As we turn to the Book of Joshua, the theme of the first chapter is courage. Joshua finds himself in the unenviable position of taking over the leadership of the Israelites from Moses. Moses had held the position for forty years. Time and again, Moses found himself taking the brunt of the people’s rebellion against God, and occasionally pleading for God to show mercy to his rebellious followers. Moses had suffered with his people through a forty-year wilderness journey, when the trip ought to have taken six weeks at most. Their disobedience had cause God to sentence every adult who was 20 and older at the time of their rejecting His offer to go into the Promised Land, to die in the wilderness. Now, Moses has died and Joshua takes over the reigns. On the positive side of the ledger, Joshua has served as Moses’ right-hand man for decades. He has also inherited Moses’ mantel from God. God now speaks directly with Joshua as He had with Moses.
In Joshua 1, God promises Joshua He will be with him, as He was with Moses. He charges Joshua to be courageous, to read and keep the Law, and to know God will give him and the Israelites every bit of land where they walk. Joshua charges the Israelites to be faithful and to obedient to the LORD. The response they give would not have encouraged to me: 16And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:16-18 (ESV) The oath is in the strongest form: Whoever rebels agains you…shall be put to death. That sounds like a great pledge of obedience to Joshua. The part that would have scared me is they promised: “…Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you.” We have read of all the ways the Israelites disobeyed Moses. As we will see in the pages of Joshua, the Israelites also disobey Joshua at key points in their taking of the Promised Land.
The Israelites did start with a short burst of obedience as we see in Joshua 2 and 3. In chapter 2, Joshua sent two spies into the land to scout out Jericho, which would be one of the first walled cities the Israelites would need to battle and overcome. The spies found the people were frightened of the Israelites and had heard of God’s deliverance through mighty works of power. The spies would have been caught except Rahab, a prostitute, gave them shelter in exchange for the promise of being spared, along with her family, when the Israelites eventually overtook the city. The spies agreed. In chapter 3, the Israelites march across the Jordan River. Just as God had provided safe passage through the Red Sea when the Israelites escaped from Egypt, so He gave them safe passage through the Jordan River. I have always found it significant that the waters of the Jordan didn’t part until the priests stepped into the water with the Ark of the Covenant. The river was at flood stage, so to obey God the priests had to step into a raging river. As soon as they did so, the waters stopped flowing, and the Israelites were able to pass on dry ground.
As we return to John 5, let’s remember the question Jesus asked the man who was lying beside the pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to get well?” While the answer seemed obvious, after all the man had been paralyzed for decades, the question begs an answer. The man made an excuse, but Jesus provided the healing anyway. In our lives, we often come to points where God wants to work in our lives, but we get in our own way. One specific example in my life is the many times I have lacked the discipline to eat healthy and exercise effectively. You might think, “That is nothing like being paralyzed.” In degree, that’s true, but in principle it is the same: The man had the means to be healed standing in front of him, and he offered Jesus an excuse. I have had the means to be healthier, and more effective as Jesus’ follower in front of me over and over again, and have said, “Yes,” for periods of time, and then I make excuses. Or I have simply started with an excuse. Let’s not follow the paralytic’s example and make excuses when Jesus asks us if we want to be well. Let’s say, “Yes!” and then let Him work His healing power in our lives, whether the healing we need is physical, emotional or spiritual!