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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1938
IN T E R N A T IO N A L L E S SO N Commentary Outline and Exposition By B. B. S utcliffe Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain
and to serve Him (vs. 14, 15). They had come into possession of the land, and n ow 1 their service was to be of their own choice, in their surrender to their God. But, if there was to be reality in the people’s worship of Jehovah, the false gods must be put away from among them. Evidently Joshua’s audi ence had not forgotten the gods which their fathers had worshiped, and they also may have given reverence to the gods of Egypt of whom they had learned during their sojourn in that land. Joshua called upon them to be done with all false gods. He urged them to be definite and whole-hearted in their allegiance to God. In every genera tion, lukewarmness is to be despised among followers of the Lord God. The people acknowledged the grace with which God had dealt with them, bringing them out of Egypt, doing great wonders be fore their eyes, preserving them through the wilderness, and finally settling them in their own land (vs. 16, 17). Vehemently they declared their loyalty, crying: “ Therefore will we also serve the L ord; for he is our God” (v. 18). This declaration gave Joshua occasion to exhort them again to serve their God, and again the people replied that they would (vs. 19-21). Joshua reminded them that God is “ a jealous God,” that is, One who cannot share His people’s affection with another. Because of His holy nature, He cannot treat lightly the sins that His people would seek to veil. Readily, the people answered once more that they would “ serve the Lord”— but very shortly they gave the lie to their profession. As an individual, Joshua stands out. as an example of one who truly followed his Lord, yet he made no great display of his loyalty. He simply faced squarely the question of whom he would serve (v. 15) ; he made his choice, and thereafter he served continually and to the best of his ability the One whom he had chosen to follow. His life displayed his loyalty. "Moses my servant is dead; novo there fore arise ” (Josh. 1:2). W e have here a re markable type. Moses is a fitting type of the law, of which he was, humanly speak ing, the giver. Joshua is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. His very name in the Hebrew means “ Jehovah is salvation,” and translated into Greek the name Joshua becomes “Jesus”.' (Heb. 4:8 ). Moses could bring the people up to the very edge of the promised land but could not bring them in. And thus the law may serve as a “schoolmaster” to lead the sinner unto Christ, but it cannot save our souls; it cannot bring us into the place of remission for sin and complete justifica tion, for the simple reason that no one has ever kept it. It was Joshua, not Moses, who took Israel into the land. But not even Joshua could bring them in until Moses was Points and Problems 1.
JULY 3, 1938 JOSHUA: A CHOICE OF LOYALTIES N umbers 27:15-23; J oshua 1:1-9; 24:1-31
of the law and the means of introducing the grace of God to believers. Joshua was called to lead the people into the land that was already theirs by the gift of God. They had title to the land, but not actual possession of it. The ownership had been established through Abraham and his seed, by God’s unconditional promise. Many scriptures indicate this fact, as, for instance: “ Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Gen. 12:7) ; “The good land which he hath given thee” (Deut. 8:10) ; “W ill . . . bring them into their ovon land” (Ezek. 37:21). But the experience of possessing the land was condi tional, as is made clear in the words: “ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you” (vs. 3, 4). Experimental enjoyment of that which the Lord had provided required belief in the grace o f God that made the gift possible, and faith to lay hold of that which had been given. On Joshua’s part, faith was required, not only to believe that God had given the land, but also that He would enable His servant to take the leadership and fulfill the commission. The ability was immediately bestowed (vs. 5, 6). The power from God was given so that “ not any man” would be able to stand before him. Joshua heard the promise of God given to him: “ I will not fail thee,* nor forsake thee.” If, after God has given us assurance o f victory through Him, we fall a prey to our enemies, it is our unbelief and not our weakness that gives Satan power over us. As far as God is concerned, no one can stand before us except as we give our permission that this shall be done. In the light of this fact, the next verse has particular force. Joshua is exhorted to “ be strong and of good courage” for the work whereunto he was called. Three times this command was repeated. Joshua proved that he did have the courage which comes from full dependence upon God, and throughout his long life his loyalty to the Lord was manifested. m T he P eople ’ s C all (24:14-21) At the close of his life, Joshua was ap pointed to exhort the people to fear the Lord BLACKBOARD LESSON
Joshua 1:2 Moses my servant is dead: now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. I 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. , . _ _ I 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down o f the sun, shall be your C°5S There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. . I ,, T r\-o r» Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LUKA», and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in E gypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem' evil unto you to serve tne LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. _ f, , 16 And the people answered and said, Lod forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; , 17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house o f bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us( in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye can not serve the LORD : for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your trans gressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, N ay; but we will serve the LORD. Lesson Text: Josh. 1:2-6; 24:14-21. Golden Text: “ As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). Devotional Reading: Psa. 119:1-8. T O JOSHUA the word came: “ Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan.” Moses, who represented the dispensa tion of the law, was dead (v. 2 ). Another leader, Joshua, whose name means “ Saviour,” was chosen. In this choice, Joshua becomes a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, the end [ These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permis sion. The Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Version unless other wise stated .— E ditor .] Outline and Exposition I. J oshua ' s C all (1:2-6)
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