Conquest of Israel

Joshua 1:1-9

Israel in many ways is symbolic of mankind. When she was young and innocent being only seventy-five people strong with her fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, she was a lot like a child in childhood. As Israel grew in childhood she went into slavery for about four hundred years. Then came the wilderness wandering for forty years and after that came the time for crossing Jordan. It appears that each step Israel made there were consequences for each decision they made whether right or wrong. When they were right they were blessed and when they were wrong they paid the price of a wrong choice.

Joshua had for years seen Moses as he made decisions concerning Israel's direction. There came a day that the duty of leadership was placed on Joshua for Moses had gone on home to be with the Lord.

They had lived in the wilderness for forty years and many of them only knew a life of living in the wilderness.

Joshua could have said, We have it pretty good here on this side of Jordan. We have been here so long that most of us know no other place to live. There are no giants in our land and we don't know what milk and honey taste like. However, God's people don't belong in the wilderness, and God's people don't belong in darkness.

Yes, there are some giants on the other side, but what are they but hindrances to God's people. The Lord knows how to remove the giants.

The giant, we never did things this way before is a serious problem. If we never did it before like this, why not try it and see what happens.

I believe there are many things we can learn if we by faith have an open and forgiving heart about us.

Peter sinned against the Lord and later was restored and was a great servant thereafter.

The giant of I don't understand the Bible is in the land. A man said, I prayed last night and my wife didn't come back home. I replied, did you cause her to leave overnight? Study of God's word is a life-long experience.

Three times in nine verses the Lord said: Be thou strong and of a good courage. Verse nine ends by saying: For the Lord thy God is with you where so ever you go.

If we know that God is with us, we have every reason to be assured that crossing the Jordan will bring us into a beautiful life where no trials can ever overcome us.

Redemption has two parts: out and into. Not only do we come out of sin, but we come into service. Most of us can say we have come out of sin, as far as being unsaved. Step two is to enter into service of our Lord. How can we serve our Lord best