Have you ever felt like you were the only one? The only one who believed God would do what He said He would do… The only one who didn’t throw her faith out the window… The only one who didn’t turn away from God…
I’ve often wondered how Joshua and Caleb felt when they returned with the other ten spies after scouting the good land of Canaan – the land God had promised to give them. They really were the “only ones.” Joshua and Caleb were the only ones that believed God would and could do what He said even though the circumstances seemed insurmountable. Maybe they trusted God even more because it seemed impossible that this rag tag little group could defeat the mighty armies that lived in the Promised Land.
The people rejected God but Joshua did not.
After forty years of wandering, God used him to lead the people into Canaan and take possession of the land. Years later, after God gave them “rest from all their enemies,” Joshua knew death was near. So he summoned Israel to give them some final words of exhortation.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed…” (Joshua 23:14, NIV)
14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD…” (Joshua 24:14-15, NIV)
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. (Joshua 24:29-30, NIV)
Joshua’s faith never wavered.
Not in battle. And not when he truly was the only one who trusted God. With his last words, he encouraged Israel to remain faithful to the God who had proven Himself faithful time after time.
What life situations cause you to doubt God’s faithfulness?
Is there a “Joshua” in your life, someone whose faith never wavers? Tell us about her!
Joshua is my favorite person from the Old Testament. His faith was amazing and he trusted every Word that God spoke.
My great-grandma never wavered from her faith. No matter how hard things got, she always trusted God to see her through. That is the one thing I remember from her; it impressed me even at a very young age.
Iris, I love Joshua too. Although we know he was not perfect, God chose not to highlight his faults in Scripture. Instead he stands as an unshakeable model of faith to us today.
I’ve met a few people who seem to have an unwavering faith. I don’t know them really well, just admire them from afar so to speak. One gal I know worked in Home Health. She seemed to me a pillar of strength when it came to the Lord.
I never talked a lot about faith with my grandmother but her Bible was always with her and I know she prayed for us. My sister Shannon had the strongest faith I know. She led me to the Lord 28 years ago. I’ve never seen her faith waver.
Kathleen, thanks for sharing your women of “unwavering faith” with us. The people in my life with that kind of faith encourage me to continually pursue that kind of faith too!
Great admonition. The Lord bless and keep you who gave insight to these last words of Joshua.
Ok, then can someone explain to me why God Allowed Joshua to kill old women and children by the sword literally knifing them to death Am confused and still not getting it. The man who fought I may understand they could fight back but the babies, children young children Adolescents who could not fight were also butchered under Joshua with the permission of the Almighty God WHY???
Picture the scene with thousands of bodies on the floor.
The battle of Aie, for instance, The Israelites fake a retreat, drawing the entire army of Ai in pursuit. Ai’s army falls right into Joshua’s trap. The Israelites close the ambush and kill every enemy soldier. Then, the Israelites return to the defenseless city, slaughter the women and children, hang the king, and burn it to the ground. The enemy had killed 36 Israelites during the first battle of Ai. Joshua pays them back by slaughtering all 12,000 Aians. (Joshua chapter 8)
12000 bodies how many children must have been in those numbers? Can you picture a scene like this today with all the children among these 12000 lying dead with the sword?
Honest, I am troubled and confused.
Hi Geo, thanks for coming by and thanks for the question. That is a hard one that I don’t have a complete answer for. But I do have a couple of things to share. First, it’s not really accurate to say God “allowed Joshua” to kill women and children. The Bible tells us that God commanded that everyone be killed. This was God’s decision, not Joshua’s. In Deuteronomy 7, God tells Moses that when He brings the people into the Promised Land, they are to totally destroy them. They were not to leave anyone. God did not want the people of Israel to be “ensnared” by the idolatry of the Canaanite people. God’s command to Moses carried over to Joshua. I agree with you. It sounds brutal. That’s the part I don’t understand. But I trust the God who commanded it. He is always holy and always just. The truth is, all of us are sinners who deserve total destruction. It is only because of Jesus that we can stand before our holy God.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for getting back.
Well first of by saying allowed I meant to say “It was God’s Command” Joshua wouldn’t have dared to do it by himself he feared the Lord and was surely faithful.
You mentioned “God did not want the people of Israel to be “ensnared” by the idolatry of the Canaanite people.”
True But are children not innocent?
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Now, these same children are being Slaughtered by God’s hands doesn’t it send a confusing message?
Here you have Moses bring down the 10 commandments of which one says “YOU SHALL NOT KILL”
Yet look in the book judges you have killings after killings Samson for example through his life kept killing and killing and his killings must have been approved by God because he send Israel Samson and he gave the Philistines a hard time.
Now am not disputing God’s decisions “Who can change it?” but he gave us a free mind to think for ourselves if he didn’t want to he wouldn’t have yet he did and this sends confusing messages at least to us human who just don’t understand I know he owes us nothing at all but being in the dark is not helpful either
to kill a child a baby who hasn’t done anything except being born its simple over my head I cannot understand and am being honest I have seen tragedies in our century mass murders all over the news and at times when one sits down and look at those committing these acts you cannot help but feel that God’s judgement upon them will come one day yet you read the scriptures and books like Joshua you realize how similar and even worse these mass killings were in the bible.
and knowing how the enemy works you know he can easily use this against anyone with the statement such as:
“Here you are worshipping God who tells you not to kill yet you have his own people killing children and babies in a barbaric way with axes stones machetes and spears and might go on to say aren’t we such hypocrites in just being quiet about it knowing very well we have the brain power to think for ourselves yet choose to be silent?
That is what actually runs on the back of my brains silently and since God made us in such a way that he knows our deepest feelings its fair to say he also knows that the heart of man will be troubled by such acts so I don’t think it’s wrong asking these questions to God because if you feel it in your heart and say nothing you are in fact denying who you truly are which is a soul living in a human body.