Barry Metz 5/14/17

Fear Not Little FlockJoshua 10:16–11:23

You may not believe this but one of my constant companions is fear. It’s not a companion I would willingly choose. In fact, it’s a companion I would love to shed once and for all. But it keeps dogging me. Imagining it as an unwanted and lost mangy dog and myself as an uncompassionate homeowner at wit’s end, I imagine myself taking it for a ride to another neighborhood. Fear rears its ugly head in my life often. And it does great harm to my closest relationships.

I would gladly be rid of fear because it’s a cruel task master. It wears me out. It motivates me in a host of wrong ways. It steals my joy. It keeps me living in the future so that I miss the present altogether. “Did you see that flower?” What flower? Some of you can relate to that. This morning we’re going to look at two chapters in Joshua --Joshua 10 and 11--and both of those chapters have the command ‘Don’t be afraid’. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that command would sink deeper in your and my soul today than it ever has? Wouldn’t it be great if God just hugged us and reassured us that it was going to be ok? When we think about the things we’re afraid of, the things we fear, wouldn’t it be cool if God’s words to Joshua and the Israelites might become God’s words to us as the sermon progressed? Oh to be able to obey God’s command, “Don’t be afraid” fully! Isn’t that one command you’d love to obey? So we’re going to talk about fear this morning.

But over the course of the message we’ll also ask and answer three other questions:

1. How can the picture of Joshua’s key leaders with their feet on the necks of Canaanite enemy kings be an encouragement to us? (I’m sure you didn’t wake up this morning asking that question…you probably don’t even understand the question, but we’re going to answer it and I think it will be an encouragement to you.)

2. How is Joshua the perfect leader and a type of Christ? And…3. How does the rest that Joshua achieves at the end of Joshua chapter 11—the last phrase of

Joshua chapter 11 is And the land had rest from war –how does that rest point forward to the eternal rest that you and I are promised? How does the rest we see here in Joshua contribute to the theme of rest in the scriptures?

One final introductory comment. You probably noticed the title of the message is, ‘Fear not little flock….’ That’s a direct quote from Jesus’ mouth in Luke 12… We’re going to come back to

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that quote at the end of our time but does anybody know the rest of it? Fear not little flock…..?

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As we come to Joshua chapter 10 and chapter 11 this morning, we come to the final campaigns to take the Promised Land from the Canaanites. After the victories at Jericho and Ai, Joshua chapter 6 and 8 respectively, the Promised Land has in a sense been cut in half. Some students of scripture suggest that Jericho and Ai were part of a central campaign. And now it’s left for the Israelites to conduct a southern campaign—we’ll see that in chapter 10— and a northern campaign –we’ll see that in chapter 11-- to finish taking the land.

It seems fitting with half of you on one side of the auditorium and half of you on the other side and with this convenient line down the middle, to turn this room into a very amateurish map of Israel. Let me walk down the center aisle here and call this the southern area on my left and the northern area on my right. It turns out there is some symmetry between Joshua chapter 10 and Joshua chapter 11 that we should highlight. And I’ll do that on this first slide.

As I said, Chapter 10 will cover the southern campaign and chapter 11 will cover the northern campaign. Just looking down the slide you can see the symmetry between the two chapters—1) there is a black hat-wearing instigator, a trouble maker, a mastermind in both chapters, 2) there is a coalition of kings and armies that join together to fight, 3) in both chapters God fights for Israel and 4) there is a decisive battle that opens both campaigns.

Who is that black hat-wearing instigator, mastermind in the south? Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem whose name may mean ‘lord of righteousness’1 (but if that’s the case his mother misnamed him big time….because there’s not a bit of righteousness in him!) So who will be my black hat-wearing Adoni-zedek? Adoni-zedek is going to put together a coalition of city-states to fight Israel. So Adoni-zedek, I want you to build a coalition by giving these 4 cards—Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon--to the most dastardly folks around you.

1 ESV Study Bible

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When we get to chapter 11, in the north the black hat goes to Jabin king of Hazor. Who wants to be Jabin? Jabin is also going to put together a coalition—pulling these names and places from Joshua 11:1-3--Jobab king of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Achshaph, kings in the Hill country, kings in the Arabah, kings in the lowland, and the king in Naphoth-dor. So Jabin, I want you to build a coalition by giving these 8 cards—to the most dastardly folks around you.

{Now for those of you who are involved, let me clarify your part in the message. Be assured it will be minimal. You don’t have to speak unless you want to growl and give us your best Canaanite grimace. All you need to do is stand holding your sign when I call on you—or if you are the instigating troublemaker, wearing your black hat. It will be that easy}

Last week Justin looked at the decisive battle that opened the southern campaign in Joshua chapter 10. Adoni-zedek and four other kings from the south were soundly defeated by Joshua and the Israelites. We should let our southern coalition debut for their only moment of glory in the message. (southern kings stand and sit) Thank you very much.

God fought for Israel by raining hail stones on the Canaanites and they were routed. Verse 14 says There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.

Now look at verse 15, So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. That’s verse 15. Now look at the last verse of Joshua chapter 10, verse 43….Joshua 10:43 …..43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. What do you notice about those two verses? They are the same!

Justin mentioned this last week and I agree…verses 15 and 43 refer to the same return at Gilgal. Let me illustrate it on a slide…

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And so, ‘what we have in verses 1-15 is the story of the battle focusing on God’s activity, focusing on God’s involvement, and then the rest of the chapter goes back through the story again, but focuses on the activity of Israel and Joshua’s involvement in particular.’2

So as we pick up in verse 16 of Joshua 10 today we’re filling in the details of the battle we talked about last week in verses 1-15. Everybody clear? Well let’s dive in to Joshua 10, verse 16.

16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” Now we couldn’t imagine better news than this! All five kings were found in one cave! How providential we would argue! And doesn’t God work through providence?

In verse 18, Joshua turned their hiding place into a jail or prison of sorts and put a guard to secure it. And then, verse 19, he urged the Israelites to keep pursuing their enemies to keep them from entering their cities.

Look at verse 20….

20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities….notice that phrase in verse 20….a remnant of the Canaanites, had remained, they had gotten away and entered into their fortified cities.…

We’re going to see a recurrence of that theme as we move along in Joshua—the conquest was very successful but it was always incomplete….there were regularly some Canaanites who escaped3….and in this case they escaped back to their fortified cities. {Now remember that thought as we look briefly in a moment at the end of chapter 10, verses 28-39 where Joshua will systematically attack and destroy the Canaanite cities to wrap up the southern campaign.}

21 then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

All the Israelites returned to Makkedah and we have this rather odd phrase… ‘ not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel .’ ….It seems that the Canaanites, the enemy, were speechless. 4 None of them uttered a word. The Canaanites were speechless in their defeat like the dogs in Egypt were quiet the night that the angel of death took the life of 2 Justin’s manuscript. 3 Jackman4 ESV Study Bible

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every firstborn in Egypt. {Back before the Exodus the Lord had told the Israelites that there would be a cry in Egypt, such as there had never been, on the night that every first born was killed. But not even a dog would “sharpen his tongue” (same phrase in our passage), not even a dog would growl against the people of Israel (Exodus 11:7)….Now here many years later, no Canaanites were growling against the people of Israel. It was a deliverance like that at the Passover.

Now as we come to verses 22-27 we come to the scene I mentioned at the start of the message where Joshua’s key leaders have their feet on the necks of their Canaanite enemy kings. And as we read these next few verses, I want you to feel how the scene is played out very slowly for effect. It feels choreographed to send a message.

Bonnie and Roy recently went to El Paso to see their son in the Army get promoted to captain. As they described the ceremony to me, it was simple yet carefully choreographed. It took place in front of a Patton-era tank. The American flag was ceremonially marched out and everyone was at attention. Their son’s wife pinned the award on his uniform. Cameras were flashing. It was a moment to remember! (Now think about something like that as I read these verses)

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. …Doesn’t the author seem to be describing the scene very deliberately as if it’s a special ceremony or something? It’s like a roll call…. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. Joshua tells them what to do and they do it—it all seems carefully choreographed.

{So let’s make sure we have the picture in our mind’s eye….hundreds if not thousands of Israelite troops were gathered around the scene… the enemy kings were laid on the ground, their robes torn and muddied….Chosen Israelite generals, leaders5 moved toward the kings and put their feet on their necks. If ever there was a photo op that could communicate it was this! Played out today, cameras would be clicking away. But I can imagine it was completely silent.}

5 The word for ‘commander’ here --qasin—is relatively rare and means ‘ruler, leader, superior in general, but ‘commander’ in contexts such as this.

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To put one’s feet on one’s enemy’s neck was the most powerful demonstration of victory one could make. Saying it differently, to make one’s enemy one’s footstool, was a sign that you had conquered your enemy completely.

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This seems like a good place to make a Jesus connection. Just as Joshua wanted his troops to see that complete and utter victory was assured—he wanted this picture to remain in their minds-- later biblical writers will use a similar picture to encourage us that with Jesus as king, complete and utter victory is assured. And we like them have no reason to fear.

Here is David in Psalm 110:1

Yahweh, God the father, says to my Lord… David is speaking here in Psalm 110 and he names ‘my Lord’….by that he means the messianic king in his line….Jesus. Yahweh says to my Lord…Jesus… Sit at my right hand….Now we know Jesus is doing that now, right? Having risen from the dead he is at the Father’s right hand, right? …..until I God, Yahweh make your enemies your footstool….in other words until I give you complete and utter victory. Sit at my right hand Jesus until I give you complete and utter victory! So Jesus in this prophetic psalm describes a future scene when all of Jesus’ enemies will be his footstool. It will be a photo op way better than the photo op we’ve seen in Joshua! But in David’s time it’s still future. And in our time it’s still future! But there will be a day when our Savior will have utter and complete victory!

Anybody’s fear go away? Does the prospect of a victorious savior touch your fear at all?

The apostle Paul confirms that there will be day when Jesus will have utter and complete victory. He does it in 1 Corinthians 15. Turn there with me if you would…1 Corinthians 15:24…I Corinthians 15:24….

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24 Then comes the end, when he (Jesus) delivers the kingdom to God the Father afterdestroying every rule and every authority and power. ….So here we are at the end …be assured this is the end…. and every enemy has been utterly and completely destroyed, even the enemy we fear and hate the most….death….. Verse 25 For he (Jesus) must reign until he (God) has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

And then verse 28….28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Does the prospect of a victorious Savior touch your fear at all? We’re afraid for our kids, our health, our finances, the future… What if I make the point that the Savior’s victory is our victory because we’ve been spiritually connected with Him; the reality is we’ve died and our lives are hidden with Christ. He’s purchased us. We are not our own! We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. And therefore his destiny is our destiny! We’re going to make it! We’re going to share in his destiny!

Does that touch your fear at all? If we could keep a victorious Jesus in our mind’s eye, would fear have the grip that it does on us? I wonder.

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Well let’s go back to our story in Joshua 10…..

Look at verse 25…25 And Joshua said to them….his commanders and his troops…. “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

Joshua who had been told by God so many times, “Do not fear” is now exhorting his key leaders and troops to not give way to fear. God will make their enemies a footstool for them.

26 And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. 27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

The five kings were cursed and hung on a tree until evening. However the narrator makes sure we know that they were taken down at sunset as the law prescribed. Listen to Deut. 21:22, 23…

22 “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD

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your God is giving you for an inheritance.” So they had to take them off the tree that same day or the land would be defiled.

Even in the flush of victory Joshua is careful to obey all that God had commanded through Moses.6

So the kings’ hiding place became for a time their prison and then it became their tomb. And the large stones over the mouth of the cave became a memorial of sorts…they remain to this day, verse 27 tells us.

Stones as a memorial! We’ve seen that before haven’t we?7 Stones from the Jordan River near Gilgal reminded the people of God’s faithfulness in bringing Israel safely across the Jordan. Stones over Achan’s body in Joshua 7were a reminder of God’s righteous wrath. Stones over the king of Ai’s body at the entrance of the city of Ai reminded the people that God had given Israel a second chance after their failure. Stones at the covenant renewal ceremony on Mount Ebal reminded the people that they had a duty to live in obedience to the Torah. And now stones over the cave of Makkedah spelled out what would happen to all who set themselves against God and his purposes. We’ll see two more stone memorials as we continue in the book of Joshua.

Chapter 10 concludes with a quick overview of the rest of the southern campaign, verses 28-39. Seven Canaanite cities in the south were systematically attacked and destroyed. Beginning at Makkedah (v. 28), Joshua and his forces moved on to Libnah (vv. 29, 30) and then to Lachish (vv. 31, 32), where Horam king of Gezer unsuccessfully comes to the aid of his ally (v. 33). From Lachish they move on to Eglon (vv. 34, 35), then to Hebron (vv. 36, 37), and finally to Debir (vv. 38, 39)8 Three of the destroyed cities—Lachish, Eglon, and Hebron—corresponded to the five kings that were captured and killed.

Is there some significance to 7 cities being destroyed? Is this symbolic that the campaign was complete? Or has the author given us a summarizing account but not included every city that was destroyed? 9 We don’t know.

6 Jackman7 See chart ESV Study bible, page 4288 Jackman, D. (2014). Joshua: People of God’s purpose. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 125). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.9 Jackman, D. (2014). Joshua: People of God’s purpose. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 125). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

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Verses 40-41 summarize the geographical limits of the southern campaign.10 “In verse 40, regions are in view. In verse 41, boundaries or limits are described.”11 And then verse 42 gives us a theological evaluation of what has happened thus far….. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time….why?....because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

Now verse 42 makes it seem that the southern campaign was quick and stunningly successful and that every Canaanite was annihilated. But as I said earlier—and we’ll also see it in the next chapter too—some Canaanites escaped. And we should remind ourselves that a long-lasting campaign to take the Promised Land had been anticipated many years earlier. Listen to Deuteronomy 7:22--22 The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.

Well as we come to Joshua chapter 11, we come to the northern campaign. And again we’ve got a black hat-wearing instigator and mastermind and his coalition described in verses 1-3. Would Jabin and his dastardly coalition please stand?

Now just looking at how many are standing, how does this coalition compare with the southern coalition? This coalition is much larger right? The northern coalition can be seated!

The northern coalition was overwhelmingly fear-inducing…lots of kings and lots of troops….Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Hivites. Now this list at the end of verse 3 sounds a lot like the promise given to Abraham about taking the land way back in Genesis.12 Way back in Genesis God had said “To your offspring I will give this land…the land of the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the …Jebusites”13 And here Israel finds these people groups gathered against them! It’s like God telling you “In the near future you will receive money from your father, your brother, and your uncle and aunt.” And the next time you go to the bank, there sitting in the lobby waiting for you are “your father, your brother, and your uncle and aunt”. God had caused all the current owners of the land to gather in one place!

Look at verse 4 in the text. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. You can’t help but hear the author’s emphasis on the enemy having an overwhelming advantage. And it wasn’t just troops; the enemy had many horses and chariots. And Israel’s infantry were no match for horses and chariots…. and God meant it to be that way. In fact Israel’s king was forbidden from

10 Davis, D. R. (2000). Joshua: No Falling Words (p. 86). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.11 Howard12 Dodson, page 22613 Paraphrased from Genesis 15:18-19

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multiplying horses because God wanted his people to rely on Him.14 Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

And listen to Deuteronomy 20:1-- “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own…if ever there was a word of God for this moment it was this one….. you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

Don’t be afraid! Why? The one who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. You’ve got a relationship with this God. He’s been working in your life for a long time. Don’t be afraid!

And to us, the same words ring out! Don’t be afraid! Why? The one who gloriously saved us from the power, penalty, and presence of sin is with us! Remember what he has done!

One author writes, regarding verses 1-4, “Have you ever wondered why the writer spills so much ink and wanders into such particular detail? Why he takes up so much of your time to specify various kings, to identify locations, to indicate ethnic groups opposing Israel? Why does he dwell on the massing of their numbers and their armaments? Why didn’t the writer give you a break and make your Bible lighter and study brevity by saying, ‘King Jabin summoned his confederates and their armies in order to make a massive assault on Israel’? But then the text would lose its punch. You see, it is precisely in reading this extended, detailed, particularising description of Israel’s opposition that you begin to feel how overwhelming the enemy is, to sense in line-upon-line fashion the almost hopeless situation Israel faces.”15

5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. Scholars don’t know the exact location of the waters of Merom but they do know that they were in Upper Galilee, approximately 4000 feet above sea level. It’s a terrible place to try to maneuver a chariot!16 It may be that Jabin and his dastardly companions picked the location as a staging area, an assembly area but probably never intended to fight there.

Look at verse 6….6 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them—If we count the command God gave Joshua at his commissioning ‘Be strong and courageous’ in Joshua 1, this is the seventh time the Lord has told Joshua to not be afraid. That’s a hopeful thought isn’t it? If Joshua had to be told 7 times, it’s ok for us to need a reminder too!—Do not be afraid of them for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their

14 Deut. 17:1615 Davis, D. R. (2000). Joshua: No Falling Words (p. 90). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.16 David

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horses and burn their chariots with fire.” See anything curious there in verse 6? How is God going to give the Canaanites over to Israel? …slain! “It’s as though God himself is going to wield the sword before Israel’s troops and hand over the Canaanite corpses to the advancing army.”17 “I don’t want you to be afraid, Joshua. Because I’m going to fight the battle for you! Tomorrow I’ll deliver your enemy over to you slain. You do your part ok? What’s your part? You just hamstring the horses and burn the chariots so the Canaanites can never use them again? NO! So the Israelites won’t be tempted to trust them! 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. It seems that Joshua initiated a surprise attack and verse 8 tells us…it was a rout. 9 And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. Over and over again in the rest of the passage we’ll see an emphasis on Joshua’s obedience to Yahweh’s commands

In verses 10-15 there seems to be to three emphases….

1. Hazor, the hometown of black hat-wearing Jabin, was completely destroyed and burned like Jericho and Ai had been destroyed and burned. (This is worth noting because cities in Canaan were typically not completely destroyed and burned because God had promised the people that when they entered the land they would live in cities they did not build18.) Evidently Hazor was a powerful city and perhaps the largest city in the Promised Land.19 It was also the home town of Jabin the ringleader of the opposition. So it seems that God decided to use the city as an example; destroying it demonstrates what would happen to those who fought against God’s purposes.

2. A second emphasis in verses 10-15 is Israel’s obedience to completely exterminate the Canaanites they encountered. Verse 12 Joshua captured the cities and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction

And finally, 3. A third emphasis in verses 10-15 is how Joshua obeyed the LORD. You see it at the end of verse 12 and then again in verse 15. 15 Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

17 Dodson, page 229-23018 Deuteronomy 6:1019 ESV Study bible makes this note

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“What marks the model leader is not the size of his chariot force, the number of females in his harem, or the presence of peacocks in the royal zoo but an obedience to God’s commandments that leads God’s people to be faithful.”20

Verses 16-17 broadly recap the extent of the whole conquest, not just the northern campaign and then verse 18 basically tells us that the conquest took a long time. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. How long did the conquest take?21 Some say 5 years. Some say 7….

Continuing in verse 20….20 For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

We’ve repeatedly seen God’s sovereignty in the book of Joshua. He was sovereign over the walls of Jericho. He was sovereign over the waters of the Jordan River causing them to stop flowing so Israel could cross on dry ground. Verse 20 goes so far to assert that God’s sovereignty extends even to the hearts of the Canaanites. For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts…God judicially hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that they would come against Israel in battle. God did the same thing with Pharaoh in the Exodus, didn’t he? Does God have the right to judicially harden people’s hearts? Has the potter every right over the clay? The apostle Paul would ask.

So this whole idea of judicial hardening explains what’s gone on in these chapters. Each chapter begins with a black hat-wearing mastermind who opposes God. Lions, tigers, and Jabin- Oh my! And this evil master mind forms a coalition in each chapter and all evil is ready to break out on God’s people. And the whole thing is terrifying to the people of God. But with verse 20 a window is opened for us to see God’s sovereign purposes and we see that God was

20 Davis21 Jackman and ESV Study Bible note page 413

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behind the whole thing—he was tinkering the whole time with Canaanite hearts. Does that do anything to your fears?

Verses 21 and 22 tell us how Joshua dispatched the Anakim throughout the land. Who were the Anakim? The Anakim were the ‘incredible hulks’22 who terrified the spies back in Numbers 13. “In Israel’s dictionary Anakim spelled terror.”23 Isn’t it fitting that those who caused terror years ago, those who got a generation of Israelites off the narrow path, would be dispatched with easily now? Isn’t it fitting that the chronicle of Israel’s conquests should end with this account of a triumph over perhaps Canaan’s most feared inhabitants? Joshua’s dispatching of the Anakim is almost reported as an afterthought: “By the way, remember the Anakim you feared so much? Joshua cut them off and devoted them to destruction as well.”24 You see Israel had learned that God was sufficient for everything they faced.

When it comes to our fears, God wants to create a testimony in our lives. David could face Goliath because he had faced lions and bears.

The chapter closes with verse 23…. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

Here’s a visual summary of the two chapters we’ve just covered.

Joshua and Ai are labeled the central campaign and then there’s the southern campaign, Joshua 10 and the northern campaign, Joshua 11.

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22 Davis23 Davis24 Dodson

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At the beginning of the message I stated that we were going to talk about fear and we have. And we’ll talk more about fear in just a minute. And then I said we would ask and answer three other questions.

1. How can the picture of Joshua’s key leaders with their feet on the necks of Canaanite enemy kings be an encouragement to us? We’ve answered that one.

2. How is Joshua the perfect leader and a type of Christ? I haven’t answered that.3. How does the rest that Joshua achieves at the end of Joshua chapter 11—the last phrase of Joshua chapter 11 is And the land had rest from war –how does that rest point forward to the eternal rest that you and I are promised? I haven’t answered that.

So briefly let me address questions 2 and 3.

How is Joshua the perfect leader and a type of Christ? Just as Joshua was Israel’s deliverer, so Jesus is our deliverer. Just as Joshua led Israel to seize and occupy the land of promise, so Jesus leads believers into the full possession of their spiritual blessings. 25 Just as Joshua was completely obedient to everything God had commanded him to do, so Jesus obeyed the Father’s every word. In our 1 Kings Sunday school class this morning Larry Bock helped us see just how far Solomon fell short in obeying God’s law. But Joshua obeyed it all. And finally, just as Joshua led the Israelites into their rest in the Promised Land, so Jesus leads us into our eternal spiritual rest. We could probably go on and on.

How does the rest that Joshua achieved at the end Joshua chapter 11 point to the eternal rest that you and I have been promised by God? The theme of ‘rest’ extends from the beginning of the bible---Genesis 2:2….on the seventh day God finished his work…and he rested---to the end of the Bible….the heavenly Jerusalem depicted in Revelation. And the people of God throughout the Bible are called to enter into God’s rest. In the book of Joshua, the rest is found in the Promised Land. With the advent of Jesus, rest doesn’t come so much from being in a place but in a person—the person of Jesus. Come to me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest…. Joshua brought the people of Israel into God’s rest by entering the Promised Land. Today we enter God’s rest by trusting and obeying Jesus. So the rest we see in Joshua here points forward to the ultimate eternal rest that God promises his people in the new heavens and the new earth.

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25 Dodson, page 236

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Barry Metz 5/14/17

Well what about fear? I kind of lamented at the beginning of the message that I’d like to shake fear as a companion. Well I wonder in retrospect if that will ever happen. IF Joshua was a repeat offender who am I?

It seems to me that our fears can really serve us if they drive us to God. Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Using the passage today, it seems that our natural tendency is to surround ourselves with chariots and horses. But God would urge us to look to him in the midst of our fears. God would say to us, “Let me be your stronghold, let me be your defense, let me be your confidence.” So our fears serve us if we allow them to drive us to God. We get to know God better.

I was thinking about the origin of fear in the scriptures. Where does fear first show up in the Bible? Well it shows up after the fall in the garden when Adam and Eve experience a broken relationship with God. After the fall they were afraid. So that seems to point us to fear’s solution, doesn’t it? God is what we need. We need a growing relationship with God. We need to get to know him better and better. We need to see how sufficient and how adequate he is for all that we could face. When he is large in our thinking, when He is mighty and adequate in our estimation, then we feel safe.

And so we regularly see and hear this in the scriptures: “Do no fear for I am with you”. It’s God’s closeness that addresses our fears. In fact He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you….in other words we can count on his closeness….so we can confidently say….Hebrews 13:6… So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what can man do to me?

Turn to Luke 12 and let’s read a few verses and we’ll close….Luke 12:22

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

Now I think you know the passage. Jesus is going to challenge his disciples to consider the birds and the flowers and to consider how God cares for them. And if he cares for them, he will surely care for us because we are so valuable to him. And knowing that he cares for us should free us to seek his kingdom, it should free us to take the energy we spend fearing things and turn it to productive energy for God’s kingdom. And that bring us to verse 32…

32 “Fear not, little flock….we are our father’s little flock…he is our shepherd we shall not want… for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Jesus’s victory, Jesus’s kingdom is assured…..33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with

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Barry Metz 5/14/17

moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Fear not little flock…

He’s near. He sees. He knows.

We are so valuable to him.

And He’s more than adequate for everything we will face.

Let us pray.

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