The Israelites were receiving their inheritance from the Lord, by faith. But why were they even there in the first place? The Lord had promised this land to them over four centuries before. But as they conquered the land of Canaan, they were not to make any agreements with any of the people of the land. The Israelites were God's holy people and special treasure, and they were being called to live as such. The Lord keeps His vows to His people, and now they were being expected to keep theirs.
But Israel did not fulfill this commandment of the Lord all the way. They fell short of the mark and made the people of the land serve them as forced laborers. And then the people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh complained to Joshua that they had not been given enough room in their land. But the real reason for this was because they feared the Canaanites and their iron chariots.
We wonder why the people of Israel didn't get their act together and just get rid of the enemies in their land. But we often act in a similar manner when we say our sins are too great for us to conquer. However, as in the case with the Israelites, the Lord did not give us giIants to conquer alone in our own strength – for Christ has already defeated them! Here we see just how much we need a Champion Who does keep all the commandments of the Lord.
We are full heirs of the heavenly inheritance, where everything that is wrong and broken on this earth will be made right again. But how do we receive our inheritance? By faith in Jesus, Who is faithful – despite our unfaithfulness! How thankful we should be that God fixed our problem! Let's pray for grace to walk by faith and keep our eyes on our Savior. |
