p. 7 | Caleb and Joshua by R. D. QUINN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 21, 1916

Caleb and Joshua

By R. D. QUINN

In the Promised Land

R. D. QUINN

*“AFTER the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” Joshua 1:1-3.

The time had finally come when God would fulfil his promise made to Israel forty years before, “I will bring you into the land.” Joshua assembled all the people on the eastern bank of the swollen and angry waters of the Jordan. Viewed from a human standpoint, there was absolutely no way of crossing that stream. There were no bridges, boats, or ferries by which they could reach the farther shore. God was testing that generation as he had tested their fathers at the Red Sea. That they had learned the secret of success is seen by the way they moved forward until the feet of the priests who bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, and also by Joshua’s brief instruction to them on the eve before that memorable day when they crossed over, “Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” From this it would seem that the wonder-working power of God in behalf of his people depends on their moral and spiritual condition. One writer has said:—

“We all want to see wonders wrought by God,—in our own characters, that the fir tree may replace the thorn, and the myrtle the brier; in our homes, that the desert places may blossom with roses; in our churches, that they may arise and put on their beautiful garments. O for another Pentecost! O for a widespread revival of true godliness! O for the making bare of the right hand of the Most High! O to see converts fly as doves to their windows! And why is it that we strain our eyes for them in vain? Is it not because we have not sanctified ourselves? Sanctification means the cleansing of the soul, and the putting on of the white robes of purity and humility. We are not clean enough for God to use us. We are not humble enough to bear a great success. It is perfectly true that we can only be wholly sanctified by the God of peace. Holiness on its positive side is his indwelling and filling; but on its negative side it involves the putting away of known sin, or the being willing that he should cleanse it away from us by blood, or water, or fire.

“Is this our condition? Have we laid aside our weights as well as our sins? Are we cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit? Are we able to say with the apostle that we do not condemn ourselves in anything that we allow? If not, let us no longer complain that the days of wonders are over. We are ourselves accountable for their having vanished, like peace from the criminal and purity from the fallen. But if only each one of us were to sanctify himself, putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man, renewed daily in the image of Christ; forsaking every form of evil, and hating even the garments spotted by the flesh; yielding himself to the two-edged sword of our great High Priest, we should find that wonders would begin and never cease; that the tomorrows would only unfold greater and better things than ever before; that Jordans would cleave, and Jerichos would fall. Then the Land of Promise would lie open, with its immeasurable plenty, its oil and wine, its corn and honey, its precious, priceless stores.”

Concerning that miraculous crossing, the record says that “the people passed over right against Jericho.” The building of cities and temples is the result of apostasy from God. To this Hosea referred when he wrote, “Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities.” Hosea 8:14. This departure from God’s original plan began with Nimrod, whose very name signifies rebellion. From the time of the building of those first great cities in the plain of Shinar, notable among which were Babylon and Nineveh, until our own unparalleled age of centralization and city building, the devil has entrenched himself within these strongholds.

It was the cities that were great and walled up to heaven, and the giants living in them, that staggered Israel’s faith at Kadesh-Barnea, and delayed their entrance into the Promised Land for nearly forty years. The whole land of Canaan was Israel’s by deed of gift; but notwithstanding this, every square mile of it had to be claimed from the hand of the people who possessed it. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” The country was theirs, but it had to be possessed; they must put their feet down upon it and claim it for God. This they had known for forty years, but those great and walled cities lying directly in their path had to be entered and taken before they could come into their inheritance.

“It came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes.” Behind him was the swollen Jordan. He knew that there was no way of retreat. Before him were the towering walls of Jericho. As he withdrew from the encampment to meditate and commune with God, he could not forget how, forty years before, the former generation had cried out for bondage in Egypt, or graves in the desert, rather than face the terrors of those walled cities. The record states that Joshua lifted up his eyes. It is well that he looked up. The outlook at times may be very dark, but the uplook is always bright. It was while Joshua was in earnest prayer that the Captain of the Lord’s hosts appeared and gave him directions for the taking of the city.

It is not difficult for us to understand these things, for spiritually we occupy a similar position. Standing on the very confines of heaven all these years, we are still confronted with the great cities of this world which have long been neglected, and have stood in the way of our onward march. We are face to face with these strongholds, these modern Hebrons and Jerichos. Our only way to the Promised Land leads directly through them. They must be warned. These great and wicked cities have been left to the last of the unworked and unconquered territory for God. But they must be entered, and the honest must be gathered out before the end shall come. God has demonstrated in the past that as long as there is one soul, even a Rahab, seeking after light, he will send his messengers to that one. If there is but one righteous man in Sodom, he will withhold his judgments until his messengers have brought him out. The nearest route for us to the Promised Land, dear pilgrim, is by the way of the cities. Let us be of good courage, for we are well able to go up and possess the land.

South Lancaster, Mass.