised land. This they stood willing and ready to do as Joshua issued the orders to march. The command was given to make all preparation for supplies; they could not neglect these important matters. They were given three days to prepare. God had given such great and wonderful promises to Joshua and the people, yet the inheritance would be realized only as they moved forward in wisdom and faith. Sending of Spies to Jericho (Joshua 2:1-3) Jericho was the most important town in the Jordan Valley. It was famous for its walls and gates and its rich temples filled with gold, silver, iron, brass, and drapery. It was the key to Western Canaan, standing at the entrance of the two main passes into the central mountains. Rahab s Faith and Reward (Joshua 2:4-24) It is to be remembered that Rahab lived in the midst of a people corrupt to the last degree. Sins of the most debasing character were practiced without shame and were accepted by the people. They would not consider a woman such as Rahab to be below ordinary standard. Some have tried to soften the fact of her being a harlot. We tend to make so much about what the Bible said she was in her heathen circumstances rather than to concentrate on what she became by the grace of God. Because of her faith, she later is listed among the honored saints of God. Page 7
Twice in the New Testament she is referred to for her faith. What a lesson this is to us about the love, mercy, and grace of God! Never feel that your sin will bar you from this. It is not what we are or how sinful we have been in the past that matters. The important thing is what we become through our faith in Jesus Christ. Satan would torment and destroy us with past sins, but we must choose to believe God and look forward to the spiritual blessings of an enriched life through Christ. Rahab was so convinced, from what she heard of the wonders wrought for Israel, that their God was the only true God, that she ventured her life upon her faith. She believed that God s declared purpose in regard to Canaan would come to pass. She also knew that harboring the spies was exposing herself to the death of a traitor to her country, yet she ran the risk. Rahab probably had never heard that there was harm in lying; in heathen philosophy her act would be considered good because the end was good. Rahab hid the spies on the roof of her house among the stalks of flax, sent their enemies in pursuit, and then returned to confess her faith in the omnipotent and omnipresent God of Israel. He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Rahab s faith had God for its object, and this faith saved her from the destruction upon Jericho. She became the wife of Salmon, a prince of the tribe of Judah, and is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The scarlet cord, with which the spies were lowered down the wall of Jericho for escape, was to be used as a sign of security for Rahab and her family in the time of judgment on Jericho. There are many spiritual conclusions we can draw from this lesson, and we must open our hearts and minds to all God would teach us. Our only hope of salvation is in Christ, in accepting the provision of redemption through the cross and knowing the security of belonging to Him and acting in a way that involves our personal decision to be obedient to all God has for us. Rahab was willing to risk her life physically on what she had learned about God and His people. Do we believe God and His Word to the extent that we are willing to show such active faith? Page 8
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