THE K I NG ’ S BUSINESS
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JOSHUA
John A. Hubbard, D. D.
L AST month we studied the book of Exodus. This month we take Joshua. I. Introduction: In order to get the connection, let us take a brief look at the preceding books.. Genesis is the book of Beginnings, Exodus, the book of Redemption, and Leviticus, the book of Worship. Only those people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ can w o r s h i p acceptably. Numbers is the book of Service and Walk. It is not until we are redeemed and know something of real worship that we are in a position to walk as a Christian is expected to, or to rènder acceptable service. Deuteronomy may be called the book of Preparation. It consists principally of a series of ad dresses delivered by Moses to the new generation of Israelites to instruct and prepare them for the new life upon which they were to enter as they passed over into the Promised Land. Joshua is the book of Possession. It records the realization of God’s pur pose .revealed to Abraham centuries before (Gen. 15:13-21), and promised to Israel in Egypt (Ex. 6:5-8). II. Key Verse—Joshua 1:3: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” All the land was theirs in promise, but they could enjoy only what they actually possessed. This reminds us of the key verse of Ephesians: “Blessed be the God and Father Of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). These two key verses suggest to us “the law of ap propriation. God gives, but we must take” (Dr. C. I. Scofield). Some Chris tians enjoy a richer, fuller measure of-blessing than others, not'because they are God’s favorites, but because they appropriate more than others. “Possess your possessions.”
possession are vastly different. When one enters the “Canaan life,” he be gins. to possess in a way he has not known- before. b. They had Rest, verse 44. This stands in sharp contrast to the rest lessness of the wilderness life. At this point, the-reader is urged to carefully read the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews, and to give heed to the ex, , hortation, “Let us therefore give dili gence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11-R. V.). One of the outstanding characteristics of the day in which we are living is its restlessness, but thank God, His chil dren may have wonderful soul rest even under these conditions (Matt. ll:28 r30). c. There was Victory, verse 44. Here again we have a sharp contrast between the w i l d e r n e s s and the Canaan experience. Contrary to God’s will, many of His-children are living in defeat. The experience of Romans 7 is theirs, but God wants them to know the experience of victory set forth in Romans 8. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). 3. from the wilderness into Canaan. For Israel, this was a definite, clean-cut experience. They set up a memorial (Josh. 4:7), This has been the experi ence of many a child of God, not a long, drawn-out process, but an in- . stantaneous separation f r o m the world. a; In- this there is the Divine side and also;the human. God brought them in, by His grade and power: Romans 7 shows the utter futility of human efforts apart from His work ing. God said to Israel while they . were still in Egypt, “I Will bring, you in” (Ex. 6:8), Even so now, God. must - bring us into the larger experience.
HI. Outline: For those who would like to make a real study of Joshua, the following outline is suggested: 1. Chs. 1-5 Entrance into Canaan. 2. Chs. 6-12 Conquest of Canaan. a. 6-9 C o n q u e s t of Central Canaan. b. 10 Co n qu e s t of Southern Canaan. c. 11 C o n q u e s t of Northern Canaan. d. 12 Summary of Conquest. 3. Chs. 13-22 Division of Canaan. 4. Chs. 23, 24 Joshua’s final ad dress and death. We suggest that in- order to get the contents of the book in mind, a name be given to each chapter. IV. Spirituql Application: The two kinds of life: 1. The wilderness life which is re corded in the book of Numbers. It is characterized by restlessness, dissat isfaction, defeat, no progress and it is God-dishonoring. The Egyptians might well say of Israel during those years, “Where is their God?” There are far too many Christians who are now liv ing this kind of life, and it surely dis honors our Lord and is a stumbling block to the unsaved. 2. The Canaan life. Canaan, was not, as is commonly thought, a type of Heaven, for there .was, con.-, flict with evil, forces, there, which, of course, will not be true , of Heaven. Rather, it is a picture of the kind of life.which stands, in sharp contrast to the wilderness experience,, arid is the kind of life God warits.all. believers to live, now. . .. . Joshua 2-1:43, 44 is a kind of; sum mary of the Canaan life: : a. There was Possession, verse 43. As previously noted, the land was already theirs in promise, but to -have a thing in promise and have it in
Let us think now of the passing
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