I am reading through the Book of Joshua once again and I think it is one of those books that deserves several blogs. Joshua is one of those rare characters in scripture about whom no faults or failures are recorded.  He was the aide-de-camp of Moses from the day they left Egypt to the death of Israel’s great leader and prophet forty years later.   In that position, he had assisted Moses in all of his duties.  In all probability, he became a confidant of Moses and had heard his heart, his hopes, and his frustrations on many occasions. He also heard about Jehovah and personally experienced him many times at the tent of meeting where Joshua personally spent a great amount of time.  He and his brother Caleb were the only two spies out of twelve who had initially been sent to survey Canaan. Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report and a recommendation to take the Promised Land immediately. The other ten spies confirmed God’s description of the land as rich and fertile but had no faith that they could defeat the tribes they saw living there.   Because of their faithless report, Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  The Book of Joshua describes the days when God’s people finally entered Canaan to claim the land their parents had never entered because of unbelief.

The Book of Joshua is a blueprint for claiming the promises of God. The land of Canaan contained the future and the promises that God had made this little nation going back to the patriarch Abraham. The promises, like most in scripture, were conditional. Three things would be required to obtain the promises – faith, obedience, and warfare. The land had everything they needed to prosper as a nation, but it was also filled with pagan tribes who had no intention of giving up their claims to the land.  Some of these tribes were formidable with the likes of Goliath roaming the countryside.

I do find it remarkable that a generation of faith grew up out of a generation of fear.  The parents of the men and women who were now prepared to cross the Jordan River had fallen into fear, grumbling, and idolatry at every turn. Yet, out of that unpromising seedbed, God had raised up a generation of belief.  The faithful voice of Joshua had to be part of that.

The first chapter of Joshua reveals keys for claiming our promises in Christ.  I know that many of us have been taught that all things come to us by grace and as a gift of God so that our efforts have nothing to do with what we receive. That is absolutely true regarding our salvation.  Eternal life has come to us through the blood of Christ and his sacrifice and rests on no works or righteousness of our own.  However, our reward in heaven, beyond salvation, depends to a great extent on our efforts.  We are to lay up treasure in heaven.  It is not laid up for us as if we are trust fund babies.  We must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness before “all these things” will be given to us. We must run the race to win and we must put on the armor of God if we are to have victories, and so forth.

Israel had been given the land and the assurance of victory in their battles, but they had to cross the Jordan at flood stage and still fight to obtain the promises. In doing so they would grow in character and faith and would build a relationship with God through the process. I believe we must do the same to experience many of the benefits and promises that are ours today in Christ.

At the outset, God told Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses” (Josh. 1:2-3). The phrase, “set your foot,” means to “march.”  It is not a promise that God would give them every place they visited or went sightseeing. It is a promise that God would give them victory everywhere they engaged the enemy. It has the flavor of intentional warfare engaged in to take territory.  Jesus echoed this thought when he said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Mt.11:12). To gain the promises of God, we will have to be intentional and forceful in the face of the enemy.

In chapter one alone, God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times.  He does so on the basis that God would go with them.  He tells Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh.1:5). If God is with us and we are operating in his will, who can stand against us?  Because Israel had waivered in the past, God emphasizes that they must be strong and courageous…not because they are amazing warriors, but because they believe by faith that God will fight with them and for them.  To the degree we believe that God is with is and for us, we can face the enemy and every crisis with courage.

God goes on to instruct Joshua in the need for obedience.  He says, “ Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Josh 1:7). This is about alignment.  God is with us, when we are with him.  If we stay aligned with the Father, then he is free to bless us and give us success.  If we are misaligned with the Father in parts of our life, to bless us would reward and reinforce the sin in our lives, which would then increase and lead to disaster. God is a good father who will always point us toward life and blessing, not a permissive father who lets us go our own way.

At the end of chapter one, Israel prepares to cross the Jordon and engage the enemy. Joshua prepares his leaders by remind them of God’s promises and their part in obtaining the promises.  The last words of his leaders were, “Only be strong and courageous.”  So, four times in once chapter we are admonished to be strong and courageous when we face the enemy because God is with us and will be faithful to give us victory if we are marching with him.  Too many of us today still doubt the love and provision of God when life or the enemy rises up against us.  Too many of us have pockets of our lives misaligned with God’s will and then count him faithless when life doesn’t go our way.  Obtaining the promises we have for peace, provision, success, healing and so forth require something from us today just as it was required of Israel in the days of Joshua  – faith, obedience and warfare.  More in my next blog.