Today in our study of Joshua (the Promises of God) we're looking back at God’s charge to Joshua. Previously in ch1 we looked at the promise of presence. The King of the universe promises Joshua, I WILL BE WITH YOU! Just as I was with Moses! God’s presence is what fuels up Joshua (and us!) with strength and courage! To move forward. To keep going. Flooded rivers, fierce sons of Anak. He is with us, the great I AM! [v5] And God’s promise of presence is part of what positions Joshua for success. God says, I will be with you AND I will not fail you. You WILL give this people possession of the promised land. I promise. There's no better guarantee anywhere. The promise of God. God’s presence quashes fear, and it sets us up…for success! This is what we see throughout Scripture: God’s presence with His people is linked to their success [Gen. 26:23-24 The LORD appeared to [Issac] and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” [Gen. 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.][1Sam. 3:19 Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail.][1Sam. 18:14 David was prospering in all his ways for the LORD was with him.][2Chr. 1:1 Now Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him greatly.].
In these passages we do see worldly success. And given a choice between success and failure, which would you choose? [cue videos of fails...] And God here gives Joshua a double scoop of yet another amazing promise: Joshua, YOU will have success (2x). BUT, the Hebrew word actually means understanding or insight. This is the ability to process through complex thoughts and options, resulting in wise dealing and good common sense. In other words, this is more about the decisions we make, less about the results. It’s the ability to understand the situation and make the best possible decision. Eve infamously sought to get this from a tree [Gen. 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise]. But no, this wise discerning insight comes from God Himself [Psa. 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.]. Yes, Great decisions usually yield good results. [1Kings 3:5,9 The LORD appeared to Solomon; and said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.” “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil.”] It’s not a guarantee of worldly success per se - but for the person who accumulates divine insight from the Lord, their life trajectory will generally be trending up. AND they will experience the joy and peace of the Lord, no matter what results. [Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD. Psa. 16:6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places…]. This is the hard-to-find ability to enjoy life, however the lines appear fall for us. Many are those who have climbed the ladder of earthly success only to reach the top and find it hauntingly empty [Eccl. 2:11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.]. Worldly success is the proverbial carrot-on-a-stick - we think catching it will fill our cup, but no matter how much carrot I think I got into my cup, the carrot is still out there dangling in front of my face.
This promise of success that God gives to Joshua is actually a conditional promise, i.e. there’s a condition which must be satisfied in order for the promise to be fulfilled… [7] Be careful… Do according to ALL the Law… Do not turn from it… So that (You will) have divine insight. [8] This book will not depart from your mouth… Be meditating on it DAY AND NIGHT… So that (You will) be careful… Do according to ALL… because then/that is how (You will) succeed and then (You will) have divine insight. The key to success is found [right here], in God’s Word. Literally. Being careful to do according to all of God’s Word (2x). This is how the lines fall for us in PLEASANT places.
Now, can you and I achieve worldly success apart from the Lord, apart from carefully doing God’s Word? Of course. But material/worldly success without divine insight is sort of like [the lottery]. There’s NO promise of hitting it, it’s hard to repeat, it’s easily squandered. AND it leaves you empty [what Pascal called the "infinite abyss" in our hearts…].
So God says, be careful (2x) - be watching. Be watching what tho? [For pool lifeguards - job #1 is patron surveillance; check out marydonahue.org/not-rescue-ready for some lifeguard fails]. For Joshua (and all of God’s people) - job #1 is [Scripture surveillance]. The key is meditating day and night [8]. Be careful, be watching. Makes us Rescue Ready. Ready to bless others - with Good News. This is the promise of Yeshua, the God Who saves. This is OUR vital life-and-death mission [it's the two paths which diverge in the woods and taking the one less-traveled, which makes all the difference].
Scripture surveillance. What we think on and look at is what we talk about. What goes in will come out. Have you ever woken up with a song stuck in your head? Often it was one you were listening to before you went to bed. Day and night, God says. Day and night. What do you think meditating “day and night” should look like? [and let's not forget that there is a verbal element - Deut. 6:7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.]
One last observation. We see Joshua repeatedly referred to as Moses’ servant. [v1] Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ servant. It’s a special word [sharat] used for higher ranking servants, those who serve an important person, a ruler or a leader of some sort, or those who are serving the Lord more directly, who stand in a special position in the temple. And this person is more focused on the job…
The other word for servant in Hebrew is [eved]. Eved involves the idea of possession. It’s not about the job. It’s about who owns them. And a few people God calls “My Eved”: Gen. 26:24 The LORD appeared to [Isaac] the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” Num. 12:7-8 “Not so, with My servant Moses, he is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?” Num. 14:24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. (NOTE: The Lord does NOT describe Joshua in this way at that point.) Job in Job 1:8. David in 1Kings 11:34. Messiah in Is. 53:11. Jesus in the garden: "not what I want, but what You want". For these "eveds", their supreme motive is to please the Lord Who owns them. James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 2Cor. 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. Phil. 2:13 For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Heb. 13:21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Success is not about results - it’s about a decision to please the Lord…to put Him first in everything. Seek first [what?]…
Scripture surveillance, day and night. Pleasing the Lord. A desire to please the Lord, and a hunger for His Word go hand in hand. They fuel each other. And both of these come from the Lord. With an assist from our brothers: [1.14] “Help your brothers…” We go farther [together]. i.e not in rows per se, but IN A CIRCLE!!!
18x throughout Joshua's book, Moses is called "Moses the Eved of Yahweh" (3x just in this first chapter, "Moses MY Eved" - talk about living in a big shadow!). For his part, Joshua is never once referred to as the the Eved of the Lord. Not until after he is dead (most likely a postscript). Josh. 24:29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. So a question as we close today: whose Eved am I? Whose Eved are you? And the real question is, who owns who? [There's a great old hymn which says, "I am His and He is mine"]. Do I see myself as belonging to the Lord, do I exist to serve Him, or does He exist to serve me? For the Promise of Success, the answer to that question makes all the difference...
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