Once, almost a
hundred years ago, a group of boys ended up on an almost deserted island. The
group was diverse, yet the same. All of the boys were raised properly in
Britain, but no two boys were the exact same age or size (except for a set of
twins who were the same age). They fell into two clear groups—"littluns" and "bigguns"—though there was no clear place where one group ended and the other
began. Things began well for them, though they were by no means perfect. They
decided that they needed a leader, so they voted for one, and one boy was made
chief. This immediately upset the boy who was not chosen, and he quickly showed
his disapproval by belittling the elected chief every chance he could. The
chief decided their best chance for survival was to keep a fire blazing on top
of the mountain in the middle of the island so that a passing ship would notice
it and rescue them. Time passed. What becomes clear is that children can’t focus
on tasks. As such, the chief was constantly stressed about keeping the fire
going, and those under him were too concerned about exploring or swimming or
hunting to care. As such he constantly called meetings to remind his tribe
about the need to keep a fire going. Everytime he called a meeting, his
antagonist caused problems, until the antagonist took over the whole island and
was out to kill the original chief.
While William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies is
seeking more to explore the topic of innocence and evil and breakdown of
society, I couldn’t help but notice as I read it again this week that the main
character simply wants to achieve a state of rest, but the disunity among the
boys doesn’t ever allow for rest to occur. This is pertinent for the next
section of text in the Old Testament book of Joshua.
Our historian writes,
“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and
tell the people, “Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days
you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the
LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”’ Joshua said to the Reubenites, the
Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: ‘Remember what Moses the LORD’s servant
commanded you when he said, “The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will
give you this land.” Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in
the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must
cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the
LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He has given⌋
you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may
then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses
the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.’ They answered
Joshua, ‘Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send
us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may
the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against
your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be
put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!’”
So far, all we
have seen in the book of Joshua is Joshua being commissioned by God. With that
in mind, remembering God’s promise to give them the land and to be with Joshua
as He had been with Moses, the following words from a commentator make sense:
“The two speeches of Joshua that follow (vv. 11, 13-15), by virtue of their
content, are the functional equivalent of what Genesis said of Abram after he
received promises from God: ‘And he [Abram] believed Yahweh’ (Genesis 15:6a).
It could be said of the Joshua who speaks in ch. 1 that ‘Joshua believed
Yahweh.’”[1]
Thus, everything we see in today’s text, and the remainder of the book (as far
as Joshua himself is concerned), though certainly not perfect, is proof of
faith.
Our historian
today brings up the concept of rest and points out the unity that must exist
for rest to be fully realized. He does this through two sections: first, Joshua
talks to the elders of the people in verses 10-11; and second, Joshua talks to
a separate group within Israel—who might have thought they could rest early—in
verses 12-18.
Joshua addresses
the elders of the people so that Israel will be aware of the plan. The text
says, “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp
and tell the people, “Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three
days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land
the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”’” Very simply, Joshua wants the
people to prepare themselves for another march. At this point they are still on
the plains of Moab (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1), and will be making their next move
as a group in three days. It is at this point that chapter 2 takes place
because the spies are gone for three days. When they return the people set out.
Beyond that
though, we must notice that Joshua doesn’t speak to the people himself. Rather,
Joshua has officers of the people to go out and tell the groups under them the
news that he has for them. The officers of the people would be the positional
equivalent of pastors/elders in churches today. One commentator explains, “The ‘officers’
here are more administrative officials than military officers.”[2]
And while pastors today are much more than simply administrators—or at least
should be—the point here is that we should not look to Joshua as an example of
a pastor. Hebrews will more closely connect Joshua as a foreshadow of Jesus,
and thus those under him, obeying his orders and instructing the people, are
closer to pastors. The point being that it is biblical to have multiple pastors
in a local church body; one man should not be doing all the work. And since
pastors prepare their people for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12), it
is fitting that these men go out to get the people ready for their departure in
three days.
The people had
three days to prepare to depart. These three days probably involved prayer and
spiritual preparation. Since the spies in chapter 2 are gone for three days
according to 2:22, the three days here are probably equivalent to the forty
days in Numbers 13:25—the end of which was met by rebellion. Joshua called the
people to prepare themselves for three days so that 1) the spies would return
with positive news, and 2) so that the people would respond positively
regardless of the news. Joshua adds that the purpose of their setting out in
three days was “to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is
giving you to inherit.” This is to spur them on to have faith in God.
The officers of
the people take the news to the people, and Joshua turns to another group—a group
who had probably just received the news from the officers.
Joshua reminds a
separate group of their promise to Moses. The text says, “Joshua said to the
Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: ‘Remember what Moses
the LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, “The LORD your God will give you
rest, and He will give you this land.” Your wives, young children, and
livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But
your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers
and help them until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He
has given⌋ you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God
is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take
possession of what Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the
Jordan.’ They answered Joshua, ‘Everything you have commanded us we will do,
and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed
Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with
Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all
that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and
courageous!’” The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh were part
of the twelve tribes of Israel. They had fallen in love with the land east of
the Jordan River, had asked Moses if they could make homes and dwell there—for
which he’d said “yes” with a caveat—and as such were already technically at
rest in the land promised to them.
First, within this
second section is Joshua’s words in verses 13-15. “Remember what Moses the
LORD’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you
rest, and He will give you this land.’ Your wives, young children, and
livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But
your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers
and help them until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as ⌊He
has given⌋ you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God
is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take
possession of what Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on the east side of the
Jordan.” Moses had spoken for God when he promised these tribes rest in the
land directly east of the Jordan River. Joshua here reminds them of God’s
promise to them. But then he reminds them that their brothers still have
battles to fight before they can rest. As such their warriors must cross over
the River and help the rest of Israel take the land before they can be allowed
to rest with their families on the eastern portion of the Promised Land.
All of Israel was
expected to enter rest at the same time. If any part did not achieve a state of
rest, then none did. This is the unity of the people of God. There are hundreds—if
not thousands—of churches across the earth. None of them have arrived at a
state of rest yet. All of them are certainly farther along than Israel ever was—simply
because of Christ—but none is in a perfect state of rest because we are still
waiting for Christ to come and take visible control of His Kingdom. As such, no
church should ever act like they are better than another because they cross
their theological t’s “the right way” and dot their theological i’s “biblically.”
As church members we should watch out for this thinking in ourselves as well.
We must seek to help our brothers and sisters understand the beautiful truths
we know—through discussion and debate—but always with love at the center. We
should never criticize or laugh at a fellow believer because they just don’t
get the doctrines of grace, or creation in six literal days, or the Baptist
view of the sacraments. Until we have all arrived, which won’t happen until
Christ returns in glory, we must cross the Jordan of our pride and bear with
our brothers and sisters in love and grace—showing unity.
Second, within
this second section is the peoples’ response in verses 16-18. “Everything you
have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will
obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be
with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does
not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above
all, be strong and courageous!” The people of the eastern tribes recognized God’s
ordination of Joshua as their leader and give him the respect and honor he
deserved. They promise to follow his military orders, they promise to obey his
laws, and they pray for blessing on Joshua’s life. They even ascribe death to
anyone who rebels against Joshua. Ultimately, they echo God from verses 5-9,
and it assuredly encouraged Joshua: “be strong and courageous!”
The people of
Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh were humble. They believed in uniting with
the rest of their brothers and fighting the war for the Promised Land. They
didn’t claim to be better than the rest because they’d already received their
part of the Promised Land. In fact, according to chapter 22, they are still
humble and want to show just how united they really are, even though this
attempt causes serious confusion (but more on that when we get there). They
believe so highly in this unity that their statement, “Anyone who rebels
against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him,
will be put to death,” means that those who refuse to help fight with their
brothers shouldn’t even be considered part of Israel. Rather, they should be
killed and cut off from the Promised Land. Unity is huge!
Unity is huge, but
it is not the most important thing. As we all know about happiness, “if we
idolize happiness, it will always elude us,”[3]
so it is with unity: if we idolize unity it will always elude us. As important
as unity is—and I don’t mean to discount unity—it is not the main thing. Unity
is achieved through knowledge of ourselves as sinners; knowledge of God as holy,
and just, and loving; knowledge of Christ as gracious; recognition of the grace
and love that has been poured into our hearts; and refusing to treat other
believers any differently than Christ has treated us. He bore with us—He still
bears with us—and we should do the same with each other.
As we will see in
our continuation through this book, wars and battles were required before rest
could be had. Joshua commands the officers to get the people prepared for war,
and then he speaks to the eastern tribes about their promise, and connects it
to rest for all Israel. In the New Testament, Hebrews 4 speaks of rest and ties
it to Joshua. I’ll copy the whole chapter here:
Therefore, while
the promise to enter His rest remains, let us fear that none of you should miss
it. For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the
message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those
who heard it in faith (for we who have believed enter the rest), in
keeping with what He has said:
So
I swore in My anger, they will not enter My rest.
And yet His works
have been finished since the foundation of the world, for somewhere He
has spoken about the seventh day in this way:
And
on the seventh day God rested from all His works.
Again, in that
passage ⌊He says⌋, They will never enter My rest.
Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received
the good news did not enter because of disobedience, again, He specifies a
certain day—today—speaking through David after such a long time, as previously
stated:
Today,
if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would
not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest
remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has
rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make
every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern
of disobedience. For the word of God is living and effective and sharper
than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and
spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the
heart. No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and
exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. Therefore,
since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the
Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been
tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach
the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us at the proper time.
It says that Joshua didn’t give
them rest. The end of Joshua says that he did, but the problem with that is
that it wasn’t the true, eternal,
soul-secure rest found in Jesus; it was simply rest from war. In Hebrews 4:16
it says that Jesus is our High Priest, and as such He is able to give us rest.
Hebrews 4:12 relates
the Word of God to a sword. As such it calls it a weapon of warfare. As
believers, we are to spiritually fight—using the Word of God (the Gospel)—against
the darkness in the world, and claim the world for Christ and His Kingdom. Only
when the last person has come to Jesus will Christ return and will we finally be
truly unified and truly resting. Until then, we must walk with one another in
love and lovingly add people to the kingdom through the preaching of the Word
of God—wielding a sword that kills all that is opposed to Christ.
So maybe you’re
reading this and you say, “You keep saying Christ. You keep saying Jesus. Who
is that?” (And I’ll flat out say I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone
has heard about Jesus.) I’ll answer and say, “Thanks for asking. Let me tell
you about my Savior.” Jesus Christ is God. He created the world perfectly. But
Adam and Eve—our first parents—disobeyed God’s Word and ate from a tree of
which they were not supposed to—instantly breaking the unity between mankind
and God. And here’s the thing: mankind is fine to be disunited from God. But
another thing: God wants to be united to mankind. For this reason He sent His
Son—Jesus Christ—to earth to be a visible—living, breathing, eating, sleeping,
relational—picture of exactly who God is. After walking the planet for 33 years,
He was nailed to a cross where He died, taking the punishment we deserve for
our rebellion against God (remember the threat to rebels against Joshua?). After
three days He rose again because the grave can’t hold a perfect God. He will
return some day to lovingly commune with His people for eternity in perfect
unity. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be
saved.” Just believe. He wants you to believe and I beg you to heed His call.
If you don’t, death and eternal separation in hell await.
But with that, I must
say that unity and rest are the ultimate goals of God’s people, but they will never
be achieved in this life. However, Jesus Christ can be known in this life, and
knowing Him will greatly affect our capacity for unity in this life. Let’s keep
Christ the main thing. He’s the light on top of the mountain that we must never
forget or else we’ll end up like the characters in Golding’s book—for all intents
and purposes cutting each others’ throats, even if just verbally. We’re in this
thing together, so let’s love each other.
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
[1]
Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the
Historical Books (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 20.
[2]
David M. Howard, New American Commentary – Volume 5: Joshua, (Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 89.
[3]
Edward T. Welch, Depression: Looking up
from the Stubborn Darkness (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2011), 103.
