‘But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land . . . but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”‘ (Joshua 1:12-15) The Great Commission. That final commandment of Jesus to all His children: Matt 28:19-20: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We find this commandment repeated at the end of each of the gospels, and also infiltrating each of the rest of the New Testament books. But I haven’t heard too many sermons preached on the Great Commission from the Old testament. In fact, I can’t recall a single one. That’s why I was so astonished this morning, to find the Great Commission right in the middle of Joshua, chapter one! Let’s take a look: The Children of Israel have wandered in the wilderness for 40 years due to their disbelief that God could conquer Canaan for them. Towards the end of the 40 years, the Israelites went to battle against the Amorites and conquered two of their kings. The land taken from these two kings was then divided among 2 1/2 of Israel’s tribes: The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (See Deut. 3). Shortly after this, Moses died on Mount Nebo, and Joshua became the new leader. Now, their “wilderness” time has come to an end. Joshua has just announced that they will be crossing the Jordan River in just 3 days when he gives the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh the following admonition: “but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land“ (Joshua 1:14,15) Why couldn’t these people go ahead and take possession of their own land? Because it wasn’t fair! The entire people had fought against the Amorites and conquered the land east of the Jordan. It wouldn’t be fair for just 9 1/2 tribes to have to conquer the rest of the land, while the other 2 1/2 tribes already got to enjoy their rest! Instead, they were admonished to cross over with their brothers, to fight for them until the land was conquered. Only then could they go back and occupy their land. So what does this have to do with the Great Commission? Just like the children of Israel, the unsaved world is wandering in a wilderness — the wilderness of sin. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we find our rest — Heb 4:6: “It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.” But what of those of us who find Jesus? Are we to simply sit back and enjoy the benefits of being in Christ without a thought of our brothers who have not yet found Christ? No! Jesus told us to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19)! We must fight for the lives of our brothers and sisters who are still wandering in the wilderness of sin, never stopping until they, too, have found their rest in Christ! Only then can we sit back and enjoy the full benefits of our lives in Christ — Matt 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” So what shall it be, friends? Do we isolate ourselves from the unsaved world? Do we bask in the security of our Christian friends, our Christian schools and churches? Or do we put our every effort into helping our unsaved brothers and sisters to find Jesus? The Great Commission tells us to do the latter! Matt 28:19-20: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org