Second Exodus

            The book of Joshua begins in marked contrast to the book of Exodus.  In Exodus, we have Israel’s enemy, the Pharaoh of Egypt, who hardens his heart against them and their God, who, when first confronted about Israel, declares that he will make their lot even harder.  In Joshua, we find Israel’s enemy, in this case, the warlord of Jericho and his town, whose heart has melted in fear of Israel and of their God, who is suspicious and scared.

            As if to highlight the connection of the two stories, Joshua presents us with a ‘second Exodus.’  This one isn’t quite as dramatic as the first one, but it is an important indicator of the story we’re in.  The story is saying that merely being ‘sprung’ from slavery is not the fullness of God’s intention for Israel.  He intends to keep the promises to Abraham.  He has already made them a great nation (Gen. 12:2); we hear on the lips of the Jerichohites that the name of Israel has become great (Gen. 12:2).  Now He is bringing them into the land He had promised (Gen. 12:7).  All of which points us to the reality that the Lord has a grander plan for Israel than just freedom or independence:  He intends to keep the climactic promise, too—“Through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen.12:3).

            Where does that leave us?  Well, there’s the reality of a great, preceding Exodus, when our Lord Jesus confronted the arrayed powers of sin and death and journeyed from death on the cross to life in His resurrection.  And there’s the following reality of our own personal exodus, being baptized into His death and resurrection, thereby coming into our inheritance.  Now, it may not seem like it, but the hearts of our enemies—sin, death, the devil—melt before us, too, because they have seen the mighty act of God in raising Jesus from the dead.