The Spiritual Journey (8)

Bible Reading: 

Numbers 20:1~13; 21:4~9; 25:1~9

Joshua 4:8~9; 5:8~9

XX. Moses acted without authorization (Num 20:1~13) — Knowing the authority of Christ as the Head  

[Kadesh]

The central message of this conference tells us that along the path of a Christian’s life, there is a definite direction and goal, which is to pursue to enter into Christ’s fullness. The history of the people of Israel as recorded in the entire Old Testament can be divided into three parts. The first was the exodus from Egypt and the entire journey through the wilderness until they entered Canaan The second was the conquest of Canaan, the establishment of the kingdom, up to the time Solomon constructed the holy temple. The third was the captivity to Babylon, the destruction of the temple, and the burning down of the wall because the people of Israel departed from the Lord. Until seventy years later, they returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and restore the wall  In this year’s conference, we speak about the experience of the Israelites in a total of twenty-four stations, beginning with their departure from Egypt until the time they entered Canaan. We have already mentioned that they left Egypt and arrived at Rephidim. Furthermore, they stopped at Kadesh, the border of Canaan, and had a total of nineteen experiences.  Given this limited space, we can only briefly discuss the experience of the last five stations.

1. The people contended for water

   After the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness for nearly forty years, they gathered once again at Kadesh. Because they faced drought, the people and their livestock were thirsty for water. The thirst was so unbearable that the people gathered against Moses and Aaron. They contended with Moses, and said, “… Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?...It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.”

2. Moses smote the rock twice

   At that time, Moses and Aaron went from before the congregation to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." Moses did as the Lord had commanded him and gathered the congregation together before the rock.

   Unfortunately, Moses was provoked because of the contention of the people.  He lifted up his hand, and hr struke the rock twice with his rod, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

3. The Lord did not allow Moses to enter Canaan

   The Lord only wanted Moses to "speak" to the rock and it will yield its water. However, because Moses was provoked, he struck the rock twice. Spiritually, it means acting without authorization from God. It is not letting Christ have the first place in all things (Colossians 1:18).  It was going beyond the authority of the Head; hence, God severely dealt with this spiritual leader.  The Scripture says, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'" (Numbers 20:12)

   From here, we can see that God places strict demands on the spiritual leaders in the church.  The people contended because they had no water. The Lord can tolerate this. But when the leader acted beyond God’s authority, He could not tolerate it. Consequently, the Lord told Moses, “You can only reach the border of Canaan; but you cannot enter Canaan.”

4. Knowing the authority of Christ as the Head

   The Bible testifies, "And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant..." (Hebrews 3:5) But man is not God. When Moses was provoked by the people, he went beyond God’s authority. In this incident he did not honor the Lord as holy.  He had destroyed the symbolism in God’s salvation. If the Lord had tolerated this, then the content and essence of salvation would be confounded.

   Moses struck the rock the first time at Meribah (Exodus 17:1~2), symbolizing Jesus Christ being nailed on the cross. Therefore, when the children of Israel contended this time, the Lord only told Moses to speak to the rock. He did not command Moses to strike the rock. Now Moses smote the rock twice and that was equivalent to crucifying Jesus for a second time. Another very important point is that Moses went beyond the authority of Christ as the Head. Although Moses, in leading the people of Israel out of Egypt and onto the border of Canaan, suffered deprivations and hardships for forty long years, he remained faithful to what God entrusted to him until his death.  Just because of this incident of striking the rock the second time, God did not allow him to enter Canaan. God wanted Moses and all of His children to recognize the authority of Christ as the Head.

   Indeed, when the Lord did not allow Moses to enter Canaan, this was an immense blow to Moses, something that was very bitter and hard for him to bear. Yet Moses did not resist; neither did he have any grudge or complaint. He was led by God to such a stage that he was exceedingly spiritual. His spiritual life was already mature and had reached Christ’s fullness. That is why the Bible particularly honors Moses as "Moses the man of God" (title of Psalm 90).

   God was truly gracious to Moses and let him live to a hundred and twenty years old with losing his vigor. Before Moses ended his days on earth, Now the Lord said to Moses: "'Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes....' Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 'Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.' And the Lord said to Moses: 'Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;...And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient...' So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses." (Numbers 27:12~23)

   Obviously, this historical fact allows us to see that although Moses underwent extreme difficulties for forty years, devoting his body and soul in leading God’s people to the border of Canaan, God did not permit him to enter Canaan. However, he did not have the slightest discontentment or grudge; rather, he wholly obeyed what God had assigned and arranged. With a willing heart, he did not enter Canaan and completely obeyed God’s leading toward him.

   Particularly, the matter of beseeching God to raise up a successor to lead the people into Canaan portrays that he already knew the authority of Christ as the Head and that His authority rules over all. Moses was a man who knew God.  He was submissive to God’s authority. He recognized that the authority of Christ as the Head must be wholly obeyed without condition. This is also the manifestation of a spiritual life that has reached its peak. There was no unrighteousness in his heart.  He loved the people. As long as the Lord raised up someone to bring the people into Canaan, he would then have peace of mind. No matter whom the Lord raised up to be the leader, he felt satisfied as long as God’s will be done.

   Brothers and sisters, as our spiritual life grows, and we have more responsibility in the church, we will find that this is not an easy matter. If the spirit is not right and the heart is not pure, one would certainly feel that since I cannot enter, it would be best that nobody else should enter. However, Moses was not like that at all.  Oh!  He certainly was a man who knew the authority of Christ as the Head.

   The same is the case with David. When he encountered affliction, Shimei came forth, and cursed, and cast stones at him, and all his servants. He cursed David, saying, "Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The Lord has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul.... So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!" And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head.” At that time, David not only stopped Abishai from striking back, but he also said, "Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day." (2 Samuel 16:11~12)

   This was a man who knew the authority of Christ as the Head. He allows the Lord to sit on the throne and obeys His rule in everything. Colossians 1:18 says, "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence." This means that Christ is the Head of every person, incident, and matter.  We must learn to know the authority of Christ as the Head. We should not dare go beyond the authority but rather surrender to the Lord completely.

   If you have read the books of Brother Watchman Nee, you will surely discover that he was a man who worshipped God’s ways, which means acknowledging that anything arranged by God is the best.

   
   

XXI. Raised up the serpent of brass (Num 21:4~9) — Setting our eyes upon Christ  

[Mount Hor to Edom]

Thereupon, they came out again from Kadesh.  It is written in Numbers 21:4~5, "Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?...our soul loathes this worthless bread.'"

1. The people  murmured

   The people murmured because the journey was difficult. Spiritually, it refers to looking at the circumstantial (apart from the Lord) person, incident, and matter and thus failing.  "Loathing this worthless bread (manna)" illustrates that the heart does not want the spiritual and heavenly Christ. This historical fact also demonstrates that in his whole life, once a Christian is not careful and his heart looks apart from the Lord (surroundings), he will take the spiritual and heavenly Christ for granted.  Isn’t this true? Many young people, after being saved for quite sometime, because of lack of cautiousness, are lured by things apart from the Lord.  Since their hearts are not on the Lord, they grow weary of the spiritual life, regarding it as monotonous. In their hearts they say that if it is not prayer, then it is Bible-reading, or fellowship. It is the same routine throughout the years. So it would be better to go out on an excursion or watch a movie. Just like the Israelites in the past, the eyes of their hearts turned back to the earthly. They looked at the circumstances and saw that the way of the wilderness was very far and difficult to traverse. Hence, they loathed the spiritual pathway.

2. Looked upon the brass serpent

   "So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived." (Numbers 21:6~8)

   It says here that "the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died." This explains that God does not allow His people to set eyes upon (look at) any person, incident, or matter apart from the Lord. Therefore, anyone who looked at the way (surroundings) as difficult was bitten to death by the fiery serpent. Spiritually, it implies that those who do not set the eyes of their hearts upon the Lord, but rather on something apart from the Lord will enter into spiritual death.

   When the people of Israel noticed that many were bitten to death by the fiery serpents, they realized the seriousness of the matter. Thus, they asked Moses to pray to the Lord on their behalf. Moses then prayed to the Lord. The Lord granted them a wonderful way of deliverance. He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it upon a pole. It shall come to pass that every one who is bitten, and looks upon it shall live. The spiritual meaning is that those who look upon the Lord will receive life.

   True enough, when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent of in the wilderness, many of those who were bitten by the fiery serpents and crying in agony looked at the brass serpent on the pole. Amazingly, the poison was gone immediately, their wounds were healed, and they were cured.

   The "Bronze Serpent" symbolizes Jesus Christ.  The bronze serpent has no poison in itself, demonstrating that Jesus Christ is sinless but takes the image of a sinner (serpent). The bronze serpent put on a pole symbolizes the Lord Jesus being crucified. ‘Bronze’ symbolizes being judged, which means that Jesus Christ was crucified and suffered the righteous judgment of God the Father.  Any man bitten by the poisonous serpent lived if he looked at the serpent of brass signifies that anyone who sets his eyes upon the crucified Christ and believes in Him shall be born again and saved. Not only are his sins forgiven (snake poison is eradicated), but he also receives eternal life (becomes alive). This was also what the Lord Jesus personally told Nicodemus while He was on earth: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14~15). In other words, as we believe in (look at) the crucified Christ, our sins are forgiven and we obtain eternal life.

   On the contrary, any time you and I do not set the eyes of our hearts on the Lord, we will be weak and defeated.  We have already mentioned that Moses sent ten spies into Canaan to spy out the land. Because their eyes looked at the strong walls of Canaan and the great and tall sons of the Anakim, the faith of the ten spies weakened and they gave a bad report. They failed and died in the wilderness.  However, Caleb had his eyes set at only one place, which was Hebron. Symbolically, it points to the resurrected Christ who had ascended into heaven. His heart was wholly drawn by the ascended Lord.  Hebron thus captured Caleb’s heart. Although Caleb went through severe hardships, encountered opposition, and drifted about alone for forty long years in the wilderness, yet his heart never left Hebron. Until finally, Caleb entered Canaan together with the next generation of the Israelites and conquered the land of Canaan. At this point, Caleb told Joshua: And now behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.  I am still this day strong, as in the day that Moses sent me: just as my strength was then, so is my strength now, for war, both going out and coming in. Therefore, now give me this mountain, of which the Lord spoke in that day; …  And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb for an inheritance (Joshua 14:10~13).

3. Focus on Christ

   From the time Christ revealed Himself to us, are our spirits inclined unto Him?  The hymn says: Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him?  Is not thine a captured heart?  You must recognize Him as the fairest of thousands.  This must be our attitude.

   King David said in his psalm: "I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." This means that in our whole life, we must constantly focus our mind on Christ.  If we always look to the Lord, He will then be the King in our lives and make us victorious over death and the flesh.

   Once, a young brother went to see a servant of the Lord. This brother read a lot of pornographic magazines, so his mind was filled with carnal desires and evil thoughts. Later, his condition was so serious that he had dirty dreams every night during his sleep. He was extremely troubled in his heart. He had prayed many times and asked the Lord to take away these unclean thoughts. He even tried to cast them away in the name of the Lord. However, the old problem remained. This servant of the Lord spiritually experienced. He told the young brother, “Just fix your eyes on Christ. Use some time to meditate more on the Lord’s glory, His greatness, victory, sweetness, loveliness, and beauty. And everything will be fine.” When the young brother went home, he followed the advice of the Lord’s servant. He turned his attention and focused his thoughts on the Lord only.  Amazingly, those uncleanness, vile passions, and lust just shed off unconsciously from then on.  Hallelujah!

   Therefore, in his spiritual experience during his lifetime, a Christian must constantly fix his eyes on the Lord. The moment your eyes turn back to the world — for example, some businessmen fix their eyes on their businesses, some mothers fix their eyes on their children the whole day, and some servants of the Lord constantly fix their eyes on their service — you will then fall into the artifices of the devil. Our eyes should only be upon Christ Himself. We must maintain this attitude in our entire life.

   There was an elderly sister whose spiritual experience was very profound. She was Miss (Sister) Hao Siu Eng. There was a period of time that we received her in our home. We did not dare enter her room casually. But we did know that there was a prayer cushion in her room.  She not only knelt to pray but also knelt to read the Bible. On her study table was a frame, in it was written ‘Only see Jesus’.  This shows that her eyes were looking only upon Jesus constantly. May the Lord be gracious unto us that such experience is not only Miss Hao’s but also ours as well. May our lifetime attitude be to ‘Only see Jesus’.  In this way, Christ will become our all.  This is also what John 8:28 says, "Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He."  This means that if a Christian can constantly lift up Jesus and focus on Him in his lifetime, then ‘I am’, that is, Christ is all and in all, will become his experience.

   
   

XXII. Fornication and idolatry were punished (Num 25:1~9)—Being filled with Christ  [Shittim]

Next, the congregation of Israel journeyed onward from the wilderness until they reached the border of Jordan. ‘Shittim’ was already close to Canaan.  Here, another incident came up. The people of Israel committed fornication with the daughters of Moab.

1. The people committed fornication and idolatry

   Numbers 25:2~3 say, "They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor."

   Of course, in terms of symbolism, the spiritual life grows deeper step by step. However, when the people of Israel committed fornication with the daughters of Moab, and bowed down to their gods, this incident greatly offended the Lord.

2. The discipline of the jealous God

   God is a holy and jealous God. Consequently, the anger of the Lord was aroused greatly against Israel. The Lord said to Moses… And Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” And behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his brethren. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.  (Numbers 25:4~9)

   This historical fact shows that the Lord has a jealous spirit. Our God is a jealous God. He will not allow any person, circumstance, or thing to take the place of Christ.  It is just like a man and a woman who are congenial and deeply in love. Later they got married and become husband and wife. After marriage, if either the husband or wife becomes unfaithful, then that would be a serious matter. The Apostle Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 11:2~3, “…For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” This means that the eyes of Christians should only focus on Christ, and their hearts should only have Christ Himself. But now, the person, circumstance, or thing replacing Christ has entered. The people of Israel had committed a sin. In spiritual terms, it refers to replacing Christ with something else. This is one thing that God will never allow.

3. Being filled with Christ

   Therefore, the Holy Bible particularly recorded that Phinehas killed Zimri and Cozbi (the Midianitish woman) out of jealousy, stating clearly that God does not allow the existence of any person, circumstance, or matter to replace the position of Christ in the midst of His children. The spiritual man David wrote the golden psalm, saying, O my soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You....Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god." (Psalm 16:2,4)

   As the psalmist says: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.” Surely we can have good families here on earth — husband and wife loving each other, brothers and sisters living in harmony. We can also engage in business, and live a life that is above human morals filled with testimony in this society. But what we must be careful of is not to let our hearts be filled with these things. We should not allow these things to take the place of Christ and dominate our hearts. Any time there is a person, circumstance, or thing dominating our hearts, God will certainly stretch out His hand to intervene.

   I deeply hope that through this message, the Lord will call our attention and fine-tune us once again that we may be like Mary, the blessed woman, who cried to the Lord from the bottom of her heart, ““My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." She placed the Lord in the highest position, and her heart was filled with Christ.

   
   

XXIII. Crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3:14~4:21)—The deeper death of the cross of Christ

 [Jordan]

The Lord sent Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and walk the path of the wilderness. They reached Kadesh, meaning they already reached the border of Canaan. But because the people did not believe, they unexpectedly turned from Kadesh toward the way to the Red Sea (Numbers 14:25).  From then, they wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years. When they returned once again to Kadesh, they had already been in the wilderness for forty years. Now they reached Shittim and were to cross the Jordan. Crossing the Jordan is a very great experience.

1. Crossing the Jordan symbolizes the deeper death of the cross

   How did they cross the Jordan at that time?  It is recorded in chapter 3 of the book of Joshua, "So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away… Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan." (v. 14~17)

   In terms of symbolism, crossing the Jordan refers to the deeper death of the cross, because the people of Israel first crossed the Red Sea and after that, the Jordan.  Experience-wise, we were first baptized. We have died, have been buried, and have risen with Christ.  As Romans 6:3~4 tell us, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Now, ‘crossing the Jordan’ refers to the deeper death of the cross. It emphasizes putting off the old man and a deeper death to self. It is just like what Paul said in Galatians 6:14, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

2. Setting up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan symbolizes the  burial of all the twelve tribes (Jordan — Christ’s death)

   Immediately after this, chapter 4 of the book of Joshua records: And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and let each carry a stones on their shoulder, to the place where the priests’ feet stood firm." The stone tablet was set up over there as an evidence for the generations to come, proving that the waters of the Jordan were once cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  In terms of spiritual symbolism, the ‘twelve stones’ represents the whole congregation of Israel.  ‘Setting up the stones in the midst of the Jordan’ represents that all the people of Israel died and were buried with Christ.

3. Twelve stones taken out of the Jordan were set up in Gilgal, meaning resurrection from death and the new creation entering into the fullness of Chris

   Following this incident, the people came up out of the Jordan and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern extremity of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they had taken out of the Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal (Joshua 4:19~20). This symbolizes that the whole congregation of Israel had passed through death and resurrected, putting off the body of the flesh, putting on the new man, and entering into the fullness of Christ.

4. The circumcision at Gilgal signifies putting an end to the remnant of the old self

   Immediately following that: "At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at [c]the hill of the foreskins." (Joshua 5:2~3) This symbolism elucidates putting an end to the remnant of the old self. Since spiritual experience proceeds deeper and deeper, it signifies that the flesh has been made pure. Experience-wise, it is dying to oneself over and over again until the time when all the remains of the old self are put to an end. This Christian has already passed through the veil and has entered into the holy of holies, living in a realm of being joined with the Lord and seeing Him face to face. Of course, this does not mean that the root of sin has been removed. Though there may still be weaknesses and failures, but the spiritual life has already attained maturity and reached the spiritual peak.

   
   

XXIV.  Entering the land of Canaan (Joshua 5:2~12)—Attaining the fullness of Christ [Gilgal]

The children of Israel left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, passed the wilderness, crossed the Jordan, and finally entered the beautiful land of Canaan and reached Gilgal.

1. The land of Canaan symbolizes the fullness of Christ

   The Lord promised to give the people of Israel the good and spacious land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. This is a symbol of Christ’s fullness (abundance).  Because Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (as represented by the land of Canaan).

2. Attaining Christ’s fullness — Christ is all and in all

   What then is the fullness of Christ?  It means Christ is all and in all.  In terms of symbolism, the people of Israel entered Canaan and enjoyed the abundance of the good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. There are six things that elucidate reaching the peak of spirituality and the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ.

   1. Observing the Passover — Enjoying the fullness of salvation (Christ)

      The people of Israel observed the Feast of the Passover the night before they left Egypt. Now, they had entered the land of Canaan and they observed the Passover once again.  But this time, the Passover was different from the earlier one. In Egypt, the Feast of the Passover was observed with smearing of the blood and eating of the flesh of the lamb. Now in Canaan, there were no lintel and door posts to smear. This time, in their observance of the Passover, they experienced that Christ is all and in all. In other words, they had already entered into the fullness of Christ.  In this Passover, all the people of Israel enjoyed Christ to be the fullness of salvation. The spiritual symbolism is Christ being the inheritance and delight of all saints.

   2. Eating of unleavened loaves — Holy and unblemished

      The eating of unleavened loaves in the land of Canaan symbolizes attaining the holy and unblemished state. They had wandered through the wilderness for forty years, so sins had considerably been removed and cleansed. Consequently, the eating of unleavened loaves now elucidates the church becoming holy and without blemish.

      Just like what is said in Ephesians 5:27, "....a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."

   3. Eating of roasted grain — Life matures

      Now they no longer ate manna, but they ate roasted grain. They roasted and ate the grains they had harvested. This shows that the grains had ripened. The grains cannot be eaten if they are not yet ripe.  When they are ripe, then they can be roasted and eaten.  Spiritually, it means that those who have entered the land of Canaan are Christians who have abundant life.

      In John 10:10, the Lord Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In their pursuit to enter into the fullness of Christ, this is the final state that Christians want to achieve.

   4. No more manna — Not being a child, not nursing

      The people of Israel entered Canaan and arrived at Gilgal. Then the next day after they observed the Passover, the manna ceased. So the people of Israel no longer had manna, meaning they were not nursing babes anymore. They do not need to pay any price for the ‘manna’. They just have to go out to collect and eat. But the grains are produced after toilsome tilling and cultivation. Therefore, eating manna refers to immature spiritual experience. Now, heaven stopped sending manna. This illustrates that the Christians at this time must eat solid food, such as listening to messages regarding the cross and welcoming the experience of the cross.

   5. Eating the produce of the land of Canaan — The stature grows up to maturity, eats solid food

      Children love to drink milk and eat snacks. When they grow up, they like to eat fish, meat, chicken, duck, and various grain crops. Now, The Israelites ate the produce of the land of Canaan, illustrating the spiritual stature growing up to maturity. May the Lord be gracious to us that we may pursue spiritual growth, and grow up to eat solid food until our life attains maturity.

   6. Dwelling in the land of Canaan — Having the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

      Under the leadership of Joshua, the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan.  From then, they considered that land as their inheritance, enjoyed the produce of the land of Canaan, and dwelled in the land of Canaan.  This is a sign that they had attained to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

      The ultimate church that God wants is one referred to in Ephesians 4:13, "…of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Because when the church reaches maturity, she is the bride prepared and adorned to meet the bridegroom (Christ) and to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb. Therefore, the church faces Canaan and pursues the fullness of Christ, until she attains to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

   
   

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