“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
I. Claiming the Territory
(Joshua)
II. How to Read History
(1Corinthians 10)
III.
Human Nature - The Nature of Sin
IV.
The Seven Deadly Sins (Proverbs)
V. The Lesson
I. Claiming the Territory (Joshua)
A) The Importance of Remembering History
This is central to the consciousness of Israel (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Understanding the history of Israel, e.g. as we find it recorded in the book of Joshua, is valuable as we consider the nature of the fulfilment of the promise given to Moses in Exodus 23.
As you begin toe read the book of Joshua you will note that it begins with Joshua (1:1), the one who would not leave the tent, but stayed behind after Moses finished his prayers in order to continue to seek the Lord (Exodus 33:11).
B) Reading the Book of Joshua
Be sure to understand the structure of the book of Joshua. It will become important to us as we look for the spiritual significance of Israel’s history:
I. God’s command to take the land (1:1-18)
II. Crossing the Jordan
Spying out the Land (2)
Crossing the Jordan (3)
The Monument to the Event (4)
Circumcision at Gilgal (5:2-8)
Celebration of the Passover (5:10-12)
III. The Fall of Jericho (5:13-6:27)
IV. The Battle of Ai (7:1-8:29)
V. Israel at Ebal and Gerizim (8:30-35)
VI. The Conquest of the Land (9-12)
VII. The Division of the Land and Further Work Outlined
(13-22)
VIII. Farewell Address and Death of Joshua (23-24)
(The Covenant Renewed at Shechem 24:1-27)
Question One:
Be sure that you understand the history of Israel and the way in which it is structured in Joshua. Both facets of the book become important in the history of the church’s understanding of the spiritual significance of Israel and the way in which Israel’s history foreshadows principles of true spirituality.
A) The Meaning of History
1) Jesus gives us some indication as to how to read history through his own self understanding (Matt. 16:13 - 17:13) as well as through his interpretation of the past as reflected in the gospel writers.
2) Paul offers insight into how to think about history as well in such texts as Galations 4:21-31 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. The latter text is particularly fruitful for our purposes.
B) The Application of the Text
1) Are we willing or able, simply to leave the history of Israel as that, i.e. merely events that have happened in the past? Or, is there meaning in Israel’s experience that might serve as a guide for our lives today? The implication found in Jesus and Paul is that all that happened to Israel in the past serves as a guide for us today.
2) In what way does the history of Israel, the gospel of Jesus Christ and experience of the first Christians, i.e. the Bible, offer guidance for our lives today?
a) Our understanding of Jesus finds final religious authority in Him. He is confessed to be both man, like us and approachable, yet as God He is the final truth and one to whom all things must tend. As both God and man, He intercedes for us and leads us to maturity (Hebrews 4:14-16)
b) The history of Israel and experience of the first Christians shape our understanding of the nature of the life He calls us to live (Hebrews 11-12)
C) How to Read the Text
Throughout the history of the church Christians have turned
to the history recorded in the Bible in order to find guidance for life.
The Bible has provided a symbolic representation, or allegory, of the Christian
life. Or, because of the integrity of the recorded events in its
books, has been referred to as a typology, i.e. as presenting through persons,
cases, cases, and models the manner by which the Christian is to live.
Question Two:
In what ways do you understand the events recorded in the book of Joshua as providing guidance for you as an individual? Are the events found therein also to guide the community of Christians, i.e., the Church: Christian societies?
B) Reading the Book of Joshua
In the earliest commentaries written by churchmen (e.g.
Jerome) on how to read the book of Joshua, the book was seen to illustrate
the nature of the Christian life in the following way.
I. God’s command to take the land (1:1-18)
This the call to salvation.
II. Crossing the Jordan
Spying out the Land (2)
Crossing the Jordan (3)
This is the acceptance of God’s grace
The Monument to the Event (4)
Circumcision at Gilgal (5:2-8)
This is our baptism.
Celebration of the Passover (5:10-12)
This is the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist.
III. The Fall of Jericho (5:13-6:27)
This is our first victory in the life of faith. The history of Israel in claiming the Promised Land is an example of the Christian’s growing mastery over sin and resulting sanctification.
IV. The Battle of Ai (7:1-8:29)
This is an example of the defeat and failure which comes when we yield to sin or hide from the truth.
V. Israel at Ebal and Gerizim (8:30-35)
Confession, forgiveness and reaffirmation bring revival and restoration. With such comes the strength for further conquests in the life of faith.
VI. The Conquest of the Land (9-12)
VII. The Division of the Land and Further
Work Outlined (13-22)
VIII. Farewell Address and Death of Joshua (23-24)
(The Covenant Renewed at Shechem, 24:1-27)
This reminds us of the need for times of reaffirmation and “re-visioning”.
III. Human Nature -- The Nature of Sin
As we consider the history and interpretation that we have considered, the necessity of restoration and devastation of sin become meaningful in relation to our understanding of essential humanness and the nature of fulfilment or wholeness.
A) Human Nature in Classical Thinking
In much of the classical world there were understood to be four components of human nature which set humankind off from the animal world: 1) reason, 2) family ties, 3) the search after truth, and 4) moral sensibility. To each of these qualities was attached a virtue (or “strength”) which, it was felt, would bring fulfilment in the particular domain under consideration. so, wisdom fulfilled the human quality of reason, justice that of family ties, courage or fortitude that of the search after truth, and self-discipline brought to fulfilment moral sensibility.
The virtuous or strong and “whole” person exhibited qualities
of wisdom, justice, courage, and
self-control.
B) The Christian Contribution to Ideas of Human Nature
Based upon the creation narrative, Jews and Christians
argued that man was made in the “image
of God” (1:26; 2:23-24). Ideas about what this
might mean have varied in history. However, as
we think of the opening two chapters in Genesis it might
be argued that as God was conceived
as creator (1:1), the one who blesses his creation (1:4),
and as the one who names it (1:5), so man
also co-creates, blesses and names things.
C) The Devastation of Sin
However, from Genesis 3 on we note that man may either
create or destroy, he might bless or
curse, and he might name accurately or mis-name, distort
and lie. Having said this, we begin to
understand the way in which sin distorts the ideal of
human nature. Furthermore, this idea might
even be extended to classical understandings of man so
enabling us to understand what is at work
in our lives making us less wise. In other words,
sin works as an “acid” in our life destroying the
possibility of fulfilment and wholeness.
D) The Person of Jesus as the Image of God
In the New Testament Paul argues that Jesus is “the image
and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 11:7;
cf. Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15). He is the
only perfect such image. Through sin we have each become fractured
images. However, He is the model of what we are to be as we are restored
through Him (Colossians 1:15-20). We might say that through faith,
as we rely upon His grace (James 1:5-8, 16-18) He enables us to become
the image of God, or whole person, that we were meant to be. He is
the “author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
Question Three:
As we think about the question of human fulfilment today, we might reflect on the following:
1) What are essential hum qualities that make me and the rest of humanity, setting us off from the rest of the created or material order?
2) How am I going about trying to fulfil these “marks” of my humanity?
3) In what ways am I finding myself frustrated in my attempts to find this fulfilment?
4) In what ways do I rely upon the grace of Christ to bring me the fulfilment that I require?
IV. The Seven Deadly Sins (Proverbs)
In the history of Christian reflection upon the devastation of sin many commentators on the Bible have been drawn to the following list of seven sins. There are other ways to think about the universal phenomenon of sin and other lists that could be drawn up.
Consider the following list in the table found below.
Several traditional texts associated with these sins have been given next
to the sin in question. You may wish to think of other texts.
Complete the table by filling in the blank spaces with individuals, either
from the Bible or general world history, who have been caught up in one
of the particular sins given. Then see if you can think of the social
effects of that sin and the nature of what was lost that might have been.
Sin Script Individual Social What was lost
Pride Prov. 8:13
Envy Prov. 24:19
Anger Prov. 15:1
Sloth/Despair Prov. 26:15
Avarice/Greed Prov. 27:4
Gluttony Prov. 23:2
Lust Prov. 6:25
Question Four:
In working through the above exercise you should begin to see something of the “acidic” effect of sin upon individual and corporate life. Sin destroys all individual and social attempts at wholeness and well being.
There are many points that might develop in relation to the text of Joshua and discussion of human nature and fulfilment outlined above. Consider the following three points as we conclude your reflections on “Social Sanctification”:
1) History has always been important to the Christian. Although debate continues on whether it is possible to develop a “science” of history or not, the Bible charges us to remember history (e.g. Deut. 6:1-9). There is something very “human” to reflecting upon and writing history. It draws upon the objectivity and subjectivity that are central to human life and well being.
2) The lesson of Joshua calls us to the centrality of grace for human fulfilment. Assuming the moral message of the text, we are drawn in the book of James (1:5-8, 16-18) to the grace (faith, hope and love), received through faith in Christ, required to defeat the ravages of sin and bring a measure of human fulfilment in this life.
3) The lesson implied in Joshua (7:1-8:29) at Ai, and stated explicitly in James, is that there is no victory in the Christian life apart from honesty and confession of sin. When disciplined by the Lord for sin, we may either rebel and develop resentment or yield to the discipline of the Lord and grow (Hebrews 12:4-24).
It is only as we confess and yield that we develop the kind of nature required for God to call us His friends (James 2:23-24). Our Lord reminds us of this in the words that have been recorded: “You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14).
Question Five:
Apply the three points raised above to your own life and
experience. Consider how the last one ties in with what we learned
about friendship with God in our first talk (cf. Exodus 33:11)