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The League of Savage Gentleman: Joshua, man of Honor


The_Patriot21

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As some of you read last week, I have decided to do a series of bible studies on what it means to be a "Savage Gentlemen" using men whom I think, fit that description form the Bible. If you want to see my first one, you can visit my blog (I will be posting these to by blog as well, but want to put it here first for discussion) Last week, I focused on King David, this week I am focusing on Joshua.

   Joshua, was one of the only two men who left Egypt who managed to set foot in the promised land. But before we get to the promised land, there are a couple mentions of him in the Bible worth noting-one, that he was with Moses the first time he went up onto the mountain to get the 10 commandments. He was a first hand witness to it. He knew Gods power-which is probably one of the biggest reasons for his actions later on. We can gather from the Bible that he was always loyal to Moses-and God, from the get go. When Moses sent in the 2 spies-he and Caleb, who was the only other to live in the promised land-were the only two to bring back a favorable report. This shows his faithfulness to God. He didn't doubt-like King David, he saw the "giants" and didn't back down, and trusted that God would give them the victory.

  We also see, that due to the actions of the 10 witnesses and the people believing them, God punished all of Israel. Forced them to wander for 40 years, and promised no one who doubted-would die in that time. Now its important to note here, that while Joshua and Caleb was spared the death of everyone around them, they still suffered, because of the actions of those around them. They were forced to wander with them for 40 years-that alone was bad enough-but they also lost their friends and family (except perhaps their immediate family) Imagine watching all your friends and family die-leaving you the only one left of those who left egypt with you. Thats pretty harsh, but on the same note, its something we deal with today-having to live with the consequences of others sin. But, through it all, he remained faithful to God.

  So Faithful, that when it came time to take Israel, that he never questioned God-or God's odd tactics. The first one-crossing the river Jordon, actually for Joshua, didn't take that much faith, Joshua already witnessed this happen with Moses and the Red Sea. However, what is important to note here, is his leadership. While Joshua knew it was going to happen-he had to convince everyone else that it would, and no one else, save Caleb, had witnessed this. Yet we see no signs of doubt from the people, at least nothing the scripture indicates, so we can assume that Joshua had given the people a reason to believe.   

    The second one, and this one is the big one-is the battle of Jericho. Pretty much every single tactician-ever, from the time of Adam to now, would say marching around a city for a week and then screaming at it, is poor tactics, sure, at best to do nothing but make you look like fools. But when Gods angel appeared to Joshua, not only did Joshua not question the angel once-he got the armies of Israel to comply-without question. He did something, that made no earthly sense whatsoever, without doubt. That is faith.

   Though that really isn't the thing that sticks out to me about the Battle of Jericho. The story that sticks out to me, is Rahab. See, before the Israelites even crossed the Jordan, Joshua sent out two spies-not with the intent to see what was there, but to try and find weaknesses in the city. While there, they came close to being caught, but a prostitute by the name of Rahab rescued them, hid them from the city authorities, and helped them escape. In return, they promised they would save her in the coming invasion. All this without consulting Joshua. This woman was a woman of ill repute-in a city full of heathens, the Israelites enemies. A sinner of sinners so to speak. Yes, she did the right thing in helping them, but the spies made a promise without consulting their boss-and it would have been easy for Joshua to say "I didn't make that promise, she is a enemy and a sinner not deserving to be rescued" But he did not. Instead, he honored the spies promise, as if it was his own. He protected her and her family, brought them out of jericho and allowed them to continue living in Israel. There is no mention as to whether she turned from her sin, she could have continued on in her profession for all we know, though it is clear from chapter 2 that she knew that the God of the Israelites was the one true God, it can probably be inferred she changed her life, theres no scriptural evidence of this.

   Joshua continued on and took Israel in a series of violent Battles. There were many miracles that took place and God guided him, we see through them his courage, faithfulness, even justice in how dealt with the men who took items from Jericho they were not supposed to. His savageness was exhibited many times over during the battles that came, but the two qualities that really stand out about him was his leaderships skills, and his Honor. He stood by Moses side, through Moses time as leader, never once questioning Moses. He honored his mens promise to Rahab, which to me is the biggest indicator of his honor. He honored Gods commands throughout his term as leader-even when the tactics seemed odd. He never ran from a battle. He didn't just fight, he fought with a purpose.

   Can anyone think of any other examples of Joshuas life that exhibit his honor? 

   Can you think of any other attributes of Joshua that would make him a "Savage Gentleman"

   What aspects of Joshuas life can we incorporate into our lives today? How can we exhibit Joshuas honor in being Savage Gentlemen? or Help the men in our lives learn these traights?

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