After 40 years of weary wanderings through the wilderness, the Children of Israel were now on the verge of the promised land. It was the land which God, while they were still in Egypt, had pledged to give them; it was to be “a land flowing with milk and honey”, and a place where they could be free from the bondage which they had so long suffered under Pharaoh and his cruel taskmasters.
Moses was now dead and Joshua had just taken over his responsibilities as leader, under God, of the Israelites. No doubt Joshua felt the weight of the duties which were now falling on his shoulders. He had to bring the people to the other side of the River Jordan at a time when it was overflowing its banks. And once across the river, there would be enemies to face – among them the Anakims, who so overawed 10 of his fellow spies 39 years previously. Those Anakims were indeed tall and powerful; their cities were large and well fortified; but these 10 spies ignored the unlimited nature of God’s power. While Joshua, along with Caleb, trusted in Almighty God and brought back a believing report, they were well aware that it would not be easy to conquer Canaan. And as Joshua was now taking up these heavy responsibilities of leadership, he would have been very conscious of the various difficulties that he and the people might have to face.
But why could Joshua be so sure of conquering the land? Why did he not consider it a task too hard for him to undertake? The most effective answer to these questions is that his was not a human appointment; it was the Lord who had commanded Moses to lay his hands upon him – which, John Calvin says, “was no empty symbol of God’s grace”. Accordingly Paul asks, “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?” (1 Cor 9:7). He clearly expects the answer, No one. God, especially, does not send out His servants without promising to make provision for them. And He was not going to send Joshua out and leave him to find from within himself the resources he would need to undertake all the duties that lay before him as he stood on the east side of the Jordan.
Joshua might then have thought back to the words he and Caleb had used 39 years previously: “If the Lord delight in us, Then He will bring us into this land, and give it us” (Num 14:8). But he might have asked himself: How can the Lord delight in someone like me, who am a sinner?
One answer lies in the fact of divine forgiveness, vividly illustrated again and again in the sacrifices offered at the tabernacle. In particular, we may think of the goats offered in sacrifice for the people on the Day of atonement. After the first goat had been killed, the high priest took its blood, the evidence of the animal’s death, to sprinkle it inside the veil, where God was present in a special way. When the high priest came out alive, it could be understood that the sacrifice had been accepted for the people, Joshua included. Of course, Joshua was looking beyond such sacrifices to the promised Messiah, who would come in the fullness of time, to take away sin. As Joshua thought of the sacrifices, he could understand that God could indeed delight in such sinners as he was and in all others who were trusting in the divine provision to take away sin, for God was not looking on these sinners, but on the sacrifice that was offered in their place.
Another answer lies in what God saw when he looked on Joshua. Yes, He could see a man who was still a sinner, yet the Holy Spirit had begun to work in him. And God could not but delight in His own work in Joshua’s heart and life, and in the good works that he was enabled to perform.
But God had made specific promises to Joshua. Speaking on behalf of God, Moses had said, “Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deut 31:7,8; see also Jos 1:1-9). Joshua would therefore not be alone in bringing the Israelites across Jordan and directing their military operations in the conquest of Canaan. God had promised to be with them and Joshua could be sure that this is what would happen; his faithful God could not possibly fail him as he went on with the work that had been given him to carry out.
This did not mean that there would be no problems. It did not mean that there would never be a humiliating defeat such as took place at Ai, after Achan disobeyed God’s command not to take any spoil from Jericho when it was conquered. But God’s promises did mean that the various problems could be overcome in dependence on God’s pledge of help. Yet sins such as Achan’s must be dealt with before Ai could be conquered and the campaign be continued successfully.
As we stand on the verge of another year, some people may tremble at the thought of the duties that lie before them as they face the future, whether these duties arise in the ordinary course of providence or are specifically spiritual. Though these duties may seem less important than Joshua’s when he and his people were on the east bank of the Jordan, yet the principles which have already been outlined are relevant.
It may seem a huge responsibility, for instance, to bring up children, particularly in such an evil generation as ours. But God who, in His kind providence, is entrusting you with the duty of training up your children in the way that they should go, encourages you by saying about such a child: “When he is old, he will not depart from” that way (Prov 22:6). Or if you feel impressed that God is laying on you some spiritual duty, such as making a public profession of your faith in Christ, remember that He does not send you to undertake such a duty at your own charges. He undertakes to give you the necessary grace and support; He will never fail those who take Him at His word and depend on Him for strength to obey.
Yet you may be very conscious of your sin and of your weakness in the face of temptation; so you may feel that in undertaking some duty you are in great danger of bringing a reproach on Christ’s cause. But consider the extent to which your position is so much more advantageous than was Joshua’s. Yes, you can look back and take encouragement from the sacrifices offered, for instance, on the Day of atonement and from the fact that God accepted them; He is a God who forgives. But how much more encouragement you can take from the fact that “by His own blood [Christ] entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb 9:12), which shows us very clearly that the Father accepted His perfect sacrifice for all who will look by faith to Him. It is on this basis that the promise is renewed to believers in the New Testament age: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). And it is on the same basis that the Lord delights in every individual in whose heart and life the Holy Spirit has begun His sanctifying work.
Whatever your responsibilities, the Lord promises to be with His children – as surely as He was with Joshua, who, at the end of his days, was to record with thankfulness: “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake” (Jos 23:14). This had proved true, not only for himself personally, but for the people whose leader he was. God has not changed, and He never will. His promises, and the principles on which He works, are still the same. Whenever He calls a sinner in His grace, that individual is under an obligation always to live to the glory of God, whatever other responsibilities also may become his. But the Lord is saying, in connection with every obligation which He may impose: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).