“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’”
— Joshua 4:2-3
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
— Romans 6:4
If we have not experienced death, we have not yet crossed the Jordan but are running around on the far shore. Yet if the Lord is to have His testimony in the church life, our flesh and soul must be dealt with. Therefore, in the church life we must always experience death. All those with a heart for the Lord want to be in resurrection but often forget that death and resurrection go together. The church life must be of the Spirit, not of the flesh or the soul.
We are not in resurrection to have our way; we are in resurrection to fight for the Lord’s interest. Merely to have come out of the Jordan in resurrection does not mean we have accomplished what the Lord is after. Once Israel crossed the Jordan, there were battles to be fought and won before the Lord’s testimony could be established in the land. For this, Joshua would have to put to death his own way of leading Israel and follow the Lord’s lead in resurrection to fight the battles for the land.
Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, pages 47-48.
Monday: “The Commander of the Army of the Lord”