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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” So Joshua was not afraid, and the chil dren of Israel followed him into the prom ised land.
of the land of promise. They were afraid, as they had been before. Moses was dead. Their enemies were powerful. But God was still with them, and He was speaking to their new leader, Joshua. He said, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not
Lesson Questions 1:1-4. Who was Joshua? What did his name mean? How was he associated with Moses? When did his leadership of Is rael begin? O f what were Moses and Joshua types? For what reasons could Moses not lead the children of Israel into the promised land? What were the boun- dries o f Canaan? V. 5. What promise did God give to Joshua? How many instances can you re call in which God was with Moses in a special way? Vs. 6-9. Can you show from these verses that God called Joshua to unquestioning obedience, to utter dependence upon His Word, and to full reliance upon His pres ence? What commands and assurances are contained in these verses? 23:1, 2, 14. To whom did Joshua give his parting message? To what did he bear testimony? Do you think most Christians today live as though they wholeheartedly believe the truth that Joshua expressed? If they did, what effect would it have? Golden Text Illustration Bishop Seybert, on one of his long jour neys, had to cross a stream, when much swollen by recent rains. He was warned not to attempt to ford. His reply was: “ I have an appointment across the river, and I am going to ride in. The Lord can help me through.” Getting upon his knees on the saddle, he ventured on; the horse soon got beyond his depth, and so was com pelled to swim. To the astonishment o f the spectators, the noble beast bore him safely to the opposite bank, and Seybert filled his appointment that evening in spite of storm and flood.— S unday S chool T imes . God Helping Joshua J oshua 1 :l-9 Memory Verse: “The Lord is my helper” (Heb. 13:6). Approach: A long time ago, our Bible stories told of some of the men whom we read about in the Old Testament—Abra ham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and ^/Vl S \4 knew that Joshua leader, because He and He had found that Joshua was afraid to do hard things. It was time now for the children o f Is rael to cross the Jordan River and enter the land that God had promised to them. The people in this land were strong and powerful. It would be no easy battle for the children of Israel to fight. But God had promised them the land, and that was all that Joshua needed to know. Forty years before, Joshua had gone •as a spy into this land to find out what it was like and who lived there. He and Caleb were the only two spies who came back with an honest report about the land. Thev told o f the beauty and richness of the land. They told also of the wickedness of the people. But because the people were wicked, they knew that God would take their land from them and give it to the Israelites. So now, forty years later, here were the children o f Israel come again to the edge Moses and Aaron. Today we are going to have a story about another Old T e s t a m e n t man named Joshua. Lesson S t o r y : When Moses died, the children of Is rael needed a new leader. God chose J o s h u a t o t a k e Moses’ place. God would make a good had tried Joshua out not
JULY 9, 1933 CALEB N umbers 13 ; J oshua 14
presented his claim to a special section of the promised land. That this section was then held by the Anakim, or giants, re veals Caleb’s estimate of the power o f the Anakim in comparison with the power of God. He relied upon his God, and his con duct showed that his reliance gave him courage and confidence. I. C aleb ’ s R etrospect (6-9 ). Caleb reminded Joshua of what had taken place forty-five years before, when the unbelieving people had sent the spies to search the land before the people would enter at the command of the Lord. The Lord had brought them through the wil derness to Kadesh-Barnea and had told them to go in and possess the land, but they had sent the spies to make sure that what the Lord had said was true. This unbelief prepared them for believing the adverse report of the returned spies. Caleb was one o f the spies and, like the others, had seen that the land was good, just as the Lord had spoken. He also had seen what the others saw, that there were giants there. But unlike the others, he had also seen the Lord who could make good His promise to give the land to the children of Israel and drive out the giants before them. Further, he reminded Joshua of the dif ference between himself and the other spies. He could truly say of himself that he had “wholly followed the Lord” his God. Because of this, he had been ready to take possession o f the land at that time, and he was ready now, because—then or now—it was all within the power o f the Lord whether any of them should possess the land. The fact that forty-five years had intervened would make no difference, if the Lord was still the unchanged God. Finally, he reminded Joshua of the promise that this section of the land, Mount Hebron, should be his. He referred (v. 9) to the fact that this particular place had been given to him in perpetuity be cause he had “wholly followed the Lord.” Three times these words are used concern ing Caleb, and they hold within them the secret o f his heroism and his success. The road to success and the path to glory today, as then, lies in wholly following the Lord. To follow the Lord in this manner will mean to walk after Him as after a guide, into new and untried territory. It will mean the highest kind o f heroism, because it in volves full confidence in the Lord whatever appearances may be, absolute dependence upon Him whatever circumstances may be, and high courage in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. This retrospect took Caleb back to the deliverance o f the people from the land of Egypt, to his service rendered at Ka desh-Barnea, and to the years o f wander ing in the wilderness. During all that-long stretch o f years, he had never lost sight o f the promise made to him, and his desire to possess the land was undimmed and un changed. II. C aleb ’ s I ntrospect (10, 11). Caleb had been kept alive, as the Lord had promised. This very fact was proof that the Lord intended him to have what
Lesson T ex t : Josh. 14:6-14. Golden T ext: “Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust” (Psa. 40:4). Caleb’s Inheritance ||~s w e cross the level plain which y 1[I borders the Mediterranean Sea, we / “ ■ observe a line o f low hills, stretch ing from the south to the north, as far as the eye can reach. They are for the most part barren o f trees, and fairly regular in
configuration. Only here and there do we see a rounded knoll c r o w n e d with a grove of oak trees, and only occasion ally does one o f the hillocks jut out far ther into the plain than its neighbors, forming a sort of
bastion to this natural wall. This is the Shephelah, or low hill-country, of the south. This, together with the higher hills o f the central range around Hebron, was the district allotted to Caleb and his family. These low foothills provide one of the most excellent places to live in all Pales tine. There are many hills upon which vil lages may be built. Such a location was quite necessary in ancient times, for a city built upon a hill was much more easily pro tected. Then, too, building material is plentiful. In the level plains to the west, houses must be built o f mud bricks, for there are no stones. Bricks do not make the best building material. In the hills, there is an abundance of stone, from which substantial houses and city walls can be constructed. The hills abound in clear gushing springs, which provide good drink ing water all the year around. Between the hills are many small valleys, where the ground is not so rocky, and where culti vation of crops may be carried on. The gently rolling hills and fertile valleys pro vide excellent grazing land for sheep and cattle. It was in this district that David, the shepherd lad, tended his father’s flocks. Thus we see that Caleb received one o f the most habitable portions o f the land o f Canaan. ------------- Outline and Exposition To fully appreciate the story o f Caleb, one of the great heroes of Old Testament times, careful consideration should be given to Numbers 13 and 14, Deuteronomy 1: 26-38, and Joshua 14. The possessions of the nine and a half tribes were distributed by lot, but Caleb BLACKBOARD LESSON
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