Heralds Digest

  “When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭23:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without the power to convict the hearts of sin and all forms of unrighteousness, God’s words will become mere history books and documentaries of historical perspectives. Unfortunately, the realities of the emptiness in all religious dogmas and practices are clear. People are quick to embrace the prosperity claims in God’s worthwhile word, but have failed to emphasize the perdition verdicts in His weighty witness. But unlike many eternal security preachers in our days, Joshua emphasized the weighty witness in God’s covenant with the inheritors of His promises as “ …the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you ”. And li...

  “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Joshua‬ ‭21:45‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The game of words is complex, but it is uncomplicated only to those who understand the supremacy of God’s word. Since the words of powerful men have succeeded in making or marring the prospects, careers, opportunities, and privileges of people, many fearful people are often tempted to substitute these mortal words as final authority, especially at the expense of God’s word. For example, God’s word and His promise of the land of Canaan for the generation of the Israelites who left Egypt were substituted by words of unfaithful spies and rebellious people in the wilderness. While these generations were wasted in the wilderness for following worthless words (except only Joshua and Caleb), the scriptures say “ Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass ”. Likewise, our present world and life’s affa...

  “When they had made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it.” Joshua‬ ‭19:49-50‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the deceits of the Devil is the promotion of bad fate for obedient children of God. Most of those who buy this deceit are easily enticed by the flash of worldly prosperity, fraternity-clad promotion, and political power, at the expense of absolute submission to the Will of God and obedience to His words. Unfortunately, these worldly achievements are always temporary, since they were promised and provided by the changing words of limited men. Whereas, like Caleb, Joshua the son of Nun wholly followed the Lord; and he got rewarded with his inheritance at the end of dividing the land of promise to the children of Israel. ...

  “And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.”” Joshua‬ ‭17:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Translating god-given vision to mission in life is always not an easy fit. Even after Ephraim and Manasseh acknowledged the blessing of God towards producing great people out of them, they were unable to move past the concept of their vision for expansion and enlargement. Why? They were intimidated by the iron fist of the chariots of the Canaanites. Today, our life’s ambition, career progression, family dominion, and ministerial enlargement are consistently being intimidated by the principalities and powers that are bound to challenge the consistency of our faith in God. And like Ephraim and ...

  “She answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.” Joshua‬ ‭15:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Land lots are symbolic of the accumulation of earthly inheritance. And given the necessary drive for prosperity and high standards of living in family and career pursuits, land lots can mean everything to most people. But those who have been blessed with the abundance of land lots in life can attest to the emptiness of land lots without the source of life. When Achsah the daughter of Caleb asked her father “ Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water ”, she basically revealed her preference for a life lot rather than just a land lot. And she ended up with a land with a renewable supply of water for continuous refreshments. Without a token of God’s blessings on all human engagements in life, we will be heading for a house without a home; a pro...

  “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭14:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When God told Joshua “ You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed (Joshua‬ ‭13:1‬)”, I am asking whether this is a statement of commendation or concern until Caleb came forward with his own acknowledgment of invisible inheritance. Tangible or visible inheritance is accumulated by human physical strength and intelligence; and this appears the limit of most people’s life ambition and motivation. Whereas, there is always the invisible inheritance in the presence of God in the lives of those who understand and appreciate His omnipotence. When Caleb said “ It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord sai...

  “So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”” Joshua‬ ‭10:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Inspired (or infuriated) by the Gibeonites’ surrender to the God of the Israelites, the five kings of the Amorites conspired together to fight the Gibeonites; and I am thinking ‘Why fighting the Gibeonites, and not the Israelites? ’. Then, I realized, the enemies are usually more infuriated by believers’ steady stand with their God. More importantly, Joshua took up the challenge by demonstrating the secret in believers’ steady stand: “ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor …” apparently, to seek the face of the Lord. And the Lord responded to Joshua’s prayer, “ Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before ...