The Preparation for the Conquest

The Preparation for the Conquest
Joshua 1:1 - 5:12
by Estelle Nazary

Basic Truth: God reassured His people of His care, conditioned on their obedience.

I. Joshua receives a Commission - 1:1-9
1. God's command - 1:1-2
2. God's promise - 1:3-5
3. God's encouragement - 1:6-9

II. Joshua takes the command - 1:10-18
1. He assumes leadership - 1:10-15
2. He is accepted - 1:16-18

III. Walking by faith - 2-4
1. Faith dares to act - 2
2. Faith crosses rivers - 3-4

IV. Conquering by faith - 5
1. Faith trusts its captain - 5:1-12
2. Reaffirming the covenant - 5:2-12

Truths:
1. God's ultimate blessings are conditioned on obedience to Him.
2. Obedience to God is always necessary to receive the ultimate blessings of being: (1) God's true people, (2) His instrument for reaching others, and (3) holy as He is holy.
3. God seeks to teach us to trust and obey. God's presence will calm us, will cheer us, will comfort us, and will encourage us.
4. Great strength and courage are needed to follow God.
5. Personal temptations, pressures from other people, insurmountable obstacles, and other problems will push us in the direction of disobedience and unbelief.
6. God who will provide all our needs will act to give us special strength and courage as we choose to follow Him.
7. Mighty results occur as the people of God move forward to obedience to God.
8. God's mighty deeds of us should be memorialized.
9. We should perpetuate for every generation the experiences by which God speaks to us.
10. God's word contains sufficient promises to give us victory in our Christian walk. We need only to claim them, and they are ours.
11. The best way to make God's word our own is to hide it securely in our hearts.
12. Though we walk in the valley of shadow, yet God directs our steps.
13. As the Lord was with Moses and as He was with Joshua, so He is with everyone who is called by His Name.
14. Prosperity and success in the on-going of the work of the Lord depend upon three conditions: God appointing His chosen man, God's man assuming his responsibility, and God's people following his leadership.
15. Faith obeys God even when His orders make no apparent sense. Faith steps out on nothing but divine promises.
16. God does not promise to show us what lies far ahead on our path; He does promise to light each step as we take it by faith.

Additional Notes:

Joshua was God's man
1. Egyptian bondage
2. Wilderness
3. Promised land

Joshua
1. Good speaker
2. Wholly followed the Lord
3. Good heart who loves and cares
4. Faith in God
5. Courage
6. Victorious
7. Promises of God to Joshua and us - answers prayer, gives guidance, and supplies needs.
8. Power of God in life
9. Presence of God