Fight to Be Blessed

Joshua 5:10–12 (ESV) While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 

Joshua 5 holds key concepts that are related to us in the New Covenant. We discussed circumcision in the last post and now we should discuss the Passover feast celebrated right after they were circumcised. Israel has been "baptized" in the Jordan and thus "baptized" into the family of God (through circumcision) and now are welcome to the table that points back to their original salvation. 

As Christians, we share relevant practices under the terms of the New Covenant. First, we are baptized in water as a sign we've been baptized into the body of Christ. We are then invited to the Lord's table where we eat to remember the work of our redemption accomplished for us long before we arrived.

There are a few other things to keep in mind with this moment. First, Israel is nourished for their fight ahead. How so? By coming together to celebrate the Passover meal. How important it is for us to remember that we MUST come together as the body of Christ in both worship and communion to be spiritually nourished by the community to which we belong.

However, there's something else we should note concerning Israel:
Joshua 5:12 (ESV) And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

If you consider that the manna was for the Israelite's wilderness journey, for it to end the day they ate the produce of the land speaks volumes about how God leads His people. Isreal was now going to have to FIGHT to be blessed. There was abundance set before them, but only after fighting and forward action on their part. God lovingly and sternly put them in a position where they were going to have to fight and take possession of this land or they were going to starve. The manna was gone, the time to grow up and fight for what God promised had come. 

So too as Christians we can fall easily into this trap that once we are saved, all will be easy and peaceful and the good life will be handed to us. NO! Christian, you are in a fight. And you need to fight your way to be blessed. So in His grace, God will toss us into the deep end of the pool He knows we can now handle so that we can start learning how to use muscles He's given us. Like Israel, God will bring us to a place where it's time to move forward with no option to turn back. It can seem harsh but really it's the best thing for us. You were not made to wander aimlessly. You were called to fight and conquer new areas of life that God wants you to have victory over.

The good news is, when we fight the good fight, we start to overcome the hang-ups and bondages occupying so many other people's lives. We start to take down those strongholds set up in our hearts common to man. With each victory, comes more produce, goodness and blessing. With each new area conquered comes further levels of freedom to start using what God has given us for our good and the good of those around us. This was God's plan for Israel, and they were lovingly put in a position of sink or swim.

If you ever find God tossing you in the deep end. Don't throw your hands up in exhasperation. He put you there because He knows you're ready for it with Him. MOVE FORWARD and see the goodness of God's promises start to come to fruition.