6
Joshua 17-19 through the eyes of David in Psalm 16
“Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the LORD, You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.
As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” – Psalm 16
It is almost as if David could see a future beyond this life! He sure seems to have landed in a grateful place.
7
Joshua 21:44-45
“So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”
This is poetry. God makes a promise. God keeps a promise. God makes a rich life and an indestructible future.
8
Joshua 23:1-3
“Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in years. And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you.”
God is our healer. He is our deliverer. He is a mighty warrior. He is our King.
9
Joshua 24:19-24
“Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.” Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel. The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice.”
I wonder if their promise will stick?! We’ll have to see as we enter the book of the Judges of Israel.
10
Joshua/Ephesians 1-2
Ephesians describes our inheritance in Christ. Pretty cool my friend.
“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
11
Joshua/Ephesians 3:4-7
“By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.”
Our inheritance is wrapped up the mystery of the Good News of Jesus. We understand everything about the HOW – it will take us an eternity to understand the depths of WHY.
12
Joshua/Ephesians 6:11-13
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Just as Joshua led the people into battle for the land, so Jesus leads us into a battle over souls. Our “country” is on the horizon (Hebrews 11:16).