Tips for Teaching This Week’s Session of The Gospel Project for Adults

Listen to this week’s leader training podcast with Y Bonesteele, team leader for The Gospel Project for Adults, for a summary and guidance in leading your group.

This week’s additional resources for study and preparation:

• Sermon Transcript: “Untrodden Ways” by Charles Spurgeon
• Article: “6 Ways We See Jesus in Joshua” by Jonathan J. Routley
• Sermon: “The Key to Crossings” by Brady Cooper
• Sermon: “A Memorial Forever” by Alistair Begg

Transcript of Leader Training Podcast:

Hi, this is Y Bonesteele, team leader of The Gospel Project for Adults. Welcome to another Leader Training Podcast. Today we are in Unit 7, Session 1, God Leads His People. With the key concept of God is with His people as He leads them. Our core passage is Joshua 3:1-14. Let’s dive in.

The Israelites had been camping in the Acacia Grove, some of your translations may say “Shittim,” which in Hebrew literally means the Acacia Grove, a place where acacia trees grow. Now for you curious folks out there, acacia trees are seen in Africa and parts of the middle east. They’re those trees you see in Lion King where they grow a little shorter but then branch out on top, like an umbrella. Acacia wood is durable and rot resistant and what they used to make the ark of the covenant and many other parts of the tabernacle. Just some fun trivia there for you.

But yes, Joshua started early in the morning to head to the Jordan and there, something miraculous was going to happen. The people didn’t know what was going to happen, but they were commanded to follow the ark of the covenant. If you notice, the ark of the covenant is mentioned more than a few times in our core passage for today, 8 to be exact from verse 1 through 14. And we know that the ark of the covenant is related to God’s very presence which is why our key concept is about that presence. So first in verse 3, the people are reminded by the officers to follow the ark of the covenant.(On a side note, if you’re wondering who these officers are, they are part of the 70 elders that God commanded to help Moses out, back in Numbers 11:16, when he felt he couldn’t carry the burden of the people by himself.) So they were to follow the ark but not get too close. There is a sacredness to the ark, as God’s very holy presence resides there. They can’t go too near it, and even the Levitical priests carry it with poles and not directly.

Joshua then tells the people to “consecrate” themselves, this is usually done through washing, telling them to get ready, prepare yourselves, “because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.” Can you imagine the anticipation? Washing yourself next to a loved one, wondering what God was going to do?

Then Joshua told the priests to carry the ark ahead of them and Lord spoke to Joshua and assured him. But what was it He assured him of? That “I will be with you”, just as He was with Moses. Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into the promised land, both with anticipation and fear, excitement and dread, knowing that God promised them the land but also knowing that there would be some battles to fight, and God spoke the words Joshua needed to hear: “I will be with you.”  That was enough. That would keep Joshua going.

And as it was enough for Joshua, that should be enough for us today. God is with us. The Holy Spirit dwells within us because of Christ work on the cross and we can be assured we are never alone. Jesus last words were “I am with you always” in Matthew 28:20. We can cling to the hope of God’s presence moment by moment because Scripture says He is always with us. He will never leave us. He is omnipresent. And that should comfort us and strengthen us and lead us on His path of righteousness. His presence calms out hearts and helps us move forward because we know He is all good and all powerful. And so with God with us and on our side, He will accomplish everything according to His will. We know He is the one sovereign in our lives and in the world and we are simply called to follow and obey where He leads.

So God told Joshua to tell the priests to carry the ark into the Jordan in verse 8. And Joshua calls the people together. I like how he says ‘Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God” in verse 9. It was like a special secret. Hey, come closer, let me tell you something with excitement. Hey, “you will know that the living God is among you.” As God reassured Joshua of His presence, Joshua reassured the Israelites, hey you’re going to know that the living God is present with you. And we know there are going to be some obstacles that will come up. And he names off their enemies. And the list seems to go on and on and I think Joshua wanted to make them know, it’s not going to be roses and rainbows. There are real obstacles in our way. But we know that God’s going to protect us from our enemies, all of them, “the Canaanites, the Hethites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Jebusites”—all of them! Then they choose 12 men from each tribe, this will be referred to later in Joshua 4:1-8, as these men were to pick 12 stones and set them up as a memorial of what God did. Joshua, then, told the people that when the priests carry the ark into the Jordan, the water will be cut off and the water will stand still.  God is a God who removes obstacles from His will. Joshua addressed the fact that they were going to have to tackle some enemies. But even before that, there was this natural obstacle before them, the Jordan River. How were they supposed to cross? God removed the obstacle and provided the way with His very presence. He made the waters cut off and the “water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass” (verse 13). And when the priests carried the ark ahead of the people into the Jordan River, verses 15-17 state that that’s exactly what happened. God led the people, with His presence, removing obstacles, because He is a covenant-keeper; He keeps His promises.

Now, you can tell that this event is similar to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the two events bookend God’s deliverance from Egypt and the fulfillment of His promise into the land, both with His presence and the parting of water and the people passing through. Remember that the older generation of Israelites had died through various circumstances but this new generation needed to see God’s almighty power to remind them that He will keep His promises and that He will be with them.  This is seen also in all the ways God is addressed in this passage, “The Lord your God” in verse 9, “the living God” in verse 10, and “the Lord of the whole earth” in verse 11 and 13. Joshua was reminding the people that Yahweh is their God, He is living, and He is the Lord of the whole earth, and everything submits to Him.

This crossing of the Jordan is less of a military conquest than it is a sacred procession. The people have consecrated themselves, the priests are carrying the ark of the covenant, and the Lord is leading. And with the presence of God in the ark of the covenant, surely the Israelites are reminded that God is a covenant-keeper. As promised, they are walking into the land that will be their inheritance. God has been faithful as always. He is with His people as He leads them.

I want to highlight how God uses bodies of water to show His presence and promise. At the Red Sea, the people escaped slavery into deliverance and freedom. At the Jordan River, they passed from the wilderness into a land flowing with milk and honey. And at baptism, we pass from death to life, because of Jesus. At Jesus’s own baptism, we see the presence of our trinitarian God, the Father saying He is well pleased and the Spirit descending like a dove. Whenever God is present, He is never passive. We see in His presence, His acts of redemption and restoration for the sake of relationship. He is a living God, the Lord of the whole earth.

Moving to the Group Experience then, ask the icebreaker as a fun introduction to your group. Summarize the Context surrounding today’s passage and Recap, seeing if anyone had any questions or highlights and also asking: What question do you think the Israelites may have asked as Joshua prepared them for this new journey with God? Maybe they would ask, how much longer after crossing the river? What is God going to do next? How do we know which land is ours? Who do we have to kick out of the land? I’m sure your group will think of many more interesting questions. Then pass out Pack Item 2: God’s Presence. This idea of God’s presence may seem normal to us but in a culture where many of the false gods were distant or temporary or unknown, the very idea of a God who is present and wants to be known by His people was rare and odd. Throughout His relationship with His people, God’s presence was a promise that sustained them, and it was a promise that the people found comfort and peace in. Through the handout, we can see that God offered and fulfilled the promise of His presence to those He called. And His presence is tied deeply to His promises.

Looking at the Group Activity then, we are reminded that when following God, we need focused preparation. And when we obey, we will see God’s promises fulfilled.

Quickly going over Joshua 1 and 2 then reminds us of Joshua’s leadership thus far. Looking at the chart then, what were some of God’s instructions, through Him directly, or through His leaders.  First the officers told the people to follow the ark but keep a distance in verses 3 and 4. Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves in verse 5. He also told the priests to carry the ark and go ahead of the people in verse 6. And God told Joshua to tell the priests to carry the ark and stand in the Jordan in verse 8.

The promises God made in these verses include telling Joshua that He would exalt him in the sight of all Israel, so that they know He would be with Joshua, just as He was with Moses in verse 7, that the living God is among them in verse 10, that he would dispossess their enemies in verse 10, and that the waters would be cut off when the priests stood in the river in verse 13.

There are a few questions in the Engage sections to which if you haven’t addressed yet in the Recap, you can do here, mainly that God has established a leadership system with Joshua and the officers and the Levitical priests. Also that the ark was the visual symbol of God’s presence and they stayed distant because of the holiness of God’s presence, and  the crossing of the river, like how the people crossed the Red Sea, was a continued fulfilled promise of God’s presence  with His people throughout the generations.

So in the Debrief questions, how do God’s instructions and promises in Joshua 3:1-14 reveal He is with His people? Not only in the visual presence of the ark of the covenant, but also because God said He would be with them, as well as His performing the miraculous event of the waters parting for Him reveal His presence.

How is it stressed in this passage that every person must acknowledge God as their ultimate leader and focus on His presence? By showing how the people were to follow the ark of the covenant, which essentially is following God. The theme of God’s presence is clear here yet the takeaway is more than just the fact that God is present, but that because He makes it clear that is present and always will be present, we can follow Him as He leads, we can follow without fear, we can believe in His promises, we can trust in His plans. His presences is not just a mere fact but that fact allows us to be comforted and to have peace and to trust in tomorrow.

And thus, how might we help others focus on knowing, hearing, and believing God? By praying for them, by sharing our own stories of God’s presence, by pointing to Scripture that promises His presence.

Summarize and follow with the Head, Heart, Hands section, focusing on the Heart question if time is limited. What barriers do you need to address in your life to believe in God’s presence amid life’s obstacles? Some answers may include barriers of doubt or fear; barriers of wanting our own way; barriers of wanting God’s presence along with other idols. God wants our complete devotion, no just a half-focused devotion. He wants our all as He gives us His all.

Take time to point out some Next Steps, maybe the first bullet point of analyzing where God is calling you. If you have time, give some time for your group to reflect or pray quietly.

And close with Psalm 16, maybe praying verse 5-8 as a benediction.

Hey, thanks again for joining me for another Leader Training podcasts. Of course, reach out anytime at [email protected]. And have a great group time!