Joshua 10:31
“And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.”
God promised a land to Abraham and his descendants. By the time that Joshua entered the land it was less than 500 hundred years. It was described as a land of milk and honey.
A theme of rest was also associated with the promised land. Yet, as soon as they entered that land they were at war for quite a long time. Romans 15:4 makes an interesting comment about the happenings in the Old Testament. “For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.” How does this apply to us?
As we come to Christ it’s like entering the promised land. We gain eternal life with Him, our sins are forgiven, we receive His joy, we are adopted by God and get to know Him. However, a battle begins as we become born again. He gives us a new nature, one that seeks after Him and wants what He wants. Unfortunately, our old nature is still present and wants unholy, selfish things. Galatians 5:17 describes it like this, “For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.”
The promised land in scripture is described as the victorious christian life. We are in Christ with so many blessings, but we have battles. Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” What are the deeds of the body? Lust, temptation, gluttony, drunkenness and so on. We are to put those things to death, just like Joshua cleared the land with all his battles.
These struggles will continue as long as we are alive. Our perfect rest comes when we are in heaven. Joshua also failed to give perfect rest. Hebrews 4:8 says, “For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.”
God’s rest isn’t a vacation. It’s joy filled, but struggles exist. There are also those who aren’t fans of Christ. We claim His name, so we have instant enemies. Here’s how Paul tells us to deal with them in Romans 12:18,19, ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.’
We’ve seen Israel turn from following God, then become enslaved to the Philistines. That’s symbolic of the christian giving into sin. We become slaves of sin and are miserable because the Holy Spirit is working on our hearts to turn back to Him. It’s double punishment. God is there waiting to take us back.
Lord, thank You for Your rest. You’ve given peace, joy and the victorious christian life. We are no longer slaves of sin.
