Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- To focus on 21:43-45
- A summary of chapter 13-21
- To put the Book of Joshua in context
- Garden of Eden - paradise lost
- The work of Jesus Christ is to regain paradise
- Revelation - the tree of life
- The Book of Joshua is part of God's great plan
- "God gaining a physical foothold in the world"
- All these things were to foreshadow something far greater
- The High Priest was pointing to Christ
- A Southern conquest
- Chapter 11 - going North
- Chapter 12 - overcame 31 kings
- Chapter 13 - still work to go
- 9½ tribes on one side of the Jordan and 2½ tribes on the other side
- Joshua had land, Caleb had land, his daughter had land
- A special inheritance because of their faithfulness to God
- Chapters 13-21
- The exact areas given to the people by lot
- The tribe of Levites had no inheritance (only 48 cities and common land)
- Their inheritance was the Lord
- 6 cities of refuge setup (3 on the east and 3 on the west of the Jordan)
- Reading: Josh 21:43-45
- How faithful God was
- It wasn't just down to the people of God
- God fulfilled His promises
- Different to human promises
- Overview:
- Battle
- Provision of the Inheritance
- Establishing Peace & Rest
God's Faithfulness in Battle
- Sometimes God does this quickly
- Examples of what God did
- 10:10, 30, 32 - over and over the victory was of God
- 11:19-20 - people can harden their hearts, God will confirm the hardness of you heart if you reject
- There was a man who was instrumental
- 11:16, 23 - Joshua
- Joshua means "He who saves"
- The New Testament translation is Jesus, He is the one who saves and leads His people into victory
- Initially there was ease but then it was relentless
- Is this not the same in the life of a Christian?
- Our battle is against our flesh and strongholds in our lives
- cf 13:1 - Many areas of our lives that need to be possessed
- cf 18:2-4 - Are we lethargic? (Examples)
- cf 17:13 - Do we compromise? (Examples)
- cf 17:16,18b - Do we fear? (Examples)
God's Faithfulness in Provision of the Inheritance
- 21:43 - God gave "all the land"
- Gen 15:18-20 - the promise of the Land to Abraham
- Num 33:54-55 - distribution of inheritance according according to the size of families
- What did God give?
- A great blessing to the tribes
- Caleb was given an inheritance
- Joshua was given an inheritance - 19:49-50
- Others were not happy with their inheritance
- The children of Joseph - 17:14
- Joshua was gracious and gave them more
- Are we discontent with our lot and portion?
- Others did not complete/fulfill their inheritance
- 15:63 - the tribe of Judah failed to look to God for faith
- 17:12 - the tribe of Manasseh failed to look for God for faith
- The fact that they did not drive them out caused spiritual and physical problems in Israel (Examples)
- Do we start well and not finish?
- Consider the church at Ephesus, the church at Corinth
- Consider the church in our land
- God was faithful and was calling the people to be faithful also
God's Faithfulness in Establishing Peace & Rest
- 21:44 - God gave them "rest all around"
- God gave the Levites
- God wanted this peace and rest to remain
- He gave the people the Levites - 21:41, 18:1
- God was being kind in providing a High Priest and setting up a priest hood
- The people of God did not often avail themselves of this
- Our real rest is found in the Lord Jesus
- God gave them cities of refuge
- Explanation
- This was a picture - Jesus is our city of refuge, He rescues us from any bondage we are in
- 21:45 - All God's word/promises came to pass
- Greater promises than a physical land
- Promises given in Christ Jesus
- Real spiritual rest for His people and an inheritance in heaven
- All the promises written of Jesus have been and will be fulfilled
- God is calling us to be faithful to Him