«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　Josh. 1:3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses.

　　6 Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.

　　In Genesis God promised Abraham that He would give the good land to Abraham's descendants. More than four hundred years later, God sent Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt, telling him that He was sending him to bring the people into the good land. It was a fact that God had given the land to Israel, but this fact was not yet practical. Rather, it was a promise that still needed to be fulfilled. Not even at the time when Israel came to the plains of Moab under the leadership of Joshua was the giving of the good land to Israel a practical fact, for the land had not yet become Israel's possession. Only after Israel had gained the good land and had taken possession of it did the land actually become theirs as a practical fact. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 31-32)

　　The good land had been promised to Israel, and the situation was ready for the land to be given to Israel in actuality. God, the Giver, had done everything, but there was still the need for Israel, the receiver, to do something to take possession of what God had given.

　　The principle is the same with the preaching of the gospel today. God's salvation has been promised, prepared, and completed in Christ and with Christ. Everything is ready for this salvation to be given to sinners. God wants to give salvation to sinners, but they need to respond to Him by receiving His gift of salvation. To respond to God by receiving His salvation is to do something helpful for God. Actually, to receive God's salvation is to do God a favor. If you know the heart of God, you will realize that whenever a sinner repents and receives Christ, that sinner is doing God a favor.

　　At the beginning of the book of Joshua, Israel was ready to go forward, to take the good land, to possess it, and to enjoy it. For Israel to do this meant that they were doing something for Christ, who is typified by the good land. Otherwise, the good land would have lain there idle. Today, Christ as the good land is ready to be taken and possessed by His believers. However, where are those who are ready to take Him, possess Him, and enjoy Him as the all-inclusive good land? Many sinners are not willing to respond to Christ, and even many of His believers are not willing to respond to Him by taking Him, possessing Him, and enjoying Him.

　　In order for God to regain the earth from the usurping hand of the enemy, we need to be in full cooperation and coordination with Him in the principle of incarnation. We need to be one with God in His heart's desire and in His move on earth. Today God wants to save people, but in order to do this, He needs us to be one with Him according to the principle of incarnation.

　　God's charge (Joshua 1:1-4) was that Joshua should enter into God's promised land. His charge to the land-takers was based upon His ordination, initiation, and choosing. The land-takers needed to sacrifice themselves, deny themselves, give up their own interest and preference in all things, and run the risk of their lives for the carrying out of God's eternal economy.

　　In verse 2 God said to Joshua, "Moses My servant is dead; 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." Here we see that the good land had been given to Israel by God.

　　"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses" (v. 3). This verse indicates that even though God had given Israel the good land, Israel still needed to take the land. On the one hand, there was God's giving of the good land; on the other hand, there was the cooperation of God's people in rising up to fulfill God's commission to possess the land. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 32, 9-10)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Joshua, msgs. 1-2