“LAND! Land flowing with milk and honey. Promised land.  Holy land. Canaan land. The land.  Joshua, Moses’ successor as leader of Israel, was poised at the River Jordan to enter and take possession of Canaan, an unremarkable stretch of territory sandwiched between massive and already ancient civilizations.

It would have been unimaginable to anyone at the time that anything of significance could take place on that land. This narrow patch had never been significant economically or culturally, but only as a land bridge between the two great cultures and economies of Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

But it was about to become important in the religious consciousness of humankind.  In significance ways, this land would come to dwarf everything that had gone on before and around it.”—Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Joshua, The Message Bible

God’s first command to his new leader of His Chosen People: “Get Going!”

After generations of our families living in Oklahoma, Randy and I heard God say to move to another part of the country, far away, to another culture of people, and serve Him there.  God made all the necessary arrangements to make this monumental move from where we were to where He wanted us to be.  After letting go of current careers, selling our home, downsizing our stuff through garage sales, leaving family behind with tearful goodbyes; we climbed into a big rented truck pulling a trailer with another secured vehicle.  Then God said, “Get Going!”  We didn’t know exactly what was on the other side of 1000 miles later; but we were obedient to God’s call with wonder, excitement and gratitude for His help in getting us there.

Think of times when God spoke to you concerning HIS will, purpose, and plan for your life. Thank Him for His leading because God always guides us to His best for our good that in ways that declare the glorious works of God.  There is no one like our God declares all who know and love God back.  Will there be trying times that test our faith? Absolutely. It is in those times that God’s power works to solidify our faith and intimacy with Him. Be grateful for those times for they are precious and holy to our relationship with God.

As we go with Joshua on his leadership journey into the Promised Land with thousands of God’s People; know that Joshua listens to God with an obedient heart.  So, let’s get going! Where God guides; He provides. 

Joshua 1, The Message

^1-9 After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant:

“Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”

The Taking of the Land

^10-11 Then Joshua gave orders to the people’s leaders: “Go through the camp and give this order to the people: ‘Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to enter and take the land God, your God, is giving you to possess.’”

^12-15 Then Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He said, “Remember what Moses the servant of God commanded you: God, your God, gives you rest and he gives you this land. Your wives, your children, and your livestock can stay here east of the Jordan, the country Moses gave you; but you, tough soldiers all, must cross the River in battle formation, leading your brothers, helping them until God, your God, gives your brothers a place of rest just as he has done for you. They also will take possession of the land that God, your God, is giving them. Then you will be free to return to your possession, given to you by Moses the servant of God, across the Jordan to the east.”

^16-18 They answered Joshua: “Everything you commanded us, we’ll do. Wherever you send us, we’ll go. We obeyed Moses to the letter; we’ll also obey you—we just pray that God, your God, will be with you as he was with Moses. Anyone who questions what you say and refuses to obey whatever you command him will be put to death. Strength! Courage!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Where have God’s People been?  Let’s recap.

The People of Israel had been landless for nearly five hundred years.  Their forefathers—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons—had been nomads, living in tent dwellings, in the land of Canaan.  This was after they spent a long period of time, over 400 years, in slavery to the Egyptians!  God heard their cries and met their need by leading them out of Egypt.  Moses, along with his brother and sister, were used by God to deliver His People through miraculous events that declared the authority and power of God.  Then there was another 40 years of testing and training that served to remove Egypt (custom, culture, and worship of many manmade gods) from the hearts, minds, and souls of His people under God’s guidance and blessing. 

God’s work in His People was to transform them from landless slaves to landholding free men and women!  Joshua leads the transition as a called servant of God.  God’s Plan includes a renewal of His covenant with them and comes in two parts:

1. Take and possess the land.
2. Distribute the land to the twelve tribes.

Sounds simple enough, but hold on and fasten your seat belts!

Where are they going and what they will do when they get there? 

God’s Plan sounded simple but it will involve many battles with evil that will shock us until we understand fully the culture of evil that is detestable to God and all created in His image.  Evil must be eradicated and removed. 

If we could step back in time and were to walk into this culture; we would see the massive abuse of children and youth. Our minds will be less blown by the battles that God leads His People to fight.  The Canaanite culture included a snake pit of child sacrifice and sacred prostitution, with practices ruthlessly devoted to using the most innocent and vulnerable members of the community to manipulate God or gods for pure gain.

“As the Book of Joshua takes the story of salvation forward from the leadership and teaching of Moses, it continues to keep us grounded in places and connected to persons: place names, personal names—hundreds of them.  What we often consider to be the subjects of religion—ideas, truths, prayers, promises, beliefs—are never permitted to have a life of their own apart from particular persons and actual places.  Biblical religion has a low tolerance for ‘great ideas’ or ‘sublime truths’ or ‘inspirational thoughts’ apart from the people and places in which they occur.  God’s great love and purposes for us are worked out in the messes, storms and sins, blue skies, daily work, and dreams of our common lives, working with us as we are and not as we should be.

People who want God as an escape from reality, from the often hard conditions of this life, don’t find this much to their liking. But to the man or woman wanting more reality, not less—this continuation of the salvation story—Joshua’s fierce and devout determination to win land for his people and his extraordinary attention to getting all the tribes and their families name by name assigned to their own place, is good news indeed.” –Peterson, The Message Bible

With God’s help and leading, Joshua lays a firm foundation for a life of faith, trust and obedience that is grounded and solid. To God be the glory!  God is in the going and coming. God is in all and is with all who believe. 

Jesus did and does the same for all who believe and call on His Name today!  Believe and be saved and made whole.

Lord,

Thank you for teaching us through your Word with the help of Your Holy Spirit guiding us to all that is truth.  Thank you for saving my soul, delivering me from the bondage of evil, and setting me free to love like you love. Thank you for making me whole. Thank you for turning our messes into messages of your salvation so others can know you, too.

In Jesus Name, Yes, and amen!