King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Monday, March 23, 2020
Chapters: Joshua 1-4
Message: Finding Rest In Jesus
Hello My Friend,
I have been talking a lot about God’s warning His people through this pandemic, I must make a point to say that this is more than God telling His unfaithful that it is time to repent, it is also a time for His fearful and faithful to step it up and tell the world who Jesus is, and what He can do for them. I said yesterday that this was not God judging the world right now because they know not what they do, I wrote that incorrectly. God is giving us all some warnings here, His unfaithful need to repent, and the world needs to see that there are dire consequences to not only their wickedness, but in how they treat His people. While judgment always starts with the house of God, it will end with His vengeance for His people, which we actually did read yesterday, (Deuteronomy 32:43). God’s faithful are dealing with this pandemic just like everyone else, and let me tell you, temptation is all around us, Satan is working overtime to get us to do things in our flesh rather than God’s Spirit. We can overcome the temptations of Satan by keeping God’s Word in us. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” – I Peter 4:16-19.
The Book of Joshua contains twenty-four chapters, the author is Joshua and it was written to Israel, the timeline for these events is approximately 1451 to 1427 BC. The purpose of the book was to record how Joshua led the people of Israel into the promised land and explains the division of the land among the tribes. What we are to learn from the book is that no moral or spiritual battles are won without God. Now, Moses died and it was time for Joshua to prepare the people to cross over the Jordan and into the promised land. Joshua had a big job to do, it was not going to be easy to fill Moses’ shoes, but God gives him some encouragement.
“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 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. 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. 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. 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. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” – Joshua 1:1-2,5-9.
“Only be thou strong and very courageous,” Three times God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, but here He tells him why it is important, “that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law,” It is weakness of the flesh that brings us to desire the things of the flesh and not even care what God’s Word says. The more we sin the less we want to be in God’s Word because it will convict us. “Have not I commanded thee?” We have been commanded to be strong and of a good courage. What does that mean? Strong; Well established; firm; not easily overthrown or altered. Courage; That quality of mind which enables one to encounter danger and difficulties without fear or depression of the spirit. During this pandemic, we need to be well established in the Word of God. This does not mean we need to know the meaning of every word, for we will never know every word completely, this means we are to stay in it, keep ourselves grounded in what we do know, and never stop learning from it. God designed His Word so that we learn something new every time we read from it, this is so that we keep our interest in it. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – II Timothy 2:15.
You see, the more we read and study it the more we know the truth, and it really does keep us strong in Christ, and gives is the courage to stand up to those who try to convince us otherwise. You see, God’s Word is very powerful, and no one really needs to physically read it to know its power, just hearing the testimonies of God’s people is enough. The Israelites spent forty years walking in the desert while awaiting God’s approval for them to go into the promised land, what they did not expect is that the people knew about them too, and they were coming for their land. Joshua send two men over into Jericho to check it out, it was there that they met Rehab.
“And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.” – Joshua 2:1-2,4,9,11-14.
“I know that the LORD hath given you the land,” The world knows exactly what God is capable of, and that He is with His people. That does not mean they all will follow, the king of Jericho was not about to let them come in and take over their land, but God is in control, this entire world is His, and He do what He will with it. “he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” Rehab, she not only believed, her family did too, and they knew they would be saved when Israel came in to take over the land for they had great faith in God. God would have saved any of the other people if they came to Him willingly. He does not care of someone is a prostitute, a thief, or a murderer, if they come to Him willingly, believing in Christ, confessing their sin in full repentance, then they will be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:9-13.
Israel was going to get the land God promised them, and they were going to have to fight for it. However, they were not going to fight on their own, the living God would go before them, and guide them every step of the way. What they did need was to be strong and have the courage to take that first step. That first step was crossing over the Jordan, and it was not going to be by boat, they were going to walk across it just like they walked across the Red Sea. God commands Joshua to set them all in order, the Levites leading the way.
“And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” – Joshua 3:9-10,13,17.
“Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you,” God truly is amazing, and His grace even more amazing. Amen! There is not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of just how weak I am, and that it is Christ’s strength that carries me through. I always say that coming to Christ takes great courage, not because we are weak, but we are afraid of the outcome. God does not want us to live in fear, He wants us to be strong in Him, and yes, we are going to have to fight, but we will never have to fight alone, Christ is always with us, in fact, leading us to victory. Do not live a defeated live, live a victorious life with Christ, (II Timothy 1:7-9). “the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan,” All we keep hearing from the world, and including many Christians, is of how we are living in uncertain times right now, they are literally living in fear of their lives ending at any moment. This is the time that we as saved, born again Christians, need to be out comforting the people and telling that it is time they knew the one who can give them rest. The LORD of all the earth, Jesus Christ Himself, He is the one who gives rest to the fearful. He is the one who parts the waters so that we can cross over into the promised land. Amen! “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:27-30.
Today’s Prayer: God, Our journey to the promised land may take decades to reach, and You promise to give us rest once we get there. While on our journey, we know we will face lots of challenges, each and every one of them, You promised that You will go before us and lead us so that we may overcome them. You command us only to be strong and of a good courage, so that we might keep our dependence on You, trusting in Your Word that will keep us faithful and lead us to victory. Lord, We know that we can do all things through Christ who is in us, You are our strength, as we study Your word, and walk with You daily, You will give us the ability to defeat any challenge we are faced with. Give us Your power, Your strength, Your might, Your wisdom, and Your guidance, put Your hedge of protection around us, cover us in Your arms, while our flesh is weak, we can be strong and of a good courage by observing You Word and keeping it dear to our hearts. Let us not look to the right or left, just straight ahead, trusting You to help us overcome this pandemic. In Your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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