Joshua 23
“Hold Fast!”
Scripture: Joshua 23:1-16
Memory Verse: “…but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.” Joshua 23:8
Lesson Focus: Hold fast to God and love Him the most!
Activities and Crafts: Coloring Sheets, Word search and
Craft for 1st & 2nd Graders: “Hold Fast to God” Have the kids color and decorate their life preserver. Have them write their name on it. Remind the kids that we need to hold on to God like our life depended on it, because it does. God is the only one who can save us!
Introduction: (Tell a personal story of a time that you were rescued or saved from a tragedy.) Tell the kids that today we are going to read about the last days of Joshua’s life. He wants to tell the people some things before he dies. He is going to remind them that they have been rescued by God and have been given the promise from God. He will now ask them, since God has done everything for them…what are they going to do with God?
Bible Study:
Joshua 23:1: The scene is set!
The first verse of Joshua 23 sets the scene for what is about to happen.
√ What facts can you gain from verse 1?
1. Many years had past.
2. Israel was in a rest from their enemies – they where no longer at war.
3. They were living in the Promised Land.
4. Joshua was very old.
Joshua 23:2-16: Joshua’s Final Words
Joshua 23:2-3: “The Lord God’s Fight!”
√ Who did Joshua call together? (The Leaders of Israel)
√ What did he want to tell them?
What God has done to these nations.
√ Why did God defeat the nations?
(Because of you….because of His promise to Israel.)
√ Who fought for Israel? (God)
√ Why did God fight for Israel? (for you – Israel)
God fought for the Israelites and defeated their enemies. God drove out the inhabitants of the Promised Land. He did it because of His promise and because of His love for His people. He did it for them!
Joshua 23:4-5: “Their Promise Received!”
√ What promise did God make to the nation of Israel?
(Genesis 12:7, “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land…”)
This was God’s promise and “inheritance” for the people of Israel. An inheritance is something that is received or given by someone else. Joshua divided up the land and gave it to the tribes as God told him to do. It is now theirs take care of and watch over.
Joshua 23:6-13: “Instruction of each Individual”
Instructions:
Be very courageous:
√ What where they suppose to be “courageous” in?
1. Keep and do all that is written in God’s Word.
√ Why did Joshua say to “keep and do”? Is there a difference?
a. Keep: to believe in your heart that this is truth. To “keep” God’s Word is to believe everything is says with all of your heart.
b. Do: Is to live out God’s Word. It is not enough to just believe you must live it out.
√ What does Joshua mean by turning to the “right or to the left?” (You do not turn away from what God’s Word says. You don’t change it or rationalize that you can do one thing different from God’s Word. You keep it close to you and follow it fully.
2. Separate yourselves from the nations. Joshua makes it clear that they are not to let the foreign nations that remain influence them.
√ What does the word “influence” mean?
(the power over us to produce an effect) It means that we are influenced by something outside of us to change how we act or what we believe. Paul tells us that in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world…” The World has the power to influence us.
Let’s name some examples of how the world influences us?
TV show – attitude
Movie and Songs: language
Kids at school – bullying and all the above
Joshua is telling them that they need to be careful about being influenced by the nations that remain among them. They need to stay away for their gods and what they worship.
√ Why is it important to God that we do not worship anyone else? (What is the first commandment? “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3
3. “Hold Fast”: Joshua tells them to hold fast to the Lord God.
√ How do we do that?
Deuteronomy 10:20-21a, “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God…”
Example: Let’s pretend that you are on a great ship. You are looking over the edge and you lean too far and fall into the ocean. The Captain of the boat throws you a life preserver.
Would you grab hold of it? Why?
Because your life depends on it! We need to hold fast to God because our life depends on it. He is our Savior – He is our Lord – He is our Creator – He is our everything!
Reminder: Joshua 23:9-10
a. God drove out all of the nations
b. God fights for them
c. God kept His promise
4. Love God the most! Joshua 23:11
√ Do you love God the most?
√ What do you think about the most? (that is what you love the most) We are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and
strength.
If we do not love God the most some things will happen:
a. You will mix among the nations that do not love God – through marriage, etc.
b. God will no longer drive out the nations before them. The people that they join in with will draw them away from God. They will be like snares and traps – (a snare or a trap catches things.) If they mix with other nations and inter-marry they will be tripped up and no longer follow God. The other nations will also be like thorns in their eyes. Ouch! When they mix with other nations they no longer see God they way they should. They see the world differently – not according to His Word.
Joshua 23:14-16: “The Reward of God’s Faithfulness and the Warning of God’s Judgment.”
√ Is it fair that God punishes sin?
√ Is it fair that we take the good things from God?
God is holy! God cannot know sin. He provides for us the way of salvation. He provides for us a way of not sinning. But we must follow Him and His Word. We cannot follow those around us – only God’s Word. Joshua’s final words as he is dying are that they have received everything God has promised, and God has not failed on one word of His promise. But if they stray and follow after other nations that do not follow God they will die separated from God in the Promised Land that He gave to them.
Conclusion:
√ What is the one main thing that we can learn from this chapter in the Bible?
Hold Fast to God! We need to hold on to God like He is our life preserver, because He is. We hold fast to God by loving Him the most.
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