Will You Go Get It
Will You Go Get It?
1:1–9 The LORD first delivered a solemn charge to Joshua the son of Nun concerning the task ahead of him. The land had been promised to Israel, but they must possess it, from the Negev at the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Mediterranean on the west to the River Euphrates on the east (see vv. 3, 4). Joshua must be strong, very courageous, and obedient. Now, as then, we are assured of good success when we fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word and obey it (v. 8).
Definition of progression for English Language Learners
Definition of progression for Students
Definition of regression
1:3–4. Though the land was God’s gift to Israel, it could be won only by hard fighting. The Lord gave them title to the territory but they had to possess it by marching on every part. The boundaries established by God and promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:18–21) and Moses (Deut. 1:6–8) were to extend from the wilderness on the south to the Lebanon mountain range on the north, and from the Euphrates River on the east to the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, on the west. The added expression, all the Hittite country, probably refers not to the extensive empire of that name north of Canaan but to the fact that in ancient times the whole population of Canaan or any part of it was sometimes called “Hittite” (cf. Gen. 15:20). “Pockets” of Hittite peoples existed here and there in Canaan.
Thirty-eight years earlier Joshua had explored this good and fruitful land as 1 of the 12 spies (Num. 13:1–16; there [Num. 13:8] he is called “Hoshea,” a variant spelling of his name). The memory of its beauty and fertility had not dimmed. Now he was to lead the armies of Israel to conquer that territory.
What is the extent of these boundaries? The territory actually conquered and possessed in the time of Joshua was much less than what was promised in Genesis 15:18–21. Even in the time of David and Solomon, when the land reached its greatest extent, the outlying districts were only within Israel’s sphere of influence.
When will the nation of Israel fully possess the land? The prophets have declared that at the time of Christ’s return to earth He will regather the Jews and reign in the land over a converted and redeemed Israel. Full and complete possession of the land awaits that day (cf. Jer. 16:14–16; Amos 9:11–15; Zech. 8:4–8).
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
Every place, to wit, within the following bounds.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
This Lebanon; this emphatically, as being the most eminent mountain in Syria, and the northern border of the land: or this which is within my view; as if the Lord appeared to him in the form of a man, and pointed to it. Of the Hittites, i. e. of the Canaanites, who elsewhere are all called Amorites, as Gen. 15:16, and here Hittites, by a synecdoche; the Hittites being the most considerable and formidable of all, as may appear from Numb. 13:33; 14:1; 2 Kings 7:6; and many of them being of the race of the giants, dwelling about Hebron. See Gen. 25:9, 10; 26:34; 27:46. The great sea; the midland sea, great in itself, and especially compared with those lesser collections of waters, which the Jews called seas.
Object. The Israelites never possessed all this land. Answ. 1. That was from their own sloth and cowardice, and disobedience to God, and breach of those conditions upon which this promise was suspended. See Judg. 2:20. 2. This land was not all to be possessed by them at once, but by degrees, as their numbers and necessities increased; but Canaan being fully sufficient for them, and many of the Israelites being from time to time either cut off or carried captive for their sins, there was never any need of enlarging their possessions. 3. Though their possessions extended not to Euphrates, yet their dominion did, and all those lands were tributary to them in David’s and Solomon’s time.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: fas I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
As I was with Moses, to assist him against all his enemies, and in all the difficulties of governing this stiff-necked people, which Joshua might justly fear no less than the Canaanites. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; I will not leave thee destitute either of inward support, or of outward assistance.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses [Josh. 1:3].
God has given them the land. The land is theirs, but their enjoyment of it depends upon their taking possession of it. That part of the land upon which they walked would belong to them. Comparatively speaking, we have been told in Ephesians 1:3 that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. Unfortunately, very few Christians lay hold of the spiritual blessings that belong to them.
Years ago a certain Englishman moved to the United States. Soon after he arrived he dropped out of sight. One day his uncle in England died and left him about a five–million dollar estate. Scotland Yard went about trying to locate the man whose last address had been in Chicago. They searched for him but never found him. Later I heard that he was found one morning frozen to death in an entryway of a cheap hotel. He could not afford twenty–five cents for a room although he was heir to five million dollars! He did not claim what was his. He did not lay hold of what belonged to him.
Although God gave Israel the Promised Land, they never possessed all of it. As a matter of fact, Israel got very little of the land. Many Christians today are like Israel in that they are blessed with all spiritual blessings and yet they die like bums in a doorway without claiming those blessings as their own. What a tragedy that is. The Book of Joshua is going to tell us how to lay hold of our possessions. Because there will be conflict, we are told in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God. We have a spiritual enemy fighting against us. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Ours is a spiritual enemy.
We will have to wear the whole armor of God. The victory has to be won. However, you and I don’t get the victory; the Lord Jesus Christ gets the victory. We will get what Israel got—deliverance and possessions. Every victory Israel gained was given by God. If you and I ever win a victory, He will win it for us. We will, by faith, enter into these wonderful possessions.
5:6–7. The brief statement of Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac (v. 2) is now related in more detail. Three things indicate that the demon possessing the man was fully aware of Jesus’ divine origin and superior power: he knelt before Him (in homage, not worship); he used Jesus’ divine name in an attempt to gain control over Him (cf. 1:24); and he brazenly appealed to Jesus not to punish him. The words, Most High God, were used in the Old Testament, often by Gentiles, to refer to the superiority of the true God of Israel over all man-made gods (cf. Gen. 14:18–24; Num. 24:16; Isa. 14:14; Dan. 3:26; 4:2; cf. comments on Mark 1:23–24).
The plea, Swear to God, was used in exorcisms and should be rendered, “I implore you by (I appeal to) God.” The demon did not want Jesus to torture him by sending him to his final punishment then (cf. 1:24; Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:31).
5:8. This verse is a brief explanatory (gar, for) comment by Mark (cf. 6:52). Jesus was commanding him, the demon, to leave the man. Throughout this section there is fluctuation between the personality of the man and the demon who possessed him.
5:9–10. These verses resume the conversation of verse 7. The demon said through the man, My name is Legion for we are many. Many evil powers controlled this man and subjected him to intense oppression. They tormented him as one combined force under the leadership of one demon, their spokesman. This accounts for the alternating singular (“my”) and plural (“we”) pronouns. Repeatedly the leading demon begged Jesus earnestly not to send them out of the area (lit., “region”; cf. v. 1) into a lonely exile where they could not torment people.
The Latin word “Legion,” commonly known in Palestine, denoted a Roman army regiment of about 6,000 soldiers, though it probably also meant a very large number (cf. v. 15). To people under Roman domination the word no doubt suggested great strength and oppression.
c. The loss of the herd of pigs (5:11–13)
5:11. The Jews considered pigs “unclean” animals (cf. Lev. 11:7). But the farmers on the east side of the Sea of Galilee with its predominantly Gentile population raised pigs for the meat markets in the Decapolis, “the 10 cities” of that region (cf. Mark 5:20).
5:12–13. The demons (cf. v. 9) specifically begged Jesus to send them among (eis here suggests movement toward) the pigs so that they might go into them as their new hosts. They knew they were subject to Jesus’ command, and in a desperate attempt to avoid being consigned to a disembodied state until final judgment, they made this appeal.
Jesus gave them permission to do so. When the demons left the man and entered the pigs, the whole herd, about 2,000 in number, stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned (lit., “one after another they drowned themselves”). The “sea” perhaps symbolized the satanic realm.
12:1–3. Verses 1–3 record God’s call to Abram, and verses 4–9 record Abram’s obedience. The call had two imperatives, each with subsequent promises. The first imperative was to get out (Leave your country … go to the land, v. 1), and the second imperative was to be a blessing. (The second imperative, in v. 2, is imprecisely rendered in many versions, including the NIV, as a prediction, you will be a blessing. But lit., it is, “Be a blessing.”) His leaving started a chain of reactions. If Abram would get out of Ur, God would do three things for him, so that he could then be a blessing in the land (the second imperative); and he had to be that blessing so that God would do three more things for him. This symmetry should not be missed, for it strengthens the meaning. Abram’s calling had a purpose: his obedience would bring great blessing.
Three promises were based on God’s call for Abram to leave his land: (a) a great nation, (b) a blessing for Abram, and (c) a great name (v. 2). These promises would enable him to “be a blessing” (the second imperative, v. 2). Based on this obedience were God’s three promises to: (a) bless those who blessed him, (b) curse anyone who would treat him lightly, and (c) bless the families of the earth through him (v. 3). To bless or curse Abram was to bless or curse Abram’s God. Unfortunately God often had to use other nations to discipline His people because, far from being a blessing to the world, they were usually disobedient. The third promise takes on its greatest fulfillment in the fact that Jesus Christ became the means of blessing to the world (Gal. 3:8, 16; cf. Rom. 9:5).
The idea of faith is stressed in these passages. Abram was told to leave several things—his “country,” his people, and his father’s household (Gen. 12:1). But he was told nothing about the land to which he must go. His departure required an unparalleled act of faith.
The themes of blessing and cursing are heightened here. In fact this is the central passage of the Book of Genesis. Here begins the program that was so desperately needed in chapters 1–11 (a purpose of which was to show that this blessing was needed). This was the call; Abram responded to it by faith. The ensuing promises were formulated later, under covenant conditions (15:8–21).
The Call of Abraham (12:1–9)
12:1–3 The call of the LORD had come to Abram when he was still in Ur (compare v. 1 with Acts 7:1, 2). Abram was called to leave his country, his family, and his father’s house, and to embark on a life of pilgrimage (Heb. 11:9). God made a marvelous covenant with him which included the following significant promises: a land—that is, the land of Canaan; a great nation—namely, the Jewish people; material and spiritual prosperity for Abram and his seed; a great name for Abram and his posterity; they would be a channel of blessing to others; friends of Israel would be blessed and anti-Semites would be cursed; all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abram, pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be a descendant of Abram. This covenant was renewed and enlarged in 13:14–17; 15:4–6; 17:10–14; and 22:15–18.
12:4–9 After what have been called “the wasted years in Haran,” that is, years without progress, Abram moved to Canaan with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, other relatives, and possessions. They came first to Shechem, where Abram built an altar to the LORD. The presence of hostile Canaanites was no obstacle to a man who was walking by faith. Abram next relocated between Bethel (house of God) and Ai. True to form, he not only pitched a tent for himself but also built an altar to the LORD. This says a great deal about the priorities of this man of God. Verse 9 finds Abram moving toward the South (the Negev).
This signified that it was an unconditional covenant, dependent for fulfillment on God alone.
According to another view of this passage, the sacrificial pieces represent the nation of Israel. The vultures speak of the Gentile nations. The land that is not theirs, of course, is Egypt. Israel would be delivered from Egyptian bondage and return to Canaan in the fourth generation. The smoking oven and the burning torch describe the national destiny of Israel—suffering and witness-bearing.
Israel’s deliverance would not come until the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. These pagan inhabitants of Canaan must eventually be exterminated. But God often allows evil to run its course, sometimes to the seeming detriment of His people, before He judges it. He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish—even the depraved Amorites (2 Pet. 3:9). He also allows evil to come to fruition so that the awful consequences of wickedness can be clear to all. Thus His wrath is demonstrated to be completely righteous.
Verses 13 and 14 pose a chronological problem. They predict that Abram’s people would be in harsh servitude in a foreign land for 400 years, and that they would leave at the end of that time, carrying great wealth with them. In Acts 7:6 this figure of 400 years is repeated.
In Exodus 12:40, 41 we read that the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, were sojourners for 430 years, to the very day.
Then in Galatians 3:17 Paul says that the period from the confirming of the Abrahamic Covenant until the giving of the Law was 430 years.
How can these figures be reconciled?
The 400 years mentioned in Genesis 15:13, 14 and in Acts 7:6 refer to the time of Israel’s harsh affliction in Egypt. Jacob and his family were not in bondage when they first came to Egypt. On the contrary, they were treated quite royally.
The 430 years in Exodus 12:40, 41 refer to the total time the people of Israel spent in Egypt—to the very day. This is an exact figure.
The 430 years in Galatians 3:17 cover approximately the same period as Exodus 12:40, 41. They are reckoned from the time that God confirmed the Abrahamic Covenant to Jacob, just as Jacob was preparing to enter Egypt (Gen. 46:1–4), and they extend to the giving of the Law, about three months after the Exodus.
The four generations of Genesis 15:16 can be seen in Exodus 6:16–20: Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses. Israel has not yet occupied the land promised in verses 18–21. Solomon had dominion over it (1 Kgs. 4:21, 24), as over vassal states, but his people did not occupy it. The covenant will be fulfilled when Christ returns to reign. Nothing can stop its fulfillment. What God has promised is as sure as if it had already occurred!
The river of Egypt (v. 18) is generally believed to be a small stream south of Gaza now known as Wadi el Arish, and not the Nile.
5. Ishmael, Son of the Flesh (Chaps. 16, 17)
16:1–6 The restlessness of the sin nature is seen here. Instead of waiting on God, Sarai persuaded Abram to obtain a child by her maid, Hagar, who was probably acquired during the ill-fated sojourn in Egypt. God is faithful in recording the marital irregularities of His people, even if He never approved them. When Hagar became pregnant, she looked down in disdain on her mistress. Sarai responded by blaming Abram, then driving Hagar out of the house. This illustrates the conflict between law and grace. They cannot cohabit (Gal. 4:21–31). While some of the behavior in this section may have been culturally acceptable then, it is certainly irregular from a Christian standpoint.
16:7–15 While Hagar was in the desert at Shur, on the way to Egypt, the Angel of the LORD came to her. This was the Lord Jesus in one of His preincarnate appearances, known as a Christophany. (See Judges 6 for an essay on the Angel of the LORD.) He counseled her to return and submit to Sarai, and promised that her son would become head of a great nation. That promise, of course, is fulfilled in the Arab people. The words “Return … and submit” have marked great turning points in the lives of many who have had dealings with God.
Hagar’s exclamation in verse 13 might be paraphrased, “You are a God who may be seen,” for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” She named the well “Beer Lahai Roi” (literally, well of the One who lives and sees me).
16:16 Abram was eighty-six when Ishmael was born to Hagar. The name Ishmael means God hears. In this case He heard Hagar’s misery. We should remember throughout this narrative that Hagar represents law whereas Sarai represents grace (see Gal. 4).
17:1–14 God’s words to Abram in verse 1 may have been a veiled way of saying that he should stop trying to work things out in his own strength and let Almighty God work for him. Immediately afterward God renewed His covenant and changed the patriarch’s name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude). Circumcision was then instituted as a sign of the covenant. This surgical operation, performed on the male child, was a physical sign that the person belonged to God’s chosen earthly people. Although it was already practiced in the Middle East at this time, it took on new meaning for Abraham and his family. Every male in Abraham’s house was circumcised, and thereafter every male baby was to be circumcised when he was eight days old or else be cut off from his people—that is, put away from the congregation of Israel (vv. 9–14). The expression “cut off” sometimes means to put to death, as in Exodus 31:14, 15. In other places, as here, it seems to mean to ban or ostracize.
The Apostle Paul is careful to point out that Abraham was justified (15:6) before he was circumcised. His circumcision was “a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised” (Rom. 4:11). Believers today are not sealed with a physical mark; they receive the Holy Spirit as a seal at the time of their conversion (Eph. 4:30).
Obeying God’s instructions, Abram severed in half (v. 10) three animals—a heifer, a goat, and a ram (v. 9)—and also brought a dove and a young pigeon.
15:11–16. Just then sudden horror must have come on Abram, for unclean birds of prey swooped down on the offering animals—obviously an evil omen. God’s announcement of Israel’s enslavement (vv. 13–14) clarified the meaning of the attacking birds. The word mistreated (‘ānâh, v. 13; cf. 16:6) is the same word used in Exodus 1:11–12 to describe Egypt’s oppression of Israel. Egypt, like birds of prey, opposed the covenant, but ultimately the covenant will be fulfilled. Later, in Moses’ day when the Israelites were in Egypt, they could count the years and see that 400 years had elapsed (from the time of Jacob’s entry into Egypt in 1876 B.C.; cf. the chart “Chronology of the Patriarchs,” near Gen. 47:28–31) and their time of deliverance from slavery was at hand (they will come out). Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17 state that the Egyptian bondage was 430 years (from 1876 to 1446). Apparently, then, Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6, with their references to 400 years, are using rounded figures (see comments on Acts 7:6 and Gal. 3:17).
God is just, and wished to permit the sin of the Amorites to be full before He would judge them (Gen. 15:16). (See comments on the Amorites at 14:13–16.) God would tolerate their sins until Israel under Joshua conquered Palestine. Thus the fulfillment of the promises to Abram involves a retributive judgment on the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram’s seed would get the land—but not one hour before absolute justice required it. God had much to do before fulfilling His promise—including disciplining His nation to make it fit for receiving the promise. Abram’s seeing this in advance was horrible—like watching birds of prey.
15:17–21. Then after sunset God revealed Himself in connection with the image of an oven (smoking fire pot) and a torch, two elements that were connected with sacrificial ritual in the ancient world. These images are part of the “burning” motif that describes God’s zeal and judgment in the world. Fire represents the consuming, cleansing zeal of Yahweh as well as His unapproachable holiness, which are interrelated (cf. Isa. 6:3–7). In the darkness (Gen. 15:17) Abram saw nothing else in the vision except these fiery elements that passed between the pieces of the slaughtered animals. Thus the holy God was zealous to judge the nations and to fulfill His covenantal promises to Israel. He came down and made (lit, “cut”) a formal treaty (a covenant) with Abram (the Abrahamic Covenant). Since God could “swear” (confirm the covenant) by none greater, “He swore by Himself” (Heb. 6:13). In other words this was a unilateral covenant. So its promises are absolutely sure.
God even specified the geographical boundaries of Israel’s land—from the river of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish, not the Nile River) to the great river, the Euphrates. Israel has never possessed this land in its entirety, but she will when Christ returns to reign as Messiah. The Canaanite tribes listed (Gen. 15:19–21) were dispossessed later in the Conquest.
For Abram God’s message was clear: in spite of the prospects of death and suffering (enslavement in bondage), his descendants would receive the promises, for God assured it. So Israel could be encouraged by this at the Exodus as well as in subsequent times of distress, even during the Babylonian Captivity. God’s solemn covenant assures the Chosen People of the ultimate fulfillment of His promises in spite of their times of death and suffering.
Israel would also notice the parallel touch at the beginning of this narrative. (Cf. “I am the LORD [Yahweh] who brought you out of Ur,” v. 7, with Ex. 20:2: “I am the LORD [Yahweh] your God who brought you out of Egypt.”) This assured Israel that in spite of opposition and bondage God would judge their enslavers and fulfill His promises.
This passage encourages New Testament believers as well. God affirms solemnly that He will fulfill His promises concerning salvation and all the blessings that pertain to that life (cf. 2 Peter 1:3–4); despite opposition, suffering, and even death, He keeps His promises
