God Expects Obedience

June 12, 2011


Background Scripture: Joshua 1
Lesson Passage: Joshua 1:7 – 18

In our lesson today, God commanded Joshua to depend on the guidance of His word to ensure success in what he was about to undertake. In order for this to happen, Joshua needed to know the word and meditate on it day and night. Joshua had to read the word to know what was written in it. He was charged with keeping all of the law not just portions of it. The law had provisions for blessings or curses to Israel based on their obedience to the instructions found therein. Blessings required obedience to all of the law even as Moses had instructed Israel on the plains of Moab just a month prior to this encounter between God and Joshua. If Joshua failed to keep (or do) all that God commanded to ensure success, then he would not be able to avoid the curse of the law. The curse only required one infraction of the law to be invoked. Therefore, Joshua was reminded to not deviate from the word. He was to take heed not to do more or less than God prescribes in the law. For his obedience, he was assured above all else that God’s presence would keep him from becoming afraid or discouraged. Joshua indicated his understanding of God’s instructions and he demonstrated his willingness to be obedient to God by engaging all of the leaders in Israel to prepare them to enter the land of Canaan within three days. After over four hundred years of promises and waiting, within three days, the conquest of Canaan will commence. Joshua reminded the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh about the commandment given by God through Moses concerning them. They were to lead their brethren into battle rather than discourage them by refusing to go into Canaan. They had previously agreed to this in exchange for being allowed to settle in the land east of the Jordon River rather than in the land of Canaan with the rest of the tribes of Israel. Although Moses was now dead, they had made a promise to follow through on this commitment and Joshua was reminding them of God’s commandment concerning this matter. In exchange for their commitment to lead the armies of Israel into battle, they would be allowed to leave their wives and children in the new settlement east of the Jordan River where they would be safe and could begin their new lives as shepherds in the lush grazing land. Once the other tribes were settled into their possessions, then the two and a half tribes could return to their families and possessions. Not only did the two and a half tribes consent to their original commitment to Moses, they went further and pledged their allegiance to Joshua as their commander-in-chief to be good soldiers under his leadership even as they were with Moses. Joshua’s willing obedience to God’s leadership of him had placed him in the position of receiving the same type of followers under his own command. As Joshua was obedient to God, so was Israel obedient to Joshua. Not only does God expect obedience from us, but He also makes us the recipients of obedient followers to our own leadership.


Robert C. Hudson
June 1, 2011