It might be at the beginning of a new year or simply the day after your birthday. It might be a new job or a new school. It might be the result of a decision you made at camp, at church, or simply on a walk with a friend. Or it might be a deep conviction God has placed in your heart and mind that will alter your behavior or change your perspective from that time forward.
The Israelites were getting ready for a new start as they anticipated crossing the Jordan River. The years of wandering in the wilderness would only be a memory. The daily manna would no longer be needed. They were headed to the land where the enemy would be defeated ad the land would belong to them. Each tribe would have its own territory and the land would be “flowing with milk and honey”. They would have the chance to trust God to defeat their enemies and to willingly choose to move forward knowing God would provide for them in every way.
Some things would remain the same. That is always true with a new start, isn’t it? What they needed to realize was that the temptation to look at the size of the enemy and depend on their own strength would still be very real. The possibility of forgetting what God had done for them when He rescued them from the bondage of Egypt and provided for them throughout the years in spite of their rebellion and independent spirit was still there. Most serious of all, was the concern that they would turn to the gods of other nations or make for themselves (or of themselves) gods who would turn their allegiance away from the one true God – Jehovah.
God was giving them a wonderful opportunity to have a new start. If only they would remember to acknowledge the God who loved them so deeply, they could move forward with His blessing and begin to realize that what God had promised was now theirs to claim.
