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Joshua episode 5: Me and my house

Joshua in old age talks about serving God.
Contributed by David & Goliath (DG)
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The people of Israel had some memorable adventures with the Lord. – Slide 1
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Remember how they crossed the Red Sea like it was dry land … – Slide 2
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… how they marched around the walls of Jericho and shouted so the walls would fall … – Slide 3
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… and then to have the sun and moon stand still in time until the fight was over. <br/>The people of Israel, led by Joshua, had many adventures while conquering the land of Canaan. – Slide 4
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When Joshua was old, God said to him, ‘Joshua, time has passed and there are still large areas of land to take over.’ – Slide 5
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‘Now divide the land among the tribes of Israel so that each tribe will know which part of the land they will inherit.’ – Slide 6
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Are you wondering what these tribes are? Well, the people of Israel were divided into 12 tribes. These twelve groups of people had existed for a long time and were descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons. God had called Jacob ‘Israel’ and his 12 sons were called the sons of Israel. Their names were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. So these became the names of the 12 tribes. – Slide 7
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While Joshua was busy dividing the land, his old friend Caleb remind him of a promise that the Lord had made him many years ago. Do you remember Caleb? Caleb and Joshua were now the oldest men in Israel. – Slide 8
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They were two of the 12 spies sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan before going into battle. Caleb said, ‘I was 45 years old when we went to spy out the land of Canaan. Only you and I gave a good report and trusted that God could give us the land He had promised. – Slide 9
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‘God promised to give me and my family the area around Mount Hebron. I'm now 85, but I still feel strong and healthy and I want to fight the giants that live in the cities near mount Hebron, so I can have the land God promised to me.’ Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. – Slide 10
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After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua summoned all the Israelites together. He was now 120 years of age. <br/>‘I am old and I do not know how many more days the Lord will give me,’ said Joshua, ‘but you have seen what our God has done so far.’ – Slide 11
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‘He was the one who fought for us against all our enemies. The country is now divided into land for each tribe. The Lord will help you to defeat the nations left in the country. He will fight for you as He did before and give you the rest of the land.’ – Slide 12
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‘Be very strong; and be careful to obey God’s commandments. Do not disobey any of them and do not be influenced by the people who don't follow Him. Make sure you listen only to God. He is the one who will fight for you now and forever.’ – Slide 13
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’You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But if we do not remain faithful to the Lord His wrath will come up on us and we will lose the land He has given us.’ – Slide 14
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Joshua addressed the tribes of Israel standing before him. ‘Now choose who you want to serve. You cannot serve both our God and the gods of the heathens.’ – Slide 15
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‘As for me and my family,’ Joshua continued, ‘we will serve the Lord.’ – Slide 16
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The people of Israel answered, ‘We don't even want to think about leaving the Lord and serving pagan gods. It was God who brought us out of slavery and out of the land of Egypt. Our eyes have seen the miracles that only He could have done. It was the Lord who protected us all when we were in the desert and helped us to defeat our enemies. – Slide 17
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‘We have decided we will serve only the Lord our God,’ the people of Israel promised in one voice. <br/>It was a special day, a time when they looked back at all God had done for them. They chose to recommit their lives to God in front of Joshua. And we can choose to follow God and obey His commands too. – Slide 18
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