Lesson 1
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Inhabiting the Promised Land
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8
Joshua 1
For background to Joshua read God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 15:12-21. As God had promised Abram (Abraham), his descendants were afflicted as slaves in Egypt for four hundred years before they were brought out by Moses. Israel was given the covenant of the Law at Mount Sinai before journeying to the border of the promised land, but because of their unbelief, that generation was not permitted to enter the promised land. They were made instead to wander in the desert for forty years until that generation perished. Now, under the leadership of Moses' assistant and successor, Joshua, Israel will enter into their inheritance.
Read Joshua 1
1. What promises and commands does God give to Joshua in verses 1-9?
2. Read John 14:15-21. What does Jesus tell he disciples regarding:
Joshua 1:13 "Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.'" Just as God gave an inheritance to Israel, so he gives an inheritance to the church. Our inheritance is not physical land but eternal promises and blessing. We belong to a spiritual kingdom of which Christ is the King.
3. What do the following verses say about the kingdom of God (Heaven)?
Read the following verses and consider the relationship between the Old Testament Promised Land and our spiritual inheritance in Christ.
Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, 'Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.'" Joshua 1:11
But our citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3:20
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11
4. Read Galatians 2:20 with Galatians 5:19-21 and list those unruly Canaanites that need to be driven out of the land of our life that now belongs to Christ.
5. As we are crucified with Christ and die to sin, what fruits replace the works of the flesh? See Galatians 5:22-23.
6. Are there any specific Canaanites in your life that you want God to deal with? What fruits do you want the Holy Spirit to produce in their place?
These qualities are what the Holy Spirit works into us as we walk with Jesus and obey his word. Receive them as promises of the good things he will accomplish in our lives as we trust in him. Through this study of Joshua we will learn that just as God fulfilled his promises to Israel, so will he keep his promises to us. As we study his word, learning from Israel's example, may we grow in our confidence in God and our obedience to his word as he makes us fit for the kingdom.
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Read Mark Learn Bible Studies
Inhabiting the Promised Land
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8
Joshua 1
For background to Joshua read God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 15:12-21. As God had promised Abram (Abraham), his descendants were afflicted as slaves in Egypt for four hundred years before they were brought out by Moses. Israel was given the covenant of the Law at Mount Sinai before journeying to the border of the promised land, but because of their unbelief, that generation was not permitted to enter the promised land. They were made instead to wander in the desert for forty years until that generation perished. Now, under the leadership of Moses' assistant and successor, Joshua, Israel will enter into their inheritance.
Read Joshua 1
1. What promises and commands does God give to Joshua in verses 1-9?
2. Read John 14:15-21. What does Jesus tell he disciples regarding:
- His commandments (word)
- The Holy Spirit
Joshua 1:13 "Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.'" Just as God gave an inheritance to Israel, so he gives an inheritance to the church. Our inheritance is not physical land but eternal promises and blessing. We belong to a spiritual kingdom of which Christ is the King.
3. What do the following verses say about the kingdom of God (Heaven)?
- John 18:36
- Romans 14:17
- Hebrews 12:28
Read the following verses and consider the relationship between the Old Testament Promised Land and our spiritual inheritance in Christ.
Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, 'Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.'" Joshua 1:11
But our citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3:20
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11
4. Read Galatians 2:20 with Galatians 5:19-21 and list those unruly Canaanites that need to be driven out of the land of our life that now belongs to Christ.
5. As we are crucified with Christ and die to sin, what fruits replace the works of the flesh? See Galatians 5:22-23.
6. Are there any specific Canaanites in your life that you want God to deal with? What fruits do you want the Holy Spirit to produce in their place?
These qualities are what the Holy Spirit works into us as we walk with Jesus and obey his word. Receive them as promises of the good things he will accomplish in our lives as we trust in him. Through this study of Joshua we will learn that just as God fulfilled his promises to Israel, so will he keep his promises to us. As we study his word, learning from Israel's example, may we grow in our confidence in God and our obedience to his word as he makes us fit for the kingdom.
Copyright © 2007, Carol Duffy. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
