Yesterday we finished our study and chats through the Book
of Psalms which almost took two years, and today we will begin a new study
looking at the Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua is a book of new beginnings.
The people of Israel have been following Moses in the wilderness for the past
forty years. Now finally they are going to get the opportunity to go into the
Promise Land, the land of Canaan. And God has chosen a new leader by the name
of Joshua.
Also, it is a new generation of Israelites that will also
enter the Promise Land. If you remember when the twelve spies came back with their
reports some forty years earlier, ten of them gave an “evil report” that lacked
faith. They only saw the giants and the obstacles that they would face if they
went in. But Joshua and Caleb gave a good report and by faith claimed that the
LORD would go before them and take care of the giants and any other obstacles,
and they could inherit the land the LORD had promised them.
Sadly, the people believed the ten spies and refused to follow
Moses, Joshua, and Caleb and go in. Because of their lack of faith and unbelief
the LORD told them that everyone that was twenty years old and older would never
enter the land, only Joshua and Caleb. So, for the next forty years, everyone
that was twenty years old or older literally died and was buried in the
wilderness. Moses also has just died, and the new generation is preparing to go
in with their new leader, Joshua.
But there were bigger issues involved in that conquest than
the invasion and possession of a land, issues that touch our lives and our
faith today. That's why we're embarking on this study. The Book of Joshua is
the book of new beginnings for the people of God, and many believers today need
a new beginning. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel finally
claimed their inheritance and enjoyed the blessings of the land that God had
prepared for them, "as the days of heaven upon the earth"
(Deut. 11:21). That's the kind of life God wants us to experience today.
God spent many years preparing Joshua for his calling. He
was born into slavery in Egypt and was given the name Hoshea (Num. 13:8), which
means "salvation." Moses later changed it to Joshua (v. 16),
"Jehovah is salvation," which is the Hebrew form of "Jesus"
(Matt. 1:21; see Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8). When his parents gave the baby the
name "salvation," they were bearing witness to their faith in God's
promise of redemption for His people (Gen. 15:12-16; 50:24-26). Jesus Christ,
our Joshua, wants to lead us in conquest now and share with us all the
treasures of His wonderful inheritance. He has "blessed us with all
spiritual blessings" (Eph. 1:3), but too often we live like defeated
paupers.
Remember today is the first day of the rest of your life
and you can by faith enjoy a new beginning today!
God bless!
