Matthew Steven Black

Joshua (The Proclaim Commentary Series) Matthew Steven Black

The book of Joshua is not merely an interesting historical record of the conquest of the Promised Land by the children of Israel through the amazing power of God. It is that, but it is so much more than that. It is a historical narrative that points the New Testament Christian to his or her inheritance. The message of Joshua is one of victory and warning. Joshua recounted a story of contradictions. On the one hand, God gave the land that he had promised to the nation. On the other hand, the people failed to possess the land completely, allowing some inhabitants to remain. God fulfilled his side of the bargain, but the Israelites did not finish the job. The Canaanite peoples became a damaging influence on Israel as years went by. Joshua's message is intended not only for the Old Testament saint, but also, and even more so for the New Testament Christian. The message of the apostles is weaved with the theme of Joshua: that we are to fully take hold of our inheritance, and as believers today, we know that the inheritance of the land of Israel was merely a black and white photo of the real thing. The true inheritance of every believer is God himself. Christ gives us the down payment of our full inheritance by the promised Spirit of God (Ephesians 1:13-14). The New Testament is filled with inheritance language. The push of Joshua for the Christian is that we should never live with the enemy dominating our life. "Sin will have no dominion over you?" (Romans 6:14). Christ has finally and forever defeated every enemy, just as the Lord did for Israel in the Old Testament. The similarity we have with God's ancient people is that our victory in sanctification is only secure as we walk by faith. Today we do not have physical Canaanites, but we do have enemies that war against our soul: sin, Satan, and the world. The Christian is promised victory in the measure that he walks by faith.