TEXT:
‘When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, “You’ve had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you’ (Joshua 13:1,6 MSG).
When life doesn’t go according to plan, it’s very easy to start the blame game, play the victim and think it’s someone else’s fault. It’s time to take personal responsibility. The sales slogan is very apt, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” Peter reminded the Israelites that God’s promises were not just to those present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, but to their children and subsequent generations. Those promises are still true today for us.
1. Great leaders don’t last forever
Moses died aged 120, and Joshua took his place. Now Joshua was old, having done all that God had asked him to do, but the tribes had not yet possessed their inheritance. Joshua had conquered the major cities and their kings. For him there would be no more fighting; it was down to the tribes as to how much of the land they would take.
When Joshua died aged God did not instruct him to choose a replacement leader. God wanted the tribes to look to Him. The elders who served under Joshua stayed true to God after his death, but the Bible says, ‘After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel’ (Judges 2:10 NLT). Although the Bible says, ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’(Zechariah 13:7), there’s no excuse when the sheep know what to do but end up disobeying God instead.
2. Every believer needs to possess the promises God has given them
If the Children of Israel did not take the land, the enemy would regroup and dominate once again. The Bible says, ‘Give no place to the devil’ (Ephesians 4:27). Joshua divided up the land, so each tribe had their portion, but they had to go out and take it. There were two ways they could take their allotted inheritance:
(i) Take it by themselves
Caleb immediately claimed his: ‘So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me… if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said’ (Joshua 14:12 NLT). He took on the toughest area and succeeded. He still wanted the very mountain he had seen 45 years earlier. Taking that mountain, he could say, ‘Now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me’ (Psalm 27:6).
Your faith and success can be infectious. Caleb inspired Othniel to victory, David inspired Joab to conquer Jerusalem (See Joshua 15:17, 1 Chronicles 11:6). If only the Children of Israel had believed the faith report of Caleb and Joshua when they returned from spying out the land, it would have saved them years of wandering in the wilderness.
(ii) If they did not have faith to go it alone, they could work with others – ‘The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So the men of Simeon went with Judah’ (Judges 1:3 NLT).
Judah asked for help from Simeon, promising to reciprocate when it was Simeon’s turn to take their possession. It is important we do not forget those who have helped us, when it is their turn to need our help. When churches from different denominations, work together in evangelism and community projects, it can have a powerful impact on the watching world.
Working together can be more effective than on your own but only if everyone is pulling their weight, ‘Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you, ten thousand!’ (Leviticus 26:8 TLB). ‘I also tell you this—if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you’ (Matthew 18:19 TLB).
3. Don’t make excuses for not succeeding
The Bibles says, ‘All the promises of God in Christ Jesus are “Yes” and “Amen”’ (2 Corinthians 1:20) but we must appropriate them. God had promised them success by saying, ‘Then I will drive them out from before the Children of Israel’ (Joshua 13:6). So why didn’t that happen?
(i) The enemy was determined to stay put – ‘The people of Manasseh never were able to take over these towns—the Canaanites wouldn’t budge. But later, when the Israelites got stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labour. But they never did get rid of them’ (Joshua 17:12-13 MSG). ‘As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them into the hill country and wouldn’t let them come down into the valley’ (Judges 1:34 TLB).
The Children of Israel complained the enemy had iron chariots, but they had forgotten what God has done to the Egyptian chariots at the Red Sea crossing (See Exodus 14:25).
(ii) The Children of Israel were content with partial victories – ‘But the people of Benjamin couldn’t get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day’ (Judges 1:21 MSG). They forced the enemy to labour for them and pay tribute instead of eradicating them. The enemy will always re-emerge unless destroyed. The Children of Israel allowed fear to weaken their position. In the end God refused to help them fight any more because they had sunk into idolatry (See Judges 2:21-22 TLB).
4. Don’t look for a deliverer when you can do it yourself
Too many call for help instead of fighting their own battles. “Oh pastor, pray for me!” Christians stay as babies instead of growing up into maturity. ‘You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word’ (Hebrew 5:12 TLB).
God was there all the time for those willing to trust in His name, and He says today, “You can do it!” Let the following promises inspire you to do so:
‘But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT).
‘Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place’ (2 Corinthians 2:14).
‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him’ (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Let me know when those victories start coming in!
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