Joshua: Soldier's Manual Lesson 10

                                         The Message

Hi friends. In our first blog we talked about "The Mission: to take ground." We then talked about "The Mandate: prepare your provision." Then several blogs after that, we talked about "The Means: spiritual weapons." How did Joshua and his army drive out the Canaanites and possess the land God had promised to them? By using the weapons God provided for them. We saw that it wasn't so much physical weapons, but spiritual weapons. Weapons like courage, strength, humility, prayer, and the precious promises of God.

Today we are moving on to a new topic. We are going to talk about "The Message." What I so love about the book of Joshua is that the message of the cross is clearly revealed throughout the book, especially in the battle of Jericho. 

However, before we look at the actual battle of Jericho, let's back up and see something quite amazing. 

Joshua 2:1-6 And Joshua, the son of Nun sent out two men to spy secretly, saying, "Go view the land, even Jericho." And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, there are men of Israel lodging with Rahab, who are here to search out our country." And the king of Jericho sent for Rahab, saying, "Bring to me the men that are lodging in your house; for they have come to search out our country." And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said to the king, "There came men to me, but I did not know who they were. And it came to pass about the time of shutting the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where, I do not know. Pursue after them quickly, for you will surely over take them." But she brought them up to the roof of her house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 

One of the reasons I so love studying the bible is because the Lord drops "little secrets" for us to find. You see, in our story the Lord used a harlot named Rahab. Of course the obvious question that can come to mind is, "Why would God use a harlot?" The answer is, "Because He was more interested, not in what she was, but what she was becoming." You see, Rahab was a harlot, but she was saved by faith. And although she was a harlot, the Lord dropped a "little secret" that tells us how HE SAW this woman of faith. 

Vs. 6 she had brought them up to the roof of her house, and hid them with the stalks of flax. 

So Rahab hid the spies among the stalks of flax. Where else do we see "flax" in the scriptures?

Proverbs 31! In describing the virtuous woman, Vs. 13 say "She seeks wool and flax, and diligently works with her hands." This is one of those "little secrets" the Lord drops into the story. God is telling us, "In my eyes, Rahab is not a harlot anymore. Because of her faith in God, she has become a woman of great virtue in my eyes; a woman whose faith has made her both righteous and virtuous in the eyes of the Lord." 

And of course we know the rest of the story-the faith of this virtuous woman saved her and her household. 

Now let's go to the battle of Jericho. 

Joshua 6:1, 2 Now Jericho was shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and the king, and the mighty men of valor."

So here is the story: God is now ready to bring the Joshua-generation into their inheritance, the land of Canaan. The very first obstacle they face is an impossibility, the invincible enemy stronghold of Jericho. The walls of Jericho were so massive, they were impossible to penetrate. 

Jericho can represent places of captivity in our own lives: mindsets, fears, depression, thought patterns, anything the enemy can use to hold us in a place of captivity. We all have deep issues in our life where we still need to experience a deeper place of freedom. 

Now going back to Joshua, in confronting this stronghold, what is the first instruction God gave to Joshua? Vs. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, "See..." Stop! Capture it. The first thing God told Joshua to do was "see." What is the Lord teaching us here? When it comes to tearing down strongholds, freedom always begins with seeing. 

In Joshua 1:2, the word "see" doesn't just mean to look and observe, it means to see something in a way that forms an unshakable conviction in your heart. When you look at it, and unshakable conviction grabs your soul. 

So what did the Lord tell Joshua to "see"? 

Vs. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and the king, and the mighty men of valor..." So the Lord said, "This is what you need to see: I have already given you the city and the king and his army. Complete and total victory is yours." 

Now if Joshua had been looking in the natural, what would he have seen? He would have seen the invincible walls of Jericho and a mighty army entrenched behind those walls. So what the Lord was saying to Joshua was this: "Don't look in the natural. See the Word that I am speaking into your spirit. Let the Word I am speaking into your heart shape within you an unshakable conviction. Joshua, this is the power of my Word; if you will just open your heart and receive it, it will produce in you a faith and belief that cannot be shaken." 

My point: for New Covenant believers, freedom begins with a Word God has ALREADY spoken over our life and we "see" it. What is this Word? John 19:30 "It is finished!"

The great truth Jesus is proclaiming from the cross is that everything that needed to be done to liberate God's people from the power of captivity was completed on the cross! Captivity can no longer hold us hostage because on the cross Jesus destroyed captivity's power. Jesus is declaring, "Everything that wants to captivate you was broken right here on the cross. The power of fear, unhealthy mindsets, depression and despair were broken right here on the cross!"

God wants to give us such a vision of the finished work of the cross that it will forge an unshakable conviction in our hearts that declares, "Jesus died to set me free and I will not be denied! I will not let the world, the flesh and the devil talk me out of it! They can all point to the issues where I struggle and give me all their reasonings why 'You can't be free of this,' but I will not be talked out of it! I will keep my faith in Christ and the power of the cross and I will be free!"

Beloved, God desires that we get a vision of the cross and look at those places of captivity in our lives and speak to them, "You cannot hold me. Your power was broken on the cross. And whether it is an immediate deliverance or a progressive deliverance, I will be free!"

Can I tell you, some breakthroughs come immediately! I have seen addictions and enemy strongholds broken instantly over my life. Alcoholism, drug addiction, cigarettes; instant deliverance! (Just to name a few). However, some breakthroughs take a journey with God because the issue we are dealing with runs so deep. God must deal with these issues in great tenderness, and it is a tender process of healing in our life. And when our hope is focused in one place, "Jesus set me free on the cross," the Holy Spirit is healing us. He is tenderly working in these issues of the heart.  

So let's sum it up: God's Word says, "On the cross Jesus destroyed the power of captivity in our lives" (Rom 6:6; Col 2:13-15). The Holy Spirit wants to take that Word and forge an unshakable conviction into our hearts: "I am free! The world, flesh and the devil cannot talk me out of it! I will not be denied my freedom! Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!"