Joshua 9:1-2 - The battles ahead

Joshua 9:1-2 tell us that all the forces in the promised land literally ganged up against Israel.  We are told that “…all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard of it, that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.” They were now facing a formidable collision of forces. Like them, when we become a Christian, we find that we have to face a collision of opposing forces of life.

Joshua and the people of Israel in their conquest of the promised land leave us with ample illustrations on what our Christian journey is like. In studying their conflicts, we will discover the conflicts we have to face in our journey and what we can do to be victorious and effective. Like them, Christian living is a privileged journey with God but not an easy one. It is one that is filled with conflicts. Crossing into Canaan, their promised land, was just the beginning. And to possess the land they had to enter into many battles with the different forces within it. Isn’t this also a true moment for us Christians? The moment we become a Christian, we are given the privilege of journeying with God. But we are also thrust into our spiritual battleground. We not only have to fight the world, but we also need to contend with our carnal nature as well as the devil.

To harness our life and to live it fully for God, we have to contend and successfully dismantle the strategy of the devil and his cohorts, the system of the world and our own carnal nature. If we fail to come to our spiritual journey with a proper perspective, we will become confused and rendered ineffective in life. We are all accustomed to our old life style. But now we need to have a total transformation. Know for sure that if we want to experience continual victorious walk, we need to battle the devil, the world and our old nature.  

In Joshua and the people of Israel’s conquest of the two cities, we see a picture of our life as God’s children. Jericho is a type of the world that they had to overcome and they overcame. Ai is a type of the flesh which they, by the help of God, dealt with. If we are to overcome our flesh, our carnal nature, we also need the help of God. The next city would be Gibeon. This is a type of the devil. And we shall discuss in our next few reflections. We will explore how to deal with the trickeries of the devil so as not to fall for his deception. Yes, be sure to stay alert, for the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Be warned!