The book of Joshua is a very positive book in the Bible. It’s a book about the faithfulness of God, written to strengthen our faith in his promises, particularly the promise that Jesus Christ is preparing a new home for us where we can enjoy rest in his presence. It is also a book about our responsibility towards God. The Lord has made promises to us, he has shown himself to be worthy of our trust, and in this book we will see how the Lord calls us to now be faithful to him.
In light of the purpose of Joshua, the goal of your sermon must be to show how God has been faithful to us, and what response the Lord is calling us to. Joshua 9 does not specifically mention God’s faithfulness. Instead, this chapter contains examples of what it means to live in the light of God’s faithfulness. We are given one negative example (deception) and a positive example (commitment to promises). Given the emphasis of this chapter on examples of Israel, the focus of your sermon should also be on practical application. What does it mean to live in the light of God’s faithfulness?
1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this,