Joshua Bible Study Lesson 10 Answers!

Joshua Bible Study Lesson 10 Answers!

1. Read Joshua 21:43-45. Restate in your own words these verses. Explain this verse in light of the promise land not yet being fully purged.

Joshua 21:43 :"And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein."

Joshua 21:45 :"There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."

Joshua 23:14 :". . . not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof."

These verses are usually cited with Neh. 9:8. These passages in Joshua do not refer to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic "land promise" for the following reasons:

Abraham's seed was promised the land from the "river of Egypt [the Nile] to the Euphrates." (Gen. 15:18). The nation of Israel under Joshua never occupied this complete territory.

Abraham was promised the land for ever. (Gen. 13:15). This personal promise has never been fulfilled as the following passages indicate:

"And he [God] gave him [Abraham] none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." (Acts 7:5).

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed . . . These all died in faith, not having received the promises . . ." (Heb. 11:8,13)

"All"1 good things is qualified as the following examples indicate:

It was promised, "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [Moses], and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deut. 18:18). This promise was not fulfilled, as Peter points out, until the coming of the Messiah. (Acts 3:22).

"For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." (Heb. 4:8,9)

The "all good things" of Josh. 23:14 refers to Exod. 3:8,12; Deut. 28:1-14. The "evil things" of Josh. 23:15,16 refers to Deut. 28:15-68; Lev. 26:14-39.

The land promised unto the "fathers" alludes to the promise made to Moses (Deut. 11:24) and which referred to land taken by conquest: "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." (Joshua 1:3). This promise was fulfilled when Israel possessed Canaan.

2. Remember when God promised the land to Abraham, He told him that the sins of the Canaanites were not yet full. What verse in Genesis make this statement? Read Leviticus chapter 18 and identify the sins of the Canaanites. Also identify which of these sins that America is guilty of?

Genesis 15:16:But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

Whoever committed the sins of the Canaanites fell under the "ban" (Lev. 18:29). The sins of the Canaanites: idolatry, incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality.

Reasons For God Judging America.

By Shaila Touchton

Nation has rejected our Christian values. Divorce and the breakup of the traditional family, drugs, alcohol, crime of every type, the acceptance of homosexuality, and many others.We will be judged for our soft legislation on crime, for our rampant sexual immorality, for the legalization of perverse practice, for legal laxity and injustice. And for our rampant consumerism - nothing more than greed and idolatry.

1) Abortion killing over 43,000,000 innocent babies slaughtered because of ignorance, selfishness, and inconvenience.

2) Homosexuality--though God loves the homosexual, as should we, He hates their perversion. Just read about Sodom and Gomorrah.

3) Immorality--sex outside marriage and pornography have destroyed the moral fiber of our society.

4) Forcing Him out of our public places--God is so gracious; He will not force Himself on anyone.

5) Moral poisoning of our youth and the youth of the world through our Rock Music, Harry Potter, occult TV shows and movies, Teaching our youth secular humanistic values and gay values through Public Schools

6) Gay Marriage is legal in Canada. In 1997 Hawaii made same-sex marriages are legal ,Gay marriages are legal in Massachusetts, there are many hotels meant for gays only one such as Galveston - a small island city just out side of Houston Texas, San Francisco also became a center for homosexuals during this time, leading to the development of gay neighborhoods like the Castro, Chicago has an annual Pride Parade in the Boystown neighborhood, which includes some of the city's best clubs and bars, Asheville a city in western North Carolina with significant feminist and lesbian/gay communities etc… there are many states which recognizes and accepts homosexual activities as normal behaviors of Modern American society

7) Euthanasia is against the will of God. God gives life and only God can take it. Some of the states in our society have accepted Euthanasia. It is legal in the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana and to a limited extent in Texas.

8) Children's eternal souls have been lost through Humanistic, Godless public school teaching, Alcoholism , Drugs, Sex saturated media such as T.V., VCR's and video movies, occult role playing games, Rock music, Hip-hop music with all its horrific themes, Country music, with its themes glorifying alcohol and those `cheating' songs. Also occult and pagan practices such as Halloween etc.

America is still the greatest nation in the world. Even the so said Christians in our society has compromised its values with the world .But there was a time even Israel was also a great nation during Old Testament times. That was when they were following the Lord under the leadership of Joshua, David and Solomon. But that all changed when they decided to worship other gods and idols. America is now at that point. In the beginning our nation respected God and hated idol worship, and refused to encourage and invite the worship of any religion except that of the Bible. But that is not so today. We are now encouraging and inviting the teaching of different religions, New Age, Secular Humanism, multiculturalism and various cults in many of our public schools and colleges. The "cultural powers that be" in our country are tolerating and promoting any kind of weirdo religion at the expense of the true God of the Bible. Our behavior as a nation makes a mockery of Christianity. We lead the world in every abomination known to man abortion, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, divorce, child abuse, violent crime, pornography, and yes, even child pornography. Worse yet, we export our violence and immorality to other countries through our sleazy movies and television programs. We have become the moral polluter of planet earth. As a result we are now paying for our rebellion against God.


The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…' Romans 1:18.

We all need to repent and accept God’s plan for life.

3.Read Joshua 23:5-6a. What is the promise yet to be fulfilled?

Joshua describes the challenges that remain.

See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.

a. I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain: Under Joshua’s leadership, the army of Israel broke the back of the Canaanite military occupation.  Now it remains for each individual tribe to fully possess what God has given them.

b. In the same way, God gives every believer an inheritance.  We have been blessed . . . with every spiritual blessing . . . in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and God has a definite part for us to play in coming to posses that inheritance.

3. (6) How Israel will succeed: by total obedience to the word of God.

Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

a. They need to be courageous so they can be obedient.  Following God and His word isn’t something for the faint of heart.

b. They must do all that is written in the Book.  We tend to focus on the aspects of obedience that we like and skip over the parts that attract us less.

c. They must not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, because Satan doesn’t care which extreme he gets us off to.  Either legalism or licentiousness please him.

4.Read Joshua 23:6b-13. What are the conditions for fulfillment?

How Israel will succeed: by total obedience to the word of God.

Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

a. They need to be courageous so they can be obedient.  Following God and His word isn’t something for the faint of heart.

b. They must do all that is written in the Book.  We tend to focus on the aspects of obedience that we like and skip over the parts that attract us less.

c. They must not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, because Satan doesn’t care which extreme he gets us off to.  Either legalism or licentiousness please him.

B. The second exhortation: don’t make peace with the enemy.

1. (7-8) Hold fast to the Lord.

And lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.

a. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods: Joshua tells Israel to not even make mention of these false gods of the Canaanites.  Instead of learning about them, they should hold fast to the Lord their God.

b. An old Mafia saying says something to the effect of, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer” but this is exactly what Christians are not to do.  The normal Christian, by and large, is not called to become en expert in the cults or in heresy, but to become an expert in Jesus Christ - to hold fast to Him.

2. (9-13) Their abiding had been blessed, so if they fail to abide in the Lord, they will also depart from God’s blessing.

For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations; these that remain among you; and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

a. For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations: As Israel abided in the Lord, they saw God do great things through them.  As they continued to abide, they would continue to see great things as God fights on their behalf.

b. Love the Lord your God: This is what they must be careful to do.  They must, as Jude puts it, keep yourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).

i. Continually loving the Lord takes diligence.  There are many things both within us and outside of us to draw us away from that love.

ii. This call to love God is an appeal to the will.  We first decide to love God, even if the feelings don’t come first.

c. If indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations: Continuing in God’s love will mean that they keep themselves separate from the ungodly influences around them; they must keep themselves unspotted from the world (James 1:27).

d. They shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish: If they do not separate themselves from the ungodly influences around them, those influences will become to them instruments of torture, leading to their destruction.

i. What today is only an “innocent Canaanite” in our lives may become a torture and a snare tomorrow.

ii. “How often we see that the temptation we have pampered and encouraged and indulged in has become a scourge and a thorn in our side. The compromising Christian is not a happy man. Let the enemy remain in a Christian life, let him have one foothold, and he soon becomes a scourge.” (Redpath)

iii. These ungodly influences never advertise themselves as instruments of torture; they present themselves as wonderful things - but we must see past all this.

5.Read Joshua 23:14-16. Relate this to God's promise of a blessing or curse.

The warning: God’s faithfulness works both ways.

1. (14) Joshua asks each man to prove God’s faithfulness in his own heart.

Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.

a. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed: Joshua requires that every man probe deep within, and see if there is every a time in his lives when he could rightly accuse God of unfaithfulness to us.

b. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed: If we think there could be such a legitimate accusation, it shows we know little of the God we claim to know.

2. (15-16) As surely as God has been faithful to bless their obedience under Joshua, He will be faithful to curse their later disobedience.

Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.

a. As all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things: Joshua merely repeats the principle of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience that was a specific part of Israel’s covenant with God (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28).  He emphasizes that God will be just as faithful to judge as He had been to bless.

b. We relate to God under a different covenant, a new and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-7), by which Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10-14).

c. Therefore, in Jesus we no longer can experience God’s “faithfulness to curse us” as Israel knew it.  Yet we do experience God’s faithfulness to correct us as a loving Father (Hebrews 12:7), and we do experience a lack of appropriated blessing if we do not abide in Jesus.

6. Read Joshua 24:2-13. Is God faithful to His word? Meditate upon the events described in these verses. List some events where Israel had to choose.

Scholars point out that Joshua 24:2-13 was one of several texts that served as an official statement about God’s generosity to Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 26:5-9; Psalms 78; 105-106; 136). The narrative stretches across the whole of Israel’s history to highlight the many ways in which God had blessed Israel “again and again” (Joshua 24:10), in spite of her sins and her enemies. “Remarkably,” Bruce Waltke notes, “in his summary of the book of Exodus, Joshua makes no mention of Sinai, and in his summary of Numbers, he makes no mention of their rebellion. This is so because of the prologue features I AM’s giving Israel the Land as a gift. I AM’s dynamic role in this salvation history is underscored by verbs such as ‘I took,’ ‘I gave,’ and ‘I brought’ ” (Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, 532). The account comes to a climax in verse 13: “So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.” This passage suggests the importance of reflecting upon our own history and “counting our blessings.” None of the good things that we possess, material or otherwise, is the result of our own labor. Failure to remember what God has given us easily can lead to a sense of pride and self-sufficiency. This is why Moses told the Israelites early on, before they entered the land, to watch out and beware. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God ... Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied ... and your silver and gold increase ... then your heart will become proud ... [and] you may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:11-17; cf. Luke 12:15, 19; Mark 10:25). Accordingly, like Israel, we must tell and retell the good news of God’s generosity.

7.Read Joshua 24:15. What was Joshua's choice? Have you made that same choice? When? And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord,.... Irksome and troublesome, a burden, a weariness, and not a pleasure and delight:

choose you this day whom you will serve; say if you have found a better master, and whose service will be more pleasant and profitable:

whether the gods your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood; the river Euphrates; these may bid rid rest for antiquity, but then they were such their fathers had relinquished, and for which undoubtedly they had good reason; and to take up with the worship of these again was to impeach their wisdom, judgment, and good sense:

or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but then these were such as could not preserve their worshippers in the land, or the Israelites had not dwelt in it, and therefore no dependence could be had upon them for future security. The Amorites are only mentioned, because they were a principal nation, some of which dwelt on one side Jordan, and some on the other, and indeed there were of them in the several parts of the land:

but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord; be your choice as it may be: this was the resolution of Joshua, and so far as he knew the sense of his family, or had influence over it, could and did speak for them; and which he observes as an example set for the Israelites to follow after; he full well knowing that the examples of great personages, such as governors, supreme and subordinate, have great influence over those that are under them.Yes  have made the choice to serve our Lord.
8. Read Joshua 24:19-24. What is the requirement God is placing on Israel? What is Israel's response? Did they keep their commitment? .

Let’s read Joshua 24:19-24:

19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the LORD, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not remove your transgressions and sins. 20 If you abandon the LORD and worship foreign gods, He will turn against [you]* , harm you, and completely destroy you, after He has been good to you.” 21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the LORD.” 22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the LORD.” “We are witnesses,” they said. 23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the LORD our God and obey Him.”

This is an interesting statement by Joshua. He tells them that they are not able to worship the LORD because HE is Holy, is jealous and HE will not remove their transgressions and sins. This seems harsh. After all, they stated that they would worship the LORD.

The word’s Joshua uses gives us a clue about what he has in his mind.

“Holy” – GOD is Holy and HE expects those who worship HIM to be Holy.

“Jealous” – GOD is jealous and HE expects those who worship HIM to be loyal to HIM as a wife is loyal to her husband. Any compromise on loyalty by worshipping idols will be considered as spiritual adultery by GOD.

“Transgressions” – Transgressions are considered willful, deliberate rebellion against GOD.

“Sin” – Sin is missing the mark of total faithfulness and obedience to GOD.

Joshua is saying, “I hear what you are saying “BUT”, I know your hearts.

Joshua knows there is a problem with their hearts. Why? Because they still have idols. One cannot be too careful. We still need our “rabbit’s foot” or “four leaf clover” or our favorite “idol.”

The people are saying the words but are they really understanding and committed to do what they are saying? Are they willing to not only follow the LORD themselves but are they willing to prepare future generations to be committed to GOD? History tells us that they did not prepare the future generations to be committed to the LORD and later generations suffered the consequences.

Many times we give lip service to the LORD. We say wonderful prayers and sing songs that say we will give it all to JESUS or follow HIM any where, but, do we really mean the words we say or sing? We say the words but when it comes to being obedient and putting what we say into action, do we miss the mark? Do our children and others around us see a difference in our lives? Do we live such that others see CHRIST in us? Are we preparing our loved ones and children to serve our LORD?

The people respond that they are sincere and will serve the LORD.
In fact they did serve the LORD during the lifetime of Joshua and the elders but after that, they did not.

Joshua tells them their words will be a witness against them.

Does this remind you of scripture in the book of Matthew about the final judgment?

Matthew 7: 21-23: JESUS is speaking.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only]* the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’[9] [10]
9.Is there a connection (common thought) with question 8 and to Eph 2:8-10? Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us several things. Paul first tells us that faith is the means that we are saved, v. 8. It is not because of our works (v. 9), in and of themselves, that we are saved. The source of our salvation is God himself. He does call us his workmanship (v. 10). So even though our own works are not a source of our justification/salvation, God is the source of all the good works that we do.
10.Do you see a warning to Israel in these verses? Yes or no? Do you see a warning for us today?

God tells us to turn to him and renounce the occult. But God clearly warns against such practices in many Bible verses. Some reasons the Scriptures warn against engaging in any form of the occult:We are opening ourselves up to spirits other than God's.We are not looking to God for guidance, but to the occult.We are turning away from true faith in Jesus.We are disobeying God's Word.

The Israelites often made the same mistake and turned from God, although God clearly warned them about this. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power (Acts 19:18-20).