Crossing the Jordan

Text Joshua 3 Time 31 05 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoo

The next thing we come to in the Book of Joshua is what one scholar calls the single most important event in the book - the crossing of the River Jordan. Just as when they left Egypt God brought them safely through the Red Sea so now they enter the Promised Land in a similar way, through the Jordan River. The story is found in Chapters 3 and 4. Some of the detail is a little difficult to follow but the broad picture is clear. This week we will just look at what we are told in Chapter 3.

n his commentary on Joshua, Dale Ralph Davis points out how the story is marked by suspense. If you read it as it is written it only slowly becomes clear what is going to happen. First, they are told to camp by the Jordan then to consecrate themselves and keep their eyes on the ark. Then Joshua is told he is going to be exalted and the priests carrying the ark are told to stand in the river. It is only in verse 13 that the people are told that as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap. Even there. what is to happen is not spelled out. The miracle itself only comes at the end of Chapter 3.

There are at least four lessons that come out of the text

1. Consider the importance of being prepared for God to work

The story starts, as so often in Scripture Early in the morning. We are told how Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim (about 6 miles east of the Jordan) and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. In verses 2-4 we read how After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it."

2000 cubits = about a thousand yards/914 metres.

So they are told to follow the ark, which is going to lead the way. The ark is mentioned 17 times in Chapters 3 and 4. It is very important. It stands for God's presence here. The distance is more about allowing Israel to see God's work than simply reverence.

We also read in verse 5 how Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." Nothing is spelled out but they are to be prepared for God to work. Such consecration involved washing their clothes, refraining from sexual relations, making sure they were ceremonially clean.

Finally, under this first heading note how (5) Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.

Pop groups were very popular in the 1960s and there were lots of different ones - The Beatles, The Move, The Who, The Kinks. As child I always liked to know who was the most important person in the group. Sometimes it was difficult to know. In The Dave Clark Five, Dave Clark was the man on the drums not the singer. Or take Fleetwood Mac - that name is from the drummer Mick Fleetwood and the bass player John McVie not the singer or guitarist. In the group Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann was not the singer but the man on the keyboards. With the Spencer Davis Group, on the other hand, it was Steve Winwood who you needed to know about rather than Spencer Davis himself.

At this point in Israel's history it was important for them to know who was most important in this situation. God was the one they should be looking to not themselves or Joshua or even the priests. Thus the emphasis on looking to the ark and on consecrating themselves to God for Joshua tells them tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.

This brings us to the matter of having the right attitude and preparing ourselves as we should. One reason why gatherings for worship or our own time with our Bibles is less than rewarding is because we have the wrong attitude and are not prepared. We need to come to worship focussed on God and prepared to meet with him. $ You know the expression priming the pump. Some water pumps will only work once you get the air out of them - usually done by putting water into them. Priming simply means preparing. Sometimes we need to prime the spiritual pump if we are to know blessing.

2. Realise that what God does for us is intended to exalt Christ

In verses 7-9 we read 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. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'" Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God."

Later, in 4:14 we read That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.

It is still not clear how God is going to begin to exalt Joshua in the eyes of all Israel but the LORD announces that is part of his intention. Moses brought them through the Red Sea, Joshua will do the same at the Jordan. God was with Moses and he will be with Joshua.

It is important that people retain confidence in their leaders. There is an expression in football "to lose the dressing room". This is used when a manager of a football team loses the confidence of his players and they stop listening to him and so things go from bad to worse. There is no football at the moment but back in January the Independent was saying that Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solkjaer at Manchester United was

"losing the dressing room, with a number of squad members "irritated" by his drills and what is more, his wider tactical approach.

It's stated that while the players like him - and there's no denying Solskjaer is a very likeable character - they do not think he should have been appointed in the first place."

God was determined that Joshua would not "lose the dressing room" but would be exalted in Israel's eyes. Joshua, of course, points us to Jesus Christ our Leader and it is important that we see that in all that God the Father does he is determined to exalt Jesus Christ. We can expect to see that happening and should be on the look out for it.

3. Note how God is eager that we should be assured of victory through him

When I was a boy I remember sitting in the church where I grew up and hearing the minister giving a children's talk. There was a boy there a little bit younger than me called Michael, Michael Derosaire (Indian family). The minister asked if the children expected to go to heaven. Michael was a good little boy and so he said that he hoped to go to heaven - which I thought was a pretty good answer. You don't want to sound too confident. But the minister wasn't happy with that. He wanted the children to know they were going to heaven.

I once heard Sinclair Ferguson talking about Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation movement in the sixteenth-century. On one occasion, Bellarmine wrote:

“The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” As Ferguson puts it "Complete, explain, and discuss Bellarmine’s statement. How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? Perhaps justification by faith? Perhaps Scripture alone, or one of the other Reformation watchwords? Those answers make logical sense. But none of them completes Bellarmine’s sentence. What he wrote was: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”

Bellarmine absolutely hated the fact Protestants wanted people to know they were going to heaven. I think the fear is that if people know they are going to heaven they will become complacent and self-satisfied. And yet God wants us to assured of salvation. He want us to know it will all turn out well in the end.

Here in verses 10, 11 Joshua says to the people This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.

We then have verse 12 about choosing twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe which we will come back to another time.

Then verse 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

So now they know what was going to happen but look why. Then they would know that the living God is among them and that he would certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. If God brings them dry shod across the raging Jordan river then he will also enable them to conquer the Canaanites.

It is similar for us who believe today. If God converted us in the first place then we can be sure that he will keep us to the very end and bring us safely into heaven. It's the same logic as Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

4. Recall how God's people entered Canaan and how God leads his people all the way

Finally, let's look at verses 14-17. So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. So you get the picture - the priests carrying the ark. They are the ones to keep your eye on. The niv has smoothed things out a bit in verse 15, which should begin with something about the priests who carried the ark reaching the Jordan and their feet touch(ing) the water's edge. But then what is 15a in our translations is stuck in the way - Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. In other words, as we work towards a miraculous climax, there is a spanner in the works. There are places where the Jordan is fairly narrow and shallow about three foot deep and a hundred feet across. But it is harvest time and the Jordan is at flood stage all through. There was also vegetation either side that made it difficult to cross at flood tide when there was also a strong current. This was a raging torrent then perhaps a mile wide.

But (16, 17) the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho - just a brief reminder of the battle that lay ahead - The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Why does God choose to bring this miracle about when it is most difficult? We do not know, but the Lord often seems to make things harder for himself rather than easier. Think obviously of Jonah inside the big fish or the three friends in the fiery furnace or Daniel in the lions' den or Lazarus in the grave for four days or how the man on the cross next to Jesus was saved at the very eleventh hour. The darkest hour, they say, comes before dawn.

In 1 Corinthians 1 (21, 25, 27) we read that since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ... For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. ... God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

The lesson is obvious - God can lead his people all the way home. All we need to do is to keep trusting him. Keep looking to him no matter how impossible it may seem.

In his commentary on Joshua Rhett Dodson quotes the theologian Andreas Kostenberger talking about his conversion when an economics student in Vienna. He had been trying to be a Christian but getting nowhere. He writes

At one point during this process, I had some sort of vision while eating my lunch during a break from work, sitting at the side of the Danube channel (I was completing my "civil service," a substitute for military service, by working at the Lutheran Hospital located in Vienna's 9th district). At that moment, I felt immobilized on one side of a vast, unbridgeable gulf, desperately wanting to cross over to the other side yet being completely unable to do so. Who would take me across the river? I knew I couldn't do it on my own; it took me several months before I realized that it must be Jesus. Finally, I gave up all resistance, intellectual and otherwise, and abandoned myself completely to my Lord, who took me and brought me safely to the other side by virtue of what he had done for me on the cross.

That's what we all need to do if we haven't already. Cast yourself on Christ and let him carry you over to safety.

An Unlikely Heroine

Text Joshua 2 Time 24 05 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We come this week to Joshua 2. Now the Bible is always surprising us. And it does not fail here. Joshua 1 is about Joshua. He is Moses' successor. He is the one who is going to lead the people into the Promised Land. But when we come to Chapter 2 where is the focus? Well, there are only three or four main people in Joshua 2 and none of them is Joshua. Joshua is there but he is not at all prominent. No, the person who dominates Chapter 2 is not Joshua. It is not even a man, it is a woman. And she is not even Jewish. She is pagan. She is a Canaanite. More than that, she is a prostitute. That is how she earned her money. What a bolt!

Of course, that's not the whole story. This woman has come to believe in the true God, the LORD. More than that, she marries a Jew and becomes part of the covenant community. The Jewish rabbis taught that she actually married Joshua but it was a man called Salmon and the interesting thing about Salmon is that he was the father of Boaz and, as you know, he is the great grandfather of David and from David comes Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Her faith is commended in the New Testament - in Hebrews and in James (11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?). What an interesting woman then and what an interesting story it is here.

The story begins and ends with Joshua and the spies. 1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. No immorality here just a wise choice of venue.

23, 24 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us."

As a young man, Joshua himself had been a spy in the Promised Land. He was one of twelve but only two of them, he and Caleb, had been any good. We are subtly being reminded of this when he sends only two spies in as they come to the actual entrance into Canaan.

We too live in a pagan world and I think this chapter gives us some insight into that. Three things

1. When among pagans - expect opposition but expect some to be sympathetic too

These men were spies spying out a foreign land, one they wanted to conquer. They were not wanted. When we rub shoulders with pagans, unbelievers, we will not be wanted and we can expect trouble.

1. Expect opposition

Here we read (2) The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land." You can guess what the King intended to do with these men who had been spotted spying in his land. We will often meet with that sort of antagonism among pagans today. Not all will want us killed but many will want to cry us down or mock us or mistreat us in various ways.

In this case we read (7) how the men of Jericho set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, ... as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. As it turns out they were on a wild goose chase but they wanted to chase these men down as they want to chase us down very often too. Expect it.

As I say, it was a wild goose chase, a fool's errand. Why? Because someone had taken pity on them and helped them. And so we say also

2. Expect sympathy from some

In verses 4-6 we read But the woman Rahab but unnamed as yet had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax [used for making linen] she had laid out on the roof.) These spies were literally under cover (!).

There is some debate about what she did. All are agreed that it was good for her to hide and protect the spies but not all are sure she was right to mislead the King and his men by lying. It seems to me that the whole thing runs together. Either she hides them and lies or refuses to help them. They themselves were acting deceitfully by coming into Jericho in the first place. The command is that we are not to bear false witness against our neighbour. Israel was under command to kill the Canaanites not to be good neighbours to them and so certain things were legitimate in these extraordinary circumstances that would not be in normal circumstances.

So if you are playing rugby or something and want to dummy your opponent do so; if it is war time and someone asks if you are hiding Jews, say no. It's okay.

Not everyone will be against us. Some will be sympathetic. Either they will be fellow travellers as the Communists in Russia termed those who did not oppose them or those who are coming to faith. A fellow traveller at the moment is the writer Tom Holland. I don't think he's been converted but he is saying things that are quite positive about the gospel. Others, of course, like Rahab, become real believers.

2. When among pagans - expect some to put their faith in the true God and to plead for mercy

At the heart of the chapter, in verses 8-13, we hear Rahab herself speaking. It is remarkable what she says and should encourage us in our witness. 8, 9a Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them,

9b-11 "I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Rahab knew about the crossing of the Red Sea, the defeat of Og and Sihon, Like all the other Canaanites she was in great fear because she knew they were next. However, she had worked out that the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below and so resistance was pointless. And so she says (12, 13) Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them - and that you will save us from death. She saw that these men were her only hope, the only hope fir her and her family. If they would show mercy then there was hope.

It seems to be rare these days but it does happen - there was a testimony in ET a little while back. Darren Simpson his name. He grew up on a housing estate in a single parent family with no Christian background. By the time he was 15 he was in prison for the first time. In prison he began to go to church. He was often segregated from other prisoners for bad behaviour. There the only book he was allowed was a Bible. He found Christian teaching interesting but puzzling.

From the age of 15-28 he was in and out of prison. He says "I would do what I wanted and do it my way. If anyone didn’t like it, I would fight them. I was also drinking quite heavily and taking drugs. I was addicted to all manner of things. I never worked; I got whatever I wanted by stealing. I never thought about the many victims of my crimes.

Come 2001 he was pretty much in the situation he's been a long time - drinking heavily, committing all manner of crimes and generally leading an amoral life. But then something changed. He says

"I realised that what I was doing wasn’t right. It was as if the mental block I’d had for all these years had been removed and I knew that I couldn’t carry on this way. These were strange thoughts and it really puzzled me. I was starting to have some sort of conscience ... One night these thoughts had been keeping me awake and I did something totally out of character - I walked into the local police station at about 4.00am and told them I was wanted for a crime and wanted to hand myself in."

They thought he was mad but he was processed and he got four years from the Crown Court for burglary and theft from a jewellers. On to prison he went, intending to carry on as before. But he was confused in his mind, knowing he had to change, but knowing he did not want to. He goes on

"Some months later I heard of a new initiative to teach inmates a skill they could use after their release. ... Much to my surprise I received a letter saying they would like to have me on the team and that I would be moved to another prison where the venture was located. This was great news to me ... I wasn’t used to being treated like this and it was a chance that I very much appreciated. I was transferred to the Wolds prison in E Yorkshire and put on the web design programme."

"I was reading my Bible again, but was often frustrated that there was no one to explain it to me – at least not with the sort of explanation that made sense. ... On this training programme I was allowed to use the internet and was increasingly drawn to a major Christian message-board. It was Christian only in a loose sense and many things I read there were contrary to what I was reading in the Bible. However, I noticed that one person on the message boards spoke the truth as I found it in the Bible. Here was what I had been looking for – someone who wasn’t afraid to declare what the Bible says. I ended up getting in touch with this person by post and we had some very interesting correspondence.

"Around this time I started to attend the prison chapel and was asking earnest questions. Again I got no satisfactory answers but I continued to attend as it was the only form of fellowship available. In my cell at night, however, I often sat reading the Bible with awe and wonder at its message. I knew this precious book had what I wanted and I was hungry for more of the book to be unlocked.

"One night I sat there and thought, ‘Right, I am ready for this. I have looked at everything else and I know that the only place I have found any sort of truth is within this Bible.’ I knew I was a sinner and that within myself there was no power to set me free. There was nothing I could do. I got on my hands and knees and asked the Lord into my life, praying, ‘Lord help me’. ..."

Witnessing is not easy at present but we should be looking out for people like thus, people who really want to no more, who want to be saved, like Rahab did, who know they need to trust in the Loving God.

3. When among pagans be thankful to escape trouble; promise salvation to all who believe

In verse 14 the spies say to Rahab "Our lives for your lives! ... If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."

As you may know, her home was part of the city wall and so, the city gates being shut, she was able to let them down by a rope through the window. She said to them (16) "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."

The men say to her (17-20) This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord (whether this was clothing or some device Rahab used to advertise her trade we do not know) in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear." I'm sure they were thinking of Passover. On Passover night everyone who had stayed at home with the door closed and the blood of the lamb on the doorpost was safe - the angel of death passed over. So with Rahab and her household, as long as they remained in her house, clearly marked out by the scarlet cord in the window, then they would all be safe.

21a "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say."

In a similar way, we say to people today. Look you, and anyone else in your family - you need to hide under the blood of Christ. If you trust in him and what he has done, you will be safe. But if you do not, your blood will be on your own head. You will perish, but it will not be my fault - I have told you you need to hide in Christ.

So we read how she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window the sign of her faith. 22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.

It had filled them with great confidence (24) The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.

People get ready

Text Joshua 1:10-18 Time 17 05 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

In 1965 a group called The Impressions had a hit with a song called People get ready. I have always taken it to be a gospel song although it is actually more about politics than Christ I guess. It begins

People get ready, There's a train a-coming

You don't need no ticket, You just get on board

All you need is faith To hear the diesels humming

Don't need no ticket You just thank the Lord.

People get ready For the train to Jordan

Picking up passengers From coast to coast

Faith is the key Open the doors and board them

There's room for all Among those loved the most.

There ain't no room For the hopeless sinner

Who would hurt all mankind Just to save his own

Have pity on those Whose chances are thinner

'Cause there's no hiding place From the kingdom's throne.

So people get ready For the train a-comin'

You don't need no ticket You just get on board

All you need is faith To hear the diesels humming

Don't need no ticket You just thank the Lord

I'm getting ready I'm getting ready

This time I'm ready This time I'm ready

I'm getting ready Getting ready, oh yeah I'm getting ready, yes I am

I mention the song because the imagery it uses is partly taken from the passage I want us to look at tonight. We are in Joshua Chapter 1 and the people are about to cross the Jordan River to go into the Promised Land. Now they are not going in on a train, as the song pictures it, but they are going in and so they need to get ready. "People get ready For the train to Jordan" and then the response "I'm getting ready I'm getting ready This time I'm ready This time I'm ready I'm getting ready Getting ready, oh yeah I'm getting ready, yes I am".

When you do a race with children you don't just say "Go!" you say "Ready, steady, go!". With adults it is "On your marks, get set, go!". It's the same thing really - get set, get ready - the point is that you need to be ready before you can go. You need to be prepared.

That is the theme of the verses I want us to look at tonight Joshua 1:10-18, preparing, getting ready to cross Jordan. But what does that mean for us? As I said last week, I think the main thing that the entry into the Promised Land under Joshua speaks to us about is not so much entry into heaven but more entering on the Christian life, which it is true does lead in the end to heaven but the point is that in the Promised Land there is still fighting to be done and the Christian life is in some aspects, a battle all the way to heaven.

So three things for us this evening

1. Get ready to take what is yours

In verses 10 and 11 we read So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'"

They are about to cross the Jordan under their new leader Joshua - in a miraculous way, we later learn - but before that happens they need to get ready. Get your provisions ready ... to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own. We don't know exactly where the three days fits in to the time scheme of Joshua but the Bible uses the phrase to refer to any period that is a day and part of two other days and is a momentous time, as, most obviously, when Christ rose from the dead.

It is like the time just before you are converted, the time when you are about to begin the Christian life under your leader Jesus Christ. Of course, it is never quite like that because we do not know when we are going to be converted. It is hard enough for some to know they have been converted, even after the event.

It's use for us today is simply to make the point that if you are going to live the Christian life then you need to be ready. Wake up! Be alert! This is parallel to those places where Jesus says things like Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 24:41) Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. (Luke 21:34). It is true that such warnings are often coupled with a reminder of the Second Coming but the point is that the Christian life must be lived out today. We need to be watchful, ready to serve.

You know perhaps that the motto of the scouting movement is "Be prepared!". Their founder, Lord Baden-Powell came up with it when he founded the scout movement in 1907. I think he liked the fact that it was a B-P like his own name. He said in Scouting for Boys in 1908, it means “you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.” The scout movement endeavours to prepare young people for life ahead.

Now as Christians we also must be prepared - prepared, yes, for Christ's return but also for whatever may come in any intervening period.

In particular here the phrase is Get your provisions ready. We need to make sure our provisions are ready and that we can access them. At the start of each week and each day we need to be ready; at any given moment, we need be to be ready. The most obvious provisions are prayer and the Word. They are there for us to use and we ought to make good use of these resources. Take time each day to pray, be prayerful as you go about your life. Be careful to take in the Word as we were saying last time.

What you need to be ready to do is to take what is yours. God had given his people the Promised Land but the land still had to be taken. Similarly, if you are a Christian, God has given you great blessings but they need to be taken, they need to be possessed. You need to live out the Christian life actively. Pray, be holy, walk with God - that is your calling. Live it out.

2. Get ready to battle for what is yours

In verses 12-15 it goes on But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, 'The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this land.' Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."

This refers back to the way that after Israel had ended up fighting Kings Sihon and Og on the east side of the Jordan, two and a half tribes - Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh - had decided they liked the area and wanted to settle there. This they were allowed to do on condition that they were willing to be part of the effort to overcome the Canaanites on the west of the Jordan with all the other Israelites. Here they are reminded of that obligation - Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them.

I don't think there is any obvious parallel with our New Testament situation apart from the reminder that we are responsible for one another. We must do what we can to help each other. I saw in a commentary someone had written that there is no room in Christianity for isolationism. I had to read it twice - isolation yes but not isolationism.

Perhaps the main thing here though is that just as for Israel entering the Promised Land involved fighting so living the Christian life is a fight. You remember how Paul speaks in Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

There are other references to this, such as 2 Corinthians 10:4 where Paul says The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

It is important that we understand that the Christian life is a battle, a war against the world, the flesh and the devil. That is why we must be watchful and on guard and so on. To think that the Christian life will be a picnic is a great mistake. No, to live the Christian life as we should will be a struggle, a fight. It will involve great effort on our part. Are you ready?

3. Get ready to be obedient and to serve

A pastor from Haiti once illustrated commitment with a parable. He told how a certain man wanted to sell his house. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.

After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

The conclusion of the pastor from Haiti was this: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation."

In verses 16-18 we have the response of the two and a half tribes. Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

They echo what was said to Joshua in verses 1-9 and urge him to be strong and courageous praying that the Lord will be with him. They commit themselves to doing what Joshua commands them and to going wherever he sends. They say Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. hey promised total commitment.

We ought to show the same attitude - absolute commitment to our leader, Jesus Christ. There is a hymn that sums up how we should approach the Christian life very simply

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet. r we'll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go; Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

"What He says we will do, where He sends we will go; Never fear, only trust and obey." That is the way to live.

They say that when Julius Caesar landed on the shores of Britain with his Roman legions, he took a bold and decisive step to ensure the success of his military venture. Ordering his men to march to the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, he commanded them to look down at the water below. To their surprise, they saw every ship in which they had crossed the channel engulfed in flames. Caesar had deliberately cut off any possibility of retreat. This was a common enough Roman tactic to prevent retreat. Now that his soldiers were unable to return to the continent, there was nothing left for them to do but to advance and conquer! And that is exactly what they did. Hence the term burning your boats or bridges. That is how we should commit to service and obedience - no going back.

So three very simple things this evening then.

1. Get ready to take what is yours - to live the Christian life as it should be lived

2. Get ready to battle for what is yours. It is struggle but be ready to fight

3. Get ready to be obedient and to serve - don't hold back but do what he says, go where he sends.