#60. Joshua 1-4 | Stones of Remembrance

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Welcome to the Dwelling Place Firm Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

we're beginning the book of Joshua,

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the lesser known protege to Moses,

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but he is pivotal in the nation of

Israel's story because he allowed

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the people to finally possess the

land that God has been promising

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them since the time of Abraham.

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If you've been with us from the

beginning, congratulations because

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you've already walked through Genesis,

Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy,

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and the Book of Job, and now we're

looking at this first book of history.

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You can't really talk about the Old

Testament without talking about what

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Joshua helped the people accomplish.

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The Promised Land is an important

thread that is woven throughout.

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They're about to go in and take over.

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Canaan.

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Canaan means traitor or merchant,

but it was also known as the

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land of purple because of the

purple dyes they manufactured.

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Are you feeling a little sorry for the

nations they're about to take over?

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Let's remember the absolutely

immoral and brutal acts.

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They believed their fake

gods were calling them too.

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Including frequently

burning their own offspring.

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Al was their chief God and

Baal was his son, and there was

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also the female Goddess Astro.

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These were unpredictable

gods with no moral character.

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Completely unlike the God of Scripture

and the Lord that has been patient

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with them for hundreds of years

now, he'll use the Israelites to

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bring an end to this corruption.

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Caleb and Joshua were given a

blessing for their faith, and they're

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allowed to enter the promised land,

but the entire generation before

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them died out in the wilderness.

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At the time that Caleb and Joshua

were sent to spy out the Land, we

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believe Joshua would've been about

39 years old, and Caleb was 40.

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That puts Joshua at 79 here at the

opening of this book of the Bible,

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but apparently he's up for the battle

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and the Lord has called him to it.

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We're not positive about who

the author of this book is, but

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it's very likely it was Joshua.

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The ending of the book does record

his death, but just as in the case

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of Deuteronomy, we assume he had an

apprentice or that one of the high priests

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would've concluded it with those details.

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This book will cover about 25 to 30 years,

and there will be three military campaigns

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and two main themes are highlighted that

these pagan worshipers will be, judged

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and decimated, and that God is going

to fulfill the promise that he's made.

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He is a covenant keeping God despite

his people's lack of faithfulness.

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Joshua means Jehovah saves, or

the Lord is salvation, and this

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is the Old Testament equivalent

of the New Testament name, Jesus.

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Joshua will also have the role of

dividing the land amongst the 12 tribes.

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They'll accomplish much but

unfortunately, they won't conquer

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everything God has asked them to

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as we cover Joshua

chapters one through four.

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I'm going to read a portion of

each to summarize so that you

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don't miss any of these key events,

beginning in chapter one, verse one,

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after the death of Moses,

the servant of the Lord.

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The Lord said to Joshua, the

son of none, Moses', assistant

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Moses, my servant is dead.

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Now, therefore, arise, go over this

Jordan, you and all the people, and to

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the land that I'm giving to them, to

the people of Israel, every place that

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the sole of your foot will tread upon.

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I have given to you just

as I promised to Moses.

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From the wilderness and this Lebanon

as far as the Great River, the river

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Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites

to the Great Sea toward the going down

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of the sun shall be your territory.

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No man shall be able to stand

before you all the days of your

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life, just as I was with Moses.

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So I will be with you.

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I will not leave you or forsake you.

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Be strong and courageous for you shall

cause this people to inherit the land that

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I swore to their fathers to give them.

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Only be strong and very courageous.

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Being careful to do according to all the

law that Moses my servant commanded you.

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Do not turn from it to the right

hand or to the left, that you may

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have good success wherever you go.

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This book of the law shall not depart

from your mouth, but you shall meditate

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on it day and night so that you may

be careful to do according to all

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that is written in it for then you

will make your way prosperous and

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then you will have good success.

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Have I not commanded you?

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Be strong and courageous.

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Do not be frightened and do not

be dismayed for the Lord your

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God is with you wherever you go.

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After Joshua communicates the game plan to

the Israelites, their response is recorded

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in verse 16, and they answer, Joshua,

all that you have commanded us, we will

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do, and wherever you send us, we will go.

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Justice as we obeyed Moses in

all things, so we will obey you.

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Only may the Lord your God be

with you as he was with Moses.

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Whoever rebels against your

commandment and disobeys your

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words, whatever you command him.

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Shall be put to death.

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Only be strong and courageous.

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Just as a Lord had encouraged

him to be strong and courageous.

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The people did too.

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But every time God says this,

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he tells him the reason for the bravery.

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It's because God is going with him.

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He doesn't say There's nothing to fear.

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Don't worry.

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He says, I'll be with you.

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And in chapter two, Joshua sends

two spies in to see exactly

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what they're about to encounter.

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because God doesn't rebuke this, it's

probably not out of a lack of faith,

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but he's just seeking a strategic

understanding of how to approach the land.

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They find a woman named

Rahab who is a prostitute.

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And she helps hide the men.

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Some men from her nation come knocking at

the door and she hides them saying, oh,

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they were here, but they went that way.

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Pursue them quickly, and

you'll overtake them.

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But beginning in two six we're told,

but she had brought them up to the roof

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and hid them with the stalks of flax

that she had laid in order on the roof.

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So the men pursued after them on

the way to the Jordan as far as

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the Fords, and the gate was shut.

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as soon as the pursuers had gone out

before the men laid down, she came up

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to them on the roof and said to the men.

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I know that the Lord has given you the

land and that the fear of you has fallen

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upon us and that all the inhabitants

of the land melt away before you.

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For we have heard how the Lord dried

up the water of the Red Sea before you,

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when you came out of Egypt and what you

did to the two kings of the Amorites

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who were beyond the Jordan, to Sahan

and og, whom you devoted to destruction.

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And as soon as we heard it, our

hearts melted and there was no spirit

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left in any man because of you.

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For the Lord your God, he

is God in the heavens, above

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and on the earth beneath now.

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Then please swear to me by the Lord

that as I dealt kindly with you,

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you also will deal kindly with my

father's house and give me a sure

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sign that you will save alive.

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My father and mother, my brothers

and sisters, and all who belong

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to them and deliver our lives from

death, and the men said to her,

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our life for yours even to death.

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If you do not tell this business

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Speaker 13: of ours,

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Speaker: Then when the Lord gives

us the land, we will deal kindly and

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faithfully with you and the men give

her stipulations to help this occur.

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And because the Bible has never shied

away from condemning unrighteousness

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there is no reason to believe that

the men were unrighteous here.

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There's a pattern that's introduced

about Joshua, that's much like Abraham,

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that he rises early in the morning.

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The officers go through the camp and

tell them that the priests are going

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to carry the arc of the covenant before

them and that they should follow it.

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About 2000 qubits in length behind.

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This is about 10 football fields,

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and Joshua says, consecrate

yourselves for tomorrow.

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The Lord will do wonders among you.

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this is harvest time and God's asking

them to cross over the river Jordan.

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It was likely more than a hundred feet

wide and greater than 10 feet deep.

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In 1854, an expert swimmer set out to

make it across right near Jericho, but

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he was unable to because the river was

too wide and the current was too strong.

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although we don't hear much about

this miracle compared to the Red

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Sea parting, this is certainly

a wondrous act of the Lord.

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In verse 14, so when the people set

out from their tents to pass over the

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Jordan with the priest sparing the

ark of the covenant before the people,

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and as soon as those bearing the ark

had come as far as the Jordan and

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the feet of the priest bearing the ark

were dipped in the brink of the water.

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Now the Jordan overflows all its banks

throughout the time of the harvest.

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The waters coming down from above stood

and rose up in a heap very far away

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at Adam, the city that is beside Zhan.

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And those flowing down toward the

sea of the aba, the Salt Sea were

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completely cut off and the people

passed over opposite Jericho.

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Now the priest sparing the ark

of the covenant of the Lord,

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stood firmly on dry ground in the

midst of the Jordan and all Israel was

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passing over on dry ground until all the

nation finished passing over the Jordan.

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And continuing in chapter four, when all

the nation had finished passing over the

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Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, take

12 men from the people from each tribe,

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a man and command them saying, take

12 stones From here out of the midst

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of the Jordan, from the very place

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where the priest's feet stood

firmly and bring them over with

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you and lay them down in the

place where you lodged tonight.

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Then Joshua called the 12 Men from the

People of Israel whom he had appointed

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a man from each tribe, and Joshua said

to them, pass on before the ark of the

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Lord your God, into the midst of the

Jordan, and take up each of you a stone

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upon his shoulder according to the number

of the tribes of the people of Israel,

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that this may be a sign among you.

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When your children ask in time to

come, what do those stones mean to you?

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Then you shall tell them that the

waters of the Jordan were cut off before

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the arc of the covenant of the Lord.

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When it passed over the Jordan, the

waters of the Jordan were cut off,

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so these stones shall be to the

people of Israel, a memorial forever.

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And the people of Israel did just

as Joshua commanded and took up 12

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stones out of the midst of the Jordan.

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According to the number of the

tribes of the people of Israel,

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just as the Lord told Joshua,

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It's reiterated that parents are to teach

their children about God's faithfulness,

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not just what we read in scripture,

but what we've seen in our own lives.

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We will talk more about

Rahab in the episode to come

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And how the Lord used Joshua's leadership

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to help the Israelites inherit the land.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you

that you are our salvation.

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Thank you for the blessings

that you bring us.

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Whether it's spiritual or physical,

we praise you for all of it.

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and as you commanded Joshua, we

pray that you would protect us from

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fear, anxiety, and discouragement.

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Fill us with courage and hope

and faith because you go with us.

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May we be diligent to speak

of the testimonies you've

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given us to our children.

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Because it's so good for our hearts

too, to remember what you've done.

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Help us to be women of faith, speaking

life and hope over all we encounter.

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In the name of Jesus,

our salvation we pray.

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Amen.