What War Are Ye Facing? 31 OCT 07

“What War Are You Facing?”

OCT 31, 2007

Joshua 1:2-7

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.
3	Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
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 of the sun, shall be your coast.
5	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.

Comments

Gods promises to Joshua. Joshua took Moses’ place. Moses had been along for a long time and now he’s dead. Joshua is pretty nervous in this position. One question, will God be with me? God said he would.

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.
7	Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 3:1-4

1	And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2	And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3	And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4	Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

Comments

This was a new way and God didn’t tell them that. You have to remember they wandered in the wildernous 40 years. They knew that way. Can you imagine walking around and coming across this landscape and remember you had been there 10 years ago? That’s depressing. God was going to take this 40 years and take out men women and children, and he did. Problem with following God, you think you know where you are going. We’re going to reach a point with God where we’ve never been before.

Joshua 5:1

1

And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

Comments

They felt safe for awhile because Jordan was at flood stage. Then God tells Joshua to get up and cross today. You’d think God would wait till the flood stage is over but its not God’s ways.

Joshua 5:2-8

2	At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
3	And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4	And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5	Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
6	For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not show them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
7	And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8	And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.

Comments

Circumsicion was a token of a covenant that God made with Abraham. It said they belonged to God. God could not give them his land unless everyone was circumsized.

Joshua 5:9

9	And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day

Comments

Gilgal means rolling way. It has the same root and meaning of Gilgatha.

Joshua 5:10

10	And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

Exodus 12:40

40	Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41	And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

Comments

God brought them in on the exact same day 40 years later. God said you may void my truth with your traditions. For example, Easter. If you take God’s word, Good Friday would never be. Easter Sunday would never be.

Joshua 5:11-12

11	And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
12	And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Comments

If you ate mana, this group in the wilderness, that’s all they ever ate. They were fed angels food designed by God. Don’t think the mana will be forever, it has an ending date. The promise, Heaven, is as real as it can be. Many people didn’t know that mana stopped coming down after they crossed the river Jordan.

Joshua 5:13-15

13	And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14	And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15	And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

Comments

God is saying to Joshua, you will not lose a single war. When God spoke to Joshua, he gave him his word first. God will not show up and bring your wall down until you’re ready. Quit asking how because God knows.

Joshua 6:1-2

1	Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
2	And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.