Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - 3 Important Lessons from Joshua | The Life of Joshua | Joshua 24:29-33

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the Book of Joshua. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, Ask TMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. I hope you've enjoyed our series on Joshua.

Starting point is 00:00:32 But if you're just tuning in, you can go back and catch that. up beginning with Keith in episode 292. The book of Joshua is written in the narrative and it's easy to read if you want to go out it that way as well. As we wrap up on Joshua and his life, I want to reflect on three countercultural lessons we've learned. Number one, obedience does matter. Over and over, we heard God tell Joshua to be strong and keep all of his commands. There's a strong connection in this Old Testament book between committed obedience and battle success. Some of us have been raised or taught that obedience is the only thing that matters, and that someone's success or failures can all be traced back to some act of disobedience.

Starting point is 00:01:16 But that's not what Joshua's life illustrates for us. Joshua's life shows us the Lord's passion for an obedient heart that makes room for God's will to be done. Let me give you an example. Let's say that even though she knows it's wrong, my daughter chooses to kick her younger sister in the shins every single day. Now, if we look at it just through the slice or lens of one day, that might not seem like a big deal. But every day, for the rest of her life, she decides to kick her sister's shins. That's silly, you're thinking.

Starting point is 00:01:50 It means she never grew up, never matured beyond that phase. And you might also be thinking of the collateral damage. surely it impacted her relationship with her sister and everyone else in the house. The internal and external consequences are quite obvious. So it goes with our lack of obedience. Disobedience affects our vertical relationship with God. He's on a mission to make us more like Jesus, and disobedience stunts our growth.

Starting point is 00:02:19 It prevents us from growing and maturing into the people he's redeemed us to be. It also does collateral damage on ourselves and others. Whether it's in the areas of our sexuality or our words, our screen time, our finances, not following how God says to handle those areas keeps us from maturing and becoming more like Jesus. God constantly reminded Joshua to faithfully follow all that he commanded because he had a whole territory for the nation to inherit. He knew that disobedience would stunt their progress and keep them from living fully in the land he wanted to give them. The second, countercultural truth we learned from Joshua's life, is that life is a long game.

Starting point is 00:03:02 My grandpa, it was a quiet man. In fact, even quieter, after his horses and plow got struck by lightning, and he lost most of his hearing. In the early 1930s, he bought a few holsteins and started his own dairy operation in Douglas County, Missouri. He added a few to his herd every year, and my dad, the youngest of five, grew up milking calves every morning and every evening. The dairy farm was my grandpa's wave investing in and providing for his family. Between milkings then, he fed and tended the cattle, and he cut and put away the hay. When my dad left the farm and married my mom, my grandparents gave him a heifer to start his own herd. If you know what heifer means, you're my people. Then when I was born, my grandpa gave me my own calf to add to my dad's herd. She grew up in every year

Starting point is 00:03:48 when she had a calf, my dad took it to the sale barn and then put the money in my savings account. So when Eric and I got married in 2001, that account helped us pay for and furnish the place where we lived in St. Louis. Now, I don't think when my grandpa woke up at 4 a.m. in the 30s to head outside in the middle of January, he possibly could have known that his investment would eventually pave the way for a granddaughter to start her career in St. Louis. He was probably thinking like most of us do. What are my priorities today? What are my obstacles? and then he put on his gloves and pulled his cap down over his ears and headed out to call the cows. Joshua's life was a long game of committed faithfulness and obedience that wove in and out of an even

Starting point is 00:04:33 longer story of other faithful followers. God had made Abraham, the Israelites' forefather, an incredible promise more than 400 years earlier, that he would have descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And after a long time in captivity, God would bring them out and deliver them. them into the land he'd promised. Abraham believed, and he left his home to pitch a tent in a place called Shekham, believing that one day his ancestors would inherit the land. And it happened. At the end of Joshua's life, Joshua gathered the people at Shackham, this same place

Starting point is 00:05:11 where Abraham pitched his tent, and Joshua encouraged the people to follow the Lord's commands and believe his promises. Joshua's life was part of a generational long game that was marked out by hope and perseverance. Few days were significant in and of themselves, but all days were important in the onward march for the Israelites to take over the territory. Sometimes it seems like success comes overnight, and maybe there's a few times that it does. But more often we hear of authors and artists and athletes who spend 20 years or more grinding away and getting better at their craft to produce something, we all enjoy and appreciate. Some of you may be working towards something amazing that will be noticed in a big way, and we're so thankful for God's creativity that makes his world better

Starting point is 00:05:57 through you. But for the other 99% of us, it will be our daily growth and humility, and a daily act of pretty mundane grit that shows God's amazing long-viewed story of promise and redemption to us and to the watching world. I think Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua would all tell us to hang in there and put our hope in the long game. God does what he says he will do, and our lives of faithful obedience matter greatly in his story. The third countercultural lesson we learn from Joshua, or at least the third in these three, is that we're not in control. That's easy to say, and we hear it a lot, so it kind of loses its impact, but what it means really does matter. We can't control our kids, our roommates, our co-workers, or our neighbors. We can't

Starting point is 00:06:47 and we also can't control outcomes. That means our faith isn't passed along to our kids just because they live with us. It means our plans and organization, no matter how well laid out, won't fix our anxieties. It means micromanaging our work or the people that work for us won't solve our insecurities. It means that all the self-care in the world won't give us true peace. And this is good news. As we marched through Canaan with Joshua, we also repeatedly heard the reminder for the Lord your God will give it unto your hand. Joshua was the leader, but the army belonged to the

Starting point is 00:07:23 Lord. The territory belonged to the Lord, the plans belong to the Lord, and the victory belonged to the Lord. Joshua needed to show up and obey and wait for the Lord to orchestrate the outcomes. This was really good news for Joshua, because he didn't have the numbers of the technology to make it happen on his own. He would have faced his first stumbling block just trying to cross the Jordan River. because God was in control Joshua's job was just to continue to follow the Lord's commands. Here are some of the things Joshua did that showed that he understood that God was the best to be in control. He followed God's orders even when it looked strange to the outside world.

Starting point is 00:08:05 He promoted the gifts and talents of others rather than being intimidated by them. He kept his oath even when it came at a cost. He pointed others to the Lord and his leadership instead of falling in love with himself. And of course, he didn't do any of that perfectly. But yet at the end of his life, Joshua was called the servant of the Lord, and he's given the promised rest in the promised land. Joshua's life is a shadow of the complete fulfillment Jesus came to offer. What Joshua did on a good day, Jesus did perfectly always.

Starting point is 00:08:41 What Joshua wasn't able to do perfectly, Jesus died for. Joshua believed in a promise, and Jesus fulfilled that promise completely. All of this should deeply encourage us, as we realize these promises made to Abraham foreshadow a far greater promise God has given to us. Each day, he is at work, reclaiming more and more territory in our lives from the patterns of disobedience, impulse, and control, and putting them under His care. Lord, we pray that you will lift our focus from the here and now and make us less in love with ourselves and more in love with you and your eternal

Starting point is 00:09:23 kingdom promises. We pray that you will lift our eyes from ourselves and others and toward you. We pray that you will replace our impatience with anticipation. And Lord, we pray that through all of this, we will receive your rest of your rest of today as we wait for your kingdom to come to earth as it is in heaven. Amen. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow

Starting point is 00:10:02 spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - 3 Important Lessons from Joshua | The Life of Joshua | Joshua 24:29-33

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