July Bible Study

Illustration of Joshua and Caleb bringing back fruits from Canaan, encouraging the people to conquer the land with faith. However the 10 spies and the people rebelled against Joshua and Caleb out of fear of the Nephilim. (Numbers 14:10)

Image Source:https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-stories-lessons/5/12-spies-joshua-caleb/

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What are the conditions for God to choose somebody? What environment and events will God use to mould us to become vessels suitable for His use? Let us explore these questions through the life of Joshua in Exodus 24:13-18; 32:15-20; 33:7-11; Numbers 13:1-14:10.

Israel’s Choice
When the Israelites came out of Egypt and entered the Promised Land, they encountered a war with the Amalekites. This was the first war for the Israelites. Moses ordered Joshua to fight (Exodus 17:9-10). It was a tough battle and test, but Joshua’s obedience to God taught him a valuable lesson – “submission.” In the eyes of men, the Israelites had absolutely no means to defeat the Amalekites. 

The Israelites then were just a group of escaped slaves with no weapons, no combat experience, and no training. How would Joshua select people from this group to fight? But Joshua was willing to obey completely, relying on faith and God’s power [look at Moses’ prayer behind the scenes (on the mountain)], and he did everything he could to fulfil Moses’ instructions.

Moses Meets with God
When the Israelites came to Mount Sinai, God called Moses, who represented all Israelites, to a covenant with Him, and he received two tablets of the Ten Commandments from God. At that time, Moses took only his assistant Joshua up the mountain, but Moses was allowed to go up to the mountain peak to meet God in His glory and be with God for forty days and forty nights. However, Joshua was left waiting alone in the middle of the mountain, waiting for Moses to return.  

Exodus 33:11 says, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” We see Moses talking to God again in the Tabernacle, and the Israelites were also enjoying with their families in their camp. Only Joshua was waiting alone outside at the door of the Tabernacle.

Joshua’s Faith and Obedience
These two portions of Scripture show that Joshua was alone, but faithful, and persisted in serving and waiting without complaining. He could not enjoy the same blessing that Moses enjoyed being with God, nor did he run to his family for company. He was carrying out the mission entrusted to him by God all by himself.

After many challenges and arduous journeys, the Israelites finally reached the borders of the land of Canaan. Moses selected a representative from each of the 12 tribes of Israel and sent them to spy on the land of Canaan. Among the 12 spies, 10 gave Moses an adverse report saying: “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33). 

But only two spies (Joshua and Caleb) gave a different and positive report – “Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:9)

Looking Through God’s Eyes
Why did the twelve spies have different opinions? The 10 looked at God through their problems (negative faith), while the other two looked at the problems through God (positive faith). When we look at God through our problems, we often only see problems and not God. However, when we look at the problems through God, we will see God and our problems naturally become insignificant. Faith is seeing things from God’s perspective.

During our journey of faith, we would have experienced many life challenges. We have encountered difficulties, but have we experienced God’s leading and guidance in this journey? Do we serve with an obedient heart, remain loyal to God, and see the problems we face through God, even if we are serving all alone?

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Let us search our hearts:

• Can God mould you with the current environment, encounters, and events and make you a vessel suitable for God’s use?
• What is your definition of obedience, loyalty and faith?
• Do you look at your problems from God’s perspective?

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