Leaving Defeat Behind

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly you know that I’ve been working my way through the book of Joshua with lots of detours as we find concepts that need to be pursued in greater depth. We are in chapter 5 and we have found that through all the years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelite men had not been circumcised as the law had commanded. This oversight was dealt with and immediately they were allowed to keep the Passover in the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 5:9ff)

Without skipping a beat we find that they were able to eat of the produce of the land immediately after the Passover was finished. They had been eating manna for 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness, but now they were able to eat the food that grew in the land that God was giving them.

I pick up a couple of important thoughts from this. First, as Christians we often spend a lot of our time wandering in the wilderness of defeat and compromise. When we really get serious about wanting to live the kind of victorious life that God has given us in Christ, that reproach needs to be put away. We need to confess our sins and in the process we find that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Second, we are to feed upon Christ. He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and He is our living water (John 4). He satisfies the longing soul. (Psalm 107:8, 9) He satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103:5) As Christians we are to desire the sincere milk of the Word (I Peter 2:23) but we are to go on to meat. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

What this means is that we are to leave the foundation of elementary principles as the writer of Hebrews discusses in chapter 5 and 6. It would make a great Bible study for you to dig through these chapters and study what’s involved in moving forward rather than staying on the basics.

The last thing I see in this passage in Joshua 5 is that they were able to feast in the plains of Jericho. What does that mean? That means in the very sight of the enemy, they were able to hold their worship celebration without fear because God was with them. Isn’t that what we find in Psalm 23? You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Let’s rejoice that if we truly put away the soot and dirt of the wilderness life and move on to a life of claiming the promises of God, feasting on Him and His Word and worshiping here in enemy territory, we will find God’s blessing on our lives.