OUR PROMISED LAND

 

 We are about to study the book of Joshua this week. Joshua is one of those Old Testament figures we don’t talk about much yet there is so much to admire about the man. I feel he is overlooked to our detriment because he too, like Moses, was a prototype of Christ:

“Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, was first called Oshea or Hoshea,….[Numbers 13:16], which signifies saved, a saviour, or salvation; but afterwards Moses, guided no doubt by a prophetic spirit, changed his name into….Yehoshua or Joshua, which signifies he shall save or salvation of Jehovah; referring, no doubt, to his being God’s instrument in saving the people from the hands of their enemies, and leading them from victory to victory over the different Canaanitish nations, till he put them in possession of the promised land…in the New Testament he is expressly called….Jesus [see Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8].” (Clarke, Bible Commentary, 2:3). In other words, in the original Hebrew both Joshua and Jesus were the same name.” (see Old Testament Student Manual Book 1 p 236)

As a preface to the Ten Commandments which Jehovah gave to Moses he made it clear why they were given: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of BONDAGE.” (Exodus 20:2). The operative word here is ‘bondage’. It has reference to the Ten Commandments which are meant to give Israel freedom. If Israel cleaved to obedience of the Law, they would never again be in bondage, physical or most importantly, spiritual. 

Thereafter, Moses made it a point to define the deliverance from Egypt as deliverance from ‘bondage’ (Det 6:12; 8:14; 13:5). After Jehovah confirmed to Joshua that he is to take charge of the Tribes and lead them to the promised land, He charged him to make the law the basis of all he did. He was not to vary from it or depart from it, all that he spoke was to conform to it, and he was to meditate upon it constantly (Joshua 1:5-8). Joshua followed these rules to the letter and like Moses, reminded Israel that they had been delivered from ‘the house of bondage’ in the land of Egypt (Joshua 24:17). He understood clearly what the God of Israel had done which made him a spiritual leader of God’s people as well as the physical one.

At the onset of conquest of the promised land, the mighty Jehovah spoke to Joshua and told him he is to conquer all the land from Lebanon to the river Euphrates (Joshua 1:4). In actuality, this meant the region south and southwest of the Lebanon mountains, north and east of Egypt, east of the Mediterranean coastal plain and west of the Arabian desert (OT Student Manual 1, p 236). In other words, the land that lay before Joshua was massive. Overwhelming, isn’t it? But Jehovah issued an admonition to Joshua to ‘be strong and of good courage’ three times (Joshua 1:6,7,9) assuring him: ‘I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee….be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest’ (vs 5,9).

And then the promise: Joshua was told that he must adhere strictly to the law of Moses and he shall have success (v 8) but not just any success, he was promised that his success would be so great that there shall not any man be able to stand before him all the days of his life (v 5). This Joshua did, obeying all of the Lord’s instructions with exactness (fascinating examples of this to look out for in his story). The result of his meticulous obedience?  A success unsurpassed:  the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country’ (Joshua 6:27).

We, of the House of Israel, are standing on the earth which is our ultimate promised land. This earth will one day be redeemed and sanctified from all unrighteousness that it may be prepared for the celestial glory, that the bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever (D&C 88:17-20). This is our promised land. This is our ultimate forever home. 

Before each of us is the vastness of our mortal probation fraught with challenges and trials to conquer and overcome. It is also the ‘house of bondage’ from which the Saviour has delivered us through His atoning sacrifice if we will but obey the commandments, the path to unsurpassed freedom.....

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)