Entering the Promised Land – part 1

nick   June 6, 2015   Comments Off on Entering the Promised Land – part 1

Entering the Promised Land – part 1

The story so far ….

God has rescued his people out of Egypt but because of their disobedience and hardness of heart they have had to wait 40 years before entering into the promised land, until every man of fighting age had died. They hardened their hearts in disobedience. In Hebrews 3 we are warned that we should not harden our hearts as they did. Lets not have hard hearts.

So now Joshua leads them miraculously across the Jordan and into the promised land. In chapter 3. The river is in flood but as the priests carrying the ark put their feet into the water the river bed dries up so that they can cross. To enter in required faith and dependence on God.

In the new covenant who are the priests? – we are. Who carries the presence of God? – we do.

Our life as Christians can be described as the promised land. God wants us to enter fully in. Here are some things to help us:

The first thing:

  1. Set up 12 stones from out of the Jordan as a memorial (Josh 4:19)– to remember what God has done. Looking back can be good and bad. Here it is good. Don’t look back if it makes you disgruntled. We are going to share communion/ break bread – there is an element of looking back
  2. Then two things happen that are to do with God’s promise / his covenant and the people’s response
  • God says that all the men were to be circumcised.(Josh 5:2) Throughout the 40 years in the wilderness there had been no circumcision. Now, entering in to the promised land there is a consecration to God – a sign of faith in his promises. Why now? Because now they were back on track fulfilling their destiny as God’s covenant people. Make them again a circumcised people. A fresh start in the promises of God.
  • Celebration of the Passover (Josh 5:10). Looking back in celebration of God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt and from his judgement

 

  • Why these two things? Getting back to the roots, foundations. Getting back to the covenant. We need to be ever mindful of the foundation of the new covenant. Passover not only looked back but also looked forward to their new life in the land, enjoying his abundant blessings. As new covenant people we are always looking back to Christ on the cross.

They are entering in to the new phase

  1. God’s provision of manna ended (Josh 5:12) – perplexing – supernatural provision is ending. Now they were able to be sustained by the produce of the land. False division between natural and supernatural. It’s all from God. God will provide. This was not the end of God’s provision – just a new phase. God regularly has new phases for us. Just because he has done one thing up to now doesn’t mean he has to keep doing the same thing in the same way

Also this – God can provide even if we are not walking with him. Here – because he knows where this is going. Because even in judgement there is grace.