Sep25–Oct1: Story and History

Teaching Points

1. Read Joshua 3:9–17. What is the purpose of this miracle?

ANSWER:

• Jos 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
• To assure God’s people that the “living God” is among them and that He will drive out their enemies.
• “Canaan was not taken by Israel because of Joshua’s military genius or Israel’s valiant efforts. Victory over the inhabitants of the Canaanite city-states was achieved only by God’s powerful intervention.” SSL 9

APPLICATION QUESTION:

• In what ways are you trying to work your way through difficulties, rather than trusting solely in the power of “the living God”?

OBSERVATION:

• Jos 3:7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee…. Jos 4:14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
• Jos 4:23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: Jos 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
• This miracle serves two other purposes. One is to establish Joshua’s authority as one who will lead God’s people to Canaan. And the second is to have an influence of fear over the surrounding nations of the world.
• It’s interesting to also note that God worked a similar miracle (parting of the Red Sea) in bringing His people out of Egypt.
• So in the beginning of the journey to the Promised Land and at the end of that journey, God’s power was manifested in a similar way.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

• In what way did God manifest His power that marked the rise of the Christian church? Will there be a similar way of working at the end?

WORD STUDY: “the living God”

• According to Joshua 3, what sign did God give the Israelites for them to know Him as “the living God”? Jos 3:13 …the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
• His power over His creation. Therefore, He has to be the Creator.
• It’s interesting to note that this term “the living God” is connected to the power of the Creator:
• Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Jer 10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. Jer 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
• Ac 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: 

PROPHETIC APPLICATION QUESTION:

• What “sign” is related to “the living God” in the last days? Can you prove this from the Bible?

CONCLUSION:

• God worked a mighty miracle to bring His people across the Jordan River. This miracle proved that it is by the creative power of God alone that could give His people the promised inheritance. In a similar way, in the last days, the issue regarding God’s creative power will again surface.