Resolution, Resolve and Promise
It's very easy to go into the future while still being shackled to the past. My favourite image of this comes from the film, "The Mission" where a former slave trader, Rodrigo Mendoza, played by Robert de Niro, converts to Christianity and struggles to climb up a waterfall dragging his armour (a penance to his former life of violence) only to get to the top and have a tribesman of the people he captured as slaves run up to him with a knife and instead of killing him, cuts him free of his burden.Our past, sometimes good, sometimes bad, can hinder us in going into the future. God sets Joshua free from the past when He says "Moses my servant is dead." After stating the obvious God then mentions Joshua by his full name "Joshua, son of Nun", thereby recognising Joshua as his own person. For all the times we have mentioned the "big shoes" that Joshua has had to fill - we must now realise that these shoes need to be put in the cupboard. Joshua will fill his own shoes.
This is vital Resolution.
Now God frames a new mission "You and all these people, get ready..."
Before going into the land we have to get ready. We'll see in the next few chapters that getting ready will involve circumcision, crossing, eating, rededicating, re-thinking and a couple of other steps. We must never under-estimate the importance of preparation. This demonstrates our Resolve.
The last aspect of today's reading is the importance of Promise. Resolution and Resolve rests on the certainty of a good future. We can't let go of the past and prepare for the future if we are not convinced that it will be worth it. By God promises Joshua and the Israelites that He is leading them into a future that He will "give" to them.
What about you? Do you have resolution for the past? Moses wasn't forgotten, but Joshua was set free being held back by Moses. Do you have resolve for the future? What are you doing to prepare and consecrate yourself? And, finally, are you convinced that God holds your future?
| After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. (Joshua1:1-2) |
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