Saturday, January 29, 2011

Joshua 13:1-7

25 January 2011: Joshua was an old man, the Lord's conquering warrior was nearing the end of his earthly life, yet the Lord informs Joshua that he had much work yet to complete before it would be time to rest. This subject may well have a double relevance in these last days, for the Bride of Christ as well as for the re-established Israel of Ezekiel 37.

"Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all that of the Geshurites, from Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward (which is counted as Canaanite); the five lords of the Philistines—the Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites; from the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath; all the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as the Brook Misrephoth Maim, and all the Sidonians—them I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”"

We can learn almost all there is to know about Joshua by reading the Book of Numbers. His name was originally Hoshea (Literally meaning salvation) and was changed by Moses to Joshua (Jehoshua and literally meaning Yahweh is salvation). This is the same name that in Greek is Jesus. In Numbers 27:12-22 we learn that Moses was seeking a new leader for Israel, "the congregation," because no flock of sheep of the Lord's can be without a shepherd. And God commanded Moses that Joshua was the man for this task because, as verse 18 tells us, he is a man "in whom is the Spirit." And on a summit of Mount Abarim (Mt. Nebo in Moab) Moses did exactly as God commanded, and Joshua led by the Spirit became the leader of Israel, the entire congregation of Israel in the years circa 1400-06 BC. From this point the conquest of the Promised Land took about 45 years according to Joshua 14:6-14. So the taking of Hebron from the Anakim was the last act in 45 years of war and conquest, and then there was rest from war.

Ezekiel tells us that prior to the attempted invasion of the Gog confederation Israel will be at peace, stable, secure, without fear of any nation - at rest from war. Israel's re-establishment began with war in the period of 1947-49, and then in 1967 Israel was enlarged through the conquest of land to its present size. And from 1967 to the present Israel has maintained its present geographical form. 2012 will mark the 45th year since 1967 and the taking of the whole of Jerusalem. And Psalm 83 is missing one final major action on the battlefield before Israel can become - at rest from war.

Given the destablizing events currently occurring in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, there may not be much more time to expire before that period of rest becomes a reality. And in that day the Lord's attention will move from the Bride of Christ to Israel upon whom He has promised to pour out His Spirit. And the Harpazo of the Bride of Christ is more imminent than ever.

Maranatha! Our Lord is Coming!

7 comments:

  1. Sean,
    Now that Lebanon has fallen, is there any good reason for Israel to wait any longer before making a move?
    Maybe I'm too impatient, but I just don't see what good it does to give Iran more time to make nukes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe it is also important to watch the riots in Tunisia, and the rest of the nations now following their lead. I've read that ancient Phut most likely included modern Tunisia.

    I think the players of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 are truly being readied now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. do the events and chaos which is taking place in egypt right now havee any prophetic implications or ramifications? are they prophetic in nature?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lebanon was forced off the cliff by the designs of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, but it hasn't hit bottom yet. The pro-Western March 14 coalition led by Sa'ad Hariri is still very much a factor, primarily because it is too large for Hezbollah to overcome politically short of full-blown civil war. So while Hezbollah flexed its muscles and brought Hariri's government down, there is still much to be resolved in Lebanon.

    Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan - all currently have major destabilizing factors threatening their governments, and once again it seems that Joel Rosenberg was ahead of the curve with his Inside the Revolution book.

    For the moment the Arab street is more focused on their own government and not on Israel. If the Islamists can take these secular uprisings and spin them to their liking, then that will be something else again.

    For the moment Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt deserve close observation as they are the core of the Pslam 83 "inner ring."

    ReplyDelete
  5. i have yet to read joel rosenbergs book. tho i get his emails....sudan is part of the gog/magog coalition. correct? but what about algeria and tunisa? are they in the psalm 83/isa 17 or ezekiel 38&39 alliance or do they sit the wars out?

    ReplyDelete
  6. hartdawg,

    ALL of Joel's books are excellent reads with a focus on Bible prophecy. Well worth the investment.

    The nations of the North African Maghreb are not part of the Psalm 83 "inner ring" confederation. But they may be within Ezekiel's prophecy against Gog. Although not specifically mentioned they could well be the "many people are with you" found in verse 6.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Regarding the events in Egypt

    I am more than very inclined to accept that Bill Salus is correct in his latest article regarding fulfillment of Isaiah 19.

    I recommend everyone click on this link read Bill's latest:

    I Will Set Egyptians Against Egyptians

    ReplyDelete

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