Week 12: Joshua Summarized

I decided to take a few days off from writing to enjoy spring break with my kids (it being impossible to write with three energetic kids running around the house had nothing to do with it!). Before I moved on to the book of Judges, I wanted to summarize some lessons I learned from the book of Joshua. This book has too much rich truth not to bring it to a conclusion. Joshua is a historical book recording the Holy Wars that God led the people to fight in order to claim the Promised Land. We see woven throughout this book the heart of God, which is to have the heart of man. “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And He is relentless in His pursuit of us. God declared these holy wars to rid the promised land of what would turn the hearts of His people away from Him. The Promised Land had always belonged to the Israelites in God’s eyes. It was the pagan peoples that had invaded the land, not vice versa. The Israelites were claiming what was theirs. They were ridding the land of what was unholy so that a Holy God could dwell among them. Do you see the parallel to our own lives? Sin was never intended to be camped out in our hearts and be a part of our lives. The Fall brought into my life something that God never intended. Just as the pagan people dwelling in the land would draw the heart of the Israelites away from God if they were not rid of, so will the sin, the idols and selfish desires that are allowed to camp out in my own life.  Be sure that God declares holy war on anything in our lives that invade our relationship with Him and prevents us from turning our hearts to Him. What is in my life that is camped out, dwelling where it was never meant to dwell? He will go to battle with it. Just as the Promised Land was their home, the place where God declared He would live in their midst, so too is my heart His home. He will not share His territory, His home or my affection with another. What is camped out in my life that will cause my heart to turn away from my God? Be sure that He will go to war with that thing. “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience.” 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6