Day 82: Joshua 1-4

Welcome to 5 -Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's March the 23rd and we'll be looking at Joshua 1 through 4.

Now today we step into the ongoing saga of the chapters concerning Joshua.

Moses is gone and the wilderness is behind them and the Jordan River stands in front of them like a final barrier between them and the promise of God.

Everything in Israel's story has been moving towards this moment. The promise given to Abraham that's been carried through the generations down into Egypt and through slavery and then through redemption and now finally after 40 years of the previous generation's wanderings, now it's finally within reach.

Joshua 1 through 4 marks the transition from waiting to enter the land to the promise being finally possessed.

And in that way Joshua 1 begins with God commissioning Joshua as the new leader of Israel. The command is repeated again and again, be strong and courageous.

Not because Joshua is naturally fearless but because the Lord's presence is going to go with him and that's why he can be courageous because of God and God's presence.

Success in that way is not tied to strategy or strength but it's tied to the obedience to God's word and trusting in his presence and trusting that he's with you.

And the people all respond with unity, pledging their loyalty as they move forward into the land.

Then Joshua 2 shifts the scene into Jericho. While Israel prepares to enter,

God is already at work inside of it. Rahab, a Canaanite woman, hears of the Lord's power and responds with faith.

She even hides the Israelite spies and aligns herself with the God of Israel. Even before the conquest begins,

God is gathering outsiders into his kingdom of mercy. Then in Joshua 3,

Israel is at the edge of the Jordan River. The river is at flood stage. It is impossible to cross on their own.

But the priests carrying the ark in obedience to God step into the water first. And as soon as their feet touch the river, the water stops and the people pass through on dry ground, which is an echo back to the

Red Sea. The presence of God is going before them once more and the path opens behind it.

Then in Joshua 4, we see a memorial. Twelve stones are taken from the riverbed and they're set up as a lasting sign so that when future generations ask what these stones mean, the people will tell the story of how

God brought them safely into the land. Now, as you read today, I want you to ask the following question.

What does it look like to move forward when obedience requires stepping into what you can't control?

Joshua 1 -4 shows that faith acts on God's word before the outcome is actually visible.

And the central pattern in these chapters is faith is expressed through action under God's presence.

God himself gives the promises, but the people must take the step. They must move forward. The river is not going to part while they stand still.

It only parts when the priests who are carrying the ark take the step. And this reveals something essential about the life of faith, because obedience often proceeds clarity.

God's people are called to trust his word long before they see provision. And that's the way that faith works.

We don't walk by sight. We walk by faith in the promises of God and by his presence.

And at the same time, God then commands them to remember the stones from the Jordan are not decoration markers.

They're an instruction. Future generations are going to need reminders of what God has done for this generation because faith is going to move them forward, but it's going to be sustained by remembering the past faithfulness of God.

And in that way, these chapters point clearly to Jesus Christ, because Joshua, whose name means the

Lord saves, leads his people through the water into the promised land. And this anticipates

Christ, who leads his people as true savior through a greater crossing from death to life.

The ark going before the people points forward to the presence of God leading the way in the gospel.

Christ himself goes before his people, entering death and emerging victorious so that a path is open for those who follow him.

And Rahab's inclusion also points forward to the gospel because she's an outsider. And yet she's brought into God's covenant people through faith.

And in the same way, she's going to be grafted into the line of Jesus so that Christ will be an ancestor of Rahab, which is a picture of the beautiful, amazing work of the gospel that's going to eventually win over every nation, tribe and tongue and people into one redeemed family of grace.

So as you read Joshua 1 through 4 today, feel the shift in the story. The people are no longer a wandering nomadic people.

They're an entering and a conquering people. And tomorrow we're going to see what happens once they're inside the land as God prepares them spiritually before the battle begins.

And with that, read your Bible carefully, devotionally and joyfully. And may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely.