During the months of April and early May, my sabbatical devotional study has been from the Book of Joshua. What a fantastic study of re-exploring how the reign of God advanced in the days of Israel as God used Joshua to lead Israel into the promised land. What a cool reminder of some of the principles God will use today to see his reign advance in communities in our region and around our world.
Some of many spiritual principles and teachings I observed from this dynamic book include:
- The reality of God's protection of His people - God used Rahab to protect those spying out the land of Canaan. What a reminder of how God protects his people today. He is on our side. As the song we sing reminds us: "If our God is for us, then who can be against us". We can be on mission for Christ with courage and confidence.
- Our need for full dependence and reliance on God in all we do. It was God who brought deliverance for Israel as they captured the city of Jericho. Today, we must be in prayer and complete dependence on Christ in all we do. The men of Israel were circumcised prior to going into battle. We too, must be spiritually prepared as we do battle with the enemy of our soul.
- The use of sound strategy in our mission efforts for God - As Israel went into battle at Ai, we see a clever and effective ambush strategy that God gave to Joshua. We must be wise and strategic in our efforts to push back to realm of the enemy as well. We must give our best mentally, emotionally, physically, and of course, spiritually to see God's reign advance.
- God wants to see specific communities reached and His reign impact specific places in our region and our world. In Joshua 12-13 and later in Joshua, we see a detailed listing of all of the cities that were taken by Joshua and Israel, of course, through God's hand. The writer goes to great length to describe each and every city and each and every king. To me, this a great reminder that God wants to use us today to impact specific communities, specific cities and specific regions for the Gospel. It also reminds me that these specific communities have strongholds that need to be taken down in order for God's reign to advance. God give us courage, wisdom, and spiritual discernment as we seek to impact the specific communities that you have called us as a movement and each church in our movement to transform.
- Faithfulness over the long haul - probably the story that touches me as much as any story in the Book of Joshua, is the story of Caleb, and his desire at age 85 to take one more mountain for God. When he makes the statement to Joshua that he is just as strong now as he was 45 years earlier, wow, what a challenge and inspiration! God, help me to remain faithful over the long haul, and give me the faith to continue to dream great dreams for your glory!
- God's faithfulness to His people - This theme runs through the entire Book of Joshua, but is so clear in the closing chapters as Joshua repeatedly reminds the people that "every promise that the Lord your God has given to you has been fulfilled". He reminds Israel that "I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build, and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant". Wow, what a statement of God's faithful to us as His people. He has blessed us in many many ways. He has given us salvation, redemption, made us a part of His family, given us a great and wonderful privilege to be involved in His mission; all of this is due to His faithfulness, not ours. None of this is due to anything we have done. Yet, of course, it is that which leads us to seek to surrender all that we have and all that we are to this faithful and gracious God.
Dan Peterson
Ontario, OH
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