JOSHUA: GOD IS SALVATION (PART 1)

Aside from being an historical account of the Israelites' conquest of Canaan, the book of Joshua is also a beautiful allegory of the victory that is possible to Christians who learn to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in His promises.  Many believe this account to be merely a type and shadow of heaven itself and the final kingdom that will be ours when we leave this life.  This is an incomplete interpretation, however.  For one thing, we will certainly not have to battle giants, walled cities, and hostile armies in the Kingdom of Heaven.  In this life, however, there are a host of things that we must overcome in God’s strength: things like pride, lust, greed, anger, and so much more that defines our fleshly, carnal nature.  So, just as Joshua led his people to victory over a host of nations who inhabited the Promised Land, Jesus now leads His people to victory over sin, the flesh, and the devil.  As we read through this wonderful book, God reveals many principles to help us understand the spiritual warfare that we all face day-by-day.  He gives us keys to unlock spiritual mysteries which allow us to grow as Christians into the fullness of the stature of Christ Jesus and claim the promises that have been given to us in Christ.  

 

Joshua was the man whom God had chosen to succeed Moses and lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  In the Hebrew language, which the Old Testament was first written in, Joshua's name is "Yehowshuwa" (pronounced Yeh-ho-shoo'-ah), but in the original Greek language of the New Testament his name is written "Iesous" (pronounced ee-ay-sooce').  The scholars who translated the Bible from its original languages into English translated the OT occurrences of this name to "Joshua," but the NT occurrences they translated as "Jesus."  They are the same name, however, just like "Ettiene" in French is "Steven" in English, or "Juan" in Spanish is "John" in English.  The meaning of the name is significant, though.  It means "Jehovah (or God) is salvation."  God told Joseph "...and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins."  (Matthew 1:21)  Like Jesus, Joshua was also a savior to his people.  He saved them from the enemies who would prevent them from inheriting all the land of promise and missing the true end that God had for them.

 

God had originally promised the land of Canaan to the Hebrew patriarch Abraham, and had confirmed that promise to Moses.  God defined the borders of the land that they were to inherit in great detail (Genesis 15:18-21; Deuteronomy 11:22-25).  To the Jews, this Promised Land represented the hope of their salvation.  They would no longer be nomads on the earth, or worse, slaves to other nations.  They would finally have a country of their own, and be rooted permanently in their own place.  It was intended to be a place of rest for them. 

 

The land was truly all theirs as soon as God promised it, but they had not yet walked into it to claim it.  God told them, "I will send My fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land." (Exodus 23:27, 29, 30).  Similarly, our spiritual progress in Christ doesn’t happen all at once.  Like Israel, we have to grow into it.  Little by little we learn to overcome the enemies of our soul (those within us and without) by trusting in the abundant promises of God, and in the One Who has purchased our salvation by the shedding of His own blood.  We are told that, “His [God’s] divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him [Jesus] that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter1:3, 4).  The victory that these promises describe belongs to us as soon as we accept Christ, but we have yet to walk into them.  This is a process that plays itself out over time.  As we face the enemies of our soul and learn to trust in, and apply, the promises that are ours in Christ Jesus, we will overcome them one by one.   

 

Today, God's people must seek a Kingdom that is spiritual in nature.  The Apostle Paul said that it is not based on "meat and drink" (tangible possessions, or doctrines and laws of man), but it is focused instead on "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Romans 14:17).  Instead of conquering cities and acquiring more territory like the Israelites did, the Christian is concerned with overcoming his old nature, and being transformed into the image of Christ day-by-day.  The hope of our salvation is to be delivered from our sins and the carnality that has ruled our actions, and to inherit the Kingdom prepared for us by our heavenly Father.  These are the giants; these are the fortified cities and strongholds that God has promised we would overcome through Christ.  The promise is, “That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:74, 75).  Our perfecting comes as we mature spiritually in Christ.  The more we learn to trust in God's Word, and follow His leading, the more progress we will make.  If we choose to mind our fleshly appetites, however, and neglect our relationship with God, we will suffer for the choices that we make.  Many of those choices, though forgivable by God, can have irreversible consequences in the lives of those who are affected by our poor decisions.  Repairing the damage we have caused in the lives around us may be difficult, or even impossible.  It is a true statement that we reap what we sow in our lives.  If we recognize our errors and turn from them in heartfelt repentance, acknowledging our wrongs, God will extend mercy to us.  We must live our lives as those who will someday give account to God for our actions on earth.

 

KADESH-BARNEA                                                                      

Israel committed a lot of atrocious acts in the wilderness after they were delivered out of Egypt.  Even though they had witnessed firsthand the amazing, miraculous works of God, they quickly turned away and lusted after things that were wrong.  Idolatry, sexual immorality, envy, accusations against God Himself, and a host of other sins did Israel commit in the wilderness.  They would have even returned to the bondage of Egypt just to be able to taste melons, cucumbers, leeks and garlic once more!  God brought judgment on the rebellious and the disobedient, but then freely forgave His people, and led them still toward the Promised Land.  The deal breaker, though, came at a place called Kadesh-Barnea, which means "sacred (or holy) desert of wandering."  It was there that Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land to see what kind of land it was, and to bring back a report of what they found.  Of the twelve, ten of them returned with a discouraging story of strong enemy armies, walled cities, and even giants.  They could not argue with the fact that it was indeed a good land flowing with “milk and honey”, but their verdict was, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."  (Numbers 13:31 NKJV)  The other two men who went to spy out the land were Caleb and Joshua.  These two men were full of faith to believe that what God had promised them He was more than able to fulfill.  In fact, they were ready to get started immediately! 

 

It had been a year or less since the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt.  During that time, God had been teaching them His laws and statutes, and showing them His ways, so that they would be a holy people prepared to inherit the Land of Promise.  The crucible that God employed for this purpose was the wilderness.  This "sacred desert of wandering" was precisely where God wanted His people for a time.  Here they would be free, not only from the bondage of Egypt, but also from the distractions and amusements of Egypt.  Israel had not done so well in many of the lessons that God had tried to teach them, but at least they were moving along toward the goal that He intended for them: the conquering of Canaan.  Now, however, they had dug in their heels and refused to face what they perceived were insurmountable obstacles.  Even worse, they were ready to overthrow Moses and elect someone else as their captain to lead them back to Egypt and bondage!  The result of their unbelief was that God led them back into the wilderness to wander for 40 years until all of that generation who rebelled died without ever entering the Promised Land.  Those who finally came back to Canaan to go in and possess the land under the leadership of Joshua were the children of those who rebelled.  The only two who were still alive of those who came out of Egypt besides Moses were Caleb and Joshua, the two who had believed to begin with.

 

Faith is essential to our victory as Christians.  Paul tells us in his letter to the Hebrews, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him [God]." (Hebrews 11:6).  In the same letter, he also issues a grave warning saying, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."  (Hebrews 3:12 NKJV)  Without faith we will never become the people who God intends for us to be.  We will only wander aimlessly through the wilderness of this life denying ourselves the victory and joy that only Jesus can bring.  We must be fully persuaded that what God has promised us in Christ, He is able also to perform (Romans 4:21).  There is a word picture in the Song of Solomon that I really love.   I think it best illustrates the effect of faith and the result of the wilderness experience in the lives of God’s children.  It says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?” (Song of Solomon 8:5).  When we have learned to lean on Jesus, our Beloved, through all the circumstances that life deals us, then we have learned the lesson of the wilderness.

 

We can too often be just like the children of Israel when they faced this turning point in their lives at Kadesh-Barnea.  We can look at all of the good things about the Christian walk and agree that it is a better life than we are currently experiencing.  The problem, however, is the obstacles and barriers that we see standing in the way of enjoying such a life.  We would all march right into Canaan if there were no trials to face or sins to overcome.  If we have to face powerful foes, lusts and appetites of our carnal nature, however, then many of us are all for going back to Egypt.  At least there we know what to expect.  Faith is the one thing that empowers us to go forward.  The thing that many don't consider is that God is the One Who fights our battles for us.  If we trust Him with the difficulties of life, He will lead us through each trial.  Listen to Caleb and Joshua's words to their fellow Israelites.  Each statement is an affirmation of God's ability to bring His promises to pass.  They said:

 

·        "Let us go up at once, and possess it [the Promised Land]." (Numbers 13:30).

·        "We are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30).

·        "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us." (Numbers 14:8).

·        "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread." (Numbers 14:9).

·        "Their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." (Numbers 14:9).

 

These two men had also seen the enemy's strong warriors, their walled cities, and their giants, but they chose to believe God rather than give into their natural fears and doubts.  God spoke to Joshua three times before he led the people against Jericho, saying, "Be strong and courageous."  Courage isn't the absence of fear; it is doing the right thing in spite of the fear we feel.  Life can certainly be frightening at times, but it is then that we need to trust the Lord the most.  We mustn't shrink in fear, and throw in the towel before the battle has even begun!  We must, instead, move forward knowing that God goes before us and will prevail on our behalf. 

 

Psalm 103:7 says that God, "…made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel."  All of the time that the Jews spent in the wilderness was meant to teach them God's ways, but all they saw was His acts without understanding the principles and purpose behind what He did.  They did not see His nature and character.  Moses did.  His relationship with God matured and deepened as he witnessed God's dealings with His people.  His faith grew with each new thing that he experienced with God. 

 

The more we learn to know God and allow Him to reveal His nature to us, the more we will learn to trust that He always has our best interest at heart, whether it's abundant blessings, or great trials.  In the end, it’s about what type of person we want to be.  We can be the one who will not face the obstacles because of fear and rebellion, or the one ready to tackle the problems and see what God will do.  There is only one path to peace, joy, and victory.  Let us go up at once and possess the Land! 

 

"But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:39).