another report on Sword Scripture Conference

Do you still stand behind this statement, Pastor Bob?

 

Absolutely.

 

Are you convinced that Joshua was completely unaware that what he recorded were inspired words from the Lord? Are you persuaded that Joshua believed that what he wrote was his own ordinary prose, 'unispired' and without authority directly from the mouth of God?
Joshua 1:1-8 (KJV) --

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, [even] to the children of Israel.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, [so] I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it [to] the right hand or [to] the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ​

I cannot read this passage and conclude that the writer was unconscientious or oblivious to the process. I think Joshua fully recognized the supernatural service in which he was engaged, including this book.

 

So, you believe that Joshua knew that his recording of God's commands to Him would be inspired, preserved Scripture that would endure from that generation forever and be used by God's people from that point until the end of the world as we know it?

 

Why are these extra qualifiers tacked on now? The original question was about the authors knowing (or not) if their writings were inspired; it never was about preservation. I do believe that Joshua knew that his recording of God's commands to Him were not his words alone, but were at that very moment a special revelation (inspired, if you will).

Did you think that God's commands to Joshua were not inspired when given? When did you think they "would be" inspired? How long does scripture have to be preserved before it becomes inspired? You see, inspired and preserved are two separate issues.

The Psalms and other passages that speak of preservation had not yet been written. We don't know what Joshua's expectation would have been about the longevity of his writings. However, Joshua did have the writings of Moses and Joshua's early verses allude directly to Moses words (Deuteronomy 9:5, KJV) --

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.​

Joshua had the promise that God would be with him as God had been with Moses; I think Joshua thought his words from the Lord would endure, just as the words Moses had received were remembered (Joshua 1:13, KJV) --

Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.​

I think that Joshua would have thought that Deuteronomy 4:2 applied to his book --

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.​

And you know that not every one of God's 'words' were recorded by humans; nor was it all intended to be preserved for us today.

 

Although I will not try to answer this for Pastor_Bob, I will offer the following: Because it is the emphatic truth.

Would you be willing to read this over again and consider what you have said?

Just before he penned them down as he had just pondered the intent of the One who Inspired him.

And Joshua certainly preserved the inspired words to the point of relating the mind of God to the people under his authority as any great man of God still does.​

Would endurance and preservation mean the same as if they could be separated completely from each other in definition?

Ah! The preservation of God's very words given in this example by Franklin Monroe in his effort to prove otherwise!:applause: