Category: Promised Land

Wading into Unknown Waters

Sometimes God asks us to move forward with a plan and only gives us minimal details. The Bible includes many stories of courageous, faith-filled people doing this, but one of my favorites is found in the book of Joshua.

For the past few weeks we’ve been following a high-level narrative of Scripture in tandem with Elizabeth Woodson’s From Beginning to Forever.1 While Woodson’s swift pace covers lots of ground, I want to pump the brakes here so we don’t miss the incredible story of Joshua leading the Israelites into the promised land.

First, stop and imagine how daunting it must have been for Joshua to receive the mantle of leadership from Moses. His predecessor had confronted Pharaoh and prevailed, spoken directly to God multiple times, and led the unruly and ungrateful Jews in the desert for 40 years. Maybe that’s why God admonishes Joshua three times in one conversation “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6,9,18).

The Lord tasks Joshua with leading roughly two million Jews across the Jordan River at flood stage when the swollen river was probably several hundred yards across. “Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ Joshua said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.’ So they took it up and went ahead of them. And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” (Joshua 3:5-8, NIV)

Before experiencing the “amazing things” the Lord would do, the people were required to consecrate themselves. This included bathing and washing their clothes—physically purifying themselves to symbolize spiritual purification and to honor the Lord as holy. “This was often done before making a sacrifice or, as in this case, before witnessing a great act of God. God’s law stated that a person could become unclean for many reasons…God used these various outward signs of uncleaness to illustrate man’s inward uncleaness that comes as a result of sin. The consecration ceremony pictured the importance of approaching God with a pure heart.”2 This couldn’t have been an easy process for people with no modern conveniences who had been living in the desert sands but the process of physical cleansing helped them understand and appreciate the beauty of spiritual purity found only in God.

Once everyone was scrubbed clean and packed up to move forward, the priests walked toward the rushing waters of the Jordan. Bystanders probably held their breath as the priests teetered on slippery rocks at the water’s edge while balancing the holy and precious Ark of the Covenant on poles on their shoulders.

With those steps of obedience, a miracle unfolds before their eyes: “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away…So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.” (Joshua 3:15, 16a, 17, NIV) Remember, how the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea when the Israelites’ journey began in Exodus 14? Now, He does it again at the Jordan River as their desert wandering comes to an end.

Keep in mind that Joshua trusted God before the miracle. He followed the Lord’s instructions with the simple promise that He would do “amazing things.” Bible teacher Kristi McClelland explains, “[God] doesn’t promise to tell us everything that’s going on ahead of time. He doesn’t promise we’ll see a blueprint before we start building. The reward is often on the other side of obedience…Life doesn’t always afford us all the facts before we make a decision. But we can always decide to trust God’s character. We can always decide to believe in God’s goodness and steadfast love.”3

By the time this miracle occurs, Joshua had been walking with the Lord for many years. Each time he’d stepped out in trust, God had revealed His character and faithfulness. Joshua had experienced enough miracles to know God could do whatever He said He could do. So, Joshua listened when he was told to be strong and courageous. He walked in faith, believing God’s promise that He would be with him. He took action according to God’s plans and led others with courage and confidence, undeterred by seemingly impossible circumstances. And with each act of obedience, Joshua’s faith in the Lord grew stronger.

Although I’ve never led two million people across a rushing river, I’ve seen how God reveals Himself when I respond to His prompting. Instead of holding back and playing it safe, I’ve trusted the Lord to stretch me beyond my comfort zone—whether it was starting a Bible study for spiritually curious women, spending time with teens building homes in Mexico, or spontaneously praying over hurting people I encounter. He’s used these experiences to stretch me, refine me, deepen my faith, mature me, and reveal His character.

I’m learning that God is always at work and giving us opportunities to join Him. Where might the Lord be calling you to consecrate yourself, step out in faith, and wade into unknown waters? Consider praying and asking Him to show you what He wants you to know and do. Trust Him to walk alongside you and to give you the courage to do what seems uncomfortable, awkward, or downright scary. You’ll find life is fuller, richer, and more meaningful than you could ever imagine.

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1. Elizabeth Woodson, From Beginning to Forever: A Study of the Grand Narrative of Scripture, Lifeway Press, 2022.
2. Life Application Study Bible, Zondervan & Tyndale, 1991, 338.
3. Kristi McClelland, Jesus and Women in the First Century and Now, Lifeway Press, 2019, 43-44.

Eliminate Idols; Build God’s Kingdom- Final Thoughts on No Other Gods

Moving the colorful troops around on the game board seems fairly simple. But if you‘ve ever played the game of “Risk,” you know it’s actually quite complicated. Dubbed “The Game of Global Domination,” the rules written by Parker Brothers explain: “Play the commander of vast armies, a general of superior strategy and a tactician unlike any mankind has ever seen. Your goal is simple: to take over the world.”

Each player claims a portion of a large fictionalized world map and challenges opponents to battles. Using a combination of rolling dice and drawing cards that determine a player’s advantages and limitations, players must calculate attack and defense strategies. The game can last for hours. I pictured the large world map and the tiny game pieces as I thought about what happens when we leave idols behind to focus fully on God.

Why, you may ask, would a board game prompt such thoughts? The answer is simple: some of us are so consumed with our own circumstances that we don’t realize we have the opportunity to expand God’s kingdom on earth, like spreading more of His troops across the map on the game board. Once we’re ready to leave our personal agendas behind and trust His will above our own, we discover what the abundant life God promises is really all about.

In the book of Joshua, the Israelites expanded God’s physical kingdom on earth when they entered the Promised Land and began taking possession of it. We have the opportunity to do something similar on a spiritual level every day. It’s all part of living out the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer that says “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) Yet sometimes we focus so much on our personal relationship with God that we overlook the fact that we’re called to look beyond ourselves. Claiming Jesus as Savior should go hand in hand with increasing His rule and reign on earth.

Back in Genesis, God’s original plan was to use Adam and Eve to spread His kingdom. He made them in His image, gave them authority over the earth and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28, NIV) Sadly, when Satan succeeded in tempting them in the Garden of Eden, their choice to disobey God brought sin into the world. This caused the authority originally given to them to be passed to the devil. Although God had ultimate sovereignty, the enemy was (and still is) temporarily granted authority because of Adam and Eve’s choice to sin.

The good news is God’s kingdom still exists in its fullness in heaven. By doing His will, we increase His kingdom on earth. Author, Bible scholar, and Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright explains: “God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected…into his world through his human creatures. He has enlisted us to act as his stewards in the project of creation. And, following the disaster of rebellion and corruption [that took place in the Garden of Eden], he has built into the gospel message the fact that through the work of Jesus and the power of the Spirit, he equips humans to help in the work of getting the project back on track.”

Imagine the example of the game I described. Although God ultimately owns the “game board” (the world) and all of the pieces, the enemy has been given a temporary seat at the table. For a time, he has the opportunity to strategize about how he can thwart God’s kingdom from spreading on earth. Still, many people who love the Lord remain passive as events unfold, not understanding they’re meant to play a part in His ongoing plan to expand His kingdom on earth. Those who realize it help to reclaim the world for good instead of letting it languish in evil.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, followers of Jesus reflect creation as God intended it to be. Once we eliminate the idols that hinder us and make room for God, we’re ready to change the atmosphere in our world. Engaging in the adventure of building God’s kingdom on earth brings joy, hope and fulfillment in a way that idols never will. Understanding this makes the hollow things we used to cherish seem flimsy, insignificant and useless by comparison. Loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength enables Him to do amazing things through us. The ripple effects cause His kingdom to spread throughout the earth, preparing it for the day when John’s prophecy about heaven and earth merging will become a reality:

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3b-4, NIV)

There are two songs that have impacted me deeply as I’ve considered the part we play in furthering God’s kingdom on earth: “With Every Act of Love” by Jason Gray and “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective. Both provide tangible examples and inspiring perspectives about this topic. Rend Collective’s song also prompted me to write a prayer about this compelling subject. Would you consider praying it with me?

God, unleash your kingdom’s power, reaching near and far. We know no force of hell can stop your beauty from changing hearts. You made us for much more than the comfort and security we seek from idols. Awake the kingdom seed in us. Fill us with the strength and love of Christ. We are your church; let us always be reminded that we are the hope on earth! Build your kingdom here; let the darkness fear. Show your mighty hand; heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire, win this nation back; change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here, we pray.

v=3q7xnR9E3gohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7xnR9E3go

Kelly Minter, No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern Day Idols, Lifeway Press, 2007, 2012.

N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church, HarperOne, 2008, p. 207.

Faith over Fear- No Other Gods Session 8

Standing alone at the airport terminal, I watched as my oldest son snaked through the security line. It was his first time flying alone and although I knew he was mature enough to travel solo, it was still a bit unsettling. After all, I was sending him out into a world filled with crime, terrorism, catastrophic accidents and all sorts of other ugly events. The fear could easily have consumed me, if I’d let it.

Instead, I prayed for my son as I drove home. I thanked God for the opportunity he had to attend a Christian Leadership Conference and looked forward to the growth that would occur in him as a result of the trip. I told God I trusted Him and thanked Him for the precious gift of my son’s life. I reminded myself that God knows and loves my son even more than my husband and I do. I chose to let my faith in God triumph over my fears.

Faith spurs us to move forward; fear holds us back. Faith trusts God through uncertain times, fear defaults to quick fixes. The Israelites give us a great example of this in the Old Testament. In Numbers 13 & 14 we find the story of their first attempt to enter the Promised Land after fleeing Egypt under Moses’ leadership. Moses sent twelve spies to scout out the land and when they returned:

“They gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’

 But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.” (Numbers 13:27, 30-32, NIV)

All twelve men saw the abundance, but only Caleb and Joshua had the faith to believe God would keep His promise to give them the land. Once the other spies gave a bad report, fear spread like a virus among the Israelites:

“That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, ‘If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’” (Numbers 14:1-4, NIV)

Because they let their fears overpower their faith in God, the Israelites aged 20 and older were punished by having to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they died. They would never enter the Promised Land. The only exceptions were Joshua and Caleb, the ones who had faith. God described Caleb as having “a different spirit” from the rest. That phrase makes me pause to ask: Do I, as a follower of Jesus, have a “different spirit” from those around me? How about you? Do you let fear consume your mind and determine your steps? Like Joshua and Caleb, do we believe God wholeheartedly, whether anyone else is choosing to trust Him or not?

Now let’s fast-forward forty years to when the second generation of Israelites was once again on the brink of entering the Promised Land. The only thing standing in their way was the Jordan River. The story in Joshua 3 & 4 tells us that at that time of year the river was a swollen, rushing mass of muddy, brown water. Getting two million people with all of their possessions across it was no small feat. However, there was a different spirit among the Israelites this time around.

God gave Joshua instructions for how to cross the river and enter the Promised Land. Following them would require tremendous faith in Him alone. He spread word around the camp: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5, NIV) The people listened, seemingly without questioning the bizarre plan. Based on what happened next, it’s pretty clear God delivered on this promise. “As soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away.” (Joshua 3:15-16, NIV) Two million people chose faith over fear, trusting that God would hold the water back long enough for all of them to cross the riverbed on dry ground and enter the land He had promised to give them.

Don’t miss the best phrase in the story: “The Lord will do amazing things among you.” He was ready, but the people also had to be willing. Forty years earlier, their parents and grandparents had let fear consume them. The second generation chose faith in God and saw Him do amazing things as a result.

It makes me wonder if there are places I’m letting fear overshadow faith in my life. The choice to focus on our fear or our faith has a ripple effect on those around us. As followers of Jesus, we have a “different spirit” within us than the rest of the world. When we choose faith over fear, it changes our outlook. It also empowers us to impact others and leaves room for God to do amazing things among us.

If you’re struggling to relinquish fear and embrace faith, click on the link and be encouraged by the song “Cast My Cares” by Finding Favour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKuAMmTqUbs

Kelly Minter, No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern-Day Idols, Lifeway Press, 2007, 2012.

Putting Priscilla Shirer’s One in a Million in Context

In her Bible study “One in a Million” Priscilla Shirer uses the story of the Israelites traveling to the Promised Land as a jumping off place for inspiring Christians to experience God’s power and abundance. If you’re like me, you learn best by seeing the big picture before zeroing in on specific details. Since the study jumps into the story assuming you know what happened earlier, I thought putting the story into context might be helpful.

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This week marks the beginning of a new Bible study for Focused Living at CPC. Priscilla Shirer uses the story of the Israelites traveling to the Promised Land as a jumping off place for inspiring Christians to experience God’s power and abundance. If you’re like me, you learn best by seeing the big picture before zeroing in on specific details. Since the study jumps into the story assuming you know what happened earlier, I thought putting the story into context might be helpful. In case you don’t have time to read Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy this week, you’ll find a brief history of events summarized below with Scripture references included for you to read further.  You might find this history helpful even if you aren’t doing Priscilla’s study.

Background from Genesis & Exodus

To understand the significance of the Jews’ wandering in the desert, we need to look at a brief history of the key people and events that led up to that time in their history. (Note: the names “Jews,” “Israelites,” “Hebrews,” and “Children of Israel” are used interchangeably here).

Abraham is known as the father of the Jewish nation. In Genesis 15 God made a covenant with Abraham telling him that he would be the father of a great nation and that he would give him a large portion of land (ie: The Promised Land). Side note: A covenant is a solemn promise or undertaking between two parties; a mutual understanding that binds the two parties together and agrees they will fulfill certain obligations. Sometimes God made covenant promises to people that did not require anything of them in return, other times He made them between people and Himself.

Many years later, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had a son, Isaac, when they were 100 and 90 years old, respectively. (In a weak moment prior to this, Abraham also fathered a son named Ishmael with his servant, Hagar, but that is another story.)

Isaac married Rebekah and they had twin boys named Jacob and Esau. (Genesis 25:19-34)

Although he was the second twin born, Jacob became the patriarch of the family by tricking Esau out of his birthright (another story for another day found in Genesis 27). God promised that He would give Jacob many descendants and that the earth would be blessed through him and his offspring. God promised to watch over Jacob and never to leave him. (Genesis 28:10-19). God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel. (Genesis 32:28) This name is where we get the terms “Israelites” and “Children of Israel.”

Jacob had twelve sons with four different women (two of them were his wives, Leah and Rachel, and two were his wives’ maidservants, Zilpah and Bilhah).   These twelve sons later became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.   Their names were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh were heads of the two “half tribes”), Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher (Genesis 35:23-26).

One of Jacob’s sons was named Joseph. He was Jacob’s favorite son from his most cherished wife, Rachel. Because of this favoritism, Jacob was despised by his older brothers. (Part of his story is told in the Broadway musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.” Part is also told in the book The Red Tent) Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and lied to their father, telling him Joseph had been killed. Through a long chain of amazing events, Joseph ended up later in life being second in command to the pharaoh in Egypt. Joseph saved the Egyptians from a famine through God’s divine wisdom. During the famine, his brothers came to Egypt for food. They did not know Joseph was still alive or that he was second in command. Eventually Joseph revealed his identity to them and forgave them for selling him into slavery. He even noted how God had used their evil intent to bring good into his life and the lives of others. (Great story- check it out in Genesis 37 & 39-45). Eventually, with Joseph’s blessing, his eleven brothers brought their families and their parents to settle in Egypt. (Genesis 37-50 tells this story).

After Joseph died, a new pharaoh came to power in Egypt who did not know Joseph or the history of the Israelites. By this time, Joseph’s eleven brothers and all of their family members were growing in numbers. The new pharaoh feared they would become so numerous and powerful that they would overthrow him if given the opportunity, so he enslaved them and made them do forced labor building his cities. (God had foretold this to Abraham in Genesis 15:13). The Hebrews continued to bear children and grow in numbers, leading the pharaoh to command that all Hebrew baby boys be killed.

Finally, after about 400 years of enslavement, Moses was born. To prevent him from being slaughtered with the other Hebrew boy babies, his mother strategically placed him in a basket in the Nile River near the location Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. The plan worked and Pharaoh’s daughter rescued Moses from the river and raised him as her own in the palace. Moses’ mother even got to be his wet nurse. (Exodus 1 & 2)

Moses lived in Egypt as a son of Pharaoh for 40 years. At age 40 he killed an Egyptian slave master who was beating a fellow Jew. When the murder was discovered, he fled to the land of Midian, where he married and lived as a shepherd for the next 40 years. When Moses was 80, God appeared to him in the desert and spoke to him from a burning bush. He commanded Moses to go back to Egypt to ask Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. Moses was to lead them to the Promised Land, which had been promised to Abraham long before. (Exodus 3 & 4)

God promised He would be with Moses. God also told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and that miraculous signs would have to be performed before Pharaoh would agree to let the people go (Exodus 7).

God sent ten plagues on Egypt, one at a time, to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Each time, Moses warned Pharaoh in advance that God would send a plague, but he wouldn’t listen. The plagues were: 1) turning all the water in Egypt to blood 2) filling the whole country with frogs 3) filling the land with gnats 4) sending swarms of flies 5) sending a plague on all of the livestock 6) sending a plague of boils on people and animals 7) sending a violent hailstorm   8) sending a plague of locusts to ravage the land 9) sending darkness over the land for three days straight.

When Pharaoh still would not relent, God sent the final plague. This time, all the firstborns in every family would be killed. The Passover was God’s protection against this plague for the Israelites. (Exodus 12:1-30)

After the tenth plague, Pharaoh finally let the Israelites leave Egypt. (Later he changed his mind and pursued them into the wilderness. You may know it if you ever watched the animated movie “The Prince of Egypt” or the new movie “Exodus.”)

In Exodus 12:14-20 God commanded the Israelites to commemorate the Passover for the generations to come. The celebration was also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  (This is the feast Jesus and His disciples celebrated together on the night before He was crucified.)

God led the Israelites as they fled Egypt and began their journey to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

After fleeing Egypt and passing through the Red Sea, on dry ground, Moses led the Israelites into the desert on their way back to the Promised Land. At the base of Mount Sinai, God re-established His covenant with the people, renewing what He established with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In Exodus chapters 19-24, God added further clarification to the covenant, which became known as the Sinaitic Covenant (because it was established at Mt. Sinai).  One of the central portions of the covenant God gave was the Ten Commandments. These commandments explained God’s design to enable His people to have a right relationship with Him and others. (Exodus 20)

God promised that He would give the Israelites the Promised Land, but on the brink of entering it, they lost trust in Him. When the Israelites reached the border of the Promised Land, they sent spies to scout out the land and the people living in it. The spies reported that it was a good land that flowed with milk and honey.   However, they also reported “The people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” (Numbers 13:28 & 31 NIV)

Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve spies who disagreed with this assessment and encouraged the people to trust God and take possession of the land with God’s help.   Ultimately, the people allowed their fear to consume them and refused to enter the land. (Numbers 14:1-24)

Joshua and Caleb were the only two people out of the roughly two million Jews who trusted God and believed He would deliver the Promised Land into their hands. This is what inspired Priscilla Shirer’s title One in a Million. The rest of the Israelites refused to trust God and carry out His plan. Once the people made this decision, God declared that they would be cursed to wander in the desert until they died. The ten spies who scouted the Promised Land and gave a bad report to the people were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. Only Joshua and Caleb survived. Because of this, the people changed their minds and tried to enter the Promised Land, although they no longer had God’s blessing. They were attacked by the inhabitants and turned away. (Numbers 14)

Because of their failure to trust God, the Israelites were cursed to stay in the desert for forty years until the entire disbelieving generation passed away. God would keep His covenant and go before them into the Promised Land, but only two members of the original group would enter the Promised Land: Joshua and Caleb.

At the end of his life, Moses spoke to the next generation of Israelites as they were on the brink of crossing into the Promised Land. All of them were born while their parents and grandparents had wandered in the desert for forty years. He laid out the blessings they would experience if they kept their covenant with God and the curses they would endure if they didn’t. (Deuteronomy 28-30)

Priscilla Shirer refers to different segments of this Bible story throughout the study. She also uses the parts of it as symbols for different aspects of our spiritual lives:

-Egypt represents times when we are/ were in bondage to sin.

-The desert wandering/ wilderness times symbolize seasons in our lives when we are trying to follow God’s plans but are unsure of where He is leading us. They can also be actual times of difficulty, such as dealing with an illness or financial struggles; emotional, such as dealing with broken relationships or grief/loss; or spiritual, such as struggling to figure out God’s plan.

-The Promised Land represents abundant life found in Christ (John 10:10). Reaching the Promised Land is about our attitudes changing as we choose to trust God. Our actual circumstances may or may not have changed, but we’ve experienced a personal and spiritual transformation that causes us to approach them from a new perspective.

Hopefully this summary will help you to have a sense of the context of the Old Testament references as you complete the study.

If you can identify with being in bondage to sin or wandering in the wilderness then you will find comfort and encouragement in Kari Jobe’s song “I Am Not Alone.” Click on the link for five minutes of great worship.