Lesson 1Conquest of the land

Review and

Introduction

A nation

• God has molded a nation from the descendants of Abraham Gen. 12:2

• We have studied the stories until the families grew to be about 70-75 people that went to Egypt in the days of Joseph Gen. 46:26-27; Acts 7:14

• They were the honored family of a ruler in Egypt and given choice land to live on

A nation

• Conditions changed after Joseph died and the Pharaohs did not know Joseph and what he did

• The Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptians until the Exodus

• God’s plan was on schedule

• Israel had become a distinct group since the Egyptians did not mix with foreigners

A nation

• God heard their cry for deliverance

• He sent Moses to rescue them from bondage Ex. 3-4

• A series of plagues was sent by Jehovah

• This taught Pharaoh who God was and that He must obey Ex. 5-12

• Finally Pharaoh ordered Israel to leave lest all the Egyptians be destroyed

A nation

• God took that generation of slaves to Mt. Sinai and made a covenant with them

• He said if they would obey Him they would be His chosen possession in all the earth

• He would be their God and they would be His people Ex. 19:4-6

• Israel wanted His blessings and were quick to say they would obey His commandments

A nation

• God appeared to them on Mt. Sinai and gave the ten commandments

• The people were afraid and ask Moses to speak with God for them and tell them all that He said

• They still promised to do what He said

• The law was given and the covenant was ratified Ex. 19-24

A nation

• These slaves who came out of Egypt were made into a distinct nation with God as their King and His laws to guide their lives

• The first promise to Abraham-the nation promise – was fulfilled

• Years have passed and it is time for the second main promise to Abraham to be fulfilled.

Land Promise

• God promised to Abraham that someday He would give the land of Canaan to his descendants. Gen. 12:7

• Israel is now at the threshold of Canaan and Joshua is their appointed leader

• Joshua will lead the people across the Jordan River to conquer the land of Canaan

Land Promise

• God promised to be with His people to help them fight their battles and bless them as long as they are faithful to Him.

• He commanded that they drive out all the wicked inhabitants who possess the land

• God will drive out the Canaanites because they are very wicked. Deut. 9:1- 6

• They are to destroy all the idols they find in the land. Deut. 7

The conquest

• The book of Joshua opens with God reassuring Joshua that He will be with him

• Moses is now dead, mourning for him has ended.

• Time to move on across the Jordan• They are encamped on the plains of Moab• They had been here since they had

defeated Sihon the Amorite and Og of Bashan Num. 22:1

The conquest

• Since that time they have endured the threat of King Balak of Moab

• He tried to use Balaam to curse Israel Num. 22-24

• Balaam’s suggestion Num. 31:16, the Moabite and Midianite women entered the camp and caused the Israelites to go after idols

• His motive was money 2 Pet. 2:15

The conquest

• God punished Israel for their idolatry by putting the guilty ones to death 24,000

• God said it was time to number all the soldiers Num. 26 (all the men above 20 years old) who were able to go to war

• They had been counted 40 years earlier at Mt. Sinai Num. 1:1-46

• There were 603,550 at that time

The conquest

• The soldiers counted earlier were afraid when the spies came back with a bad report at Kadesh-barnea.

• God decreed that not one of those soldiers would live to inherit the land

• They were to wander 40 years until every man was dead (Num. 13-14) except Joshua & Caleb

• The first book of Joshua brings us to the time when nearly 40 years has passed.

The conquest

• Moses spent the last month of life telling this new generation to remain faithful

• To drive out the wicked inhabitants

• To destroy the idols

• To remember God and His blessings

• To tell their children of the mighty deeds of God so they would be faithful

The conquest• Moses gave vivid descriptions of the

blessings and curses set before the people

• Blessings if they were faithful

• Curses if they turned from Jehovah Deut 28

• Led the people in making a covenant with Jehovah in addition to the one at Mt. Sinai

• This one concerned their promise to be faithful so they could keep the land

• If they deserted God He would desert them Deut 29

The conquest

• Your eyes have seen what God did to Pharaoh

• Up until now you have not had minds to understand with, eyes to see, ears to hear

• You have seen how God took care of you in the wilderness

• Neither your clothes nor sandals wore out

• Food was provided so you would know God cared for you and loved you and that He is your God

The conquest

• With His help we defeated Sihon and Og

• Carefully follow the covenant and you will prosper

• Now you have entered into a covenant with Jehovah and sealing it with an oath

• He is making the covenant with not only you but those who will come after you

The conquest

• Be sure no one turns aside to idols

• Let there be no root among you that produces such bitter poison

• If you do not listen with intent to obey and ignore the covenant the Lord will not forgive

• All the curses in this book will fall on you

• Failing to serve Him will cause your children after you to be carried to distant lands and will see calamities that will fall on this land

The conquest

• The land will be a burning waste of salt & sulfur• Nothing planted or sprouting, will grow on the

land (you can see why people say the land is terrible, “I would not have it”)

• All nations will ask why has the Lord done this to the land?

• Why this fierce, burning anger?• The answer will be “because this people broke

their covenant with Jehovah• They went aside and worshiped other gods

The conquest

• He will uproot you and thrust you into another land

• Remember the secret things belong to Jehovah but these things have been revealed

• God’s laws, warnings, exhortations to this generation and all who follow Deut. 29:29

• You can not claim ignorance• It is time to take this new land with God’s

help, but you can stay only if faithful

The conquest

• It is very important to the understanding of the rest of the Bible to understand the terms of the covenant

• God promised to help this generation to fight their battles and conquer this land

• It will be up to them to finish clearing the land of wicked inhabitants

• God will help as long as they move forward on the task but He will not force them to finish

The conquest

• They will pay the consequences if they fail

• Moses dies and it is time for a new leader to take charge

• That leader is Joshua

• Not new to responsibility because he has been with Moses since earliest days in the wilderness

• He led the army to fight the Amalekites at Rephidim Ex. 17:8-16

The conquest

• Joshua was with Moses when God gave the law Ex. 24:13; 32:17

• He and Caleb were the only spies who brought back a good report and said we can take the land Num. 14:4-10

• Among the soldiers counted at Sinai the only two still living were Joshua and Caleb Num. 26:64-65

• Joshua is the leader and strong faith will enable him to conquer the land