We have been going through Judges lately, and early on we saw that things began to go bad for Israel when Joshua died. One man or woman of God can have a huge impact on a generation of people. In Judges 2:8 we see that Joshua died. In this verse he is called the servant of the Lord which is basically is Joshua’s obituary. The writer didn’t mention Joshua’s courage, his great leadership, or his victories in battle; he was simply a servant of the Lord. This means that he sought to honor God with his life, that he sought to please God with his precious time, and that God was His passion and desire. He knew that God had saved his soul from wrath and his response was, “Lord, I’m yours.” In 1 Cor. 6:10 it says that “You have been bought with a price, therefore, glorify God in your body” – and this is what Joshua sought to do. Joshua knew God had saved him by grace through faith alone, and while he didn’t have full revelation of what Christ would do for him years down the line on the cross, he trusted in God to save him and deal with his wretched sin. Therefore, ‘I’m yours Lord! Take me, use me as you see fit. I give my life over to you gratefully and I want to serve you with the precious time I have left.” What an example for us!
Note that Joshua died when he was 110 years old. Death is bittersweet isn’t it? Unless Christ comes first we are all going to die like Joshua. This is important for us to ponder because the reality is that none of us knows when that day will come, and none of us knows whether or not our soul will be required of us this very day. Therefore, it is vital that you are ready! The only way to be ready is to be a true believer in the Lord for salvation and life! And while for a non-believer, death is your worst day, for the believer, death is your best day because death in the Lord is true gain! Why? Because when a believer died in the Old Testament and when a Christian dies today, we are simply being set free from the things of this life and moving on to an eternal home in the presence of the Lord. As a Christian if I die, I’m just being released, I’m being set free, I’m moving up! When we die as believers we go straight into the presence of God, we’ll be freed from the pain, sorrow, and suffering of this present life, we will be ushered into the Lord’s awesome presence, we will no longer need to walk by faith but by sight, we will know God, we will see God, and we will be with God forever. The Bible tells us that when we die we will get rid of this body of death that we carry around along with all its lusts and temptations, and we will then be freed from sin, guilt, and all evil. When we die, we will then know fully and understand things as they truly are. Right now we see things dimly but then we will see things clearly. Also, when we die we’ll see God, we’ll be with Christ, the one who died for us to make us His, we’ll be in His loving perfect presence forever, and the ultimate joy that comes through Christ will be ours in all its fullness! Death wasn’t so bad for Joshua. Are you ready to face the Lord?
Another thought for us in Christ is this: are you making the most of the precious time you have been blessed with since time flies and none of us knows when our time will come? Life is short, therefore, you have better make each day count, you had better live without regret, and you had better live daily for that which has true eternal value. Joshua lived for 110 years; not bad! Our time might come much sooner! So serve, grow daily, treat your spouse and children right, forgive that person, and don’t live for a tomorrow that may never come. Live and give every day to the Lord and don’t forget that death for us is indeed gain. Until then, spend and be spent for the glory of God. Lord help us! |
