FEBRUARY 19

There are two stories going on in your life – the Upper Story and the Lower Story. We all live in and see life from the perspective of the lower story. No matter how hard we try, we can only see so far down the road because humanity’s viewpoint is linear, horizontal, limited. All our decisions require some sort of faith or trust in what we cannot control around the corner. The Upper Story is how the things look from God’s perspective. His viewpoint is panoramic, vertical, unlimited. Not only does he see around the next bend in the road, he is sees it all from beginning to end. The goal is to align our lower story to God’s upper story because when we do, God promises it will be a good story.

SUMMARY

Israel had spent the last 40 years on a road to nowhere. All of the people who were slaves in Egypt had died, except for two, Joshua and Caleb. Moses had died too. Joshua had been his right-hand man and he was Israel’s new leader. The wilderness of disobedience and defeat was behind them now and a new generation camped at Canaan’s edge.

A lot had changed during the wilderness years, but God had not. The promise He’d made to Abraham over 600 years before was about to turn into reality. The LORD spoke to Joshua saying, “Be strong and courageous, for I am with you. Be careful to obey my law” (p. 89). Joshua listened well. He had spied out the land as a young man and trusted God to give it to them as He’d promised. Now he sent two spies into Jericho to appraise the land. They were hidden in the house of Rahab, a prostitute who protected them from the king of Jericho. She boldly confessed her faith in the LORD as the one true God who had given the land to Israel. The spies responded to her faith by agreeing to save her whole family when they attacked Jericho.

This new generation of Israelites had heard the stories about crossing the Red Sea on dry land; now, their first steps into the Promised Land were taken across another patch of dry land when God parted the Jordan River – another highway leading into God’s promise.

When they reached Jericho, the military strategy was unorthodox. The priests marched the Ark of the Covenant around Jericho’s walls each day for six days. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times and concluded with the sound of trumpets and shouts. Amazingly, the walls of Jericho collapsed! Jericho was destroyed but Rahab and her family were saved.

The land of Canaan was a place of conquest and victory for Israel. When Israel obeyed, God faithfully delivered her enemies into her hands. When they failed to trust Him, they missed out on the fulfillment of those promises. After taking the entire region by force, Joshua divided up the land by tribe as Israel’s inheritance.

The chapter closes with Joshua’s final words as he recounts the stories of God’s faithfulness and
deliverance. God will keep His promises. He will also let us choose whether or not we will participate in the blessings of His promises. These stories of God’s people are our stories and, like Joshua, we must “choose this day whom [we] will serve.” Joshua stated he and his “household [would] serve the LORD” (The Story, p. 101). What will you choose?

QUESTIONS

1. As a young person, who did you look up to as a hero, either fictional or real? Why?
2. In the original languages both “Joshua” and “Jesus” mean “Jehovah saves.” How is Joshua’s relationship to Israel similar to Jesus’ relationship to the church? What basis did Joshua have for being “strong and courageous” (The Story, p. 89)? What can you learn from this when obeying God seems difficult or scary?
3. What concerns might Joshua have had as he accepted the reigns of leadership from Moses? What can we learn from the people’s response to Joshua that can apply to change of leadership at our church?
4. We often draw black and white lines when we disagree with others.Read Joshua 5:13-14. How do people today co-opt Jesus to ensure He’s on “their side?” Whose side is Jesus on?
5. Rahab told the two spies: “I know that the Lord has given you this land” (The Story, p. 90). Upon what was her declaration of faith based? How can God work through you to bring redemption to someone like Rahab?
6. Review the main points of the covenant that God made with Abraham (The Story, p. 13.) What examples can you find in this chapter that show God’s faithfulness to the fulfillment of His covenant?
7. Joshua is known for his statement “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (The Story, p. 101). What habits and attitudes do you practice in your family or have you seen in other families that are good examples of leading a household to serve the LORD? How can you claim or reclaim some of these practices in your family life routine?
8. What have you learned from Joshua that can help you battle sinful desires (1 Pt 2:11), thoughts that are against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:3–5), and spiritual forces of evil (Eph 6:12)? What have you learned from Joshua that can help you stand firm and be courageous and strong (1 Cor 16:13)?

TAKE-AWAY

Can you imagine what Joshua and his troops were thinking when they got the battle plan from God on how to take down Jericho? We don’t always understand WHAT God is doing, WHY He is doing it or even HOW God is going to do it. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God’s ways and thoughts are not like our own. Because of that, we need to trust Him fully for all of life – the battles, the times of rest, the in-between everyday moments. Joshua clearly tells the people to make a choice, to get off the fence, to quit going back and forth. God wanted them to choose Him as He was not willing to be shared. It needed to be all or nothing – God was not then and is not now interested in a casual, take-Him-or-leave-Him relationship. He wants a fully committed, completely exclusive connection. Today, who will you choose to serve?

PRAYER

Father, today help us to put away the other gods that we have been following, even the ones that seemed good to us at the time. Help us to follow You, the only true God, holy, infinite, the God above all others god, whose Name cannot be defined, the One who represents justice, peace, mercy and love in every generation. Let our ultimate allegiance be to you, Lord Jesus, and let us every day choose to serve the Jesus, the One who saves, the One who brings victory, the One who gives abundant, eternal life. Amen.