Good morning my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Think for a moment about your larger extended family. Who are they, how far do you live from one another, how often do you get together, and how do you maintain your relationships? Of course, with modern technology and social media long distance relationships are not that difficult or uncommon, are they? Some of my immediate family live in Africa, but we text or ‘WhatsApp’ daily! But in the days of Joshua, about 1400bc, oh my how different things were, and family connections were even more important then, than they are now, especially to the Hebrews, who had come out of Egypt or been born during those 40 years of wandering in the desert!
In fact, did you know that when Moses led the slaves out of Egypt and they spent several months at Mount Sinai, God gave Moses a city plan which arranged the entire nation of Israel according to tribe, clan and family, so they were all living near each other. That was more than 1 million people! (Ex. 12:37) And there’s more… during those 40 years in the desert whenever the cloud rose from above the Tabernacle and God moved the entire city, they moved in a very orderly fashion traveling with their family, clan and tribe. It’s very fascinating to me and you’ll find the description in Numbers 2,3,9,10. God knew family bloodlines and relationships are the most powerful of all relationships.
That’s why the first challenge Joshua faced, after God commissioned him to take over the leadership following Moses’ death, is so significant. Yesterday we watched as Joshua received his very powerful, commissioning and promise from God. (Joshua 1:1-9) Joshua evidently went from this meeting with God to a meeting with the key leaders of the Israelites and gave them the remarkable news he’d received from God.
Look at Joshua, standing over there up on a high rock so he can speak to the crowd of leaders: “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan river here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you, for your own.” (Joshua 1:10,11) Oh my what a great shout must have risen up from these men, slapping each other on the back and rushing to their clans and families to tell them the news.
May I ask, have you ever moved from one city to another? I mean totally moved. You packed up or sold or given away everything you own, and started down the road toward a new home and future? Remember the emotions in that experience? Now imagine more than 1 million people doing the same thing, all at the same time!
These people have spent 4 decades wandering in the hot Sinai desert. 4 decades, my friends! Only two people remain alive who were over the age of 20 when Moses led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt… Joshua and Caleb. (Numbers 14:29,30) A huge generation of desert born kids and young people are desperate to get out of the desert and finally settle down in a place where they can grow food, raise flocks and herds, build permanent houses and even cities.
Three days to prepare themselves, mind, heart, body and pack all their belongings for the big move. Can you imagine the frantic busyness in that place? The near frenzy of excitement?
But look, over there, Joshua is huddled with a few leaders having what appears to be a different and difficult conversation. Let’s eavesdrop: “To the Reubenites, the Gadites and the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, ‘Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you THIS land. Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay here in the land Moses gave you EAST of the Jordan River, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the LORD has given them rest, as He has done for you, until they too have possession of the land the LORD your God is giving to them…” (Joshua 1:12-15)
What? Two and 1/2 tribes are NOT going into the land of God’s promise with all the rest of their fellow Israelites. Why?
Numbers 32 has the remarkable story. The leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad had approached Moses with a proposal. The region EAST of the Jordan River between the river and the mountains was well watered with lush pastureland. Having been in the desert for 40 years it’s not difficult for us to imagine how this seemed like paradise to them and so they asked Moses permission to remain there permanently and not accompany the rest of their fellow Israelites into the land of promise God would be giving them on the west side of the Jordan and the area today known as Israel.
For the first time since they fled Egypt that famous Passover night, this proposal would divide the people of God. With grief, Moses agreed to their proposal. And now Joshua was reminding these leaders of their responsibility to send their fighting men to help conquer the promised land, while their wives and children and other men settled this region east of the Jordan. This was a monumental day. Division, separation, estrangement came into the nation of Israel, this day. Amidst the excitement of preparations for crossing the Jordan river into their new future was also the reality of broken hearts, tears and cries as friends and even extended family bid farewell to one another.
What was happening here my friends that is an important lesson for you and me today? I see these things: Selfishness, desire to live in control of their own lives, disregard for God’s guidance, self confidence that they could chart a better course into the future than God could.
Have you ever found yourself doing the same thing? How did it work out for you when you rejected the path you knew God was leading you to take and you turned off to chart your own course in life? I think it’s time to pause and reflect on our current position in life. What level of confidence do you have that you are ‘walking with Jesus’ and the Holy Spirit of God is guiding your life, these days? How deeply committed are you to walk faithfully to God’s leading in your life? If you’ve strayed or intentionally rejected God’s path and you’ve been trying to control your own destiny, is it time to acknowledge your mistakes and turn back to yielding your life fully to God who loves you, made you, and sees a clear picture of WHO God would like you to be and WHAT God would like to be doing in and through your life to bring hope into our world? Now is a great time to talk with Jesus about this. Do you agree?
Sometimes the faces and voices of children help us adults gain a fresh perspective on life at a moment like this. So, here’s a special song I found that I think will grab your heart as the kids sing about these important matters…
Today’s Scripture is Joshua 1:10-18.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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