The Small Branch

WHO? Joshua, the priests, the people of Israel, and God WHAT? crossing the Jordan River - God divides the water and leads His people; notice that this is almost like a second “exodus” very similar to the exodus from Egypt - consecrating the people, the date it happens, the parting of the water, God leading the people with a visual (the cloud/fire from Egypt, the ark here in Joshua) - connecting the previous generation to the current one WHERE? The Jordan River, between Shittim and Gilgal/Jericho WHEN? The first month, crossing on the 10th day WHY? To go into the Promised Land HOW? By God’s design, leading, power, and might Some notes: (3:1-2) These events probably happened while the spies were in Jericho, with the crossing happening after they returned. (3:3) The ark signifies the presence of God.  This is faith requiring action.  Saving faith is active, obedient faith (3:4) 2000 cubits is about 3000 feet or 1000 yards (1 cubit=1.5 feet); The people are to treat the t...

  Read Joshua 2 Who? Rahab and the spies sent by Joshua  What? Rahab hides the spies and makes a deal for her families safety because of her faith Where? Jericho When?  As the Israelites are preparing to enter the Promised Land Why? The Israelites are being obedient to God.  God has sent these spies because He has chosen Rahab to be His own.   How?  God uses the spies to bring Rahab and her family to safety because of her faith. A few notes for this chapter: The spies enter a prostitute’s home because of the likelihood of anonymity and its proximity to the gates of the city. Canaan is made up of city-states, each having its own king, hence, the King of Jericho. Rahab’s faith leads her to action.  Is her lie justified?  No.  A lie is still a lie and therefore a sin.  But God can forgive all sin when one comes to Him in faith as Rahab does.  The point is that she saved the spies because she chose the side of God and Israel...

  Let’s begin by answering the first question from our study:   Who is Joshua? Servant of Moses, trained from youth in leadership and warfare A man in whom is the Spirit (Numbers 27:18-23) Moses laid hands on him to set him apart Commissioned in front of Eleazar the priest and the people Invested with some of Moses’ authority, the people obey him Inquires of the Lord through the priest Leads the people into the promised land Old enough that he would have been a slave in Egypt One of the spies originally sent in to Canaan, only he and Caleb believed the Lord  Tribe of Ephraim, son of Nun Cultivates a relationship with the Lord Read Joshua 1:1-5 Who?  The Lord is speaking to Joshua What? The Lord is giving Joshua instructions and encouragement  Where?  The Israelites are camping east of the Jordan River, preparing to go in to the land When?  After the death of Moses (v. 1) Why?  God has promised them the land and He is faithful...

 Just a quick note to let you know that I have decided to post notes for the Joshua Bible study on Wednesdays so that I can post notes from more than just me.  Our discussion group meets on Tuesdays, so Wednesdays will hopefully give me time to get everything together.  

 It's September and the new study year is starting!  This year, we are studying Joshua and Judges (and maybe Ruth, if there is time).   HERE IS THE STUDY GUIDE WITH THE TEXT INCLUDED.   Here is the study guide without the text.   I have decided to post my notes and some thoughts/questions/links/ideas each week, hopefully on Fridays if I can get it together.  Our discussion group meets on Tuesdays, so I will try to post the Friday before we meet.     Whenever you study Scripture, context is key.  This means you have to do a little digging before you start a new book.  Since we will start with Joshua for this study, I'm going to give you what I found to answer some key background questions. 1.) Who wrote Joshua?  The Talmud (the set of writings and commentaries on the Torah that Jewish law is based on) traditionally assigns authorship to Joshua himself (we'll explore who Joshua is when we study chapter 1).  The last few verses ar...