The next book in the Bible is also full of excitement, the same as we have discovered in the previous books. In this book, Joshua, the military commander, has been instructed to take his nation into the land which God promised for his people, Israel. Imagine you have been presented with a new land to live in. Everything in it is going to be yours: towns, farms, food, animals, and wealth. The problem you're facing is this: it belongs to you, but you don't actually occupy it. You have to go into that new country and get rid of your enemies, and then enjoy the land that has been entrusted to you.
This might seem somewhat unfair to those who are already living in that land. To fully understand what's going on, you have to realise that the people and nations who occupied that land had for hundreds of years been involved in child abuse, child sacrifice, abuse of women, self-harming and many other practices which are so sinful, demeaning and damaging to people. God had warned them that He would judge them if they did not repent, and they had refused to listen to him. It's a bit like the story of Noah leading up to the flood. God had warned people for a long, long time that judgment would come, but they refused to listen.
We, in our generation, should learn from this as well. God has warned us for thousands of years that sin and evil are damaging and hurtful, as well as disrespectful to our creator, and that God will eventually judge us for our sins.
The people of Canaan could have been saved and forgiven. Still, they refused to listen, recognise their sin, repent from it, and accept the forgiveness of God. Thankfully, there are examples of those in Canaan who did repent. For example, a prostitute called Rahab turned to God and enjoyed His forgiveness and a relationship with Him. You can read the story in Joshua chapter 2 and the fulfilment of God's promise to this woman in Joshua chapter 6. This is also a reminder that God offers a new start to everyone no matter how far they have drifted.
The rest of the book is a thrilling story packed with details about battles, blunders, bravery and brilliant strategy. We read about the walls of Jericho falling down, Kings being defeated, and clans and tribes taking possession of their new land.
All of this fantastic history actually happened, but it also vividly illustrates what occurs when a person becomes a Christian. The new believer enters into a whole New World. They embrace new life, and things become vastly different. Scripture teaches, 'if anyone is in Christ (becomes a Christian), they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new, 2 Cor 5. 17. It is a wonderful thing to become a Christian. Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ means that your past is dealt with and your sins are forgiven. You should never struggle with your conscience again because it has been dealt with. The guilt has gone, and your past has been cleared when you confessed your sins and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Human nature is such that we sometimes allow ourselves to be haunted by our past. Still, we can rest secure in the forgiveness that was purchased by the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. His resurrection three days later was the ultimate confirmation that:
- Sin has been legally paid for
- Death will be conquered one day
- There is life after death
- Jesus Christ is the life-giving, victorious Saviour.
Here is one passage from the Bible that I based my thoughts on:
‘Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ’.
2 Cor 5:14-21 NLT
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
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