Daily Devotions
Rest from War
Title: Rest from War
Reading for March 8: Joshua 11-13
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 11:23
The conquest of Canaan was not merely about giving the family of Abraham the promised land. This conquest was also God's righteous judgment against those who had willfully rejected the Lord, clinging instead to their lifeless idols. They were reaping what they had sown (Gen 15:16; Deut 9:4-5).
But the end of Joshua 11 shows that God does not delight in war. While God is clearly portrayed in Joshua as a God of justice (and the holy war in Joshua is an extension of that justice), he is also seen here as a God of peace. His desire is not only that the land be purged of wickedness, but that it also be given rest from war.
War is not and never has been God's purpose for this world. War is a consequence of the fall. This world was not made for war. It was made for peace.
And peace is one of the reasons why we long to be delivered from here. We are sick of what sin has done to this world! We're tired of the headlines about war, terrorism, rape, genocide, and refugees forced to leave their homes. We long for heaven because it is in heaven that the land will finally have rest from war.
Oh Lord, come quickly!
