Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.16UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.12UNLIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.18UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.72LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.01UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.75LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.94LIKELY
Extraversion
0.13UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.66LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.83LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Intro
Throughout scripture we see choices being made, right or wrong.
These choices, especially when made by leaders, determine the path for the people that follow them.
Joshua, has been reminded by God, of how God cares for His people.
Joshua has the choice to obey God’s call to lead the the people
Joshua’s choice to obey.
v.10-11
God has just spoken to Joshua in the previous verses.
Now Joshua has a choice to make.
From our context of scripture, we know that it is not likely that Joshua would choose to run from God’s call, but he did have a choice to make.
I am sure he felt the burden of leadership, of the whole nation being laid upon him.
He had a choice to make.
Joshua chose to trust in the Lord.
Joshua’s first command as leader.
His first command we see comes in verse 11.
Josh 1:11
The command as we see was given to the officers of the people.
The people of Israel, though they were wandering in the desert for 40 years, were not disorganized.
Moses in Deuteronomy recorded the chain of command that there was a chain of command set up to lead the people and get information out to the nation.
The nation of Israel was organized so that Moses could quickly communicate with the people through is officers.
These were not necessarily officers in the sense of military commanders.
The idea of the word is more officials, or elders.
These men who met, now with Joshua, were the respected leaders of the clans amongst the people.
The nation of Israel was so organized that Moses could quickly communicate with the people through his officers who formed a chain of command (Deut.
1:15).
Moses didn’t assemble the leaders to ask for their advice but to give them God’s orders.
There are times when leaders must consult with their officers, but this was not one of them.
God had spoken, His will was clear, and the nation had to be ready to obey.
Prepare provisions to passover this Jordan.
The command given was to prepare provisions to pass over the Jordan, in three days time, to take possession of the land that God is giving.
It is interesting what exactly Joshua tells the people to do.
What is it the people are preparing to do?
They are going to cross the Jordan, to take possession of the land.
There are people already living and established in the land.
But Joshua doesn’t say, build boats to cross the river.
Joshua doesn’t say, prepare for battle.
Joshua says, command the people to prepare your provisions.
The word provisions, is literally a supply of food for a journey.
Joshua was obedient to what the Lord had commanded.
The first step was to prepare for the journey ahead.
God said that He would give the people the land.
In his command to the people as well, Joshua passed on words of encouragement.
You will pass over this mighty river, you will take possession of the land, because God is giving it to you.
This was essentially the same thing that Joshua had said 40 years earlier, only the people didn’t listen to him, Caleb, or Moses.
They didn’t believe that God would continue to do the mighty works on their behalf.
Even though they had already seen many.
Often it seems that the older we get, the more danger there is that we become set in our ways and become sanctified obstructionists.
I don’t see any of that here, but that is much of what happened in Joshua’s day.
Now though, Joshua and Caleb were the two oldest men in the nation, and they were the most enthusiastic about trusting God and entering the land.
It was not a matter of age though, Joshua didn’t gain his enthusiasm for entering the land watching his kinsman die.
It was a matter of faith.
Faith he had already displayed.
Faith that comes from spending time with the Lord, meditating on His word.
God was calling the nation of Israel to have faith in Him.
That He would fulfill his promise.
The people now had a choice once again.
Do we listen to Joshua and trust in the Lord.
What
Do we believe that God will do what He said?
This generation of people, at most were 20 years old the last time the nation was in this position.
Bringing it in closer to home, what choice do we have to make?
In the book of Matthew, 16 we see Jesus asking his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Matt 16:14
Jesus response to this statement of faith on Peter’s part.
Matt 16:17-
Jesus promises that He will build his church.
There is a choice to be made though, a choice of faith.
Jesus promises the kingdo
Like Peter, the choice we must make is whether or not we believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The choice to follow Jesus is not easy, it’s not free, there is a cost.
Which choices do we make on a daily basis?
In the moment when our temper may flair up.
In the moment when we have the opportunity to gratify ourselves in some way.
In the moment when we have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with another person.
Do we make the choice that flows out of our own selfish pride, our own selfish ambitions?
Or do we make the choice that flows out from the promises of God.
Reminder of promises made.
v.12-15
Joshua has another choice to make, there is an elephant in the room of sorts.
The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh already had their land.
Would they choose to honor the promise they had made to Moses and to their kin now that Moses was dead?
Background &
Num 32:4-6
Even though they wandered, the Lord was still prospering His people.
They continued to grow.
Moses concern was that these tribes, having taken land, would discourage the others from crossing into the land promised to them by God.
But they came to Moses and told him that they would build a place for their children and livestock but then would not return home until the people of Israel gained their inheritance.
Trent C. Butler, Joshua 1–12, ed.
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Second Edition., vol.
7a, Word Biblical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 195.
Deut 3 seeks to remind the Transjordan tribes of their responsibility while encouraging Joshua in his.
Num 32 seeks to justify the separation of Israel into Cisjordan and Transjordan territories and to underline the common loyalty of both groups to Yahweh and to one another.
Josh 1:12–18 uses the same tradition to demonstrate the total obedience of all Israel to Joshua.
Land they were given.
They made a choice to stay settle in that land, and promised to care for their brothers as well.
Promise they made.
Care for their brothers.
The question that arises now though is will they honor this promise now that they are settled in.
Will they choose to be obedient to keep the promise that they made.
Responding in obedience.
v.16-18
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9