Rest After Work - Joshua 22:4

The End of the Conquest & a Time of Rest

Text: Joshua 22:4

“And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them…” (Joshua 22:4a).

This chapter details the return of the tribes of Reuben, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh to the other side of the Jordan. Earlier, in Numbers 32, they had requested that their inheritance be on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Moses had granted them their wish, but he reminded them of their responsibility to assist their brethren in claiming their inheritance (Numbers 32:20-24).

They had fulfilled their obligation to fight for their brethren’s inheritance. Now, seven years later, the conquest was now over, and they could return home. For their brethren, it was now a time for some “rest” (v.4), yet that rest could not have been enjoyed if there had not been faithfulness in the battle. Every child of God has a responsibility to do that which God has ordained him to do.

In his commentary on this chapter, Harry Ironside observed the three types of people found within the nation of Israel. He writes the following:

“Of old, God’s people were divided into three classes: priests, Levites, and warriors. The priests were the worshipers and had to do with the way of approach to God. The Levites were the ministers of the Lord, serving, as we have seen, in various capacities. The warriors fought to take possession of the land and to hold it against their enemies in days to come. In the present dispensation of grace, the three groups are combined in each believer. All have been set oaf God as priests, holy and royal, to offer unto God spiritual sacrifices and to make known the riches of His grace to a lost world. All are Levites, whose joy it should be to serve with gladness the One who has redeemed them. All, too, are warriors, responsible to contend earnestly for the faith once for all committed to the saints.”¹

Sadly, too many believers have the idea that the Christian life begins and ends at the point of salvation.

The conquest had been properly represented by all three divisions of the people. Each had fulfilled their respective responsibilities, and victory had been secured. Likewise, in the New Testament, there “remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). While the New Testament believer is not conquering a “spiritual Canaan,” he is to expand the influence of Christ’s church by carrying the gospel to the farthest regions of the world (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). We cannot rest at ease until the world has been reached with the gospel. We cannot cease contending for the faith, until the world’s nations have been exposed to the redeeming power of the gospel.

Sadly, too many believers have the idea that the Christian life begins and ends at the point of salvation. Their philosophy is, “I’m saved, secure and on my way to Heaven. Now I’ll rest in Christ.” Thus, the untold are remaining the untold. The lost are remaining the lost. The unforgiven are remaining the unforgiven.

If we would enjoy the rest that awaits us, then let us press on in the conquest of Satan’s deceptive kingdom. Let us be good soldiers of Christ, Let us “work ’till Jesus comes!”

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