Of Milk and Honey
Joshua 24:16-18
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went. … And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
This testament of Joshua’s life and ministry has provided an unprecedented and spectacular vision of the Kingdom of Heaven. To me, it’s greater than the Genesis glimpse of God fashioning Adam and Eve in His image and walking with them in the cool of a garden, because the glory of redemption outweighs the glory of original creation. And greater even than God’s promise to make of Abraham a great nation, because a promise fulfilled outweighs a promise given. And greater still than the marvels of Moses parting the Red Sea and receiving the Law at Sinai, because the story of a good shepherd of a faithful flock outweighs the story of a good shepherd over a stiff-necked one. That is, nearly every chapter from Genessis 3 till Joshua 1 has been marred by feuds and murders and betrayals and idolatries, but not the Book of Joshua.
Marvel at the fact that only one blight is recorded in the entire record and it was Achan’s decision to steal a few articles of clothing and money, thinking he wouldn’t get caught. But that was all. To a man, from the judges to the chiefs to the priests to the elders to the servants, all have followed the LORD with their whole heart. Caleb is a hero. The men of Reuben and Gad are heroes. The men of Israel are heroes. Phinehas is a hero. The spies who went to Jericho are heroes. Rahab is a hero. The Gibeonites who turned their backs on the world to be waterboys for God are heroes. And look what twenty-four chapters of uncompromising virtue has produced in a fallen world! Humble, grateful, fulfilled people.
Take it from Joshua, friend: a church, a home, a heart that isn’t polluted with impurities and idolatries is a land flowing with milk and honey.