Joshua - Lesson 4

We are going to discuss a number of incidents related to Joshua and Israel in Canaan and we’ll show how these bear on the Christian’s daily warfare against the flesh, the world, and Satan.

As we have said, Canaan, the Promised Land for the Israelites is often taught as a type of heaven. Some hymns even suggest this. But we are going to see another view of Canaan, namely as the Christian’s battle against sin and his victory over it as he seeks to be obedient to the Lord.

Canaan was a place of conflict and this immediately makes us question the use of it as a type of heaven, where there is no conflict. The nations in Canaan are types of the “principalities” and “powers” that we have read about.

· Ephesians 6:12, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Before we get into the movement of the Israelites into Canaan you need to know that it was Moses who led the people for 40 years through the wilderness. And, as they approached the Promised Land there were battles to be fought east of the Jordan and it would seem that Moses used Joshua to lead the Israelites in these battles. In any case you will recall that God did not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land because of his disobedience in the desert when he “struck” the rock instead of “speaking” to it to get water from it. So Moses led the people up to what is now Jordan before he died. Though he did not enter the Promised Land, he did see it from Mt. Nebo which is east of the Jordan River.

Back to Joshua. These various kingdoms in Canaan were all ruled by Satan, meaning that they were hostile toward God. The experiences that we are going to discuss give reason for us to truly give serious attention to what we are told in Ephesians.

· Eph 6:13-18, Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

We have to choose to become spiritually aggressive. We as Christians tend to be defense minded and think of the “don’ts” of the Christian life. These are important but we need to be on the offense spiritually. Where does this idea come from? Well it comes from Jesus.

· John 15:16, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

Think on what this really means.

As we look at Joshua we quickly see that for forty years he was playing second fiddle to Moses and did it successfully. When he succeeded Moses he still was second fiddle but this time he was second fiddle to God. Joshua had no problems with his role because his calling was to be obedient to his Master.

For many Christians this is difficult, but necessary.

· Josh 11:14-15, As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.

What a commendable reputation to have.