"All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go." -Josh 1:16
Joshua has been encouraged by the Lord, and is ready to lead the way. He has God's promises, God's power, and God's presence on his side. Joshua commanded the representatives of the people to get the tribes ready to cross the Jordan river into the promised land, and they responded by saying "All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go". The leaders of the tribes of Israel acknowledged God's leading in Joshua's life and submitted to it. This is a stark difference from their parents when Joshua had told them that they could cross many years earlier. But that generation was fearful and refused to go into the promised land, instead they became enraged and were ready to stone Joshua (and Caleb). For their refusal to be obedient God honored their wishes and did not permit them to cross over till that generation all died. (Num 13-14) For each day of the 40 days that the spies were scoping out the land it would be a whole year that they would remain in the wilderness-in between Egypt and Canaan. And so it was that aside from Joshua and Caleb that generation had died (including Moses).
Egypt is a picture of the world and slavery to sin, Canaan is a picture of God’s promises in our life, and the wilderness is the place in between these two.This new generation refused to remain in between God’s promises and the world. They were ready to serve, and fight for all that God had for them. Likewise we must be mobile in our faith always fighting contentment and stagnation. We will be miserable living in between God’s promises-looking at them from afar, and the world at our backs. We mustn’t only stop doing the bad things but we must start doing the godly things. We must go into the deep part of the water with God where we will be forced to exercise faith and grow spiritually. We are not puddles of water that are stagnant which attract disease and mosquitos, but we are like living water - dynamic and always headed in the direction God’s divine current takes us. So refuse to live in the middle, and start living for Jesus by being mobile and obedient, then you will grow in your faith!
Egypt is a picture of the world and slavery to sin, Canaan is a picture of God’s promises in our life, and the wilderness is the place in between these two.This new generation refused to remain in between God’s promises and the world. They were ready to serve, and fight for all that God had for them. Likewise we must be mobile in our faith always fighting contentment and stagnation. We will be miserable living in between God’s promises-looking at them from afar, and the world at our backs. We mustn’t only stop doing the bad things but we must start doing the godly things. We must go into the deep part of the water with God where we will be forced to exercise faith and grow spiritually. We are not puddles of water that are stagnant which attract disease and mosquitos, but we are like living water - dynamic and always headed in the direction God’s divine current takes us. So refuse to live in the middle, and start living for Jesus by being mobile and obedient, then you will grow in your faith!
- WHAT BLESSINGS HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED AFTER YOU WERE OBEDIENT IN GOING SOMEWHERE GOD HAD YOU GO? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DANGER IN OPPOSING CHANGE?
- "Most people die at 25 and aren't buried until they're 75" -?