Week 1

God promised a great land to His people, the Israelites. He made this promise to Abraham many years ago. As the years passed, God used men like Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses to guide and direct the Israelites. These were men who knew God closely and whom God used mightily. But God didn’t choose to use these men to lead His people into the land He had promised. Instead, God chose to use a man named Joshua. Leading God’s people into the Promised Land was a big job that seemed impossible. But God told Joshua two things that would ensure victory for Israel. In Joshua 1:7–9, God first tells Joshua to obey the Law. The Law told every Israelite how God wanted things done. To not obey the Law was to not obey God! God knew that Joshua, at times, would be tempted to do things his own way and not God’s way. God promised that as long as he didn’t stray to the left or the right from God’s Way, he would have success! God also promised a second thing to Joshua. Joshua was faced with the daunting task of leading thousands of people into a new land. But God told Joshua not to fear! It wasn’t just Joshua or even just the thousands of Israelites that were going into this new land. God promised that he would go with them. God told Joshua that wherever he went God would be with him and the people of Israel. With God on their side, nothing would be impossible for Joshua and the people of Israel.

God never changes! The same promises he made to Joshua are true for you today as well. God wants you to obey Him. He doesn’t want you to cheat to win a game or pass a test. He doesn’t want you to hide things from your parents or lie to them. He wants you to obey His Word. Success is found only in obeying God. God also wants us to rely on Him everyday. Sometimes life can be scary. There may be things you face that seem impossible. God doesn’t want you to do those things alone. He doesn’t want you to trust in yourself to make it through. He wants you to know that wherever you go He is there with you, and He will always give you the strength to do what you need to do. So this summer, don’t do things your way! Do them God’s Way, and always realize He is with you whatever you do and wherever you go.

Next week . . . God promised Joshua that He would be with him wherever he went. Log back on next week to find out what happens when some of Joshua’s spies are on the run from Israel’s enemies.

Store Up God’s Promises

Memorizing God’s Word is one way we can grow as Christians. The memory verses for this week are Joshua 1:8–9. Check out the Creative Hut for some ways to learn these wonderful truths.

Week 2

This week we continue our journey with Joshua in Joshua 2.

Last week we learned that God promised Joshua two things that would ensure him success as he led the Israelites into the Promised Land. God told Joshua that as long as he kept God’s commands, he would be prosperous in this daunting task. He also promised Joshua that he and the people of Israel would not have to enter the land alone. God was going with them! With these promises from God, Joshua could be confident in the task God had given to him. Joshua called the leaders of all the tribes of Israel and told them to get everyone ready. They were going to cross over the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land in the next three days!

However, before they went into the land, Joshua secretly pulled aside two men from the people of Israel. He wanted them to be spies! He told them to sneak into a town called Jericho. The two spies left the rest of the Israelites and went to Jericho. While they were there, they met Rahab, and she gave them a place to stay while they were spying on the town.

But the spies had been discovered! A message was sent to the king of Jericho that the men who were staying with Rahab had come to spy on the city. That night, the king immediately sent men to Rahab’s house. They came to her door and demanded that she turn over the two spies! But Rahab, knowing that the king of Jericho would search for the spies, took them to the top of her roof and hid them under stalks of flax so that the king’s men would not find them.

After the king’s men left Rahab’s house, she immediately went to the roof and got the two men that Joshua had sent. She told them that she knew that God was with the people of Israel and that Jericho, and all its land, was going to fall to the Israelites. She brought the spies down from the roof to a window in her house. Her house was built into the great walls of the city. She let down a rope out of her window so that the spies could climb out of the city and told them to hide in the hills for three days until the king’s men had stopped searching for them. The spies told her that if she tied a scarlet cord in her window, she and her family would be safe when Israel entered the city and conquered it.

The spies ran from Rahab’s house into the hills and hid until the king’s men gave up looking for them. They hurried from their hiding place and came to Joshua and told him everything that had happened while they were in Jericho. Because God had saved them from the king and his men, they knew that God was going to give His people the land!

God protected the spies that Joshua sent into Jericho. Even when it seemed like they had been caught, God was true to His promise and brought them safely back to Joshua. There may be times in your life when it seems like everything is going wrong and there is no hope. But it’s during these times that you need to trust God the most! He will never break His promises! When you do trust Him, you will become even more sure that He will keep His Word!     

The spies are back and Joshua is ready to enter the Promised Land! Check back next time to see what happens when God’s people cross the Jordan River!

Store Up God’s Promises

Isaiah 42:11 and Psalms 18:30 are great reminders of the hope we have in God when we put our trust in Him. Go to the Creative Hut for this week’s memory cards.

Week 3

This week we continue our journey with Joshua in Joshua 3.

The time had come! Israel was ready to cross over the Jordan River and enter Canaan, the land God promised to their father Abraham and his children. As they came to the banks of the river, one problem quickly emerged. How were the thousands upon thousands of Israelites going to cross the swelling Jordan River?

God’s people came to the banks of the Jordan River, pitched their tents, and waited. The night before they were to cross over the river, the leaders of the people went through the camp and told them that the next day the Ark of the Covenant would pass through the camp. Once the ark passed, they were to get up and follow it. The Ark of the Covenant was very important to Israel. It held many reminders of God’s faithfulness. It was even the place where God’s own presence and glory abided in the tabernacle. It was a constant reminder to the people of Israel of God’s provision, protection, and presence. As the people began to take their first steps into the Promised Land, they were following the testimony that God keeps his promises!

This was especially meaningful to Joshua. When God set him apart to lead Israel into the Promised Land, God promised Joshua that He would be with him just as He was with Moses. The people of Israel rose the next day and awaited the Ark to pass them so that they could follow it. God then spoke to Joshua! God again promised Joshua that He would be with him just as he was with Moses and that after this day everyone would know that God kept that promise. Joshua was to command the Ark of the Covenant to pass through the people. Those who were carrying it were to stop at the very edge of the water. Once they were there, God would make the waters of the Jordan River heap together on both sides. This was exactly what God did to the waters of the Red Sea for Israel when they were fleeing from Pharaoh and his armies with Moses. Joshua called out to the people of Israel and commanded the Ark to pass through them. Twelve men carried the Ark through the people and came to the banks of the Jordan River. These men took one more step from the bank and dipped their feet into the waters at the brink of the river. At that moment, God kept His promise and heaped up the waters on both sides so that all the people of Israel passed into Canaan on dry land.

Sometimes in life, people promise to do things but never do them. Maybe someone promised you something but never kept that promise. When that happens you are disappointed in that person. God will never disappoint you! When He makes a promise, He will always keep it. When He says He will love you forever, He will never stop loving you. When He says that He will always protect you, you will never be unsafe. When He says that He’ll save you if you trust in Jesus, you can know that nothing will ever take that away! The same God who kept His promises to Moses and then to Joshua is the same God who will keep His promises to you!

Israel has miraculously entered into the Promised Land, but a great city and a powerful army stand ready to destroy Israel and cast them out of the Canaan. Log on next time to learn how God gives His people victory over a strong enemy. 

Store Up God’s Promises

Matthew 16:24 and Ezekiel 24:14 are great reminders of following the Lord and His faithfulness to us. Go to the Creative Hut for this week’s memory cards.

Week 4

This week we finish our journey with Joshua.

The people of Israel have crossed over the raging Jordan River by the miraculous power of God. But a great city, a mighty army, and a powerful king stood in Jericho, determined to drive the Israelites out of the Promised Land. The mighty army contained within the great walls of Jericho was certainly intimidating to the people of Israel, but Israel’s enemies were already beginning to fear Israel. God’s fame was already beginning to spread. Not just the city of Jericho but all of Israel’s enemies had heard how the Jordan River had bunched up and the Israelites walked across on dry land. The news of God’s miracle had melted the hearts of Israel’s enemies.

Because of what God had done for Israel at the Jordan River, the king of Jericho had commanded his powerful army and all of his people to hold up inside the great walls of Jericho. The people of Jericho thought that God could not reach beyond the massive walls of their city.

But God already had planned victory for His people. God told Joshua exactly what He wanted Israel’s army to do. He didn’t tell them a clever military tactic. He didn’t command them to charge against the great walls of Jericho with all their military might. Instead, God called on Joshua and the people of Israel to trust Him to win the battle. God told Joshua to have the army of Israel walk around the city of Jericho once every day for 6 days. On the seventh day, the army would march around the city 7 times with the Ark of the Covenant, and 7 priests would blow trumpets made of rams’ horns. When the last trumpet blast sounded and every man in the army shouted a loud shout, God promised that the great walls of Jericho would fall flat and the city would belong to Israel.

As strange as the military strategy may have seemed to Joshua and Israel’s army, they trusted God’s Word and did exactly what He said. When they came to the seventh day and the priests blew their trumpets for the seventh time as they walked around the city for the seventh round, the army shouted with a loud shout and the great walls of Jericho fell flat. The army of Israel rushed in and conquered the city. And, remember Rahab, the woman who had helped Israel’s spies? Joshua told two men to bring her and all her household out of the city so that they would be safe.

So Israel began their conquering of the Promised Land. Through the power of God, Israel drove out their enemies from the Promised Land. They didn’t always do things perfectly, but God never let Israel down! He even stopped the sun from setting so that Israel could win a battle. He was always true to His word and always kept His promises. You can read of the amazing things God did for and through Israel in the Old Testament book of Joshua. As you come to the end of the book of Joshua, you see that God always kept His Word! In Joshua 21:43–35, three things are said about what happened when Joshua led Israel. In verse 43, Israel took possession of all the land that God had promised to Israel’s fathers. In verse 44, Israel had driven out all of their enemies and finally had rest. Finally, in verse 45, after looking back at all that had happened when Joshua commanded Israel’s army and led God’s people, the striking truth that emerges from Israel’s conquering of the Promised Land is that God kept every word of His promises. He never failed them!

God never failed Israel! And He will never fail you! What we have learned about this summer at Campfire Valley is that God can be trusted. The most important question you will ever answer is do you trust Him? The only way Israel ever had success is when they trusted God completely. Do you trust God completely? Placing all your trust in Christ is the only way you can ever have true life. God tells us that if we repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ, He will forgive us and grant us eternal life. God tells us this in His Word in many places, like John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 3:26, Romans 10:9, and I John 1:9. Take the time to read these verses and hear God’s promises from His Word yourself. Since we know that God will always keep His promises and will never let us down, you can trust the promises He has made to you in His word.  If you have never repented of your sins and completely trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, go get someone whom you know has already trusted Jesus, perhaps your mom, dad, or a pastor, and tell that person that you want to trust Jesus as your Savior. That person would be happy to talk with you more and show you more of the promises of God’s Word that you can trust!

Store Up God’s Promises

Joshua 21:45 and I John 1:9 are great reminders that God never fails us and how He has shown this to us personally. Go to the Creative Hut for this week’s memory cards.