The Book Of Joshua

Hey everybody, hope the week has gone well for you, and you've tried to seek out the presence of the Lord in your life.

We will be going through the book of Joshua, so I hope you guys are ready for some good ol' fashioned Old Testament stories.

Background info for those who might not be up to speed on who exactly Joshua was.

Everybody knows Moses, his story from the little baby adopted into the royal family of Egypt, to his leading of the Israelites over the Red Sea, to the giving of the ten commandments at Sinai. If you don't know these stories, just start in Genesis and read through Deuteronomy. They are his five books.

Well, Joshua was the son of Nun, Moses personal assistant. (Joshua 1:2). He helped him administer over the nation while Moses was alive, and after Moses had died, God picked Joshua to lead the people in their conquest of the promised land. Check out the last couple chapters of Deuteronomy for this transition in leadership.

In the first chapter of Joshua, we see him fully take leadership over the nation of Israel through a series of public ceremonies and speeches.

There isn't a whole lot of detail needed to explain this chapter, so I will focus on the one thing that is special about those who wish to lead under the Lord.

Most ancient societies had certain obligations placed on their up and coming rulers. The Egyptian Pharoahs had to memorize spells for their trip to the underworld. Spartan kings had to master warfare. Roman caesars had to become intimately involved in the foreign affairs of their empire.

Not so with God's chosen leaders. If you notice in this chapter, God gives Joshua some instructions that he will need to follow to lead the people successfully.

In verses 6-8, God tells Joshua that he is to study the law given through Moses, and to never turn from God's instructions contained in it.

That's it.

He will lead millions of people into battle, and instead of being told to hone his warfare, or develop his pragmatic leadership abilitiy, God tells him to study the Law day and night, and that by doing this he will make a successful leader.

I think it's cool that the very same instructions and words that Moses and Joshua were told to study and live out in their lives are in our hands today.

With these very words, kingdoms were conquered, nations were freed, and world history was changed.

Think it could help you at your next business meeting, or p.t.a. associational meeting?

Please, let us join Joshua in studying God's word day and night, and see what we can accomplish.