98
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
said th is because they were afraid, and did no t w ant God’s people Israel to go there. B u t two of th e spies, named Caleb and Joshua, wanted them to go. They remembered th a t God had prom ised them th e land, and they knew he would keep his promise, fo r they had faith in Him. Caleb spoke to the people and begged them to go a t once into Canaan and tak e the wonderful land for th e ir own, bu t the o th er ten spies persuaded them not to go, and said the peo ple who lived th ere were giants. So the children of Israel would not go. (F inish this wonderful story emphasizing faith and courage of Caleb and Joshua, and God’s dis pleasure a t th e ir disobedience, Moses pleading in prayer, and th e ir punishment. A fine opportunity to teach courage in the facing of difficulties, and tru s t in the power and will ingness of God to h elp ). Our memory verse teaches us th a t God is always w ith us to help us when we obey Him. I wonder if any of us are like those ten spies who were cowards, or are we like brave Caleb and Joshua? Golden Text: "Not one th ing h ath failed of all the good things which th e Lord God spake concerning you.” Joshua 23:14. Lesson Text: Joshua, Chapters 1 to 11; 23; and 24. Devotional Reading: P salm 47. Under the leadership of Joshua the Chosen People took possession of th e land which God in gracious and solemn covenant had given unto th e ir fath ers and to themselves. Their enemies possess it and they must fight for it. They were not th e fugitive host of emancipated LESSON slaves th a t fled from th e land of Egypt. EXPOSITION They had been fused into a nation by the Dr. F . W. F a rr w ilderness experience and th e ru le of Moses. Many victories had given them confidence in God and in themselves. The country east of Jo rd an had been conquered under Moses. Sixty cities had been taken. This te rrito ry was given to the two and a h alf trib es of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh a t th e ir own request upon condition th a t they should send th e ir armed men over Jo rd an w ith Israel to conquer the rest of the land. Joshua was the leader appointed for the campaign. He was Moses’ personal atten d a n t and trained under his care. He was appointed by God and charged again “ to be strong and of a good courage.” He was given an interview w ith Jehovah as Captain of the heavenly host. He was assured of success and victory. The Messianic trib e of Jud ah was to take the lead. The Canaanites were very numerous. They were en trenched in walled cities. They had iron chariots and suits of armor. Moreover there were giants in th e land. They were a t this tim e in a state of te rro r and dismay to the point of being panic-stricken. The news of th e chosen people had gone through th e land and all th a t God had done for them was know n .„ The arm ies of Israel came to the banks of the river Jo rd an a t the tim e of flood. To cross th is river in the face of an armed foe was a difficult under taking. The Canaanites must have though t it impossible for there was no opposition. When the priests, bearing the a rk of God, came down to the river the w ater flowed away and the host passed through dry-shod. The war of conquest is divided into th ree campaigns. The occupation of Gilead under Moses already mentioned and th e two campaigns of Canaan. The conquest of southern Canaan involved th ree g reat battles, a t Jericho, Ai and Gib- eon. The conquest of no rth ern Canaan was accomplished in FEBRUARY 17, 1934. Joshua and the Conquest of Canaan
th e one battle of Merom. The fall of Jericho was a m ir acle. The walls fell down on th e seventh encircling. This victory stru ck te rro r to th e Canaanites and opened th e land to Israel. The battle of Ai was a wholesome check to Is rael in its tem porary reverse, tempted as they were to pre sumption. A t th e b attle of Gibeon the sun stood still at th e command of Joshua. He who fs th e A rchitect and C reator of th e Universe can check and control its move ments as easily as an engineer can accelerate or re ta rd the movements of his train . The destruction of the Canaanites by the command of God is one of th e chief objections raised by unbelievers against th e Bible. God is a Sovereign and not obliged to give an account of his doings to his subjects. He has the final disposal of hum an life by whatever means it may please Him to choose, whether by the gradual advance of age, th e sw ift progress of disease or by sudden catastrophe when thousands perish in a day. “Shall not the Judge of all th e earth do rig h t? ” We know th a t He is ju st and .mer ciful and th erefo re the destruction of the inhab itan ts of Canaan was in accordance w ith justice and mercy. It should be said however th a t th e Canaanites were indescribably wicked. Sodom was a sample city. Their exterm ination was a moral surgical operation on cancerous growth, a penal judgm ent for th e ir sins. They had enjoyed th e highest religious privileges. Melchizedek -had been th e ir p riest and king. Abraham and' his descendants had lived among them and given testimony and, example of pu rer lives and b etter things. They were given ample tim e for repentance. Israel was k ep t four centuries in Egypt because “ the iniquity of the Amorites was no t yet fu ll." Gen. 15:16. The d esert wan derings of Israel were fo rty years of grace. Rahab and h er household were, saved. Any others who would ask for mercy m ight have had it. The Gibeonites were spared al though coming by deceit and trickery. No nation asked for mercy. The w elfare of Israel as th e hope of the world made it necessary to preserve them from contam ination. To have perm itted them to have lived in association w ith the Canaanites would have poisoned th e fountain of mercy at its source. The salvation of th e world still depends on the pu rity and separation of th e church. There is th e relation of type and anti-type between the judgm ents of Canaan and th é Apocalyptic judgm ents which are poured ou t on im p en iten t and hardened mankind.' (V. 1) “His name was originally Hoshea,— Salvation, or Help. To th is was added afterw ard the prefix ‘Je h ,’ Jehovah, and his name became Johoshua, shortened into Joshua— Salvation from Jehovah.” This name in th e Greek is Jesus, and in Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8 COMMENTS Jo shu a is called “ Jesu s." “Moses the FROM THE ‘law-giver’ led Israel to th e border; COMMENTARIES Joshua, th e prototype of Jesus, brought V. V. Morgan them over.” Joshua was born in the land of Goshen, Egypt. He was a de scendant of Joseph, through Ephraim . A t th is tim e He was about eighty-four years of age. He was distinguished fo r his courage, faith and piety. “All his past life was a preparation for th e g reat work to Which he was now call ed.”— Peloubet. (V. 2) The death of a g reat leader iq no reason for giv ing up a g reat Work, but a call of God for some one else to arise and tak e his place.— Torrey. (V. 4 ) They were th e dom inant nation of Canaan and rivals of Egypt, and to merely hum an eyes it seemed pre posterous th a t Israel could dispossess them , but, “ Is any thing too h ard for th e L o rd?” Notw ithstanding the g reat ness of the H ittites; secular history has known nothing about them un til recently, and archaeological discoveries revealing th e ir record have been one of the trium phs of the past century and one of the strongest evidences to th e historicity of the Old Testament.— Gray,
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs