“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” Joshua 1:2-3
The people God has chosen were stuck. They were on the other side of the river from the land God promised them. They had no boats; there was no way for all the people to swim across. There was no earthly way for them to get to the land.
Joshua sent two men into the land to scout it out. When they returned, they were confident that they could enter the land. They said “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” Joshua 2:24
Joshua then made his plan. He decided that the Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God, would go before them. He and the people would follow at a distance. With God’s presence they could cross the barrier separating them from their new land. They, then, were able to overcome the Jordan, and all the obstacles that remained.
What does this mean for us?
First, it was God’s command that the Israelites enter the new land—it was His choice, not theirs. They went by grace, meaning it was God’s will. We cannot claim “faith” for our own desires if God is not the origin of those desires. Grace is the power to do God’s will. If it is not by grace, it cannot be through faith!
Acting on God’s ideas means going with His presence, just like the Israelites. The priests carried the Ark, God’s actual presence, across the barrier. With God, we, too, can cross the rivers separating us from our “promised land”. Faith and obedience to God enable us to overcome barriers.
We need priests to carry the ark before we go anywhere. Who are the priests today? We are! Jesus has made us priests (1 Peter 2:5-9, Hebrews 6:19-20, Hebrews 10:19-20, and Revelation 1:6). We carry the presence of God with us when we obey His commands, and it is His presence that allows us to overcome the barriers separating us from what He promised us.
The best way to live out this priesthood, and acquire His promises, is within a local church, serving both the church and our community. This contrasts with the world’s call for independence. God gives us a choice: follow Him and overcome barriers or go our own way and remain stuck.
Joshua, nearing the end of his life, emphasized this choice:
“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:14-15
We face the same choice today. We can accept Him, obey His will, and enter the land He has chosen for us. Or we can reject Him. But if we reject Him, we reject His promises and end up with nothing but a land and a life without hope.
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