The Tragedy of Kadesh-Barnea

The thought came to start this thread based on a post Brother Robert posted in the doctrinal discussion on being filled with the Holy Spirit.Br. Robert wrote:Having said all that to ask this: Would you consider the time being under a tutor (the Law) to be akin to the time in which a parent raises a child to adulthood? My relationship with my earthly father was much different as a child compared to now; as I am sure will be the case with my children as they become adults. There has to be something quite profound in the working of God by the addition of the law. I would love to be able to have the relationship with my children that my father and I now have- but that is impossible because I must train and discipline them. They are simply not in a place of maturity to be able to handle such a friendship yet, without being filled with all manor of contempt. The roles are such that the process of maturity is too fragile at this atage of their lives to befriend at a level that I would like- but in time it will be so. How does all this play out in our relationship with God as He chastens us and yet we are pressing to be His friend? These words are from a book I read about 4 years ago. Christ Indwelling and Enthroned by J. Oswald SandersChapter 11THE TRAGEDY OF KADESH-BARNEAReading: Numbers 13:26-14:34The history of Israel is typical history. Without doubt the most instructive and helpful of all typical incidents of the Old Testament is the record of the journeyings of God’s people from Egypt into Canaan. It is brimful of illuminating parallels with the experience of a believer in his progression from the natural state, through the carnal to the spiritual plane. See 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15, 3:1That this was the intention of the Inspiring Spirit, is plain from both the writings of St. Paul, and that of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Listen to Paul as he deduces spiritual lessons from the incident:“Now these things were our examples (or figures) to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted…Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (or types): and they are written for our admonition. “ 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11.Thus twice over Paul assures us that more than a historical narrative is in view. Similarly, the writer to the Hebrews cites their exodus from Egypt and entrance into Canaan’s rest as a type of the entrance of the believer upon the rest of faith.“But with whom was He grieved forty years?… And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest but to them that believed not?…Let us therefore fear, lest…any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:17-19, 4:1,11Having satisfied ourselves that we have Scriptural warrant for thus spiritualizing this memorable trek, let us profit by its lessons. 1. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CANAAN.God gave Abram the Land of Promise almost immediately after calling him to leave home and kindred. Genesis 13:15. Although he never possessed more of it than would make a sepulcher, it became his in reality from the moment of the gift. Yet five hundred years elapsed before God was able to bring his descendants to the place where they could possess their possessions. By signs and wonders He had led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the wilderness of Shur whence they journeyed to Kadesh-Barnea, one of the gateways to Canaan. At last they are actually within sight of their desired haven. Both hymnology and general usage have conspired to convey the impression that the River Jordan represents physical death, and Canaan, the blessedness of heaven. This is true, perhaps, but only in a very secondary sense. The primary significance of Canaan, is not “heaven” but “life in the heavenlies,” while still living on earth. This is the teaching of Ephesians, the N.T. counterpart of the Book of Joshua. Not heaven, but a suburb of heaven. It stands for a victorious type of Christian experience possible here and now, when the believer exchanges the defeat of the Wilderness life for the joy and rest and fruitfulness of the Canaan life.more to come.In Christ Jeff

That Canaan CANNOT represent heaven is clear. There is no sin in heaven. There was in Canaan. There are no battles to fight in heaven. Canaan was one prolonged battle. There will be no defeats in heaven. They suffered defeats in Canaan. Believers commit no sin in not entering heaven at once. But upon reaching Kadesh, Israel committed one long sin in refusing to enter the land. Canaan, then, in N.T. language, stands for a change in Christian experience as definite and clear as that which transformed the motley crowd of slaves into a victorious army.How alluring should the prospect have seemed to this homeless and hapless people! A God-given land, flowing with milk and honey. Consider what possession of Canaan would mean to them. They would enjoy:Liberty for Oppression. Who but a slave can appreciate the full meaning of liberty? And what must Canaan have meant in prospect to this nation of slaves? Such is the promise to the believer enslaved by sin. “Sin shall not have dominion over you…Being then made free from sin,…” Romans 6:14,18Rest for Wandering. At long last, a home of their own. No more aimless wandering over the glaring sands. Sweet rest in the homeland. So for the believer:“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God…We which have believed do enter into rest.” Hebrews 4:3, 9.Possession for Promise. The promise to Abraham, unfulfilled for centuries was now within reach of fulfillment. In Canaan in response to the faith of the believer, promises are turned into facts, and doctrine into experience. According to his faith it is unto him. Variety for Monotony. In His grace God never suffered Israel to suffer want, even in the wilderness. Never once did the manna cease or the waters fail—but the monotony of the fare caused them to murmur and lust after Egypt’s delicacies. “Our soul loatheth this light bread.” But life in the wilderness cannot compare with that of Canaan for variety and abundance—milk and honey, old corn and grapes. What abundance characterizes the experience of the believer who lives in Canaan. Everything is in the superlative degree. “Love—that passeth knowledge.” “Joy--unspeakable and full of glory.“Peace—that passeth all understanding.”Such was the alluring prospect. 2. THE LEGITIMATE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE.Here let me correct another popular misconception. It is common in some Christian circles to speak of our experience on earth as “a wilderness experience.” This is true in a sense, but the statement needs to be greatly qualified. Compared with our future experience in heaven with Christ, life here is indeed as a wilderness, but that is not the teaching of our type, for Canaan is not heaven. We must, too, distinguish between a wilderness experience which is legitimate, and one which is not. For Israel, the journey from the Red Sea to Kadesh-Barnea was legitimate and proper. And finds its counterpart in the experience of the young convert. Redeemed and delivered from the slavery of Satan, the young Christian has yet to learn who to walk through life with its bitter experiences—as at Marah—and its sweet experiences—as at Elim—and how to rely on God for daily supplies for the maintenance of the spiritual life. It is an infinitely better experience than that of Egypt, but comes far short of the delights of Canaan. The nation was born, but it was as yet in a state of spiritual infancy—not yet fit for the exacting warfare of Canaan. The hardships of the wilderness would supply this fitness. They fed on bread from heaven, but sometimes longed for a return to Egypt’s dainties. The joyous song of deliverance was on their lips at the Red Sea, but ere long it died and the sound of complaining was heard. They leaned too heavily on human props. When Moses’ masterful presence was removed for a short time, they worshipped the golden calf. They were extremely susceptible to the influence of the worldly mix multitude—to their censure, opinions and desires. In short, they were “carnal”—living on a diet of “milk” instead of “strong meat.”Can any of my readers see in the description a picture of their own lives?"to be continuedIn ChristJeff

3. THE KADESH-BARNEA CRISIS.As the Land of Promise comes into view, one would naturally expect that in their eagerness to be the first to set foot on the sacred soil, the whole company would stampede. But no! They seemed as loth to enter Canaan as the majority of Christians are to embark on the life more abundant.Instead of marching straight into the land, relying on God to make good His promises, they resorted to the carnal expedient of sending ahead spies to report on the prospects. What need had they of spies? Had they not God’s oft repeated promise on which to rest? Had they not the cloudy Pillar to guide by day and night?For forty days the spies searched the land and returned laden with samples of its luscious fruit. All were agreed that the land flowed with milk and honey, but there the agreement ended. Let us set in contrast the MAJORITY REPORT, presented by the Timorous Ten, the men of reason, and the MINORITY REPORT presented by the Trustful Two, the men of faith: Ten: “We are not able.” Num. 13:31Two: “We are well able.” 13:30Ten: “It is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” 13:32Two: “They are bread for us.” 14:9Ten: “Cities are walled and very great.” 13:28Two: “Their defense is departed from them.” 14:9Ten: “We were as grasshoppers in our sight.” 13:33Two: “Neither fear ye the people.” 14:9Ten: “We are no able to go up against the people.” 13:31Two: Let us go up at once and possess it.” 13:30What a startling contrasts! The majority looked at the enemy through the magnifying glass of unbelief. The minority looked at God through the magnifying glass of faith. The majority impeached God’s Word—as though He were a man who would lie. They impeached God’s power—as though seven nations would tax His strength. They impeached God’s goodness—as though He were working for their destruction. How short is the memory of unbelief, and how defective its eyesight. Immediately upon the circulation of this report, panic broke out among the people. Unbelief is unbelievably contagious. Instead of shouts of joyous anticipation, the voice of weeping rent the air the whole night long. They wished they had never left Egypt. “Would God we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness…Let us make a captain and let us return to Egypt,” 14:2-4.Such was their determination not to enter the Land, that only the appearance of the awe—ful Shekinah glory in the midst of the Camp, prevented them from stoning the faithful Caleb and Joshua who were making one last pathetic appeal to their faith.Is there a modern parallel to the attitude and action of the spies? Indeed there is. You will always find many ready to discourage you from going up to possess the Land. They will raise the bugbear of “Sinless perfection.” They will assure you there is no such thing as a life of victory over known sin, for they have never experienced it. They will strenuously maintain that the Sermon on the Mount is for people living in a future age—God does not expect it of us here—forgetting that God has only one standard for the Christian, and that is Christ, the living embodiment of the Sermon on the Mount. They will so press the truth that we received everything at conversion as to imply that we have it all in experience. Instead of available for our appropriation. They will endeavour to scare you for the teaching concerning the Spirit-filled life. They will argue that sanctification is by elapse of time—growing in grace—instead of by faith. Acts 26:18. (We have yet to be convinced that every old person is living a sanctified life.) By questionable exegesis and wresting of the Scripture, they will prove that victory over sin is a mirage when you take to them for explanation such texts as:“Sin shall not have dominion over you.”“Thanks be unto God which ALWAYS leadeth us in triumph in Christ Jesus.”What a solemn responsibility rests on those who, like the spies, “bring a slander on the land,” 14:36, simply because they themselves have failed to enter in “because of unbelief” and prejudice. to be continuedIn ChristJeff

4. THE ILLEGITIMATE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE.I stated earlier that there was a legitimate and an illegitimate Wilderness experience. The former experience lost its propriety for Israel from the moment they turned back at Kadesh-Barnea. From that time onward theirs was a sinful and rebellious experience. They would not enter in, and God ratified their decision by turning them back into the wilderness. In their rebellion they said:“Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land to fall by the sword that our wives and our children should be a prey?” 14:3According to their fears it was unto them. Hear the sentence God pronounced on them for their unbelief:“Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness…but your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years…After the number of the days in which ye searched the land…each day for a year.” 14:29-33.Of all that company, Caleb and Joshua alone of those over twenty years of age, tasted of the joys of Canaan. The remainder all fell in the wilderness, a silent testimony to the sinfulness of unbelief. Have you come to Kadesh-Barnea to-night? What are you going to do? Press forward into the Goodly Land, or turn back into the Wilderness? If you decide on the latter course—which I pray you may not—let me warn you from Israel’s history of the experience to which you are doomed. Dr. Scofield has pointed out to the following characteristics of the sinful Wilderness experience.RESTLESSNESS. They had no settled abiding—place. One day camped beside a beautiful oasis, the next they were traversing the burning sands. The Wilderness Christian is harassed by anxiety and tormented by fears, and is generally very uncomfortable to live with. There are no restful Christians in the Wilderness. DISCONTENT. They constantly murmured against God or His chosen leaders. When God gave them bread from heaven, they craved flesh from Egypt and wished they could again breathe its congenial atmosphere. The Wilderness Christian is occupied with his own troubles rather than with fighting God’s battles. There are no really contented Christians in the Wilderness.FRUITLESSNESS. It is true Israel fought and won battles in the wilderness, but it did not advantage them anything, for they did not gain any territory thereby. They merely gained the right to pass through the enemy’s territory. At the end of forty years’ marching and fighting they were as poor and landless as when they began. The battles of the Wilderness Christian are battles of rebellion rather than of conquest. There are no fruitful Christians in the Wilderness.NEGATIVE. Their main virtue was that they were not doing Egyptian things, although secretly they longed to do them. There was nothing positive or aggressive about their lives. Many Wilderness Christians do not go to pictures, dances, theaters, do not drink, smoke or swear, but having said that about them you have said all. You look in vain for the aggressiveness of a spiritual warrior. There are no positive Christians in the Wilderness.VACILLATION. They alternated between the two borders of Egypt or Canaan. When with worldly people, Wilderness Christians would delight to join in their worldly pursuits were it not for what other would say. Occasionally, when away from home or observation, they will guiltily make a secret excursion into Egypt. At a special mission or Camp they journey across to the Canaan border, and long to enter in, but they always shrink back at the thought of the cost. One day they enjoy sweet Communion, and the next doubt their salvation. There are no stable Christians in the Wilderness. “Sometimes I catch sweet glimpses of His face. But that is all.Sometimes He speaks a passing word of peace. But that is all.Sometimes I think I hear His loving voice upon me call.”Such is the life of a Christian in the Wilderness. Is this what you desire as your experience? Do you not long for a better experience? You do not long to obtain it half as much as God long to bestow it.CONCLUSION.To-night you stand at the parting of the ways. The Spirit of God is seeking to allure you from the disheartening life of carnality and self-pleasing which has characterized you for so long, into a life of victory and power. Are you going to respond to His call, or will you from tonight be turned back by God into the waste howling wilderness? Will you persist in turning back to the fighting and failure, longing and lusting of the wilderness? Listen to the solemn words of the Holy Spirit spoken in this connection:“Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me…forty years…So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” Heb. 4:7-12They had their last chance—and missed it! Their carcases fell in the wilderness. Never again were they granted the opportunity of entering Canaan. It is not my prerogative to say that this will be the last chance some here present will ever be given of entering into Canaan, but if I were in your place, I would fear to say, “Tomorrow,” when the Holy Ghost says, ”Today.”to be continued,tomorrow we will hear from Andrew Murray on this topicIn ChristJeff

Galatians chapter 3 "22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. "Look to what Andrew Murray writes about the law and Christ in the life of the believer.THE HOLIEST OF ALL by Andrew MurrayChapter 2, The Son-More than the Prophets.Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son.”We all know that there are two Testaments—the Old and the New. These represent two dispensations, two modes of worship, two sorts of religions, two ways in which God has intercourse with man, and man draw nigh to God. The one was provisional, preparatory, and intended to pass away. What is gave and wrought was not meant to satisfy, but only to awaken the expectation of something better that was to come. The other was the fulfillment of what had been promised, and destined to last for ever, because it was itself a complete revelation of an everlasting redemption, of a salvation in the power of an endless life. In both Old and New Testament it was God who spake. The prophets in the Old, and the Son in the New, were equally God’s messengers. God spake in the prophets no less truly than in the Son. But in the Old everything was external and through the mediation of men. God Himself could not yet enter and take possession of man and dwell in him. In the New all is more directly and immediately divine—in an inward power and reality and life, of which the Old had only the shadow and hope. The Son, who is God, brings us into the very presence of God. And wherefore was it that God did not, could not, from the very beginning, reveal Himself in the Son? What need was there of these two ways of worshipping and serving Him? The answer is twofold—If man were indeed intelligently and voluntarily to appropriate God’s love and redemption, he needed to be prepared for it. He needed first of all to know his own utter impotence and hopeless wretchedness. And so his heart had to be wakened up in true desire and expectancy to welcome and value what God had to give. When God speaks to us in Christ it is as the Father awelling in the Son. “The words that I say unto you, I speak not from Myself, but the Father abideth in Me doeth the works.” Just as God’s speaking in Christ was an inward thing. So God can still speak to us in no other way. The external words of Christ, just like the words of the prophets, are to prepare us for, and point us to that inner speaking in the heart by the Holy Spirit, which alone is life and power. This is God’s true speaking in His Son. It is of the utmost consequence for our spiritual life that we should rightly understand these two stages in God’s dealing with man. In two ways, not in one; not in more than two; in two ways has God spoken."to be continuedIn ChristJeff

They indicate what, in substance, is God’s way with every Christian. There is, after his conversion, a time of preparation and testing, to see whether he willingly and heartily sacrifices all for the full blessing. If in this stage he perseveres in earnest effort and striving, he will be brought to learn the two lessons the Old Testament was meant to teach. He will become more deeply conscious of his own impotence, and the strong desire will be wakened after a better life, to be found in the full revelation of Christ as able to save completely. When these two lessons are learned—the lesson of despair of self and hope in God alone—the soul is prepared, if it will yield itself in faith to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to enter truly into the New Testament life within the veil, in the very Holiest of All, as it is set forth in this Epistle. Where Christians, through defective instruction, or through neglect and sloth, do not understand God’s way for leading them on unto perfection, the Christian life will always remain full of feebleness and failure. It was thus with the Hebrew Christians. They belonged to the New Testament, but their life was anything but the exhibition of the power and joy Christ came to reveal. They were far behind what many of the Old Testament saints had been; and the reason was this—they knew not the heavenly character of the redemption Christ had brought. They knew not the heavenly place in which He ministers, nor the heavenly blessing He dispenses, nor the heavenly power in which He secures our enjoyment of these blessings. They knew not the difference between the prophets and the Son; what is means that God has now spoken to us in His Son. The one object of the Epistle is to set before us the heavenly priesthood of Christ and the heavenly life to which He in His divine power gives us access. It is this gives the Epistle its inestimable value of all time, that it teaches us the way out of the elementary stage of the Christian life to that of full and perfect access to God. Let us grasp and hold firmly the difference between the two stages. In the one, the action of man is more prominent; God speaks in the prophets. In the other, the divine presence and power are more fully revealed; God speaks in the Son, who bears and brings the very life of God, and brings us into living contact with God Himself. In the one, it is the human words that occupy and influence and help us to seek God; in the other, the divine indwelling Word reveals its power within. In the one, it is multiplicity of thoughts and truths, of ordinances and efforts; in the other, the simplicity and the unity of the one Son of God, and faith in Him alone."I will now go back to the previous book written by Sanders.to be continuedIn ChristJeff

POSSESSING OUR POSSESSIONS“They came to the gates of Canaan, but they never entered in; they came to the very threshold but they perished in their sin.” The thirty-eight years of wilderness wandering since Israel turned back in unbelief at Kadesh-Barnea are now at an end, and once again, in God’s grace, the nation is on the very threshold of the Promised Land. Their camp was pitched on the East side of the River Jordan, ready to pass over into their long-promised inheritance. But among the assembled host was not one male over sixty years of age—the faithful Joshua and Caleb alone excepted—all had fallen in the wilderness, a silent but solemn warning to all who despise the goodly Land. Even Moses and Aaron whose lives had been spent in the most self-sacrificial service for the nation were excluded from the Land because they had failed to honour God before the people. Let those in a position of God-appointed spiritual leadership learn from this that it is no small thing for a leader to dishonor God in the eyes of the people. “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan.”What a strange sequence! Where lies the connection between the two clauses? Moses, whose very name is synonymous with the Law—man’s best unaided endeavours—could never lead Israel into Canaan, even as man’s blest unaided efforts can never lead Israel into a life of blessing, rest and victory. Our heavenly Joshua alone can lead us there. The Canaan experience is not realized until, through the disillusioning experiences of the Wilderness, we are brought to despair of attaining holiness through self-effort.And is there not still another lesson here? God’s purpose and plans are not dependent on any single human instrument, however gifted and wise. He buries His workmen, but His work goes on unaffected. Moses dies, but God takes up Joshua, one man, not the committee of seventy who aided Moses in his administration. When some human leaders die, it seems as though they can never be replaced, but time soon proves that no man is indispensable. 1. THE PROMISE OF PROVISIONIsrael had an unimpeachable title to the Land of Canaan, a title that no conveyancer would care to dispute. It became theirs by deed of gift. The memorandum of transfer is found in Genesis 15:18, “Unto thy seed have I given the Land.” The extent of the territory transferred is clearly defined, “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” The Donor is fully entitled to make the gift, for in the previous chapter, 14:18, He reveals Himself as “Possessor of heaven and earth.” The Psalmist tells us that the legal consideration for the transfer is, “because I had a favour unto them,” or in our language, “in consideration of natural love and affection.”Note that the promise was not, “I will give,” but, “I have given.” It became theirs legally the moment God uttered the promise, but it became theirs experimentally only when they personally possessed it. It is of the utmost importance for Christians to realize that many spiritual blessings are legally theirs by gift from God which become theirs in experience only when they personally appropriate them. This vital truth will come in for fuller treatment later.to be continuedIn ChristJeff

2. THE PREPARATION FOR POSSESSIONConsider the tremendous odds against which Israel must fight. Recent archaeological discoveries have demonstrated that the Hittites were a great and cultured people sufficiently powerful to rival Assyria or Egypt. It was surely absurd presumption for this untrained horde of slaves to think that they could dispossess and untrained horde of slaves to think that they could dispossess and exterminate such highly-organized nations. There must be necessity be preparation for such a conquest.Joshua himself must be prepared and encouraged before he is equipped for the conflict and conquest of Canaan. His preparation had both a divine and a human side. On the divine side there was first of all the Assurance of Divine Enduement. “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life.” V.5.How inadequate must Joshua have felt for the stupendous task he faced, especially as he was following in the steps of the greatest man in the history of the then known world. What inward tremblings would be his. But what calm assurance filled his soul as the Almighty whispered this promise of a divine enduement adequate for the task into the inmost recesses of his spirit—an enduement similar to that received by Moses at the outset of his work. Then there came the Promise of the Divine Presence.“As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” Vs 5In this promise lay the secret of Joshua’s subsequent amazing courage. When God ordains our service, He also empowers it, and failure is impossible, for He is morally pledged to see us through. Again there was an Affirmation of the Divine Faithfulness. “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” V. 5Strengthened by the presence of the God to Whom nothing was impossible, and Who had pledged Himself to see him through to the very end, the prospect would not seem so formidable to Joshua. “Faith, might faith the promise sees,And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries, “It shall be done!”On the human side Joshua was four times Enjoined to be Strong and Courageous. “Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land.” V 6These qualities are the “sine qua non” of the soldier about to engage in aggressive warfare, and God places on Joshua himself the onus of being strong and courageous. This was his responsibility, not God’s. But is it not a hollow mockery to tell a man conscious of his weakness and filled with fear, not to be afraid? Is it not like telling a neurasthenic patient not to worry? How can he be strong and very courageous? Because the Mighty-God is with him, and will neither fail nor forsake him. He must rest on God’s plighted word. Courage that does not rest on the consciousness of God’s presence and faithfulness is presumption rather than courage. Many of us, like Uzziah, become too strong for God. He was “marvelously helped until he was strong, but when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction.” 2 Chron. 26:15-16, and the mighty monarch became a loathsome leper. Joshua’s strength and courage were derived, not self-generated. They were the product of conscious weakness and constant dependence. “Be strong” implied that he felt weak.“Be of good courage” implied that he felt afraid.“Be not dismayed” implied that he was dismayed.God said to him in effect, “Moses is dead, but I am not, therefore, you can be strong and of good courage.” God delights to use those who are consciously weak. Then he was Commanded to Mediate on the Word.“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night…for then shalt thou make they way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.” Vs 8-9The written Word of God was henceforth to be his hand-book, his manual of instruction in warfare. Obedience to it would constitute the secret of his success. This, not the might of his sword, was Joshua’s only equipment, even as it was Christ’s in His conflict in the Wilderness. If he did not literally soak himself in the Word, his strength and courage would ooze out of his fingertips when he came to meet the foe. In it he was to find his marching-orders, the science of warfare and the plan of his campaign. Had Joshua lived in our day, he would not, like so many professing Christians today, have saturated himself in magazines and tasty novels, but in the Word of God, of which he then had only a very small portion. Is this what you are doing? The recruit must master his weapons long before he reaches the front lines. Neglect of meditation—hard thinking, not dreamy reverie—on the Word of God, is the most fruitful source of lost spiritual blessing and anaemic spiritual life. Note that from Eph. 5:18 and Col. 3:16 we learn that the same results follow in Christian character and relationships, from being filled with the Spirit, and being filled with the Word. You will remain filled with the Spirit only so long as you remain filled with the Word. Lastly, he was Urged to Obedience to that Word in its every detail. “That thou mayest observe to do according to all the law.” Vs. 7,9This injunction is of no less importance than the previous two, for disobedience to light received, effectually prevents the reception of further light. The Holy Ghost is given to them that obey Him. Disobedience leaves the devil in possession of a vantage—ground from which he can carry out all his fell designs. On the part of the people, too, there must be preparation for crossing into the Land. “Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land.” Vs, 11In three days the manna would cease, and the nation would have new fare to live upon—the corn of the Land. The food which satisfied you when living in the Wilderness will be inadequate to support your spiritual life in the conflict of Canaan. You will require larger and more frequent meals from the Word, constantly expanding conceptions of your glorious Lord to maintain your growing life. In the Wilderness their food was prepared for them. Now they are about to enter Canaan, they must learn to prepare their own. Herein lies the difference between the carnal and the spiritual Christian. The former, is dependent on human teachers to give him pre-digested food. The latter may be shut away from all human fellowship and yet will maintain his spiritual glow, because he can prepare his own victuals. The soldier on campaign is self-contained and carries his own rations with him. Have you defined to yourself your reason for coming to this Camp? To sing hymns and choruses? To hear the stirring addresses? Or did you come after a year of exacting service to prepare for yourself victuals for the 1938 campaign? Unless you learn how to prepare your own vituals you will backslide into the old rut. A soldier who does not know how to look after his food and his feet will soon find himself back in Blighty—an invalid in the spiritual Casualty Ward. Dig into the Word of God every day and first thing in the day. Feed your soul on the great truths of Scripture, its warnings, reproofs, promises, and above all its glorious Christ.to be continuedIn ChristJeff

3. THE PRINCIPLES OF POSSESSION.There are in this chapter, either expressed or implied, three principles upon which Israel must possess the Land, each of which has its counterpart in the life of the believer. DISPOSSESSION. Before they could possess the cities and houses of Canaan, they must dispossess their present inhabitants. “And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell therein.” Numbers 33:53.Failure to dispossess the enemy would, they were warned, inevitably bring discomfort and defeat. “If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land…they shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your side and shall vex you in the land.” Numbers 33:55Are you conscious that there resides in your heart the equivalent of the seven wicked nations of Canaan? Pride, jealousy, impurity, dishonesty, untruth, ill-temper, unbelief, covetousness and a host of other evil things? These must be dispossessed, driven out. “But,” I hear you despairingly cry, “that is just what I cannot do. I have struggled and wept and prayed all to no avail. In fact they seem even more firmly entrenched than ever. How can I dispossess them?”You cannot, but GOD CAN. Listen to His Word.“And the Lord said unto Moses, I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite,” etc. Ex. 33:1-25“Twas most impossible of allthat here in me sin’s reign shall cease.Yet shall it be? I know it shall!Jesus I trust Thy faithfulness; The thing impossible shall be, All things are possible to me.”Let HIM drive them out for you. Trust Him to fulfill His promise! So, then, they possessed only what they gained by dispossession. The second principle was APPROPRIATION. I believe this to be one of the most important principles and secrets of the Christian life. Thousands of drab lives have been transformed simply through exercising the power of appropriation. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, THAT have I given unto you.” Vs. 3The whole land was given, but every square foot had to be personally possessed. The cities were already there, but they must enter them. The houses were already built, but they must inhabit them. They had to take possession of the land by walking over it foot by foot. So is it with the broad land of God’s promises. He has already given us every spiritual blessing—or as it really is, every blessing of the Spirit. “Who hath blessed you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.” Eph. 1:3“His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3There is nothing necessary for a life of holiness and victory which God has not given to us through our own union with His Son. But unless we put the foot of our faith upon these blessings, they may just as well not have been given us. William Penn, from whom the State of Pennsylvania takes its name, so ingratiated himself with the Red Indians that they gave him all the land he could walk around in a day. He rose early and walked swiftly all day till after dusk. When he returned to the camp, the Redskins quizzically said, “Pale-face has had a very long walk today.” Would to God that more of us would similarly honor the good faith of our God. Put your foot on one of His plighted blessings and say, “That is mine!” God will be as good as your faith. Only the promises we appropriate are ours practically. No amount of power in God, or grace in our provision can make up for lack of faith on your part. The third principle is PROGRESSION. They were not required to possess the whole land at once. “The Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little; thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.” Deut. 7:22.The promise was only for one step at a time. They started from the position of assured victory and were to go on from victory to victory.Each departing day should see more territory brought under the sway and dominion of our Master. And until the very end there will remain unexplored territory and unappropriated treasure. You are not expected to attain overnight to the degree of holiness exemplified by George Muller. The crisis of sanctification is followed by a never-ceasing process. God does expect that you shall be more holy each day. You can be holy up to the full light God has given you.to be continuedIn ChristJeff

4. THE PERILS OF POSSESSION.It was one of the tragedies of Israel’s history, that even in the golden days of David and Solomon much of the land still remained unpossessed.There were two perils to which they succumbed. PARTIAL POSSESSION. Joshua led them in many battles until the power of the nations of Canaan was effectually broken, but ever and anon in the record of the conquests we hear the melancholy refrain: “There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”“Nevertheless they did not drive them out.”“The children of Judah could not drive them out.”“The Canaanites would dwell in the land.”Israel made a disastrous mistake in allowing them to remain. Had God not promised to drive them out? Their failure was a failure of faith.Say to the sins which have enchained you for so long, “Begone! Thou hast no right here! Thou shalt no longer have dominion over me!” And you will find behind your words all the power of the Risen Christ.How sad that Israel was content with the narrow bounds of Canaan and did not completely conquer even that. So has it been with many of us. Our charter has been much wider than our actual wealth. We receive pardon and rest content with that instead of pressing on to enjoy sonship and co-heirship with Christ. We enjoy justification but fail to press on to an experience of consecration and sanctification. Let us not be content with only part of our spiritual inheritance. NON-POSSESSION was the other peril to which two and a half tribes succumbed, Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh fell even further short of the divine ideal. They merely made an excursion into Canaan, and then returned to the land they had selected for themselves on the other side of Jordan. See verses 12-15. Campaigning in Canaan was too strenuous for them! They rested content just short of Canaan. Near, but not in it. They pressed Moses to grant them this delectable pastoral land, and he acceded to their request.Is it necessary for me to make an application? Many travel such a long way towards Canaan. They come to the very borders of the Land, but the demands of absolute surrender and absolute obedience are too stringent for them. Life and warfare in Canaan involve too much renunciation and self-denial, they are not prepared to make a clean break from the strong fascination of the world. They are under the blood, they have passed through the Wilderness—but they do not press right in.How many here present find in Reuben and Gad their own counterparts? You have looked into the Promised Land. You have seen and even sampled the fruit brought back by the spies. You have made occasional excursions and had hallowed experiences in the Land which Wilderness—dwellers have never known, and yet you are not prepared to go the whole way with God and tread the way of the Cross. You have gone such a long way, are you going to miss God’s full blessing for the sake of the tinsel of the world? You have gone a long way and have been willing to part with glaring sins, how about the little foxes that spoil the fruitfulness of the vine? The devil is always ready to say at meetings such as these, “You are all right. You have gone far enough. Settle here. If you press on into the Land, God will take advantage of you and ask you to do hard things. You will have to say “Good-bye” to the joys of life.” And thus he slanders the God who manifested His marvelous love on Calvary’s Cross. The devil was a liar from the beginning. Do not allow him to cheat you of your inheritance. In closing, let me give a solemn warning from the history of these border-dwellers. They were the first of the tribes to fall beneath the invasions of Assyria, and were swept into a captivity from which they never returned. God did not compel them to enter into the Land, nor does He force His blessings upon us. “He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls.” Such will be the experience of those who choose to become border-dwellers. Then, too, they were a source of trouble to Israel ever after. They became like two separate nations, having different dialects and constant disagreements. You can always tell a border-dweller—he is a stranger to the dialect of Canaan. It is a foreign language to him. Being carnal, he will always be at variance with the spiritual believer.Who were their descendants? The Gadarenes who besought Christ to depart out of their coasts. If you are vacillating, counting the cost of crossing Jordan—our subject of tomorrow night—be warned by the experience of the two and a half tribes, lest you find yourself drawn back into the captivity of your old sins, and dishonoring and denying the Christ you now profess to love. Let us pray. to be continuedIn ChristJeff

CLEAN OVER JORDANReading: Joshua, Chapters 3-4:19The host of Israel has removed from Shittim, and is now encamped on the banks of Jordan. The spies have returned with reassuring news that the nations of Canaan were smitten with fear through hearing what God had wrought for Israel. Joshua has accepted the victory in faith, saying, “Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the Land, “ thus making it possible for God to intervene on his behalf.We shall take as our divisions five phases which are found in the Scriptures under review. 1. THIS SIDE JORDAN, 1:15, COUNTING THE COST.Though in sight of the Promised Land, a rapid torrent flowed between them and it, and before them lay difficulties sufficient to daunt the stoutest heart. It seems as though God gave them a three days’ pause to enable them to face the difficulties, count the cost, and act accordingly. DIFFICULTIES TO FACE.The first of these was Jordan’s impassible waters. “Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest.” 3:15The river, swollen by Hermon’s snows, was swirling past their camp. Usually a sluggish stream, it had now become a turbulent torrent. How could they cross it? Could a more unsuitable and impossible time have been chosen? It was humanly impossible, just as impossible and hopeless as it seems to some listening to me tonight, that you should ever be delivered from the slavery of sin with which you have unsuccessfully battled for years. As you attended the Watch-night service yesterday, were you not afraid to make New Year resolutions because you knew it was hopeless? Thank God if tonight you find yourself on the banks of the turbulent, impassable Jordan, and like Israel, are shut up to God for deliverance. The second difficulty was Jericho’s threatening battlements which they could already descry in the distance. “And the people passed over right against Jericho.” 3:16Jericho, with its white walls and palm trees, was the key to Canaan. It was so strongly fortified as to be almost impregnable. It guarded all the passes unto the interior of the Land. One can sympathise with Israel if they were fearful not only of Jordan’s waters, but also of what lay beyond.As you tonight gaze longingly across Jordan upon the Promised Land, can you see some threatening Jericho already looking up before you? Does it seem impregnable? That Jericho is the strategic point of your future Christian life, and all hangs on your going up against it in faith. Is it the public confession of Christ which you have so long evaded? Is it some apology which the Holy Spirit has been impressing you to make? Is it some letter of reconciliation you know you should write? Is it some family feud which you should terminate, or some grudge you should relinquish? Is it some neglected duty or shirked service which you should perform? Is it some financial restitution you should make or debt you should pay? Whatever it is, if you are to know the joy of victory, it must be done. You are tonight faced with two alternatives. You will either cross Jordan and capture Jericho, or you will inevitably return to the illegitimate wilderness experience? May I take it that you have all decided to cross Jordan? INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.The People were instructed to wait until they saw the priests bearing the Ark between them, before they removed from their tents. Between them and the Ark was to be a distance of 2000 cubits. They were now to have a new experience of divine guidance. Hitherto they had been supernaturally guided by the cloud and fire, but now they were to be guided by the Ark borne by their own kinsmen. In the Promised Land, supernatural manifestation give place to spiritual exercise. No clue or indication was given them as to how they would get across. To them it was to be matter of faith, not of sight. The Priests were merely instructed to take up the Ark and pass over before the people. To Joshua alone was revealed God’s method of procedure. SANCTIFICATION TO ACCOMPLISH.“Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 3:5.“But,” you protest, “I thought it was God who sanctified us.” The word “sanctify” means primarily “to separate,” and there is a very real sense in which we must sanctify ourselves. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1.Is there any sin, any habit, any association, any indulgence, any friendship, any worldly amusement with which you are not prepared to break? Then you will pray in vain for victory and blessing, God’s tomorrow of wonders is dependent on our today of sanctification. We fix the time for the display of God’s power. The windows of heaven are always bolted on the manward side.2. ON THE BRINK OF JORDAN, 3:8. THE STEP OF FAITHWhen Israel came to the Red Sea, they found a path already made for them. All they had to do was to walk across. But not so at Jordan. There was no evidence whatever to sight. As we advance in the Christian life, God weans us from sight and shuts us up to faith. Can you picture the white-robed band advancing until a thousand yards lie between them and the host which then follows? Can you see the priests bearing the golden Ark with its covering of blue reach the rushing waters and stand on the very brink? Can you imagine the Satanic suggestion which would doubtless be insinuated into their minds, “What if nothing happens when you step into the flood?” But at the first touch of their feet, the muddy waters fled, and the way to Canaan was opened.What the Ark was to them—and very much more—the Lord Jesus is to us. When the feet of Jesus were dipped into the River of Death, its murky waters receded, so that we who are in Him can cross over on dry land. When He went into death, He carried the whole Church in Himself into death, but not until we personally claim by faith our share in that death and resurrection, can the Holy Spirit make it actual. Between the longing believer and the Canaan experience there always flows a Jordan which must be crossed. With Israel it was a case, not of “growing over” but of “going over.” So we do not inevitably grow out of the Wilderness experience any more than Israel grew out of the Wilderness. It was the result of a step of faith.to be continuedIn ChristJeff

3. IN THE MIDST OF JORDAN, 3:17, BURIED WITH CHRIST.Now the priests, bearing their sacred burden are standing“firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.”This symbolic action is replete with instructive lessons. Their descent into Jordan finds its counterpart in Romans 6:3,4.“Are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized unto Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised form the dead…so we also might walk in newness of life.” (R.V.).It is of the utmost importance that we distinguish the two aspects of Christ’s death—Substitution and identification.A. SUBSTITUTION. How may I be saved from the penalty and guilt of sin? By believing Christ died FOR me. How do I know He died FOR me? Because I feel it? No! Because the Bible reveals it, and I rest on what it says. But this is only one aspect of His death.B. IDENTIFICATION. How may I be delivered from the tyranny and dominion of sin? By believing that I died WITH Christ. “But I do not feel that I died with Christ.” The same Bible which tells me Christ died for me, tells me that I died with Christ, and to be consistent I must believe both statements. “Knowing this that our old man was crucified WITH Him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.” Romans 6:6 (R.V.).When Christ died, He did not die alone. Your old unregenerate self, and mine, died with Him on Calvary. It is for us to believe this fact, and to act accordingly. This is not an attainment of certain advanced Christians, but a fact true of all believers. It was not a crisis which took place at some point in Paul’s experience through something he did, and it is true of you whether you believe it or not. So in substitution we see The Savior on the Cross FOR the Sinner,While in identification we see The Sinner on the Cross WITH the Savior.The reason for God identifying us with Christ in His death is not far to seek. No house can entertain two masters without conflict. Our old man is incurably wicked and will never abdicate in favor of Christ, hence God must deal drastically with the usurper. He passed the sentence of death on him, which sentence was executed at Calvary. And now to every soul seeking deliverance God says, “Your old man, the traitor within, the cause of all your trouble, was nailed to Christ’s cross. Act as if that were so.”How does this operate in actual experience?“Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God in Jesus Christ.” Romans 6:11 (R.V.).It becomes actual in my experience in response to my reckoning, and in this I have the aid of the Holy Spirit. “But if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body ye shall live.” Romans 8:13 (R.V.).Do you concur in God’s sentence on your old nature? You cross Jordan when you pronounce sentence on yourself, when you consent to die, when you hand over your old man to the Holy Spirit to execute in you the sentence of death. It is just here that “reckoning” comes in. It is my part to reckon. It is God’s part to make my reckoning good.To “reckon” is not to IMAGINE something to be true which is not really true, but to count on something which is really true. It is not a poetical phrase, and has nothing whatever to do with the feelings. It is a word of mathematics, and means “to compute,” “to calculate.” It is an attitude of mind in which we count a thing to be true for reasons as sure as the mathematical law that two and two make four. Spiritually it means to count as true what the Bible says is true, whether I feel it or not. Our reckoning does not make our identification with Christ a fact—it is that already—but it does enable us to realize its power and blessing. “Reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, “ and God will see to it that you will “no longer be in bondage to sin.” But a dead man is not of much service to God. This aspect is purely negative. The priests did not remain “in the midst of Jordan.”to be continuedIn ChristJeff

4. UP OUR OD JORDAN, 4:16. RISEN WITH CHRISTWhen all Israel had passed “clean over,” the command came to the priests to ‘come up out of Jordan.” This, too, has its New Testament counterpart. “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” Romans 6:5 (R.V.).Not only was I crucified and buried with Christ, but I was raised with Him too. It is deeply significant that death is never mentioned in connection with the believer apart from resurrection. “Buried with Christ and raised with Him too, what is there left for me to do? Simply to cease from struggling and strife, simple to walk in newness of life. Glory be to God.”“But how do I know that I was raised with Christ?” Here again I simply accept in faith the Scripture statement, and count on it being true in my case. From Calvary there flows a dual stream—a stream of death, breaking the power of sin over me, and a stream of life, enabling me to walk in newness of life.Again I anticipate your objection that you feel neither dead to sin nor alive unto God, by stating that at this moment you are as much dead to sin and alive unto God as you ever will be. The Scripture does not say that sin is dead to you, for it is as active as ever, but id does clearly teach that as you “reckon yourself dead to sin and alive unto God, “ the Lord will make both facts actual in your experience. There is involved here an act of the will, not a reaction of the emotions. Our Lord commanded the man with the withered arm to stretch it forth. He might well have demurred, saying that he did not feel the power to stretch it forth, but he “reckoned” on Christ’s good faith, and willed to stretch if forth. God’s enabling power came in between the acting of willing and the act of stretching forth his hand. So, then, apart from feeling, believe this to be true and “reckon yourself…alive unto God.” Act as if it were so, and it shall be so. A striking illustration of this truth is found in Lincoln’s Emancipation Act by which America’s slaves were set free. The moment he signed his name to that momentous document, every slave was legally set free; but every slave was not immediately liberated experimentally. Before this took place several things must happen. A. The slave must HEAR the glad news. Knowledge of his legal freedom was essential, not feelings.B. He must BELIEVE the news.C. He must RECKON on the news being true in his case.D. He must REFUSE any longer to be a slave, and assert his freedom from his former master.E. He could COUNT ON all the force of the USA legislature being behind him as he refused further bond-service. Even so is it with the believer. Christ signed our Act of Emancipation in His own blood. It is for me to believe it, reckon on it being true in my case, refuse to be ground any longer under the heel of sin and Satan, and it thus claiming my freedom and saying “No” to sin, I can count on all the power of the Risen Christ being behind me. No longer need I be powerless in service. “I am alive unto God” or responsive to God. Alive to prayer, alive to calls for service, alive for testimony and soul-winning. to be continued,In ChristJeff

5. CLEAN OVER JORDAN, 3:17. NEWNESS OF LIFE.Immediately the priests came “up out of Jordan,” the waters rolled back as cold and forbidding as ever—but “all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” What DEFINITENESS! Jordan was the clear and definite boundary between the Wilderness and Canaan. There was no need to ask, “Am I over Jordan or not?” We know when we have crossed Jordan. WHAT FINALITY? Between them and their old life lay Jordan’s swirling waters. They had crossed their Rubicon. They were shut in with their enemies. There was no possibility of retreat. When we enter the Canaan experience, we look back and see the river of Christ’s death flowing between us and the old life of sin. WHAT NEWNESS! To Israel it was indeed a totally new kind of life. There was better food. The manna was replaced by fruit, milk, honey and corn. There was a better rest. No longer aimlessly wandering in the desert, they lived in their settled homes. They had a better song on their lips and in their heart. And they experienced more victory in their warfare. This is a picture of the “walk in newness of life.” Tonight you stand trembling on the brink of Jordan. The Self-life is pleading hard to be spared. You have fully counted the cost and faced the difficulties, and the devil has been strongly urging you to postpone decision, but this must not be. The Ark has gone before into the dark waters of Jordan, but you must follow by an act of faith. To you the Lord is saying, “Do you believe that I can bring YOU clean over Jordan as I brought Israel? Do you fear to trust Me?” What is your response going to be? Shall it not be, “Lord, I do not know HOW it is going to be done, but I believe Thy Word. Feeling or no feeling, token or no token, I now yield myself to Thee and trust Thee to bring me. to be continuedIn ChristJeff

THE PERILS OF THE PROMISED LANDReading: Joshua, Chapters 5:13-15, 6; 7; 9The outstanding characteristic of life in the Promised Land is Conflict, as the experience of Israel after crossing Jordan abundantly demonstrates. They knew very little about fighting until they came up against the inhabitants of the Land. True they had had skirmishes in the Wilderness, but now the conflict begins in grim earnest. The Christian who imagines that life in the Promised Land is one of rest from temptation and conflict, has a great disillusionment awaiting him. There is not less temptation, but more strong and subtle temptation. There is not less conflict, but more constant conflict. The difference lies in the fact that in Canaan the battle is not fought under our own leadership, but under that of the Victorious Man with the drawn sword, Who has never suffered defeat. It is not rest FROM conflict, but rest IN conflict. In Canaan, Israel lost only one battle in seven years, and that was because of culpable disobedience and sin. It must be remembered that Israel’s warfare was not directed against the Canaanites merely as men, but against the Satanic powers to which they yielded, and which were the objects of their worship. God commanded their extermination for two wise and sufficient reasons. First, they were incorrigible demon-worshippers, and were thus and abomination to Him. Secular history is sufficient to establish this fact without recourse to the divine record. For the sake of the human race they must be cut off lest all be drawn away into the same sin. Second, they were unspeakably immoral. “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things,” the Lord had commanded His people, “for in all these things the nations are defiled which I cast out before you. Therefore do I visit the iniquity thereof upon it.” The extermination of the Canaanites, then, according to this passage, was an act of necessary moral surgery, as beneficent an act in the interests of the human race as is the excision of the cancer which will shortly deprive the sufferer of his life. God had a purpose of blessing for the whole human race through Israel, which would have been defeated had He allowed them to intermingle and intermarry with the morally corrupt and cruel Canaanites. The Christian who has entered the Promised Land soon finds arrayed against him spiritual foes of which he knew nothing when living the carnal life. “For we have to close in grapple not with human flesh and blood alone, but with Principalities, with Powers, with the Lords of Darkness whose present sway is world-wide, with the spirit-host of Wicked Beings that haunt the upper air. Therefore take up the God-given panoply…” Eph 6:12-13 (Way)In Egypt, in type, the conflict was with the World.Against Amalek, the conflict was with the Flesh. With the Canaanites the conflict was with the Devil and his hosts.We can settle it, then, that life in Canaan means a life of conflict. Now let us learn what lessons the Holy Spirit has to teach us from four of Israel’s initial experiences in the Land. to be continuedIn ChristJeff

1. THE INITIAL CONQUEST—OF JOSHUA, 5:13-15, BEWARE OF SELF-RELIANCE.Joshua is alone under the very walls of Jericho. He has come out to reconnoiter, as any prudent General would do before he attempted to take a city. Suddenly he lifts up his eyes to behold standing over against him a man with a drawn sword. Who is the warrior, Canaanite or Israelite? He is neither enemy nor ally, but LEADER! Joshua finds himself in the presence of his Superior Officer to whom he yields his sword as he falls in the dust at His feet. He perceives that this is none other than the Lord Himself, and obediently enquires, “What saith my Lord unto His servant?” Joshua hands over command; he is no longer Leader. To change the lessons of this incident into New Testament language, in Canaan Joshua received a new revelation of Christ as Lord and Master. He renounced his own plan of attack, realizing that there was no room in God’s plan for his merely human skill and ingenuity. Is this your attitude? God’s self-revelation is always adapted to the circumstances we are in. Inexperienced Israel is about to embark on prolonged warfare. Then God reveals Himself as a Man of war. “As Captain….am I now come.” As then, so He does today. He was Captain, not of Israel’s but of heaven’s hosts. Jericho fell, not before the might of Israel’s arms, but before the might of heaven’s hosts. Wherever there is a Jericho, there is a mighty Lord with His hosts, Whose presence assures victory. The Captain assumed all responsibility, to Joshua’s great relief. He is willing to do the same for us. When we do not know the best way to attack our Jerichos, it is a tremendous strength to know that we have One on Whom we can lean for all needed wisdom and power. Joshua had to learn that the Lord must conquer him, before He could conquer his foes through him.“Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqu’ror be.”Immediately after this meeting we read:“And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the King thereof, and the mighty men of valour.” 6:2to be continuedIn ChristJeff

As a side note, this sermon by David Wilkerson speaks in the same manner as Sanders and Murray.https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=613In ChristJeff

2.THE INITIAL MENACE—OF JERICHO, Chapter 6. BEWARE OF SELF-EFFORT.But although the Lord had given Jericho to Joshua, its walls were still intact, as grim and forbidding as ever! It remained for Israel to work out the principles of possession of which we spoke in an earlier address. They must first dispossess the enemy and then appropriate their land.Now Jericho was the key to Canaan. From it radiated all the roads and passes through the country. Its capture was the first strategic necessity. With what a strange mixture of exhilaration and trepidation the young nation faced the prospect! There was no retreat, their bridges had been burned behind them when they elected to cross Jordan. It was now either victory or death. It is to their eternal credit that they stood up to the tremendous test of the new Captain’s seemingly absurd plan of campaign. They might well have been excused questioning its wisdom, but no, their surrender is complete and they yield implicit obedience. God’s plan of attack always does seem futile to carnal wisdom and expediency, but it is the only way which leads to success. In their campaign against Jericho, five sidelights on this victory of faith are to be seen.THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH, vs. 14. To march round the city once a day for six day and then seven times on the seventh day imposed the greatest possible strain on their loyalty and obedience. The Holy Ghost is given “to them that obey Him.” Acts 5:32.THE SILENCE OF FAITH, vs. 10. It must have had a strange effect on Jericho to watch this host of virile young men—for none were over sixty—marching round the city in absolute silence, voicing no challenge, flinging no taunt, making no complaint, but content to be “fools for Christ’s sake.” They could afford to be silent, for they were inwardly relying on the promise of their God. THE PATIENCE OF FAITH, vs. 14. “So did they six days,” A tremendous test for young men itching to match their strength with that of their enemies. To do nothing and wait for God is far more difficult than to do something on our own initiative. THE SHOUT OF FAITH, vs. 16. They shouted BEFORE the walls fell—not after. Their shout was only the outward expression of their inward faith. The shout was the expression of their appropriation, to which God responded so miraculously. “Before the battle—lines are spread, Jesus saves me now’Before the boasting foe is dead, Jesus saves me now.I win the fight, though not began, I’ll trust and SHOUT still marching on, Jesus saves me now.”THE GLORYING OF FAITH, vs. 19. The silver, gold, brass, iron, was all to be consecrated to God and placed in His treasury. In other words, all the glory was to be God’s. The victory was so evidently the sovereign work of the Lord and His hosts, that neither Joshua nor the people could take aught of the glory. When that Jericho in your nature or your circumstances, so deeply entrenched, so impregnable, falls before your shout of faith, see that you give the glory to the One to Whom it belongs.\t\tBEWARE OF SELF-EFFORTto be continuedIn ChristJeff

3.THE INITIAL REVERSE—AT AI. Chapter 7. BEWARE OF PRESUMPTION.As previously stated, this was the only battle in which Israel suffered defeat in seven years, and it occurred close on the heals of their first great victory. This fact surely invests it with great significance for the believer only recently a resident of Canaan. Ai, though apparently small and insignificant, was in reality second only to Jericho in its strategic importance. It guarded most of the passes into the interior of Canaan, and was therefore far from being as unimportant as it seemed. It was here, then, that they suffered their new and terrible experience of defeat in the Land, in an engagement in which thirty-six were killed, and the whole detachment ignominiously routed. “Then defeat is possible to the Christian, even in the Promised Land! I thought is was all victory for me if I crossed Jordan.” Yes, defeat is possible, but not necessary. Let us endeavour to discover to discover the causes underlying their defeat. A. CAUSES OF THE DEFEATFirst of all there was Presumption, engendered by their recent signal success at Jericho. They under-estimated the foe, and decided to send only a few against the city instead of the whole army. They acted in carnal wisdom, sending spies ahead to determine the best method of attack, instead of consulting the Captain. Then, too, they acted as though THEY had captured Jericho. Let us settle it once and for all, that there is no sin so small that we can defeat it ourselves. The hour when flushed with recent victory is the hour of greatest danger. Success in public is often followed by humiliating defeat in private, through this same sin of presumption. Prayerlessness was also a contributory factor in the defeat. Not that Joshua did not pray, but he prayed at the wrong time—be prayed after, instead of before. If they had made the same preparations before Ai as before Jericho, how different the story would have been! If Joshua had consulted the Unseen Captain, He would soon have revealed to him the guilty mound in Achan’s tent. When Joshua falls on his face, the Lord says, “Get thee up—this is not the time to pray, for Israel hath sinned.” In other words, “It is you, not I, who must act.” Humiliation will not take the place of searching out evil. If we suffer defeat, the remedy is, not to fall on our faces in prayer, but to search out and judge the sin which caused the defeat. But it was Purloining which was the actual occasion of the defeat—the outcome of covetousness on the part of Achan, and apparently, of his family who were privy to his action. His sin was willful, for due warning of the penalty had been given. It was secret, being known only to the members of his family. But he learned that with God there is no such thing as secret sin. He saw no connection whatever between the mound in his tent and the thirty-six corpses on the Ai road and the resultant demoralization of two million people. It was a sin in the devouted thing. Achan had joined with others in devoting all the spoil to God, but, like Ananias and Sapphira, he took it back from the altar. Is there anything, once placed on the altar which you have since withdrawn? In these solemn moments let me plead with you to restore it to where it rightfully belongs. His sin affected the whole camp. You cannot sin in secret without affecting others. Your individual sin affects and weakens the whole Church. Only one drop of poison injected into the little finger will kill every member of the body. B. Correction of the DefeatThank God, there is no defeat we may suffer for which there is not abundant provision made for forgiveness and subsequent victory. Joshua searched out the sin and executed judgment on the offenders. He obeyed the Captain instead of following the carnal advice of the spies, by sending the whole host up against Ai. The result was a foregone conclusion—a sweeping victory. And more than that, they were permitted to take the spoil—the spoil in which Achan would have participated had he only been willing to wait a few hours. How tragic the results of endeavouring to snatch blessings from God before His time. Learn the Lessons of Ai and \t\tBEWARE OF PRESUMPTIONto be continuedIn ChristJeff

5. THE INITIAL COMPROMISE—WITH GIBEON. Chapter 9. BEWARE OF SNARESOnce again Israel is flushed with the victory of Ai. With the onward victorious march of the invaders, however, the whole of the surrounding nations proclaimed a truce in their inter-tribal warfare, and united against their common foe. The Gibeonites (Hivites), however, were doubtful as to the wisdom of fighting against Israel, and decided to resort to strategy. So they sent ambassadors of peace, purporting to come from a far country. Their story certainly seemed consistent with their appearance—old sacks, old wine-bottles, old shoes, old garments and mouldy bread. The Israelites were suspicious at first—but then, the evidence was so strong! Here they made their tragic blunder“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” V. 14Satan is infinitely more dangerous in his wiles than in his open assaults. The Early Church flourished under the persecutions of Nero, but succumbed to the flatteries of Constantine.“Beloved, believe not every spirit. Prove the spirits, whether they are of God.” 1 John 4:1.“I fear, lest by any means, as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3.In this case the story appeared so reasonable, their appearance was so in keeping, and their illusions to Jehovah were so reverent, that the Israelites believed the evidence of sight, and “asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord, “ They trusted to their own discernment and good judgment. Fatal mistakes are so often perpetuated by the followers of Christ. You can never afford to forbear asking counsel of your Lord, for you are unequally matched against a subtle and cunning enemy. When your common-sense is most sure of a course of action, make doubly sure by consulting the Unseen Commander. Throw all the responsibility upon Him, and He will never misguide you. To his dismay, in three days’ time Joshua discovered that these “citizens of a far country: were his next-door neighbors; but the discovery came too late, for he had already made a compact with them. Throughout the years which followed, the Gibeonites were a burden to Joshua and a curse to Israel, even as the Lord had forewarned them. Compromise always leads to trouble and discomfort.And yet, in His abundant grace, “God turned the curse into a blessing,” as He so frequently does. The Gibeonites became “hewers of wood and drawers of water” to Israel, hewing wood for the burnt-offering and drawing water for the drink-offering, thus liberating many from these menial tasks to push the battle to the gates against the Canaanites. God frequently allows the natural consequences of our compromise to run their course, but at the same time makes them serve our spiritual and eternal welfare. The lesson from the Compromise with Gibeon is, then, Beware of Snares. Be suspicious of appearance, WATCH and pray.Such are some of the perils which beset Israel in their conquest of Canaan, from each of which we may learn invaluable lessons. Although many victories were gained, yet God’s ideal for them was never wholly realized, as the writer to the Hebrews makes plain in his comment of their experience under Joshua’s leadership;“For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:8,9Israel perpetually fell just short of God’s full plan for them. Never once did they possess all the land He had given them. Never once was the year of jubilee, with its implications of absolute surrender to the sovereignty of their god and correct adjustment to their fellow-men, really observed. The “rest” which they experienced in the land was always temporary. The true rest, the “rest of faith” awaited the advent of the Heavenly Joshua who alone was qualified to say, “Come unto Me and I will give you rest.” Thank God, this rest of faith is no longer relegated to the future, but can, in response to our faith, be entered upon and enjoyed here and now. “We which have believed do enter into rest. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering unto His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Hebrews 4:3,1In ChristJeff