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Invading Jericho and the Promised Land

by David A. DePra

See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and
the mighty men of valour. (Josh. 6:2)
 
     One of the greatest miracles of the Old Testament was the
conquest of Jericho. Most Christians know that story by heart. God
had brought Israel across the Jordan on dry land and had told
them to conquer Jericho. Spies were sent in and were given help
by Rahab. Israel would then march around Jericho for seven days.
The walls of this mighty city would supernaturally collapse, and
Israel would prevail.
     Jericho was the first place Israel would conquer after they
entered the promised land. It was the first part of their inheritance
which they would take into possession. They had been in
captivity for 430 years. They had wandered in the wilderness for
another 40 years. Now, at last, they were on their way to actually
taking possession of the land promised to Abraham. Jericho was
the FIRST step of experiencing the fulfillment of that promise.
 
YOU Drive Out the Inhabitants
 
     Have you ever wondered WHY God made it so difficult for
Israel to take possession of the land He had given them? After all,
God could have easily driven out all of the inhabitants of the land
ahead of Israel. But He didn't. Instead of conquering these tribes
FOR Israel, God wanted to conquer them THROUGH Israel. Why
did God choose to work this way?
     This question becomes especially important once we realize
that the promised land is a "type" of our inheritance in Jesus Christ.
Just as Israel was freely given this land, so are we freely given our
inheritance. We can do nothing to earn it. We must receive it solely
by faith. But we also have "tribes" dwelling in our "promised land."
We have the flesh. We have the residual patterns of the sin nature.
And likewise God says to us, "I won't drive these out FOR you. But
in Christ, I will drive them out THROUGH you."
     So why does God work this way? Why didn't He simply drive out
the tribes for Israel? And why doesn't He simply get rid of all of our
tendencies toward the flesh once we are saved by His grace? If
we have received all things in Christ, free of charge, why must we
then overcome, conquer, and grow?
     Actually, God answers this question directly:
 
I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to
whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their
backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall
drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land
become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be
increased, and inherit the land. (Ex. 23:27-30)
 
     Here we see exactly why God did not drive out the inhabitants
all at once ahead of Israel. If He had, Israel would not have had
the time, ability, or capacity, to enter and occupy the entire land
so quickly. As a result, the land would have been uncared for. It
would have become overgrown with thorns and weeds. Worse,
all kinds of animals and insects would have overrun the place.
Israel would have had an even worse time being able to finally
take possession of the land.
     We see this all the time today. If a house, or piece of property,
remains unoccupied for a period of time, it isn't long before all kinds
of varments, plants, and animals overrun the place. The absence
of human life opens the door for the presence of every other kind
of life -- which would otherwise never enter in.
     The reason why God would not drive out all the inhabitants
ahead of Israel carries a tremendous spiritual type for those who
have an eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ. God cannot go into our
beings -- our mind, will, emotions, and very soul -- and simply wipe
it clean of every possible foreign element as it pertains to His
perfect pattern in Christ. If He did, what would occupy these places?
These aspects of our makeup are what they are as a direct result
of our choices. We have BECOME that -- they are what we ARE.
Good or bad. For God to simply wipe the slate of our mind, will,
emotions CLEAN, and then immediately, all at once, somehow
replace them with something else, would mean that we would
cease to be who we are. We would have no memories, no choice,
no experience, and no emotional patterns. At best, we would be a
blank slate, without personality or character -- i.e., "the land would
become desolate."
     It would only get worse from there. According to God, what would
happen next would be that "the beast of the field would multiply
against thee." If God did everything FOR us, instead of doing it
THROUGH us -- we would possess the land. But we would build
no character in the process. And without that, the "beast of the field"
would overrun us -- the greatest "beast" being pride.
     You see, it is not sufficient that the "land" be made fit for us to
dwell in. More importantly, WE must be made fit for the land. WE
must be adjusted spiritually so that we can actually experience our
eternal inheritance.
     Most of us little clue as to what it means to experience the things
of God. We think what we have experienced is IT -- when it may
not be "it" at all. Only if we drive out the old inhabitants, through our
choices of faith and obedience can we properly learn and grow,
and be prepared for the fullness of what He has for us.
     God is, in this age, doing a work in us. He is preparing us for the
next age. But in this age, He is merely planting the bare grain. We
have names for these "seeds." We call them things like faith, hope,
and love. That is good. But in the eternal ages, these things will
be released and come forth into what they really are. THAT is what
we don't know. We have no point of reference point for it. Yet, if we
will go on with God, and "drive out the inhabitants of the land," we
will experience the fullness in the eternal ages. We will become,
through that process, the individual God intends us to become.
     What we are talking about here is spiritual character. Spiritual
character is not a gift. It can't be "pasted on" to you or I. It must be
developed through the power of choice. Through faith and
obedience I must allow God to work through me to drive out the
things of the old creation, and must begin to allow Him to adjust me
for eternal life in Christ.
 
Conformed to Christ
 
     The gospel of grace tells us that there is nothing we can do to
earn our inheritance. Of course. An inheritance is never earned!
It is inherited! Through birth! But in order to be able to take
possession and live in your inheritance, you have to be made fit
for it. You have to develope the character necessary to reign and
rule with Christ over it.
     Thus, God has done it all FOR us. But He won't do in all IN us
without the yielding of OUR will. That is our part. If we do yield,
however, His will shall be done in us. We shall become conformed
to Jesus Christ.
     This is why we are able to say, on the one hand, that we possess
all things freely because of Christ, but on the other hand, that we
must do what God commanded Israel to do: Go IN and take
practical possession of what God has given us.
     How do we do this? In many spiritual ways and in many settings.
Every place the sole of our foot touches (spiritually) is now ours
in Christ. But once we take that step and plant our foot -- we must
STAND. We must stand by faith and refuse to be moved. And this
will entail, by the power of choice, driving out the inhabitants of the
land -- all of our old patterns of unbelief and flesh.
     In Christ, we have all the power of His death and resurrection to
do this. Because the victory is already finished, we cannot fail to
prevail. But remember -- the victory isn't over an enemy "out here."
We have met the enemy and the enemy is us! Thus, we see the
"cost of grace." The "cost of grace" is that I must drive out the old
man. I must be crucified with Christ. I must be raised a new
creation. So what is the "cost of grace?" It is really that I must
relinquish what is worthless and take possession of what is
eternal and priceless.
     The process of spiritual growth -- conforming us to Christ -- is
God's primary purpose for this age. Most of us have been taught
that His purpose for us is to preach the gospel -- to witness to Christ.
But it is not. It is to BECOME His witnesses. Then we can preach
the gospel and it will witness, because WE will be a witness to what
we preach. And we'll be prepared for the eternal ages.
 
Jericho in Us
 
     Jericho had walls and gates. It was totally fortified. No way in.
And in was entrenched in the promised land. God told the children
of Israel:
 
See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and
the mighty men of valour. (Josh. 6:2)
 
     Now read the words of Jesus to His disciples:
 
He (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living
God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of
the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matt. 16:16-19)
 
     See the parallel? Jericho was a place representative of "the
gates of hell." These can never prevail against the church, as
typified by Israel in the Old Testament.
     But there are other Truths tied up in this passage. Notice for
instance, Jesus statement that "the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." Often we think of the enemy as the one on the offensive.
We think the church is on the defensive. This seems to make
sense because we do have the victory, don't we? And we must
STAND in the victory against the enemy, mustn't we? And that
makes things appear as if we are in the fortified city, and that the
enemy is the one attacking US. But this isn't how Jesus pictured
it. Nor is it the way the story of Jericho pictures it. Clearly, the
enemy is the one in the fortified city, and the church is the invader.
     We see this pictured in other places in the New Testament. For
instance, read I Corinthians:
 
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For
the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
(I Cor. 10:3-5)
 
     Again, we see a picture of the eternal invading the natural. And
of the victory of Jesus Christ taking possession of that which was
occupied by the enemy. And of the believer taking possession of
what God has freely given.
     Thus, instead of the enemy trying to invade and conquer those
who belong to Christ, we find that in God's perfect pattern, it is the
believer who is to invade and take possession of that which was
formerly possessed by the enemy. The believer is to "drive out"
the enemy, and occupy the inheritance God has given.
     To natural thinking, this might seem like we have a victory to win.
It might seem as if the enemy must be defeated and driven out, and
until he is, nothing is won. But this isn't the Truth. Just as Israel
already possessed the land, so do we already possess all things
in Christ. Yet we must go in and face the enemy. But the purpose
here isn't to defeat the enemy. It is to drive out a defeated enemy.
The purpose is to exercise faith in the finished victory of Christ, to
work out that faith through obedience, and to take possession of
that which God has won in Christ.
 
The Rock
 
     When Jesus said that the gates of hell could not prevail, or stand,
against the invasion of His church, He said it was BECAUSE of
someone this was so. Who? Because of "the Rock" upon which
The gate of hell would not prevail because of "the Rock" upon
which the church was to be built.
     Do you see that? When Peter made the proclamation, "You
are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," Jesus said, "Upon THIS
Rock -- not Peter -- but upon that revelation of Jesus AS the Christ,
upon THAT Rock, would the church be built. And against THAT
church -- built upon THAT revelation -- the gates of hell could never
prevail or stand. They MUST come crashing down as surely as
did the walls of Jericho.
     Now, there could be only one reason why fortified gates and
walls -- gates and walls which have been there for ages and
ages -- could not prevail. That reason is this: The victory is
already won. The gates and walls have no power behind them.
They are ready to come down. But God says He isn't going to go
ahead and blow them down independent of us. No. Rather, He
ordains that WE be His instruments -- even if all we do is march
around the walls and never so much as reach out and try to push
them over!
     Here is where faith comes in. The enemy has no power today.
None. Ziltch. Zero. But he does have permission to do one thing:
Try to deceive us into thinking he does have power. He has God's
permission to threaten us, incite fear in us, and to try to make us
believe that it is all up to us. Just as Jericho must have surely
looked invincible to the Israelites, and just as it must have seemed
as it there was NO victory forthcoming, so it often looks to us in the
Christian life. But no. The victory is won. It is simply a matter of
walking through the steps of faith and obedience, and the walls
will eventually fall.
     The gates of hell shall not prevail against the revelation that
Jesus is the Christ. They shall not prevail against the church. But
the gates of hell are not merely the world, atheists, or opponents
of the Truth. There are gates of hell in each one of US. Yet they
are gates and walls which are as paper walls. Their power lies
in their appearance, feelings, fears, emotions, and self-will. But
if we will believe they will, in time, fall to the ground.
 
The Accursed Things
 
     God told Israel exactly what to do in order to conquer Jericho.
He was very clear to them as to what they were allowed to do, and
NOT allowed to do. God commanded:
 
And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest
ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing,
and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the
silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated
unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.
(Josh. 6:18-19)
 
     Here we see God's command directed toward two types of
items which Israel would find in Jericho. First, there were the
"accursed" things. These were items which had been used by
the inhabitants of Jericho to worship false gods. Included among
these were statues, garments, and other tools of the occult. These
items were to be totally destroyed. Secondly, there were the
valuable things -- such as silver, gold, brass, and iron. These were
not to be destroyed, but were to be salvaged by Israel and added
to the "treasury of the Lord."
     Again, we see spiritual types. The accursed things are those
things which must totally die. They are of the sin nature, and of the
flesh. They cannot be brought forth and incorporated into the new
life in Christ. But there are other things which CAN. These are the
elements of the personality and human makeup which are not, of
themselves, evil and wrong. God made us and it was very good.
And He intends to take those elements and sanctify them unto His
glory.
     A Christian born again in Christ does not become inhuman. He
has sensitivity, emotions, a mind, a will, and emotions. These are
not obliterated through the new birth. They are regenerated. They
are salvaged and brought into "God's treasury."
     Note this: They are brought into "GOD'S treasury." They no
longer belong to US. They belong to HIM. They are dedicated to
Him and are to be used unto His glory.
     In the case of Jericho, Israel did not obey God. One of the
children of Israel, Achan, the son of Carmi, had been involved in
the conquest of Jericho. But he disobeyed the command of God
on all counts. He later confessed:
 
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, "Indeed I have sinned
against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and
two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels
weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are
hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." (Josh.
'7:20-21)
 
     Achan had taken BOTH an accursed thing, and a thing to be
salvaged, and kept them for himself. He had committed a great
sin.
     The greatest sin we can commit against God is not necessarily
some outward breaking of his law -- although we certainly should
never take such sin lightly. An even greater sin is to take the very
things of God -- things I may have obtained in a great victory -- and
then use those things for myself.
     How might one do this? Leaders, for instance, carry that
possibility with them. If someone has a special gift from God to get
insights from the Bible, or to counsel others, or to teach people,
they might take the gift the Holy Spirit has given them and use it,
not to glorify God, but to glorify themselves. This can be quite a
subtle thing. Achan, remember, HID what he had stolen for himself
and buried them in his tent. Only because God knows all things,
and will judge them, was the Truth able to be known.
     Today, as has always been the case, people -- leaders and
non-leaders alike -- take the things of God, things which God has
given them, and use it to their own profit. They use the things of
God, the name of Jesus, and the position they might hold, and use
it to get rich. Or perhaps to gain a following. Or perhaps to build
themselves up as spiritual giants to be greatly admired of men.
Instead of bringing the things God has given into HIS treasury, to
use unto the edification for all, some hoard it for themselves. Jesus
said whether your heart is, there will be your treasure. In Achan's
case, it was in his tent, in a hole he had dug.
     Now, that's what some of us do with the "good" things which God
has given us from our victory. But what about those things which
were to be utterly destroyed? Some even take those and hide
them in their tents. We settle down beside these wicked things, and
make a treaty with them. Or we justify them by saying that they
aren't really as bad as God says they are.
     There is a passage in the book of Ezekiel which speaks to this
point.
 
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked,
behold, a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig
now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations
that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of
creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the
house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there
stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of
Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan,
with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense
went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what
the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the
chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the
LORD hath forsaken the earth. (Ezek. 8:7-12)
 
     This "chamber of imagery" is the place where we do, say, think,
and choose -- but don't really think God sees us. We don't quite put
it in those words, mind you, because we do know that God sees
all. But somehow, there is no sense of conviction or openness
about it before God. This "chamber" belongs to US. And in it we
subtlely worship our other gods, and entertain and linger among
those things which God says are not to be a part of our lives.
     The parallel to Achan is immistakable. Members of the body of
Christ take that which is wicked and evil, and are at ease with these
things. They allow them to remain, or even use them for their own
agenda. But to God, these things are an abomination.
     What God really wants us to do is found in the book of Acts. The
scripture applies to Jesus Christ, but also to our life before God in
Him. The passage illustrates what our attitude should be unto God.
 
I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand,
that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my
tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope. (Acts
2:25-26)
 
     This is a picture of One whose "face" is always "facing" towards
God -- that is -- His life is open and surrendered. He has not walled
off any part of it for His own. His is using no part of Himself for His
own agenda. He has taken nothing of Jericho and hidden it for
Himself.
     This is to typify the life of the Christian. And while we cannot
possibly imagine how to do this, for we have little grasp of what we
are made of, God will bring us to deeper and deeper levels of it.
Just as God took Israel deeper and deeper into the promised land,
so God brings us deeper and deeper into the life of Jesus Christ.
 
Spiritual Weakness
 
     Even before Achan confessed his sin, Israel began experiencing
the consequences of that sin. They were routed by the men of Ai.
This led to the inquiry wherein the sin of Achan was discovered.
     Notice what God said to Joshua regarding this sin:
 
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant
which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed
thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have
put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel
could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before
their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with
you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against
tomorrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an
accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand
before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from
among you. (Josh. 7:11-13)
 
     Do you want to know why the body of Christ doesn't have the
miracles of the first century today? It isn't because God did away
with miracles. It isn't because the gifts ceased with the apostles.
     It is precisely because of the reasons God gives in this verse. We
have "taken of the accursed thing...and have put it even among our
own stuff." We have brought all kinds of terrible things into the body
of Christ. Therefore, God CANNOT use us the way He used the
first century body of Christ. To do so would be a false witness. God
would be saying, "I approve of this." He cannot.
     Remember -- miracles are signs, not for believers, but for
unbelievers. Jesus said they would "follow" where the true gospel
was preached. So when you preach a watered-down gospel, or
add to it with false teaching, there can be no witnessing miracles.
God will not witness to that which misrepresents Him.
     Of course the ironic thing today is that we have even found a way
around that. If God won't witness to false teaching, and won't
witness to us when we have taken wicked things and made them
part of "our stuff," well, then WE'LL make the miracles happen
without God! So we have hundreds of "miracle services" every
year, claiming many fantastic miracles. We have thousands of
promises and claims of miracles as a result of giving money to
these ministries. But when all is said and done, and the evidence
is really examined, there are FEW miracles. We just don't see
happening today what once happened in the body of Christ.
     Miracles are NOT, of course, the important thing. The spiritual
condition of the Body is the important thing. But if you want to know
why we haven't seen many miracles since the first century, you will
find your answer in tragedy of Achan. We have mixed the wicked
things of darkness with the things of God and called it Christianity.
We have used even the GOOD things God has given us for our
own profit and agenda. God isn't going to bless that. Ever.
 
Overcoming
 
     The lack of miracles is the least of the consequences which arise
when we take the accursed things and make them part of our own
stuff. We lose the ability to stand before our enemy. That is
because overcoming requires faith. And I can't have real faith
unless it is unconditional and to the death. When I have an agenda,
and a personal gain in mind, it is certainly NOT unconditional.
     Many of us, when faced with a spiritual battle, begin to rummage
through the spoil. "Well, I know that I shouldn't have this among my
stuff, but I'll bury it in my tent, just in case I need it." This can be
subtle and deceptive. Rather, we should say, "Everything good
belongs to God. Everything evil is to be mortified and shunned."
God never tells us to mess around with unclean, accursed, or evil
things. He always uses words like, "flee from" or "put off." We are
never to entertain or linger among those accursed things.
     But WHAT "accursed things" is being spoken of here? Well, we
certainly have, as a church, taken the things of the world and pasted
on them the name of Christ: The world's music, the world's financial
practices, the world's authority system, etc. But we have taken
things even further: We have allowed to remain in us the world's
mentality; the world's way of thinking.
     The point is, the problem with the body of Christ isn't "out here"
in what we DO. It's IN HERE -- in what we are. Many of us act as if
being a Christian is like belonging to a social club. We call
ourselves by a new name, and associate with new people. We
try to follow a list of guidelines and rules. But beneath it all, there is
a CORE of something in us which has never been broken. It is a
fundament of something which remains fully IN TACT. It is rather
off-limits to God -- although we would never tell Him that. We just
change the subject whenever God shines His light upon it. But it
is there. It is OURS. We secretly belong to ourselves, and not to
God.
     There is a big difference between someone who is trying to
discard the accursed things of the old nature, and someone who
has taken them and buried them in his tent. Note that. Everyone of
us is going to carry along some of these old things among our own
stuff. Likely we don't know they are even there until God shows us.
That's ok. God knows that. But when God shows us they are there,
we must discard them. We must destroy them. There is a world of
difference between that, and someone who is NOT trying to get
free, but is trying to rationalize and justify what they are. They are
as Achan. They have buried the things of the enemy with their own
stuff.
 
Solutions
 
     It was only after God supernaturally revealed that Achan was the
guilty party that Achan confessed his sin. At that point, he was put
to death -- because under that theocratic set-up it had to be. God
was showing this type of thing could not be tolerated. Besides,
there is no evidence Achan repented, or was sorry. His confession
was forced out of him. Nonetheless, once the sin was revealed and
purged, God delivered Ai into the hand of Israel.
     Likewise, only if the body of Christ gets serious about believing
and obeying God, and about sanctification, will we, as a group, be
able to invade the territory of the enemy and take possession of
what God has given in Christ.
     Do not be deceived. Today the body of Christ is NOT invading
the territory of the enemy and driving him out. No. We are making
treaties with the enemy and continuing to act more and more like
him. Or, in some cases, we aren't even entering into our spiritual
inheritance at all. We think we are "in the land." But we aren't. We
haven't even crossed the Jordan as of yet.
     The biggest deception of all occurs when the people of God
rejoice that they have taken possession of the inheritance of Jesus
Christ, when, in fact, they are still dwelling outside of the land. In
truth, today's church is doing just that -- in general. People have
settled for a land which is agreeable to them; which contains no
tribes to drive out. And as a result, they claim victory. But many
have not yet even begun to enter into the real things of God.
     Thankfully, we have the promise of Jesus to the effect that the
gates of hell would not ultimately stand against the revelation of
the Christ. God will yet have His way. He will yet have a Body of
believers with which to fellowship through the eternal ages.

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