Dig Deeper - Sunday 4th January
Sermon Reflection Questions - Strong and Courageous - a Journey through the book of Joshua: Be Strong and Courageous.
Joshua 1:1-18
Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 4th January service:
The book of Joshua details the way in which the Israelites took possession of the land of Canaan which God had promised to Abraham. That’s why the land is often called ‘The Promised Land’. We are going to look at this first chapter in three parts which are set out below.
How the land was given. This goes back to when God spoke to one man, Abraham, and called him to be the father of a nation God was planning should be His representatives on earth. At the time Abraham was living in a city called Haran in modern day Turkey, although he had been born in Ur, a city in modern Iraq. Following God’s lead, he travelled hundreds of miles to the land of Canaan where he settled with his family and livestock. Famine drove his now quite large family to Egypt, where they were OK to start with until a Pharoah forced them into slave labour.
God raised up Moses to lead them back to the promise land except when they were about to cross the border for the first time, they did not trust God and so they had to wait 40 years until that disobedient generation and Moses had died. Joshua is chosen to take over from Moses and that’s where the book of Joshua starts.
How the land was taken. This first chapter of Joshua is in two parts. First God speaks to Joshua, vv1-9 and secondly Joshua speaks to the people, vv10-18. Joshua was the person who would be responsible for the Israelite army going head to head with enemy troops. He was under pressure to make wise plans, good decisions and look after his soldiers. God’s message to him three times over is this. ‘Be Strong and Courageous’. In v8 He is also challenged to keep God’s word (book of the Law) close at hand. Although the land is a gift from God, it needs to be taken and inherited and for this Joshua needs total courage and total obedience. As he passes this message on to his people, he reminds them of their obligations to take the promised land in a shared commitment to God. They too respond by saying that they will also be strong, courageous and obedient on pain of death v18.
How can we inherit the promised land? These days you’d be hard pressed to find a leader who was strong, courageous and obedient to God. But there was one who shared a name with Joshua and that was Jesus. It was Jesus who said ‘I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me’ and ‘I am the resurrection and the life’. Those who know Jesus and follow Him are those who will inherit the promised land of eternal life in the presence of God almighty. Now that’s an offer that should not be ignored.
Questions for discussion:
1. Joshua was trained and commissioned for a difficult leadership role. Leadership isn’t always high profile. Think about areas in your life where you might be viewed as a leader or role model.
2. Are there any situations you are facing where you need to be strong and courageous? What promises has God given us in the Bible to help us in times like that.
3. Joshua was charged ‘not to let the book of the Law depart from your mouth’. What does that tell us about the way we should relate to the Bible.
4. Why do some people think that eternal life is like a lifetime achievement award? What would you say to someone like this about the true way to have eternal life?
5. Considering the response of the Israelites in this passage, how can we best support our Christian leaders?
6. Where do you stand in relation to inheriting God’s offer of eternal life?
Prayer
Father God, promise keeper, as we set off into 2026, may what we have thought about today be not just good intentions like New Year Resolutions, but rather a change to our way of life so that we may become more like you day by day. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
