Lessons for a Courageous Church 

What does it mean for SBC to be a courageous church, to live in light of one of the lines of our vision statement that we agreed upon a year ago, our aspiration to be a group of people who are ‘willing to trust God for the sake of mission, embracing creativity and trying to perceive the new thing he is doing, investing rather than burying our talents’?

This is the question we’ll be considering in the Autumn, in a new sermon series on the book of Joshua, a book that famously begins with a word of exhortation to its eponymous hero: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9).

These words of encouragement set the tone for all that follows. There are several themes which run through the book of Joshua, which make it a timely text for us to reflect upon:

1. God’s fulfilment of his promises made to previous generations.
After 40 years of desert wandering, Joshua tells the story of the moment when Israel eventually enters the Promised Land. Despite the moments when Israel has complained and rebelled against God, he remains faithful to his covenant and enables his people enter the land he ‘swore to their ancestors to give them’ (1:6). At key moments in the book God acts in miraculous ways, reminding us that the victory Israel enjoys is won only through his strength – a river stops flowing, walls collapse at the blast of trumpets, the sun stands still! In doing this, God is working out his purposes not just for Israel but for the wider world, as he gives the land to those who are set aside to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests.

2. The need for faith which is courageous and trusts wholeheartedly in God, lived out in a willingness to look ahead, moving from a familiar and comfortable place to the better place God has for us (even though getting to that place may feel scary at times). One of the most vivid and memorable examples of this is the story of ‘crossing over’ the Jordan found in chapter 3. God has much to give his people, but if they are to receive it they need to get their feet wet. In this case, the priests show the way, enabling the people to march in on dry land.

3. An obedience to God that involves not just taking risks, but also a submission to all that God asks of his people. Joshua is bookended with moments where God summons his people to full-hearted commitment to him. At the beginning Joshua is told to: ‘Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate Courageous, adjective, not deterred by danger or pain; brave. on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful’ (1:8). In the concluding scenes of chapter 24, the renewal of the covenant at Shechem, Joshua urges the people to ‘fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness’ (24:14).

We also need to recognise that there are some aspects of Joshua which are highly problematic for modern readers. Most of us are rightly appalled at the shocking violence of several chapters which describe the slaughter of the inhabitants of Canaan. It is impossible to rejoice at how the land is given to Israel, without feeling for those from whom it is taken. Trevor will be taking time to explore these issues, and the wider theme of Old Testament violence, in a Sunday Night Theology scheduled for 6 November. However, alongside these dark episodes, there are moments of grace when God works through outsiders like Rahab and welcomes in the Gibeonites. This is a complex book, filled with light and shade, but, ultimately, the story of how God remains faithful to his people, with lessons for those of us placing our trust in him in 2022.