Day #55
Scripture Reading: Joshua 11 - 15 ...
These chapters in Joshua
may at first seem somewhat tedious to read.
Why should you and I care about how the land was divided? Yet, it is interesting today that the
“ownership” of the very land these chapters are talking about is in dispute to
this very day, right up to the present time!
God had said to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob that this land
belonged to them and to their descendants ... FOREVER!! And now Joshua leads them into this land
hundreds of years later, just as God had promised. History reveals the turmoil this land has
seen over the past three thousand years, yet in the years leading up to 1948
God prepared the way once again for the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob to possess the land promised to their forefathers.
What you are reading in
Joshua’s account of these things is not only about the land, but even more
importantly about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the only true God,
keeping His promises! This is about OUR
God, who speaks in His Word about another “promised land,” and who promises to
be faithful to those who are united to His Son Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of
Abraham, by faith. You should be
interested in what God did for Israel, because if God is not trustworthy and
does not keep His promises to them, how can we be sure He will keep the
promises He has made to us?!
At the end of yesterday’s
reading, we read in Chapter 10, verses 40-42, “Joshua subdued the whole region. ... He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just
as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. ... All these kings and their lands Joshua
conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for
Israel.” What a testimony to the power
of God, but also to the love of God for His people. There would be more battles to fight, but
they knew now that God was with them!
As we read further into Joshua's historical
recounting of the taking of the promised land he makes it clear that everything
was done "as the LORD had commanded." The LORD said to
Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will
hand all of them over to Israel, slain" (Joshua 11:6). Once
again, it is vital to understand the spiritual state of those living in the
land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ALL mankind exists in
utter rebellion against God. Some rebellion is more obvious, but God
says, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure.
Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Judgment comes because judgment is deserved.
Having already destroyed all of mankind in the
flood, except for Noah and his family, the entire human race owes its every
breath to God, their Creator. If God were to withdraw His presence today
for even a moment all people would simply cease to exist. God owes no one
life. It is only His grace that enables anyone to continue living, and if
it is His will that life ends, who can judge our Creator (Romans 9:19-21)?
This sounds harsh, yet it is the clear teaching of God's Word. In
His compassion and mercy God today offers forgiveness and life through Jesus
Christ, yet those who reject the Gospel or who do not hear the Gospel will face
God's just judgment. The testimony of
creation and mankind’s rejection of the Creator is sufficient to “earn” God’s
judgment for eternity (Romans 1:18-20).
The "other side of the coin" is the
inheritance that those who are chosen by God receive. Joshua describes
the division of the land in these and the following chapters. The land is
given to the descendants of the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to
Israel. These were (and are) God's chosen people. We know that it
is up to the person who owns the inheritance to give it to whomever they
choose, and that is what God does. Everything is His and He can give it
to whomever He pleases. Therefore, when God promised to give this land to the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He made a covenant, a testament, a
WILL ... and God keeps His promise.
Many people today have a difficult time accepting
that God chooses some and not others because they begin with the assumption
that most people are basically good and since “God is love,” it only makes
sense that God would love everybody, send Jesus to save everybody, and welcome
everybody into His kingdom. That wasn’t
true in the days of Joshua and Israel, and it isn’t true today. Unless God chose some to inherit the promised
land, none would enter. Unless God
Himself works in the hearts of sinful people to make them new creations,
drawing us to Himself, not one would come.
Grace is grace precisely because it is undeserved and unattainable by
our own efforts.
Understanding this should help believers to look at
this world through God's eyes. The nations of the world and all those who
are separated from God by sin have no hope of an inheritance. Only those
who are "in Christ Jesus" will live with God forever in
the new heavens and the new earth. As
the writer of Hebrews speaks of those who lived by faith and inherited God’s promises
in Hebrews 11, he mentions Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, and Enoch, Noah and
Abraham, and then he explains, “All these
people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised,
they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. ... They were longing for
a better country – a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has
prepared a city for them!” (Hebrews 11:13-16).
God speaks of this city in Revelation 21 and says
that He will make His dwelling with His people in this beautiful city, this
perfect world, this new “promised land,” forever!! Will YOU be one of them? God calls out
through His Word today and sends His Spirit with His Word to open blind eyes,
to unstop deaf ears, to renew dead minds and to change hard hearts. Have
you heard His call?
Do not be one of those who judge God. Thank
God for His grace and obey His command to go into all the world proclaiming the
Gospel so that you may be an instrument in His hands, an ambassador of His kingdom,
to save some from the judgment they (and we) deserve!
"Father, Your justice is right and Your way is
true. Thank You for sending Your Son to pay the penalty for MY sin, and
for all who believe in You through the work of Your Spirit within us. How
amazing is Your grace, O God!! As I anticipate the inheritance that
awaits, help me to be faithful to You as I live in this world. In Jesus'
name, Amen"
Amen.
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