The Book of Joshua and the history of the nation of Israel
in the Old Testament were written to teach us some spiritual lessons about our spiritual
journey. Today as we continue our introduction to the Book of Joshua, we want
to look at the four geographic locations seen in the history of Israel and learn
how they illustrate four aspects of our own spiritual experiences.
Israel in Egypt was the place of death and bondage from
which they needed to be delivered. They were delivered from death by the blood
of the lamb and from bondage by the power of God who opened the Red Sea and
took them across safely. This illustrates the salvation we have through faith
in Jesus Christ, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!" (John 1:29) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ
delivers the believing sinner from bondage and judgment.
The wilderness experience of Israel depicts believers who
live in unbelief and disobedience and don't enter into the rest and riches of
their inheritance in Christ, either because they don't know it's there or they
know and refuse to enter. Like Israel, they come to a crisis place (Kadesh
Barnea), but refuse to obey the Lord and claim His will for their lives (Num.
13-14). They are delivered from Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts; and
like the Jews, they have a desire to go back to the old life (Ex. 16:1-3; Num.
11; 14:2-4; see Isa. 30:3; 31:1). Instead of marching through life as
conquerors, they meander through life as wanderers and never enjoy the fullness
of what God has planned for them. It's this crowd that is especially addressed
in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Canaan represents the Christian life as it ought to be:
conflict and victory, faith and obedience, spiritual riches and rest. It's a
life of faith, trusting Jesus Christ, our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation
(Heb. 2:10), to lead us from victory to victory (1 John 5:4-5). When Israel was
in Egypt, the enemy was around them, making their lives miserable. When they
crossed the Red Sea, Israel put the enemy behind them; but when the nation
crossed the Jordan River, they saw new enemies before them, and they conquered
these enemies by faith.
The victorious Christian life isn't a once-for-all triumph
that ends all our problems. As pictured by Israel in the Book of Joshua, the
victorious Christian life is a series of conflicts and victories as we defeat
one enemy after another and claim more of our inheritance to the glory of God.
According to Joshua 11:23, the whole land was taken; but
according to Joshua 13:1, there remained "very much land to be
possessed." Is this a contradiction? No, it's the declaration of a
basic spiritual truth: In Christ, we have all that we need for victorious
Christian living, but we must possess our inheritance by faith, a step at a
time (Joshua 1:3), a day at a time. Joshua's question to his people is a good
question to ask the church today: "How long will you wait before you
begin to take possession of the land that the Lord...has given you?" (Joshua
18:3)
The fourth geographic location on Israel's "spiritual
map" is Babylon, where the nation endured seventy years of captivity
because they disobeyed God and worshiped the idols of the pagan nations around
them. (See 2 Chron. 36; Jer. 39:8-10). When God's children are willfully
rebellious, their loving Father must chasten them until they learn to be
submissive and obedient (Heb. 12:1-11). When they confess their sins and
forsake them, God will forgive and restore His children to fellowship and fruitfulness
(1 John 1:9; 2 Cor. 7:1).
It only took God one night to get Israel out of Egypt, but
it took Him 40 years to get Egypt out of them. Where are you on your spiritual
journey: In Egypt? In the wilderness? In the Promise Land? Or in captivity in Babylon?
Today it is my prayer for you, “that through the
patience and comfort of the Scriptures you might have hope.”
God bless!
