Sermon Notes June 21, 2015

Joshua 12:1-6
John Higgins
New Covenant Church, Naperville, IL

No apology for a "tough" text, all Scripture is God-Breathed!  If there is a problem with a text, the problem is on our side, for certain.

Chap 1-12 conquest as promised.
the rest is about dividing it up.  This chapter starts with a list of victories.  Why recap?  To remember and emphasize what God helped them do.  V9 is a song, likely, to help us remember it (like the Psalms).  God wants us to know He does particular little things.  The specific names, the details of location... these are meant to slow us down and tell us the specific things He does.  God forms us in specific ways with specific people.

The text also brings up people for the first and last time here.  God is always doing things that we don't see.  The challenge of "divine hiddenness".  Is it a problem or is the description wrong?  Is He subtle?  He is always doing more than we see.  He is always doing more than we see.

Demonstrate the superiority of Joshua over Moses (the passage wants us to know this).  Joshua-31. Moses-2. Why do it?  Moses had a bigger story, but Joshua was greater.  Moses' sin.  Joshua was able to complete the move into the land.  This chapter is meant to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus.

Angels are pretty rare in the Bible.  They were sent to communicate special messages.  Specific name message for Joseph (interesting illustrations made here-we might name him after David, or Abraham, or Moses, but God told Joseph to name him Jesus=Joshua)  Jesus is the other form of Joshua.  Moses' successor, but also namesake of our Lord.

31 Kings had many years to repent but didn't and so Joshua defeated them.  Sound familiar?  Ruler of the Kings of the Earth - one of Christ's titles.  Revelations 12?  Psalm 2 -- another example of kings under authority.

Jesus is The King of All Kings.  Doesn't matter if you are left or right, liberal or conservative, Jesus is Lord of all.