Joshua 12:1: “These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain . . .”

April 2nd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Chapter 12 of Joshua is basically a list of the kings conquered both in the wilderness battles under Moses and in the Promised Land battles under Joshua. Why would the Holy Spirit leave for us such an exhaustive, and seemingly tedious list? It’s possible it only seems tedious to us because we did not live in that land. For those who would receive their inheritance there, these were essential matters that greatly affected their lives, and it answered the basic question of what land belonged to Israel.

The author of Joshua named 31 kings in the order Joshua defeated them. Aside from the practical elements of the list, it seems the writer also wanted to compile a list that would impress future generations and readers with the greatness of what God had done through the leadership of Moses and Joshua. In Jeremiah 31:21, God told His children to “Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went.” This list was a landmark of all God had conquered for them so far; it was also a reminder that much still remained to be done, and that they needed to continue to press on.

God does the same for each of us in our lives. We need to remember to look back at past victories so that we will be encouraged to press on toward the battles still in front of us. Often when we try to see ahead, looking for the direction we are to go in next, the way is obscure. But if we will look back at the way we’ve already come, we can see that the hand of God was leading us straight and clean, even if it didn’t seem like it at the time. God tells us to pause and look back every now and then to get a heading, a fix, on where we’ve been so that we will be encouraged to trust Him with where He is taking us next.

“LORD, show us Your guideposts in our lives so that we can better trust you as we look forward to where we are going next.”