JOSHUA: TWELVE MEN WENT TO SPY OUT CANAAN

Exodus 17:1-16 (KJV)

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Joshua is, to my wife and I, such an important Bible character that we named our son, Caleb. J

Anita will tell you that she knew I was called to preach before I did.

After our wedding, she went to her mom and dad and told them not to be surprised if I was a pastor someday.

I never acknowledged that God was dealing with me about going into the ministry for another year.

But Anita had those suspicions, and there was some fear associated with it for her.

Our experience in Independent Baptist Churches was a lot different than where you are sitting right now.

The pastor who performed our marriage had been run out of an Independent Baptist Church because the members didn’t like his doctrine – he would not preach that backsliders go to purgatory.

The church we were in after we got married had only 17 people, meeting in an old laundry mat.

The pastor told stories of digging food out of the trash containers behind grocery stores in Springfield, Missouri.

The prospects to her were terrifying.

Me? I was just trying to buy God off with the tithe from my good job.

At about the same time that I came to grips with God’s call on my life, Anita read the account of the twelve men Moses sent to spy out Canaan.

Ten of those spies came back and reported that it was impossible to take the land, even if God wanted them to do it.

Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, came urging Israel to go possess what God had given them.

I came home from work one day and Anita told me that she wanted to do what called us to do as Joshua and Caleb did.

A short time later we sold our things, packed up what remained, and headed to Denver, CO to go to Bible College.

When our firstborn came along, his name was ordained before the foundations of our marriage. He would be Bohannan.

But when Anita became pregnant the second time, the doctor thought she was carrying twins and they were to be Joshua and Caleb.

When Caleb came alone, we chose that name, as it was the less common at the time between the two.

To this day, I cannot read about either Joshua or Caleb in the Bible without

·   First, thanking God for working in our lives as He has these years and

·   Secondly, thanking Him for my children and, in this case, especially Caleb.

Joshua is the more noted character in the Bible, but for the sake of Today’s message, I want to assume that whatever is true of Joshua, would be true of Caleb too.

The very first time you find Joshua in the Bible –

He is leading a fight.

Exodus 17:13

And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

In more my sort of terms, “He whupped the stuffing out of them.”

Turns out that Joshua is going to be a notable warrior.

There is no question that a spiritual person:

·   Puts on the whole armor of God

·   Wrestles with principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world and

·   Endures hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ

But let’s back up a bit.

Joshua is all of that and so much more.

He is

I. A SERVANT OF MOSES

Exodus 33:11 (KJV)

And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Joshua was a servant, but we don’t really see him:

·   Writing Moses’ letters

·   Doing Moses’ ironing or

·   Carrying Moses’ bags

What you see is that, wherever Moses is, Joshua is there:

A. On the Mount

Exodus 24:12-13 (KJV)

And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

The Lord called Moses to come up to Him into the mount, where God would give to him the Ten Commandments

Let’s call this personal devotion.

But notice that Joshua went up with him.

The account of Moses on Mount Sinai is convoluted enough that it gets a bit confusing.

I do not believe that Joshua was standing next to Moses when God gave him the Ten Commandments.

I think he was on that Mountain somewhere close enough for Moses to call for him if and when he needed him.

I think the picture is of a compatible spirit.

One of the things a spiritual leader needs is people who are “with him” in a personal relationship with God.

·   He needs more than people who obey his directions.

·   He need people who have the same heart for God

He needs people who agree with him and get alone with God, as he does.

While Moses and Joshua were up on Mount Sinai, the rest of the congregation was down below, pacing impatiently.

They didn’t want God.

·   They wanted freedom

·   They wanted houses

·   They wanted farms

·   They wanted food and water

A man like Moses needs people who want God like Moses wanted God.

Secondly Joshua was with him

B. In the Tabernacle

Exodus 33:11 (KJV)

And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

·   If I can call Mount Sinai personal devotions

·   I will call the tabernacle corporate worship

The two fit together like a pair of gloves.

You just haven’t got a complete set unless you have both.

·   Some people come to church but have no walk with God outside of church.

·   Other people think they can worship God alone, and won’t have anything to do with “organized religion.”

The fact is that a Spiritual person knows he or she can’t do without either.

·   They are going to be in the house of God every time the doors are open

AND

·   They are going to have personal and private times of worship of the Lord.

Then we see Joshua

C. Down on the battlefield

Exodus 17:8-13

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

I call the mount – personal devotion

I call the tabernacle – public worship

That makes the battle, Christian service.

·   It’s soul winning

·   It’s bus ministry

·   It’s witnessing to people at work and around town

·   It’s reaching out to be a help to someone who is confused spiritually

·   It’s trying to restore someone who has fallen

·   It’s praying for those in authority

You can add to this list whatever else I might have missed.

Here’s the thing, you need to have the other two to make this work.

He is

II. A MAN OF FAITH

Numbers 14:1-9 (KJV)

And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!

And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

Faith is believing God despite the naysayers and statistical odds against what God is leading us to.

I think we need to be careful here.

Faith is not believing something just because we want to believe it.

·   It’s not faith to believe that the next fifteen presidents will be God honoring Christians

·   It’s not faith to believe that someone’s cancer will be cured because a Charismatic preacher said it would

·   It’s not faith to quit a job and move away believing that a better job will find you in the next state over

Faith is believing what God says in this Bible – period.

·   I believe that God created the earth in seven literal days because the Bible says so

·   I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God – that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for my sins and rose again three days later because the Bible says so

·   I believe whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, because the Bible says so

Faith believes this book.

·   Regardless of how many people don’t believe it

·   Regardless of how big the giants are that stand against it

·   Regardless of how angry people become because I believe it.

Faith believes this book

A spiritual person will believe this book

And then lastly concerning Joshua,

He is

III. A LEADER OF HIS HOUSE

Joshua 24:14-15 (KJV)

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Whenever I read this the first thing that always comes to my mind is, “SAYS YOU!”

It isn’t very difficult to SAY, “….me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

But every one in that house has a mind of their own.

You can’t always make them serve the Lord so you just as well learn from the beginning to lead them in serving.

A. That means you serve faithfully

B. That means you explain why carefully

C. That means you direct them prayerfully

And, with the blessing of God you will be able to say, “As for me and my house, [we have] served the Lord.”