New Beginnings: The Book of Joshua – Part 1

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CLAIMER (NOT DISCLAIMER)

This teaching is not intended to replace studying the Torah on Shabbat. Rather, it is an extension of Torah study to learn from the sins of our forebears in the ancient past so we will understand the Torah’s practical application in our own lives today. We will also regain our national identity which is so greatly missing among us. Our true identity is not the nation of our biological birth but with Biblical Israel and the patriotism for Biblical Israel which we so badly need can be gained by identifying with the people and history of those ancient times.

Always study the Torah of YHVH, which is His instructions, teachings, and His Law, rolled into one word, “Torah”. Not only on Shabbat, but every day, we should meditate on His Torah, His Law.  

Psalms 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. 

Deuteronomy 5:33  You shall walk in all the way which Yahweh your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Psalms 1:1  Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; 
Psalms 1:2  but his delight is in Yahweh’s law [Torah]. On his law [Torah] he meditates day and night. 

Psalms 119:174  I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law [Torah] is my delight.

IDENTITY

We, who are the restored Israelites through Yeshua’s body and blood, His death and resurrection, need a sense of national identity. Our patriotism should not be from whatever nation we live in or where we were born. It should be directed to Yeshua’s Kingdom where we are current citizens and where we are going. Aren’t we blessed to be citizens of the Most High God, the God and King of Israel?

Identifying with Biblical Israel is a major component of coming out of Babylon. It is also how we learn from our past so that we will not be doomed to repeating the sins of ancient Israel which got them exiled from YHVH’s Kingdom.

Many false doctrines are now afoot in the Hebrew Roots movement. We must learn from our ancient ancestors sins which caused the exile of all 12 tribes from His Kingdom. As we move forward into the time of His Kingdom’s return, we must prepare ourselves through knowledge.

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God’s law, I will also forget your children.

An important part of our knowledge is our history, the history of Israel’s failures and triumphs. We must learn what not to do so we can safely enter YHVH’s Kingdom which is coming soon, and we must learn what TO do, as well. Our history provides wonderful examples for us to learn from. If we do not learn from our past, we will be doomed to failure in the future.

Let me give you another reason for why studying our history is now so imperative. From a Bride’s point of view, the history of her soon-to-be groom’s family is all-consuming. It should be. She needs to know what she is getting into. Who are these people whose identity she will be taking on? Is this a good family or a bad one? Are there skeletons hidden in closets that could affect her future? What if some of those skeletons come to life to stop her wedding? What about their DNA? Could her children inherit diseases?

The Bride must learn the culture of her groom and His family. She must understand what His family, His Kingdom, does and how she is required to behave. She understands she will be living in His house. It will be her job to uphold all of His His requirements. She must comport herself with a demeanor pleasing to her groom and His family. How can she learn to do these thing if she doesn’t understand His history to learn what upset the family back then so that she doesn’t do those behaviors now? The groom is not the one doing the changing and getting cleaned up. The Bride is the one doing that.

Ancient Israel’s dry bones are the skeletons left behind by Israel’s sins from which the Bride of Yeshua must repent! If we do not know our history, we will repeat it over and over until we do repent. And how will we understand the Kingdom’s laws if we don’t look at the practical examples provided in our history?

This teaching is given based on the premises that YHVH, Yeshua, never changes. And because this is true, His Bride can learn quite easily from the mistakes of His family which He disapproved of by studying their past. And then, she can decide that she will not do those things which displease her husband-to-be.

This takes more than just learning the Laws of His household. It takes looking at the practical examples of what the ancient Israelites did correctly and what they failed at.

While humans and their various religions and cultures change, our God and King, Yeshua, our groom, never changes. This means that what has been will be again.

Isa 46:10  I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please. 

He has established patterns in scripture to guide us so we will know what to look for as the wedding day approaches. We must look to the past to know the future and avoid the many pitfalls that are coming.

One more point. If we study the characters of scripture, we can learn from them how to be overcomers. We can learn how to overcome by learning from their failures and we can learn to be strong by learning from their triumphs through very difficult times.

I hope this series of teachings about Israel’s history will help you to know who you are, where you came from and where you are going. And I hope you will gain a renewed appreciation for Yeshua’s work on the cross. He died to restore His nation, Israel, of which we are citizens. Let us truly appreciate what that means.

NEW BEGINNINGS

What condition was Biblical Israel in 3500 years ago? It was horrible in the first generation which was saved from Egypt. They rejected YHVH in the wilderness by refusing to give YHVH their heart even after all He had done for them, and they constantly and consistently disobeyed His Law.

Forty years did the second generation wait for the first generation to die. YHVH had wanted to kill them but Moses interceded and YHVH did not kill them, but they were not allowed to enter into their inheritance. Moses was the last of that generation to die. Here is where this teaching will start – with the second generation which entered into the Promised Land.

The Torah Portions end with Moses’ death and few know that the Book of Joshua is an extension of the Torah.

Joshua 24:26  Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh.

We need to extend our study beyond the first five books of Moses to include Joshua and all of the other history books. Lessons in how to walk before YHVH are found in them.

Joshua took them across the Jordan river after the death of Moses. It is here where the real story of Israel begins.

There had been sins of idolatry in the second wilderness generation. The people had begun to serve Baal Peor. Zimri and Cosbi tried to overthrow YHVH’s Tabernacle, the place of His name in the wilderness, by fornicating inside its walls. Phineas, the priest, killed them both and thus atoned for Israel’s sin. The lesson to learn is that sin does bring death!

The Baal Peor incident sets up a prophecy for the end of days which is used by Ezekiel.

Eze 20:36  Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” says the Lord Yahweh. 
Eze 20:37  “I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 
Eze 20:38  I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who disobey me. I will bring them out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.” 

The first macro generation of 1500 years from the time of the wilderness to the cross were cut off. The second generation is the one that came after the cross. Among this second generation still are rebels. All rebels will be cut off and they will not inherit the Promised Land or enter into Yeshua’s Kingdom. They will not become His Bride.

Few people understand that there are two categories of sin: Personal and national. In the Book of Joshua, we will learn that personal sins affect the entire nation of Israel. Likewise, atonement is made for Israel by executing those leading others astray as Phineas executed Zimri the Simeonite. Today, we only have the authority of excommunication from our fellowships because we are in exile. It will not be this way when Yeshua reigns in His Kingdom on earth with an iron rod.

Joshua 1:1  Now after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 
Joshua 1:2  “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you, and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel. 
Joshua 1:3  I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses. 

Notice how YHVH references Moses. Yeshua will also reference Moses in the New Testament because Yeshua IS YHVH and YHVH IS Yeshua. In fact, Moses will be referenced 80 times in the teachings of the New Testament. The name, Moses, is mentioned 770 times in the Old Testament. The Law of Moses is relevant all the way to the Book of Revelation (Revelation 15:3). Nothing in the Law of Moses is rescinded or changed nor has any of it become obsolete. If you have been taught that, then you have been taught false doctrine.

Joshua 1:4  From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. 
Joshua 3:10  Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite out from before you.

The Israelites had to face the tribes of Canaan who was a son of Ham, according to Genesis 10:6. Ham was also known as “Hammurabi”, or “Ham the great”. He ruled in ancient Anatolia, modern Turkey.

The Hittites were from the “sons of Heth” (Genesis 10:15). The various Canaanite tribal territories extended from northern Syria all the way to Egypt’s borders and from Jordan to the Mediterranean. All of the Canaanite tribes had tribal occupations within Abraham’s Promised Land.

The Israelites had fought the Amorites on the east side of Jordan.

Deuteronomy 3:8  We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon. 

Joshua only lived for another 25 years, according to most historians. There was constant war in the Land as the Israelites drove out Canaan’s tribes. We will find that Joshua died before all of the Canaanite tribes were driven out and there were still Canaanite tribes present in the time of King David.

Joshua 1:5  No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. 
Joshua 1:6  “Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 
Joshua 1:7  Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 

Here is the condition upon which conquering the Promised Land was provisioned on: That the Israelites would observe to do all of YHVH’s Law.

This principle is still valid today. YHVH never changes so His conditions for our personal and national successes remain the same: Do ALL that is in His Law.

We can expect to face war when we once again retake the Land of our inheritance. Yeshua will go before us over the Jordan river but we will be met with resistance. Remember, the Iranians will have set up their government in the Land from Jerusalem to the sea.

Daniel 11:45  He will plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

It is likely our 144,000 warriors will be active in the final war with the nations at Armageddon when they come to fight with the Iranians against us Israelites as we follow the pattern we are learning now, crossing over the Jordan river into the Land of Promise. Israel will conquer the Land once again because we will have purified ourselves in the wilderness and will be fully Torah observant.

Joshua 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 

We are commanded as Joshua was commanded to meditate on the Law of YHVH and to do all that is in it. YHVH never changes, so this commandment is still valid today. David wrote about meditating on YHVH’s Law in Psalms 1:1-2 which I read before.

Joshua 1:9  Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.” 

We have nothing to fear from our enemies when we are obedient to YHVH’s Law. Those who are disobedient have good read to fear.

Rev 21:7  He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. 
Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”  

Who are overcomers? According to Revelation, it is those who have the testimony of a personal relationship with Yeshua AND they keep the commandments of YHVH found in the Law of Moses. But those who disobey are fearful, unbelieving, and they do what is abominable to YHVH. They are murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolators and liars who go to the second death in the lake of fire for their disobedience.

Our courage comes from being in right standing with YHVH because we do all that we can to obey instead of trying to figure out what we can get away with. Apostle James, in James 2:10, explains that when we stumble in one law, we have broken them all. So if we reject the Sabbath but have not committed theft, adultery or murder, we are still guilty of breaking the whole Law. Or if we keep the Sabbath but still eat pork, we are still guilty of breaking the whole Law. If we refuse to keep all of the Law in its simplicity, doing as much as we can from our exiled position, we will end up breaking it all.

In the remainder of chapter 1, Joshua prepared the people for crossing into the Land and fulfilled the requirement for Reuben, Gad and Manasseh to take their portions on the east side of the Jordan river.

Joshua 1:10  Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 
Joshua 1:11  “Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it.’” 
Joshua 1:12  Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, saying, 
Joshua 1:13  “Remember the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, saying, ‘Yahweh your God gives you rest, and will give you this land. 
Joshua 1:14  Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock, shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you shall pass over before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them 
Joshua 1:15  until Yahweh has given your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they have also possessed the land which Yahweh your God gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession, and possess it, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.’” 

Reuben, Gad and Manasseh crossed over the Jordan river with the other tribes armed and ready for battle. No one was left out of crossing over the river.

By the way, I live in Jordan and can tell you the Manasseh surname still exists here. It is on one of the largest petroleum companies in Jordan – Manaseer. The pronunciation and spelling changed somewhat but it is this original Israelite tribe.

The Israelites answered Joshua:

Joshua 1:16  They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 
Joshua 1:17  Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses. 
Joshua 1:18  Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn’t listen to your words in all that you command him shall himself be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.” 

Has anyone been taught that the words of Joshua hold the same weight as Moses? Maybe some have, but likely most have not. We will see that under Joshua’s leadership, we will learn much about the practical application of YHVH’s Law as Joshua judges Israel by it. And, as YHVH said in Deuteronomy 17:8-13, when a judge issues a decree, it becomes part of the Law. This is another reason why we need to study the history. Within the history we learn of some decrees that we need to embrace as Law.

I will stop here and continue next week.