Chapter One
SESSION
1
Joshua: The Law of the First Step
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
The Heart of the
MESSAGE
If we are going to follow God, we will have to live by faith. There is no other way.
To walk with God is to walk in faith. The people of Israel had to learn this
message over and over, and so do we!
In the book of Joshua God's people are called to take huge steps of faith. In
some cases, their human minds cannot make sense of God's way of doing things.
But they learn to follow even when his leading is beyond their understanding.
What is the law of the first step? Sometimes God waits to act until we begin to move
in faith! When we step out in faith, God reveals his power and presence. When
we take the first step, God shows up and reveals his glorious might. However, if
we stand still, paralyzed by fear, and refuse to take the first step, we may miss the
faith-building experience of seeing God at work.
The Heart of the
MESSENGER
As you prepare this message, take time to do a personal inventory of your own
heart and life. Are there places God is calling you to step out in faith, but you are
not responding? Is there fear in your heart that has caused you to freeze up and
miss an opportunity to walk in faith? If you are going to teach about taking risky
steps of faith, it may be time for you to walk with a new measure of boldness and
confidence in God's power to act. As you prepare to bring this message to God's
people, invite the Holy Spirit to infuse you with a boldness and a willingness to
take a first step of faith in an area you have been resisting his leading.
1. God's Love for Every Generation
The generation of Israelites who left Egypt free from Pharaoh's clutch had died
in the desert because of their refusal to trust God. They could not believe that
God had the power to overcome the nations on the other side of the Jordan.
They did not trust him to enable them to occupy the Promised Land. That lack
of faith consigned them for the forty years of wandering in the desert. Now there
is a new generation of Israelites, who must decide if they will have greater faith
than those who came before them. They must determine whether they believe
God can lead them into the Promised Land, even when it seems the odds are
against them.
INTERPRETIVE
INSIGHT Understanding Hebrew Poetry
The only way we can make sense of Deuteronomy 5:8-10 is by taking some time
to do a little background on how to read Hebrew poetry. The Old Testament is
filled with examples of poetic structures that must be read in a specific way.
Hebrew poetry is primarily characterized by something called parallelism. In
English, we tend to recognize poems because the words rhyme or have a certain
meter. In Hebrew poetry, however, the primary characteristic is how one word or
sentence parallels another word or sentence. In its simplest form, Hebrew
parallelism expresses the same thought, in different words, in two successive
lines. See Psalm 19:1 as an example:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
"The heavens" in the first line is parallel to "the skies" in the second line,
"declare" is parallel to "proclaim," and "the glory of God" is parallel to "the work
of his hands." Both lines say the same thing with different words.
There are dozens of variations of Hebrew parallel structure in the Bible. One
of them involves numbers. Sometimes to emphasize a key point the writer will
use what is called numerical parallelism. Examples can be found in Proverbs 6:16
and 30:15b:
There are six things which the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him. (6:16)
There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, "Enough!" (30:15b)
In the second line of Proverbs 6:16 the writer is not saying that he just thought of
another thing God hates. Rather, it is a way of giving poetic emphasis to a single
point. It is meant to draw our attention to all seven things the Lord hates!
Another variation on Hebrew numerical parallelism occurs when the
numbers draw out a dramatic contrast. In Genesis 4:24 we read:
If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.
Lamech says this as a way of pointing out a contrast. "If you think there was
danger going after Cain, that's nothing compared to the danger of going after
me." The point of these numbers is to draw out the difference between them.
Another example of numerical parallelism is found in 1 Samuel 18:8:
Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have
credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me
with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"
King Saul of Israel is saying, "The people say that I've only slain thousands in
battle, but David ten times that many." This song of the people is a form of
numerical parallelism, and Saul does not miss the contrast-he gets the point so
well that it angers him!
In Deuteronomy 5:9b-10 we read:
I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children
for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of
those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations
of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The numerical contrast captured here is not just ten or eleven times bigger; it's
hundreds of times bigger. This is by far the most dramatic example in all of the
Old Testament of Hebrew parallelism that draws out a numerical contrast. The
key thing to realize is that this is not a statement of emphasis. Rather, it is clearly an
expression of contrast. Notice in verse 10 God says, "I . am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, but [here is the contrast] showing love to a
thousand generations [or thousands of generations] of those who love me"
The teaching here is that God is ready to punish sin. We must not be
deceived. He will judge evil. He will. But it's not what he longs to do. What he
longs to do is show love. God is willing to punish, but he's longing to show love.
Notice the last phrase in verse 9, "punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" (or "those who
rebel against me"). This phrase is describing the third and fourth generation. In
other words, God is not saying he will punish a future generation of innocent
people who haven't done anything wrong, because their ancestors sinned. The
punishment will come only if that third or fourth generation hates God. If they
rebel against God like their ancestors, they too will be punished for their sin.
INTERPRETIVE
INSIGHT Identifying Generational Sin
There is an important warning in this passage about what is sometimes called
"generational sin." This occurs when unresolved problems and sins of one
generation tend to pop up again and plague the next generation, and the next
one, and the one after that. Children who are victims of mismanaged anger or
rage are much more likely to have anger problems of their own and pass them on
to the next generation. Young people who grow up in a family where deceit is
commonly practiced learn it, and they are much more likely to have problems
telling the truth. The same is true for children in families where there is divorce
or sexual addiction.
When we are growing up, we often look at the previous generation and see
patterns of unhealthy behavior and sin and say to ourselves, "I'm never going to
be like that." But what happens? We get caught in the same trap until somewhere
along the line somebody in some generation makes a courageous decision to
change.
LIFE
APPLICATION Breaking the Chain
Many people are at a decisive point where they must make a decision to break
the generational sin that is plaguing their life and family. What if you have deeply
entrenched patterns of sin that go back a generation or two or three? What if you
are seeing this same pattern develop in the lives of your children? What can you
do when you realize that your sinful attitudes, choices, and actions are poisoning
the lives of the next generation?
When we face our sin and realize that it is infecting our children (and it
always does), we must make a mammoth decision-to decide what we love
more, our sin or our children! We have to ask, "Which one am I willing to
sacrifice, my sin or my son? What do I love more, my daughter or my sin?"
It is not enough just to do our best to hide the sin from our kids or to try to
manage it. We have to repent and change the way we are living, thinking, and
speaking. Such a decision takes a lot of courage. We must get ready to say, "I'm
going to break the chain. It stops here. I'll do whatever I have to do. I'll bring this
behavior or pattern or habit into the light. I will enter into accountable
relationships. I'll go to a Christian counselor and get help if that's what I need to
do. I'll do whatever it takes, but the legacy of sin stops here. I will not hand it on
to my children. I love them too much."
God has not condemned us to suffer the fate of our ancestors. Our God's
desire is to heal and show love. He'll wait a thousand generations if he has to.
God cheers for every generation.
NARRATIVE
ON THE TEXT A New Generation
A new generation stands on the banks of the Jordan. God does not want them to
experience the pain of forty years in the desert as their parents did. The old
generation suffered from a serious case of the grasshopper syndrome. They had
said, "We're just grasshoppers in the eyes of our enemies and in our own eyes.
We're small and inadequate. We could never occupy the Promised Land" (cf.
Numbers 13:33). Although God had promised the previous generation that he
would lead them and empower them to take the land, they stayed east of the
Jordan and refused to enter into God's plan.
Now their children are looking west and wondering if they will have the faith
to do what their parents did not. God speaks to the new generation and assures
them that the land is theirs for the taking. He calls them to be "strong and
courageous" and go up to take the land. God calls them to hold his law in their
hearts and promises that he will be with them every step of the way. God's
command to Joshua and the people is crystal clear: "Be strong, be courageous."
Why? "I will be with you. Everywhere you set your foot, I've already gone ahead
of you. I'll be right there." God is saying to Joshua and his generation, "Don't live
in fear!"
God had given this same message to the parents of these people when Moses
was their leader. Yet they were unable to take the step of faith needed to cross the
Jordan and enter the land. Once again, God is ready to lead his people forward in
victory. The question is, are they ready to follow?
INTERPRETIVE
INSIGHT The Third Day
Joshua sends out the word to the Israelites that they will be crossing the Jordan.
After forty years in the desert they hear the command: "Get your supplies ready.
Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession
of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own" (Joshua 1:11). The
phrase we should notice is "three days from now." Often in the Old Testament,
people are told they'll have to wait a short while for divine deliverance.
Consistently the waiting period is three days. The three-day time period became
a time of anticipation for God's people.
Joseph says to the cupbearer in prison that in three days Pharaoh will free
him from prison and restore him to his job (Genesis 40:13).
ILLUSTRATION "You Are in Trouble!"
Some passages in the Bible are hard to
understand. Through this Old Testament
Challenge we refer to them as passages
that make us say, "What's up with that?"
These passages tend to confuse people if
they read them quickly and don't take the
time to dig in and discover what is
actually being said. One such passage is
Deuteronomy 5:8. All through the Bible
we learn that God loves people. He is
passionate about us. Yet, in this verse, it
seems as if God is presented as unfair,
harsh, and even unloving. Until we dig in
and see what this passage is really
saying, this misunderstanding will remain
in the minds of many people.
Deuteronomy 5:8 can be a little
confusing. Imagine a father sitting down
with his little girl when she is five years
old and saying, "Young lady, I just found
out that your grandmother, your mother's
mother, has been masterminding an auto
theft ring in California. Your grandmother
is breaking the law! She is out of
control!" Then this little girl's daddy looks
at her sternly and says, "Young lady, you
are grounded! You can't play with your
friends; you will have a very long time-out.
If your grandmother does not straighten
up, you might not be going to your senior
prom in about thirteen years! You better
hope your grandmother gets her act
together or you're going to be in really
deep water!"
This is quite a harsh scenario. The little
girl would naturally feel the punishment is
unfair and undeserved, and anyone who
hears about this father's proposed
punishment would probably agree with
the little girl!
ON THE
LIGHTER SIDE A Strange Prayer
A pastor once said that Jonah's prayer during those three days in
the belly of the great fish may have been, "God, just let me go
out the same way I came in." Think about that one, but don't
think about it too much!
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT Waiting for Deliverance
The expression "third day" is used so frequently in the Old
Testament that it may have become a technical expression
meaning the short time of waiting for God's deliverance. Often a
word or term takes on a certain colloquial meaning that goes
beyond the simple words. It may well have been that when the
people of Israel heard the expression "third day," they began to
anticipate some way that God's deliverance and power would be
experienced soon. Hosea wrote:
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. (Hosea 6:2)
This verse uses Hebrew numerical parallelism to bring this point
home. The third day was a time of restoration and revelation of
the presence of God!
(Continues.)
