In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
— Ephesians 1:13-14
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.
— Ephesians 1:18
The book of Joshua complements the New Testament book of Ephesians, which stresses God’s desire for an inheritance for both Himself and His people (1:14, 18). The parallel to this in Joshua is Israel’s struggle for the good land, which was to become their inheritance. Ephesians tells us that we are not wrestling “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers…in the heavenly places” (6:12). In Joshua, the struggle to gain the land was against the Gentile tribes (Josh. 3:10) who represent these principalities and powers.
Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, page 35.
Tomorrow: “God’s Inheritance and Good Pleasure”