Finding Jesus in Joshua’s Choice (Joshua)

Joshua — “The Choice”

Key Verse: Joshua 24:15 — …choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Explanation: Much has been written about Joshua’s quintessential contrast of alternatives. Just as Elijah would challenge the Israelites when confronting the prophets of Baal, we all face a choice: serve the false gods of this world (whether they have a formal name like Baal or Asherah, or misleadingly avant-garde names like Humanism) or the true and living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Peter Marshall dramatically proclaimed the ultimate destination of those who choose poorly: Hell. On the other hand, those who choose to serve the LORD—and to place their trust in Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life—are promised joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:7-8).

Hearing what the rest of the Jews said about the Messiah, Jesus asked His own disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Peter rightfully responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

That same question hangs over all of us today. We must choose whom we will serve. Some will attempt to avoid making a decision, but as we quoted in this episode, if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

Do not wait another day. Choose—today—whom you will serve. And then, be the leader God has raised you up to be within your own family—full of strength and courage—to lead them to God’s eternal Promised Land.

Other Important Verses:

Joshua 1:9 — Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! (Also commanded in 1:6 and 1:7.)

Explanation: God did not tell Joshua just once to be strong and courageous. He told him 3 different times. And Moses offered him the same counsel in Deuteronomy 31:6-7).

Why would this mighty warrior, who had already proven his own bold faith, need a reiteration of encouragement? Because the task before him was daunting and because the weight of stepping into the leadership role following Moses would have been overwhelming.

As someone who has also followed in the footsteps of a great leader after they served the Lord for 40 years, I know how Joshua must have felt. Joshua not only received encouragement from his predecessor (Moses) and the LORD, he was encouraged by the people themselves who echoed the same sentiment: we will follow you just as we did Moses, “only be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:16-18).

We sometimes minimize the importance of encouragement. But the Lord has commanded us to encourage one another. In other words, we are to share a measure of the courage we have with brothers and sisters in Christ. What sometimes is an abundance in our own lives will be sorely needed in the life of someone in the midst of a spiritual storm. On that note, it is important to realize where Christian courage springs from. Just as the root of the word courage (“cœur” in French) means heart, our courage flows out of our heart. Or, more properly, it overflows from our heart. What (or Who) should so fill our heart that we are overflowing? The Holy Spirit of God, of course.

The Word of God also says that we should “encourage one another; and all the more as we see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). So, we are to discern the day of the Lord approaching and increase our intentional encouragement of one another.

Affirming the expectation that God’s people should be strong and courageous, Daniel had this to say about those who will resist the Antichrist: “the people who know their God will display strength and take action” (Daniel 11:32).

The Lord has work for each of us to do until His Son breaks from the heavens. Let Him find us all encouraged, bold, and faithful.

Joshua 9:14 — So the men of Israel too some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD.

Explanation: After entering the land of Canaan with a dramatic victory over Jericho (and one demonstrably due to the power of God—not the military prowess of Israel), the nation suffered a defeat at the battle of Ai. Due to a single man’s disobedience, the LORD was displeased with Israel and did not deliver Ai into their hands. Joshua was distraught, tearing his clothes and falling to the ground to seek the counsel of the Lord (Joshua 7:6-7).

The Lord explained how he could remove the blot of sin from the nation—by consecrating the people and narrowing down by lot until the culprit was found. Achan learned the heavy penalty for his disobedience, and Israel should have learned the importance of seeking the counsel of the LORD.

But when the Gibeonites came to them—deceptively claiming to come from a distant country, Joshua and the leaders of Israel took them at their word. When their guile was discovered it was too late.

How many times have we made an impulsive decision only to regret it later? The importance of staying grounded in the Lord and seeking His counsel (through His Word and through prayer and through the leading of the Holy Spirit) is paramount in the life of a believer. Choose wisely.

Joshua 21:45 — Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

Explanation: What a testimony to the faithfulness of God! The Psalmists said, “the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness” (33:4), and “Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations” (119:90).

Lamb & Lion Ministries invests much time and energy documenting the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel in ages past because it proves that He keeps His promises. And, since we know that He kept—and is keeping—His promises to Israel (not because of their merit but because of His own perfect character), we can be confident that He will keep every promise He has made to all of us who put our faith in Jesus Christ.

And, in the fulness of time, we can also have absolute confidence that He will keep His promises to Christ Himself. At the Father’s command Jesus will come for His Bride. He will then return to the earth to receive the honor and adoration He has always been due.

“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Jesus Christ) they are yes, therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).

Amen, and amen!

Part 1

Tim Moore: You know, I thought long and hard about who would be a fitting guest for this episode of Christ in Prophecy. I’m delighted that we found a man who reminds me of Joshua, physically and spiritually.

Amir Tsarfati was born in Jerusalem and served in key positions in the Israeli Defense Force. He is a passionate follower of Yeshua and a powerful voice calling Jews and Gentiles alike to recognize the signs of the times pointing to the Messiah’s soon return. He also is the founder and president of Behold Israel. Amir, I’m so glad you could join us today from Israel!

Amir Tsarfati: Thank you, it is my pleasure. All the way from Galilee to Texas, what a great thing to use technology.

Tim Moore: Yes, sir when it works properly we are grateful.

Nathan Jones: Amir, I was fascinated to find out that you were a Deputy Governor of Jericho. And since we are talking about Joshua it just seems very fitting that we are talking about a city that was supposedly destroyed, but you got to be a governor of. How could you be a governor of a city that was destroyed thousands of years ago?

Amir Tsarfati: Well, you know what the only problem is that Joshua liberated it and took over, I actually handed it over to the Palestinians. So, it was a big difference. I wish I didn’t have to do that. But we all know that biblically it is something that has to happen. But nevertheless, it was a privilege to be there in Jericho, and serve my military service right next to all of those ancient antiquities. They are still standing there as a testimony to the way the city was conquered, the way the walls came tumbling down. And not only the Old Testament but even the New Testament Jericho where Herod the Great had his palace. Where the sycamore tree is still standing there. And this is a beautiful, beautiful place.

Tim Moore: Well, Amir obviously I wanted you to come on this episode of Christ in Prophecy, as I said, because you remind me of Joshua not just with the connection to Jericho because you are another young man of strength and conviction, and yet we also know that Joshua followed in the footsteps of a great leader. And so, the Lord had to encourage him. He actually commanded Joshua not once, but three times to be encouraged and be bucked up for the challenge lying ahead of him. What did the Lord say to Joshua?

Amir Tsarfati: The Lord said to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” And of course, this is something that we all need to remember. It’s not a natural inclination of us, we need to get that from the Lord, and we need to obey the Lord. And with Him commanding us to be so, and with the power that He gives us, it’s possible.

Nathan Jones: You know what is fascinating, Amir is not only did Joshua stand strong in the Lord, but he showed his leadership ability by getting the people to stand strong in the Lord. To think that 40 years earlier they had all chickened out and they wouldn’t go in. But Joshua got the people to stand behind him and be strong and trust the Lord. Would you say then that is why Moses picked Joshua to be his successor, because he exhibited fearlessness and trust in the Lord?

Amir Tsarfati: Absolutely. I believe so. And in Deuteronomy 34:9 says, “Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.” So, Moses obviously passed the baton, but with that came the wisdom that he needed to be able to lead the nation. And it’s not just leading a nation through the desert this is now the challenge to enter into the Promise Land, and to withstand so many schemes of the enemy on the one hand, and disobedience of the nation on the other.

Tim Moore: Well, it is interesting to me that Joshua learned from his own experienced, and so he made a choice in how he would handle even sending spies. Of course, we are calling this episode of Christ in Prophecy, The Choice, and before even entering Canaan, Joshua sent two spies, perhaps he learned the lesson of sending 12 and 10 of them coming back and being faithless, or fearful. So, he sent two spies and when they went into Jericho they encountered a harlot named Rahab who protected them. A lady who was living in Jericho itself. And she testified with these words, she said, “I know that the LORD has given you the land.” And she went on to say, “please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with me and my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth.” So really Rahab also made a choice.

Amir Tsarfati: Yes, Rahab made a choice. It is a choice that we need to make. And remember that was also a token of her faith, and this is why Rahab is in the lineage of Christ. And the Bible says in James 2, “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” You can clearly see that there was a promise. You can see that there was a choice. And you can see that she acted upon that choice, that was a choice she made, and she acted upon it. That was an act of faith, and that was considered as righteousness for her. And this is quite incredible considering the fact that she is not Jewish, and considering the fact that her profession is a little questionable.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Nathan Jones: On the other side of the coin, we’ve got another story from the fall of Jericho and that is the story of Achan, right? What happened in Ai to show the faithlessness side of that story?

Amir Tsarfati: Well, we all know the story of–first of all the Children of Israel lost the battle in Ai, 36 to be the best of my knowledge people were killed. And the Lord answered Joshua’s prayer by saying, “Look there is a reason for that, and the reason is that there is sin in the camp. Somebody did something that I told you not to do.” And of course, we all know the story of Akan, we call him Akan in Hebrew, the story of Akan is a story of not only disobedience, but it is a story that can show you that how sin affects the whole camp, and how there is responsibility for us. You can go all the way back to the Garden of Eden and see how sin affects many more than just the person that commits it. And so, Akan in Hebrew kept this Babylonian garment, he kept some shekels of silver, and all of that, and we know that he ended up paying for it, him and his household, and all of his belongings. And that was a very, very tragic story, but I believe it was a necessary one for the Children of Israel to be able to get their act together, obey the Lord, and move forward with God’s promise to them with the Promise Land.

Tim Moore: Well, not just Achan, or Akan in that episode but there are other people throughout the book of Joshua who make choices. So, we can think about the Gibeonites, the people living in Gibeon who made a choice to seek gain by deception. So, they tried to fool the Children of Israel, “Oh, we are from far, far away. Make a covenant with us, and don’t destroy us.” And they could have followed the pattern of Rahab and treated God’s chosen people with kindness, and they would have been, again, blessed for their choice of honesty and of kindness and of faithfulness, but instead they tricked the Israelites. And the Lord then obviously required that the Israelites honor their word. In other words, instead of seeking the counsel of the Lord, the Hebrews of Israel, the Children of Israel took that deception of the Gibeonites at face value. And when Joshua discovered their deceit he condemned them to actually serve as hewers of wood and drawers of water, in other words in a subservient role. And so, they did not have the same blessing that Rahab had for her choice of faith.

Amir Tsarfati: Absolutely. And we see now the consequences of making the wrong choices. And of course, the fact that you are a Jew, or a non-Jew doesn’t matter, there is a choice to make and there are consequence thereof, and we can clearly see that. But also, we see that the Children of Israel had to suffer collectively the consequences of their choice to not seek the Lord, but to actually believe the deception that the Gibeonites sold them. But eventually of course we all know the land was taken shortly after that. We know the amazing pass from Jericho all the way up to the mountains. And then of course the war against the other kings, Gibeon and Aijalon Valley how the sun and the moon stood still, that was basically the breakthrough in the take over of the Promise Land. But it didn’t start well at it, it started with wrong choices, and the suffering of the consequence thereof.

Nathan Jones: It is interesting how Joshua and the armies spread out, and they started defeating different lands, they were taking the land of promise, and they started to get rest, the more places as they went out. And one of the most tragic verses in the Bible, we learn that the Israelites grew weary in obeying all that God had commanded. They grew weary of it. And you get to Joshua 16:10, “But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So, the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day.” We also hear the same thing about Manasseh, how Manasseh did that same thing, they continued to be interspersed with the pagans. How would that end up affecting Israel by not fully obeying God throughout the rest of their history as they were mixed with pagan groups?

Amir Tsarfati: Well, we can actually read that from Judges chapter 2, the first five verses, we can clearly see how, “Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: ‘I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore, I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. Then they called the name of that place Bochim;” which means crying, or crying out, “and they sacrificed there to the Lord. And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.” There is atonement when you are actually repenting, the repentance bears much fruit, as you can see when they cried, when they repented, when they realized their wrongdoing, look at what happened, they went each to his own inheritance, and what? To possess the land.

Tim Moore: Here, here, amen. We’ve focused on the historic account of Israel’s conquest of the Promise Land under Joshua’s leadership to this point. But today, the entire world seems to deny the right of Israel to possess the very land in which you are living right now. And so, they deny the land promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to their descendants forever. How does that unbiblical attitude represent a choice of the world that actually threatens the peace and security of Israel today?

Amir Tsarfati: Well, we can all see that, and I believe that it goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15. I believe that Satan is always on the move to try to see where and how can that seed of the woman, that is going to obviously crush his head, or destroy him. So, Israel was obviously the nation, he realized, that if I get rid of them, I will get rid of Him. And of course, we know that even Jesus said, “Jerusalem you not see me again until you say, ‘Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai.’” It didn’t say you are going to say anything in Arabic to welcome Allah, or anything in any other language to welcome anything else, but it is Jewish people welcoming their Messiah. So, for that they have to come back to their land, they have to get back to their capital, and they have to repossess the land as the prophet promised. And we all know what happened over the last 80 some years, stunned everyone all around us, whether they are believers or not. It’s just that people they have a hard time understanding that God is still in the business of fighting for Israel, helping Israel, bringing them to the point of not just survival, but to the point of thriving in the middle of a very, very dangerous and war surrounded area. To me the resistance to what God is doing with Israel, and through Israel today, is basically the work of the enemy trying to stop Messiah from returning to Israel, to His people, for them to accept Him and receive Him as their Messiah, and for the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom to thus begin. So, everything is tied together here. I believe that if we know Bible prophecy no person that is going to try to stop Israel from repossessing the land will succeed. There will be more wars, there will be more agony and pain, but eventually Israel will be back in the land. Jesus will come back to reign. And once again Jerusalem will be in the land of Israel, and the people will be the head of all the nations.

Nathan Jones: Oh, amen. That is excellent to hear. Big picture. Let’s go from Joshua’s time where the biggest thing they had to deal with was giants, to today’s I think you guys are facing quite a lot of giants; we read in the News the giants of Iran, the giants of Hezbollah. What do you think is the greatest threat to Israel’s sovereignty right now? Would you say a nuclear Iran, or the BDS Movement, or the UN Sanctions? What would you say?

Amir Tsarfati: Well, it is a combination of what we see right now is basically on one hand the ally of Israel, the superpower of the world, America is slowly, slowly releasing its grip on the Middle East, and by doing so leaving Israel basically all exposed. On the other hand, you can clearly see that all the bandits are emboldened to come out and to do what they want to do. Under the 45th President they would not do what they are doing right now, we all know why. So, my point is we can see convergence of so many things from the identity of the person in the Oval Office, all the way to what is going on in Iran. But remember, remember, remember Iran is not standing by itself, for the Bible talks about a coalition of countries that will come against Israel, it speaks of Iran as one of several. We also must remember that there is a promise for Damascus to be destroyed, and that prophecy has not been fulfilled yet. And so, I would keep my eyes on Syria, whatever goes on in Syria will affect eventually, I believe, the coalition led by Russia, with Turkey, Sudan, Libya, and Iran. And it will eventually turn into that war that Israel by itself will not be able to win, it will be only by the intervention of God in a very amazing and supernatural way.

Tim Moore: It certainly will. You know to look at Joshua again, there are two examples I call on, one is the man Caleb who is the other spy who was willing to be faithful when Moses first sent 12 spies. Matter of fact, even as an old man, even as he was at an age when he could have been resting on his laurels he said, “Give me the high country,” he still was eager to go forward and be faithful to what the Lord had called the whole nation to. That’s why I named my son Caleb. But Joshua also demonstrates his faithfulness throughout his life. So, his inspiring speech at the end of his life of leadership, challenging the people of Israel to choose whom they would serve. As he said, “whether the gods which their fathers served beyond the River,” in other words, back in Egypt, “or the gods of the Amorites,” that being the people who lived there in Canaan. Joshua demonstrated his great faithfulness when he declared, “but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Amir Tsarfati: Yes, this is the same choice that is still before us all, I believe, will we follow false gods, or will we serve the true and living God, the Lord Himself? And I believe that, that choice is always before us. Look, I remember in John chapter 6 when Jesus said some words that were too tough for the disciples to hear, a lot of them left Him. And then of course he turned to Peter and said, “Any of you want to leave as well?” And Peter said, “Who will we go to? Who will we turn to? You have the words of eternal life.” And so, it’s not just a choice of the nation of Israel, or the nations of the world, it is even the choice of the disciples of Jesus themselves. When hardships will come, and when it will have to be a choice of Jesus only, or Jesus plus, Jesus said, it is Me, it only Me, it is through Me. And so, all the progressive liberal agenda of adding to Jesus other things, or maybe replacing Jesus with other things, all of them will have to basically become a huge choice for even the average Christian right now, will you follow that, or will you stick with the Lord? And we all need to say, where can we go? Who can we go to but Jesus because with Him are the words of eternal life.

Nathan Jones: Amen. I love your teachings. Matter of fact every time I pull up YouTube your videos are always up there, so I see your face like every day. And one of the great benefits of your teaching is you, because I’m an American and I only speak English, but you show the Hebrew meanings of things. So, we use the “J” for Joshua, and I know “J” was actually only invented in like the 1500’s, how do the Hebrews pronounce Joshua? And does Joshua point to somebody else, is he a type of something?

Amir Tsarfati: Correct. Well, Joshua in Hebrew is Yehoshu’a. Yehoshu’a means the Lord is my salvation. The Lord is my salvation. Yeho it is from Yahweh, and Yehoshu’a means salvation. And that of course is pointing at the One that will be called Yeshua, who is our salvation. You know it is the only language in the world where the name of Jesus makes sense, is Hebrew. Not that I’m saying you have to call Him in His Hebrew name, because I believe He understand every name that we have in different languages as long as it’s at the attempt to call Him, and not mocking. But I will say that when the angel told Mary, “You shall name Him Yeshua,” for He will save his people, only in Hebrew the name and salvation are together, are the same, Yeshua is salvation, Yeshua is His name. And so, that’s why when you read the New Testament in Hebrew you don’t have to wonder about that because it is very simple, it’s just the same word.

Tim Moore: Amir, I appreciate you spending time with us today. We already spoke about the meaning of different names and how Joshua points to Yeshua who comes in the fullness of time and is coming again. And Joshua is one of my biblical heroes. But your own name Amir, as I have understood it actually means crown, or chief, or head in Hebrew. So, as we await our soon returning King, I’ll pray that He continues to bless you, and your ministry as you point to again our King of king, and Lord of lords.

Amir Tsarfati: Thank you very much. God bless you all. And it was a pleasure to be with you today.

Tim Moore: We hope to do it again sometime soon. Godspeed.

Part 2- Signs of the Times: Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Tim Moore: Joshua was strong and courageous, just when Israel needed a mighty leader.

In 1938, Americans were introduced to Clark Kent, a character who appeared human yet possessed strength and courage far beyond other men. He was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and could jump tall buildings in a single bound!

Superman leapt off the pages of the comic books into the cultural psyche. He came along just as America was turning the corner on the Great Depression, and just before the crisis of World War II. And, as the United States was poised to become a global superpower, Superman embodied characteristics that made America great.

The writers who crafted this fictional character summed up his heroic attributes. Superman stood for “truth, justice, and the American way.” Those ideals were presumed to be universally understood in the middle of the 20th Century.

And yet, as the 20th Century rolled over into the 21st, more and more people began to doubt the validity of truth and justice in America, with some dismissing the concepts altogether. And today, I’d challenge any group of random people to agree on what “the American way” even means. Certainly, our elected leaders cannot seem to annunciate what it should mean.

But in recent weeks, the character of Superman has taken a dramatic turn. Eager to embrace the woke sensibilities of our modern age, the writers who mold and shape the Superman persona have decided that he needs to come out as bi-sexual. To be clear, the fictional character we’re talking about is the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Maturing beyond his adolescence as Superboy, this now-grown superhero is being presented as non-heterosexual. He now has a male boyfriend, and their romantic encounters will be highlighted as part of the narrative going forward.

With his ability to fly, protect the innocent from evildoers, and even hear the annunciated concerns of the entire world, the original Superman represented a secularized messiah. Sent by his father to dwell among us, Superman’s life exemplified a fictional shadow of Christ, until now.

The son of Superman may still leap tall buildings and outrun speeding locomotives, but he now represents a false messiah, who is leading our culture down a path toward the wrath of God. In a clearly messianic passage, Psalm 2:12 advises, “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.”

The road our culture is traveling is wide, and many are gleefully hurling toward a horrific fate. And the American Way now celebrates immorality and deviancy, and condemns any who stand on the Word of God.

But soon the real Superman, the God-Man Jesus Christ, will come for His Bride. After that, He will return to reign, dwelling with us and flooding the earth with truth and justice. And that is not merely a comic book sentiment, that is a promise of God.

Closing

Nathan Jones: Wow, Tim, that was really insightful framing Superman as a secularized messiah.

Tim Moore: You know I had never thought of him that way, until I began researching the character based on his recent “coming out” and all the uproar that caused.

Nathan Jones: Oh, yeah, and you’re right about Joshua. Not only does his name foreshadow the coming Messiah, he also served his people as with strength and courage.

Tim Moore: I think that the lesson of Joshua is summed up in our Key Verse today, Joshua 24:15, “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Neil Peart, perhaps the greatest rock and roll drummer who ever lived, said, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

Nathan Jones: Our challenge to our viewers is to choose, today, whom you will serve. And, to quote the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” choose wisely!

Tim Moore: Exactly. The choice you make regarding Jesus Christ has eternal ramifications. There is no other way to the Father, and into heaven, than through faith in Christ.

Nathan Jones: Amir Tsarfati exemplified the blessing of a man who has chosen to dedicate his life to serving and proclaiming. Yeshua the Salvation of God.

Tim Moore: We pray that you’ve made a wise choice. Until next week, this is Tim Moore,

Nathan Jones: And Nathan Jones, saying, “Look up, be watchful, for the Lord, who gives us strength and courage, is drawing near.” Maranatha!

End of Program