Third Presbyterian Sunday Morning Bible Study - August 9, 2020

Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Joshua 1:7-16.

When you were little, did you ever play the game “Father, May I”?  What were the rules?  The way it was played on 27th street was that the leader sat on the front porch steps of my Grand momma’s house and the rest of us were at the end of the sidewalk leading up to the front porch.  Now, there were increments of movements that we had to deal with - baby steps, normal steps and giant steps - and directions of movement - backwards or forwards.  The goal was to advance up the sidewalk until you were at the front porch.  The leader sitting on the porch would tell the player to take - say - two giant steps forward.  What should the player ask?  "Father, may I?"  If the player didn’t ask that vital question, then he or she had made a near fatal blunder and was denied the chance to advance two giant steps toward the front porch and possibly reigning as Father.  If Father said, "Yes, you may" then you could take the two giant steps. 

There were a lot of flaws in this game and for the life of me, I don’t why I spent so many good summer afternoons marching up and down the sidewalk in front of Grand momma’s house.  You see, the game was fixed.  Besides having to ask, “Father, May I?”, the only way you could ever get to the front porch and be the leader is if the current leader wanted you to since he controlled the kind and directions of the steps taken.  The  steps could be backwards as well as two baby steps forward.  It was amazing how many dopey kids when told to take two giant steps backwards, still asked, “Father, May I?” Personally, I believe that this was a game invented by Moms and Dads to try to civilize the little beasts sharing their home.

In today’s study Joshua is at the end of the sidewalk and God is on Grand momma’s front porch steps telling him to take two Moses steps forward.  Let’s see if he says “Father, may I?”

Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.  8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.  For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.

Last week Moses died and God commissioned Joshua, Moses’ handpicked successor, to take over.  It was time for the chosen people to enter the Promised Land.  Remember, this could not happen until Moses died since God had prohibited Moses from entering Canaan.  Now God is going to tell Joshua what he needs to do to be successful as the new leader

What does God tell Joshua to be?  Strong and courageous.  Have we heard that before?  God said the same thing to begin verse 6 last week.  Well, there is a slight difference.  Last week God was relating being strong and courageous in connection with conquering Canaan.  What does God say this time after telling Joshua to be strong and courageous?  Being careful to act in accordance with the law that Moses had commanded.  Although Moses is dead, he is still important because he was the means by which God gave his law to the people. So, this time God is using these words to describe keeping God’s law.  You not only have to be strong in a battle, but, you have to be strong in your life.  How do you get this strength in your life?  To follow God’s law was to stay on course and not slip off either to the right or left.  In other words to live a moral life.  The moral life is what bolsters the strength that you need to face life as well as battles.  Failure to be strong morally means that it doesn’t make any difference how strong you may be in other respects, you won't be successful spiritually.  To be blunt, if you are not strong morally, you are a loser.

All right, so, how do you stay morally strong if it is the basis for all strength?  Practice what you learn from the law of God.  The idea here is to learn it by heart and then use constant repetition to keep it fresh in your mind.  It is the same as when we had to learn those dumb poems when you were in high school.  You memorized the poem and then, so you wouldn’t forget it, repeated it over and over again to yourself.  It was even more important in Joshua’s day.  Books then were bulky rolled up scrolls which weren’t easy to stick in your back pocket.  In school if you were trying to remember the next word in the poem, you could pull out the book and peek at the poem to get the word.  Back then, the only place to peek for the word was in your memory bank.

A few years ago I saw a movie called The Book of Eli.  The story takes place a generation in the future when a world war destroyed most of mankind and left the earth a desolate waste land.  The main character, Eli, had the last remaining copy of a certain book.  All other copies of the book had been destroyed.  He had been told by God to walk west with the book until he found a "safe place".  Eli starts out on the east coast and headed west.  It turned out that the book he carried was the Bible and a mean guy wanted it because he thought that he could use it to get people to follow him.  He finally get’s the book from a wounded Eli after Eli had spent thirty years heading to the "safe place" only to find out it is written in Brail and he couldn’t read it or use it.  Eli continues walking the west even though he no longer has the book and finally comes to the "safe place" in California.  There, some people have a printing press and are trying to replace the major books that had been destroyed.  It had taken Eli thirty years to get to the "safe place" and every day of those thirty years he had read and reread the Bible.  Even though the physical Bible was now gone, it was still there in his mind from the repetitious readings over thirty years.  He dictated the entire Bible telling the writer to put down everything he said exactly as he said it.  From that dictation the Bible was printed and would live on.

God tells Joshua what about the book?  It shall not depart out of your mouth and meditate on it day and night.  What does it mean to meditate?  To think about something or to quietly reflect on something.  It’s like how men meditate while clicking through the channels on the remote.  From this we can assume one thing.  The law Moses had gotten from God was now written down.  If Joshua needed to refresh his memory concerning a certain law, he could role open the scroll and read it for himself.  In fact God tells Joshua to go over and over the laws - think about them - reflect on them.  How would you do that?  It would seem that a law is a law.  Read it and move on to the next one.  God is telling Joshua, read the law and then think how it is applied.  Think of real life instances where it would be invoked.  Think of the grey areas where there may be questions.  In other words, know the laws so well that you have explored every case where it might apply. 

When I was young, I took accordion lessons.  What I liked most was getting a new song like “Over There” or “Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer” and then playing it.  The worst part about the lessons were learning the scales, chords and practicing how to make the accordion breath.  The worst stuff took 80% of the time while the good stuff only 20%.  But, without learning the chords and keys and learning how to open and close the bellows correctly, those songs would have sounded like a wheezy collection of off chords and wrong notes.  Like watching American Idol. 

God is telling Joshua, “Practice, practice, practice.”  Like Eli in that movie, Joshua should be so familiar with the laws and what they mean, he could recite them word for word from memory. 

What does God mean when he tells Joshua the book of the law shall not depart out of his mouth?  He not only has to think about and keep turning the laws over in his mind, he should recite the laws out loud.  Why recite the laws?  Is this really necessary?  Have you ever memorized something and then verbalized what you read?  It is one thing to roll it over in your mind and quite another thing to speak it.  There are two things gained by saying what you are thinking.  First, it ads another sensory element to your study.  Think of it.  You read the text with your eyes; but by speaking the text aloud, you are receiving it through your ears.  A double whammy. 

The second advantage is that by you hearing the text, you hear what others will hear.  Have you ever written a letter and then read it aloud to see how it sounds?  It permits you to see how the other person will receive your letter.  It lets you know if the written words will clearly tell your reader what you wanted him to know.  By Joshua speaking it out loud, he will hear what his followers hear and he will know if he needs to emphasize something or go into more detail about something he said.

Joshua 1:9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God reminds Joshua what he had commanded him to do.  What was it?  Be strong and courageous.  Kind of makes you think that this must be a pretty important command if God repeats it three times in just a few verses.  This time who is God pointing to in using strong and courageous?  Himself.  That is why Joshua doesn’t have to be afraid.  Because God is with him. Lets look at how God uses these words - strong and courageous. The first time God is pointing to the enemy who Joshua has to battle.  The second time God is pointing to the law and how important it is to obey the law which encourages moral strength and courage.  The third time God is pointing to himself.  The repetition of these words - “strong and courageous” - covers all of Joshua’s needs.  It prepares him for battle with the Canaanites, prepares him to deal with himself spiritually, and it prepares him to depend on his God.  So, with these words, God bolstered Joshua’s spirits when he was feeling so inadequate for the job of taking over for Moses.  One thing is interesting in this preparation.  Wouldn’t you think that God would prepare Joshua by giving him strategy for running a war?  But, if Joshua is relying on God, then God will take care of running the war.

What lays ahead for Joshua and the Israelites?  He doesn’t know exactly, but, he does know that whatever it is, God will be there for him.  Knowing that he has God with him, what more could he want?  Now, Joshua was ready to take over the leadership that Moses left for him.  Now, he can sit down and put on Moses’ shoes and not worry what size they may be.

Joshua 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the camp, and command the people: ‘Prepare your provisions; for in three days you are to cross over the Jordan, to go on to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.’”

Joshua as the commanding officer issues his first order.  Who was the order given to?  The officers of the people.  Later on we will learn that one man was selected from each tribe to act as a  representative of the tribe so Joshua’s instructions could quickly get to the people.  There were then twelve tribal representatives acting as go betweens.  These are probably the men who Joshua was talking to. 

What was Joshua’s order?  “Go tell everybody to get ready.  We’re moving out in three days.”  The representatives of the twelve tribes are the ones who get the order and then deliver it to their tribes.  They have to prepare for crossing the river and the campaigns that lays ahead.  That will mean getting together enough food to last them and keep up their strength during the fight.  Now, you have to understand that when they were hungry in the wilderness, what did God provide?  Manna from heaven.  Did you know that as they were on the fringes of the wilderness after forty years and ready to cross over into Canaan, they were still getting their daily ration of manna from heaven?  When God caters something, he doesn’t stop until all the food is eaten. Where they were camped there was enough food around to meet their needs which is lucky because, if you remember, the manna only lasted for one day.  You couldn’t put it in a doggy bag for later.  When they started to take advantage of produce available along the eastern side of the Jordan, the manna stopped falling from heaven.  In addition to the vegetables and grain there was lots of game coming to the Jordan for water.  So food enough for the invasion was available.

How long before the invasion?  Joshua gave the time span as three days before the invasion.  Actually, in those days to say “three days” really was like saying “in a little while” or “in a short time.”  It is just like when you tell somebody you’ll be there in second.  You don’t mean you’ll literally be there in a second, but, you’ll be there as soon as you can. What Joshua’s order is that after all these years, the time has come.  It won’t be long before God’s promise of a land of their own will come true.

A lot of times when we speak of Israel coming into Canaan we think of it in terms of conquest.  In fact in the coming chapters there will be battles.  But in all of the victories that take place, it is more about possession than winning a war.  Joshua’s and Israel’s grand plan for possessing Canaan was simply having faithful obedience to God and the rest will take care of itself.

Joshua 1:12 To the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,  13 "Remember the word Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying, "The Lord your God is providing you a place to rest, and will give you this land.'  14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan.  But all the warriors among you shall cross over armed before your kindred and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your kindred as well as to you, and they too take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them.  Then you shall return to your own land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you bbeyonf the Jordan to the east."

What three tribe are singled out? Reubanites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh.  What was Joshua’s message to these tribes?  Remember what Moses said.  Why single out these tribes and what has Moses to do with it?  And what’s this business about the half tribe of Manasseh?  Was the tribe split in two and Joshua was ignoring half of the tribe?  Lots of questions and here are some of the answers.

Manasseh and his brother, Ephraim,  had a famous ancestor.  Care to guess who it was?  Joseph.  The same Joseph with the coat of many colors.  While Manasseh and Ephraim weren’t sons of Jacob, Jacob had adopted them as his own.  Since the twelve sons of Jacob formed the twelve tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, being sons of Joseph and not birth sons of Jacob, were given the status of a half-tribe. 

Now that we have cleared up the stuff about a half tribe, why does Joshua direct a pointed comment to these three groups?  Here is what happened.  The kings of Heshbon and Bashan wouldn’t let the Israelites pass through their territory on their way to the Jordan River.  Since, in order for the Israelites to move into Canaan, they had to cross the Jordan River,  Moses went to war and defeated the kings of Heshbon and Bashan and took possession of their lands.   Before Moses died, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh liked the land on the east shore of the Jordan and started to settling down where they were.  The two and a half tribes went to Moses and asked that they be allowed to have this land as their share of the Promised Land.  Technically, the land was part of the Promised Land as drawn up by God in last week’s lesson.  Remember, the Promised Land included the wilderness on the east side of the Jordan all the way back to Egypt.  So the land they wanted was technically part of the Promised Land. Moses had a problem with their petition, however, because Canaan still had to be taken and that was going to take every man from every tribe.  Also, Moses wasn’t very keen on the idea of splitting up the Israelites on both sides of the Jordan.  If these tribes settle on the east side of the Jordan, they wouldn’t be there to join the army on the west side to fight the armies in Canaan.  Moses struck a deal with the two and a half tribes.  They could have that land provided that when the rest of the Israelites crossed over the Jordan, they would cross over with them to help fight the battles there.  The women and children and their cattle would stay in the land agreed upon with enough men to protect their land.  The tribes agreed to the deal. Moses saw the need to have a united front in facing the armies in Canaan.  Besides, if Moses didn’t make this condition, don’t you think some other tribes might have decided to sit out going into Canaan guaranteeing a weakened Israelite army facing the Canaanite armies.  If that happened then God’s promise of the land in Canaan would take a lot longer than Moses planned.

As the Israelites are preparing to cross the Jordan, Joshua reminds the two and a half tribes that they had made a deal with Moses that was still in effect.  He tells them that he knows that this was their home and they didn’t look forward to going any further into the Promised Land than this place, but, a deal is a deal.  Their fighting men were expected to join the other tribes and assist in taking over Canaan.  When Canaan is possessed and the other tribes have their own land, they can come back to their lands and live their lives there.  For a bunch of people divided into twelve parts, this was an important arrangement.  It meant that every tribe had a responsibility for the safety of the other tribes.  It united them in a kind of mutual defense pact.  A NATO of the Promised Land.  After that, every third year all of the tribes would meet at a central sanctuary to celebrate a religious feast as one people.  In this way the unity of the Israelites would be maintained even though divided by the Jordan River.

Joshua 1:16  They answered Joshua: "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 

How do the three tribes respond?  They acknowledge their responsibility and agree to assist in the battles for Canaan.  The only problem I have is that they claimed that they will obey Joshua in everything just as they had with Moses.  As we found out before, the Israelites were always blaming Moses for one thing after another and as far as obeying him was concerned, you’d have more success teaching a flock of ducks to not to kneel while singing the Star Spangled Banner.  These people had a rather rosy view of their relationship with Moses, but, that’s the way people are.  Somebody dies and we push aside the disagreements we had with them and think of only the good times.  Doing this allows us to pay respect to the diseased without facing all the nasty things we said about him while he was alive.

This was a big deal for the people and Joshua.  With Moses dead, the two and a half tribes might have said that the deal was with Moses - not Joshua - so forget it.  By them acknowledging the deal and agreeing to continue fulfilling the terms Moses had hammered out meant that Joshua had passed his leadership test.  There's a new sheriff in town. Now everything is in place.  All of the tribes are united and ready to move into the Promised land.

What happened next?  How did they cross the Jordan River and get over into Canaan?  Was Joshua really able to finally fill Moses’ shoes?  As Scarlet O’Hara  said, “There’s always tomorrow.”

Lets see how the game of “Father, May I?” is going.  God told Joshua to take two giant steps toward the steps in Canaan.  Joshua was right on when he asked, “Father, may I?” because God said pack up, you’re moving out in three days.  Joshua had someplace to go.  Something to do for the Lord.  Today, we do too.  Maybe it isn’t something as grand as possessing the Promised Land.  But, God is sitting there commanding us to take two - no - three giant steps in winning the lost for Him.  Will we be strong and courageous enough to ask, “Father, may I?” Well, pack your bags because your Father has just said, "Yes, you may!"

Prayer: Father, make us courageous and strong as you commission us to be your army for the salvation of our world.  Amen.