Second Stage Ministries

In chapter 9 we see that Israel started to gain some attention due to their victories over Jericho and Ai. The cities to the west of the Jordan River decided that they were going to come together and wage war against the Israelite people. But there was one group of people who resorted to deception. The Gibeonites traveled to the Israelite camp to speak to Joshua. Before they left their home, which was close by, they loaded up their donkeys with old worn out things and moldy bread. They also dressed in worn out clothes. When they got to the Israelite camp and stood before Joshua, they told him that they had come a long way. They showed Joshua the old wine skins and other things. They pointed out the nature of the clothes and sandals they were wearing. Then they asked Joshua to make a treaty with them because they had heard about Jericho and Ai and how Israel had wiped out those cities. So Joshua listened to them and made a treaty with them; however, he didn’t ask the Lord w...

We have been in Joshua for the last 7 weeks looking at just one things that God showed me in each chapter. Let's review: 1 - Be Strong and Courageous - God doesn't want us to fear. He wants us to be strong and courageous because He is with us. 2 - The Enemy Will Fear - Satan fears the move of God so he tries to stop it. 3 - The Jordan River Reminder - Israel crosses the Jordan River in a similar manner as they had crossed the Red Sea. 4 - The 12 Stones - God had Israel place a pile of stones to serve as a reminder for what He had done. 5 - Holy Ground (The Prelude to Jericho) - God is always speaking to us. Are we putting ourselves in a place to listen. 6 - Don't Stop Short (The Story of Jericho) - God has great things for us. But sometimes we stop short when it gets hard. Don't stop short a blessing could be  right around the corner. 7 - The Wake of Choice - We need to be carful of the choices we make because they can affect other people....

The One Thing - part 7 - The Wake of Choice Have you ever been part of a group and because one person did something wrong the whole group got in trouble for it?  This is what happened to Israel after they took Jericho. There were some specific things that God had told them to do.  “All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”” - Joshua 6:19 NIV So the battle of Jericho continued, and they completely destroyed the city (except Rahab); then, at the beginning of chapter 7, the story takes an interesting turn.  “But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan.....took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.” - Joshua 7:1 NIV Joshua, unaware of the disobedience of Achan, sent Israel to battle the city of Ai. But because of the anger of the Lord, Israel lost a few men in that battle and returned to Joshua. Joshua tore his clothes in...

Joshua 6 has one of the better-known stories in the Bible. This is where we find the story of Jericho. But we also see something else take place, and there is a lesson in this story to learn. As I mentioned in the previous post, Joshua had put himself in a place to hear the word of the Lord. In chapter 6 we see what that word is. The Lord gives Joshua the instructions about how to take Jericho (Joshua 6:2-5). One of the first things that I noticed when reading this story again is that Israel did exactly what God told them to do. They marched around the city in the way that God instructed them and how God instructed them. When they did that, they destroyed the city of Jericho. I guess all of that wandering helped them listen to God. But this isn't the one thing I wanted to tell you about this chapter. The one thing that stood out to me was that they didn't stop short. Jericho was not a small city. It was probably hot. It was a lot of walking, but they kept going. Th...

As mentioned in the previous two posts, God is a God of reminders. He reminds us of things that have happened in the past; not to be reminded of the situation, but to be reminded about what God has done. At the end of Joshua 5, Joshua hears words that have been said before. "‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’  And Joshua did so.” - Joshua 5:15, NIV Joshua, having been under the wing of Moses, had probably been told the story of the burning bush (Exodus 3) and how God had told Moses to free Israel. For Joshua, however, it was a man who showed up and told him to prepare for a word from the Lord. “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘...

How many of you like hearing tales of the past? You know, those stories that come up during a conversation with your mom or dad or grandparents. Those little stories that they tell you with a smile on their face as they remembered the events of the story like they were yesterday. I love hearing those kinds of stories. In Joshua 4, we see the nation of Israel construct a memorial to what God had done for them when they crossed the Jordan (Joshua 3). Joshua told them this: “So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it cros...

In chapter 3, we see a similar setting as the people of Israel approach the Jordan River. Joshua had taken over as leader of the people, so God wanted to show Joshua and Israel that He was still with them. “And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. -Joshua 3:7, NIV The Jordan River was before them, and they needed to get across the river and head to Jericho. God told Joshua that He was going to make a way for them just as He had before. God gave Joshua instructions for the people (Joshua 3:8-13) and the people of Israel followed what Joshua said. Then as soon as the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord stepped into the Jordan River, a familiar scene unfolded. “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. ...