Joshua 1
Leaders Prep Section
Watch this video, read these notes, and send the pre-written email (below) to your group 2-3 days before you meet.
Notes
Clearly something big is about to happen! The God of the universe, capable of all things, kicks off this story saying, “be strong and courageous.” Obviously this is instruction, but also feels like a warning…a warning that following him requires more from us then we’d think.
Group Guide Starts Here
Context of scripture
God has led his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt with the promise of a new home. A new generation, under command of Joshua, gets their chance to follow God and get the life he’s promised.
Read Joshua 1: 1-6
Notice how God operates – He makes promises and gives them a part to play; v6 says, “be strong and courageous, for you shall cause…”. He doesn’t say, “Sit back and watch.” Courage is required.
Have you ever done something you’d consider “courageous?”
Is “being strong and courageous” different from “having faith?”
Read Joshua 1: 7-9
The “book of the law” (what we call the book of Deuteronomy) was considered their playbook to live by.
How would you finish this sentence, “To me, the bible is a ______?”
How much or often do you read the bible?
If the Israelites follow God’s playbook, God promises success and prosperity. The ancient Hebrew word for success, means “wisdom, insight, and understanding.” The word prosperous means, “to push forward.” So God is promising they will have the wisdom and insight to push through to what he has promised them. It has absolutely nothing to do with material wealth or power.
How different is this from what you’ve heard in popular Christian teaching?
Read Joshua 1: 10-18
The “men of valor” were their military elite.1 Their commitment to kill any of their own who disobeyed this decision is a practice in Hebrew culture called “standing in surety.” It’s a self-imposed, death-penalty level commitment.
These men were being asked to risk their lives fighting for land that other people would live in. Would you really do this?
God could have just given them the land (and done “who knows what” with the people already living there). But God says it’s their job to “take possession of the land.” Strong and courageous is what they need to be…but following God and taking what’s promised is what they need to do.
How does this feel, to know you might have to be aggressive, even fight for something God has promised you? Is this a new idea to you?