Joshua 1:1-9 - How to Study the Bible

Greetings everyone. Thank you for joining in on this special episode of the Bible Basics Podcast. This is a companion to the Grasping God's Word how to Study the Bible episode. In that episode, we provided an overview of a Grasping God's Word Bible Study approach that allows you to discover for yourself what Scripture says, what it means and how to apply its timeless truths to your life. If you're like me, you're saying well, I listen to the episode and I generally understand those steps, but I'd like to see them in action. Well, you're in the right place, stay tuned, we'll put this approach into action. Well, welcome everyone.

I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast where, weekly, we break down the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks. As a reminder, here are the five steps of the Grasping God's Word Bible Study approach. Step one grasp the text in their town. What did the text mean to the original audience? Step two measure the width of the river to cross. What are the differences between the biblical audience and us? Step three cross the timeless teaching bridge. What is the theological principle in this text? Four consult the biblical map. Have this, our theological principle, fit with the rest of the Bible? Five grasp the text in our town. How should individual Christians today live out this theological teaching?

Our example text is from Joshua 1:1- 9. I appreciate this passage since it contains my life scripture, Joshua 1: 9. Pause this podcast. Go get your Bible and notebook if you don't already have it. The passage reads After the death of Moses, the servants of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of none, moses is aid. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot. As I promised Moses, your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the great river, the Euphrates, all the Hittite country to the Mediterranean Sea in the West. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord, your God, will be with you wherever you go. So step one.

The first thing we need to do is grasp the text in their town. What did the text mean to the biblical audience? As you study it carefully, you might start jotting down some observations, such as these. The situation God is speaking directly to Joshua, israel's new leader. Historical context God had just put Joshua in leadership of a stiff-necked people. God's words, not mine. He would lead the people into a new territory where they would face new enemies. Joshua was a first-hand witness to what God had done with Moses. Also, did you see Moses' name is mentioned numerous times in these nine verses? The previous four books show Joshua was trained under the previous leader, Moses. The immediate context Israel has a new leader. They're going to conquer a new land, to lay claim to it, and God gives some guidelines as to how that's going to happen.

Let's look at some of the words I will never leave you or forsake you. So those are synonyms never leave you or forsake you and so we're sure that's in there for emphasis. It means God won't fail or abandon you. And then a repeated phrase Three times in the first nine verses Joshua is commanded to be strong and courageous. You know that repetition is there for emphasis. God really means it. And then there's a -I identified as a keyword in verse four meditate. And taking a look at my concordance, I see that in this text it means to murmur or to ponder. It means to constantly think about or roll over God's word in your mind. So after looking at the text and observing, you might come up with a summary statement like this the Lord commanded Joshua, the new leader of Israel, to draw strength and courage from God's empowering presence, to be obedient to the law of Moses and to meditate on the law, so that he would be successful in the conquest of the promised land.

Step two what are the differences between the biblical audience and us? So we're not the leader of the nation of Israel, we're not embarking on the conquest of Canaan and we're not under the law of Moses anymore. God didn't make promises to us associated with the conquest of Canaan. This is going to be important as we work on developing the theological principle, or a timeless truth. God's promises to Joshua were designed for his special circumstances. They don't necessarily apply to us. For instance, if you're a lawyer that's really stressed out about a case, you can't go to Joshua 1:9 and apply that formula. You can't rightly say God is with me, I'm going to obey him, he'll give me success in this trial. No, in this case, success was associated specifically with the assignment God gave Joshua in Israel regarding the promised land.

So then we move to step three, now that we've identified differences. We're across the bridge of timeless truths or timeless principles. What is the timeless truth in this text? What are the things we have in common with the biblical audience? So we know we're also people of God. We may have experienced times when we've been overwhelmed by the call of God on our lives. We're not the leader of Israel, but we may be in leadership positions in the church. We're not invading the promised land, but we are seeking to obey the will of God and to accomplish what he has commanded us. So, after reviewing the differences that we identified in step two and I identify similarities. I look back to the meaning for that original audience that we identified in step one and I try to identify a broader theological truth or teaching reflected in the text but relates to the similarities between us and the biblical audience.

So here are a couple of options for timeless teachings. You might come up with One. To be effective and successful in serving God, we must draw courage from his presence. We must also be obedient to God's word and meditate on it constantly. Another teaching might be there is power in discipleship. We're an older, more mature believer disciples a younger believer. So now we move to step 4. How does our theological teaching fit with the rest of the Bible? Well, the rest of Scripture has many examples of God's people drawing courage from His presence. The New Testament affirms the presence of God through the Holy Spirit and our need to be regularly engaged with His Word. Also, discipleship is a key principle we see demonstrated, taught and commanded throughout the Old and New Testaments. So I think our theological teachings here definitely fit with the big picture of the Bible. It fits with what the rest of Scripture has to say.

Now we move on to step 5. How should individual Christians today live out the time as principles? Well, there are numerous possible applications. Here are some ways we can live out these principles in our lives. One we could spend more time meditating on God's Word by reading the Bible consistently, listening to Bible-based podcasts or journaling or listening to worship music. Two, if God calls you to a new ministry outside of your comfort zone, be strengthened and encouraged by His empowering presence. Be obedient, keeping a focus on the Scriptures. If you're in a church leadership position, realize that successful Christian leadership requires strength and courage that flows from the presence of God. And the fourth application might be to commit to disciple others and be willing to be discipled yourself. So that wraps things up for this particular episode.

I hope just showing you a brief example, using Joshua 1:1-9 and working through those five steps, gives you a bit of an idea about how you can apply this approach to your own study. I encourage you to write down or download a copy of these five steps. Give them a try, get a passage of Scripture and work through these five steps and start to get into the habit of answering these questions every time you approach Scripture. Or try Joshua 1:1-9 and share what you come up with at info at bible-basics. org or, if you're on YouTube, type them in your comments section as we journey forward.

Future episodes will delve into other tried and true Bible study approaches. We'll talk about tools to aid you in your study. We'll give detailed breakdowns of Bible study steps and insightful interviews with esteemed Bible teachers and experts. Thank you so much for joining in. If you found this episode helpful, informative or inspirational in any way, would you please share with someone you know who needs to hear it? You can do that by sharing the podcast's website, bible-basicsorg, or you can click on the share button right where you're listening. Now. For those of you listening on YouTube, go ahead and like, subscribe and leave us a comment. In closing, may the grace and peace of God be with you now and always.