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Scripture Reading: Josh. 1:1-6; 4:1-3, 8-9; 5:2, 7-15; 6:1-11, 15-16, 20; Col. 2:12; 3:1-5; Eph. 6:12-13; 2 Cor. 10:3-5
Now we are ready to enter the good land. We have enjoyed the passover lamb in Egypt, we have left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, we have enjoyed Christ as the daily manna and as the rock with the flowing stream, and we have experienced Christ as the Ark, the testimony of God. At this stage we are built together as His enlargement and His expression so that we become the tabernacle. We not only have the tabernacle, but we are the tabernacle. We are the expansion, the increase, of Christ. We are built together, standing upon the solid basis of His redemption and covered over by the fullness of Christ. We are so strong and solid. We are one in Christ, who is the manifestation of God. Moreover, we know how to enjoy Christ time after time as all kinds of offerings. Therefore, we have the priesthood, and we are the priests. Furthermore, we have been formed under the priesthood to be the army, the divine army to fight the battle for that good land. We are prepared to fight and defeat the enemy. The host of Jehovah has been made ready by enjoying everything of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, after we have passed through all these experiences, there is still something more wonderful ahead of us — the good land, the all-inclusiveness of Christ. We began with the little lamb, and we eventually come to the land of Canaan, the all-inclusive Christ. The land is still before us. We have enjoyed Christ, we have possessed Christ, and we have Christ — there is no doubt about it. And we are still enjoying Christ. Yet ahead of us is more of Christ. A much greater Christ is waiting to be possessed, for the goal God has set before us is the all-inclusive Christ. We must not stop short of the goal.
Suppose, then, we are ready to enter the land. We have been formed into an army, and we are now the glorious, divine, and heavenly host of Jehovah. What shall we do? First of all, we must take the Word of the Lord. The Lord told Joshua, “Now then arise, and cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you” (Josh. 1:2-3). The Lord has promised it, but we must possess it. He has given it, but we must experience it. It is our portion, but we must take it. We must have the faith; we must have the confidence, the full assurance. It is not presently in our possession, but He will cause us to take it; He will cause us to possess it. We must believe Him and give Him our cooperation. Will we do it? Let us rise up today and go forth to possess the land. Praise the Lord, it is ours. Let us take it — not tomorrow but today. Never say “tomorrow.” In unbelief it is always tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. Tomorrow belongs to the devil. In faith there is no tomorrow; it is always today. Today is ours. Brothers and sisters, we must take it today. This is the first thing we must do. We must stand on the Word of God. We must take the Word of God and go on to possess the land.
Second, we who are saved and have been enjoying Christ must realize that we have been crucified on the cross. We are dead, and we have been buried. We have an excellent hymn that expresses this fact:
We have been buried with Christ; we have been finished. Do you realize how big a word buried is? It would be good to write it in large letters and hang it in your bedroom — BURIED! Hang another in your dining room, another in your living room, and another in your kitchen. Everywhere there is a room — buried, buried, buried! I have been buried. I would really be pleased to see a home decorated in this way. What a rest it is to be buried. Could you have any better rest than this? This is why the people of Israel were brought across the Jordan in such a way. The Jordan was their burial.
When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea, representing baptism. Now again, at the Jordan, they passed through a body of water. It was a remembrance of the Red Sea. When we received Christ as our Savior, the church baptized us — we were buried. But regrettably, not very long after we forgot about it; we came out of the grave. I do not say that we were raised up but that we came out of the grave. Some even went struggling back to Egypt. Now, because we have experienced Christ so much, because we have Christ as the center of God’s testimony and have been built up into the tabernacle as the expression of Christ, because we have the priesthood and the army of God and are ready to take possession of the land, God tells us to make a memorial, reminding us that we have been buried. From this time forth, we must never forget that we have been buried.
The Red Sea and the Jordan represent the same thing — the death of Christ. In the Red Sea the army of Egypt was buried. Everything of this world and all the forces of this world were buried there. Do you realize how many things and how many people were buried with you when you were buried in baptism? In the land from which I come, when a man died and was to be buried, people buried with him all he had. Likewise, in the eyes of the Lord when we were buried, all the things we loved, all the things that comprised our world, were buried with us. All the worldly army, all the worldly forces, that formerly held us in bondage were buried. That is the reality of the Red Sea. Now here at the river Jordan, God wants to remind us once more. Not only the worldly forces were buried, but we ourselves were buried too. We have been buried.
The crossing of the river Jordan is a beautiful and glorious picture. The Ark with the priesthood entered the river first, and there, in the heart of the river, the Ark with the priesthood stayed. It is very meaningful. The Ark, as we have seen, is the Lord Christ, the testimony of God. Christ with the priesthood went into the very heart of the river of death. Then all the people followed. All the people went down to the bottom of that river and passed that very spot. Then the Lord asked them to choose twelve people, one from every tribe of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each one took a stone from the place at the bottom of the river where the Ark stood and brought it to the other side of the Jordan, that is, to the good land. This signifies the resurrection. All those who entered the land of Canaan were those who were resurrected. They were new ones; they were not the old ones. They were the resurrected ones, not the natural ones. Only resurrected people can enter and possess the all-inclusive Christ; He is not for the natural man. We can enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive One only on the ground of resurrection. Brothers and sisters, we are resurrected. We are buried and raised up. Now we are in Christ.
Then Joshua did something else to remind them of this fact. He took more stones, one for each of the tribes, and planted them at the very spot where the Ark stood. He buried them there as a memorial of the burial of the Israelites themselves. In the eyes of God all the children of Israel were buried in the river Jordan. This means that in the eyes of God we have all been buried in the death of Christ.
After all this was accomplished, the Ark with the priesthood came out of the Jordan. After we were all put away, Christ emerged from death. Christ entered into death first, and Christ came out of death last; He was the first in and the last out; we were the last in but the first out. Christ completed the death, and this death covers us all. We are all dead. We have all been buried with Christ. We can say, “Hallelujah, we have been buried. Now we are on the ground of resurrection. Now we are in Canaan. Now we are in Christ, the good land.”
Third, believing that we have been crucified with Christ and that we have been buried, we must apply this death to ourselves. Therefore, we must be circumcised. This is the application of the death of Christ to our flesh. If we realize that we are buried with Christ and raised with Christ, we must put our flesh to death; we must apply the death of Christ to our fleshly members. This is circumcision, and this is what we must practice day by day. We must daily take the ground that we are dead and buried and apply the death of Christ to our members. We not only need to apply His death to all our situation but also moment by moment to apply His death to our fleshly members and put them to death.
In the second chapter of Colossians we are told that we have been buried and raised with Christ and then in chapter 3 that our life is now hidden with Christ in God (v. 3). On this basis we are then told in Colossians 3:5, “Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth.” If we realize our burial and resurrection with Christ, we must apply His death to our fleshly members in a practical way by faith.
Fourth, immediately after applying the death of Christ to our members on the ground of being buried and resurrected with Him, we enjoy something of the life. We enjoy the produce of the land, the all-inclusive Christ. The manna stops, and the produce of the land takes its place. The large Christ replaces the little Christ. Before this we were continually enjoying a little Christ — the manna. But by this time the little Christ has ceased. Now we are tasting the greater, the richer, the fuller Christ; now we are enjoying the land, the all-inclusive Christ.
Brothers and sisters, are you now enjoying the manna, or are you now enjoying the land? What are you enjoying today? Undoubtedly, we are all enjoying Christ, but what kind of Christ? Perhaps there are some who are enjoying Christ only as the lamb of the passover. Most of us, probably, are enjoying Him only as the daily manna. But the produce of the land is much better than manna. What is your experience? Perhaps some of you would say that it is very difficult to answer. Sometimes you enjoy Christ as the manna, and sometimes it seems you enjoy Christ as the produce of the land. Whether or not you enjoy Him as the produce of the land depends very much on your burial. How much have you realized that you have been buried and that you are now on the ground of resurrection?
Let me illustrate. Suppose that early this morning I met a certain person who is extremely peculiar. This particular person always causes me to experience the resurrection life. The Lord has created this person and in His sovereign wisdom has brought him to me. The Lord knows why I need him. In order to deal with him, I need the very power of resurrection day by day. Suppose that early this morning this person acted very strangely and greatly disturbed me. I was exceedingly unhappy with him, and my anger was aroused. Then returning to my room, I felt condemned in my conscience and made confession to the Lord. I said, “Lord, forgive me. I failed; I have been defeated. But I praise You, Lord, I am cleansed by Your precious blood.” After confessing and being forgiven, I was nourished; I enjoyed something of Christ. What kind of enjoyment was this? It was the enjoyment of Christ as a little bit of manna. I enjoyed the manna.
Now suppose that another day this same person troubled me again, and I was disturbed by him. But this time I took the ground of resurrection. I said, “Lord, I am resurrected. On the ground of resurrection I exercise my spirit to put my members to death.” Then instead of being angry with him, I was so happy in the Lord. I could say, “Hallelujah! Praise You, Lord, for my dear, peculiar brother.” I applied the Lord’s death to my members, which are always angry with others, and I gained a fresh experience and enjoyment of Christ. What kind of experience was this? This experience was quite different from that of Christ as the manna. This was an experience of Christ as the produce of the good land. You see, both were experiences of Christ but were Christ in different aspects. In the first way I enjoyed Christ as the little manna, and in the second way as the rich produce of the land.
Fifth, we not only need to remember that we have been buried, that we are on the ground of resurrection, and that we must apply the Lord’s death to our members in a practical way, but we must also remember that there are evil powers in the heavenlies. We must fight the battle with the enemy. We are enjoying a portion of the all-inclusive Christ, yet the enemy and his evil forces in the heavenlies are still usurping and occupying the land. You and I have to fight the battle to take possession of the entire land. Brothers and sisters, as soon as we enjoy Christ in such a way, we realize in our spirit the reality of the evil forces in the heavenlies. These evil forces are veiling the all-inclusiveness of Christ from the Lord’s children. Very few of the Lord’s people can realize the all-inclusiveness of Christ simply because of the accusations of the evil powers in the heavenlies. To this very day the evil forces are still veiling the all-inclusiveness of Christ. Therefore, we must fight the battle. There is an exceedingly real spiritual warfare in which we must engage. By enjoying something of the all-inclusive Christ, we will be burdened for this fighting; we will be burdened for this battle. That is why we have been formed as an army. The conflict is before us.
It is at this stage that we are given the vision of the Lord Christ as the Prince, the glorious Captain, of Jehovah’s army (Josh. 5:14). He will take the lead in the army, He will go before us, and He will fight the battle for us. We need such a vision. How could Joshua receive this vision? It was simply because he was exceedingly burdened for the battle before him. Immediately after he and the people of Israel enjoyed the produce of the good land, he realized that before them lay the enemy and the stronghold of Jericho. Joshua had a clear view of the situation, and he was burdened for the battle. I believe that because of this he went to the Lord in prayer, and at that time the Lord revealed Himself to Joshua as the Captain of Jehovah’s army. Joshua received such a vision and, thereby, the faith and assurance that the Lord was with him. Joshua knew then without a shadow of doubt that the Lord Himself as the Captain of the army of Jehovah was going before him. We too need such an assurance.
Some can testify from their own experience that immediately after enjoying something of the all-inclusiveness of Christ, they have realized the need of spiritual warfare. They have seen that the enemy and his evil powers in the heavenlies are still usurping the good land of the all-inclusive Christ and veiling it from the Lord’s children. Who will fight the battle to uncover the land? If we enjoy Christ in such a way, we will spontaneously go to the Lord with a burden for the battle. It is then that He will give us a vision of Himself as the Captain. He will show us that He is at the head of the army, and He will go before us to fight the battle. We can then go forward with full assurance.
Now we come to the last step. How shall we fight the battle? This is certainly not a battle fought with carnal weapons. Our weapons for this battle, figuratively speaking, are rams’ horns. We go to a battle, but we go with instruments of peace; we go with rams’ horns. Rams’ horns are a symbol of fighting a warfare with peaceful weapons. They are not swords made of iron; they are rams’ horns. They cannot kill; they are utterly peaceful. But they are weapons for battle. They are trumpets to be blown, declaring and proclaiming the gospel of peace. This is the weapon we must use to fight the spiritual warfare. We fight by proclaiming Christ.
In what way were the trumpets blown and the battle executed? It was indeed strange. Part of the army went before, followed by seven priests with the Ark. Bringing up the rear, was another part of the army. In other words, before and behind was the army, and in the midst was the Ark with the priests blowing the rams’ horns. They all marched around the stronghold of Jericho, the priests blowing the trumpets of rams’ horns as they went. It was a glorious picture. The people in the city were in dread of them and shut the gates of the city from within and without. None went out, and none came in.
Day by day the army of God, six hundred thousand strong, marched around the city, blowing the rams’ horns. First came one division, then the priests blowing the trumpets, then the Ark, and then the remainder of the army at the rear. This was the way they pressed the battle. There were probably some people in Jericho who laughed and scorned them. They had never seen such an unworldly performance. Once a day they compassed the city, day after day for six days repeating the same procedure. When the seventh day came, as they were instructed, they compassed the city seven times.
We must notice here that Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word go forth from your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout” (6:10). Not until they heard the long blast of the rams’ horns at the end of the final circuit were the people to shout — before that time they were to keep silence. What is the meaning of this? It means that if we are going to testify the victorious Christ, there are many times when we must be silent; we must let the priesthood blow the trumpet. We need the priesthood, and by now you understand what we mean by the priesthood. We must not speak lightly. Do not say, “We are on the church ground. We are the local church. We are this, and we are that.” If we say these things lightly, there is no priesthood. We must let the priesthood blow the trumpet and give the sound. There must be no other voice. Then when the time comes, the time appointed by the Lord, we must shout. We must pray and praise the Lord with a loud voice, and the enemy will fall before us. This is the way for us to fight the battle.
Is such a battle a kind of labor or a form of enjoyment? Indeed, it is not a labor but an enjoyment. It is even a rest and satisfaction. It is a war, it is a fight, it is a battle, and yet it is an enjoyment, a rest, and a satisfaction. It is in this way that we possess the all-inclusiveness of Christ.
But we must remember well that you and I as separated individuals can never do it. We must always maintain the ground as an army. The all-inclusive Christ can never be apprehended by ourselves as individuals. We can only apprehend the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of the all-inclusive Christ with all the saints. To take possession of the good land, we must be formed and united together with the saints as the army of God.
We must also remember that our enemies are not flesh and blood; they are not people. They are the spiritual forces, the principalities, the powers in the heavenlies. There are many people who are against us and opposing us, but they are not our enemies. Our enemies are the evil forces who rule over them, the evil powers who are behind them. We are not fighting with people but with the evil forces behind the people. If we are faithful with the Lord to take the ground of resurrection and be formed into an army to fight the battle for Him, we must be ready for many evil reports to be spread concerning us. We must be prepared for considerable opposition. All the people of Jericho will talk about the people of Israel. But praise the Lord, whenever we hear these reports, we may rejoice, for they are signs that we will win. They are signs that the enemy is in fear and his defeat is inevitable. Jericho will certainly fall before us. Hallelujah! I am really fearful wherever I go if no one talks about me, and there are no evil reports. But I am so happy if there are rumors, criticisms, and people talking. The more I hear of this, the more I come back to the Lord and praise Him: “Here are the signs, Lord; here are the signs that the battle will be won.” The foolish talking, the absurd rumors, the evil reports — we should not be afraid of them. They are all signals that the victory is ours. Praise the Lord!
Our enemy is not on the earth but in the heavenly places. Hence, we should not use weapons of flesh. We should not argue with people; we should not come down to their level and engage in their tactics. No. Our weapons are spiritual. What are they? They are the trumpets of rams’ horns. Let us blow the trumpets; let us blow the rams’ horns. Let us declare the victory of the cross, the victory of the victorious One. We must proclaim Christ — the Christ we enjoy, the Christ who is the Conqueror over every foe. This is our weapon — we know nothing else. This is the way to possess the all-inclusiveness of Christ. This is the way to take the good land in faithfulness, in rest, and in enjoyment.
City by city and place by place, we must take possession of the all-inclusiveness of Christ. But be at peace and rest well. Do not worry — the Lord will fight the battle. The battle is not ours but the Lord’s. What we must do is just to blow the trumpet. Do not speak lightly. At the right time we will praise and shout, and the walls of Jericho will fall. Its doom is sealed. We will be victorious, and we will take over.
Brothers and sisters, this is the way. The victory is ours. Take the ground of resurrection, remembering that you are buried; apply the death of Christ to all your earthly members; enjoy Christ with the saints in the way of all-inclusiveness, and declare and testify in faith all that the Lord is. Then the enemy will be utterly defeated and his stronghold cast down. We will defeat the enemy and take the land peacefully with rest and satisfaction. The enemy will be our bread; to engage in such a warfare will be our full satisfaction. The battle is the Lord’s. There is nothing left for us to do but proclaim and enjoy the victory.
