Lessons for Believers About Possessing the Truth Given to Us
The Promise
Joshua heard directly from the Lord that the long-promised land was now theirs; all they had to do was cross the Jordan River and take it as theirs. In Joshua 1:22Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2) God says: "Go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to then, even to the children of Israel." Th is is the first lesson for believers; there is much more to 'Christianity than simply knowing what God has given us; we need to step forward and possess it, taking hold of it and living in it. God then tells Joshua what the people have to do to carry this out. Verse 3 says, "Every place that the sole of you fool shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." The point for believers, as they learn a principle from the Word of God by the Spirit, is to put it into action in their lives.
Dimensions
Verse 4 defines the boundaries of the land: "From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the riper Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." This has been interpreted as follows: from the Great Desert in the south (Egypt), to the Great Mountains of the north (Lebanon), from the Great River in the east (Euphrates), to the Great Sea in the West (the Mediterranean). From the standpoint of the children of Israel standing at Jordan's bank, this entire territory was occupied by enemies. For us as believers, we see the entire world as the domain of Satan and his followers.
The boundaries have typical meaning for us. The desert suggests the fact that the world cannot give us any sustenance; it is dry and devoid of necessary food. Only the Lord can provide what the believer needs day by day.
The mountains suggest the power of the world, over which the believer, in his own strength, cannot triumph. But we know that Christ has overcome the world.
The river suggests the prosperity of the world. In an otherwise arid land, a great river provides the water necessary to produce crops and sustain life. We believers are naturally attracted by the world's perceived prosperity, but we know it will not last. The only real prosperity for believers is spiritual, the result of obedience to the Word of God and reliance upon the Lord Jesus all the time.
The sea to the west suggests the restlessness of the world. Man, in his natural state, proves to himself over and over again that he is never satisfied with what he has. As a result of the work of Christ for us (typified by crossing the Red Sea) we have peace with God. As a result of the work of Christ in us (typified by crossing the Jordan and living in the promises), we have the peace of God which passes all understanding.
Strength and Courage
Four times in the first chapter (vss. 6-7, 9 and 18) Joshua is told to be strong and of a good courage, or to be strong and courageous. It is connected always with obedience. In verse 7 God adds: "That thou mayest Observe to do according all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest," The point for believers is that we cannot be either strong or courageous in spiritual things in our own strength. We need to learn that we are feeble failures and that all our strength and encouragement is in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. But to see such strength in action, we need to be obedient to the Word of God. "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" (fatties 1:22).
Bordering on Canaan
Two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh) chose not to live on the west side of Jordan with the rest. Instead, they thought first of their possessions, their cattle, and chose land on the east side of Jordan, which was described in Numbers 32:11Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; (Numbers 32:1) as "a place for cattle." But they were totally supportive of the other tribes in the process of subduing the enemies occupying the land to the west. They were people of faith—faith that God would carry out His promises to Israel—but they felt it was more important to provide well for their cattle than to exactly follow the instructions of God and actually occupy the Land of Promise. They were one with the nine and a half tribes but were weak in faith. They are not typical of worldly Christianity, but rather of earthly Christianity.
What they did was lower the position God had promised by relating it totally to the details of daily living. Such Christians claim power in their service for the Lord, but they know little of the extent of His resources. The full blessing that we can claim is to know the joy of entering now into where a glorified Christ is to be found.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not" (2 Car. 3:18; 4:1).
Centered on Christ in glory, we will be drawn away from this world, and the motive for our walk will no longer be "much cattle." It will not be easy to take possession of all our present privileges in Christ. Satan and his forces are always there working against us. But faith enables us to take possession of the promises, and the enemy flees.
The Passover, the Red Sea and the Jordan River
All three are types of the cross of Christ, but in different aspects: The Passover shows us the cross of Christ as a shelter from the judgment of God, and it shows that only the blood of a lamb (a look ahead to the perfect Lamb of God) can ensure that shelter. God judged Egypt and kept Israel safe. Atonement was made.
The Red Sea emphasizes our redemption. Exodus 15:1313Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. (Exodus 15:13) says, "Thou in Thy mercy has, led forth the people which Thou last redeemed." This is the Savior-God whose people have nothing to do but stand still and observe their deliverance. And in so doing they come out on the other side of the sea safe and sound, a type of Christ's death and resurrection for us. The safe pathway for the redeemed becomes the grave for the Egyptian army.
The Jordan River signifies death in another way; this time it is the end of man in the flesh, and, at the same time, the end of Satan's power. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:88For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)). At the Red Sea the children of Israel saw the enemy behind them slain on the seashore. At the Jordan the enemy is in front of them. But the enemy does not swing into action until after they had crossed into the Land. So with us; it is only when we try to lay hold upon the fullness of the promises that Satan gets busy. But there is full power at our disposal to disperse the enemy and live in the territory of the promises of God.