Joshua 1:10-11 – The Resurrection of a Generation
(Many thanks to Audio Adrenaline for the title, and John Eldredge for the thoughts...)
An article by Pat Barnes appeared in the March 1995 issue of Guideposts. It went like this… It was a beautiful spring day, and a sense of peace stayed with me as I left the cathedral on Easter Monday morning. I paused for a moment on top of the steps leading to the avenue, now crowded with people rushing to their jobs. Sitting in her usual place inside a small archway was the old flower lady. At her feet corsages and boutonnieres were parading on top of a spread-open newspaper.
The flower lady was smiling, her wrinkled old face alive with some inner joy. I started down the stairs—then, on an impulse, turned and picked out a flower.
As I put it in my lapel, I said, “You look happy this morning.”
“Why not? Everything is good.”
She was dressed so shabbily and seemed so very old that her reply startled me.
“You’ve been sitting here for many years now, haven’t you? And always smiling. You wear your troubles well.”
“You can’t reach my age and not have troubles,” she replied. “Only it’s like Jesus and Good Friday . . . ” She paused for a moment.
“Yes?” I prompted.
“Well, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, that was the worst day for the whole world. And when I get troubles I remember that, and then I think of what happened only three days later—Easter and our Lord arising. So when I get troubles, I’ve learned to wait three days . . . somehow everything gets all right again.”
And she smiled good-bye. Her words still follow me whenever I think I have troubles. Give God a chance to help . . . wait three days.
A 3 day waiting period. That phrase should ring a bell to you. Let’s read Joshua 1:10-11. In the scripture passage we looked at last week, we saw God’s words to Joshua: “Moses is dead… My promises are for you… be strong and courageous… I will be with you.” And now, Joshua is speaking to the leaders, the commanders, the officers of the people. And he’s saying that they are going to take the land promised to them. And he’s saying to get ready. Joshua is telling his people to prepare themselves for the challenges awaiting them.
Remember where they are: They are stationed on the eastern side of the north-south-running Jordan River, waiting to cross its waters to get to Canaan, the Promised Land, where they would establish their new homes. They had been wandering for some time.
In fact, a whole generation had passed since they had permanent homes. It had been 40 years and some months since they had left Egypt. So, even though they had permanent homes, they were still slaves. Not one of them knew what it was to own their own land and be free. But the time had come. God had given the word to Joshua. He was to lead His people to Canaan. And it would all begin in 3 days.
Which sounds vaguely familiar. Where have we heard that concept, that things would be better in 3 days? It’s actually quite a common thought in the Bible.
Way back in Genesis 1, when all had been darkness, on the 3rd day, God brought light. Our forefather of the faith, Abraham, almost sacrificed his only son Isaac on the 3rd day of his journey to worship God. Ah, but Abraham got him back, when the Lord provided another sacrifice. This is Genesis 22.
Skip ahead in Genesis about 20 chapters. After Joseph’s brothers came to get food in a famine, he let them out of their imprisonment on the 3rd day. That’s Genesis 42.
During the 9th plagues of Egypt, darkness covered the land, except Goshen, where the Israelites lived. The darkness lasted for 3 days, which means that light came on the 3rd day. Exodus 10.
Well, God brought His people out of Egypt, and they crossed the Red Sea. The people complained about the lack of water, and 3 days after they crossed the Red Sea, God brought forth water – Exodus 15.
Their journey continued, and they came to Mt.Sinai. God told Moses to prepare the Israelites for a visit from God. 3 days later, God appeared to His people – Exodus 19.
Let’s skip ahead to the book of Joshua, chapter 2. Rahab the prostitute told the spies they should wait until the coast was clear, then they could flee. How long should they wait until safety? 3 days.
In the time of the Kings, David sinned against God, and God gave David a choice of punishments. David chose a nation-wide plague. The nation endured the plague for 3 days, then was relieved – 2 Sam. 24.
In the book of Ezra, God would restore His exiled people. They were to assemble and would receive their property again. The exiles were given 3 days to be restored.
The book of Nehemiah tells the story of one man’s passion to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah got this vision to rebuild what was destroyed after 3 days of seeing the need – Nehemiah 2.
Of course, Jonah was inside the belly of the whale for 3 days– Jonah 1-2. Then, after his release, Jonah preached for 3 days to Ninevah before they repented – Jonah 3. 3 days saved Jonah and Ninevah.
One last example, from the New Testament. Saul saw a blinding light, and was blind for 3 days. After 3 days, he received his sight, and was never the same again – Acts 9.
Granted, not every reference to 3 days or the 3rd day in the Bible means salvation. But considering the grand-daddy of all salvations, I think there’s something to be said about it. Jesus surrendered His life on Friday – Day 1. Day 2 found Him battling the enemy on his own turf. And Day 3 found Jesus rising from the grave. Hallelujah, Christ arose.
Very often, the 3rd day means a new hope. It means a fresh start. It means that God will show up. Hosea 6:2 says this: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”
And that’s the spirit of this passage in Joshua. It’s a resurrection of a generation. It’s a promise that the wanderers would find a home, that the tired would find rest, and that the discouraged would find hope. It’s the promise that there are better days ahead for God’s people.
But Joshua says that you need to be ready for it. If you want God to break forth light into your darkness, if you want Him to bring water into your dry place, if you want your broken walls to be rebuilt, if you want to have mercy for your situation, if you want to get out of that whale of a problem, if you want to be able to see, you have to get ready for God to move.
You see, there’s a lot more to this thing called Christianity than just the cross. Most seem to think that Jesus’ death was the real work or the main thing He did for us. After all, isn’t the cross the symbol of our faith? Isn’t the cross what we put on our churches, on our Bibles, on our jewelry? But can I say that the cross was never meant to be the only or even the central symbol of Christianity?
In fact, the cross never appeared as a symbol in the early church until some 400 years after Jesus lived on earth. That’s a long time. So what, if not the cross, did the apostles preach? On what did they focus? They focused on the resurrection. 1 Cor.15:14,17 say: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
Did you get that? Paul says that the resurrection brought them out of their sins. Read Acts 1,4,17 – what the early leaders preached was “the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” The early Christian church thought that the Jesus’ resurrection, healings, and miracles were most important. In fact, it’s these things that make Christianity such very good news. After all, a dead man is not great news, and a dead God is even worse. No, what makes the story so great, besides the fact that it’s true, is that life, real life, the power of God to restore you and change you and lift you – that’s good news, and that’s what Christ offers us.
Yes, Christ died for us, but Christ was also raised for us. His resurrection was as much for us as His death was. But some of you have not reached that point. You do well to live in Good Friday. You see His death, you know He’s carried your sins, you know you’re forgiven, at least on a good day. But as for new life, power to rise above sin, power to resist temptation, ah, these are beyond you. You don’t know how to shut up when you should, nor do you know how to speak when you should. You can’t control your tongue. You can’t grab hold of those wandering thoughts. You can’t bring yourself to forgive and put the past behind you. It’s there most days in front of your face.
Folks, it’s time to move on. It’s time to step into the 3rd day. It’s time to be resurrected. How? First, you need to understand one thing: you have been resurrected. You have been made alive. Your heart has been changed. You are new. You are different. You are revived. As a Christian, that much is true. But you need to grasp that truth. You need to believe what is true about you. Romans 6:11 says to consider what is true. Believe what is true. What is true is that you have been raised. You have died, your old life has been buried, you have been set free, and you have been plucked up from the grave of old sins and old habits.
Listen, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where faith loses its vagueness and becomes real. If you believe, if you have faith, then show it by living it. Get up out of your old graveclothes and step into the light with resurrection power.
Say, “Lord, I know I have failed. I know that my life has not always shown you very well. But it’s time to change. It’s time to get ready. It’s time to be 100% sold out to You. Please help me see where I sin. Give me the eyes to see that I don’t have to do it. And give me the courage to let you lift me up. I don’t want to be stuck wandering in the desert. I want to enter into Your promises.”
It may mean turning off the noise or shutting out images into your brain or sitting down and actually forgiving a person or whatever, but it is real, it is possible, and it is promised. Rise up. Embrace the empty tomb. I heard a story about a college student who once sent a telegram to his parents reading: "Mom – flunked all courses. Kicked out of school. Prepare Pop."
Soon afterwards, Mom sent back a response: "Pop prepared. Prepare yourself."
What do you need to do to be prepared for God to raise you up? What changes do you need to make to get out of a Good Friday rut and into a Resurrection Sunday triumph? Allow Him to breathe life into your death, and bring hope into your failure.
