Joshua Leads Israel

It never ceases to amaze me how much I get from the bible lessons I am teaching in my primary class.  My students are so well versed in the scriptures I know that I have to study these lessons beforehand. I also try to find the "why?" and the "what?"in all these lessons..."WHY did the Lord include this lesson in the manual and WHAT does he want these young children to learn from it?

-The first point comes in Joshua 1:5   "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."

When the Lord gives us an assignment/calling/commandment he will be there for us every step of the way...he will not fail us, nor forsake us.  That is powerful!  Think about it.  Everything He asks comes with the assurance that we will succeed because He is with us.  That doesn't mean the task will be easy, that is will not try or stretch us spiritually...but we can do it!

-Learn From the Scriptures.This second lesson comes in Joshua 1:8  "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."

What is the message for us here?  How can reading and meditating (pondering) on the scriptures help us to accomplish what the Lord has asked of us?

-Be Strong and Courageous. In Joshua 1:6-7, 9, 18 Joshua is asked to be strong and courageous. What was it about this task that would take strength and courage? How do you think Joshua felt as he prepared to take the city of Jericho? What a daunting task.  Do you think he wondered if the people were ready, if they would listen to and follow him? I am sure he was concerned if any would perish in the fight. There were a lot of unknowns and he needed to be the people's constant.

Why do we need to be spiritually strong and courageous today?  

President Thomas S. Monson stated: 

"We are here upon the earth at a remarkable period in its history. Our opportunities are almost limitless, and yet we also face a multitude of challenges, some of them unique to our time.

We live in a world where moral values have, in great measure, been tossed aside, where sin is flagrantly on display, and where temptations to stray from the strait and narrow path surround us. We are faced with persistent pressures and insidious influences tearing down what is decent and attempting to substitute the shallow philosophies and practices of a secular society.

Because of these and other challenges, decisions are constantly before us which can determine our destiny. In order for us to make the correct decisions, courage is needed—the courage to say no when we should, the courage to say yes when that is appropriate, the courage to do the right thing because it is right.

-Faith Proceeds the Miracle. Another of the lessons comes in Joshua 3:13 where the soles of the priest's feet had to touch the river before it would become dry ground. Can you imagine carrying the Ark of the Covenant to this raging river overflowing its banks and knowing you had to take the first step? The blessings come after the test of our faith and obedience.

"But know this: that undaunted faith can stop the mouths of lions, make ineffective the fiery flames, make dry corridors through beds of rivers and seas. Unwavering faith can protect against deluge, terminate droughts, heal the sick, and bring heavenly manifestations. Indomitable faith can help us live the commandments and thereby bring blessings unnumbered with peace, perfection, and exaltation in the kingdom of God. May this be our desire to develop this kind of faith and may we finally attain the blessings which such perfect faith can bring, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."  ~President Spencer W. Kimball

-The Lord's Ways Are Not Our Ways. Joshua 6:11-16

 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

 12 ¶And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

 13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

 14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days.

 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.

Doesn't this sound like pretty bizarre tactics to take a city.  Why didn't they just battle?  Why didn't the Lord cause a deep sleep to come over the people of Jericho? There could have been a hundred different ways for the Lord to help the children of Israel take this city... why this way?

In the scriptures we see that the Lord's ways are not the ways of man. They rarely follow logic (or the laws of nature).The walls of the city fell because of the power of the Lord and the faith and obedience of the Israelites.



-We Must ChooseWhat did Joshua do before he asked the people to choose whom they would serve? (Explain that as the prophet he set an example for the children of Israel to follow.) When Joshua asked the children of Israel to choose whom they would serve, what was their choice? (Joshua 24:15, 24, 31.) How can we serve the Lord? (By having faith in our Church leaders and following their words.) President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Loyalty to the Lord also includes loyalty to those leaders he has chosen” (“Give the Lord Your Loyalty,” Ensign, Mar. 1980, p. 4).