Thurs.’s Devo - Taking the Enemy and Occupying the Land

Read: Joshua 10-12:6
Joshua was a great leader. He had spent his life living in the tabernacle in the presence of the Lord. You don’t hear much about him till it is time for him to lead the people into the promised land. Then he emmerged from the presence of the Lord in power and zeal.
Five kings came up against Gibeon who Israel had made a covenant with. They came to help defend their promise and defeated them. God did a great miracle to help them. He made the sun stand still in the middle of the sky so that it was noon for hours. They defeated them in that extended day. The five kings all hid in a cave. The interesting thing is that the names of the places they came from give us a picture of what Jesus would do in his ministry: he would teach peace (Jerusalem), have communion with his people (Hebron), be lifted up (Jarmuth), walk as a man (Lachish), and become the sacrifice (Egon). They were killed just as Jesus was - on a cross, taken down before the end of the day, buried in a cave with a stone at the entrance. The only difference is that their stone remains to this very day and Jesus blew his stone away and rose from the grave.
On that longest day, Joshua went on to capture the town of Makkedah and Libnah. I would say that was a lot to accomplish on one day. The next day he defeated Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, and on through the land. Joshua didn’t stop till he had completely conquered the entire region of the land God told him to take. It says that Joshua did all he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses. Now the people were to occupy the land. He set the example for the other tribes to go in and take their land.
It was not enough to defeat the enemy, they had to occupy the land they conquered. In Matt. 12:43, 44 it says, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none. Then he says, I will return into my house from where I cam out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.” Once you have cast the devil out of a situation the place it has occupied has to be filled with something. It must be replaced with the counterpart. If anger is cast out then love and mercy must occupy that space or the spirit of anger will return and be stronger than before.
The problem with the children of Israel is that they didn’t occupy their land when it was swept clean. Because they didn’t, the enemy came back in force.
Lord, help us to occupy our bodies with the fruit of the spirit and the water of the Word. May we be like Joshua who did all the Lord told him to do.