1
Be Strong and of a Good CourageJoshua 1 - 6
23 - 24

fhume_at_earthlink.net
2
Joshua 1

• 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before
  thee all the days of thy life as I was with
  Moses, so I will be with thee I will not fail
  thee, nor forsake thee.
• 6 Be strong and of a good courage for unto this
  people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the
  land, which I sware unto their fathers to give
  them.
• 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that
  thou mayest observe to do according to all the
  law, which Moses my servant commanded thee turn
  not from it to the right hand or to the left,
  that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou
  goest.
• 8  This book of the law shall not depart out of
  thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day
  and night, that thou mayest observe to do
  according to all that is written therein for
  then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then
  thou shalt have good success.
• 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a
  good courage be not afraid, neither be thou
  dismayed for the LORD thy God is with thee
  whithersoever thou goest.

3
Joshua 378

• 7 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I
  begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel,
  that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so
  I will be with thee.
• 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear
  the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come
  to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall
  stand still in Jordan.

4

• Elder Boyd K. Packer said
• Shortly after I was called as a General
  Authority,
• I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He
• listened very carefully to my problem and
  suggested
• that I see President David O. McKay. President
• McKay counseled me as to the direction I should
• go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no
  way possible
• for me to do as he counseled me to do.
• I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw
  no way to move
• in the direction I was counseled to go. He said,
  The trouble with
• you is you want to see the end from the
  beginning. I replied that
• I would like to see at least a step or two ahead.
  Then came the
• lesson of a lifetime You must learn to walk to
  the edge of the
• light, and then a few steps into the darkness
  then the light
• will appear and show the way before you
• (The Edge of the Light, BYU Today, Mar.
  1991, 2223).

5
Joshua 31317

• 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the
  soles of the feet of the priests that bear the
  ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall
  rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of
  Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come
  down from above and they shall stand upon an
  heap.
• 14 And it came to pass, when the people removed
  from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the
  priests bearing the ark of the covenant before
  the people
• 15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto
  Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the
  ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for
  Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of
  harvest,)
• 16 That the waters which came down from above
  stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the
  city Adam, that is beside Zaretan and those that
  came down toward the sea of the plain, even the
  salt sea, failed, and were cut off and the
  people passed over right against Jericho.
• 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the
  covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in
  the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites
  passed over on dry ground, until all the people
  were passed clean over Jordan.

6
Joshua 419

• 1 AND it came to pass, when all the people were
  clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake
  unto Joshua, saying,
• 2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of
  every tribe a man,
• 3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out
  of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where
  the priests feet stood firm, twelve stones, and
  ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them
  in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this
  night.
• 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had
  prepared of the children of Israel, out of every
  tribe a man
• 5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the
  ark of the LORD your God into the midst of
  Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone
  upon his shoulder, according unto the number of
  the tribes of the children of Israel

7
Joshua 419

• 6 That this may be a sign among you, that when
  your children ask their fathers in time to come,
  saying, What mean ye by these stones?
• 7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of
  Jordan were cut off before the ark of the
  covenant of the LORD when it passed over Jordan,
  the waters of Jordan were cut off and these
  stones shall be for a memorial unto the children
  of Israel for ever.
• 8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua
  commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the
  midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua,
  according to the number of the tribes of the
  children of Israel, and carried them over with
  them unto the place where they lodged, and laid
  them down there.
• 9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of
  Jordan, in the place where the feet of the
  priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood
  and they are there unto this day.

8
Joshua 42124

• 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel,
  saying, When your children shall ask their
  fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these
  stones?
• 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying,
  Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
• 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of
  Jordan from before you, until ye were passed
  over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea,
  which he dried up from before us, until we were
  gone over
• 24 That all the people of the earth might know
  the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty that ye
  might fear the LORD your God for ever.
• What personal memorials or experiences remind you
  of Gods power (the hand of the Lord) and love in
  your life?

9
Did you see these 12 objects? 1. bird 2.
book3. boot4. fish 5. fork6. knife7.
mans shoe8. pencil 9. salt shaker10.
shovel11. spoon12. telephoneHow aware are you
of the hand of the Lord in your life?What might
you NOT be seeing?
1
11
4
6
5
2
10
8
7
9
12
3
10
Special Visitor..Eyewitness to the battle of
JerichoJoshua 6
The Taking of Jericho, by Jean Fouquet
The walls of Jericho crumble as the priest blows
his horn in this illustration from a 14th
century Icelandic manuscript.
11
Hebrews 1130-31

• By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after
  they were compassed about seven days.
• By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them
  that believed not, when she had received the
  spies with peace.

12
Avoid Traps Snares

• Toward the end of his life, Joshua reminded the
  Israelites what God
• had done for them. Joshua also counseled them
  about avoiding traps
• and snares and to cleave unto the LORD your God
  
• What are some of the snares and traps of the
  world that we face today?
• What are some things we must do to avoid being
  caught in a trap?
• How can we cleave unto the Lord rather than
  cleave to the world?

Joshua 238 Joshua 2312 cleave means glue or
join together
13
Joshua 241415

• 14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in
  sincerity and in truth and put away the gods
  which your fathers served on the other side of
  the flood, and in Egypt and serve ye the LORD.
• 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the
  LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve
  whether the gods which your fathers served that
  were on the other side of the flood, or the gods
  of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell but as
  for me and my house we will serve the LORD.

14
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, our goal is to obtain
celestial glory. Let us not find ourselves as
indecisive as is Alice in Lewis Carrolls
classic Alices Adventures in Wonderland.
You will remember that she comes to a
crossroads with two paths before her---each
stretching onward but in opposite directions.
She is confronted by the Cheshire cat, of whom
Alice asks, Which path shall I follow? The cat
answers That depends where you want to go. I
don't much care where--' said Alice. Then it
doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
Unlike Alice, we all know where we want to go,
and it does matter which way we go, for the path
we follow in this life surely leads to the path
we will follow in the next. (Thomas S. Monson,
Your Celestial Journey, Ensign, May 1999, 96 )
15

• Elder Marvin J. Ashton said Joshua reminds
• us of the importance of making decisions
• promptly Choose you this day whom ye will
• serve but as for me and my house, we
• will serve the Lord. Joshua 2415
• Not tomorrow, not when we get ready, not when it
  is
• convenientbut this day, straightway, choose
  whom you
• will serve. He who invites us to follow will
  always be out in
• front of us with His Spirit and influence setting
  the pace. He
• has charted and marked the course, opened the
  gates, and
• shown the way. He has invited us to come unto
  Him, and
• the best time to enjoy His companionship is
  straightway. We
• can best get on the course and stay on the course
  by
• doing as Jesus didmake a total commitment to do
  the will
• of His Father (in Conference Report, Apr. 1983,
  41 or Ensign, May 1983, 3031).

16
Joshua 231-6

• Joshuas final counsel included the same charge
  that the Lord had given when calling him to be a
  prophet
• Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to
  do all that is written in the book of the law of
  Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the
  right hand or to the left

17

• With thoughtless and impatient hands
• we tangle up the plans
• the Lord hath wrought.
• And when we cry in pain
• He saith,
• Be quiet, man,
• while I untie the knot.
• (Anonymous) (cited by Boyd K. Packer, Prayers
  and Answers, Ensign, Nov. 1979, 21)

18

• Elder Ezra Taft Benson said that two
• principles are essential for security
• and peace First, trust in God and
• second, a determination to keep the
• commandments, to serve the Lord, to
• do that which is right.
• The Lord has made it very clear in the
  revelations that
• even though times become perilous, even though we
  
• be surrounded by temptation and sin, even though
• there be a feeling of insecurity, even though
  mens
• hearts may fail them and anxiety fill their
  souls, if we
• only trust in God and keep his commandments we
• need have no fear. (in Conference Report, Oct.
  1950, 146)

19
Fear notfor I am with thee
Be Strong and of a Good Courage