“Rest is not quitting our busy career; Rest is the fitting of self to one’s sphere.” —J.S. Dwight
The land of Israel was to be a place of rest for the people of God, the point made by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Of course now it is not a place but a Person who is the sphere of the believer’s rest. But, as in the days of Joshua, so today we must “be diligent to enter that rest” (Heb 4:11). We see the cooperation needed between the Lord and His people as explained in Moses’ instructions to the two-and-a-half tribes who wished to settle east of the Jordan: “until the Lord has given rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you” (Deut 3:20). The first part of the verse says that the Lord gives rest; the last part of the verse says that the Lord gives the possession. But the middle part says that they must possess the land themselves—with His essential aid, of course. So between Israel crossing into the land and settling down in the land, there would be some serious conflict. And indeed there was! The Beachhead Campaign (chs 1-6) includes the crossing of the Jordan, the establishment of their base camp at Gilgal, and laying claim to Jericho, the doorway to the land. Since the manna and water-providing Rock had stopped, they needed Jericho, the largest oasis in the world. Then follows the Central Campaign (chs 7-8), the taking of Ai and Bethel to effectively cut the country in half and control the Ridge Road that funnels all traffic north and south. This was followed by the Southern Campaign at Gibeon (chs 9-10) and the Northern Campaign at Merom (chs 11-12). Only then could they find rest and refreshment in their new land flowing with milk and honey.