The LORD Gives Rest -- Joshua 1:10-18

The Second In A Series of Sermons on Joshua

It is easy to imagine the excitement that raced through the camp, when the order was given to pack up in preparation to cross the Jordan River and enter the land of promise.  The people of Israel waited forty long years for this day to come.  In just three short days, they would be ready to cross the river and they would at last possess that bountiful land which God promised to give to his people as their covenant inheritance.  The armies were to prepare for battle, the people would participate in a ceremony in which they acknowledged God’s choice of Joshua as their covenant leader, and then soon, they would be on the move.  It was truly a great day in the history of Israel.

Last time we began a new series on the Book of Joshua.  When we last took a break from our study of the unfolding drama of redemption “I will be your God and you will be my people,” we had completed the Book of Deuteronomy.  We left off with the people of Israel camped on the plains of Moab, just to the east of Canaan.  All that stood between Israel and the promised land was the Jordan River and the fortified city of Jericho.  While Israel was camped in Moab, God renewed his covenant with Israel–our Book of Deuteronomy.  But then Moses died and was succeeded by Joshua, a man chosen by God to lead the Israelites into the promised land and take possession of it–despite the presence of the Canaanites in the land, a group of tribes known for their great ferocity.  The Book of Joshua is the account of this transitional period in Israel’s history, when the people of God entered the land, conquered the peoples living there, and then became a great nation, just as God had promised to Abraham. 
           
As we began this series, we considered the geo-political situation on the eve of the conquest.  Living in a land between the three great empires of the day (Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Hittites), the Canaanites were flourishing at this time and there was great prosperity throughout the land.  Then we briefly reviewed the life of Joshua (Moses’ assistant), before we turned to the first nine verses of Joshua chapter one in which God renewed his promise to give Israel the land of Canaan.  This was that promise God made first to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, a promise which was renewed to Moses (and Israel) when God made a covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai.  Joshua is now the covenant mediator, but God’s covenant promise remains unchanged.  The critical question is, will the people of Israel remain faithful to the terms of the covenant so as to receive this inheritance and become a light to the nations?

Before we turn to our passage, I’d like to do a bit more introduction to the Book as a whole.  There are a number of important themes which appear multiple times in this book, and it might be useful to identity them at the beginning of this series. 

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