Month: May 2023

Joshua 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with your soul.

The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were given land east of Jordan, but they went to fight with the other tribes for the land in the West. When the Conquest was over, Joshua sent them back across Jordan to their land with these words of exhortation: be faithful to the Lord!

This verse is a summary of the response all believers make to the Lord for His blessing and mercy: take diligent heed to do the commandments God gave through Moses. Listen carefully and determine to do it. We do this when we hear the Law and are convicted of sin, and we hear the Gospel which gives the power and will to do.

We walk in all his ways. Walk means live regularly and naturally all the time. It means developing good habits that live God’s way without having to consciously plan every move. Moral uprightness is the natural, yea supernatural, reaction to receiving Grace.

We keep his commandments by believing in Christ, who forgives sin and graces us with God’s righteousness. They asked Jesus, “How do we do the works of God?” Jesus said, “Believe in Me.”

We cleave unto the Lord. Like a man cleaves to his wife in such a way that the two become one flesh. This is a mystery, like Christ and the Church. We don’t really a cleaving that makes us one. Unity is seldom seen and hard to grasp, but the Oneness of God and me is still a truth that is believed We who believe in Christ are in God.

We respond to the gospel by serving God. We serve Him by trusting, thanking, and worshiping. However, as Luther says, God does need our service, but other people do. We serve God by loving and serving others. A life of service is our faithful response to God’s love for us, which is shown at the cross. The bottom line: we love because He first loved us.

Joshua 21:43 And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

Joshua had just completed the Conquest of the Promised Land, though pockets of pagan resistance remained. He had just overseen the division of the land and the detailed inheritance allotted to each of the 12 tribes. This verse summarizes the long process of taking the Land and distributing it.

The paradox described here signifies a profound meaning for our spiritual lives: God gives the kingdom, heaven, eternal life by grace, but we must still believe in Christ to have it, that is, possess it and dwell in it. “For God so loved that he gave, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.” God gives; we possess. It is all of grace, freely given; Jesus did it all, leaving nothing for us to do. Yet we must still believe Him to have it, make it personal, make it real, make it alive. We are justified by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith. Grace gives; faith receives. Both are necessary to possess life in the Kingdom.

The further Good News is that God the Holy Spirit creates faith through the hearing of the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Faith is a gift. We cannot by our own effort believe and possess and dwell, but when we do believe and are saved we take comfort in the truth that it is a God-given faith. We respond by simply living in the Kingdom and enjoying it.

Joshua 14:12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.

Caleb, along with Joshua, believed God from the start, and he was faithful through the 45 years since the spies first went into the land. Most of the spies and all the people were afraid because of the walled cities and the Anakim (giants) in the land. Except for Joshua and Caleb: their faith gave them courage.

There were still Anakim in the land that Caleb wanted to possess as his inheritance. However, he knew that the Lord would be with him and fight for him. Therefore he confidently asserted, “I will be able to drive them out.” This response of bold confidence came over him because it was as the Lord said. God promised and He will keep His word.

This kind of faith is also given to us in Word and Sacrament. Jesus is with me: therefore I can drive out the enemies, the big problems that loom in my life. The Bible says: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” “Be angry and do not sin…give no opportunity to the devil.” “The gates of hell cannot stand.” In Christ we have more strength and courage to drive them out than we ever would in our own strength. We respond to every big problem in God-given faith.

Joshua 14:8-9 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land wherein thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.

Joshua and Caleb were the only two, out of twelve, spies that weren’t afraid of the giants in the land. The other ten spies brought back an evil report that made the hearts of the people melt from fear. Joshua wholly followed the Lord, which means he believed the Lord. God promised the Land and He promised to be with His people to fight for them. Joshua and Caleb trusted the Lord to do as He said.

For their unbelief that entire generation over 40 was condemned to die in the wilderness during the next 40 years. And all died except for Joshua and Caleb. Their faith was rewarded with an inheritance in the Land. (Joshua was now 85). The reason he lived to conquer and inherit the land is given: he wholly followed the Lord. He did not waver with doubt. In spite of frightening appearances to the contrary and seemingly impossible obstacles, he believed God. His faith was rewarded with Life and Inheritance.

And so with us. Our hearts melt with fear, doubt, and worry, but there is A Second Joshua who was faithful, even unto death on a cross, for us. By the power of the Gospel the Spirit creates such faith-full-ness in us and we do what we cannot do on our own: wholly follow the Lord. Thus we live and inherit.

Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

This verse summarizes what Joshua had done until now and what he will do now. He finished the Campaign of Conquest, took the whole land, and will now give it for an inheritance to the twelve tribes. Although the pagan gods were not completely rooted out, Israel had enough control to settle down and dwell in the land.

When Jesus died on the cross He proclaimed, “It is finished!” Jesus had just taken the kingdom, all of it, and given it to us after His resurrection. No pockets of resistance were left over. Our Enemies were utterly destroyed: Sin is forgiven, Death is swallowed up in victory, and Satan is cast down. Jesus took the land. He drove out sin and granted righteousness, He gave us life in place of death, and He crushed the Usurper under His feet and He reigns. Jesus’ love is the most powerful force in all Creation.

When we have been baptized and come to faith in Christ, we have responded by taking the kingdom: Master Sin, Lord Death, and Ruler Satan are utterly destroyed and have no right to rule our new life in Christ. We apply that power to our specific problems by daily repentance and weekly receiving the Gospel. Jesus (Joshua) takes back the kingdom and gives it to us. In Him we rule and dwell.

Joshua 11:20 For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Hardening the heart against God and His people, and then God hardening the heart, is something of a mystery not readily understood by Christian believers. The devil and the fallen angels hardened their hearts against God and in pride rebelled. The Lord cast them out and they became perpetual enemies, fixed in animosity and evil forever. Adam hardened his heart (as did all of us) and suffered the consequences. Pharaoh hardened his heart himself during the first several plagues; then God hardened his heart.

Unbelieving sinners harden their hearts in unbelief and pride; then God gives them over to the condition and the consequence of their own stubborn choice. So God says in Romans 1:18-32: “Men suppress the truth…did not honor him as God…their foolish hearts were darkened…therefore God gave them up…God gave them up…God gave them up.” If that’s the way you want it, that’s the way you got it. Don’t blame me. You destroyed yourself.

But this holy and just God is also love. He shows it by giving His Son. When we hear the Gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ our hard hearts are softened by overwhelming love, so that by the power of the gospel we receive love, life, and eternal salvation. The Gospel of the Cross changes a hard and resistant heart into a soft and receiving heart. God makes an impression on what He softens. And the end result of Jesus’ victory is that our spiritual enemies are “destroyed utterly.”

Joshua 11:15 As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.

The reason for the success of Joshua’s campaign is that he kept Moses Commandments, which he received from the Lord Himself. Not only did he do, but he also omitted none. Joshua avoided sin by not doing the “Thou shalt nots,” but he also did do the good works.

The Bible speaks of sins of commission and sins of omission, the sins we commit and the good we omit. We confess what we have done and what we have left undone. No one is holy, having done everything perfectly, except for One Man. “For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it [James 2:10].” But the One Man, Jesus Christ, kept the whole law perfectly and left nothing undone, for us. He suffered the penalty for our failure and earned for us the gift of God’s perfect righteousness. By faith in Christ we are accounted wholly righteous and nothing is left undone.

Success in overcoming the enemy, and refusing to accept the Enemy’s accusations, depends on the perfect innocence and complete satisfaction of Christ. Faith receives that gift and is accounted as righteousness. Our response of maintaining, nourishing, growing, and strengthening our faith leads to success in life and enjoying life in the Land (the kingdom of God). Joshua (Jesus) leads us from victory to victory.

Joshua 11:6, 9 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time I will deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough (hamstring) their horses, and burn their chariots with fire….And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

The northern campaign of the Conquest conquered a large army and took many cities. Although no notable miracles were mentioned, it was still the Lord who fought for Israel and delivered up the pagan enemies of God’s people. Since the Lord promised to be on their side and keep His promise, the people can respond faithfully to the encouragement: Be not afraid! With courage and faith Joshua and the army were able to defeat a formidable foe. And with that kind of trust in the Lord, Joshua and God’s people were able to complete the Conquest of the Land God promised them.

Today, we also face our enemies with courage and faith. Just because He says so, we are not afraid, and furthermore, God gives us the confidence, courage, faith, desire, and ability to do as He says. Sin, death, and the devil confront us with powerful temptations which we are too weak to overcome by ourself, but Jesus speaks a strong word, Be not afraid! And so we fear not when facing fears, worries, doubts, frustrations, troubles, trials, and all the everyday problems of life on earth. When God delivers, no problem is too big.

Joshua 10:42 And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.

Joshua took the land that God gave. So which is it? Did Israel take, or did God give? The Bible says both. The Word is clear: God gave the land by grace, but men still had to take what God gave, and they did so by faith. God executed the battle and He fought for Israel. Chapter 10 gives the details of the Conquest in the southern campaign.

The kingdom of God is given to us freely by grace for Christ’s sake. He did it all; He finished the work. There is nothing left for us to do but receive (believe) what God gives. But that is not as easy as it first appears. Strong resistance comes from pride and unbelief, from the natural man and human reason. These enemies must be overcome, and so the Holy Spirit comes through the gospel to grant the faith to receive the gift and take over the kingdom of God.

There will be violence in the takeover, for Sin and Evil will not easily loose their hold on us. The violent takeover happened in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit applies the blessings of that takeover through the preaching of the Gospel. We then by faith in grace and believing prayer confront the problems of the day. We repent, believe the Gospel, pray the Lord’s Prayer, and pray specifically for the needs we feel. The Lord God fights for us.

Joshua 10:24-25And it came to pass, when they brought those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them. Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

The Lord had just given victory over the armies of the five kings with miracles of hailstones and daylight extended for a day. Joshua found the five kings hiding in a cave and had them executed. Then he told his men to put their feet on their necks, as graphic symbolism of the power and might of their God. The men didn’t do much; the Lord fought for them. God did it, and He gave the victory to His people.

Therefore, since the Lord your God is doing this to all your enemies, you don’t need to be afraid or dismayed, but be strong and of great courage. This picture of feet on the necks is a vivid reminder of the Victory of Jesus over all evil enemies through His death and resurrection. Jesus crushes the head of the serpent. Romans 16:20: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Jesus has done the crushing, but this verse says your feet. This says we do the crushing, but it is Jesus who actually does the crushing. He uses our feet to crush the Enemy in the practical working out of our daily lives. By faith we identify with the Victor, Jesus, and apply His love (for us) and His power (over the Evil One). We put our feet on the Enemy every day when we remember our Baptism by repeating repentance and faith in the Gospel. “One little word can fell him.” God has put all enemies under His feet; our faith in Christ puts our feet on Evil’s neck.