| Joshua: Strength and Courage |
Joshua: Keys to Conquest
Joshua: Strength and Courage for the True Man of God
Joshua 12-14
Keys to Conquest
con•quest
1. The act or process of conquering.
2. Something, such as territory, acquired by conquering.
3. One that has been captivated or overcome.
The account on the conquest of Canaan appears to be tedious. And I suppose it is for those who do not
especially enjoy history. But these chapters are important to the people of Israel. For readers and hearers
generations down the road, who have only known their own surroundings as their home(land), these chapters
tell them how they got there. Or rather, more specifically, how God got them there.
The conquest of Canaan is very important to the people of Israel. It is also important to us because it is part of
our salvation history.
History. How many like history? Some of the greatest “guy” movies are historical in nature, aren’t they?
Braveheart. Sands of Iwo Jima. Midway. The Patriot. History is great, as long as the story is told it a good and
interesting way. Or as long as the subject is interesting or important.
This part of Joshua is important to the people of Israel. And it is also important to us. Let’s look at just a few
verses here.
Chapter 12:6 Kings defeated by Moses
“Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the LORD
gave their land for a possession to…”
Note that twice Moses is called the servant of the Lord.
ser•vant
1. One who is privately employed to perform domestic services.
2. One who is publicly employed to perform services, as for a government.
3. One who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another: your obedient servant.
This is what Moses was. Would you want it said of you that you were God’s servant?
Chapter 12:7 Kings defeated by Joshua
“And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the
Jordan ….”
From all that we have seen of Joshua so far, he was a man after God’s own heart. If the people follow a man
after God’s own heart, what will be the result?
Will they not be successful?
Will they not also be after God’s own heart?
Chapter 13:1, 6 Lands still to be conquered
“You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.”
“I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel.”
Partial conquest is not enough. This is not a matter of “I just need to make it to 65 so I can retire.” This is about
the life-long pursuit of the will of God. There is no set age limit on this. Joshua is old – around 85 or so – but he’
s not done yet. We can still carry on in the “pursuit” and “conquest” because it isn’t us who’s doing the really
hard work anyway! God “will drive them out from before” us!
Chapter 13:13 The inheritance east of the Jordan
They “did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites….”
So what? Well, what if a doctor got “most” of the cancerous tumor out but left just a little bit in? That’s what
ends up happening here. King David marries one o f the women from the Geshurites. Their son is Absalom,
who ends up rebelling against David and almost kills him.
Chapter 14:5 Inheritance west of the Jordan
“The people of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses; they allotted the land.”
Doing what God commands. What has God commanded us to do?
Caleb’s request
Caleb was faithful. He was trusting. He was 85 years old (telling us that the conquest had been going on for
about five years now).
What was the result of his faithfulness and trusting?
1. He lived a pretty long time.
2. He remained strong.
3. He was (or learned) patience.
Big Idea: God gives us our strength and uses our strength.
Joshua 12-14
Keys to Conquest
con•quest
1. The act or process of conquering.
2. Something, such as territory, acquired by conquering.
3. One that has been captivated or overcome.
The account on the conquest of Canaan appears to be tedious. And I suppose it is for those who do not
especially enjoy history. But these chapters are important to the people of Israel. For readers and hearers
generations down the road, who have only known their own surroundings as their home(land), these chapters
tell them how they got there. Or rather, more specifically, how God got them there.
The conquest of Canaan is very important to the people of Israel. It is also important to us because it is part of
our salvation history.
History. How many like history? Some of the greatest “guy” movies are historical in nature, aren’t they?
Braveheart. Sands of Iwo Jima. Midway. The Patriot. History is great, as long as the story is told it a good and
interesting way. Or as long as the subject is interesting or important.
This part of Joshua is important to the people of Israel. And it is also important to us. Let’s look at just a few
verses here.
Chapter 12:6 Kings defeated by Moses
“Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the LORD
gave their land for a possession to…”
Note that twice Moses is called the servant of the Lord.
ser•vant
1. One who is privately employed to perform domestic services.
2. One who is publicly employed to perform services, as for a government.
3. One who expresses submission, recognizance, or debt to another: your obedient servant.
This is what Moses was. Would you want it said of you that you were God’s servant?
Chapter 12:7 Kings defeated by Joshua
“And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the
Jordan ….”
From all that we have seen of Joshua so far, he was a man after God’s own heart. If the people follow a man
after God’s own heart, what will be the result?
Will they not be successful?
Will they not also be after God’s own heart?
Chapter 13:1, 6 Lands still to be conquered
“You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.”
“I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel.”
Partial conquest is not enough. This is not a matter of “I just need to make it to 65 so I can retire.” This is about
the life-long pursuit of the will of God. There is no set age limit on this. Joshua is old – around 85 or so – but he’
s not done yet. We can still carry on in the “pursuit” and “conquest” because it isn’t us who’s doing the really
hard work anyway! God “will drive them out from before” us!
Chapter 13:13 The inheritance east of the Jordan
They “did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites….”
So what? Well, what if a doctor got “most” of the cancerous tumor out but left just a little bit in? That’s what
ends up happening here. King David marries one o f the women from the Geshurites. Their son is Absalom,
who ends up rebelling against David and almost kills him.
Chapter 14:5 Inheritance west of the Jordan
“The people of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses; they allotted the land.”
Doing what God commands. What has God commanded us to do?
Caleb’s request
Caleb was faithful. He was trusting. He was 85 years old (telling us that the conquest had been going on for
about five years now).
What was the result of his faithfulness and trusting?
1. He lived a pretty long time.
2. He remained strong.
3. He was (or learned) patience.
Big Idea: God gives us our strength and uses our strength.
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