Entering the Promised Land

A message from Joshua 3 by Dave Rogers 18/05/08

To listen to Dave's message click here mp3

Reading: Joshua 1:1-17
Today we will look together at a few of the main themes of the passage, and then look at the whole story in relation to 40 years in the wilderness and coming to the point of finally entering the promise that God had given them, and the things we can learn from this and what God wants to encourage us to enter into.
1. A unified people. 40 years wandering had taught them to work together, to respect and follow leadership. They got up early, all of them, there was no option for some to lay in. Matthew Henry wrote: Those that would bring great things to pass must rise early. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty. Joshua herein set a good example to the officers under him, and taught them to rise early. They had learnt from the mistakes of their parents and grandparents.They were ready to work together as one. They were no longer a rabble of slaves, they had become and disciplined army-including all the women and children.
2. Consecrate yourselves. Joshua called the people to ‘make themselves holy’, clean up their act, for God is holy. God was going to do amazing things, so he required the people to cleanse their hearts, to repent of sin and to devote themselves to him. They had learnt that disobedience and secret sin and idolatry and grumbling had dire consequences. These people were eager to live holy lives before God.
3. The ark goes ahead. The ark, carried by the priests, who were the sons and grandsons of Aaron, went ahead and the people followed. The ark represented God’s presence and His covenant and commitment to His people. They had learnt the importance of the presence of God and to respect and follow it.
4. God’s promise of victory. God had promised to drive out all enemies from the land. The Israelites had learnt to trust God and expect him to deliver on his promises, to come good for them.
5. Stepping into the water. The river Jordan was seriously flooded. This was not a trivial obstacle in their way, it appeared insurmountable. But God said the priests with the ark were to step out into the flood water. This was a step of faith. They had learnt how to obey God in faith. And their faith rewarded as God stops the water from flowing, and gives them a dry path to the other side, into the promise land.
6. Into the Promised Land. Everyone Israelite had to walk past the ark of the covenant as they crossed on the dried up river bed. When they had all reached the other side, the priests followed with the ark and the river began to flow again. God’s covenant promise to His people had been kept. They had entered the land of Canaan, the promised land.

So we have looked at this story from the point of view of the Israelites, and I am sure that some of the points have immediately jumped out as relevant to us and our own lives. But as I have looked at this passage I believe there are some principles we can learn from looking at the wider picture of the Israelites leaving the wilderness and entering the Promised Land.

We have already seen that the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey is a picture of life in the Spirit, living in the all the fullness and abundance of God. Please draw your own conclusions from the points above, how we enter a life in the Spirit. The NT equivalent of this story is the day of Pentecost. See if you can see any parallels between the points above and the account in Acts 1 and 2.

•Differences between a life in the wilderness and a life in the Promised Land.
Reading: Deut 8.
1. Wilderness. God provided manna everyday, just enough to survive but boring and repetitive. They consciously dependend on God and total relied on God for life. God’s presence, the Ark was in the camp at all times, it was easily accessible. They had it all on a plate, but it was a barren desert!
2. Promised Land God provided an abundance of milk, honey, fruit and crops but it had to be farmed and stored and it was hard work. They ploughed fields in faith that God would give harvest. However they could too easily slip from faith to works of the flesh and become proud and forget the Lord. It is very important to keep dependant on God and full of the Spirit. Three times a year they had to make the effort to gather to his presence at the tabernacle and the ark. Seeking God’s presence is vitally important.

•Some Christians only ever know life in the wilderness. The traditional view is that the wilderness is a picture of the Christian life and the promised land is heaven. But I believe the Christian life doesn’t need to be a wilderness walk, but life in the promised land, don’t wait to die to receive the full abundance that God has for us. We receive it when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Have you ever consciously received the Spirit since you believed and taken hold of the promised Holy Spirit? This is an act of faith like crossing the Jordan, or Peter walking on water.

•But this is only for those who have made a commitment to follow Christ. Is there anyone here who feels they are a slave to evil; you know that you are not living as God wants you to live in love and joy and freedom. Today friends you can leave a life of slavery and enter a life of freedom and the abundance God has for you, You don't even have to walk in the wilderness for years, you can enter into Godís kingdom and immediately enter the promised land. By believing in what Christ has done for us on the cross, being baptised and being filled with the Holy Spirit. All you need to do is ask God to forgive you for going your way rather than his and be determined to follow him and let him rule over your life. Get involved with his people the church. We cannot do it alone. This is a story about a people, not just one person. This whole picture is about corporate togetherness, and moving together into life in the Spirit.

•For those of us who know we are living life in the promised Holy Spirit, it is too easy to let our heart become proud when God uses us and to forget or neglect the Lord. The warning of Deut 8 reminds me of Gal 3:1-5. The Israelites were busy tending their land and bulding cities, are we so busy that we don’t have time for the Lord? Do we do everything by faith or by our own strength? How important is the presence of the Lord to us? Do we rise early to get into God's presence? Do we come to church because that is what we do on a Sunday, or expecting to encounter the presence of God? Do we do all we can to get to places where we can experience God’s presence - conferences, weeks of prayer, all together meetings, small groups.etc? Life in the promised land requires hard work, time and effort, seeking the Lord in prayer. It is a disciplined life, a life of faith, not life on a plate like in the wilderness.