1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho.
And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house:for they be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out:whither the men went I wot not:pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords:and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you:for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
(God proved himself to the other nations by the mighty acts HE did with the children of Israel. Who but God is able to dry up the Red Sea? The other nations heard about this. Rehab and the people of Jericho knew about this. How can you not fear a God who can do such things as dry up the Red Sea? This proved God to be God to these people. This is the God we should fear!)
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window:for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned:and afterward may ye go your way.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by:and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless:and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
(This is like being saved by the blood as the angel passed over Egypt to kill the first born of the land. When the angel saw the blood on the doors of the houses, he passed over those houses and did not kill the first born in those houses. This is like the blood of Jesus saving the children of God today.)
20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed:and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned:and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:
24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
These men brought back a good report ... unlike the men that searched out the land when Moses sent them ... Numbers 13-14 ...
Numbers 13 ... 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
... 25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great:and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.(Giants)
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south:and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains:and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants:and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14 ... 1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron:and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us:their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us:fear them not. 10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
(God sent them to search out the land which God had promises to give them. But they didn't have faith in God and they brought back an evil report and discouraged the heart of the people and caused the people to turn against God's way... a very great sin against God.)
11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
(The people had seen all the signs done against Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They had great witness unto the power of God. But throughout their journey in the wilderness they were like a leaf blowing in the wind... unstable ... murmuring against God and his word and his servants as circumstances rose ... Had they kept in mind the miracles of God which they had seen, it would have been good. ... This is an example for us today. That we keep our minds focused on the miracles of God and when the fears come we make our mind go back and focus on that which we have seen God do in the Bible and the promises we have from God in the Bible.)
I Cor. 10 ... 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
We also have the example in Numbers 14 of God putting a penalty on each of the men who were fearful and brought back and evil report and caused the heart of the congregation to fear and to be discouraged.
Numbers 14 ... God says ... 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. 25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
God turned the congregation away from the promised land and caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the generation of men who brought fear had died, then God turned them toward the promised land and led them into the promised land but none of those men who brought back the evil report were allowed to see the promised land.
We can only see the promises of God by entering into the promises by faith in God.
Consider the following great promises which guarantee us success in all that we do.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Joshua 1
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee?
I saw these promises of God as a new Christian in 1975. I knew the way to success in all that I did was to follow God daily, keeping HIS word to me before me day and night. Then when that word would become strong enough it would cause me to do that word. And it was God commanding me to do this things through the word HE gave me. I knew I would prosper in all that I did and have good success if I would do this thing of reading Bible, keeping HIS word before me day and night and doing what HE said through HIS Word to me. I knew it! That this is what I have done these 30+ years. It is the way David understood his sling shot and refused the armor of Saul when he was going to fight Goliath. No matter what the problem, I know the Word of God will be the thing that causes me to overcome and prosper and have good success. So I seek God in the problem through prayer. And I focus day and night on the thing God says to me after prayer. And I succeed because of this just as the Bible promises us. This is the way to prosperity and success.
I saw it in those scripture of Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 as a new Christian. I believed it therefore this is what I did. I had faith in what God told us in these scriptures. And I still do this for it is proved to me just as the stones and sling shot were proved to David. (My stones which slay the enemy are scriptures, the Word of God.)
Most church people are too shallow and presumptuous . They read a scripture one time and rejoice ... but they think they have it.
I kept Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 before me daily for several years ... I read it many times daily ... though I could quote it by memory, I read it again and again to keep me thinking of the way to go. (I'm going to try to do this again now.)
Look at what is likely to happen if you read a scripture one time and rejoice in that scripture and go on your way on this earth.
Mk 4 ... 14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time:afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
You have to work to cause the word planted in you to take deep root ... otherwise circumstances of life can pull that word out and make it of none effect.
Here is the way you cause it to take deep root in you.
Joshua 1... 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
You take that word God has given you and you keep it before you day and night and think on that word day and night. That enables you to get strong enough to do that word. After you do that word, faith in God, in HIS Word, increases ... and you prosper and have good success in all that you do.
You never stop this pattern of life. As long as you live on this earth, you do Joshua 1:8 daily. Then you will prosper in all that you do.
Also you have to do Psalm 1 ...
1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
You can't stand in the counsel of the ungodly ... nor the way of sinners ... not the seat of the unrighteous.
Why do you want to hear what these people would tell you?
The important thing is what God would tell you. That is life to us.
TV news ... thoughts brought to us by worldly people as they visit and tell their tales based on TV, newspapers and vanity of their own hearts ... how is that good for us? That is not the way to success and prosperity.
The way to success and prosperity is to meditate on the word of God day and night and to do what God tells you to do.
We have to work at it daily.
Then it becomes our greatest joy to awaken in the morning and see what God would speak to us. We joyfully look at scripture as a man hunts a treasure buried in a field. And that man goes and sells all that he has and buys that treasure for he knows it is worth more than anything else that exists.
This is the way we come to live. (the blueprint for life and success)
Blessed (divinely favored and protected) is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
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This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but
thou shalt meditate therein day and night,